Hack Your Wealth

#65: Last time we talked about money issues when dating.

But dating isn’t the end game (for most).

As the schoolyard song goes: “First comes love, then comes marriage…”

…And money matters, if anything, get amplified once you’re married.

It’s why money problems are the top or second leading cause of failed marriages (read: divorce) depending on which study you read…and it’s always a contributing factor even if it isn’t the straw that breaks the camel’s back.

So this week, I continue my conversation with Megan McCoy and Ed Coambs, two leading marriage therapists who specialize in financial therapy and conflict, to discuss how money matters get more complex after marriage…and what spouses can do about it to preserve and strengthen their relationship.

We discuss:

• The most common reasons and triggers why couples fight about money
• Whether keeping separate money accounts is a good idea
• How to fight about money productively, with empathy, to keep your relationship healthy and even strengthen it
• Where spouses should learn to compromise when it comes to money and finances
• Intentional money rituals that spouses can do to keep their relationship healthy
• How to get your spouse on board with early retirement (and the financial sacrifices required to do it)

Check it out here:

https://hackyourwealth.com/money-marriage

What is the most important thing young married couples should know about handling money issues together? Do you think keeping separate money accounts is a good idea? What’s your best advice for fighting about money with your spouse, with empathy? Let me know by leaving a comment.

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Links mentioned in this episode:

• Ed Coambs’ Healthy Love & Money
• Megan McCoy, Ph.D., LMFT
• Money Scripts article; Klontz Money Script Inventory
• Prepare Enrich workbook for couples
• Dew, J., & Dakin, J. (2011). Financial Disagreements and Marital Conflict Tactics. Journal of Financial Therapy, 2 (1) 7
• Love Sense: The Revolutionary New Science of Romantic Relationships
• Healing Your Attachment Wounds: How to Create Deep and Lasting Intimate Relationships
• HYW private Facebook community

 Intro/Outro: Old Bossa by Twin Musicom.

#64: How do you have difficult conversations about money when you’re dating? What words should you use? What do you do if the conversations go south?

This week, I invited Megan McCoy and Ed Coambs, two leading couples therapists who specialize in financial therapy and conflict, to share insights about how to talk about money matters when you’re dating.

We discuss:

• Questions to ask (and behaviors to observe) early in a relationship to learn your partner’s financial values
• Tips for asking sensitive money-related questions that don’t rub your partner the wrong way
• How to handle it if your partner does get defensive or reacts the wrong way
• Tips for attracting a partner who shares your financial values
• What to do if you’ve met “the one” but have totally different mindsets and behaviors about money

Check it out here:

https://hackyourwealth.com/money-dating

How have you approached talking about money when dating? What tips and best practices have worked for you? What advice do you have for other couples? Let me know by leaving a comment.

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I need your help, please leave a listener review :)

If you liked this episode, would you please leave a quick review on Apple Podcasts? It’d mean the world to me and your review also helps others find my podcast, too!

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Ed Coambs’ Healthy Love & Money
• Ed Coambs’ Charlotte Couples Counseling
• Megan McCoy, Ph.D., LMFT
• Money Scripts article; Klontz Money Script Inventory
• Brad Klontz’s How Clients’ Money Scripts Predict Their Financial Behaviors
• Prepare Enrich workbook for couples
• Dew, J., & Dakin, J. (2011). Financial Disagreements and Marital Conflict Tactics. Journal of Financial Therapy, 2 (1) 7
• Love Sense: The Revolutionary New Science of Romantic Relationships
• Healing Your Attachment Wounds: How to Create Deep and Lasting Intimate Relationships
• HYW private Facebook community

 Intro/Outro: Old Bossa by Twin Musicom.

#63: Last time, we talked about general asset location principles, plus best practices for major asset classes like stocks, bonds, and real estate.

But what about non-traditional asset classes?

Also, if you’re planning to early retire, should your asset location considerations change at all…given that you generally cannot touch your tax-advantaged accounts until you’re nearly 60?

This week, we continue our discussion with Jonathan Duong, CFA, about both these topics as they relate to tax-efficient asset location.

We discuss:

• Commodities (gold, oil)
• Currencies
• Illiquid investments like LPs, private equity, private loans, etc
• Speculative holdings like Bitcoin, art, collectibles
• How asset location considerations might change for early retirees

Listen here:

https://hackyourwealth.com/asset-location-part-2

If you’re thinking about early retirement, what is your asset location plan? What are you holding in your taxable vs. tax-advantaged accounts? Let me know by leaving a comment.

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I need your help, please leave a listener review :)

If you liked this episode, would you please leave a quick review on Apple Podcasts? It’d mean the world to me and your review also helps others find my podcast, too!

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Wealth Engineers
• Financial planning software: eMoney, Advyzon, Covisum
• Asset location: What assets should you hold in each account to minimize taxes? (HYW062)
• How to set your target asset allocation and rebalance your portfolio efficiently (HYW058)
• Schedule a private 1:1 consultation with me
• HYW private Facebook community 

 Intro/Outro: Old Bossa by Twin Musicom.

#62: It might seem obvious that the best performing car isn’t just a function of the car itself…but also WHERE you’re driving it.

Ferraris vs. Hummers will perform best in very different environments.

When it comes to asset management, a similar thing is true.

A few episodes back, I did a 3-part series on asset allocation. However, asset allocation is only part of the puzzle to optimizing your portfolio.

To maximize total after-tax returns, WHERE you hold your assets is just as important as WHAT assets you hold.

Asset allocation is WHAT you hold.

Asset location is WHERE you hold it.

You have to make sure you drive the Ferrari vs. the Hummer on appropriate terrains.

Asset location strategy is about holding the right asset classes in the right accounts bearing the right tax profile.

The goal is to minimize taxes on the way in, minimize tax drag while you invest, and minimize tax liability upon withdrawal.

How do you do this?

This week, I talk with Jonathan Duong, CFA, about how to manage your asset location to be as tax-efficient as possible. (This is part 1 of a 2-part discussion.)

In addition to best practices and general principles, we discuss optimal asset location for:

• Stock holdings (both indexes and individual stocks, both dividend and non-dividend paying)
• Non-tax exempt bond holdings
• Tax-exempt bonds
• REITS
• Physical real estate

Check it out here:

https://hackyourwealth.com/asset-location-part-1

What asset location principles are most relevant to you? Let me know by leaving a comment.

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I need your help, please leave a listener review :)

If you liked this episode, would you please leave a quick review on Apple Podcasts? It’d mean the world to me and your review also helps others find my podcast, too!

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Wealth Engineers
• Financial planning software: eMoney, Advyzon, Covisum
• How to set your target asset allocation and rebalance your portfolio efficiently (HYW058)
• Schedule a private 1:1 consultation with me
• HYW private Facebook community

 Intro/Outro: Old Bossa by Twin Musicom.

#61: All right champs – new year!

That means a fresh opportunity for goal setting to transform your financial situation this year.

To kick off the new year, I recorded a short episode this week about goal setting, mindset, and behaviors to help you make big strides toward your FIRE goals in 2021.

I also invited a couple other leaders in the FIRE community to share their best advice when it comes to financial goal setting for people who are serious about pursuing FIRE.

Check it out here:

https://hackyourwealth.com/new-year-goals-2021

Are you setting any FIRE related goals for 2021? What are they? Let me know by leaving a comment!

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If you liked this episode, be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss any upcoming episodes!

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I need your help, please leave a listener review :)

If you liked this episode, would you please leave a quick review on Apple Podcasts? It’d mean the world to me and your review also helps others find my podcast, too!

Links mentioned in this episode:

• The exact spreadsheet I use to analyze income, expenses, and net wealth
• Schedule a private 1:1 consultation with me
• HYW private Facebook community

 Intro/Outro: Old Bossa by Twin Musicom.

#60: Over the past year, I’ve done various podcast episodes about early retirement. I’ve also had numerous guests share their FIRE stories.

But what about the tactical steps for how to FIRE?

Many FIRE blogs talk a bit too high-level and not enough about the mechanics of how to do it, step by step.

So in today’s episode, I share tactics and best practices I’ve observed on how to retire early. With confidence and assurance. With hard numbers and analysis. With a proper weighing of risks and tradeoffs.

If FIRE is a goal for you, then be sure to listen closely for key insights on how to do it effectively.

What you’ll learn:

• How to project your early retirement cash flow needs / expenses with clarity and confidence
• How to project your retirement income cash flows with clarity and confidence to match those expenses
• How to build the investment assets needed to generate that retirement income
• The 4 main type of investment assets for funding early retirement (and their tradeoffs)
• How to withdraw your retirement spending needs while minimizing risk
• How certain life milestones will impact your income and expense projections
• Tax planning in early retirement

Check it out here:

https://hackyourwealth.com/early-retirement-fire

What tips from today’s episode do you agree with / not agree with? What questions of yours about FIRE did I not answer? Let me know by leaving a comment.

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If you liked this episode, be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss any upcoming episodes!

• Apple Podcasts
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I need your help, please leave a listener review :)

If you liked this episode, would you please leave a quick review on Apple Podcasts? It’d mean the world to me and your review also helps others find my podcast, too!

Links mentioned in this episode:

• The exact spreadsheet I use to analyze my income, expenses, and net wealth
• How to set your target asset allocation and rebalance your portfolio efficiently (HYW058)
• Download my FREE spreadsheet to track your current vs. target asset allocation
• Retirement withdrawal calculator: How long will your savings last in retirement?
• My 4×4 FIRE framework for creating and protecting wealth (HYW002)
• Schedule a private 1:1 consultation with me
• HYW private Facebook community

 Intro/Outro: Old Bossa by Twin Musicom.

#59: It’s hard to consistently beat the market as an investor…but it takes zero effort to match the market.

Picking good index funds lets you match the market for near-zero cost.

And matching the market produces some pretty good results. If you had invested – and held – $100k (and not a dime more) in a plain vanilla S&P 500 index fund in January 1990, today it would be worth over $1M.

That’s 10x growth in 3 decades, or +7.7% annualized returns.

That’s despite a 1990 recession, 2000-2002 dot com bust, 2008 financial crisis, and 2020 coronavirus.

And all for zero effort.

I dunno about you, but index fund investing sounds richer and a lot more laid back than active stock picking (which almost uniformly results in lower returns anyway).

The key is picking good funds. What’s the best way to do this?

This week, I talk with Jonathan Duong, CFA, founder of Wealth Engineers, a wealth management consultancy, about how to pick the best index funds to invest in.

We discuss:

• Key differences between mutual funds vs. ETFs; between tracking, passive, and active funds
• Step-by-step tips for evaluating an index fund: attributes, criteria, performance indicators
• Recommended online tools to search for and filter indexes and fund options
• How fund expense ratios work
• Specific names (and ticker symbols) of popular index funds for: total stock market, total bond market, government bonds, real estate, all-weather portfolio

Check it out here:

https://hackyourwealth.com/best-index-funds


What are your favorite index funds, and why? Let me know by leaving a comment.

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If you liked this episode, be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss any upcoming episodes!

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I need your help, please leave a listener review :)

If you liked this episode, would you please leave a quick review on Apple Podcasts? It’d mean the world to me and your review also helps others find my podcast, too!

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Wealth Engineers
• ETF.com
• Morningstar
• ETFdb
• ETF Replay
• MSCI
• The CRSP Indexes
• US total stock market: 
• International stocks: 
• Dividend-focused stocks: 
• US investment grade bonds: 
• US government and municipal bonds: 
• International investment grade bonds: 
• Real estate: 
• Total market / all weather portfolio:
• Schedule a private 1:1 consultation with me
• HYW private Facebook community

  Intro/Outro: Old Bossa by Twin Musicom.

#58: How to set your target asset allocation can feel like a mystery. How do you do it rigorously? How do you know what’s optimal?

Rebalancing can also feel like a chore. Where do you start? How do you make sure you’re doing it rigorously and tax-efficiently?

This week, I show you how to set your target asset allocation tailored to your investment and risk profile. I share how to track your allocation over time and analyze drift from your target allocation. And I explain how to tax-efficiently rebalance back to your target allocation step-by-step.

If asset allocation and portfolio rebalancing feels like a mystery, chore, or headache, then don’t miss this episode because it will teach you how to do it rigorously and with no guesswork.

What you’ll learn:

• Why it’s prudent to sell your winning investments and rebalance toward your underdogs
• How to create and define your target asset allocation starting from first principles
• How to determine your investment style and risk tolerance in an intellectually honest way
• How to track your current allocation and analyze drift from your target
• How to rebalance your portfolio tax-efficiently step-by-step
• How often you should rebalance

If you really learn the principles taught in today’s episode, you’ll be able to rebalance your portfolio and ensure your asset allocation stays closely aligned with your investment goals (yielding higher returns and lower risk).

…And you can do it in 1 hour or less per year.

Check it out here:

https://hackyourwealth.com/asset-allocation-rebalance-portfolio

What is YOUR target asset allocation? How often do you rebalance? Any rebalancing strategies you use that I didn’t cover? What questions do you have about asset allocation and rebalancing? Let me know by leaving a comment!

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If you liked this episode, be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss any upcoming episodes!

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I need your help, please leave a listener review :)

If you liked this episode, would you please leave a quick review on Apple Podcasts? It’d mean the world to me and your review also helps others find my podcast, too!

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Download my FREE spreadsheet to track your current vs. target asset allocation
• My 4×4 FIRE framework for creating and protecting wealth (HYW002)
• HYW private Facebook community

 Intro/Outro: Old Bossa by Twin Musicom.

#57: When it comes to investment management, it is crucial to write down your investing goals/plan in order to stay disciplined as an investor and get the returns you need with the least amount of risk possible.

The way to do this is by writing an investment policy statement.

This week, I explain about investment policy statements: what they are, why they’re important, and how to write a good one.

What you’ll learn:

• What an investment policy statement is and why it’s important to your financial future
• Why a thoughtfully written IPS will turn you into a better investor and yield higher returns
• How to write a good IPS
• The 3 crucial components all good investment policy statements have
• How often you should update your IPS
• When to reference your IPS on a day-to-day basis

Check it out here:

https://hackyourwealth.com/investment-policy-statement

If you have an IPS, what are the key sections in it? When and how often do you reference your IPS? Let me know by leaving a comment.

Don't miss an episode, hit that subscribe button...

If you liked this episode, be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss any upcoming episodes!

• Apple Podcasts
• Overcast
• Spotify
• Stitcher

I need your help, please leave a listener review :)

If you liked this episode, would you please leave a quick review on Apple Podcasts? It’d mean the world to me and your review also helps others find my podcast, too!

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Schedule a private 1:1 consultation with me
• HYW private Facebook community

 Intro/Outro: Old Bossa by Twin Musicom.

#56: This week, I invited CPA Steve Nelson, whose tax blog I’ve followed for years, to chat with us about the details of how Section 199A works and the restrictions around it.

199A created a huge new tax break for small business owners, partnerships, real estate investors, and contractors. But there was a lot of uncertainty initially due to seeming ambiguities and loopholes in 199A without clear guidance/regulations to address them.

Now, two years later, a lot has become clearer.

We discuss:

• Section 199A overview
• What counts as Qualified Business Income
• Key rules and restrictions of 199A
• Strategies for maximizing the 199A deduction
• How 199A might alter your retirement contribution strategy
• Special considerations for real estate investors (including why a 1031 exchange may no longer make sense with 199A)
• Special considerations for professional service partnerships (law, medicine, accounting, etc)
• Special considerations for freelancers and online business owners
• What happens to 199A after 2025

Check it out here:

https://hackyourwealth.com/section-199a

Are you currently able to avail Section 199A? If so, how has it changed your business operations and/or financial planning considerations, if at all? Let me know by leaving a comment.

Don't miss an episode, hit that subscribe button...

If you liked this episode, be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss any upcoming episodes!

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I need your help, please leave a listener review :)

If you liked this episode, would you please leave a quick review on Apple Podcasts? It’d mean the world to me and your review also helps others find my podcast, too!

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Evergreen Small Business blog
• How the final Trump tax bill affects you: analysis for early retirees
• HYW private Facebook community

 Intro/Outro: Old Bossa by Twin Musicom.