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Time is coming for us all, and according to one survey, 73% of adult children haven’t had detailed conversations with their parents about their parents’ finances. In fact, many of them don’t know how to even start the discussion.   Today, on The Best Interest Podcast, Jesse explains a few ways to bring up this conversation, gather information, and details which topics you should discuss not just with your parents, but family at large.   Communication is a huge part of personal finance and all relationships, and the mixture of finance and family is a place where communication is paramount.   Jesse also reflects on the five regrets we commonly have at the end of life, and how David Foster Wallace thinks we should approach living a meaningful life.   Mentions: GOBankingRates Survey: https://www.gobankingrates.com/saving-money/family/americans-discuss-finances-aging-parents-survey/ Bronnie’s List: https://bestinterest.blog/the-top-5-regrets-of-the-dying/ This is Water: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCbGM4mqEVw   More of The Best Interest: Check out the Best Interest Blog at bestinterest.blog Contact me at jesse@bestinterest.blog   The Best Interest Podcast is a personal podcast meant for educational and entertainment. It should not be taken as financial advice, and is not prescriptive of your financial situation.

Today, we explore the concept of FIRE, a community of individuals dedicated to the principles of achieving financial independence and early retirement.    Jesse plays devil’s advocate against FIRE, dives into the nuance of the 4% rule (a widely misunderstood concept in the FIRE community), and demonstrates how to shape financial independence to work for your personal goals.   Then, Brad Barrett, the host of the popular personal finance podcast Choose FI, joins Jesse to cover the objective numbers when it comes to achieving financial independence before traditional retirement and why pursuing financial independence may be worthwhile even if you don't reach full FIRE.    Mentions: Wade Pfau’s Updated Trinity Study: https://www.forbes.com/sites/wadepfau/2018/01/16/the-trinity-study-and-portfolio-success-rates-updated-to-2018/?sh=18e5e1946860   The Origin of the 4% Rule: https://www.fa-mag.com/news/choosing-the-highest--safe--withdrawal-rate-at-retirement-57731.html   Mr Money Mustache’s Shockingly Simple Math: https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/01/13/the-shockingly-simple-math-behind-early-retirement/   Die with Zero: https://amzn.to/3LTxmh5   FIRE Starter: A Brief Intro to Personal Finance’s Hot New Acronym: https://bestinterest.blog/fire-starter-a-brief-intro-to-personal-finances-hot-new-acronym/   You’re Probably Using the 4% Rule All Wrong: https://bestinterest.blog/the-4-percent-rule/   How to Retire Decades Early: https://bestinterest.blog/how-to-retire-decades-early/   Choose FI Podcast: https://www.choosefi.com/   More of The Best Interest: Check out the Best Interest Blog at bestinterest.blog Contact me at jesse@bestinterest.blog   The Best Interest Podcast is a personal podcast meant for educational and entertainment. It should not be taken as financial advice, and is not prescriptive of your financial situation.

Three things are certain in life: death, taxes, and a couple weekly articles from The Best Interest. Today we explore the intersection of two of the most important components of personal finances, taxes and investing and why you might save thousands of dollars off your tax bill.   Jesse tackles the topic of taxes from a few different angles: the most common mistakes in understanding taxes including tax brackets, how they work and why accepting a raise can’t decrease your take home pay, the RRTTLLU framework of assessing investments and taxes, the “real returns” of different tax-advantaged accounts, and a deep-dive lesson in capital gains taxes.   Mentions: Capital Gains Taxes 101: https://bestinterest.blog/capital-gains-taxes-101/ Roth is Better Than Traditional: https://bestinterest.blog/roth-is-better-than-traditional/ How Do Taxes Affect Stock Return?: https://bestinterest.blog/how-do-taxes-affect-stock-returns/ RRTTLLU: https://bestinterest.blog/rrttllu/ 15 Minutes Saving $120,000: https://bestinterest.blog/15-minutes-of-math/ How Do Tax Brackets Work?: https://bestinterest.blog/how-tax-brackets-work/ Reddit Investing Question: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-9EB24Y-ow0yutfVoWICM4We9p4m9b7C4JRoqKI9G_c/edit#gid=0   More of The Best Interest: Check out the Best Interest Blog at bestinterest.blog Contact me at jesse@bestinterest.blog   The Best Interest Podcast is a personal podcast meant for educational and entertainment. It should not be taken as financial advice, and is not prescriptive of your financial situation.

Uncle Jim is certain Tesla stock is about to go up. He’s been right before. I mean he’s also been wrong, but only when something unpredictable happened. So, should we trust Uncle Jim knows what he’s talking about?   Well, I’m confident the average “Uncle Jim” is way too overconfident. Larry Swedroe says the biggest risk to most investors is staring them in the mirror, and I’d have to agree.    So, how does this overconfidence manifest itself in investors, and where does it come from? Sit back as I explore the concept of self-attribution bias and how to find yourself in the Goldilocks zone of confidence where it’s not too warm, but not too cold.    Mentions: A Random Walk Down Wall Street: The Time-Tested Strategy for Successful Investing: https://amzn.to/3GsT6OH “Men’s Honest Overconfidence May Lead to Male Domination in the C–Suite”: https://www8.gsb.columbia.edu/newsroom/newsn/1879/mens-honest-overconfidence-may-lead-to-male-domination-in-the-csuite “Overconfidence – Investors’ Worst Enemy” by Larry Swedroe:  https://www.evidenceinvestor.com/overconfidence-investors-worst-enemy/   More of The Best Interest: Check out the Best Interest Blog at bestinterest.blog Contact me at jesse@bestinterest.blog   The Best Interest Podcast is a personal podcast meant for educational and entertainment. It should not be taken as financial advice, and is not prescriptive of your financial situation.

Why is personal finance so complicated? Even worse, the Internet is full of personal finance “experts” providing short-sighted, error-prone, and outright bad financial advice.    Sure, we all need the basic advice - investing 101, budgeting, how to avoid financial frauds. But then there’s the more complicated stuff…   What happened at Silicon Valley Bank in March 2023?  Why did bonds - a supposedly safe investment - suffer losses in 2022?  How did the Great Financial Crisis happen - and could it happen again?!    We all want to understand significant financial events but don't want to constantly read and watch a stream of negative news that stresses us out.    Real topics with real implications, deserving a simple, straight forward explanation. We don’t have time to be Warren Buffett or get Economics PhDs. We shouldn’t have to! But we need to be aware of what’s going on. This stuff affects our lives.    That’s where The Best Interest Podcast come in, hosted by me, Jesse Cramer.    I take the important news, break it down in simple terms, and reinforce the important personal finance advice that these events should teach us.   I use everyday experiences to make personal finance accessible for the average investor. Extensive research and simple narrative makes finance both informative and enjoyable.    By day, I work for a fiduciary wealth management firm in Rochester, NY, helping clients 1-on-1 create their long-term financial plans and investment portfolios. By night, I runs The Best Interest - nominated in 2022 for "Personal Finance Blog of the Year.”    The Best Interest simplifies personal finance and investing to make your life easier, smarter…and a little richer, too. Come invest in knowledge with The Best Interest.

If a guy from Facebook messages you about whole life insurance more than your mom texts you, it's time to be suspicious. He may have more interest in your wallet than your well-being.   But not all insurance is bad. Insurance is meant to protect wealth, not create it, and anyone who’s crashed their car or broken their clavicle knows this to be true.    So, what insurance is right for you? Jesse breaks down the types of personal insurance that can help protect your assets, your health and your loved ones. Oh, and he also throws shade at that guy from Facebook trying to sell you on whole life insurance. Spoiler alert: more often than not, whole life insurance isn’t optimal for you.   But Jesse’s no expert on insurance, so he brings in Broc Buckles, owner of BC Brokerage, a fee-only insurance brokerage focused on making insurance simple. Broc walks us through what kind of insurance a 25-45 year old might benefit from, what insurance is overkill, and the difference between whole life vs term life insurance.    Follow Brock: Website: https://www.bc-brokerage.com/ Email: Broc@bc-brokerage.com   More of The Best Interest: Check out the Best Interest Blog at bestinterest.blog Contact me at jesse@bestinterest.blog   The Best Interest Podcast is a personal podcast meant for educational and entertainment. It should not be taken as financial advice, and is not prescriptive of your financial situation.

Bank runs, collapses, and bailouts. Anyone else getting GFC PTSD? The Silicon Valley Bank collapse is the largest bank collapse since the 2008 Great Financial Crisis,, and the second largest U.S. bank collapse ever. So, why did it happen? Will this spark a larger contagion throughout the banking sector and the U.S. economy, and should everyday savers be concerned?   Jesse breaks down the larger infrastructure of the banking industry, what specific mechanics led to the failure of Silicon Valley Bank, and what might come of it in the near future.   Mentions: Blog: https://bestinterest.blog/silicon-valley-bank-101/ It’s a Wonderful Life Bank Run: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPkJH6BT7dM&t=5s Why Warren Buffett Said No to Lehman and AIG in 2008 WSJ: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QeUcfqkUzc   More of The Best Interest: Check out the Best Interest Blog at bestinterest.blog Contact me at jesse@bestinterest.blog   The Best Interest Podcast is a personal podcast meant for educational and entertainment. It should not be taken as financial advice, and is not prescriptive of your financial situation.  

So what did Warren Buffett mean by silver tongued demagogues and slaying dragons? Jesse sits down with Rob Bradley, a fellow Berkshire Hathaway shareholder and CFP in Rochester, NY, to discuss the wealth of knowledge behind Berkshire Hathaway’s latest annual letter to shareholders.    Buffett is widely regarded as one of the greatest investors of all time and his investing style has been studied and emulated by many investors over the years. Rob breaks down how Berkshire Hathaway has outperformed the S&P, invested in Apple as an indispensable consumer product, and poised itself to take advantage of domestic businesses based on their intrinsic value.   Quotes: "Charlie and I are not stock pickers. We are business pickers." "When you are told that all repurchases are harmful to shareholders or to the country or particularly beneficial to CEOs. You are listening to either an economic illiterate or a silver tongued demagogue, characters that are not mutually exclusive."  "Successful investing takes time, discipline and patience. No matter how great the effort, some things just take time. You can't produce a baby in 1 month by getting 9 women pregnant.” “Bitcoin was probably rat poison squared.” "Interest rates are to financial instruments as gravity is to matter."    Mentions: Becky Quick, of CNBC will review questions that shareholders have submitted by e-mail and select those she believes will have the widest interest. Questions can be submitted to Becky at berkshirequestions@cnbc.com.   Berkshire Hathaway Annual Letter: https://www.berkshirehathaway.com/letters/2022ltr.pdf   More of The Best Interest: Check out the Best Interest Blog at bestinterest.blog Contact me at jesse@bestinterest.blog   The Best Interest Podcast is a personal podcast meant for educational and entertainment. It should not be taken as financial advice, and is not prescriptive of your financial situation.

Truth be told, personal finance is simple. There’s only a small number of foundational rules and a sprinkle of middle school math involved.    But our natural human short-comings make personal finance difficult to enact. So, how can we overcome the biases and behaviors that prevent us from successfully achieving our financial goals?    Jesse simplifies personal finance into three basic rules: spend less than you earn, save or invest the difference, and create safety nets. It’s great to have a foundation, however, we all know the devil’s in the details, so Jesse shares analogies regarding The Leaning Tower of Pisa, a former NFL player who grew up in poverty, and Warren Buffet to illustrate the nuance of his three rules.   Mentions: “The Easiest Money That Investors Ignore” https://bestinterest.blog/easiest-money-investors-ignore/ “Isn’t Personal Finance Pretty Simple?!” https://bestinterest.blog/simple/ “The Golden Rule of Personal Finance” https://bestinterest.blog/golden-rule/   More of The Best Interest: Check out the Best Interest Blog at bestinterest.blog Contact me at jesse@bestinterest.blog   The Best Interest Podcast is a personal podcast meant for educational and entertainment. It should not be taken as financial advice, and is not prescriptive of your financial situation.  

While the idea of living in a meritocracy is desirable, as it rewards those who do better, is it prevalent in today’s society?    With 25% of American households making less than $30,000 a year, do billionaires really offer 200,000 times the merit than them? At what age do we start to blame the poor kid, a victim of bad luck his entire life, for his poor circumstances? Is anyone really self-made? Or does everything unfold by mere chance?   I invite Sam Dogen, The Financial Samurai, to discuss the role merit plays in the real world and how you can position yourself to achieve success.   Mentions: Jeff Bezos and the Meritocracy Kings: https://bestinterest.blog/meritocracy/ Learn About The Financial Samurai: https://www.financialsamurai.com/about/ How to Survive the War on Merit: https://www.financialsamurai.com/how-to-survive-the-war-on-merit/ Buy This, Not That on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3Wz1G3L   More of The Best Interest: Check out the Best Interest Blog at bestinterest.blog Contact me at jesse@bestinterest.blog   The Best Interest Podcast is a personal podcast meant for educational and entertainment. It should not be taken as financial advice, and is not prescriptive of your financial situation.

2022 was a unique year for investors. Let’s compare last year’s bond and stock performances with historical trends to paint a bigger picture. Looking ahead to 2023 and beyond, there are reasons to be optimistic.    Next, underneath all the snow, there’s a cold lesson that came from the unexpected events of the Buffalo blizzard. Hear Jesse’s firsthand account and the important lesson learned.    And finally, Jesse shares 9 scientific tips to help you achieve your New Year's Resolutions, especially financial resolutions.   Mentions:   https://bestinterest.blog/2022-is-a-uniquely-bad-investing-year/   https://bestinterest.blog/making-2022-feel-much-better/   https://bestinterest.blog/9-scientific-facts-to-improve-your-finances/ https://fs.blog/everything-you-need-to-know-about-habits-the-science-of-habit-formation-and-change/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wcs2PFz5q6g&feature=emb_title   https://bestinterest.blog/buffalo-blizzard/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghYUuzhxDfs&feature=emb_title More of The Best Interest: Check out the Best Interest Blog at bestinterest.blog Contact me at jesse@bestinterest.blog   The Best Interest Podcast is a personal podcast meant for educational and entertainment. It should not be taken as financial advice, and is not prescriptive of your financial situation.

Big thanks to Justin Peters, from The Struggle is Real podcast, for allowing me to share this episode. A few months ago, Justin and I sat down to discuss helping young adults with their personal finances. We had a great conversation, which I want to share with you in its entirety!    If you’re curious to learn more, check out Justin’s Show Notes below:   If you’re paying attention to your portfolio right now, you know the stock market has been on a nosedive, and if you’re anything like me, this market drop has you feeling discouraged.   I continue doing all the right things. I maxed out my IRA, I’m dollar cost averaging through my 401K, and even investing my net earnings in my brokerage account.   All of this yet I’m still seeing my net worth go backwards. I’m beginning to question if investing my money is still the right thing to do.   Well luckily my friend Jesse Cramer is here to talk me off the ledge. It could be investing for your future or changing your career path to align with your passion. Jesse reminded me that the right choice doesn't always create short-term success but over the long-run, it will.   Aside from being my personal therapist, Jesse has had a ton of success in creating his personal finance blog, The Best Interest. His writing has also been featured in CNBC, MSN, the Motley Fool, Yahoo Finance, and more.   Jesse started The Best Interest blog in 2018 when he was working as an engineer but over the last year, realizing how much passion he had for personal finance, he made a career pivot and now works for a wealth management firm.   If you are considering changing careers to align more with your passion, this will be a great episode to listen to. Jesse shares his thought process behind his decision even though it meant taking a pay cut (for now).   We get into a lot of money conversation as well including the financial order of operations, investing in the market vs investing in yourself, and a useful thought process called the success to stress ratio. From my “lost and confused” to my senior investors, this episode has something for everyone.   Key Takeaways: - How Jesse went from being lost with finances to a personal finance blogger - Why Jesse took a pay cut to switch careers - Why making the right choice now will lead to success in the long-run even if in the short-term it doesn’t pay off - Using the financial order of operation to get started investing - Should I invest or pay off debt first? What about investing in a business? - How to get started budgeting - Success to stress ratio - What Dave Ramsey got right about credit cards (absolute rules) - Merging money with your significant other   Mentions: Joel O’Leary on TSIR (Apple Podcasts or Spotify) Darren Chait on TSIR (Apple Podcasts or Spotify)   More of Justin & The Struggle is Real: Show Notes: https://justinpeters.co/thestruggleisreal/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justinleepeters/   More of The Best Interest: Check out the Best Interest Blog at bestinterest.blog Contact me at jesse@bestinterest.blog   The Best Interest Podcast is a personal podcast meant for educational and entertainment. It should not be taken as financial advice, and is not prescriptive of your financial situation.

FTX has been dominating the news. But what’s a simple explanation of what happened? Jesse explains the sudden rise and fall of the FTX and its founder, Sam Bankman-Fried.   Jesse shares a tough honeymoon delay as a reminder: it’s important to build in margin for unexpected events, because some things are out of our control.   Social media is addictive by design. It wastes time, manipulates peoples’ views, emotions, and behavior. And that’s why quitting social media is in Jesse’s best interest.   Mentions: 6 Investing Lessons from Our Honeymoon's Terrible Start Why I'm Quitting Social Media   More of The Best Interest: Check out the Best Interest Blog at bestinterest.blog Contact me at jesse@bestinterest.blog   The Best Interest Podcast is a personal podcast meant for educational and entertainment. It should not be taken as financial advice, and is not prescriptive of your financial situation.

On this episode of the podcast, we discuss the hidden dangers of "analysis paralysis" in personal finance. And we discuss the "omission vs. commission" problem in investing. Does "doing nothing" absolve you of financial responsibility? 

On this episode, we talk about rogue waves, rogue markets, and paying off debt.  We also answer 4 cool listener questions, covering: - credit cards - how to invest $100K - if current economic conditions are affecting my investing thoughts - and my first foray into investing

This episode features thoughts on Kanye West, and detailed answers to two terrific reader/listener questions.    A few links:  Original Kanye article: https://bestinterest.blog/kanye-broker-than-me/ ChroniFi podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/acting-in-your-own-best-interest-interview-with-jesse/id1597816029?i=1000579101148 BiggerPockets podcast:  https://podcasts.apple.com/tr/podcast/the-almost-guaranteed-way-to-31x-your-investments/id1330225136?i=1000579159475    

In this episode, we talk about: - the college loan forgiveness program - "gardening" vs. "dining out," and how it applies to financial planning - a blog reader asking if they made a BIG investing mistake? 

The podcast is back! This episode covers... - a quick (hopeful) plan for the future of the pod - discussing "The Perfect Investor," and why they're a mythical character - and a favor: send me your questions! 

Long time, no chat! This episode is a mixture of: - some catch-up conversation - a few big money topics to discuss - my career change - answering YOUR questions - and a sprinkling of other random stuff Mentioned in the episode:  TicToc Life: https://www.tictoclife.com/ "No More Side Quests": https://thereformedbroker.com/2021/11/15/no-more-side-quests/ "Does Not Compute": https://www.collaborativefund.com/blog/does-not-compute/ Noom: https://www.noom.com/ Influence: https://amzn.to/3rus7tS

Today's episode features "Landshark," who is retiring in his 40s in 2022. We discuss his investing path to multi-millionaire status, his thoughts on retiring with two young kids, and much more.  Landshark SNL skit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_NS2H55dxI   Random Walk Down Wall Street: https://amzn.to/3nUCxmE Coffeehouse Investor: https://amzn.to/3lQFLF8 Simple Path to Wealth: https://amzn.to/3ExNuQV The Automatic Millionaire: https://amzn.to/3nTKubB Your Money or Your Life: https://amzn.to/3CCJw7P   Landshark's spreadsheets:  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1G_Kx0H1oDoABP_qhWtRr5G-RJAWbSpzBMWDMmkwbVps/edit?usp=gmail   https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1zQXLMbuEbV8-a4ebKfiqoo_9k5LArUobhlJf6MhGJjw/edit#gid=853516457   ...his website: Landshark.org   Social Security Calc: https://www.physicianonfire.com/calculators/ssa/   Wait but Why article: https://waitbutwhy.com/2015/12/the-tail-end.html