Crushing Debt

How are you handling the rising cost of health care for your parents? How can you talk to your mother & father about the rising costs of health care and senior living? Should your parents age at home or in an assisted living facility? This week, Shawn & George talk to Rachel Aguanno, owner of Home Care Assistance Tampa Bay.  Rachel's company assists seniors to live at home. Rachel was a HUGE help...

When does an entrepreneur make time? How can an entrepreneur work 27 hours a day? How hard (or easy) is work-life balance? On this week's episode, Shawn & George interview Tiffanie Kellog who today (if you're listening on the day of release) releases her FOURTH self-published book, The Entrepreneur's Guide to More Free Time .  Tiffanie is the Sock-it-to-'em Success Strategist!  Since 2005, Tiffani...

What is the real reason 90% of businesses fail? What are some bookkeeping or CFO mistakes most business owners make that can tank your business? On this week's episode of The Crushing Debt Podcast, George and Shawn talk to Emily Handren, owner and founder of Besty Bookkeepers ( www. BestyBookkeepers.com ).  For over two decades, Emily has helped individuals and businesses improve their financial s...

What is the test for discharging a student loan in bankruptcy? Is it even possible? Student loans are non-dischargeable, right? WRONG !! On this week's episode, Shawn is back solo again (we'll hear George back again for next week's episode) interviewing attorney Jeff Hakanson.  Jeff has been an attorney for thirty (30) years! He granduating with his J.D. from South Texas College of Law and has pra...

Image someone, 54 years old with no savings and $90,000 in debt. How can that person admit to their kid that they cannot afford to pay for college? That is the topic of this week's episode.  Shawn & George talk about: Facing the reality of the situation Honesty with your kids Exploring all funding options Dealing with the situation Reworking income & expenses Making a future rebuilding plan Small...

What is the Big Beautiful Bill, and why is it such a pivotal moment for financially vulnerable communities? What are the biggest gaps you see between how legislation is written and how it actually plays out in people's day-to-day lives? What are the five simple steps anyone can take today to protect themselves financially in light of this legislation? What role does mindset play in becoming financ...

With a reverse mortgage, can you retain title to your home? Are reverse mortgages insured or guaranteed? Do reverse mortgagaes have a maturity date? This week's guest on the Crushing Debt Podcast is Gary Guarino, Vice President with Senior Lending, focusing on the HECM (Home Equity Conversion Mortgage), better known as a reverse mortgage. Gary has been a VP of Senior Lending for the last 26 years...

What is the difference between a Tax Certificate and a Tax Deed? What is the investment opportunty in Tax Certificates and Tax Deeds?   How do you get started? On this week's episode of The Crushing Debt Podcast, Shawn & George talk to Brian Seidensticker, managing partner and founder of Last Best Partners as well as the founder and CEO of Tax Sale Resources.  With a strong background in systems e...

Do your kids have a paper route, or sell lemonade, or sell crafts they've made themselves?  Did you? How can you help foster an entreprenurial mindset in your kids? How can your kids learn about the basics of business - planning, branding, marketing, sales, goals, operations, inventory, cash flow, profits & losses? On this week's episode of the Crushing Debt Podcast, Shawn & George talk to Kelly G...

Would you give money to friends and family members?  Would you loan money to them? Are you "too nice" with your money? What happens when you're out to dinner with a group of friends and the bill comes, but most of them were drinking and you were not?  Or you had the steak and one of your friends had chicken.  Or you ordered dessert with your dinner and no one else did?  How do you split the bill,...

"Two bankruptcy attorneys go on a podcast to talk about debt!" Sounds like a set up to a bad joke. On this week's episode of the Crushing Debt Podcast, Shawn & George talk to bankruptcy attorney Barry Levine, a graduate of New England Law | Boston (formerly the New England School of Law). Mr. Levine has acted as outside counsel to a number of small businesses in a variety of endeavors along with i...

How do you talk to your kids about stress? How do you talk to your kids about debt? In today's episode of the Crushing Debt Podcast, Shawn & George talk to Iuri Melo, the co-founder of School Pulse, a company dedicated to helping students and parents tackle real challenges - financial, emotional and beyond. Building on last week's episode, we focus on: Stress prevention and proactive prevention Pr...

Are kids today financially soft? Or are they navigating a nightmare economy with style? In today's episode, in addition to yelling "Get Off My Lawn!" Shawn & George talk about who had it tougher - their generation, previous generations, or the younger generations. Boomers vs. Zoomers: Who Had It Tougher? Social Media Pressure and Lifestyle Creep Financial Education: Still Optional, Still a Problem...

Why did George become a financial coach?  What is his "Why?" What lessons has George learned in his 48 years on Planet Earth? Revenge is sweet! Episode 351 was George interviewing Shawn about his birthday, what he's learned in his years, why he became an attorney and how he formed Yesner Law. Today's episode is Shawn's revenge on George's birthday (July 20, 1977). Let us know if you enjoy this epi...

What is Revenge Saving? What is Revenge Spending? Why is any of this important and how do you use it to your advantage? In this week's episode Shawn & George define Revenge Saving - basically a mindset to save regardless of your personal financial condition.  Instead of spending without regard to your budget (Revense Spending), you save without regard to your budget.   How do you know if you're Re...

Do you doomscroll? Do you watch the news? Are you excited or nervous about the economy? Despite sensational news headlines and social media panic, most households aren't experiencing a collapse, and many financial indicators remain strong.  On this week's episode, Shawn & George talk about terrifying headlines, the actual economic indicators (not what social media wants you to believe), personal e...

Often people burdened with debt feel bullied, hopeless and that there's no way out. But what would you do if you were in a near fatal accident and had to re-learn how to walk, talk or eat? How do you deal with trauma in your life? At 14, Nick Prefontaine suffered a traumatic, life-threatening snowboarding accident and was put in a coma. His parents were told he wouldn't ever walk, talk, or eat on...

When should parents help their high schoolers with College Applications? Should kids stay in state or out of state for college?  Private or public schools? What are some of the top things that colleges look for in applicants? Is it better for your kid's application to be involved in extracurricular activities? Scouts? IB Programs? AP Programs?  Honors Programs? Today's guest on the show is Lee Nor...

Are you ready for retirement? Do you know what you need or need to do, so that you can retire? When my late wife would ask me when I wanted to retire, my answer was normally "yesterday." But are we ready for retirement?  Can being a podcast host only support me in retirement? Today's podcast guest is Michael A. Scarpati, co-founder and CEO of www. Retire. US who shares a vision in financial empowe...

Have you ever had a bus fall on your house? What is the difference between Passive and Active Income? How do you make money for tomorrow? For the next generation? On this week's show, Shawn & George talk to Whitney Elkins-Hutten, the founder of Ash Wealth Consulting and Director of Investor Education at PassiveInvesting.com. She hosts the  Passive Investing Made Simple podcast and is a partner in...

Have any spare change? Do you still use cash and coins? The US Treasury Department and US Mint announced that it will stop making pennies after it runs out of the blank templates used to make the coins, saving the government $56 million a year in materials costs.  There is no indication that pennies will be taken out of circulation, only that new pennies will not be produced. This move should have...

Everything on the Internet is true, right? What can Tik Tok (and social media) teach us about getting out of debt?  How much of the advice is legitimate and how much is, shall we say, a bit "out there"? On this week's episode of the Crushing Debt Podccast, Shawn & George watch (or listen to) Tik Tok videos from influencers who are trying to help people get out of debt. We'll then comment on the go...

Why are garage sales the perfect sales and negotiation training ground? What is the golden rule of negotiating? What are some negotiation tactics that work, and some that don't? Each year, in October and May, Shawn's neighborhood hosts a community-wide garage sale. Shawn has tested and practiced different sales techniques at these bi-annual events in a low-risk, low-pressure environment! Please go...

What is Soft Savings? Why would you want to embrace it? What are some tips to balance soft savings and hard savings? What are some red flags to avoid with Soft Savings? In this week's episode of the Crushing Debt Podcast, Shawn & George talk about Soft Savings, basically savings practices that may not be measurable or something that can be quantified. It involves spending for experiences, rather t...

Have you been paying your Student Loans? Have you been waiting on forgiveness of your Student Loans? Recently, the Department of Education has begun collection efforts for Student Loan borrowers behind on their payments, who have not repaid their debts or entered into some type of workout plan regarding their Student Loan debts. The government estimates that there are 6.4 million Student Loan borr...