We know how the war began. You may know many of the battles. Of course, you know how it ended because you're celebrating the end today if you live in the USA. But how was the war paid for? Today we dive into answering that question with historian Thomas Schachtman. He'll share stories about our founding fathers, their fortunes, and what was at stake if the revolution had gone differently, from both a personal and financial perspective.

That's not all! Of course, we'll share a headline ripped from the news when this show first aired, answer a listener question, and dive into Doug's trivia.

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Is this the worst possible time to retire (or to make ANY big financial move)? Inflation is SLIGHTLY up. The stock market is SLIGHTLY down. This could feel less like retirement and more like falling into a deep, dark chasm. Yet, our panel today is here to provide a flashlight and some safety equipment for your goals. Kyle Landis-Marinello joins us (author of Personal Finance and Investing), along with Paula Pant (AffordAnything podcast), and our own OG. We'll dive into the problems associated with making big moves right now and one-by-one work through all of the problem points. By the end of the show, we hope you'll have a much clearer path toward still achieving what you want, when you want, with your money.

But that's not all! Doug also will orchestrate another chapter in our year-long trivia challenge, as OG fights to pass Len for first place and Paula hopes to regain the fight for the world's worst trophy. It's all that and much more! Come join us!

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Instead of focusing on what you're going to do today, how about deciding "what am I NOT going to do?" That's one of many pieces of productivity advice that Oliver Burkeman brings to the basement table today. He's studied productivity over his long career and has now written a new hit book on the topic. Oliver shares lessons from Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management For Mortals on today's show.

In our headlines segment we address a recent Wall Street Journal piece that calls the bottom of the recent stock market downturn. When will the ugliness end? We'll also ask OG's opinion. Plus, it's Gary Busey's birthday, so Doug will help us with some non-sequitur trivia.

Enjoy!

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It's a popular refrain: evaluate your life to reduce time pressure and the resulting stress. But what if this approach wasn't as useful as you'd initially thought? We went from driving to a store to purchase closing to "one-click" ordering on Amazon to save time, but what did we lose in the process? Are we making poorer decisions because we're moving at the speed of light, all propelled by brands working hard to get you to buy more. When you save time, do you actually feel less stressed (hell, do any of us feel less stressed than we did ten years ago?) What if adding friction was the answer, rather than decreasing it. Soon Yu joins us today to talk about why friction may not be all bad, and why it can actually help keep more Benjamins in your wallet. He shares stories about a 20-minute coffee process, baking cakes, and how we can manipulate our dopamine levels to reduce unnecessary spending.

But wait, there's more! In our headline segment, we talk about Social Security benefits and the misinformation to watch out for. You expect to get correct information when you call the Social Security Administration but some agents are handing out incorrect information by mistake. We'll tell you what to look out for and how to check your Social Security benefits before you retire. We also answer Jake's question about receiving a gift from his mom and Doug shares his TV trivia.

Enjoy!

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How much do you love your current job? Some studies show that more than half of people are unhappy with their job in some way. Finding your calling and a career you don't regret can be tough but our roundtable today will help you think about the right questions to ask yourself and tips to not regretting your career. We welcome Doc G from Earn & Invest, Len Penzo from len penzo dot com and Paula Pant from Afford Anything to share their career mistakes, regrets, and tips to finding your calling.

And of course we have another round of our trivia challenge today with Doug's super serious trivia.

Enjoy!

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You've probably heard of having skin in the game, but what about having soul in the game? Having soul, in whatever game you choose, brings purpose and meaning to life. Our guest today learned about putting his soul into his work and finding true purpose from his parents. Vitaliy Katsenelson grew up in a small Russian town and saw the struggles and sacrifices his parents made to give him and his siblings a great life. Vitaliy shares the lessons he learned and why money is secondary to finding purpose in life.

That's not all for today though. In our headline segment, we're brining up Gamestop stock again, but not for the reason you might think. The SEC is holding the magnifying glass to a little term called payment for order flow which became its own scandal during the Gamestop stock craze. We share what it means and why it matters. We also answer David's question about helping his mom find new work after an injury and Doug will share his trivia.

Enjoy!

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Buffie Purselle is a tour-de-force. She started her own business at 19. She's been featured on not ONE but TWO reality television shows. She's helped hundreds of budding entrepreneurs begin businesses. So to celebrate Juneteenth we're helping empower YOU with the woman who believes that you have to "crawl before you ball." She'll share stories from her own upbringing and early jobs that you can learn from to fast-track your own success. She also shares the dark moment when she realized things were headed in the wrong direction, and she needed to change her ways if she wanted to be successful.

That's not even CLOSE to all of our topics, though. In our headline segment, we discuss some of the scandal behind meme stock trading: selling order flow. Wheels have been in motion since the meme stock craze began (remember Gamestop and AMC Theater stock?). Right now the SEC is trying to make some changes, and we'll share what it's all about. We'll also throw out the Haven Life line to Melissa who wants to find a fee-free HSA account. Why pay fees when there are great accounts out there with zero maintenance fees? We share how to find those free accounts. And we'll leave time for Doug's trivia AND our fairly gross TikTok Minute. Just another Federal holiday in Joe's mom's basement.

Enjoy!

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Did you know that when at a fine dining restaurant, you should never lift your menu from the table? ...or that you should sip your drink from the exact same spot on the glass each time? On top of that, definitely do NOT announce to the table that you're headed to the bathroom. What does any of this have to do with money? Besides the fact that if you're interviewing or networking at a restaurant and you could stand to gain a few Benjamins from the experience, there are also some money rules that many people don't know or follow. What are they? Our regulars today dive into their favorites: Paula Pant from the Afford Anything podcast, Len Penzo from Len Penzo dot com, and our co-host here OG. They all share solid advice and awkward stories, everything from sharing salaries to making assumptions about other people's money. As usual, right in the middle of it all, Doug will share his trivia to continue our year-long competition among our regular contributors.

Enjoy!

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You start that amazing new job and the boss hands you a giant stack of paperwork. Does that sound familiar? One of those forms is most likely a crucial piece of your financial picture: your 401k enrollment. How much should you contribute? How do you choose investments? Today, Joe and OG share the top mistakes they see people make with their 401k, so you can learn from others' mistakes and avoid your own future headache. You're welcome! From not contributing enough to choosing the wrong investments, they share it all.

In our headline segment, we're diving into one group who seemingly predicts the market better than most analysts. How do they do it and who the heck are they? Oh, we'll explain! And it's probably not a group you'd expect. Then, of course, we let Doug share his auto-themed trivia.

Enjoy!

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Remember the phrase 30-and-out? That was what people said when they'd sign up to work for the same company for their entire working lives. Since the days of single-job employment, working thirty years has become a standard idea. But why? Kiersten and Julien Saunders are the brains behind the new book Cashing Out, where they throw 30 years to the curb. Instead, they advocate focusing on 15 years. We'll dive into that, saving more effectively for your goals, the FIRE movement, and more, in a wide-ranging conversation with this dynamic duo (they also are the team behind the popular rich & REGULAR blog, podcast, and more.

In our headlines segment, credit company Transunion is out with a new study asking the question, "How are you holding up during this era of massive inflation?" Charlie Wise from the company joins us to talk credit and some worrisome trends that you should hear so that you can avoid overstepping your credit lines.

Of course, we'll also share an UGLY TikTok minute about life insurance, ask you a tough postal service trivia question from Doug, and more.

...just another Monday at the Stacking Benjamins show! Enjoy!

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