The Pete the Planner® Show

Your house is probably the biggest purchase you'll ever make—but for most people, it's the least managed asset they own. This week, Pete and NeighborServe CEO Dan Hanrahan break down what every homeowner should know: what your home needs, when it needs it, what it should cost, and who you should call before a small problem becomes a financial disaster. You'll learn why experts recommend budgeting...

Most people measure their financial lives by the wrong numbers. Income. Net worth. Debt. Credit score. Those numbers tell you where you are—but they don't tell you whether you're actually moving toward financial freedom. In this solo episode of Worth with Pete the Planner, Pete revisits one of his favorite financial concepts: Power Percentage. Created years ago to answer the question, "Am I doing...

You spend years making smart financial decisions. You save aggressively, live below your means, and watch your retirement accounts grow. Then life happens. The family grows, the starter home no longer works, and suddenly your mortgage payment triples. Even when you can afford it, why does it feel like you've made a terrible mistake? This week, we answer an email from a listener who isn't really as...

This week, we tackle one of the biggest financial dilemmas facing homeowners today: what do you do when your life outgrows your house, but your mortgage rate is too good to give up? A listener and her husband are raising two kids, both working from home, caring for aging parents, and trying to decide whether moving from a $600,000 home into a $750,000 home makes financial sense. The challenge? The...

The government wants to give newborns a $1,000 investment account. Depending on who you ask, it's either a bold step toward building generational wealth or a cleverly branded headline with limited real-world impact. This week, we're breaking down the new Trump Accounts: who qualifies, how they work, and whether they're actually a game changer for American families. We'll run the numbers to see wha...

Everyone has financial goals. Pay off your mortgage. Retire early. Get an 850 credit score. Pay cash for everything. But what if some of the most celebrated financial goals in America are actually overrated? This week, Pete, Dame, and Kristen debate the financial goals people chase that may not deserve the hype. From perfect credit scores to early retirement, they explore whether some money milest...

Everybody wants to become a millionaire. Almost nobody wants to hear the actual math required to do it. This week, we break down the old-fashioned path to building a million dollars depending on when you start. What does it actually take if you begin in your 20s? Your 30s? Your 40s? We’re talking real numbers: how much to invest how long it takes what income levels help what lifestyle choices matt...

For decades, Americans have treated their homes like both a dream and an investment strategy. But when it comes to retirement planning, your house has a very specific role to play — and it’s probably not what social media tells you. This week, Pete, Kristen, and Dame tackle one of the most misunderstood retirement concepts in personal finance: why entering retirement without a mortgage can dramati...

This week on The Pete the Planner Show, Pete, Kristen, and Dame sit down with divorce attorney Elisabeth Edwards for a brutally honest conversation about the financial side of relationships — before, during, and after marriage. From prenups to hidden debt, alimony to asset division, we unpack the money conversations couples avoid until it’s way too late. Are prenups romantic sabotage or financial...

Welcome to the first-ever Hot Take Olympics — where financial opinions aren’t just shared… they’re defended like gold medals are on the line. This week, Pete, Kristen, and Dame each bring their hottest financial take to the table and battle it out. From housing and retirement to debt, investing, and the financial rules everyone blindly follows, nothing is safe. Some takes might make you nod in agr...

Three questions. No overthinking. Just real answers. This week, we’re tackling three financial decisions that feel simple on the surface… but can completely change the direction of your life. Do you walk away from a once-in-a-lifetime real estate deal—or risk blowing up your early retirement plan to take it? How do you get a $25,000 raise and still feel broke? And before you get married… do you co...

What happens when one spouse downshifts their career—and the money dynamic in a marriage suddenly changes? This week, Pete, Kristen, and Dame tackle a thoughtful (and spicy) listener dilemma: after years of splitting everything 50/50, one partner takes a step back from full-time work and plans to fund their share of expenses by pulling $30,000 a year from investments. The other partner says… absol...

Millennials say the system is broken. Boomers say, “Try buying a house at 18% interest.” So… who’s right? This week, Pete, Damian, and Kristen step into one of the most emotionally charged financial debates out there—and do something rare: they put numbers behind the noise. From income to housing, college costs to overall wealth, the crew breaks down what each generation actually faced at the same...

Gas prices are climbing again, and if you’re like most people, it feels like your entire financial life just got more expensive overnight. But did it? This week, we take a step back from the headlines and ask a better question: who is actually feeling the impact of higher gas prices—and who just thinks they are? Because the truth is, a 50-cent jump at the pump doesn’t hit everyone the same way. Fo...

The U.S. economy has been sending troubling signals for months now in the form of high energy prices, rising inflation, modest hiring and slowing growth of gross domestic product. Then the United States began attacks on Iran in late February. Stalled tanker traffic at the Strait of Hormuz has disrupted the global oil market, and stock investors have yo-yoed along with mixed signals from Washington...

You just graduated, landed a $52,000 job, and moved to Des Moines. You’ve got $35,000 in student loans… and suddenly, real life is very real. This week, Pete, Kristen, and Dame break down what life actually looks like on that salary—from take-home pay to rent, groceries, debt, and everything in between. But instead of just talking about it, they turn it into a game: can each of them build a workin...

You finally upgrade your home. More space, better fit for your family, and—on paper—you can absolutely afford it. So why does it suddenly feel… heavier? This week, Pete and Kristen unpack the emotional side of a financial upgrade that no one really talks about. From “payment shock” to the psychological weight of a bigger life, they explore why even smart, responsible decisions can come with unexpe...

High schools across the country are making a big shift—replacing traditional economics classes with personal finance. On the surface, it sounds like a win. After all, most of us could’ve used a better understanding of credit cards, debt, and how money actually works when we were 18. But is this really progress… or just a tradeoff? In this episode, Pete, Damian, and Kristen break down what’s changi...

Last Valentine’s Day, listener Lucas from North Carolina wrote in about retiring early and “taking our foot off the gas.” This year, life looks very different. Lucas and his wife recently received a diagnosis for their almost two-year-old daughter that means she may never live independently. That news sent Lucas down a deep research rabbit hole involving wills, trusts, and something called a third...

A surge in oil prices tied to rising tensions involving Iran has economists and investors whispering a word we haven’t heard much since the 1970s: stagflation. But what exactly is it—and should you be worried? In this episode, Pete breaks down why spikes in oil prices can ripple through the entire economy, how stagflation happens when inflation and economic slowdown collide, and why energy shocks...

This week’s listener question comes from a self-described “Type-A podcast listener girlie” who—financially speaking—is absolutely crushing it. At 32 years old, she’s earning about $100,000, saving 25% for retirement, and has already built roughly $450,000 in Roth accounts, plus a brokerage account and cash savings. Her partner, the same age, entered the workforce later after earning an advanced de...

They’re 42. They’re doing everything right. $185,000 household income. 15% to retirement. Emergency fund solid. Almost no debt. And yet… they’re exhausted. This week’s email comes from a couple who can absolutely afford help — but still live like they’re one missed paycheck away from disaster. They mow their own lawn. Scrub their own bathrooms. Meal prep every Sunday. Fix everything themselves. Th...

Lauren and her husband are 35. Two kids. Solid income. No credit card debt. $70,000 saved. They’re doing everything right. And now their landlord just dropped the bomb: he’s probably selling the house. They’ve been paying $2,750 a month in rent. Buying a similar home would run about $2,900 a month with taxes, insurance, and PMI. On paper, that’s only a $150 jump. In reality? It feels like stepping...

You can now bet on inflation, elections, interest rates, wars, and whether the Fed blinks—and people are calling it “information,” not gambling. This week on The Pete the Planner Show, we dig into prediction markets: what they are, why they’ve exploded in popularity, and what they really tell us about the economy, politics, and our collective anxiety about the future. Platforms like Polymarket and...

Gold is pulling back. Silver is getting smacked. Tech stocks feel heavy, crypto feels frozen, and investors everywhere are asking the same question: If things are so uncertain, why aren’t the “safe” assets working? This week, Pete breaks down the psychology of a cranky market — one that isn’t panicking or crashing, but is deeply skeptical and increasingly impatient. We’ll explain why gold can fall...