Radical Personal Finance

Today on the show, I answer these two questions:

Joshua,

The reason why I am writing has nothing to do with finances, but career advice. Did you (or do you) provide career counseling? If not, can you at least recommend someone you trust? I thought I heard you mention on a previous show that you were involved in that line of work, unless I am mistaken and it was a guest.

Brief intro: I am 32 years old, a recent MBA graduate, and have a really unique professional background that makes career transitions exceptionally difficult.

Suppose I were a client of yours who is considering a career change at a radical 50% pay cut. There are huge financial and emotional considerations at stake. Would such a career change be consistent with my financial goals?

I have been working in a specific industry since I started fresh out of college. I have recently undergone an ideological conversion to a different system of thinking, and now face some cognitive dissonance over what I do for a living and who I do it for. I want out.

In fact, this is the reason I went back to school for my MBA a couple years ago. I thought the MBA might help me push the reset button on my career, but the job market hasn’t been kind to me. I have applied to all kinds of jobs that I’ve thought were similar enough to the work I currently do. Unfortunately, I find myself caught between a rock and a hard place: I am too old to be considered for lower-tiered, entry-level positions. I am also too inexperienced to be considered for more senior or mid-level positions. I am seen as a liability: recruiters think I won’t last very long if they bring me in at a lower level. Recruiters think I won’t last very long if I am brought into a new environment or industry. I am stuck, and I am hoping to speak to someone who can help me do two things: 1) better understand what marketable skills I have in the private sector, and 2) better understand what jobs exist that are the best match for my skills.

And it gets a little crazier: due to Non-Disclosure Agreements I have signed I cannot fully disclose the exact nature of my skills! This is perhaps the real pickle.. which makes this ordeal much harder than it would normally be for other career changers.

What are your thoughts?

-Bill

AND at 51:24

Hey Joshua,

Thanks so much for the show. It has really helped me and my fiance get our finances in order and start us thinking about how we could become financially independent. Even as a Canadian I've gotten a ton out of the show and have tried to hook as many people as I can.

I was wondering if you might be able to touch on tips and tricks for someone who doesn't earn a consistent or regular income. I do video work and while it's consistent right now, I have spent most of my working career either working every day in a month or not working at all for weeks at a time. I was just curious if there might be any wisdom you can impart on those kinds of situations.

Luckily my fiance has a very stable job and makes good money so it gives us the ability to plan at least a bit.

Thanks again for the show, I look forward to it whenever I walk the dog and on the way to work.

-Brendon

Enjoy the show!

Joshua

Links:

• SUPPORT THE SHOW ON PATREON http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron
• 48 Days to the Work You Love by Dan Miller. Also, see his website for more products: http://48days.com/
• Succeeding by John T. Reed
• Get a Job, Build a Real Career, Defy a Bewildering Economy by Charles Hugh Smith
• Choose Yourself by James Altucher

The financial planning industry faces many challenges. One of the major challenges has been how to effectively serve younger generations of clients.

My guest today has some ideas on how things can be done better. He set out originally to develop a different model of financial planning practice for himself and wound up creating a company dedicated to bringing the model to the world.

Alan Moore, MS, CFP, is from Bozeman, Montana. He runs a financial planning firm called Serenity Financial Consulting and is Co-Founder of the XY Planning Network.

Enjoy this discussion of:

• The challenges and benefits of working with younger clients.
• New ways to structure a financial planning business.
• How to build a lifestyle financial planning practice.

Enjoy!

Joshua

• Support the show! http://www.radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron
• Alan's firm: http://www.serenityfc.com/
• XY Planning Network: http://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/

Today, we dive into the details of Pre-Paid Tuition Programs. I'm generally not a fan of these programs and you get to hear why! (I do acknowledge that they have their uses).

This opinion (my non-fan-ness) has always been a bit challenging since I do financial planning the state of Florida...and Florida has the most popular pre-paid tution program in the country!

But, I still believe I'm right and today, I defend that belief.

Listen to the show to hear:

• Why pre-paid tuition programs are in tough financial straits.
• Why you get a negative nominal rate of return on Florida's program.
• Why college tuition prices are falling so much even if the official statistics don't reflect the reality.

Enjoy!

Joshua

• Support Radical Personal Finance on Patreon: http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron
• Part 1 of this 529 Plan Series: http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/138-masterclass-on-529-plans-a-k-a-qualified-tuition-programs-part-1/
• Part 2 of this 529 Plan Series: http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/154-masterclass-on-529-plans-a-k-a-qualified-tuition-programs-part-2-savings-plans/

I'm fascinated by long-term travel stories. After all, some people have to wait until they're retired to travel but some people are able to do it long before?

How? Why? What can we learn from them?

My guest today is fascinating. Greg Denning and his wife, Rachel, are living a long-term travel lifestyle. Currently, they're driving from Alaska to Argentina via Europe. Impressively, they're doing it together with their six kids!

Why are they doing it? How are they paying for it?

Tune in to the show to find out!

Joshua

Links:

• Greg and Rachel's website: www.discovershareinspire.com

Most of us have heard the example of the magic penny that doubles every day in value for a month. But, have you sat down and looked at that example to really understand what lessons you can apply to your own life?

Today, I share with you 5 lessons I've learned from that example:

1. Rate of return matters

2. Time matters

3. In the beginning, it's easy to spend. That's what most people do.

4. In the beginning, the amount you save matters more than the interest rate.

5. In the end, the interest rate matters more than the amount you save.

Enjoy the show!

Joshua

Links:

• Support RPF: www.radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron
• The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy

https://www.patreon.com/radicalpersonalfinance

I don't think it's unfair to say that the financial planning industry is known for being a bit stuffy at times. If you ask an average person what they think of when they think of a financial planner, it's more likely to be an old, white guy in a suit and tie sitting in a mahogany-lined conference room than a young, vibrant lady with a theater and women's studies double-major. But, perhaps that's changing!

My guest today is Sophia Bera, CFP® and she's shaking up the financial planning industry! Her tagline is "I'm not your father's financial planner." And, she's certainly not. Instead of going after the retiree market, she has chosen to focus exclusively on serving Gen Y clients.

Sophia is part of a new generation of financial planner who is working to bring a different style of financial planning services to a new market.

And, she's doing it on her own terms.

In this interview, we discuss:

• Sophia's story and how a non-financial person wound up becoming a financial planner.
• How financial planning fits into Sophia's ideas for the ideal design for her own lifestyle.
• Why entrepreneurship is the new job security for millenials.
• How the financial planning industry is dealing with its reputation of being filled with old, white men.

Enjoy!

Joshua

Links:

• Sophia's website: http://genyplanning.com

http://Patreon.com/RadicalPersonalFinance

We continue our Masterclass on 529 plans today. If you haven't heard part 1, Go back and listen to episode 138 first. http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/138-masterclass-on-529-plans-a-k-a-qualified-tuition-programs-part-1/ You'll need it for context on today's show.

Today we dig into more of the how-to regarding savings plans. I also spend a good bit of time explaining the state income tax benefits for you. Depending on your situation, these may or may not be important for you.

Topics:

• Which states give a tax deduction for 529 contributions and how much?
• Which states offer tax parity?
• How to take advantage of the 529 State Income Tax Loophole.
• How to figure out if you should take advantage of a plan with lower fees or a plan with a better deduction.
• Who should own the plan--parents, grandparents, or child?
• How do 529 plan distributions get reported?
• What are the best 529 plans to choose for each state?
• How can you get free money for college?

Enjoy the show!

Joshua

• Part 1 of this 529 Plan series: http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/138-masterclass-on-529-plans-a-k-a-qualified-tuition-programs-part-1/
• Which states offer a 529 Plan deduction? http://www.finaid.org/savings/state529deductions.phtml
• Free money for college: http://www.fastweb.com/financial-aid/articles/free-money-for-college-savings
• Information on Individual Development Accounts: http://cfed.org/programs/idas/ida_basics/
• If this information has been useful to you, please support the show on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/radicalpersonalfinance

http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron

I had the opportunity to sit down with Michael Kitces while I was in Dallas last week for the Technology Tools for Today conference for financial advisors.

Michael is, in many ways, a conference king. He speaks at 60 to 70 conferences per year. He also writes the most influential blog focused on financial advisors.

What fascinates me is the development of his career. Michael's career developed from very humble origins. He found an area of interest and then applied years of diligent effort. Years later, he has succeeded in raising his personal income by a factor of 10 through the consistent application of some basic principles.

Enjoy this peak into the development of a career and consider how you can apply the same principles to your own endeavors.

Enjoy!

Joshua

Links:

• Michael's first appearance on Radical Personal Finance: http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/the-business-of-financial-advice-opening-the-curtain-on-the-history-present-state-and-future-of-financial-advice-with-michael-kitces-rpf0092/
• How to increase your income by 1000% over the next decade: http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/rpf-0010-you-are-100-percent-responsible-for-your-income/
• Please become a Patron of the show! http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron

http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/patron

You've probably heard that your income is your biggest and most important tool in your wealth-building toolbox.

It is. But it's hard to see and feel that when you simply sit down and look at your net worth statement.

Today, I want to share with you a technique that has been useful for me. It's primarily a framing technique: it allows you to actually see the value of your income as compared to your current financial condition.

It's been incredibly useful to me and I hope it's incredibly useful to you!

Notes:

• Calculate the lifetime value of your income.
• Then, think about what you can do to increase that number.
• There are three primary levers to push:
  1. The higher your starting income, the better.
     • Focus on starting from a position of strength (higher wages).
     • Look for high-skill or high-education industries.
     • Focus on a difficult industry. Hard work pays!
  2. The higher the annual increase, the better.
     • Build and apply knowledge, skill, and ability.
     • Be in an industry which will reward your increases.
     • Look for big-jump increases by constantly job hunting.
     • Establish yourself as a leader in your industry.
     • Look for industries where competition is low and you can gain a competitive advantage.
     • Look for exponential growth and leverage opportunities.
  3. The more years of income, the better.
     • Start earlier. Can you simply get started now without waiting for formal credentials?
     • If it's too late for you to start earlier, can you help someone young start earlier?
     • Work longer. But consider if you'll be able to persist.
     • Look for work that you can do for longer. (Be careful of laboring jobs or mandatory retirement programs.)
     • Look for work that you'll want to do for longer. (Does it integrate with your lifestyle? Do you gain satisfaction and enjoyment from the work itself?)
     • Look for work where your age and wisdom will be an advantage. (Plan ahead for ageism and be prepared to overcome it.)
     • Look for work where your lifetime knowledge and experience will be an asset, not a liability.
• Your homework:
  • Calculate the expected value of your life's income.
  • Is it enough? Play with the variables and see what kind of alternatives you can create.

Links:

• Patreon Page for Radical Personal Finance
• Instructional video for how to make an income spreadsheet
• Bonus episode for Irregulars with details about my Dallas trip

Hey amigos,

I've decided last minute to fly out to Dallas, TX tomorrow morning to attend the "Technology Tools for Today" conference for financial advisors.

There may not be a show for the next couple of days. I will do my best to release some shows while I'm there but no promises!

If you're interested in what's happening at the conference, please feel free to connect with me on Twitter https://twitter.com/JoshuaSheats or Facebook https://www.facebook.com/joshuasheats.

If any of you listners who are in Dallas would like to meet up while I'm out there, please either email me or reach out on social media.

Thanks!

Joshua