Don't Retire...Graduate!

In today’s Office Hours, Eric answers Alicia's question: “Can money actually buy happiness?”

Over his 30-year career, Eric has seen people with more money than they could ever need who were miserable and some who were happy. The same can be said for those with more modest wealth. So what's the answer?

Have a question? Tweet it to us at @BrotmanPlanning or post it on our Facebook and it may be used in a future episode of Office Hours!

Visit dontretiregraduate.com for a full transcript of this episode.

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Welcome back to Don’t Retire… Graduate! Today’s guest is known in the financial media space as the Frugal Gay and that frugality paid off. Tom Brickman reached financial independence through real estate investing and currently has 22 doors in Ohio and Texas.

 

He is here to share his experiences, advice, and mistakes he has made so you don’t have to.

 

In this episode we’ll talk about:

•How Tom retired in his 30s through real estate investing

•Advice for someone who wants to start in real estate with one house

•Liability as a landlord and setting up LLCs

•Setting up teams to handle maintenance for multiple homes

•Using side hustles as financial safety blankets

•The mindset shift that comes with financial freedom

•Other financial investments Tom uses to grow his portfolio

•The difference between income and wealth

•Starting with a budget and understanding where your money is going

•Setting goals for real estate investing and how to get started

[embed]https://youtu.be/urkpF8CwpHc?si=pGymG-0fqoh1G7Qr[/embed]

Visit dontretiregraduate.com for a full transcript of this episode.

About Tom Brickman:

Tom Brickman 40, Married dog dad from Dallas TX. Recently retired from 9-5 to work on Real Estate (22 doors) a resale business and TheFrugalGay.com. Tom provides one on one coaching and covers financial literacy & real estate for building wealth.

Resources:

www.Thefrugalgay.com.com

https://twitter.com/Thefrugalgay11

https://instagram.com/thefrugalgay11

https://brotmanmedia.com/

In today’s Office Hours, Eric answers James's question: “What do I do with my 401(k) when I change jobs?”

There are several things to consider regarding your 401(k), including whether or not you've vested in the matched contributions and if you should move it somewhere else or leave it where it is.

Tweet it to us at @BrotmanPlanning or post it on our Facebook and it may be used in a future episode of Office Hours!

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Welcome back to Don’t Retire… Graduate! Today’s guest is an advocate and educator for a community that is often left out of the traditional financial journey: service industry workers.

 

Barbara Sloan is the author of Tipped: The Life Changing Guide to Financial Freedom for Waitresses, Bartenders, Strippers, and All Other Service Industry Professionals. She went from homeless at age 15 to six figures of debt at 20 and worked every tipped position available as she navigated the world of personal finance. She is now a business owner and a financial coach that focuses on empowering those who don’t have access to traditional employee benefits or regular paychecks.

 

Her story and insights are truly valuable, so listen now!

 

In this episode we’ll talk about:

• The unique financial circumstances faced by those in the tipped economy

• How the traditional personal finance conversations exclude those who work for tips, like 401(k)s, HR departments, predictable incomes, and employee benefits

• How skills you develop in the service industry can translate into business

• The difference between financial advisors and investment advisors

• How to find financial literacy resources

• A debate on whether or not “budget” should be a bad word

• Understanding debt and the mindset behind it

• Financial legitimacy for people who make their money in single dollars

• Sorting out your “why” to move forward in your financial life

• The impact current government conversations could have on tipped workers

[embed]https://youtu.be/ra6bRlRQRak?si=KRI340L4FzLz7Rkl[/embed]

Visit dontretiregraduate.com for a full transcript of this episode.

About Barbara Sloan:

Barbara Sloan is the author of the book Tipped: The life changing guide to financial freedom for waitresses, bartenders, strippers, and all other service industry professionals. A homeless teen, who danced for dollars, and definitely did not graduate from college. She is now a personal finance expert and money coach that spent two decades working in every imaginable position in the Service Industry all over the country. In addition to owning and running a badass women owned Construction company in the heart of Manhattan, she helps Tipped workers achieve Financial Freedom, like she did. She is passionate about all of the amazing aspects of Tipped work and passionate about all of the terrible aspects of Tipped work. She lives in New York City with her wife of 10 years, an esteemed corporate finance exec, and together they are a couple of adorable money nerds who point out every dog they see.

www.tippedfinance.com

@tippedfinance on all socials

 

In today’s Office Hours, Eric answers Olivia's question: “what should I do with my tax refund?”

There are plenty of ways to answer this question: spend it, invest it, save it... But Eric's #1 piece of advice is not to have one at all.

Have a question? Tweet it to us at @BrotmanPlanning or post it on our Facebook and it may be used in a future episode of Office Hours!

Visit www.dontretiregraduate.com for a full transcript of this episode.

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Welcome back to Don’t Retire… Graduate! While nobody goes into a marriage thinking about divorce, it’s one of only two ways every marriage ends (the other being death, of course). Today’s guest Tracy Coenen has seen her fair share of divorce and is here to talk about a common cause for marriages to end: financial infidelity.

 

As a forensic accountant, Tracy is here to share red flags you can look for if you suspect your spouse or partner of hiding money, how you can do your own forensic accounting, and her experience navigating this marriage minefield.

 

Don’t run out and make a secret email address right away, but definitely listen to this episode!

 

In this episode we’ll talk about:

• Which gender is more likely to hide money in a marriage

• The differences seen by financial advisors and forensic accountants

• The importance of discussing finances in a marriage/partnership and why it should be a regular conversation

• What financial infidelity means

• Red flags to look out for if you suspect your spouse of financial infidelity

• What a forensic accountant does and how to find your spouse’s hidden money

• The best ways for a couple to title or share their money and bank accounts

• What to do if you suspect your husband or wife is hiding money and how to assess if there is fraud or dishonesty

• How to prepare for a potential divorce

[embed]https://youtu.be/OW3ghzdtioo?si=zY5OeH9wCuaWiM0G[/embed]

About Tracy Coenen:

Tracy has been investigating fraud for more than 25 years, but she didn’t always want to be a forensic accountant. With a dream of one day being a prison warden, Tracy went to Marquette University in Milwaukee, WI to get a criminology degree. A class on financial crime investigations reminded her how much she loved Encyclopedia Brown books as a kid. She continued her criminology degree, but added accounting and economics courses so she could sit for the CPA exam… and here Tracy is, finding money in cases of corporate fraud, high net worth divorce, and other financial shenanigans.

Resources:

Visit dontretiregraduate.com for a full transcript of this episode.

https://www.divorcemoneyguide.com

https://www.instagram.com/divorcemoneyguide 

In today’s Office Hours, Eric answers Kate's question: “Will financial advisors become obsolete? ”

With the growth of FinTech and robo-advisors, the role of a financial advisor does seem to be changing but it may also be becoming more important to have someone in your corner.

Have a question? Tweet it to us at @BrotmanPlanning, or post it on our Facebook and it may be used in a future episode of Office Hours!

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Welcome back to Don’t Retire… Graduate! Today’s guest is Bobbi Rebell, a fellow University of Pennsylvania alum, is here for a reunion to talk about topics that we’re all thinking about (at least, we money nerds are): financial wellness, student loans, stress, and how to prepare the next generation for the future.

Bobbi is the host of the Money Tips for Financial Grownups and author of her new book, Launching Financial Grownups: Live Your Richest Life by Helping Your (Almost) Adult Kids Become Everyday Money Smart, and a financial wellness advocate. Listen to her share her story and then go check out her podcast (specifically, Eric’s episode of course).

In this episode we’ll talk about:

• Bobbi’s background and how she became a journalist, CFP®, writer, and financial

• Financial influencers, the finance media, and how dangerous it can be to talk about money when you don’t have credentials

• Bobbi’s book, Launching Financial Grownups, and how it came to be

• The change from helicopter parenting to concierge

• The student loan crisis and how to get young adults to understand the impact

• Negotiating merit scholarships and financial aid for college

• Financial Wellness Strategies

• Financial stress in the workplace and how it affects a company

• Getting the next generation ready to inherit wealth and take over financial decision making

[embed]https://youtu.be/K3YfnhmTOEI?si=tttiniPAeuRLNpZ0[/embed]

Visit dontretiregraduate.com for a full transcript of this episode.

About Bobbi Rebell:

Bobbi Rebell, CFP® is the founder of Financial Wellness Strategies and the author of Launching Financial Grownups: Live Your Richest Life by Helping Your (Almost) Adult Kids Become Everyday Money Smart. She is a financial wellness advocate, the host of the Money Tips for Financial Grownups podcast and the founder of GrownupGear.com. Bobbi was previously a global business news anchor and personal finance columnist at Reuters and held various journalist positions at top news outlets including CNBC, CNN and PBS.

Bobbi Rebell Website

Bobbi Rebell Instagram

Bobbi Rebell Twitter

Bobbi Rebell LinkedIn

Bobbi Rebell TikTok

In today’s Office Hours, Eric answers Morgan's question: “What's the difference between a fee-only and a fee-based financial advisor?”

This is a great question and understanding the different fee structures for financial advice and when they are appropriate can help you choose your advisor.

Have a question? Tweet it to us at @BrotmanPlanning or post it on our Facebook and it may be used in a future episode of Office Hours!

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Welcome back to Don’t Retire… Graduate! Today’s guest is a military veteran, military spouse, and financial coach who works to help the military community gain control and confidence around their money.

Lacey Langford, AFC® shares her story of military service, the challenges she has seen and helped military couples overcome throughout her career, and the conference she launched to combat some of those challenges.

 

In this episode we’ll talk about:

• Lacey’s experience in the military

• The different experiences that military families have with money that are different from civilians

• Why military spouses are often under- or unemployed or not allowed to work

• The decisions that have to be made when a servicemember is relocated

• Planning for transitions and handling transitions that you cannot control

• Having a plan for a post-military career

• Resources available within the military

• The MilMoney Conference and how you can get involved (https://milmoneycon.com/)

[embed]https://youtu.be/ZRPMiMq0cPA?si=lB9Ycj9RrHHPn-QX[/embed]

Visit dontretiregraduate.com for a full transcript of this episode.

Please visit https://bfgfa.com/discount-programs/ to learn about our Hometown Heroes discount programs for veterans, active duty military, military families, and first responders.

About Lacey Langford:

Lacey Langford, AFC® is a financial coach, veteran, military spouse, and entrepreneur who changes people’s mindset from being fearful of money to having control and confidence with it. She’s an Accredited Financial Counselor® with over 15 years of financial planning, counseling, and coaching experience. Military and money are her jams.

Lacey’s the founder and CEO of the Military Money Show, a podcast dedicated to helping the military community with personal finance, and MilMoneyCon, a national conference for financial professionals united by military service.

Lacey Langford, AFC® is a financial coach, veteran, military spouse, and entrepreneur who changes people’s mindset from being fearful of money to having control and confidence with it. She’s an Accredited Financial Counselor® with over 15 years of financial planning, counseling, and coaching experience. Military and money are her jams.

Lacey’s the founder and CEO of the Military Money Show, a podcast dedicated to helping the military community with personal finance, and MilMoneyCon, a national conference for financial professionals united by military service.

Guest Resources:

Lacey Langford Website

The Military Money Expert Podcast

Lacey Langford LinkedIn

Lacey Langford's Twitter

Military Money Show Twitter

Military Money Show Facebook

Military Money Show Instagram