The Post Money Plan

Plan like you’re going to live forever and live like you’re going to die tomorrow. If in any area of our life, we ought to apply this principle to financial planning and more specifically budgeting.

 

In this follow-on episode, I go further into budgeting talk with Certified Financial Planner Grant Goodwin. Grant is an independent financial advisor with LPL Advisors who has seen the industry from multiple angles over the course of the last two decades.

 

In this episode we discuss:

* How budgeting can prevent you from falling into debt and help you learn what you can do better

* The fact that companies and countries cannot run without budgets

* The reality that we all make mistakes

* The dangerous combination of privilege, no discipline, and “easy” money

* How its never too late to start handling your finances wisely

* Setting goals, then taking baby steps

* Keeping your budget simple

* Enjoying life, but planning for tomorrow

* Living within your means

As always, you can subscribe to The Post Money Plan podcast here.

Plan like you’re going to live forever and live like you’re going to die tomorrow. If in any area of our life, we ought to apply this principle to financial planning.

 

In this episode, I talk with Certified Financial Planner Grant Goodwin about the value of financial planning. Grant is an independent financial advisor with LPL Advisors who has seen the industry from multiple angles over the course of the last two decades.

 

In this episode we discuss:

* Grant’s experience as a financial advisor at a big bank compared to being an independent advisor

* The option of clients of financial advisors to pay a fixed fee or a percentage of their assets under management

* Being aware of potential conflicts of interest with your financial advisor

* Determining appropriate financial products based on your circumstances and goals

* The value of looking at your spending, setting a budget, and setting goals

* The value of saving early and the power of compound interest

* The importance of not getting caught up in this world, focusing on your own goals, and not trying to impress others

As always, you can subscribe to The Post Money Plan podcast here.

While extreme frugality is definitely not for everybody, for those willing to make the harrowing journey down the rabbit hole and into the forest – get ready to throw your sense of pride out the window! The world of extreme frugality is not for the faint of heart, but once you go there you may not want to come back…

 

*This episode is part of my summer re-run series of popular episodes*

 

In the episode, we cover:

-What frugality really entails

-The difference between value and cost

-Ideas on how to cut housing costs

-Options on how to cut utilities costs

-Ideas on how to cut food costs

-Ways to cut transportation costs

-The benefit of buying used instead of new

 

You don’t truly know frugality until you know extreme frugality!

 

If you’re ready to put these ideas to work but need some accountability to stick with it, sign up for the Save Pain Free coaching program here:

 

As always, you can subscribe to The Post Money Plan podcast here.

 

 

In the Save Pain Free coaching program, I will coach you on:

* Your philosophy towards money

* Where you can cut the fat on your spending

* How to automatically track your spending

* Spending tips and tricks

If you want to get a finance job, pay close attention. This advice is from someone who has already done it. This is how you will get a finance job.

As a student, you might stress about tests, but once you get close to graduation you really just start to stress about how to get a job. And in this case more specifically: how to get a finance job.

 

*This episode is part of my summer re-run series of popular episodes*

 

How to Get a Finance Job Overview:

In this episode, I interview Ryan Boutwell, a fellow grad of the UT Austin Master of Science in Finance program, about his experience attempting to get a finance job while still in school. Ryan began the recruitment process before Day 1 of his masters program, which goes to show that you can never really start too early. He was able to get a finance job at Raymond James (an investment bank) doing equity research, which is exactly the same company and job as what I was doing before I resigned to start The Post Money Plan. With 6 months in the rear view mirror, Ryan reflects back on the recruitment process and his perspective shift on what his career trajectory might look like now that he’s entered the workforce.

Key points in the podcast:

-Ryan’s background

-His perspective on the recruitment process for UT Austin MSF students

-The young but growing reputation of the UT Austin MSF program

-Being aware of your school program’s recruitment pipelines into employers

-Ryan’s original recruitment game plan

-His reflections on what made for fruitful and wasted recruitment efforts to get a finance job

-Aggressive networking and ballsy recruitment strategy

-The impact that technology is having on the recruitment process and finance job opportunities

-How you really don’t need to stress because it will all work out in the end

 

 

 

A dose of anti-consumerism is necessary right now, because consumerism is consuming us. We have become the ouroboros, the snake that is eating itself. Our level of consumption is unsustainable. But what is the cause of this situation? What has brought us here? And how should we address the issue?

 

*This episode is part of my summer re-run series of popular episodes*

 

In Part 1 of the episode, we discussed:

* What we mean by consumerism

* Why consumerism is bad

* The results of consumerism

 

In Part 2, we cover:

* The causes of consumerism

* The capitalism vs. socialism debate

* What people should do instead of participating in consumerism

* The benefits of reduced consumerism

 

The episode is hosted by Dallas Post – the founder of The Post Money Plan, joined by Michael Fares – professor of Arabic at The University of Houston.

 

 

A dose of anti-consumerism is necessary right now, because consumerism is consuming us. We have become the ouroboros, the snake that is eating itself. Our level of consumption is unsustainable. But what is the cause of this situation? What has brought us here? And how should we address the issue?

 

*This episode is part of my summer re-run series of popular episodes*

 

In Part 1 of the episode, we discuss:

* What we mean by consumerism

* Why consumerism is bad

* The results of consumerism

 

In Part 2, we’ll cover:

* The causes of consumerism

* The capitalism vs. socialism debate

* What people should do instead of participating in consumerism

* The benefits of reduced consumerism

 

The episode is hosted by Dallas Post – the founder of The Post Money Plan, joined by Michael Fares – professor of Arabic at The University of Houston.

 

 

In this week’s podcast we provide advice for a would-be first time home buyer.

 

*This episode is part of my summer re-run series of popular episodes*

 

How to decide whether to buy or rent:

* Duration

* The longer you plan to live in the same place, the more it makes sense to own it

* The shorter you plan to live in a place, the less it makes sense to own it

* Costs

* Compare apples to apples between an owning choice and a rental choice

* Compare only money that is being “thrown down the drain”

* Remember that principal payments when owning are not “down the drain” –> those you are trading for more ownership (equity) in your home

 

Things to consider in buying a home as a first time home buyer:

* Plan as much for the long term as possible, but be aware things can change

* It’s unrealistic for your first home to be your dream home

* The purchase price you agree to ≠ actual total cost you’ll pay –> you also have to account for closing costs and fees

* Lower monthly payment ≠ lower cost –> you may end up with a higher interest rate and paying more in interest and have less cash to show for it in the end

* Recurring home ownership costs

* Principal

* Interest

* PMI if down payment < 20%

* Home owner’s insurance

* Property taxes

* HOA fees

* Repairs

* Keep your debt/income ratio well under 33% when considering the amount of mortgage to take on

* Keep a financial margin of safety and err on the side of conservatism when taking on a mortgage

* When you buy, you become responsible for all the repairs and maintenance (and to pay for it!)

* As a renter, you can just call your landlord and have them fix and pay for maintenance

* Old appliances and equipment that need to be replaced can cost a lot of unexpected money

* Full inspections are valuable and can tell you about problems

* A fixer-upper may take more investment and effort than you expected

* If you have or are going to have kids, the school district where the house is is important

* Ask as many questions as you can before buying

 

Process to follow as a first time home buyer:

* Define your lifestyle, what you want in a house, and your budget

* Wants: determine your time-horizon, location, size, quality, convenience, cost, etc.

* Consider all of the costs that go into buying a house

* Mortgage down-payment

* Mortgage principal payments

* Mortgage interest payments

* Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) premiums if down-payment is less than 20%

* Home Owners Association (HOA) fees

* Property taxes

* Home owner’s insurance premiums

* Repairs if stuff is old or broken

* House price budget: make your mortgage payment/income ratio much lower than 33% (ex. $3,000/month income à monthly mortgage payment needs to be less than $1,000/month)

* Down-payment amount: Put down as much as possible without straining immediate needs (keep 6 months of living expenses in savings)

* Keep your expectations in check

* Qualify for a loan

* Approach a lender by reaching out to a bank or lending company

* Provide personal information documentation

* Pay stubs

* Tax returns

* Bank statements

* Rental history

* Net Worth calculation

* Get pre-approved for a mortgage loan

* Be careful, remember the bank is not your friend, they’re trying to make money off of you

* Shop around for houses

* Use real estate websites like

Virtual reality has evolved from visually immersive CGI like in the movie Avatar to 3D roller coasters that don’t actually move to fully immersive experiences. At this point, we are starting to see the very early stages of how it will become an everyday part of our lives.

 

In this episode, I sit down for a discussion with VR enthusiasts Josh Ruben, Josh Bankston, and Eric Liga to discuss the economic potential of virtual reality down the road. We juxtapose VR with augmented reality and talk about ways in which virtual reality is already being used today.

 

Josh Ruben is the co-founder and CEO of Z3VR, a VR development company.

Josh Bankston is the co-founder of HoustonVR, a Houston-based VR meetup group.

Similarly, Eric Liga is also the co-founder of HoustonVR.

 

Key Points in the podcast:

* The difference between “virtual reality” and “augmented reality”

* What the range of use cases for VR might be

* The biggest potential economic impacts of VR

 

Lastly, you can subscribe to The Post Money Plan podcast here.

 

Where should liberty end and regulation begin? Should someone be required against their will to bake a cake for everyone and not be allowed to deny service to anyone? People can look at the same situation and see a completely different side of the coin.

 

In this episode, I philosophize again on economic liberty with Libertarian and fellow podcast host Eric Benzenhoefer in light of the Supreme Court ruling regarding a bakery baking a cake for a homosexual couple. In order for society to more fully pursue ideals, we must have an idea of what those ideals should look like. Pursuing this, we consider liberty, its interplay with economic prosperity, and the moral implications of laws.

 

Key Points in the Podcast:

-The details of the Supreme Court cake situation

-The founding fathers of America seemed to believe liberty would beget economic prosperity

-Laws might better be based on morals/principals rather than outcomes

-Society ought not obligate someone to violate their moral convictions

-God endows us with our Rights

-We should not violate property rights because they are sacred

-Ownership (of property) incentivizes stewardship and production

-We could benefit economically from instituting some of the policies God gave the Israelites

 

Eric is the co-host of the Idea Tank Podcast, a show where they weigh out the merit of potential business ideas.

 

 

How should you make money decisions? Trying to manage a tight budget can be difficult enough, but even if you have surplus money it can be confusing where you should be putting it. But do you pay down debt? Or should you put more in a retirement fund? Could you borrow more and invest? Those decisions can be complicated and mentally draining, but automated solutions are emerging.

 

In this episode, I interview George Mathew about his money automation app ourLibra, which helps people repay their debts and optimize their assets in a way that is much less painful and time intensive than the current paradigm. To explain, the technology uses algorithm-based decision making to give you advice as to where to move your money between checking, debt repayment, retirement, etc.

 

Key points in the podcast:

-Personal bankers are too expensive for the average person, necessitating automation

-How automation will be huge for “regular” people’s finances

-OurLibra can help you with the problem of knowing where to move your money

-Eventually, technology will enable people to almost fully automate their personal finances

 

As always, you can subscribe to The Post Money Plan podcast here.