Retire Sooner with Wes Moss

Do you know why you make the financial decisions you do? On today's Retire Sooner episode, associate professor of Practice and Financial Psychology at Creighton University and director of the Financial Psychology Institute®, Ted Klontz, joins Wes Moss to discuss our subconscious beliefs about money that control behavior. Klontz explains the importance and assessment of Money Scripts®, beliefs that...

Why might famed businessman and investor Warren Buffett respond, “I don’t care,” when asked about a recession? Today on Retire Sooner, Wes Moss dives into the Buffett mindset of sticking to your principles in long-term investing decisions and looking toward economic growth. In doing so, he discusses one investing planning strategy that could be essential to the journey of retiring sooner: investin...

Today on Retire Sooner, Wes Moss sits down with the three-time winner of Atlanta’s Best Divorce Attorney, Aaron Thomas, also the founder of Prenups.com. As Aaron and Prenups.com will tell you, prenups are not just planning or anticipating for marital failure. He explains that they're more of a set of rules for how your money, kids, and assets are treated during marriage and divorce. Wes and Aaron...

In the aftermath of two big banks collapsing, it's no surprise that some investors may feel uneasy about the state of their retirement savings. In this episode, Wes Moss gives details to explain if and how these bank failures impact your retirement journey. He provides insights into how the banking system works, walks through the history and current state of the FDIC, and the common perception tha...

What do economists and philosophers have in common? It’s not a trick question, but rather a debatable topic that Wes Moss and today’s guest, Paul Blaschko could discuss until the end of time! Paul Blaschko is the professor for the University of Notre Dame's most popular undergraduate class on philosophy. Wes and Paul dive deep into the philosophy versus theology schism and how Aristotle could be i...

There are seven fundamental habits that many self-made millionaires have in common, and today’s guest best-selling co-author of "The Millionaire Next Door," affluence expert and educator Dr. Bill Danko, explains. In this episode, Dr. Danko sits down with Wes to explain his research and findings on the most common traits among those who have accumulated wealth and how they did it. Dr. Danko also go...

What does your digital footprint say about what you want? Data scientist, author of best-seller "Everybody Lies," and speaker Seth Stephens-Davidowitz sits down with Wes Moss to talk about how data can reveal societal and personal trends in desires, psychology, wealth building, and more. This includes when you become a sports fan, who you seek out for romantic partners and how you present yourself...

Purpose + passion + fun = core pursuits! When it comes to living a happy retirement, the more passions a retiree has, the better. But, on the other hand, our research shows that unhappy retirees tend to have less than two core pursuits driving their post-work life. So, how can you discover your core pursuits as part of your happy retirement plan? This episode will help you revisit ways to find cor...

The finance industry has innovated exponentially in recent decades, but are there some innovations that investors find more helpful than others? In this episode of Retire Sooner, Wes is joined by renowned economist and author of the highly influential book on investing, "A Random Walk Down Wall Street," Burton Malkiel. They dive deep into investing insights for yourself and your family's future an...

In this episode, Wes and Retire Sooner producer Mallory Boggs go over Warren Buffett's "secret sauce" published in the Berkshire Hathaway 2022 Year In Review. They talk about how investing is not easy. While browsing through Buffett's rate-of-returns, Wes explains how Buffet's big numbers can equate to a more manageable scale that the average American can work with. He also assures that while Buff...

If Hollywood made a movie about your life, who would they cast to play you? Today's Retire Sooner guest is Los Angeles Times columnist and four-time Pulitzer Prize finalist, Steve Lopez. In Steve's case, Iron Man himself, Robert Downey Jr., plays Steve in the film adaptation of his best-selling nonfiction book, The Soloist. Wes and Steve talk about the story behind the story, as well as how Steve...

Can there be progress without pain? The last 50 years have been a rollercoaster in the financial world and the world at large. In this episode, Wes gives a snapshot of key events from decades passed that had a significant impact on both the financial and cultural zeitgeist, including the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, despite every war, conflict, or struggle, Wes emphasizes the positive de...

This Valentine's Day, let's talk about something near and dear to Wes's heart: Dividends! What does it take to be wealthy in America? In this episode, Wes and Retire Sooner producer Mallory Boggs take a look at statistics from a new wealth survey showing what level of earner is considered "wealthy" in this day and age. They also discuss dividend investing, show what a balanced portfolio could look...

In this episode, guest Kathleen Rehl shares her expertise and experience with widowdom. Widely featured writer and author of the multi-award-winning book, Moving Forward on Your Own: A Financial Guidebook for Widows, Kathleen is a leading authority on financial challenges that widows face with over 17 years of personal finance advice. Wes and Kathleen discuss grief, growth, and grace in widowhood,...

Find out what helps Wes sleep well at night! In this episode, Wes and Retire Sooner producer Mallory Boggs offer some of their top tips for retirement life. They discuss ideal timeframes to claim Social Security benefits, the advantages of not overspending on your kids and grandkids, a quick way to determine if your pension passes the 6% test, and it never being too late to be a rockstar (or star...

In this podcast episode, Wes is joined by Emily Esfahani Smith, she is the author of the book, ”The Power of Meaning”, and she delivered a TED talk called “There’s More to Life Than Being Happy”. Emily introduces her approach to finding meaning in life which she argues is more important than happiness. She suggests everyone examine and strengthen 4 pillars in their life: belonging, purpose, transc...

Is your new year resolution to retire a little sooner? If so, this episode might be for you. In today's episode, Wes Moss and Retire Sooner podcast producer Mallory Boggs discuss their personal financial resolutions for 2023, Wes's favorite financial advice from 2022, what investors may expect from the markets this year, and why now is the time to reassess your retirement goals. Wes shares his tho...

If you live in a great home, why move out of it into a lesser one? Currently working on her eleventh flip, Mindy Jensen is a mom, works her day job at biggerpockets.com, and has bought and sold houses live-and-flip style for over two decades. In this episode, Mindy discusses the process of moving into an ugly house and turning it into a beautiful one through do-it-yourself construction and eye-gra...

Is money really the greatest need for retirement, or is there something more important to start with that we should all consider? In this episode, Wes is joined by popular newspaper columnist, award-winning college professor, and bestselling author Mike Bellah. Mike makes us think twice about our greatest needs for retirement as he shares his personal experiences with core pursuits that drive this...

Tune in to this episode as Wes Moss uncovers why demographics play an impactful role in shaping your retirement destiny along with his review of population history and statistics of multiple countries. He walks through recent financial headlines and news, reveals what would happen if everyone bought stocks and never sold them, dives into market liquidity, and what adds up to more longevity. Additi...

What happens when you introduce humor into a serious conversation surrounding finances? You’ll have to listen to find out! In this episode, Wes is joined by financial all-stars and old friends; Emily Guy Birken, author, money coach, and retirement connoisseur and Joe Saul-Sehy, former financial advisor, author, and co-host of the Stacking Benjamins and Money With Friends podcasts to talk finance w...

Once a financial foundation is built, it’s time for the most important part of the retirement equation; discovering your core pursuits. Whether you have a dozen hobbies on steroids that you’d like to tackle or you’ve been indecisive due to a busy work schedule, this is the episode for you! Listen as Wes Moss reveals why it’s never too late to find your core pursuits, tips for pinpointing what you...

Is your relationship with money holding you back from finding financial success? Many of us have a rocky relationship with money, but if we looked at our capital from a different perspective this could possibly change our outlook and relationship with money. To aid us in improving our connection with our funds and uncover the trick we need to change our relationship with money, Wes sits down with...

Humans encounter numerous fears throughout their lifetime. Some of those fears include public speaking, being locked in an unknown space, and even the fear of spiders. However, there’s another fear that consumes many, and that’s outliving our money. At the end of the day it doesn’t matter where you are financially in your life, the panic of running out of funds can often surface, especially for ea...

Financial literacy is the blueprint to building financial success for the younger generation. In general, that could lead to earning your children early financial independence and increased happiness in retirement. To help us learn more about educating the rising generation regarding their finances, we called on Dan Sheeks, Owner and Founder Of Sheeks Freaks LLC, author, high school business/marke...