Finerate

Bill breaks down the timeline of events of the banking crisis that began in March 2023 and explains what happened. How big of a deal were the bank failures? Why did this happen? How much does this matter for you and the average investor? Bill gives his thoughts on whether we are heading for a recession while Anastasia manages to break down the very not-intuitive relationship between interest rates and bond prices. She also creates analogies to the banking crisis using examples from the 1946 film, "It's a Wonderful Life," and Harry Potter.

For questions and comments, you can email Bill and Anastasia at [email protected].

Bill and Anastasia discuss the different species of bear markets.

For questions and comments, you can email Bill and Anastasia at [email protected].

Bill and Anastasia discuss how you can prepare financially for traumatic events, such as a job loss, injury, or the death of a spouse. Do single people need life insurance? Is disability insurance necessary? How do you decide who to choose for legal guardianship of your children? What are estate planning tools you need to consider?

For questions and comments, you can email Bill and Anastasia at [email protected].

Bill and Anastasia continue discussing emotion-based money topics by covering the four money beliefs that may form during childhood and how they can affect your approach towards money in adulthood, and ultimately your ability to build wealth. They discuss each money script using examples from Netflix shows and Bill's career. They then provide insight into how you can go about rewriting those scripts.

For questions and comments, you can email Bill and Anastasia at [email protected].

Bill and Anastasia revisit a topic covered in one of Creating Wealth's first episodes "Discussing Finances with a Life Partner" to discuss the advantages that couples have in building wealth and how to end up on the same financial page with your partner. Why do spenders end up with savers and vice versa? How have macroeconomic trends affected millennials' opportunity to find a partner and build wealth? What should you do if your partner is uncomfortable with sharing their finances?

Many of the thoughts in this episode were sparked by the February 11th episode of the Apple News in Conversation podcast titled, "Money ruins marriages. It doesn't have to." You can listen to the episode on Apple News.

For questions and comments, you can email Bill and Anastasia at [email protected].

Since Creating Wealth's National Debt episode in 2020, the total U.S. national debt has increased from $24 trillion to $31.5 trillion. Bill describes what caused the increase and how this will affect the U.S.'s standing in the world, using examples from Britain and China to compare and contrast. Bill explains what may happen to entitlements and what the implications are for individuals and investors. What strategies can investors take to hedge against this risk and what can U.S. citizens do about this?

For questions and comments, you can email us at [email protected].

Bill and Anastasia continue their January topic on budgeting (a key component of creating wealth) to discuss how their respective family budgeting and goal setting processes went this year. Anastasia mentions the spending category that took her by surprise and compares the practice to getting back into workouts. She shares responses from others on whether they budget and what they find most challenging about it. Bill gives tips for how to stay motivated and what to do if you fall out of practice. He provides thoughts on whether it's necessary to continue tracking expenses closely once you have a handle on it.

For questions and comments, you can email us at [email protected].

When it comes to vacations, do you pay first, budget later? Bill and Anastasia discuss their favorite vacations (which happen to be their most expensive vacations) and their least favorite unexpected vacation expenses before diving into Bill's process in budgeting for a vacation. What are some ways to save money while traveling? How do you factor in unexpected expenses? What travel luxuries may be worth the expense? What are the differences in planning for a couple vacation vs. a family vacation? What parts of the world are less expensive to travel to now or over time? When should you buy a travel package?

For questions and comments, you can email us at [email protected].

In practice of having an abundance mindset, Bill and Anastasia return to their end of year tradition (for the third year in a row!) to take stock of what they and others are grateful for in the past year.

A special thanks to those who shared their messages of gratitude with Creating Wealth, and to healthcare workers who made sacrifices and risked their lives through the worst of the pandemic.

For questions and comments, you can email us at [email protected].

Happy Holidays!

You've heard of them in the news - what is a merger and why do they matter? Are mergers good for shareholders, managers, employees, or society? What is important to understand about mergers as an investor? Bill and Anastasia discuss Penguin Random House's bid to merge with Simon & Schuster, Elon Musk's takeover of Twitter, and DuPont and Pioneer's merger.

Our next episode will be our annual reflection of what we're grateful for in 2022. You can submit your messages of gratitude to our email by Thursday, December 15th to be included in the podcast!

To submit questions or topics to the podcast, you can email us at [email protected].