Liz Weston CFP®, longtime personal finance writer, jumps off the retirement cliff. 

• Retiring Wasn’t Easy Even After Years of Writing About It
• Investing for Retirement: Why You Might Want to Reconsider That 403(b)
• Learned by Being Burned - Short pod series about how teachers got burned then got wise to the 403(b)
• Meridian Wealth Management
• 403bwise.org

Nothing presented or discussed is to be construed as investment or tax advice. This can be secured from a vetted Certified Financial Planner (CFP®). 

A retired educator and administrator who used F.I.R.E. principles to retire early talks about earning her CFP®, passing the exam, and working with clients. 

• Mary Ann Sullivan
• Learned by Being Burned - Short pod series about how teachers got burned then got wise to the 403(b)
• Meridian Wealth Management
• 403bwise.org

Nothing presented or discussed is to be construed as investment or tax advice. This can be secured from a vetted Certified Financial Planner (CFP®). 

School custodian turned-accountant describes how the mentorship of Jeff York, who listeners to the podcast might better know as the Wealthy Custodian, helped set her on a path to financial stability. 

• The Wealthy Custodian
• The Wealthy Custodian Retires (pt. 1)
• The Wealthy Custodian Retires (pt. 2)
• Learned by Being Burned - Short pod series about how teachers got burned then got wise to the 403(b)
• Meridian Wealth Management
• 403bwise.org

Nothing presented or discussed is to be construed as investment or tax advice. This can be secured from a vetted Certified Financial Planner (CFP®). 

Indiana middle school teacher Thomas Ferguson cares as much about his colleagues retirement savings as he does his own. Not only does he help educate them on saving, he also runs the engaging Instagram account @IndianafinLit

• Learned by Being Burned - Short pod series about how teachers got burned then got wise to the 403(b)
• Meridian Wealth Management
• 403bwise.org

Nothing presented or discussed is to be construed as investment or tax advice. This can be secured from a vetted Certified Financial Planner (CFP®). 

Did a Southern California benefits consortium fail to act in the best interests of educators? Normally we drop our pods on Friday morning. But this is a time-sensitive episode because of a meeting that will occur Friday, January 12th at 11am PST. In our opinion a Southern California consortium has failed to act in the best interests of educators. We describe the issue in this episode in the hope that educators and others will weigh in by submitting written comments before the meeting and/or attend the meeting via Zoom, which we readily acknowledge is very difficult given teaching schedules.

• FBC Board of Directors 1/12/24 Meeting (Zoom link) Meeting ID: 829 1185 8849 Password: 363162
• 403bwise.org Comments Submitted to FBC Board
• San Diego County Schools Retirement Program Outsources Financial Advisers
• Learned by Being Burned - Short pod series about how teachers got burned then got wise to the 403(b)
• Meridian Wealth Management
• 403bwise.org

Nothing presented or discussed is to be construed as investment or tax advice. This can be secured from a vetted Certified Financial Planner (CFP®). 

Annual beginning of the year check-in with Barb O’Neill, CFP, AFC (Accredited Financial Counselor), and owner/CEO of Money Talk: Financial Planning Seminars and Publications, and a regular contributor to 403bwise. She shares what 403(b) participants need to know in 2024.

•  2024 Changes Affecting 403(b) Participants
• Secure Act 2.0 (pt 1)
• Secure Act 2.0 (pt 2)
• Secure Act 3.0
• Pod Secure Act 3.0 Podcast
• Your Future Self: How to Make Tomorrow Better Today
• Learned by Being Burned - Short pod series about how teachers got burned then got wise to the 403(b)
• Meridian Wealth Management
• 403bwise.org

Nothing presented or discussed is to be construed as investment or tax advice. This can be secured from a vetted Certified Financial Planner (CFP®). 

Happy Valley, PA Elementary teacher, Scott Fritz, is the co-author of a Fin Lit book for Pennsylvania teachers. He's also the go-to fin lit person at his school and district. 

• TL: DR: Financial  Literacy for Employees of Pennsylvania Public Schools
• Scott Fritz Website
• Learned by Being Burned - Short pod series about how teachers got burned then got wise to the 403(b)
• Meridian Wealth Management
• 403bwise.org

Nothing presented or discussed is to be construed as investment or tax advice. This can be secured from a vetted Certified Financial Planner (CFP®). 

The nation’s largest teachers union has been promoting high-fee retirement plans to its members that have underperformed, teachers and experts tell The Lever. The products are sold by a private equity-owned insurance company accused of fraud and mismanagement — and as part of the arrangement, the union’s benefit arm gets millions from the firm. Those words were written by our guest, journalist Freddy Brewster of The Lever.

• Largest U.S. Teachers Union Allows Private Equity To Prey On Educators
• Stories by Freddy Brewster
• The Lever
• Chicago Single Vendor Plan
• Learned by Being Burned - Short pod series about how teachers got burned then got wise to the 403(b)
• Meridian Wealth Management
• 403bwise.org

Nothing presented or discussed is to be construed as investment or tax advice. This can be secured from a vetted Certified Financial Planner (CFP®). 

California high school teacher Matt Raleigh, and retired Colorado teacher and prolific author, Karl Fisch, share their experience teaching a college level personal finance course for educators. They also discuss how you can design and teach a similar course

• Financial Literacy for California Public School Teachers
• Karl’s Course Information
• A Not So Modest Proposal: Teach My Financial Literacy for Educators Class
• Karl’s Books
• Collaborate with Karl
• Matt Raleigh on teaching and co-writing a saving-for-retirement guide for California teachers (pod)
• Learned by Being Burned - Short pod series about how teachers got burned then got wise to the 403(b)
• Meridian Wealth Management
• 403bwise.org

Nothing presented or discussed is to be construed as investment or tax advice. This can be secured from a vetted Certified Financial Planner (CFP®). 

North Carolina high school educators Dave Fleisher and Brandon Speece educate colleagues about saving for retirement, host the Financial Independent Teachers Podcast, and are authors of the new book The FIT Position.

• Financially Independent Teachers
• Dave and Brandon 2022 Podcast
• Learned by Being Burned - Short pod series about how teachers got burned then got wise to the 403(b)
• Meridian Wealth Management
• 403bwise.org

Nothing presented or discussed is to be construed as investment or tax advice. This can be secured from a vetted Certified Financial Planner (CFP®).