Time for a Friday Flight- our little sampling of the week’s best financial news and what it means for your personal finances. There are a lot of headlines out there, but we boil them down to specific takeaways that will allow you to kick off the weekend informed and help you to get ahead with your money. In this episode we explain some relevant and helpful stories like:

• Stocks at all-time highs
• Bag fees and fuel surcharges
• Surging HOA fees
• This old house
• Spending those tax refunds
• You’re owed some money (Unclaimed.org & MissingMoney.com)
• Don’t be a victim
• Degree doubts
• Free degrees
• Upper-middle class ascendency
• Tough times for rideshare
• Life insurance in the back of a Lyft (better -> Life Insurance: A Step By Step Guide)

Want more How To Money in your life? Here are some additional ways to get ahead with your personal finances:

• Credit card perks: Check out our favorite credit cards that we use to maximize rewards and optimize our spending.
• Other money nerds: Find a thriving community of fellow money nerds by joining the HTM Facebook group!
• Newsletter: Sign up for the weekly HTM newsletter. It’s fun, free, & practical.
• Money Gears: knowing what to do with your money is crucial to your personal finance journey.
• MG7: and maybe you’re well on your way to financial independence but you’re looking for some financial reassurance, that’s when heading over to HowToMoney.com/Advisor and getting matched with a highly vetted financial advisor makes sense.

And please help us to spread the word by letting friends and family know about How to Money! Hit the share button, subscribe if you’re not already a regular listener, and give us a quick review in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Help us to change the conversation around personal finance and get more people doing smart things with their money!

Best friends out!

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Let's talk about Social Security. More than music, clothing, or even political views, Social Security might be the single biggest generational fault line in America right now. Boomers are thrilled to finally be collecting on a promise decades in the making while Millennials and Gen Z are quietly wondering if there'll be anything left by the time we get there. And honestly? That concern isn't crazy! Social Security almost certainly isn't going away entirely, but it's probably not going to look exactly the same as it does today either. Mike Piper, CPA and Social Security expert, joins the show today to explore the future of Social Security, optimal claiming strategies, and how to plan for retirement amid uncertain benefits. Specifically covered:

• What happens when the trust fund is gone?!
• Downsides of overly conservative financial plans
• Claiming strategies when we’re living longer
• Adjusting plans after a health diagnosis
• The Open Social Security strategy calculator
• Taking opportunity cost into account
• Early retirement considerations
• Common mistakes with DIY investors
• … and plenty more!

Can’t get enough How To Money? Here are some additional ways to get ahead with your personal finances:

• Mike Piper: Head over to Mike’s site, Oblivious Investor for his latest writings and Open Social Security for his free open-source strategy calculator.
• Credit card perks: Check out our favorite credit cards that we use to maximize rewards and optimize our spending.
• Money Gears: Knowing what to do with your money is crucial to your personal finance journey.
• Newsletter: Sign up for the weekly HTM newsletter. It’s fun, free, & practical.
• Other money nerds: Find a thriving community of fellow money nerds by joining the HTM Facebook group!

And please help us to spread the word by letting friends and family know about How to Money! Hit the share button, subscribe if you’re not already a regular listener, and give us a quick review in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Help us to change the conversation around personal finance and get more people doing smart things with their money!

Best friends out!

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’re kicking off the week by answering your listener questions! And if you have a question that you’d like for us to answer on the show, we’d love for you to submit your own via HowToMoney.com/ask , send us your voice memo. Regardless of how random or bizarre you might think it is, we want to hear it!

1 - Free Fidelity Funds: Are they the “cheap” option or a great way to get wealthy?!

2 - 3% Cashback: Will paying for a Robinhood Gold membership allow me to get my hands on the Gold credit card?

3 - Rising Insurance Premiums: What’s the deal with opting for higher deductibles for lower premiums?

4 - Social (in)Security: Why don’t lawmakers raise the income cap in order to help keep the trust fund solvent?

5 - PTO Cash-Out: Should I cash-out my paid time off to pay off our house sooner, or actually kick back a little more?

Want more How To Money in your life? Here are some additional ways to get ahead with your personal finances:

• Credit card perks: Check out our favorite credit cards that we use to maximize rewards and optimize our spending.
• Other money nerds: Find a thriving community of fellow money nerds by joining the HTM Facebook group!
• Newsletter: Sign up for the weekly HTM newsletter. It’s fun, free, & practical.
• Money Gears: knowing what to do with your money is crucial to your personal finance journey.
• MG7: and maybe you’re well on your way to financial independence but you’re looking for some financial reassurance, that’s when heading over to HowToMoney.com/Advisor and getting matched with a highly vetted financial advisor makes sense.

During this episode we enjoyed a Soft Static by Inner Voice! And please help us to spread the word by letting friends and family know about How to Money! Hit the share button, subscribe if you’re not already a regular listener, and give us a quick review in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Help us to change the conversation around personal finance and get more people doing smart things with their money!

Best friends out!

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.