Oh My Dollar!

Inspired by Jesse Horn at the Bond conference, Lillian and Will talk about why you shouldn’t feel bad about acquiring money, just because capitalism is immoral. Also spending less than $90 on a trip to SF. Reminder that Get Your Money Together book is almost here, and it’s not too late to get the pre-order chapters! Order at ohmydollar.com/book/

Eric Brotman from Brotman Financial Group joins us to talk about how to have the hard conversations about money with your parents, and help them plan for their own retirement. Check out Eric’s book on lowering your taxes at http://www.lowtaxbook.com/

We bring back a new spin on an old topic from the archives: how to make a budget based in your own values – and how to talk about money with your spouse, partner, co-parent, or even just roommate [starts at 5:32] There’s still time to join the weekly chapter read-alongs. Just head over to ohmydollar.com/book/

We answer a potpourri of listener questions: Where do you keep an emergency fund? A money market? (1:21 timestamp) What is a CD ladder? (5:58 timestamp) Listener C just got a letter saying she had defaulted on her student loans. How does she get a handle on what she owes and where? (11:30 timestamp) What are the repayment options? Get Your Money Together workbook is a doing weekly chapter read-alongs and purrsonal finance challenges right meow! Join by pre-ordering the ebook at http://www.ohmydollar.com/book/ ——- Resources—- For federal loans (meaning non-private ones) the best place to go is the NSLDS (national student loan data system). You’ll need to know your FSA ID. If you don’t remember it or can’t find it, you can reset it at  https://studentaid.ed.gov – or you can call 1-800-4-FED-AID and they’ll walk you through it.  You can use the repayment calculator at studentloans.gov

When you’re depressed, it can be hard to get off the couch, let alone worry about your budget. Lillian shares some tips for handling your personal finances when you’re depressed. Set things on autopay. Ask a friend (or even me) to sit with you while you get everything on autopay. Don’t focus on on your money (especially things outside of your control) after you get things on autopay. Anxiety over 401Ks. Consider implementing a cash budget in some categories to prevent impulse spending – especially for substances or whatever addictive behavior (food, clothing shopping, nicotine, etc) you fall into when depressed. Spend money on the things you need to recover and take care of yourself – easymac, grocery delivery, therapy, drug co-pays, yoga class – whatever the things you need to get better. If you are considering hurting yourself, or just need someone to talk to that won’t judge you, you can call the National Suicide Prevention hotline at 1-800-273-8255  any time of day and talked to trained, caring folks.

Eva asks if she really has to adult-up and get disability insurance (yes!) Rebecca wants to know if whole life insurance makes sense if someone can’t get term due to mental health hospitalization. Josh wants to know how to cash a savings bond when his credit union won’t take it. Here’s the link with info to mail it in. And Debbi wants to know if her kids’ 529 plans are properly invested. If you’re ready to get some purrsonal finance merit badge stickers, or pre-order the Get Your Money Together book while it’s still $5, head over to http://www.ohmydollar.com/book/ to load up your basket with money cat goodies!

Early Retirement? I always thought that sounds like something only for silent velcro millionaires or tech bros – but it can be achievable without a windfall. We talk about the keys of starting with your values, budgeting, and using frugality to build up an income stream where you don’t have to have a traditional job. We have two folks who are early retired or FIRE’d (Financially Independent/Retired Early) on to share the basics of building an early retirement plan. It’s a long episode, but a good one, I think! Resources You can get Deacon at Well Kept Wallet’s “Debt Free in 18 Months” course for free if you follow this link. Get his excellent book “You Can Retire Early” if you want to learn more! Douglas Tsoi’s Financial Freedom Course at Portland Underground Grad School Paula Pant at Afford Anything’s rental case studies and rental calculations My favorite book about financial independence: The Simple Path to Wealth  (amazon affiliate link)

We share tactics to curb impulse purchases and regrettable spending. Also, we learn that Will owns every Animorphs book and is a sucker for odd citrus fruits. And learn what 18-year-old crustpunk Lily wanted to buy. Grab your “things I want” google sheet at: http://ohmydollar.com/thingsIwant  

Lillian and Will talk about how to set non-boring money goals that won’t set you up for new year’s resolution failure. Save more money! Spend less money! Roll over that darn 401K! Implement a new system! Other things that are fun! Check out my favorite app for budgeting, YNAB – I’ve used it for 3 years, and my biggest regret was I didn’t switch years earlier. Use this link for a 34-day free trial.  

Alicia McElhaney of the She Spends newsletter joins us to talk about one of the best ways to make more money in the new year: ASK FOR IT! We talk about tips & tricks for salary negotiation, and tell stories from our own experience with salary negotiation. Recommended book (for all genders): Ask For It. The Bullish Series on Negotiation. Get Your Money Together Bootcamp is 50% off for this week only using code HALFOFF2018  – set off your new year on the right foot at bootcamp.ohmydollar.com

Listener Eva asks how she can maximize her retirement savings and minimize her taxes as a self-employed person; Lillian talks her through SEP IRAs and Solo 401Ks (they’re nearly the same as one another but not the same as regular IRAs).  We also cover the ways that folks can pay less taxes in the new year starting at 9:08min. New Year is the perfect time to start a new budgeting regime. Check out our new year goal setting post.

Lauren asks how to build a realistic budget with “little wins” and Lillian asks her to figure out what her wins and necessities are. Sara asks how she deducts the cost of her health insurance as a self-employed person. Plus, what to do before the end of the year for tax preps.

Listener health insurance questions answered: Are Health Savings Accounts an evil republican tax loophole for rich people or actually useful? How do co-pay assistance plans work? How do you work the system instead of the system working you? What do you do if you don’t know your income for the year and healthcare.gov asks you for it!? The health insurance exchange at healthcare.gov is only open for 2018 health plans until December 15th!

There’s so many confusing terms when you’re looking for health insurance: OOP, HMO, deductible, co-insurance, co-pays – how do you untangle them? How do you not go broke buying health insurance? Jack Hopper of Take Command Health, helps us figure it out. Small business owner looking for advice on health insurance? Check out takecommandhealth.com for more info. Don’t forget that December 15th is your deadline to enroll in, change, or renew your plan for 2018 at healthcare.gov (This is the long 45 minute episode instead of the radio cut that aired 12/1/2017.)

We answer rapid fire questions: Should Alice liquidate a 401K to avoid credit card debt? Can Charlotte use her spouse’s income on a credit card application? Can Dan move money between the US and his home country without accidental money laundering? Reminder: December 15th is the deadline for the health care exchange to renew, change, or get a new health care plan. If you’re interested in volunteering for the AARP’s Tax-aide program, check out information here and find a program in your area: https://www.aarp.org/money/taxes/aarp_taxaide/