The Stacking Benjamins Show – Details, episodes & analysis

Ever wondered how to steer clear of trouble with your investments? Today, we’re diving into an SEC investigation that’s rattling one fund and discussing what you need to know to protect yourself. We’re also unpacking the benefits of passive investing and index funds—because simplifying your approach to the stock market might just be the smartest move you make. In our TikTok Minute, we’ll take a look at a quick clip that highlights a common financial misunderstanding, and along the way, we’ll sprinkle in a bit of British charm (no spoilers, but it’s classic). Finally, we’re tackling a listener question from a soon-to-be parent who’s wondering how to plan for their child’s financial future. From custodial accounts to financial aid strategies, we’ll walk through the best options to ensure your kids have a strong start. Add in Doug’s trivia, some thought-provoking discussions, and a peek at upcoming events, and you’ve got a packed episode full of actionable insights. Run of Show Introduction and Opening Remarks Kickoff and Today’s Topics Overview Discussion on the SEC Investigation and What You Need to Know Monitoring Your Money Effectively Sponsor Messages and Lighthearted Banter Headline: Western Assets Bond Fund in Trouble Debating Active vs. Passive Management TikTok Minute: A Quick Look at Financial Missteps Listener Call and Doug’s Trivia Break Listener Question: Financial Planning for a Newborn Custodial Accounts vs. Other Savings Options Tax Implications and Financial Aid Considerations Upcoming Events and Community Meetups Doug’s TV Show Reviews  FULL SHOW NOTES: https://stackingbenjamins.com/when-good-funds-go-bad-1605 Deeper dives with curated links, topics, and discussions are in our newsletter, The 201, available at https://www.stackingbenjamins.com/201 Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

To kick off a contentious week for the USA, we share one of our FAVORITE stories about the thread that binds us, our goals, our dreams, and yes, even our money. Laura Schroff was a high-powered executive in Manhattan when her life was changed forever by an 11-year old boy. It's a story you won't soon forget. Plus, we're thrilled that Scott Trench, BiggerPockets CEO joins us as guest co-host. We talk about crypto, athletes, and their money. It's our favorite way to discuss how your own money decisions could be better made. We also dive into non-compete contracts. That world has been changing quickly, and we've got you covered. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today we're all about the factors to help you build a better investment portfolio. Joe and OG break down their thoughts as they dole out their top five building blocks to constructing a better portfolio. Be sure to bookmark this evergreen episode, as it contains universal truths that will help you in the years to come! In our headlines, we talk about what's the best way to prepare for unexpected financial shocks, and when to get started (spoiler alert: how about now?). We dive deeper into how to protect your downside in the event of black swan events. Our TikTok Minute is all about how to get 90% of the way to your health goals by using one simple trick. Stick around for Doug's US currency history-related trivia. FULL SHOW NOTES: https://www.stackingbenjamins.com/top-five-investment-building-blocks-1506 Deeper dives with curated links, topics, and discussions are in our newsletter, The 201, available at https://www.stackingbenjamins.com/201 Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We're pulling out all the stops today because we're talking to a special guest that you may (or may not) have heard of... Suze Orman. We'll talk all things women and money, mentorship, understanding your investments and financial tools, and more. Plus, during our headlines segment we're extra packed because we're delivering three awesome headlines. First: is Robinhood really making MILLIONS by selling out millennials' user data? One group thinks so. And if that wasn't enough, in a retirement plan court fight, one retirement fund is fighting back against participants that sued the employer by asking for monetary sanctions against the six employee-plaintiffs and the law firm that represented them. But that's not all....because we're also dissecting one piece about Barry White and the estate he left behind. How much of your estate does your girlfriend receive when you've been separated from your wife for two decades (but never actually divorced her?)...do we have some news for you... Of course, we'll still have time to answer Doug's trivia question, throw out the Haven Life line to Martin, who needs some answers on how to get out of his in-laws' basement, and answer a listener letter about investing in leveraged ETF's. Is it a good idea? We'll dive in during the show. Thanks to MagnifyMoney.com for sponsoring Stacking Benjamins! Thanks to Emperor Investments for supporting Stacking Benjamins. Go to emperorinvests.com/sb and select "Stacking Benjamins podcast" when asked how you heard about the show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We're kicking off Monday by talking by asking, how do you achieve quantum success with your career and your MONEY? Helping us improve our financial lives is today's special guest, Christy Whitman. Plus, in our headlines segment, would you enjoy being called a "boring" investor? And in our second headline... a company is offering insurance for space travel, what's up with that? Later on, we'll tackle a voicemail on the Haven Life Line... with a baby on the way what should Michael and his wife be doing with their extra income? We'll also try to help Jackson, who wrote today's letter to the show. He has a job and has recently graduated from college, so now Jackson wants to move out of his parents' home in the next year. He already has some savings built up... so what's his next few moves? And as always... we'll still have time for Doug's trivia. Thanks to LinkedIn for supporting Stacking Benjamins. Go to LinkedIn.com/sb and get $50 off toward your first job post. Thanks to Emperor Investments for supporting Stacking Benjamins. Go to emperorinvests.com/sb and select "Stacking Benjamins podcast" when asked how you heard about the show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ever wonder what outside factors are keeping you from making more money? If so, it turns out you're not the only one asking that nagging question... big surprise there! Helping us cover a recently released blog post covering many reasons why you aren't making more (and what to do about it) we're rolling in our "A" team: Paula Pant, Len Penzo, and OG. It's important to consider automation, robots, inflation, wage stagflation, employer collusion, a proliferation of workers who are highly educated, and more. It's even more important to know what you'll do about it, now that you're armed with all the reasons why. There's no reason to not be making more money, whether with more money from your primary income, with a side business, or using other strategies (such as passive investments). Of course, that's not all. We'll still have time to answer a voicemail from a listener, and to answer Doug's trivia. Drew recently changed employers. What are the options he should be aware of? Are there time constraints we should be watching out for? Thanks to MagnifyMoney.com for sponsoring Stacking Benjamins. MagnifyMoney.com saves users on average $450 when they compare, ditch, switch and save on credit cards, student loan refinancing, checking, savings and more. Check out MagnifyMoney.com for your savings. Thanks to Slack for supporting Stacking Benjamins. Slack: Where work happens. Go to slack.com to learn more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What would you do if you found yourself with a big inheritance? You might have some ideas on that, but do you really know what you SHOULD do if you found yourself in that situation? Helping us with just that question is our special guest, Doug Goldstein. Doug will explain what you need to know if you found yourself in an inheritance situation in easy to understand steps. Plus, in our headlines segment, we're discussing one piece that looks at the 401k funds that took a beating in 2008. Could it be impacting you? Plus, we'll have a surprise headline in the form of a Stacking Benjamins language course... but don't count on it being in French. Of course, we'll still have time to answer Doug's trivia question, throw out the Haven Life line to Dany who wants to know more about stocks that pay out dividends, and answer a listener letter about investing side-gig money. It's a content-packed episode today... enjoy! Thanks to MagnifyMoney.com for sponsoring Stacking Benjamins! Thanks to Slack for supporting Stacking Benjamins. Slack: Where work happens. Go to slack.com to learn more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Need a kick in the pants when it comes to your career? Time to look inward and make some improvements? Check. We've got you covered. Thinking about selling....anything, but maybe even real estate? Check. We've also got YOU covered. Need a healthy spoonful of laughs (and a surprise or two) in our headlines? We've got that covered too. Coming down to the basement to share the sometimes painful but always poignant story about how he went from zero to million dollar listings... we welcome Million Dollar Listing reality television star and author of Sell It Like Serhant, Ryan Serhant. It took Ryan years to discover what his competitive advantage was... and he's going to share it with you today. But that's not all. In our headlines segment, we'll discuss a new checking account with features that look and smell a lot like those offered by credit card companies. Is this the future? Should you switch banks? We'll discuss. Plus, we'll share a story about a bride who might have asked her guests for a touch more than they were prepared to give. Of course, we'll also throw out the Haven Life line, answer a letter from the mailbag, and to celebrate tonight's award show, share some of Doug's Emmy-related trivia. Thanks to Emperor Investments for supporting Stacking Benjamins. Go to emperorinvests.com/sb and select "Stacking Benjamins podcast" when asked how you heard about the show. Thanks to Slack for supporting Stacking Benjamins. Slack: Where work happens. Go to slack.com to learn more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A special BONUS treat! We've asked Mr. Plutus Awards Harlan Landes and our friend (and Plutus Award team member) Miranda Marquit down to the basement to share this years finalists, and they agreed! They'll spend a little time sharing ALL of the finalists in every category. Is your favorite nominated? Are there fresh new names of blogs, podcasts, You Tube videos, or social media sharers that you need to add? We'll share the complete list on today's podcast. Then in our EPIC panel discussion, we'll spend about 90 minutes hashing out ten of the categories. Who are the dark horses to win? Who could surprise? What names should win, and who do our panelists want to win? We'll dig in deeper on today's podcast! We still have a great episode in the morning (Ryan Serhant from Million Dollar Listing joins us!). It's a busy week here in basement-land.... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Spend $8 at the coffee shop, $5 dollars for a little snack later on... maybe $20 eating dinner at a restaurant with your co-workers later tonight. Rinse, wash, and repeat a few days a week and you'll start to wonder where all that extra cash you're supposed to have in your wallet actually went. And maybe you're not leaving your money "faucet" on full pressure all the time, but like any homeowner can tell you, even a constant drip can run up a bill at the end of the month. Helping us face our own money leaks today, from the Mad Money Monster blog, we welcome Lisa Harrison. Rounding out our contributors today is Paula Pant (from Afford Anything) and Len Penzo (from LenPenzo.com). But that's not all... we'll also have time for Doug's trivia, and also will tackle a voicemail from a listener. Derek wants to know how you explain the concept of a non-physical thing, such as cash or credit on a card, to young kids? Thanks to MagnifyMoney.com for sponsoring Stacking Benjamins! Thanks to Warby Parker for supporting Stacking Benjamins. Order your FREE Home Try-On’s at warbyparker.com/sb. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices