Catching the Coin

Tim and Troy briefly reflect upon the past 50 weeks of serving up Catching The Coin and The Lighter Side on this final episode and talk about the transition to the new podcast—Faith and Finances.   In This Episode We Look At: What we've learned and what our listeners may have learned. Re-visiting our personal favorite episodes How to find and follow us on our new podcast   One Thing You Can Do Today to Improve Your Financial World: Go and listen to our new podcast over at Faith and Finances, of course.   What Are Your Thoughts? If you have a question or comment about today's topic, we invite you to share your thoughts.

We've heard that for years people are living longer! Now we are noticing a new phenomenon of older people who actually want to keep working. Today we review an article written by Linda Marsa, posted on Nautil.us, entitled "Retiring Retirement".   In This Episode We Look At: The aging of America is not the crisis that is often portrayed in the media or even in scholarly papers. “Today’s seniors are healthier, better educated, and more productive than ever,” Richard Johnson says. “The challenge we face is finding ways to harness their talents.” There have always been people who defy society’s expectations: Jimmy Carter, 91; Bernie Sanders, 74; George H.W. Bush, 91 With medical and technological breakthroughs we can reach our older years in better health than previously expected Our own thoughts of working into our 70's and 80's. Will Troy become an astronaut? Will Tim recite poetry in a beatnik coffee shop? Tune in to find out!   Today's Resources and Links: Source Article—Retiring Retirement Older People Are Happier—Ted Talk "Unretirement: How Baby Boomers are Changing the Way We Think About Work, Community and the Good Life" by Chris Farrell [Affiliate Link]   One Thing You Can Do Today to Improve Your Financial World: While we normally advocate investing for your future, we challenge you today to invest in your health. For a healthier (and less expensive) life in your later years, combine regular exercise with responsible eating habits.   What Are Your Thoughts? If you have a question or comment about today's topic, we invite you to share your thoughts.

Rules! Who actually gets excited about following rules? Today we review 10 Money Rules that you really should be following. In This Episode We Look At: Good old standards like: Live below your means Pay yourself first Treat your retirement funding like a regular bill The how's and whys for saving to make purchases, avoiding debt, and daring to be different than the over-spending, non-saving crowd Today's Resources and Links: Source Link Richest Man in Babylon, by George Clayson [Affiliate Link] One Thing You Can Do Today to Improve Your Financial World: Pause for a moment and take a personal, financial inventory. How would you grade yourself on these 10 Rules? Which rules have you resisted or rejected? Which can you start applying to your financial world today? What Are Your Thoughts? If you have a question or comment about today's topic, we invite you to share your thoughts.

It's nostalgic to look back at the past decades and notice the outdated trends and technology that no longer exist. Yet, when it comes to financial advice; it's disturbing to learn just how many beliefs and teachings still abound that are clearly outdated. Today, we review a blogpost on TheSimpleDollar titled, "Outdated Financial Advice". In This Episode We Look At: Financial beliefs and advice that are still alive and kicking, but should be let out to pasture, like: "Depend on your husband's income" "Find a solid company and work there until you retire" "Everyone should attend college immediately after High School" "You should buy as much home as you can afford" "Always use a Debit card instead of Cash" Today's Resources and Links: Outdated Financial Advice One Thing You Can Do Today to Improve Your Financial World: Ask yourself when reading or receiving financial advice: "Is this true for my financial needs today?" What Are Your Thoughts? If you have a question or comment about today's topic, we invite you to share your thoughts.

The poverty line for a family of three is $20,090 a year. The median household income in America is $53,657. Politicians draw $250,000 as the line between the middle and upper classes. And the true starting point of real wealth remains a cool $1,000,000. Esquire magazine asked four more or less typical men, each of whom earns one of these incomes, to tell them about the lives they can afford. Tim and Troy re-enact the interviews and discuss the results… In This Episode We Look At: The benefit of having and maintaining a household budget The irony of higher earners who do not despise their income tax rates America offers a system that provides equal opportunity, not equal reward Today's Resources and Links: Esquire Article One Thing You Can Do Today to Improve Your Financial World: Take a close look at where every dollar in your household is going. Assign a budget to the controllable expenses. What Are Your Thoughts? If you have a question or comment about today's topic, we invite you to share your thoughts.

Sprichst du Deutsch? We don't sprichst German either (although we've been known to spritzen some lime into our water). Do you speak Financial Jargon? We do! We are going to explain some of the most misunderstood terms in the money realm. In This Episode We Look At: The meanings, in plain English, of such terms as: 401(k) IRA Net FICO score Unrealized Gains/Loss Today's Resources and Links: Financial Jargon Decoded Common Stock Market Jargon Explained One Thing You Can Do Today to Improve Your Financial World: Review these terms to increase your comfort level of understanding. Never hesitate to ask for clarity when speaking with a financial professional. What Are Your Thoughts? If you have a question or comment about today's topic, we invite you to share your thoughts.

Prognosticators have been making their predictions since long before we were born. What is a Prognosticator? Someone who makes predictions and forecasts. Let's take a look at that…. In This Episode We Look At: Infamous predictions of the past—that didn't happen Current financial predictions and how acting upon them can destroy your wealth Why individuals and institutions make predictions? HINT: They can profit from your fear. Today's Resources and Links: You can have a look at the downside of predictions, in the shoes of one who made a big prediction and learned to regret it: LINK One Thing You Can Do Today to Improve Your Financial World: Learn to recognize the Doom and Gloom predictions. Stay true to your planned investment strategy and remember that wealth is created by owning equities for the long term. What Are Your Thoughts? If you have a question or comment about today's topic, we invite you to share your thoughts.

Today we address a question that comes up often as Tim counsels couples- "Should we start a home-based business?"   In This Episode We Look At: What are MLMs, and why do they often carry a negative stigma? Are there legitimate MLMs and do they work? Our suggestions for those wanting to jump in   Today's Resources and Links: Top MLM Companies Best Multi-level Marketing   One Thing You Can Do Today to Improve Your Financial World: Take some time and consider products or services that you personally believe in and are excited about. Balance that with the possibility that you may earn as much, if not more money, simply picking up a part-time job in an area you enjoy.   What Are Your Thoughts? If you have a question or comment about today's topic, we invite you to share your thoughts.

"This is not your father's retirement!" Today's focus of retirement is shifting from deadline-oriented planning (retire at 65) to longevity in the workplace with more mobility (work as long as I feel productive, but on my terms).   In This Episode We Look At: Defining Traditional Retirement: With its age requirements and dependence upon Social Security and/or a pension; is it all that it's cracked up to be? Retirement Re-engineered: Less age-based and more mobility-minded: with the advent of countless remote capabilities, today's worker can earn an income while living remotely Financial fundamentals cannot be overlooked while shifting between retirement mindsets   Today's Resources and Links: Retirement methods compared   One Thing You Can Do Today to Improve Your Financial World: Do some serious soul-searching and ask yourself just how much you enjoy the current field you are working in. Would you work longer in life if you were working in a different field? Why not pursue that now?   What Are Your Thoughts? If you have a question or comment about today's topic, we invite you to share your thoughts.

Tim and I were talking about this episode and I got to thinking about an Internet meme that I saw on Facebook. It was a cute cat waiting to be petted with the caption, "I really want you to pet me, but I also kinda want to bite you." See Below, lol.   That pic really sums up the duality of our human nature in that our short-term goals normally conflict with our long-term goals. We really want to accomplish both, but they rarely intersect in practical ways without some serious lifestyle planning.   Hence the title, "Ice cream and Saving Money"; we speak about what that means on a very practical level. "I want to be healthy and fit, but I really want ice cream." "I want to financially independent in my retirement years, but I want a new car and bigger house." And of course, "I really want you to pet me, but I also kinda want to bite you."   In This Episode We Look At: Why "may the best one win" might be ok for battling ice cream cravings, but that attitude won't cut it for retirement saving How blind spots and bad inputs can wreck your path to financial health The importance of having reasonable expectations and timeframes with your lifestyle changes. Stay Focused!   Today's Resources and Links: Art of Manliness discusses willpower   One Thing You Can Do Today to Improve Your Financial World: Saturate yourself with quality personal finance material (Hey, I can think of a podcast to start with!) Find blogs to read and podcasts to listen to that will keep your awareness and focus on your long-term goals.   What Are Your Thoughts? If you have a question or comment about today's topic, we invite you to share your thoughts.

A light and fluffy take on some money issues.     Tim drags me to the mall to replace a 10+ year old suit… a podcast episode ensues… The best part is that I forgot my wallet, lol.

Today, we'll be doing things a bit different and I'll (Troy) be interviewing Tim about his book, Against the Grain. The point of the interview is to help explain the "using non-conventional wisdom" part of our podcast objectives. Since his book is wholly focused on going against some of today's financial conventional wisdom; it's perfect to use as a template for our explanation. In This Episode We Look At: Part 1: "Live for Today!" Part 2: "Max Out Your 401K" Part 3: "Pay Off Your Mortgage" Today's Resources and Links: Against the Grain [Affiliate Link] One Thing You Can Do Today to Improve Your Financial World: Realize that many times conventional wisdom stems from an untried or untrue foundation and is only popular because of our herd nature as humans. Strive to be above the herd and be as financially healthy as possible. What Are Your Thoughts? If you have a question or comment about today's topic, we invite you to share your thoughts.

The Lighter Side of Money is a shorter, light, and fluffy take on money issues. Today we share some iPhone apps that are our absolute must-haves. We also argue about screen clutter and the definition of nesting.

Patterns Produce A Product. Think about that. Besides being a catchy alliteration, it demonstrates the truth that how we habitually act will always produce a result - whether good or bad.   In This Episode We Look At: Taking an honest look at ourselves to identify patterns that lead to unwanted products in our finances Clearly identifying replacement patterns to achieve desirable financial results (product) The myriad benefits of making small adjustments in our financial patterns   Today's Resources and Links: Mint   One Thing You Can Do Today to Improve Your Financial World: As the video of my golf swing unmistakably displayed my faulty swing pattern- take an objective look at your money patterns. What ONE pattern could you adjust that would give you the greatest improvement in your financial health?   What Are Your Thoughts? If you have a question or comment about today's topic, we invite you to share your thoughts.

A light and fluffy take on some money issues.   Tim and I discuss the monumental success (or lack thereof) of our conjoined garage sale.

There seems to be a supplement for just about everything concerning the human body. While there's  nothing inherently wrong with many supplements on the market these days, it's easy to go overboard. Doing so can negatively impact your financial well-being.   In This Episode We Look At: A blogpost by Drew Housman, posted on TheSimpleDollar.com When supplement consumption becomes excess External "pressures" to purchase supplements Some common sense alternatives to many supplements   Today's Resources and Links: Source Article   One Thing You Can Do Today to Improve Your Financial World: Check your cabinet where you store your vitamins and such. Are there supplements you haven't taken in the last year or two? Chances are, you don't need them. Look to whole foods as a source for your nutrients.   What Are Your Thoughts? If you have a question or comment about today's topic, we invite you to share your thoughts.

A light and fluffy take on some money issues.   Today, Tim and I beat up some fitness supplement marketing silliness.

Do you recall the time when you had to pay for long distance phone calls? Times seemed to have changed quite quickly.   There are many services that have either evolved or simply become free through fair competition.   Today, we discuss a blogpost written by Holly Johnson for TheSimpleDollar.com.   In This Episode We Look At: The many sacred cows that we just assume we need to pay for- not so! Free alternatives for such things as Rental Car coverage, ATM fees, credit score services and more   Today's Resources and Links: Source Article RetailMeNot's Mobile Apps   One Thing You Can Do Today to Improve Your Financial World: Don't freely give your money to companies who don't realize that it's 2016! Choose to keep your money and put it to work for you.   What Are Your Thoughts? If you have a question or comment about today's topic, we invite you to share your thoughts.

A light and fluffy take on some money issues.   Today, Tim wanders around a group of 9 yr olds trying to get some financial advice.

You get an unexpected bonus or tax refund and you're wondering what's the best way to improve your financial picture with those funds. Should you invest it, or should you pay off debt? Today, we discuss a GetRichSlowly.com article by William Cowie titled "Why investing can be better than repaying debt".   In This Episode We Look At: Risks that can be negated by paying off debt. It's not healthy for anyone to make assumptions of future job income. Enhancing our lifestyle by eliminating debt. Freedom is far superior to indebtedness . The wealth-building benefits of compounding growth. Investing now and consistently for maximization of financial growth.   Today's Resources and Links: Link to original article at www.getrichslowly.com   One Thing You Can Do Today to Improve Your Financial World: Strike a balance and split "extra" money between eliminating debt and investing. Time is a crucial factor in both areas.   What Are Your Thoughts? If you have a question or comment about today's topic, we invite you to share your thoughts.