Happy last weekend of April!

Talk about a lucky duck, our first caller this week has around $5,000 each month in extra cashflow. What should she be looking to do with the surplus cash?

Next up we spent some time trying to fix an IRA mess. IRAs and Roth IRAs have all sorts of rules, and if you screw something up, it could be a real mess. But like most messes, they can usually be cleaned up :)

In hour two we’re once again joined by Brent Weiss, co-founder and Head of Planning at Facet Wealth, the Jill on Money sponsor for 2021.

April can only mean one thing in the personal finance world, it’s Financial Literacy Month, so that’s the gist of our conversation.

The global economy has become so complex that the gap between what people know about economics and personal finance, and what they need to know, is widening every day.

Americans are increasingly responsible for their financial future; yet an alarming number lack even basic economic awareness.

Compounding the problem, many parents are ill-equipped to instruct their children in economics and personal finance, and teachers, too, are often unprepared to impart this essential knowledge.

That’s why more than ever we need to be passionate about educating young people about an economy they will work in, benefit from, and ultimately, inherit.

Have a money question? Email me here.

"Jill on Money" theme music is by Joel Goodman, www.joelgoodman.com.

Happy middle of April! Before you know it we’ll be celebrating Memorial Day :)

This week we have a couple calls in hour one as well as a handful of emails.

The first call is a conversation about company stock and just how much is too much to be keeping in your portfolio.

The second call is about a whole life policy and whether or not the caller, a single guy in his 30s, should keep or ditch it.

In hour two, no time like the present to start thinking about that side hustle you've always dreamed about. If a global pandemic doesn't get you motivated, I'm not sure what will.

Do you have to be an “entrepreneur,” replete with a big, fat business plan in hand, to make a little extra cash on the side?

What if I told you that in 27 days you can come up with an idea, implement it, and potentially start making some extra income on the side?

That is what you call a side hustle, which also happens to be the title of a book from Chris Guillebeau, who's nice enough to join us this weekend.

While the thought of quitting your day job to pursue a business of your own may be intoxicating and even escapist, it may also be a bit unrealistic. Most of us can’t just up and quit a job that delivers a regular paycheck and benefits, to boot.

But what if you could quickly and easily create an additional stream of income without giving up the security of a full-time job? Enter Chris and the side hustle.

Have a money question? Email me here.

"Jill on Money" theme music is by Joel Goodman, www.joelgoodman.com.

No guest this week, just a bunch of emails and a couple callers.

Before the month is out, we’ll be joined again by Brent Weiss from Facet Wealth as we talk some FinLit, an always appropriate topic, but even more so in April as it’s National Financial Literacy Month.

For our first call, there’s nothing like planning for retirement as a young couple with half a million dollars in outstanding student loan debt. You know what's even crazier? I'm kind of okay with it!

For our second call in hour two, we hear why the magic of compound interest is a beautiful thing to watch. Start early, stay consistent, and voila, you end up with a boatload of money come retirement.

Have a money question? Email me here.

"Jill on Money" theme music is by Joel Goodman, www.joelgoodman.com.

Happy April!!! The light at the end of the tunnel seems to only be getting brighter and brighter as we kick of the second quarter of 2021.

The real estate market is busy, busy, busy, so it’s only appropriate that our first call this week is related to investment property.

After that we help out a young couple trying to figure out what the financial priority should be. Overall they’re in pretty good shape, just need to clean a few things up.

In hour two I'm so excited to welcome back Cal Newport to the show, who joins us to talk about his latest book, A World Without Email: Reimagining Work in an Age of Communication Overload.

Modern knowledge workers communicate constantly. Their days are defined by a relentless barrage of incoming messages and back-and-forth digital conversations, a state of constant, anxious chatter in which nobody can disconnect, and so nobody has the cognitive bandwidth to perform substantive work.

There was a time when tools like email felt cutting edge, but a thorough review of current evidence reveals that the "hyperactive hive mind" workflow they helped create has become a productivity disaster, reducing profitability and perhaps even slowing overall economic growth.

Equally worrisome, it makes us miserable. Humans are simply not wired for constant digital communication.

We have become so used to an inbox-driven workday that it's hard to imagine alternatives.

But they do exist.

Have a money question? Email me here.

"Jill on Money" theme music is by Joel Goodman, www.joelgoodman.com.

What’s the best strategy when considering to convert a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA? That’s the gist of our chat with Matt midway through hour one. And you’ll also hear why he’s incredibly grateful just to be able to ask the question.

Mixed in around the call we have more of the usual emails.

Today we think statistics are the enemy, numbers used to mislead and confuse us. 

Our guest in hour two, Tim Harford, says that's a mistake. 

In his latest book, The Data Detective, Harford says we shouldn’t be suspicious of statistics, we need to understand what they mean and how they can improve our lives: they are, at heart, human behavior seen through the prism of numbers and are often “the only way of grasping much of what is going on around us.” 

If we can toss aside our fears and learn to approach them clearly, understanding how our own preconceptions lead us astray, statistics can point to ways we can live better and work smarter.

Have a money question? Email me here.

"Jill on Money" theme music is by Joel Goodman, www.joelgoodman.com.

Spring is officially here!

And with it comes a beaming light at the end of a long, dark tunnel. Thank goodness!

That said, let’s not forget about all those who’ve been impacted by the pandemic, even though some are certainly doing better than others, as you’ll hear with our caller and emails.

In hour two we’re once again joined by Brent Weiss, co-founder and Head of Planning at Facet Wealth, the Jill on Money sponsor for 2021.

Spring can only mean one thing, peak season for the real estate market.

Brent joined us to talk about all the things that go into making a home purchase, as well as credit scores, which play a huge factor in determining what kind of interest rate you get.

As a reminder, if you’re interested, Facet Wealth is a financial service firm that believes in achieving your financial goals with a dedicated CFP® at an affordable price.

Whether it’s retirement planning, education planning, asset management, insurance or estate planning, Facet wants to show you what is possible with the next generation of financial life management.

Have a money question? Email me here.

"Jill on Money" theme music is by Joel Goodman, www.joelgoodman.com.

I know the whole goal of this program is to take the mystery out of your finances, but sometimes it’s easier said than done, especially when you’re dealing with a non-traditional situation, and that’s the case with our caller this week.

But don’t worry, we address plenty of traditional situations by answering a bunch of your emails!

Stimulus payments have been a critical lifeline for many Americans during the coronavirus crisis. But what if you didn’t receive the full amount due to life changes such as a new baby or lower income? Thankfully there’s a way to solve this, in the form of a recovery rebate credit.

The recovery rebate and your stimulus payments are actually one in the same. It’s just that the recovery rebate credit is paid as part of filing your return.

Joining us this week to help make sense of it all is Kathy Pickering, the chief tax officer at H&R Block.

Have a money question? Email me here.

"Jill on Money" theme music is by Joel Goodman, www.joelgoodman.com.

Happy March!

We get a lot of hate mail when we have people on the air who have money. As if we’re not supposed to talk to such individuals? It’s a completely absurd thought process.

Whether you have a lot of money or a little, nobody is immune to financial missteps along the way. Hence our caller in hour one.

In hour two we're joined by Ilir Sela, founder and CEO of Slice.

Since 2010, Slice, the easiest way to order pizza online, has been all about connecting hungry customers with the great pizza restaurants around them.

Today, more people than ever are experiencing the benefits of the free and easy Slice ordering applications with access to thousands of independent pizza menus.

For hungry customers it provides a quick and easy way to place orders with the best local pizza restaurants. For pizza restaurants it provides an effortless and complete online ordering solution, fully interactive menu and marketing services to attract new customers.

Enjoy!

Have a money question? Email me here.

"Jill on Money" theme music is by Joel Goodman, www.joelgoodman.com.

Adding a baby to the mix sure seems like a good enough reason to call Aunt Jill and get a status check on your current financial situation. All I’m going to say is that with a new baby, the estate planning better be taken care of!

As is the norm, we’ll also be answering a handful of emails in hour one, this the last show of February! And so begins the beginning of the end of Q1. Got it?

In hour two we’re doing a deep dive on bitcoin. This ran recently on the podcast but we figured we better run it right away on the radio show before bitcoin either tanks or hits 100k.

So we're joined once again by Dan Roberts, senior writer at Yahoo Finance and a total crypto geek who has been covering the wild ride from the beginning.  

Bitcoin (BTC) started 2020 at $7,200. It ended the year at nearly $30,000, up 296%.

The surge continued full-steam into 2021. It took bitcoin 10 years in existence to reach $20,000 on most exchanges, on Dec. 15. 

Then it took just 17 days to reach $30,000.Bitcoin broke through $30,000 for the first time on Jan. 2, then climbed to $32,000 just hours later. On Jan. 5, it broke $35,000, and on Jan. 7, it hit $40,000. Now it seems to be hitting $50,000 or higher on a regular basis.

Crazy, right? Before you decide to dip your toes in the bitcoin waters, please do yourself a favor and first listen to this episode with Dan.

Have a money question? Email me here.

"Jill on Money" theme music is by Joel Goodman, www.joelgoodman.com.

Semi-retired and looking to buy a new house. The big question is whether or not to take out a mortgage or pay cash? That’s the gist of our call this week as we chat with Ryan from Seattle.

The rest of hour one was trying to clean out the inbox. Haha, yeah right. We’ve got thousands of emails, and all I can say folks is that we’re doing the best we can.

What could be more basic than preparing your taxes? After a tumultuous 2020, tax season is officially open, a few weeks later than years in the past. The deadline to file and pay any tax owed reverts to April 15th, after last year’s COVID-19 related extension.

By now, you should have received most of your tax preparation documents (W-2s, 1099s, as well as bank, investment, mutual fund and mortgage company documents).

If you didn’t learn the lesson of electronic filing last year, this is the year to dump the paper. After all, those who had electronic files with the IRS got those stimulus checks faster than those who had to wait weeks and sometimes months for their money.

Additionally, be sure to choose direct deposit, which is “the safest, most accurate and fastest way to get a refund,” according to the IRS.

Because of all the various changes that went into effect last year as the pandemic unfolded, this tax season could be a tricky one.

To help us break it down, we're joined by the one and only Ed Slott, the ultimate tax guru and founder of IRA Help.

Have a money question? Email me here.

"Jill on Money" theme music is by Joel Goodman, www.joelgoodman.com.

Welp, so much for my Super Bowl prediction! I suppose I should stay in my lane and focus on what I do best, helping you guys navigate your financial lives.

We start this week by answering a handful of emails and then taking a call from Margaret, a recent widow.

Dealing with a loss is hard enough, then mix in trying to navigate the finances, and things can quickly become too much to handle.

In hour two we’re once again joined by Brent Weiss, co-founder and Head of Planning at Facet Wealth, the Jill on Money sponsor for 2021.

Since it’s Valentine’s Day weekend, we figured it was a good time to bring Brent back on and chat about all things love and money :)

As a reminder, if you’re interested, Facet Wealth is a financial service firm that believes in achieving your financial goals with a dedicated CFP® at an affordable price.

Whether it’s retirement planning, education planning, asset management, insurance or estate planning, Facet wants to show you what is possible with the next generation of financial life management.

Have a money question? Email me here.

"Jill on Money" theme music is by Joel Goodman, www.joelgoodman.com.

Happy Super Bowl weekend! Let’s go Chiefs, in with the young, out with the old :)

We start the show with Vicky from New England who’s wondering if she’s being charged too much by her financial advisor. And did she get suckered into purchasing a needless insurance policy?

We finish up the hour by answering a few emails.

GameStop has been all the rage lately, but I really think it’s a story that goes beyond finance and into tech.

And when the worlds of finance and tech collide, my man, Jeff Bakalar, is my go to source! (And I'm his go to source, which is why he had me on his CNET show to help explain the concept of short selling. You can check it out here.)

You've heard Jeff on the pod before, but in case you've forgotten, Jeff is the editor-at-large at CNET, and a total tech geek who's with us this weekend to help explain what in the world happened this week with GameStop and Reddit.

GameStop, the brick-and-mortar video game seller that many presumed was destined to the dustbin of retailers, started to attract enormous interest from individual investors on Reddit, a message board where community members create content, submit links, and comment on specific topics (subreddits).

The GameStop believers touted the upside as early as mid-2019, after Michael Burry (the guy featured in “The Big Short,” who bet against the housing market in the mid-2000’s) had amassed a big position in the company. The chatter continued into 2020, when GameStop was trading at about $4/share.

GameStop saw the culmination of the mother of all short squeezes on January 27th, when the stock soared by more than 130 percent to nearly $350/share, almost ten times the value from the prior week and putting its year-to-date return at 900 percent.

And remember folks, those who are investing in volatile stocks like GameStop should be prepared for a wild ride, and should only risk what they can afford to lose. 

Have a money question? Email me here.

"Jill on Money" theme music is by Joel Goodman, www.joelgoodman.com.

Just like last week, no guest in hour two this week. A few segments of calls and a few segments of answering emails. The old school approach continues for at least another week :) Reminds me of when we started this little adventure back in 2011!

First up is Jason from DC who’s wondering if he can afford to make a career change, as well as mix in a bit of international travel, all during a pandemic.

Then we chatted with Tony from Buffalo who had a few mortgage/real estate related questions as he and his wife plan out their future dream home.

Nothing like helping settle a friendly, sisterly debate about who’s right when it comes to using a Roth IRA. One sister says yes, Roth all the way! The other says not so fast, I think pre-tax is the way to go. Is there a winner?

Have a money question? Email me here.

"Jill on Money" theme music is by Joel Goodman, www.joelgoodman.com.

This week it’s a throw back of sorts, back to when we used to take a bunch of callers every week. So no guest this week, instead we’re giving you a few calls and a slew of emails.

The first call was from Anthony in Arkansas who’s wondering if he’s actually saving too much for retirement. Is there such a thing?

Next was Kelly in North Carolina, also with a retirement question. Only in his 20s, Kelly is looking to do everything he can now to ensure that he has plenty of options down the road.

We started hour two with Joan who was wondering if there’s a best way to handle RMDs. Turns out we also learned that Joan is using way too many funds in her retirement accounts.

As I always like to say, when it comes to investing, less is usually more.

Have a money question? Email me here.

"Jill on Money" theme music is by Joel Goodman, www.joelgoodman.com.

Happy MLK Day weekend! I hope most of you are off on Monday and can enjoy the holiday, and can also stay up late on Sunday watching some NFL playoff action!

This week we have a fresh batch of emails as well as the latest infuriating call from somebody being pitched an insurance product.

It's a new year which usually means a lot of resolutions as people try to shake things up in their lives, whether it's a diet or a new career.

In hour two we have somebody who embodies fitness as well as an interesting career path.

Her name is Christine D'Ercole, and if you're a Peloton fanatic like me, then you're certainly familiar with her.

As a Senior Instructor at Peloton, her classes are grounded in the science of cycling and the power of words. Her unique style of mindful motivation inspires members of the Peloton community, reaching thousands of devoted riders every day.

And when she's not on the bike, Christine is a public speaker whose work is rooted in self-talk. Her WORDSHOPS© are workshops for editing our self-talk into the story we want our lives to tell. Her catalog of wordshops span topics from body image to addiction and loss to corporate cultural growth and team building.

Have a money question? Email me here.

"Jill on Money" theme music is by Joel Goodman, www.joelgoodman.com.

Back in the saddle as we have our first new show of 2021, and it comes on the 10th anniversary of the Jill on Money radio show.

It was January of 2011 when Mark and I began this little passion project, doing it when we could squeeze in the extra time.

I think when we started Mark was working overnights at CBS News, now he pretty much makes his own schedule and plays Mr. Daddy, my how things have changed!

On to the show with a fresh batch of questions and a caller in hour one.

In hour two we’re joined by Brent Weiss, co-founder and Head of Planning at Facet Wealth, a new Jill on Money sponsor for 2021.

Facet Wealth is a financial service firm that believes in achieving your financial goals with a dedicated CFP® at an affordable price.

How many times have we all said “I can’t wait to retire?” But for many of us, when we really think about taking that next big step, all of a sudden we’ve got real legitimate questions, like how do I know when I’m ready? Or how will I pay for health coverage and when should I take Social Security?

The folks at Facet Wealth strive to provide the answers.

Whether it’s retirement planning, education planning, asset management, insurance or estate planning, Facet wants to show you what is possible with the next generation of financial life management.

Have a money question? Email me here.

"Jill on Money" theme music is by Joel Goodman, www.joelgoodman.com.

One more week off for us as we kick this dumpster fire of a year to the curb and ring in the new year! We’ve got a tough stretch ahead of us, but hopefully things start looking better on the “back nine” of 2021.

First up this week is the one and only Scott Galloway.

The COVID-19 outbreak has turned bedrooms into offices, pitted young against old, and widened the gaps between rich and poor, red and blue, the mask wearers and the mask haters. 

Some businesses, like home exercise company Peloton, video conference software maker Zoom, and Amazon, woke up to find themselves crushed under an avalanche of consumer demand. 

Others, like the restaurant, travel, hospitality, and live entertainment industries, scrambled to escape obliteration.

But as Galloway argues, the pandemic has not been a change agent so much as an accelerant of trends already well underway. In his latest book, Post Corona, he outlines the contours of the crisis and the opportunities that lie ahead.

Hour two is another business school professor.

How do you find a competitive edge when the obstacles feel insurmountable? How do you get people to take you seriously when they're predisposed not to, and perhaps have already written you off?

Laura Huang has come up against that problem many times, and so has anyone who's ever felt out of place or underestimated. 

Many of us sit back quietly, hoping that our hard work and effort will speak for itself. Or we try to force ourselves into the mold of who we think is "successful," stifling the creativity and charm that makes us unique and memorable.

In her recent book, Edge: Turning Adversity into Advantage, Huang offers a different approach. 

She argues that success is rarely just about the quality of our ideas, credentials, and skills, or our effort. Instead, achieving success hinges on how well we shape others' perceptions, of our strengths, certainly, but also our flaws. 

It's about creating our own edge by confronting the factors that seem like shortcomings and turning them into assets that make others take notice.

Have a money question? Email me here.

"Jill on Money" theme music is by Joel Goodman, www.joelgoodman.com.

Merry, merry, merry, whatever it is you’re celebrating this weekend!

We’re taking a couple weeks off so we can recharge after basically going non-stop since March, so no questions this weekend, just a few interviews.

What do you do when you're faced with a big decision? If you're like most people, you probably make a pro and con list, spend a lot of time obsessing about decisions that didn't work out, get caught in analysis paralysis, endlessly seek other people's opinions to find just that little bit of extra information that might make you sure, and finally go with your gut.

What if there was a better way to make quality decisions so you can think clearly, feel more confident, second-guess yourself less, and ultimately be more decisive and be more productive?

That's the gist of our recent conversation with Annie Duke, author of How to Decide: Simple Tools for Making Better Choices.

In hour two we’ve got a couple in-studio interviews we conducted just days before the pandemic hit.

In Don’t Be Evil, Financial Times global business columnist Rana Foroohar tells the story of how Big Tech lost its soul, and ate our lunch.

“Don’t be evil” was enshrined as Google’s original corporate mantra back in its early days, when the company’s cheerful logo still conveyed the utopian vision for a future in which technology would inevitably make the world better, safer, and more prosperous.

Unfortunately, it’s been quite a while since Google, or the majority of the Big Tech companies, lived up to this founding philosophy. 

Next up is Robin Dreeke.

After two decades as a behavior analyst in the FBI, Dreeke knows a thing or two about sizing people up. He's navigated complex situations that range from handling Russian spies to navigating the internal politics at the Bureau. 

Through that experience, he was forced to develop a knack for reading people, their intentions, their capabilities, their desires and their fears.

In Sizing People Up, Dreeke shares his simple, six-step system that helps you predict anyone's future behavior based on their words, goals, patterns of action, and the situation at hand.

Have a money question? Email me here.

"Jill on Money" theme music is by Joel Goodman, www.joelgoodman.com.

Here we are, the second to last weekend of 2020. Thank goodness!

After this week, the next couple shows will consist of some interviews as we try to take a brief break and recharge for 2021.

But we’ve got one more show where it’s the usual emails and caller in hour one, so let’s get started.

What would a wacky financial year be without some year-end money moves?!

Due to COVID-19, 2020 saw a lot of changes that will only apply to the current tax year, so there's a lot to unpack.

For such an occasion there's no better person than Michael Goodman from Wealthstream Advisors. And in the interest of full disclosure, not only is Michael a good friend of mine, he's also my advisor.

Have a money question? Email me here.

"Jill on Money" theme music is by Joel Goodman, www.joelgoodman.com.

Just a couple weeks to go before the big day, so I hope you’ve got all your shopping done!

Our to-do list this weekend consists of answering your emails and talking to one of you guys.

Next weekend on the show we’ll have some last minute year-end money tips, so make sure to check it out.

Another pre-pandemic interview for you this weekend, and I think we’ve still got a few more that never aired, so expect to hear those in the coming weeks.

While most self-help books offer quick fixes, Everything is Figureoutable by Marie Forleo will retrain your brain to think more creatively and positively in the face of setbacks. 

If you're having trouble solving a problem or reaching a dream, the problem isn't you. It's that you haven't yet installed the one belief that changes everything.

Marie's mom once told her, "Nothing in life is that complicated. You can do whatever you set your mind to if you roll up your sleeves. Everything is figureoutable."

It's more than just a fun phrase to say. It's a philosophy of relentless optimism. A mindset. A mantra. A conviction.

Have a money question? Email me here.

"Jill on Money" theme music is by Joel Goodman, www.joelgoodman.com.