With a ton of money in savings, there’s no doubt you can retire, yet that doesn’t mean there’s not a bunch of moving parts that need to be addressed.

Wrapped around the call we also do a handful of emails.

The cost of college makes for frightening headlines. The outstanding balance of student loans is more than $1.5 trillion nationally, while tuition continues to rise. And on the heels of a pandemic that nearly dismantled the traditional college experience, we have to wonder: Is college really worth it?

To help answer that question, we're joined this weekend by economist Beth Akers, whose recent book, Making College Pay: An Economist Explains How to Make a Smart Bet on Higher Education, shows how to improve your odds by making smart choices about where to enroll, what to study, and how to pay for it

It’s true that college is expensive, but once we see higher education for what it is, an investment in future opportunities, job security, and earnings, a different picture emerges: The average college graduate earns an additional million dollars over their career (compared to those who stopped their education after high school), and on average, two- and four-year schools deliver a 15 percent return on investment, double that of the stock market.

Yet these outcomes are not guaranteed. Rather, they hinge upon where and how you opt to invest your tuition dollars. 

Simply put, the real problem with college isn’t the cost, it’s the risk that your investment might not pay off.

Have a money question? Email me here.

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

My husband is 53 and I’m 49, can we retire in four years and start traveling? That’s how we start the latest episode of Jill on Money! I mean, after the last crazy stretch, who doesn’t want to daydream about some travel?

Our second conversation in hour one concerns extra cash flow. After paying off a boat load of student loans, what should you be doing with all the extra money?

We kick off hour two talking about the crazy housing market with Ryan from Los Angeles who’s looking to make the jump cross country to Florida.

For our final chat of the show, we do some financial planning for a couple about to tie the knot.

Have a money question? Email me here.

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

Whether you make a lot of money or a little, no one is immune when it comes to racking up significant credit card debt.

That’s why we’re spending nearly the whole first hour talking to a listener who earns a good income, yet finds himself in a serious hole. It’s a fascinating conversation that will likely resonate with many others.

We start off hour two with a listener in his 60s who wants to know if he and his wife are on track for retirement in the not too distant future.

Our last chat of the show is with another listener wanting to know if they’re on track, except this caller is in his 30s.

Have a money question? Email me here.

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

Welcome to the dog days of summer and welcome to week one of my vacation :)

Don’t worry, even though I’m on the beach, we’ve still got a jam packed show for you guys, including some conversations in hour one about saving less money and the FINE movement, financial independence, next endeavor.

Hour two features some financial planning for a young couple just starting out as well as some coaching for a more established investor who’s concerned about putting more money into the market given the current conditions.

Have a money question? Email me here.

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

We kick off the show this weekend talking about paying down a mortgage. You guys know that’s usually not my recommendation, but in this situation, it may actually make sense.

Next up is some overall retirement planning for a couple in their 50s. Are they on track given their current trajectory or should they be making some adjustments?

In hour two we're trying to help kids get smart about money.

To help us with our task, we're joined by Susan Beacham, co-founder and CEO of Money Savvy Generation.

Money Savvy Generation develops innovative products to help parents, educators and others teach kids the skills of basic personal finance. The company strives to empower kids to take control of their financial lives and, in turn, their futures.

Have a money question? Email me here.

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

With more and more employers offering a Roth option, we’ve been getting a lot of questions about which makes more sense, the Roth or pre-tax option?

Are we in good shape for retirement? That’s another very popular question this year. In this particular case, the couple is eager to call it quits and do some traveling.

We also mixed in another call and some emails to wrap up the first hour.

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

This time around we’re talking about all things insurance, including term life insurance, long term care policies, and disability coverage, especially for all the freelancers out there.

Have a money question? Email me here.

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

This weekend we’ve got a bunch of callers in both hours, so no second hour guest this week.

We start the show with a young couple wondering what they should be doing now that they’ve got a bit of leftover money each month.

Our second call of the hour is also related to having extra money and how to use it. Pay off debt or save it?

If you know you’re going to have a big, fat pension, does that give you permission to be very aggressive with your investment portfolio? That’s how we start off hour two.

For the second call of hour two, we’re chatting with somebody who’s 60 years old and semi-retired and wondering if he’s on the right track.

Have a money question? Email me here.

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

Quite the call in hour one this week as we chat with Brian from New York whose wife wants to call it quits at 40. Brian is not on board with this idea, hence the call to Aunt Jill, who’s more than happy to play the role of chief mediator.

We pile on “to-dos” but don’t consider “stop-doings”. We create incentives for good behavior, but don’t get rid of obstacles to it. We collect new-and-improved ideas, but don’t prune the outdated ones. Every day, across challenges big and small, we neglect a basic way to make things better: We don’t subtract.

Leidy Klotz, our guest this weekend and author of the recently released book, Subtract: The Untapped Science of Less, has plenty of research that shows why. 

Whether we’re building Lego models or cities, grilled-cheese sandwiches or strategic plans, our minds tend to add before taking away. Even when we do think of it, subtraction can be harder to pull off because an array of biological, cultural, and economic forces push us toward more. 

But we have a choice, our blind spot need not go on taking its toll on our cities, our institutions, and our minds. By diagnosing our neglect of subtraction, we can treat it.

Have a money question? Email me here.

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

Happy middle of July! After a week off, we’re back in the saddle, but don’t worry, there’s plenty more vacation in the not too distant future :)

If you’re a regular listener, you guys know I’m not a fan of paying off the mortgage early, and that’s why my chat with our first caller this weekend may surprise you a bit.

Our second caller was James in the Bay Area who’s wondering if he can retire at 62 along with some general questions about post-retirement tax strategies.

In hour two we're joined by Richard Montañez, whose book, Flamin' Hot: The Incredible True Story of One Man's Rise from Janitor to Top Executive, tells the story of a man who made a science out of walking through closed doors.

Having taken a job mopping floors at Frito-Lay's California factory to support his family, Montañez took his future into his own hands and created the world’s hottest snack food: Flamin’ Hot Cheetos.

This bold move not only disrupted the food industry with some much-needed spice, but also shook up a corporate culture in which everyone stayed in their lane.

Through creative thinking, community building, and a few powerful mindset shifts, he outsmarted the naysayers who tried to get in his way, proving that you can break out of your career rut and that your present circumstances don't have to dictate your future.

Have a money question? Email me here.

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

This weekend the Jill on Money team (Jill and Mark!) is on vacation, so it’s a hybrid kind of show.

We did mix in some new emails in both hours, including a question about whether or not it makes sense to find a financial advisor, or are you better off going it alone?

We’re also going to be bringing you interviews in both hours, starting with something quite appropriate for the summertime party scene!

If your plan is to order a few pizza pies for a party this summer, finish listening to this show first, as 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.

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

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.

Happy Independence Day weekend! Six months in the books, six more to go.

Speaking of independence, we have yet another caller looking to break free from the ball and chain that is his job. In this case, our 48 year old caller is looking to call it quits at 55. Can he make this dream a reality?

Because we're halfway through 2021 it’s time for a little "State of the Economy" with our favorite numbers cruncher and overall badass, Diane Swonk, chief economist at Grant Thornton. 

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) unanimously voted to keep short-term interest rates unchanged and the pace of asset purchases at $120 billion per month. The statement following the June meeting was much more upbeat about the progress of vaccinations and the economy.

The bottom line is that Fed Chairman Jerome Powell tried to reassure the public and financial markets that the Fed will not allow inflation to get out of control. The Fed’s own forecast, or “dot plot” as it is called, showed a substantial move up in the timing of rate hikes. The problem for financial markets is that inflation and rate hikes are always unwelcome.

Have a money question? Email me here.

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

Happy last weekend of June! Hard to believe we’re officially halfway done with 2021.

We kick off the final show of the month by answering a bunch of emails and then talking to one of you guys. No surprise the call was about early retirement. I think that has officially become the most popular topic, at least in the first half of 2021.

Award-winning Wharton Professor Katy Milkman has devoted her career to the study of behavior change, and this weekend in hour two she joins us to discuss her recently released book, How to Change: The Science of Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be.

Change comes most readily when you understand what's standing between you and success and tailor your solution to that roadblock. If you want to work out more but find exercise difficult and boring, downloading a goal-setting app probably won't help.

But what if, instead, you transformed your workouts so they became a source of pleasure instead of a chore? Turning an uphill battle into a downhill one is the key to success.

Drawing on Milkman's original research and the work of her world-renowned scientific collaborators, How to Change shares strategic methods for identifying and overcoming common barriers to change, such as impulsivity, procrastination, and forgetfulness.

Whether you're a manager, coach, or teacher aiming to help others change for the better or are struggling to kick-start change yourself, How to Change offers an invaluable, science-based blueprint for achieving your goals, once and for all.

Have a money question? Email me here.

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

With things around the country starting to resemble something normal, many employers are calling workers back into the office, and after many months of working from home, many aren't so eager to go back, including our first caller.

For our second call we do some short and long-term planning with a couple in their 30s who are about to welcome their second child.

Our guest in hour two, Dorothy A. Brown, became a tax lawyer to get away from race. As a young black girl growing up in the South Bronx, she’d seen how racism limited the lives of her family and neighbors. 

Her law school classes offered a refreshing contrast: Tax law was about numbers, and the only color that mattered was green. But when Brown sat down to prepare tax returns for her parents, she found something strange: James and Dottie Brown, a plumber and a nurse, seemed to be paying an unusually high percentage of their income in taxes. When Brown became a law professor, she set out to understand why.

In her recently released book, The Whiteness of Wealth, Brown draws on decades of cross-disciplinary research to show that tax law isn’t as color-blind as she’d once believed. 

She takes us into her adopted city of Atlanta, introducing us to families across the economic spectrum whose stories demonstrate how American tax law rewards the preferences and practices of white people while pushing black people further behind.

From attending college to getting married to buying a home, black Americans find themselves at a financial disadvantage compared to their white peers.

The results are an ever-increasing wealth gap and more black families shut out of the American dream.

Have a money question? Email me here.

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

With an extra $1500 or so each month, where should that money be going? Sounds like a simple question, right? As you’ll hear in my conversation with our caller, things always get a bit more interesting when you actually join me on the show.

More of the usual in hour one as we mix in a handful of emails around the caller.

In the second hour we're joined by Ellen Bennett, author of Dream First, Details Later: How to Quit Overthinking & Make It Happen!

As a 24-year-old line cook, Ellen Marie Bennett couldn't stand the kitchen staff’s poorly designed, cheaply made aprons. So when her head chef announced he was ordering a new batch, she blurted out, “Chef, I have an apron company” even though she had no company, no business plan, just a glimmer of a design idea and a business license. 

Through hustle and a willingness to leap into the unknown, time and time again, she built that first order into a multi-million-dollar company called Hedley & Bennett, making aprons and kitchen gear worn by many of the world’s best chefs and home cooks everywhere.

Dream First, Details Later shares Ellen's journey and her forged-in-the-fire personal playbook for starting before you stop yourself. If you've ever imagined doing something and immediately thought, "that's impossible," or "I wouldn't even know where to start," or "I'm not qualified to do that," in these pages, you'll learn how to shove aside your inner worrier and launch into action. 

This honest and bold illustrated book will be like having Ellen, your personal hype woman, there with you, all the while yelling, "Don't stop! You got this!"

Have a money question? Email me here.

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

Let’s kick off the first weekend of June with a very common question. Can I retire early? In this case, it’s a 43 year old who is currently socking away a ton of money in hopes of retiring at 58, or at least being able to slow down and have more options. Is it doable?

I am often asked about the best retirement plan options for entrepreneurs and sole proprietors.

There's a lot of choices out there, and it's not always so easy to determine which plan makes the most sense, that's why in hour two we're glad to welcome back Michael Goodman for a little small business bootcamp!

As the president of Wealthstream Advisors in New York City, Michael knows firsthand what it's like to run a small business.

We'll touch on a variety of topics, including which retirement plan is the best choice for your situation.

Among the options discussed:

• Individual Retirement Account (IRA): You can choose a traditional IRA, where you pay taxes in the future or a Roth, where you pay taxes today.

• Simplified Employee Pension (SEP-IRA): This is a good option for those who have up to 25 employees and want to offer a retirement benefit that is easy to operate.

• Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees (SIMPLE IRA Plan): SIMPLE plans were aimed at slightly larger small business owners (usually up to 100 employees), who wanted to provide employees a way to save for retirement.

• Solo 401(k) plan: Alternatively referred to as an “individual 401(k)” or “uni-401(k),” this plan is geared to small business owners who have no employees (other than a spouse) and have the capacity to sock away a lot of dough.

Have a money question? Email me here.

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

Happy Memorial Day weekend! Can you believe it? Five months already in the books! Who knows what the next seven will bring, but one thing I do know, we’ll still be here answering your questions.

Here’s what I like to call a good problem to have. A few thousand extra dollars each month and you’re not quite sure what you should be doing with the surplus cash. That’s the conversation with our caller in the first hour.

Happy 529 Day, a day when states try to boost interest and participation in 529 education savings programs with various incentives.

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

With Brent in the co-pilot chair, we touched on several topics, including:

What is a 529? A tax-advantaged savings plan designed to encourage saving for future education costs. 529 plans are sponsored by states, state agencies, or educational institutions and are authorized by Section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code.

What’s the tax benefit of a 529 plan? Withdrawals for qualified higher education expenses and earnings in the account are not subject to federal income tax and, in most cases, state income tax. Additionally, some states offer residents of the state specific incentives, like the ability to deduct contributions from state income tax or a matching grant.

What does a 529 plan cost? Fees and expenses vary widely from plan to plan and can include start-up fees, maintenance fees, or sales charges. In general, advisor-sold plans cost more than direct-sold plans.

What happens if my kid doesn’t go to college? Most states allow you to tap the accounts for other children in the family or even for the parents. Those withdrawals that are not used for qualified higher education expenses will be subject to state and federal income taxes and an additional 10 percent federal tax penalty on earnings.

Are 529 plans only for college? Americans can now withdraw funds tax-free from 529 plans to pay for K-12 tuition and other eligible expenses at private and religious schools, up to $10,000 per year. But there’s a caveat: Not all states will conform to the new federal rules. That means before you pull money, be sure to double check with your state.

Have a money question? Email me here.

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

One week away from Memorial Day weekend. Hard to believe, right?

Speaking of time passing by, getting to retirement can often seem like it’ll take forever. But once you’re there, many questions can often pop up, such as whether or not it makes sense to start doing Roth conversions or which retirement accounts to tap first. That’s the gist of our call in hour one.

In hour two it’s time for a deep dive on the spring housing market.

Joining us this weekend is Maria Fregosi, the Chief Investment Officer at Homepoint Financial.

Where is the housing market going next? Despite the fact that we are coming to the end of the pandemic with accelerated vaccinations, many companies have announced that employees working from home may continue to do so permanently. 

That may allow some to seek out more affordable areas like Austin, Charlotte, Miami, and Nashville. 

Some smaller cities have launched cash initiatives, home buying allowances, tax credits and money toward local goods and services to induce pandemic movers to relocate there. 

If you are in the market to buy, you will need to run the basic numbers, including mortgage principal and interest, homeowners' insurance, and taxes. Add a line item for upkeep and maintenance, depending on the age of the house and its condition, factor in 1-3 percent of the purchase price annually. 

And for the transaction itself, don’t forget about closing costs, which averaged more than $6,000 last year. It’s easy to gloss over things like mortgage loan application and appraisal fees, the title search and insurance, as well as legal and recording fees, because they seem to be built into the legal process, but you should ask for discounts along the way to see if you can push them down.

Finally, even if the numbers appear to work, consider whether buying could preclude you from addressing other important financial issues in your life, like paying down student loans or saving for retirement. Just because a lender will fork over the dough, doesn't mean you should take it.

Have a money question? Email me here.

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

Whew, a pretty rough week on Wall Street, eh? Hopefully everybody stayed calm and carried on :)

Hour one this week is the usual mix of calls and emails.

Nothing like a fresh divorce to cause you to re-evaluate your financial situation. Hey, at least our caller cut her losses while she’s still young, so it’s really more of a celebration.

In hour two, we're calling all recent college graduates!

You've landed a job. Now what?

To help answer that question, we're joined this weekend by Gorick Ng, author of The Unspoken Rules: Secrets to Starting Your Career Off Right.

No one tells you how to navigate your first day in a new role. No one tells you how to take ownership, manage expectations, or handle workplace politics. No one tells you how to get promoted.

The answers to these professional unknowns lie in the unspoken rules, the certain ways of doing things that managers expect but don't explain and that top performers do but don't realize.

The problem is, these rules aren't taught in school. Instead, they get passed down over dinner or from mentor to mentee, making for an unlevel playing field, with the insiders getting ahead and the outsiders stumbling along through trial and error.

Until now.

Have a money question? Email me here.

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

Happy Mother’s Day weekend!

What better way to celebrate than with a story about hitting the crypto jackpot?!

The good news is that our first caller hit the crypto jackpot at the ripe young age of 40! The bad news is that his portfolio is now completely out of whack. What to do, what to do??

No guest this week in hour two. Instead we mixed in another call and then answered a handful of emails.

We’ve given up on trying to clear out the inbox. We’re just going to do the best we can. What I like to call a good problem to have.

Have a money question? Email me here.

Please leave us a rating or review in Apple Podcasts.

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

Surprise, surprise, both our callers in hour one have Roth related questions.

Honest to goodness, anything related to Roth money is by far the most popular question we receive.

Should you be using your traditional 401(k) at work or should you be using the Roth 401(k)?

Should you be doing backdoor Roth conversions?

You get the point. We’ll also mix in the usual handful of other retirement related questions.

Risk: success requires risk, risk that stands firmly on the platform of integrity.

Reward: integrity inspires reward, generosity toward those who helped you succeed.

Repeat: generosity fuels repetition, helping others to forge their own way forward.

These are the lifelong tenets of Eric Gleacher, the Marine Corps officer and investment banker who, along with a handful of others, dominated the Mergers & Acquisitions industry in the latter half of the twentieth century and transformed the face of American business.

He also happens to be our guest this week in hour two to discuss his recently released book, Risk. Reward. Repeat.: How I Succeeded and How You Can Too.

Risk. Reward. Repeat. chronicles his compelling journey: from a profoundly isolated childhood to the hardcore leadership lessons of the Marine Corps, to Lehman Brothers and Morgan Stanley, to his own firm, going toe-to-toe with the giants of Wall Street.

Gleacher's book puts today's culture of hype, tricks, and life-hacks to shame with its simple, timeless formula: be yourself, tell the truth, lead by example, do your best, own your mistakes, work hard, take risks, earn your success, and pay it forward.

Have a money question? Email me here.

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