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The Stacking Benjamins Show

Joe Saul-Sehy and Josh ‘OG’ Bannerman, CFP

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 finance that doesn’t put you to sleep.

Hosts Joe Saul-Sehy (former 16-year financial advisor, ex-WXYZ-TV “Money Man”) and Josh “OG” Bannerman, CFP (Certified Financial Planner, Bannerman Wealth) sit around the card table in Joe’s mom’s half-finished basement in Texarkana and talk money with the smartest guests in personal finance, investing, and behavioral economics. As Fast Company wrote, the show “strikes a great balance of fun and functional.”

Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday: expert guests, real headlines, listener questions, and Doug’s trivia. Topics include investing, retirement planning, budgeting, real estate, behavioral finance, taxes, and financial independence — for anyone who wants to be smarter about money without being talked down to.

Subscribe to The 201 — the free newsletter that goes deeper than the show — at stackingbenjamins.com/201

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  • 63 episodes
  • a few times a week
  • Avg 1 hr 4 min
  • English

Episodes 63

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  • #1862
    July 1 · 1 hr 16 min

    Can You Actually Make Money Buying a Franchise? (with Alex Smereczniak) SB1862

    Every time you drive past a packed 7 Brew or a Raising Cane's with a line around the block, you probably wonder for about 30 seconds what that owner's life looks like. Is it printing money? Is it a nightmare? Is it something a regular person can actually do? Alex Smereczniak has owned franchises, helped hundreds of people buy them, and built a platform specifically to cut through the hype. He joins Joe and OG to answer the question honestly -- including the parts the sales pitch leaves out. What You'll Walk Away With Why franchising is not passive income -- especially in year one -- and what you're actually signing up for when you buy in The single best reason to buy a franchise instead of starting your own business from scratch: you're starting three steps ahead of someone who goes it alone What kind of return franchise owners actually expect -- and why it's two to four times higher than what most people get from index funds or rental real estate The payback period question: how long should it take to get your money back, and when should that number make you walk away How to tell if a franchise is healthy or quietly falling apart -- without reading a 200-page legal document Why calling existing franchise owners is one of the most powerful things you can do before committing -- and exactly what to ask them The Chick-fil-A exception: why the most famous franchise in America only costs $15,000 to buy in -- and why you're essentially purchasing a very well-paying job The green flag, yellow flag, red flag quiz: "I can keep my full-time job," "I'll break even in 12 months," "I don't need industry experience," "I can hire a manager and be hands-off" Why the business broker world is almost entirely unregulated -- and what that means for the advice you get from someone helping you pick a franchise OG on the Bank of Mom and Dad headline: why helping your kids buy a house is a beautiful idea right up until the strings get attached -- and the one thing he says never to do regardless of who's asking Why This Matters Now Most people who wonder about franchising never get past the wondering stage because the information is either all hype or completely overwhelming. This episode is the honest middle ground -- what it costs, what it pays, what it takes, and how to know if it's right for you. From the Basement Alex Smereczniak joins Joe and OG to pull back the curtain on franchise ownership -- from the weirdest franchise he's ever seen (crime scene cleanup, seven figures a year, great margins, and no, he still wouldn't do it) to why the first year will be harder than any brochure admits. The Wall Street Journal's story on parents buying homes for adult children gives OG a full platform to explain exactly where he draws the line -- and why the four-bedroom house with the pool and the eight-minute bike ride to dad's place raises questions he'd want answered over two bourbons on a back patio. Resources Mentioned Franzy -- free franchise research and coaching platform; compare opportunities side by side and get one-on-one coaching at no cost; franzy.com Grind by the creator of Biggby Coffee -- recommended read on what franchise ownership actually requires before you sign anything; available wherever books are sold Wall Street Journal -- "These Parents Are Buying Homes for Their Kids, With Strings Attached" by Rachel Wolff; linked at stackingbenjamins.com Power Plate Savers blog -- David's write-up of his first Twin Cities BAD group meetup; powerplatesavers.com; linked at stackingbenjamins.com Stacking Benjamins BAD Groups -- meetups in Twin Cities, Seattle, Boston, Tucson, and Southern Minnesota; stackingbenjamins.com/bad Stacking Benjamins Newsletter (The 201) -- stackingbenjamins.com/201 OG financial planning calendar -- stackingbenjamins.com/og Stacking Benjamins Community -- stackingbenjamins.com/basement See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

  • #1861
    June 29 · 1 hr 1 min

    When Borrowing Against Your House Is Smart (And When It Quietly Wrecks Your Plan) SB1861

    Americans are sitting on more home equity than ever -- and more of them are tapping it. Not because they're struggling, but because they locked in ultra-low mortgage rates and they're not giving those up. So instead of refinancing, they're turning to HELOCs and home equity loans. Joe and OG walk through the math, the psychology, the questions most people never think to ask, and the specific situations where borrowing against your home equity actually makes sense -- and the ones where it quietly destroys a plan that was working. What You'll Walk Away With Why home equity borrowing is surging right now -- and why keeping a 3% mortgage while opening a HELOC at 7.5% might still be the smarter move The Oreo problem: why having a HELOC open "just in case" is the financial equivalent of leaving a sleeve of Oreos on the counter and expecting not to eat them OG's CEO versus CFO framework: how to separate the decision of whether to do the project from the decision of how to finance it The rate math you should actually run before choosing between a HELOC, a home equity loan, and a full refinance -- including current Bankrate benchmarks Home improvements, credit card consolidation, college costs, business startup, and investing: OG's honest take on each use case, including the ones that are just bad ideas The questions nobody asks before getting a HELOC -- including when the rate adjusts (spoiler: faster in one direction), what happens to the draw period, and whether the bank can pull the line at any time Why using home equity as a third-tier emergency fund sounds clever but has a fatal flaw What happens if home prices fall and you've borrowed heavily against the equity -- and why Texas has the 80% rule OG and Anna wrap up season two of the financial basics series -- including why financial planning is an ongoing activity, not a document, and what's coming in season three The one open question OG wants Stackers to send him before season three begins Why This Matters Now Home prices are up. Mortgage rates are still elevated. The people most tempted to tap their equity are often the ones who built it most carefully -- and that's exactly when the guardrails matter most. From the Basement Joe and OG dig into the HELOC decision with specifics: math, psychology, use cases, and the questions banks don't volunteer. OG and Anna close out season two of the financial basics series with a reflection on why everything in a financial plan connects to everything else -- and a preview of what's coming in season three. Doug arrives with Bernie Madoff trivia. The guides get a Scout upgrade and the college planning guide gets a refresh just in time for back to school. Resources Mentioned Stacking Benjamins Guides -- workplace benefits, tax planning, and college planning with Scout AI; stackingbenjamins.com/guides Stacking Benjamins Field Kit -- stackingbenjamins.com/fieldkit Stacking Benjamins Basics Guide -- season one and season two; stackingbenjamins.com/basicsguide Stacking Benjamins voicemail -- stackingbenjamins.com/yelldownstairs; leave a question for the next Q&A episode with Anna OG financial planning calendar -- stackingbenjamins.com/og Stacking Benjamins Newsletter (The 201) -- stackingbenjamins.com/201 Stacking Benjamins Community -- stackingbenjamins.com/basement See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

  • #1860
    June 26 · 1 hr 3 min

    What Would You Do With a $500,000 Inheritance -- And What Would You Leave Behind? SB1860

    Americans are in the middle of the largest wealth transfer in history. Trillions of dollars are moving between generations right now. But what do you actually do when half a million dollars lands in your account? And on the other side of that question: when it's your turn to give, do you leave it when you die or give it while you're alive? Do you split it equally or based on need? And what about the inheritance that has nothing to do with money at all? Joe asks Paula Pant, OG, and Doc G to answer all of it honestly. What You'll Walk Away With What Paula, OG, and Doc G would each do before noon on the day they found out -- and why OG's first move is to make a list of questions while Paula immediately calls her accountant Why Doc G, currently in the decumulation phase, would give some away and consider lending money to his son for a property before investing a dollar OG's 40/20/40 framework for any unexpected windfall: 40% to investing, 20% to guilt-free spending, 40% to debt payoff or a medium-term goal -- and why it works for $1,000 checks and $500,000 checks alike The grief factor: why Paula says the first thing she thinks of when she hears the word inheritance is grief -- and why emotional cloudiness is the most underestimated risk in how people handle inherited money Would you tell anyone? All three guests have different answers -- and the reasons matter Give it while you're alive or leave it when you die: what the King Lear scenario has to do with your estate plan, and why Paula's answer depends entirely on her end-of-life care risk Pay for college or leave an inheritance: Doc G picks college, OG picks experiences, and the reasoning behind each choice reveals two completely different theories of compounding Equal inheritance versus needs-based inheritance: why Doc G has already had the conversation with his kids and why he's not apologizing for unequal parenting What people at the end of life actually want to leave behind -- Doc G's hospice experience in one of the most memorable moments of the episode The non-financial legacy each panelist is trying to leave -- and Doug's surprisingly moving answer about where joy actually comes from Why This Matters Now The wealth transfer is already happening. Whether you're on the giving end or the receiving end, the decisions made in the first days after money changes hands tend to be the ones people regret most. This episode is the conversation to have beforehand. From the Basement Paula Pant, OG, and Doc G work through the full inheritance question -- tactics, emotions, purpose, and legacy -- in one of the more wide-ranging Friday conversations this show has produced. Paula tries to win the trivia competition for the first time in longer than anyone cares to admit, immediately hoping she gets to thank the Academy. Doug closes with something nobody saw coming. Resources Mentioned Earn and Invest podcast -- Doc G (Jordan Grumet); upcoming episode with Dr. Jaspal Singh on the case for ambitious careers; wherever you listen to podcasts Afford Anything podcast -- Paula Pant; recent episode with Dr. Julia Garcia on five habits of hope; wherever you listen to podcasts Stacking Benjamins Newsletter (The 201) -- stackingbenjamins.com/201 OG financial planning calendar -- stackingbenjamins.com/og Stacking Benjamins Community -- stackingbenjamins.com/basement See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Showing 61–63 of 63 episodes