The Stacking Benjamins Show

By Joe Saul-Sehy and Josh ‘OG’ Bannerman, CFPBusiness Education Investing

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The Stacking Benjamins Show episodes

April 13Geopolitical Risk Is Spiking. Here's Why You Should Do Nothing. (SB1828)
Oil prices up. Tariffs in the headlines. Markets bouncing. Your phone serving you a fresh reason to panic every 10 seconds. This week Joe Saul-Sehy and OG break down why everything you're feeling right now is normal, why acting on it is the mistake, and how to think about your portfolio when the world feels like it's on fire. Plus CFP Anna Allem joins OG for the basics segment, walking through the three-bucket investing framework that makes it easier to ignore the noise.
In this episode:
Why volatility is the price of admission, not a warning sign, how the news business and your investing strategy are working against each other, why a broadening market is actually a healthy sign, and the foundation, bridge, engine framework for goals-based investing.
Biggest takeaways:
In a normal year the market drops 14% from its high watermark at some point during that year. Then it recovers. That's not a crisis. That's Tuesday.
The media's job is to keep you on the platform. Your job is to stay in the market. Those two goals are not compatible.
When you tie your money to a specific goal with a specific timeline, the day-to-day noise becomes almost irrelevant. Know which bucket your money is in and why.
Resources mentioned:
The Stacking Benjamins scorecard: stackingbenjamins.com/scorecard The Vault: stackingbenjamins.com/vault Stacking Benjamins guides (taxes, college planning, HR): stackingbenjamins.com/guides
FULL SHOW NOTES: https://stackingbenjamins.com/how-to-manage-geopolitical-risk-1828
Deeper dives with curated links, topics, and discussions are in our newsletter, The 201, available at https://www.stackingbenjamins.com/201

Enjoy!
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
53 min
April 13 Geopolitical Risk Is Spiking. Here's Why You Should Do Nothing. SB1828
Oil prices up. Tariffs in the headlines. Markets bouncing. Your phone serving you a fresh reason to panic every 10 seconds. This week Joe Saul-Sehy and OG break down why everything you're feeling right now is normal, why acting on it is the mistake, and how to think about your portfolio when the world feels like it's on fire. Plus CFP Anna Allem joins OG for the basics segment, walking through the three-bucket investing framework that makes it easier to ignore the noise.
In this episode:
Why volatility is the price of admission, not a warning sign, how the news business and your investing strategy are working against each other, why a broadening market is actually a healthy sign, and the foundation, bridge, engine framework for goals-based investing.
Biggest takeaways:
In a normal year the market drops 14% from its high watermark at some point during that year. Then it recovers. That's not a crisis. That's Tuesday.
The media's job is to keep you on the platform. Your job is to stay in the market. Those two goals are not compatible.
When you tie your money to a specific goal with a specific timeline, the day-to-day noise becomes almost irrelevant. Know which bucket your money is in and why.
Resources mentioned:
The Stacking Benjamins scorecard: stackingbenjamins.com/scorecard
The Vault: stackingbenjamins.com/vault
Stacking Benjamins guides (taxes, college planning, HR): stackingbenjamins.com/guides
FULL SHOW NOTES: https://stackingbenjamins.com/how-to-manage-geopolitical-risk-1828
Deeper dives with curated links, topics, and discussions are in our newsletter, The 201, available at https://www.stackingbenjamins.com/201
Enjoy!

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56 min
April 10No Retirement Savings at 40? Here's Exactly What to Do First (SB1827)
Most people don't start thinking seriously about retirement until their forties. If that's you, the good news is you're not behind. You're normal. And this week three CFPs, Jackie Cummings Koski, Roger Whitney, and OG break down exactly what to do, in what order, starting right now.
In this episode:
Why panic is the enemy of a good retirement plan, the first place your money should go before anything else, why your savings rate matters more than finding the perfect investment, and the one investing mistake people make when they feel behind.
Biggest takeaways:
Give yourself grace first. This stuff isn't taught in school. The two years Jackie spent just processing her situation before taking action weren't wasted. That clarity is what made everything else stick.
Increase your savings rate by 1% every six months. Going from 3% to 13% over five years feels like a non-event the entire time. Automation makes it invisible.
Simple beats clever. Index funds, low cost, diversified, and boring. When you feel behind, the temptation is to swing for the fences. That's exactly when boring saves you.
Real estate and dividend strategies are tactics. Tactics come after you have a strategy. For a 40-year-old starting from zero, the strategy is build the habit and save more.
Resources mentioned:
Jackie Cummings Koski's book Fire for Dummies and podcast Catching Up to FI at catchinguptofi.com
Roger Whitney's Retirement Answer Man podcast at rogerwhitney.com
The Stacking Benjamins scorecard: stackingbenjamins.com/scorecard
The Vault: stackingbenjamins.com/vault
FULL SHOW NOTES: https://stackingbenjamins.com/how-to-start-saving-for-retirement-at-40-1827
Deeper dives with curated links, topics, and discussions are in our newsletter, The 201, available at https://www.StackingBenjamins.com/201

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
1 hr 2 min
April 08Why You Should Stop Saving for Retirement 3 Years Early (SB1826)
Retirement expert Jamie Hopkins has spent 20 years helping people plan for retirement, and his most counterintuitive advice stops most savers cold: in the final years before you retire, putting more money away might actually be hurting you. This week he joins Joe and OG to explain why, and what to do instead.
In this episode:
Why financially prepared retirees still end up miserable, how to practice spending before you retire, the home bias that quietly tanks your portfolio and your quality of life at the same time, and what to actually do with all that home equity when the time comes.
Biggest takeaways:
The last three to five years of extra contributions barely move the needle on your retirement portfolio. Working six months longer matters more. So does learning to spend. Take that money and actually use it, so you're not hitting retirement having never practiced.
Retirement isn't a math problem, it's an identity problem. The people who struggle most aren't broke. They never figured out where their purpose and community would come from once work disappeared.
Over half of Americans are forced into retirement earlier than expected. You need a plan for that scenario now, not when it happens.
Resources mentioned:
Jamie Hopkins' Retirement Sketchbook wherever books are sold
The Stacking Benjamins scorecard: stackingbenjamins.com/scorecard
The Vault: stackingbenjamins.com/vault
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
1 hr 14 min
April 06You Don't Need a Huge Income to Build Real Wealth (SB1825)
A Kiplinger study of 1,000+ everyday millionaires found four traits that kept showing up. None of them involve a big salary, a hot stock tip, or a lucky break. This week Len Penzo, OG, and Joe dig into what those habits actually look like in practice, how to train yourself to spend with intention, and how to find a financial advisor who does what you actually need.
In this episode:
The "Midwest millionaire" traits anyone can adopt, why becoming a great saver can make you a terrible spender, the monthly money habit that takes 20 minutes and changes everything, and exactly what to say when you're interviewing financial advisors.
Biggest takeaways:
Frugality without intention is just suffering. The millionaires in this study were the last to spend on themselves and the first to give generously to others. Not cheap. Intentional.
Set a money goal big enough to compete with impulse spending. Once you have a real why, "I deserve this" stops winning.
When looking for a financial advisor, lead with exactly what you want in the first five minutes. A real professional will tell you if it's not their specialty.
Resources mentioned:
Len Penzo's blog and book True Money Stories at lenpenzo.com
The Stacking Benjamins scorecard: stackingbenjamins.com/scorecard
The Vault (budget and net worth tracker): stackingbenjamins.com/vault
FULL SHOW NOTES: https://stackingbenjamins.com/how-to-live-like-a-midwestern-millionaire-1825
Deeper dives with curated links, topics, and discussions are in our newsletter, The 201, available at https://www.stackingbenjamins.com/201

Enjoy!
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
1 hr 6 min
April 06 You Don't Need a Huge Income to Build Real Wealth SB1825
A Kiplinger study of 1,000+ everyday millionaires found four traits that kept showing up. None of them involve a big salary, a hot stock tip, or a lucky break. This week Len Penzo, OG, and Joe dig into what those habits actually look like in practice, how to train yourself to spend with intention, and how to find a financial advisor who does what you actually need.
In this episode:
The "Midwest millionaire" traits anyone can adopt, why becoming a great saver can make you a terrible spender, the monthly money habit that takes 20 minutes and changes everything, and exactly what to say when you're interviewing financial advisors.
Biggest takeaways:
Frugality without intention is just suffering. The millionaires in this study were the last to spend on themselves and the first to give generously to others. Not cheap. Intentional.
Set a money goal big enough to compete with impulse spending. Once you have a real why, "I deserve this" stops winning.
When looking for a financial advisor, lead with exactly what you want in the first five minutes. A real professional will tell you if it's not their specialty.
Resources mentioned:
Len Penzo's blog and book True Money Stories at lenpenso.com
The Stacking Benjamins scorecard: stackingbenjamins.com/scorecard
The Vault (budget and net worth tracker): stackingbenjamins.com/vault
FULL SHOW NOTES: https://stackingbenjamins.com/how-to-live-like-a-midwestern-millionaire-1825
Deeper dives with curated links, topics, and discussions are in our newsletter, The 201, available at https://www.stackingbenjamins.com/201
Enjoy!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
1 hr 9 min
April 03Building Your Personal Finance Curriculum (At Any Age) SB1824
Most of us were never taught this stuff. So, where do you actually start?
Thirty-nine states now require a personal finance course to graduate from high school. That's real progress — and it still might not be enough. Because financial education isn't a one-time event. It's a living curriculum that has to grow with you, stay connected to your actual life, and — crucially — help you get out of your own way when things get emotionally charged.
This week, Joe and the crew build that curriculum from the ground up. Whether you're 22 or 52, there's a starting point here for you.
Rubin Miller — Financial advisor, founder of Peltoma Capital, and author of the Fortunes and Frictions blog. Came from the investment world before financial planning, which means he sees the whole game differently and isn't afraid to say so on LinkedIn.
Paula Pant — Afford Anything host, behavioral finance truth-teller, and the person who goes on record this week with a very confident guess about the trivia answer.
OG — The basement's own financial planner, father of a teenager who wants to day trade, and enthusiastic opponent of giving the government any money he doesn't absolutely have to.
On building the foundation:
Why the first step in any financial plan is an honest accounting of where everything actually stands: income, spending, assets, debt, all of it
What's coming up in the next three to five years and why that question matters more than any abstract retirement calculation
Why teaching a 17-year-old about mortgages probably doesn't stick and what actually does
The one thing traditional savings accounts do really well (hint: it's great for banks, not for you)
Why your behavior matters more than your math and what to do about it
On protecting what you're building:
The insurance mistake most people make: spending too much protecting low-probability events and too little protecting high-probability ones
Why disability insurance is more expensive than life insurance and what that price difference is actually telling you
When improving your credit score should not be your priority (this one surprises people)
Why debt is never really "good," just occasionally less bad
On growing your money:
What an investment philosophy actually is and why you need one before you pick a single fund
The behavioral biases — recency bias, loss aversion, the availability heuristic — that make smart people do dumb things with their portfolios
Why nobody ever thinks they're panicking. They just think the circumstances changed.
Why taxes are a year-round event, not a February problem
The financial media teaches you to chase. New strategy, hot sector, better fund. But the research keeps landing in the same place: most investors' biggest obstacle isn't information. It's themselves. The curriculum that actually helps isn't the one that covers the most ground. It's the one that connects to your real life, your real timeline, and the emotional triggers that quietly blow up even the best-laid plans.
Start there. Everything else builds on top.
Rubin joins the crew for the first time and immediately plays trivia on Jesse Cramer's behalf — which feels both generous and karmic, given that Jesse and his wife Kelly just welcomed a new baby into the world (on Jesse's birthday, no less). Doug brings the Eddie Murphy birthday trivia energy. Paula goes on record with a very confident guess. OG applies his usual ironclad logic to arrive at his number. Someone wins. Someone absolutely should not have said what they said out loud before the answer was revealed.

MENTIONED / RESOURCES
Rubin Miller's blog: fortunesandfrictions.com
Peltoma Capital: palomacapital.com
Rubin on LinkedIn: search Rubin Miller
Paula Pant: Afford Anything podcast, wherever you listen
OG's calendar: stackingbenjamins.com/OG
Wall Street Journal piece on personal finance requirements by state

New to the basement? Subscribe so you never miss an episode — and if this one made you want to finally build your own financial curriculum, that's the whole point.
FULL SHOW NOTES: https://stackingbenjamins.com/looking-at-your-money-report-card-1824
Deeper dives with curated links, topics, and discussions are in our newsletter, The 201, available at https://www.StackingBenjamins.com/201
Enjoy!
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
1 hr 6 min
April 01You Don't Need a Big Break to Become a Millionaire -- You Need a Better System (SB1823)
Bola Sokunbi didn't start with advantages. She started with a $54,000 salary she never negotiated, a rollover IRA mistake that cost her 40% of her savings, a tenant who stopped paying rent for eight months, and a first year of business that generated exactly $200. She's also built one of the most influential personal finance brands in the country and helped millions of people on the path to becoming millionaires. The gap between those two things isn't luck. It's four pillars -- and she walks through all of them today.
What You'll Walk Away With
The four wealth-building pillars that work in any combination -- and why you only need one to start

Why negotiating your salary isn't about being aggressive -- and the simple strategy Bola used to close a gap between $54,000 and the $70,000+ her peers were already making for the same work

The rollover IRA mistake that cost Bola nearly 40% of her retirement savings in a single tax year -- and exactly how to avoid it

Why the investing pillar isn't just a 401k -- and the specific questions to ask yourself to know if you're actually maximizing it

The honest truth about real estate as a wealth-building vehicle -- including what Bola learned from eight months of unpaid rent and a judge who heard everything

How to get into real estate investing without ever becoming a landlord

The entrepreneurship timeline nobody posts on social media -- and the financial runway strategy that lets you build a business without blowing up your household finances

Why the four pillars aren't meant to be pursued one at a time -- and how stacking them together is where the real wealth acceleration happens

The one mindset shift that separates people who build wealth from people who keep waiting for the right moment

Why starting late is a story we tell ourselves -- and what the math actually says about investors who begin in their 40s or 50s
Why This Matters Now
If you're in your 40s and you've been doing the right things -- contributing to the 401k, avoiding bad debt, building some savings -- but still feel like the millionaire milestone is someone else's story, this episode is the reframe you didn't know you needed. Wealth at this stage isn't about finding a better investment. It's about understanding which pillars you already have, which ones you're leaving on the table, and how to combine them in a way that fits your actual life.
From the Basement
Bola Sokunbi joins Joe and OG to walk through the four pillars of her new book, Clever Girl Millionaire -- and yes, the guys are allowed in today. Doug arrives with April Fools trivia involving the Tower of London and a very old prank about lion-washing that somehow still worked on Londoners in 1856. Joe and OG also spend the headline segment making what is either a very compelling case for strategic debt -- or the most elaborate April Fools bit in Stacking Benjamins history. The basement scoreboard had nothing to do with any of it.
Resources Mentioned
Clever Girl Millionaire by Bola Sokunbi -- available wherever books are sold

Clever Girl Finance -- free courses, worksheets, and resources at clevergirlfinance.com

Clever Girl Finance on YouTube and Instagram -- @CleverGirlFinance

Grind by (coffee shop founder) -- referenced by Joe during the entrepreneurship discussion

Stacking Benjamins Scorecard -- assess your financial strategy at stackingbenjamins.com/scorecard

Stacking Benjamins Meetups -- find a local group at stackingbenjamins.com/bad

Live Show -- Stacking Benjamins and Afford Anything joint live recording, April 7th at Texas A&M Texarkana; details at stackingbenjamins.com/meetup
FULL SHOW NOTES: https://stackingbenjamins.com/clever-girl-how-to-become-a-millionaire-1823
Deeper dives with curated links, topics, and discussions are in our newsletter, The 201, available at https://www.stackingbenjamins.com/201
Enjoy!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
1 hr 3 min
March 30What to Do With Your Money When the Market Is Scaring Everyone Else (SB1822)
Markets are down. Social media is loud. And somewhere in the back of your mind, a voice is asking if you should do something. That voice has cost investors more money than any bear market in history. Joe and OG dig into what actually separates disciplined investors from everyone panic-refreshing their brokerage account -- and how to build the guardrails that keep you from making the one mistake that derails everything you've built.
What You'll Walk Away With
Why the average intra-year market decline is 14% -- and what that means for how seriously you should be taking a 5% dip right now

The real reason financial news channels make you feel like you need to act -- and how understanding their business model changes everything

How to build a simple investment policy statement that removes emotion from the equation before the next market drop hits

Why setting arbitrary calendar dates to review your portfolio might be the single most underrated investing strategy available to anyone

The case for checking your portfolio less often -- including a real example of how last April's market chaos looked completely different depending on how often you were watching

How to set automatic triggers that tell you when it's actually time to rebalance -- so you're never guessing in the middle of a storm

A powerful perspective shift: look at your tax returns from 2003 or 2010 and then look at your balance today -- what that exercise does to your decision-making in volatile markets

Why your only real job as a long-term investor is to not interrupt the compounding -- and how systems make that easier than willpower ever could

A four-factor framework for calculating exactly how much emergency fund you actually need -- built around your income, job stability, reemployment risk, and expense flexibility

Why the standard three-to-six month emergency fund rule is the wrong starting point -- and what a personalized risk-based approach looks like instead
Why This Matters Now
If you're in your 40s and you've been building toward something -- a retirement account that finally has real weight to it, a financial plan that took years to assemble -- a volatile market feels personal. Because it is. The stakes are higher than they were in your 30s and the noise is louder than ever. The investors who come out ahead aren't the ones who reacted fastest. They're the ones who had a plan written down before things got uncomfortable.
From the Basement
Joe and OG work through what a real investment policy statement looks like in plain language -- rules, triggers, and all. OG and Anna return with the second installment of the financial planning basics series, this time tackling exactly how much emergency fund you need using a four-factor framework that replaces the three-to-six month rule of thumb with something actually built around your life. Doug arrives with insurance trivia that is technically about premiums and practically about Joe's unregistered vehicle situation in Texarkana. Whether the basement scoreboard survived the week is a separate matter entirely.
Resources Mentioned
JP Morgan Guide to the Markets -- monthly research report tracking S&P 500 returns and intra-year declines (Google "JP Morgan Guide to the Markets" for the latest edition)

Stock Market Maestros by Claire Flynn Levy and Lee Freeman-Shor -- referenced throughout; available wherever books are sold

SSA.gov -- Social Security earnings history lookup, referenced as a tool for tracking long-term financial progress

Stacking Benjamins Scorecard -- rate your overall financial strategy at stackingbenjamins.com/scorecard

Stacking Benjamins Vault -- budgeting and net worth tracking tool at stackingbenjamins.com/vault

Stacking Benjamins Voicemail -- share your investment policy statement questions at stackingbenjamins.com/voicemail

Stacking Benjamins Meetups -- find a group near you at stackingbenjamins.com/bad
FULL SHOW NOTES: https://www.stackingbenjamins.com/how-to-protect-your-money-for-when-times-turn-bad-1822/
Deeper dives with curated links, topics, and discussions are in our newsletter, The 201, available at https://www.stackingbenjamins.com/201
Enjoy!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
48 min
March 27Stop Relying on Willpower (Build This Instead) SB1821
Willpower has a terrible track record with money. It works until it doesn't, and then your good intentions are the first thing to go when life gets busy. The investors and savers who actually make consistent progress aren't trying harder. They've built systems that keep running in the background whether they're paying attention or not. Joe Saul-Sehy, OG, Paula Pant, and Jesse Cramer break down the small, repeatable habits that quietly move the needle -- and why simpler usually wins.
What You'll Walk Away With
Why motivation fades and willpower fails -- and the structural shift that keeps your finances moving forward anyway

The real debate between starting small and going big with savings -- and how to know which approach actually sticks for your personality

A practical framework for automating your finances so progress happens whether you're paying attention or not

When tracking every budget category helps -- and when narrowing your focus to just one creates faster, more lasting wins

How to dump a year's worth of spending data into an AI tool and get back a categorized breakdown that surfaces forgotten subscriptions and leaks you've stopped seeing

The surprising relief that comes from consolidating accounts -- and why mental buckets sometimes matter more than the actual number of accounts

Why brand loyalty and fewer cards aren't just convenient -- they quietly reduce the decision fatigue that erodes financial consistency

The "joy budget" reframe that changes how you think about spending -- and makes it easier to spot what's actually worth keeping

The shift that changes everything -- from cutting spending to aligning spending with what actually matters to you

How small habit changes, repeated without fanfare, compound into financial progress that eventually surprises you
Why This Matters Now
In your 40s, mental bandwidth is the real scarce resource. Work, family, and a hundred competing priorities mean complicated financial systems tend to break down exactly when you need them most. The edge doesn't come from trying harder -- it comes from simplifying, automating, and setting up defaults that keep working on your busiest days, when you're not thinking about money at all.
From the Basement
Joe, OG, Paula Pant, and Jesse Cramer trade strategies on building better financial habits while the crew debates whether you should start small or go big -- and nobody agrees. Doug arrives with a Beatles trivia question that shifts the basement scoreboard in ways the current leader did not anticipate. Whether the points hold or the margin call changes everything is a question best answered with your earbuds in.
FULL SHOW NOTES: https://stackingbenjamins.com/diving-into-the-all-weather-portfolio-with-paul-merriman-1821
Deeper dives with curated links, topics, and discussions are in our newsletter, The 201, available at https://www.StackingBenjamins.com/201
Enjoy!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
1 hr 5 min

About The Stacking Benjamins Show

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Named Best Personal Finance Podcast by Bankrate.com and Kiplinger — and the only podcast the Plutus Awards retired from competition after winning twice — The Stacking Benjamins Show is personal…