Consumerism Commentary: A Personal Finance Blog Since 2003 » Podcast

Podcast 28: Dan Solin, Investing for Retirement

Flexo — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 18:00:27 +0000

In today’s episode of the Consumerism Commentary Podcast, our guest is Dan Solin, author of The Smartest Retirement Book You’ll Ever Read and other books in the “Smartest Book” series.

Tom Dziubek talks with Solin about planning for retirement.

Production Number: S02E02
Segment Number: 41

To listen, use the player above (Adobe Flash required), download the podcast here, subscribe to the podcast RSS feed, or use the iTunes link. Note: open links in a new window (Ctrl-click or Command-click) to avoid interrupting the podcast.

[00:00] Introduction from Flexo
[00:32] Interview with Dan Solin, author of the “Smartest Book You’ll Ever Read” series
– [00:48] Rethinking investing
– [02:03] Index funds
– [02:50] Exchange traded funds
– [04:19] Using your 401(k)
– [05:37] The value of the dollar
– [08:20] 4% safe withdrawal rate
– [09:14] Dan’s incident with Jim Cramer
– [13:08] Dan’s Golden Rules for Retirement
– [14:35] Fee-only financial planners
– [15:37] Registered investment advisors
– [17:35] Immediate annuities
– [19:29] Setting aside two years of living expenses
[21:35] End

We always welcome feedback from listeners. If you have any comments for this episode or for any other, or if you have suggestions for future episodes, please leave us comments here or email us at podcast at this domain name.

Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes cast)

The Consumerism Commentary Podcast is in full swing with new episodes every Sunday. Listen and subscribe now!

Podcast 28: Dan Solin, Investing for Retirement

Podcast 27: Man Vs. Debt and Frugal Travel

Flexo — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 18:00:25 +0000

The Consumerism Commentary Podcast has now completed six months of broadcasts without missing one week. This is as good a place as any to declare the “First Season” of the podcast complete and begin the “Second Season.”

In the premiere of Season 2, Tom Dziubek and Flexo speak with Adam Baker, the creator of the website Man Vs. Debt. We discuss Baker’s war on debt and its origins. We also talk about a number of traveling tips collected throughout Baker’s experiences leaving Indiana and living in Australia and New Zealand.

Production Number: S02E01
Segment Number: 40

[00:00] Introduction from Flexo
[00:33] Interview with Adam Baker, Man vs. Debt
– [00:58] Baker’s story
– [07:30] Baker’s Declaration of War on debt
– [09:21] Using only cash for variable monthly expenses
– [10:14] Money with family and friends
– [12:00] Investing in ourselves
– [13:46] Baker’s move to Australia
– [16:34] Couchsurfing
– [19:16] WWOOFing
– [20:50] Long-term vs. short-term travel
– [21:50] Staying at hostels
[24:26] End

Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes cast)

The Consumerism Commentary Podcast is in full swing with new episodes every Sunday. Listen and subscribe now!

Podcast 27: Man Vs. Debt and Frugal Travel

Podcast 26: Mark Frauenfelder, Creator of Boing Boing

Flexo — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 18:00:35 +0000

Tom Dziubek and Flexo speak with Mark Frauenfelder, the creator of Boing Boing and the editor-in-chief of the MAKE magazine. Frauenfelder also writes for Credit.com, and within this interview he shares details about some of this website’s new services including the Credit Report Card (reviewed here).

Frauenfelder is a proponent of the do-it-yourself (DIY) lifestyle, and he explains the source of his interest in this lifestyle as well as details about a forthcoming book on the subject.

[00:00] Introduction from Flexo
[00:32] Interview with Mark Frauenfelder
– [00:55] Boing Boing
– [01:50] Mark’s move to the Cook Islands
– [03:59] MAKE magazine
– [05:15] Mark’s involvement with Credit.com
– [08:12] Services offered by Credit.com
– [09:05] Credit.com vs. credit reporting bureaus
– [10:12] Personal information on Credit.com
– [11:21] Improving your credit with the Credit Report Card
– [13:57] Building cigar box guitars
– [15:45] Beekeeping
– [19:21] Upcoming book on do-it-yourself (DIY) experiences
[23:42] End

Rating: 5.0/5 (2 votes cast)

The Consumerism Commentary Podcast is in full swing with new episodes every Sunday. Listen and subscribe now!

Podcast 26: Mark Frauenfelder, Creator of Boing Boing

Podcast 25: Sandra Hanna, Smart Cookies and Neal Frankle, Wealth Pilgrim

Flexo — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 18:00:50 +0000

Today’s podcast features Sandra Hanna, the “savvy spender” among the Smart Cookies. Smart Cookies is a television program on the W Network. Sandra is one of five hosts on the show. Each with their own specialty offers financial makeovers. The Smart Cookies have also written a book, The Smart Cookies’ Guide to Making More Dough and Getting Out of Debt.

In the second half of the podcast, Tom Dziubek speaks with Neal Frankle, the founder of Wealth Resources Group and Wealth Pilgrim. Neal offers his thoughts to Consumerism Commentary listeners about finding the right financial adviser and investing today for the future.

[00:00] Introduction from Flexo
[00:40] Interview with Sandra Hanna
– [00:54] About the Smart Cookies
– [02:46] How Sandra became known as the “Savvy Spender”
– [03:32] Sandra’s fear of managing money
– [04:34] How Sandra got out of debt
– [06:05] Why Sandra prefers American Express
– [10:25] Advice for young women on their own for the first time
– [12:55] Tips for people forced to make long commutes regularly
[15:00] Interview with Neal Frankle
– [15:18] How Neal decided to become a financial planner
– [17:36] How people can identify the right financial planner for them
– [18:50] How people should start their search for a financial planner
– [22:22] Why smart people lose money in their financial investments
– [25:20] Tips for new investors to put them in the best position down the road
– [27:00] The Wealth Pilgrim website
– [28:36] Neal’s current projects
[31:26] End

Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes cast)

The Consumerism Commentary Podcast is in full swing with new episodes every Sunday. Listen and subscribe now!

Podcast 25: Sandra Hanna, Smart Cookies and Neal Frankle, Wealth Pilgrim

Podcast 24: Unconventional Path to Becoming a Millionaire

Flexo — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 18:00:05 +0000

Our guest on today’s podcast is Jen Smith, the “Millionaire Mommy Next Door.” By age 40, Jen had become a self-made millionaire and she and her husband are now financially independent, stay-at-home parents. In our interview, Jen describes her path from minimum-wage jobs to financial freedom.

Jen has appeared on The Montel Show and shares with Consumerism Commentary and is scheduled to appear in an upcoming film, Secrets of Money: The Documentary Movie. She writes regularly on her blog, Millionaire Mommy Next Door.

[00:00] Introduction from Tom Dziubek
[00:44] Interview with Jen Smith, Millionaire Mommy Next Door
– [01:02] Why and how Jen set out to be a millionaire
– [04:22] How Jen has lived differently since achieving millionaire status
– [07:55] Jen’s unconventional path to becoming a millionaire
– [10:34] Apprenticeship as an alternative
– [17:38] Why Jen started the Millionaire Mommy Next Door website
– [19:28] Jen’s donations to micro-lending website Kiva.org
[21:06] End

Rating: 5.0/5 (4 votes cast)

The Consumerism Commentary Podcast is in full swing with new episodes every Sunday. Listen and subscribe now!

Podcast 24: Unconventional Path to Becoming a Millionaire

Podcast 23: Haggling and Negotiating From Hostage Crisis to the Grocery Game

Flexo — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 18:00:39 +0000

Our theme for today’s podcast is haggling and negotiating. The first guest in today’s Consumerism Commentary Podcast is Herb Cohen, author of You Can Negotiate Anything and adviser to Presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan. Herb speaks about the experiences that led to his work in high profile negotiations and offers tips for everyday haggling based on these experiences.

Also appearing in today’s Podcast is Teri Gault, author of Shop Smart, Save More and creator of The Grocery Game. Teri Gault proved listeners with specific advice for negotiating in retail stores and finding the best coupons online.

[00:00] Introduction from Flexo
[00:51] Interview with Herb Cohen
– [01:27] Herb Cohen’s history as a negotiator
– [04:46] Herb’s work as an adviser to Presidents Carter and Reagan
– [12:33] Understanding the needs of both parties
– [20:30] The right mentality for haggling
[23:31] Interview with Teri Gault
– [23:45] The Grocery Game
– [24:07] Negotiating with store employees
– [25:14] Using leverage
– [28:40] Uncommon places for negotiation
– [31:48] Haggling with professionals
– [32:58] Teri’s favorite haggling story
– [34:29] Finding coupons online
[36:54] End

Rating: 5.0/5 (2 votes cast)

The Consumerism Commentary Podcast is in full swing with new episodes every Sunday. Listen and subscribe now!

Podcast 23: Haggling and Negotiating From Hostage Crisis to the Grocery Game

Podcast 22: Mint’s Acquisition by Intuit and Roth IRA Conversions

Flexo — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 18:00:35 +0000

CEO and founder of Mint, Aaron Patzer, joins Consumerism Commentary again to discuss his company’s recent acquisition by Intuit and possible changes to personal finance software.

Also on today’s poscast, Tom Dziubek speaks with Bryan Olson from Charles Schwab about the new rules for Roth IRA conversion that will be in effect next year.

[00:00] Introduction from Flexo
[00:36] Interview with Aaron Patzer, CEO and founder of Mint, about their recent acquisition by Intuit
– [01:29] Mint users’ reaction to news of the acquisition
– [01:55] Aaron’s new role at Intuit
– [04:56] The future of Quicken Online
– [06:36] Interfacing with ING Direct
– [08:27] Impact on Mint employees
– [11:28] Aaron discusses spending the earnings
[14:12] Interview with Bryan Olson of Charles Schwab about 2010 Roth IRA conversion rule changes
– [14:46] Roth IRAs vs. traditional IRAs
– [15:29] The conversion rule changes
– [16:20] Government incentives for these changes
– [17:35] Who benefits from the changes and what should be considered
– [21:22] People who benefit the least from a conversion
– [22:56] Differences of impact between age brackets
[24:12] End

Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes cast)

The Consumerism Commentary Podcast is in full swing with new episodes every Sunday. Listen and subscribe now!

Podcast 22: Mint’s Acquisition by Intuit and Roth IRA Conversions

Podcast 21: Student Saving Tips and How to Survive on a Teacher’s Salary

Flexo — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 18:00:25 +0000

In today’s Consumerism Commentary Podcast, I offer a number of suggestions for students heading back to school, particularly for new college freshmen. Tom Dziubek and I discuss tips that will help students take small steps now to ensure they will start the rest of their lives on a sound footing.

After the discussion for students, we offer tips for teachers with our guest, Danny Kofke. He is the author of How to Survive (and Perhaps Thrive) on a Teacher’s Salary.

[00:00] Introduction from Flexo
[00:43] Interview with Flexo about money saving tips for new college students
– [01:45] What new students should be thinking of
– [02:21] Budget planning
– [04:05] Savings and checking accounts
– [06:34] Using a Roth IRA
– [08:36] Acquiring college textbooks
– [16:44] Online budget resources
[18:39] Interview with Danny Kofke, author of “How to Survive (and perhaps thrive) on a Teacher’s Salary”
– [18:53] Danny’s teaching experience
– [19:16] Starting salaries
– [22:09] Ways for teachers to reduce expenses
– [23:32] Danny’s tips from his book
– [25:58] How teachers can increase income
– [26:41] Danny’s experiences teaching special education students
– [28:12] Career recommendations for new teachers
[34:53] End

Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes cast)

The Consumerism Commentary Podcast is in full swing with new episodes every Sunday. Listen and subscribe now!

Podcast 21: Student Saving Tips and How to Survive on a Teacher’s Salary

Podcast 20: You Need a Budget and PocketSmith

Flexo — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 18:00:21 +0000

Today’s episode of the Consumerism Commentary Podcast focuses on budgeting. Our first guest is Jesse Mecham, designer of the budgeting software You Need a Budget. We speak with Jesse about his philosophy and rules of budgeting and how it relates to the software he designed.

In the second half of the podcast, our guests are Francois Bondiguel and Jason Leong, co-founders of the budgeting software PocketSmith. Tom Dziubek speaks with Francois and Jason about PocketSmith.

[00:00] Introduction from Tom Dziubek
[00:40] Interview with Jesse Mecham of You Need a Budget about budgeting
– [01:08] Traditional budgeting
– [02:05] Budget limits vs. ways to reduce spending
– [04:39] Budgeting philosophies that ensure success
– [09:46] You Need a Budget (YNAB)
– [13:05] How YNAB is different from other budgeting tools
– [14:44] Price of the YNAB software
[15:59] Interview with the co-founders of PocketSmith
– [16:15] How the co-founders met
– [18:24] Explaining PocketSmith
– [19:40] How PocketSmith is different
– [20:34] PocketSmith’s target audience
– [22:27] Information required by PocketSmith
– [23:19] PocketSmith membership accounts
[27:56] End

Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes cast)

The Consumerism Commentary Podcast is in full swing with new episodes every Sunday. Listen and subscribe now!

Podcast 20: You Need a Budget and PocketSmith

Podcast 19: Giving Yourself a Raise

Flexo — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 18:00:27 +0000

Our guest today is Matt Jabs, blogger and founder of Debt Free Adventure, a blog designed to help the author stay accountable for getting out of debt. Debt Free Adventure is one of my favorites among new personal finance blogs.

Today’s discussion focuses on the concept of giving yourself a raise, an important way to improve your financial condition, particularly in an economic environment that is supporting fewer raises from your employer. Tom Dziubek and I explore this concept with Matt Jabs and discover a number of ways you can give yourself a raise today.

[00:00] Introduction from Tom Dziubek
[00:33] Interview with Matt Jabs of Debt Free Adventure
– [01:10] Matt’s inspiration for writing about personal finance
– [02:57] Giving yourself a raise at home
– [04:26] How to give yourself a raise
– [08:41] Creating a personal trigger to change your mindset
– [10:24] Living outside the box
– [12:16] Finding and following your passions
– [14:29] The journey is as important as reaching the goal itself
– [15:59] Dealing with customer service reps
– [21:39] Do it yourself
– [25:17] How it adds up
[28:04] End

Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes cast)

The Consumerism Commentary Podcast is in full swing with new episodes every Sunday. Listen and subscribe now!

Podcast 19: Giving Yourself a Raise

Podcast 18: Financial Snap Judgments and the PowerCost Monitor

Flexo — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:00:42 +0000

Today’s first guest is David Adler, behavioral finance expert and author of Snap Judgment: When to Trust Your Instincts, When to Ignore Them, and How to Avoid Making Big Mistakes With Your Money. Tom Dziubek and I discuss with the author the elements of good financial decision making.

Tom Dziubek also speaks with Peter Porteous, CEO of Blue Line Innovations, creator of the Blue Line PowerCost Monitor. The PowerCost Monitor is a device that can be installed alongside utility meters to build awareness of the levels of energy use within a household to encourage smart decision about reducing energy use and cost.

[00:00] Introduction from Tom Dziubek
[00:41] Interview with David Adler, author of Snap Judgment
– [01:16] Why people are such poor decision makers with their money
– [01:45] The “disposition effect”
– [03:20] Money managers using computer models vs. emotions
– [05:13] Taking advantage of the disposition effect
– [07:38] Snap judgments vs. well deliberated decisions
– [09:58] Tips for investors to counteract their tendencies to make snap judgments
[14:19] Interview with Peter Porteous about the PowerCost Monitor
– [14:51] Overview of the PowerCost Monitor
– [16:20] Installation of the device
– [17:22] Compatibility with meters in different countries
– [19:16] Frequency interference risks
– [19:52] Savings from using the device
– [20:42] Portability of data
– [22:16] Reaction from the utility companies
– [24:26] Blue Line Innovations’ relationship with Black & Decker
– [25:15] Battery details for the sensor and monitor
[26:57] End

Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes cast)

The Consumerism Commentary Podcast is in full swing with new episodes every Sunday. Listen and subscribe now!

Podcast 18: Financial Snap Judgments and the PowerCost Monitor

Podcast 17: Buying and Owning a Home in Today’s Market

Flexo — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 18:00:35 +0000

In this episode of the Consumerism Commentary Podcast Tom Dziubek and I discuss home purchasing and ownership with David Crook, editor of the Wall Street Journal Sunday and author of Complete Home Owner’s Guidebook and Complete Real-Estate Investing Guidebook.

Within today’s podcast, David Crook shares his evaluation of today’s real estate market and offers suggestions for buying and managing a home.

[00:00] Introduction from Flexo and a reminder about Money Quantum
[00:44] Interview with David Crook
– [01:24] Collapse of the real estate bubble and its effect on home buying
– [01:41] Borrowing money to finance a house in the current market
– [05:59] The emotional aspect of purchasing a house
– [08:15] Buying vs. renting
– [11:35] Tips for first time home buyers
– [14:40] Owning and managing a home in a troubled market
– [15:40] — for first time home buyers
– [16:20] — for those who have purchased a home in the “early cycle”
– [16:42] — for those who have owned a home during the “mid and late cycles”
– [19:48] Government assistance for “early cycle” buyers affected by the market
[24:01] End

Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes cast)

The Consumerism Commentary Podcast is in full swing with new episodes every Sunday. Listen and subscribe now!

Podcast 17: Buying and Owning a Home in Today’s Market

Podcast 16: Jeff Rose, Certified Financial Planner (CFP), and Jeff Bartlett, Consumer Reports Autos

Flexo — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 18:00:14 +0000

In this episode of the Consumerism Commentary Podcast Tom Dziubek speaks with Jeff Rose, Certified Financial Planner^™ about financial planning. Jeff talks about different professional designations for financial planners and what it takes to become certified. He shares with Consumerism Commentary Podcast listeners some of the trends he sees with his clients, advice that could benefit everyone.

Tom also interviews Jeff Bartlett, online editor for autos at Consumer Reports, about how the magazine tests and evaluates cars. Jeff also shares suggestions for shoppers who are currently in the market for a safe, reliable car, either new or used, and offers tips for negotiating with car salespeople.

[00:00] Introduction from Flexo and an announcement about Money Quantum
[00:58] Interview with Jeff Rose, Certified Financial Planner
– [01:12] Difference between Financial Planners and Financial Advisers
– [01:57] The CFP and other designations
– [04:50] Jeff’s website, Good Financial Cents
– [06:36] Changes in saving habits since the beginning of the recession
– [08:10] Tom asks Jeff for free 401(k) advice
[13:02] Interview with Jeff Bartlett, Autos Deputy Editor for Consumer Reports
– [13:15] Auto testing methodology at Consumer Reports
– [15:05] How Consumer Reports handles reliability reports from customers
– [17:02] Consumer Reports’ perceived bias towards foreign cars
– [19:20] Qualifications for the Cash for Clunkers program
– [21:17] Possibility of Cash for Clunkers hurting domestic car sales
– [22:12] American cars that have made the best strides in fuel efficiency
– [22:46] Best buys for new cars
– [23:58] Negotiating with car salesmen
– [26:37] Best choices for used cars
[28:58] End

Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes cast)

The Consumerism Commentary Podcast is in full swing with new episodes every Sunday. Listen and subscribe now!

Podcast 16: Jeff Rose, Certified Financial Planner (CFP), and Jeff Bartlett, Consumer Reports Autos

Podcast 15: Results of the Credit CARD Act and Tips for Dealing With Layoffs

Flexo — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 18:00:53 +0000

Today’s guest on the Consumerism Commentary Podcast is Dr. Robert Manning, author of Credit Card Nation: The Consequences of America’s Addiction to Credit, and founder and CEO of Responsible Debt Relief. Tom Dziubek and Dr. Manning discuss the results and effects of the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure (CARD) Act of 2009.

Also in today’s program, I speak with Tom about several suggestions for handling layoffs, still a common concern as the job market is one of the last aspects of an economy to improve following a recession.

[00:00] Introduction from Flexo
[00:37] Interview with Dr. Robert Manning, Credit Card Nation
– [01:27] Intents of the 2009 Credit Card Act
– [05:24] Dr. Manning’s take on the effectiveness of the act
– [08:11] Recap of the Credit Card Act goals
– [08:58] Difference between fixed and variable rates
– [11:35] Discussing the possibility of congress acting to close loopholes
– [12:28] Ways that credit card companies have been reacting to the bill
– [13:33] Behavioral profiling used by credit card industry
– [17:57] Ways for people to prepare themselves for changing credit card company policies
– [19:09] Dr. Manning’s current projects
[23:00] Tips on how to handle a layoff with Flexo and Tom
– [23:35] Re-evaluating your life goals
– [25:28] Determining the steps to reach your goals
– [27:33] Seeking financial assistance
– [30:18] Make smart financial decisions
– [31:27] Re-evaluating all of your expenses
– [32:01] 401k strategies
– [32:25] Sharpening your skills
– [33:49] Using your talents as a consultant
[35:24] End

Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes cast)

The Consumerism Commentary Podcast is in full swing with new episodes every Sunday. Listen and subscribe now!

Podcast 15: Results of the Credit CARD Act and Tips for Dealing With Layoffs

Podcast 14: ING Direct’s “We, the Savers” and the AICPA’s Feed the Pig Campaign

Flexo — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 18:00:17 +0000

Episode 14 of the Consumerism Commentary Podcast includes interviews with representatives from ING Direct and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). Our discussion with Jim Kelly, the chief operating officer of ING Direct, focuses on the bank’s “We, the Savers” campaign and we also discuss ING Direct’s beginnings in the United States and the bank’s relationship with personal finance management software.

The podcast also features an interview with Mackey McNeil, certified public accountant and representative of the AICPA. The AICPA has developed an advertising campaign called “Feed the Pig,” meant to encourage American consumers to save more. Here’s a recent Feed the Pig commercial. In the interview, Tom Dziubek and Mackey McNeil talk about this campaign, why certified public accountants are interested in fostering better financial habits, and some tips for consumers.

[00:00] Introduction from Flexo
[00:56] Interview with Jim Kelly, ING Direct
– [01:29] Jim’s history with ING Direct
– [02:06] “We, the Savers” and the Declaration of Financial Independence
– [02:40] Using your home as a savings account
– [06:21] Knowing the cost of borrowing
– [06:57] Investing for the long term
– [08:10] Taking care of the things we have
– [09:44] ING Direct’s relationship with financial management software
– [11:48] New features for the Electric Orange checking account
[13:38] Interview with Mackey McNeil, certified public accountant
– [14:10] The CPA and PFS designations and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)
– [15:38] The “Feed the Pig” advertising campaign
– [17:27] Better financial habits for American consumers
– [19:16] Mackey McNeill’s favorite saving tips
[21:11] End

Transcript

Flexo: This is episode number 14 of the Consumerism Commentary Podcast. I’m Flexo. Today, Tom Dziubek will be talking with Jim Kelly, Chief Operating Officer of ING Direct, and principal architect of the bank’s “We, the Savers” campaign. And after the break, Tom will speak with Mackey McNeill, Certified Public Accountant from the AICPA, to talk about that organization’s campaign, “Feed the Pig.” Stay tuned. We have a great show for you today. [music]

Tom Dziubek: Welcome to the Consumerism Commentary Podcast. I’m Tom Dziubek. We’re talking today with Jim Kelly, COO of ING Direct, and principle architect of “We, the Savers.” Jim, thanks for joining us today.

Jim Kelly: Great to be here, Tom.

Tom: Now, Jim, just to clear up any confusion right off the bat, you’re not the same Jim Kelly that led the Buffalo Bills to four straight Super Bowls in the 1990s, are you?

Jim: No, sadly, that was not my doing. But he was a great player. I did enjoy his work.

Tom: Heh. Well, I guess that eliminates all my questions about the cake on no-huddle offense.

Jim: [laughs]

Tom: Now, Jim, I understand ING had their roots in the Netherlands, and that you helped ING come here to America.

Jim: That’s correct Tom. In 2000, ING set about to create its fifth ING Direct around the world in the United States, and they asked me to come down and try to piece together the team that would be responsible for launching the bank. We started out with a small team of 15 people, and today we’ve grown to 2,400 associates. And it’s really been a much greater success here in the United States than even we could have imagined back in 2000.

Tom: Now I understand you’re involved with a program called “We, the Savers” and one of the things “We, the Savers” attempts to do is promote financial independence. Now, I understand the “We, the Savers” has what they call a “ten point Declaration of Financial Independence,” which I want to talk a little bit about here. I’ll talk about some of the topics, and I want to hit all ten of them, but I don’t want to get far into detail because I don’t want to take up too much of your time and bore our audience to death. [laughs].

The first one you have is, “We will spend less than we earn.” That’s pretty straightforward. Number two you have is, “We will use our home as a savings account.” Now I find this interesting because with the housing market the way it is, it’s not the same investment that its been for the last 20 years or so. You know, would this still hold true like right now?

Jim: Absolutely. I think you have to look at your home as part investment, certainly the largest savings account you’ll probably ever have. But it’s also the place where your family lives and the majority of your life is spent. So you need to make sure that that’s as secure as your retirement plan or any other piece of your financial plan for the future.

Markets go up, markets go down, but the housing market over years has always gone up, and the lesson my daddy taught me many years ago was, “Land, they’re not making any more of it.” And it is a scarce commodity. We will have more people, and they will need more housing, and so it will be a good investment. It’s no different than a stock market investment from that perspective. They will go up and they will go down but over the long term they will hold their value. It should appreciate in line with any other type of investment.

Tom: Not everybody is a homeowner, is there any way you could recommend tips to people who rent.

Jim: You know, its a really smart idea to have a plan for saving money that gets you anywhere from four to eight months of living expenses in a savings account so that you can meet some unexpected financial emergency, or take advantage of another financial opportunity that might only come along once every two or three years. I hope that people would save also for a 15 to 20 percent down payment on a home.

It sounds like a lot of money, but in a starter home, you could achieve that in three years merely by saving $500 to $600 a month. That’s a lot of money for most people, but the other option of going with very little money down and going through a foreclosure or bankruptcy as we’re seeing today is really not a very good thing. It will certainly hurt you and your credit rating for years to come.

Tom: Right, and I think one of the things I believe you are trying to get to here as well is, in addition to obviously saving for a house, is I guess keeping a good idea of what you are spending on your monthly mortgage as well as your monthly rent, and just trying to make sure that you, I believe you said, that you’re prepared for any kind of unexpected surprises that pop up.

Jim: Sure. It could be medical, it could be related to a problem with your car, it could be anything, and it is important. There are tools all over the Internet that will help you track your monthly expenses, and provide great calculators for you to actually help you reduce your monthly expenses by shifting some of your expenditures and the timing of some of those expenditures. So, I encourage people to really take advantage of some of those tools.

Think about what you spend. If you buy a coffee with a name that you cannot even pronounce, does that really make sense? And certainly, if it is more than four dollars, does that really make sense? Putting those two dollars away everyday could save you $40 or $50 just in coffee alone. So, the money is there, I think most people just have to keep track of how they are spending it, and make sure that they don’t waste it.

Tom: Let’s look at some of these other items in the Declaration of Financial Dependence. You have, “We will take care of our money.” OK. “We will defend our credit-worthiness.” “We will ignore unsolicited credit card marketing.” I guess this is basically avoiding credit card companies just trying to go and hit you up and be one of their customers. “We will know the cost of borrowing,” and I believe that is related to interest rates and making sure people are aware of that?

Jim: Yes. That is the point. If you sign up for a 0% APR credit card for instance, there’s a very strong possibility that they are going to make their money somehow. I mean usually by fees or by penalties, or eventually by imposing a very high interest rate on you. I think people have to understand that all of those things make up the actual annual percentage rate on their card, and they have got to read the fine print, they have got to know what they are getting into.

Tom: Item number seven you have, “We will invest for the long term,” and you know I find this interesting as well, that has always been a good strategy and some people may be leery of doing that now because the way the market has been for the last year.

Jim: Well, you know you can always save it in something like a CD or savings account that pays you interest, hopefully keeps pace with inflation, and does not have the volatility of a stock or bond investment. That works too. I mean the point of the matter is you have to have that financial cushion and the more of it you have the better. Certainly in the long run, you are going to have a long retirement and I do not think that people understand that.

A great lesson for me is my dad, he turned age 87 today, 22 years after 65; it is really half of his working life, he has all ready lived past 65. You know, how much money will it take to live a comfortable life for 22 years? You cannot count on social security; you probably do not have a rich aunt or uncle that is going to leave you the money. You have to plan for it. You have to find that money in your savings account or in your stock investments or somewhere, you have to plan for it and put away a nest egg that will allow you to have a secure retirement.

Tom: Number eight you have, “We will take care of the things we have,” and I think that is good, that is a really point. I like that because it reminds people that the things that we wrong, maybe we do not need to replace our car every three, four, or five years and if we take care of the oil changes and the maintenance whenever they are due and take really good care of the properties that you do own, they tend to last a lot longer and you will not feel the need or you will not have the need to replace them sooner than other people who do take care of their items.

Jim: And, when you do replace them, the values can be much greater than if you do not take care of it. That is just a very straightforward basic rule, everybody should do it. Lots of us do not but you really got to think about that in a different way.

Tom: And of course number nine, “We will remember what matters.” That is very straightforward and the last one here you have, “We will be heard,” and I believe you were mentioning that making sure that our government understands what our needs are.

Jim: Well, we are going through a lot of turmoil right now and the people are pointing a lot of fingers at a lot of people but you know the reality of it is, as Americans, you have to stand up for what is important. I think once we get through these financial troubles, we are going to have to set ourselves on a new course where we are more in control of our financial destiny. We cannot be in debt to the rest of the world forever, it is just not sustainable, and all of us have a part to play in making sure we change that through our governments and through our daily action.

Tom: Jim, I want to talk a little bit about ING Direct now and I want to bring up this topic because I know it is a hot item with some of our readers. I understand that users of aggregators like Mint are reporting now they are having problems updating our account information from ING Direct and I was just curious as to what ING Direct’s policy was on connecting to personal finance management software.

Jim: Well, I know the aggregators are trying to give consumers a favor and they do provide a good service. Our big question in is this whole thing is, “Does it make sense to give your user ID and your password to somebody on the Internet?” We question that and because we do not have a shadow system, if a customer wants to aggregate, they have to give their user ID and password.

Do we know that the company that is getting that, and I am not suggesting that Mint is good or bad, but in all of these aggregators, do we know that the company that is actually collecting that data has all of the controls in place to protect that customer’s information? Well, frankly we do not and so we are very concerned about that. We believe the security of our customer’s information is our number one priority and we take steps to make it difficult for aggregators to use the basic user ID and password to get at that information.

Now what I can tell you, you know, good news for the aggregators is that probably before the end of this year, we are going to create methodology whereby customers will be able to use what we call an aggregator PIN, to be able to access just the transaction information so none of their personal information and not be able to transact on the account by using their full PIN, but there will be a secondary PIN that will just allow aggregators to access their account and actually pull down the data that they need to do their aggregations. So, it is a one-way process and it does not give them access to a two-way account access.

Tom: Well, thanks, Jim. Now, I understand too, you guys have new features coming to the Electric Orange checking account.

Jim: Well, the electric orange was created as a paperless checking account and our intent is to move checking into the online space. The industry is clearly going that way with things like Check 21 legislation and the rise of the debit card replacing the check. And we thought, well since we are new and we are starting with a checking account, why go to something dying, the paper check? Do not create that legacy that we would having to support until the very last check is written, probably 50 years from now.

So, we created this all electronic system. Actually in the next couple of weeks we are going to introduce an advanced bill pay capability that will make it even better for customers to do their bill pay online and we are really excited about it. All ready half of a million customers have signed up for Electric Orange and are using it every day. It has really been a big success for us and we are hopeful, continuing with our bill pay interface, that a lot more customers will see it as a real value added to their personal financial way of doing things.

Tom: Jim, thanks for talking with us today.

Jim: It has been great talking to you, thanks a lot.

Tom: Oh no problem. That was Jim Kelly, COO of ING Direct and principal architect of “We, the Savers.” You can find out more about ING Direct by going to ingdirect.com and “We, the Savers” at wethesavers.com. This is Tom Dziubek and thanks for joining us in the Consumerism Commentary podcast. Stay tuned after the break I will be talking to Mackey McNeill about the “Feed the Pig” campaign. [music]

Tom: Welcome to the Consumerism Commentary Podcast. I am Tom Dziubek. Here at Consumerism Commentary, our focus is personal finance. We offer tips to help save money, make money, and we also allow people to share their experiences with personal finance. Many people are not good with their finances and have difficulty making smart decisions when it comes to saving and spending their money. We are joined today by Mackey McNeill, CPA, PFS, and member of the AICPA’s National CPA Financial Literacy Commission. Mackey, thanks for joining us.

Mackey McNeill: Thank you, Tom. It is good to be here with you.

Tom: Now, Mackey, regarding your job title, I just threw a ton of acronyms out there to our audience, and I’m not sure they’re able to digest all that. Let’s start with the basics: what is a CPA, and what does a CPA do?

Mackey: CPAs are Certified Public Accountants. They are registered by their state. In other words, they are certified by the state in which they live. That means they have taken enough credentials to sit for an exam, passed an exam, and have met many other requirements. Sometimes there is an experience requirement in their state and they are certified really to do audits and give basically opinions on financial statements.

That is the traditional CPA, but in the market that we are now there are also other ways people serve in the CPA community. One of the primary ones is the PFS, or Personal Financial Specialist. The Personal Financial Specialist is a CPA, but they have said, “You know, that audit thing may not be my bag, but I really like money. I like finance. I’m good at it, and I want to help individuals achieve their goals.”

Tom: You are also a member of AICPA. What is the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants?

Mackey: Basically, it is a trade association for CPAs and they provide services like continuing education, press, support to the community, help us with understanding some of the laws and regulations that are coming out, and also provide the tools and resources to be better.

Tom: The AICPA is involved with a campaign called “Feed the Pig.” What is that?

Mackey: Well, “Feed the Pig” is the AICPA’s initiative to help 25 to 34-year-olds make smart financial decisions and live within their means. CPAs are great savers, in other words, as a community, if you study them with the demographics of money, they are communities that are people who are just naturally good with money.

And CPAs are and they have a natural habit of saving money, so they make good leaders in that role. And they have a passion for helping people save money. So, it is kind of natural that they have took this on. They saw that there was a kind of a void in the marketplace for someone to help the younger community really be better savers, so they decided to start “Feed the Pig.”

Tom: Why did the AICPA establish this campaign? We normally associate accountants with things like doing taxes, things of that ilk. Now why is the AICPA interested with people’s saving habits? Do CPAs stand anything to gain by encouraging people to be more financially responsible?

Mackey: Well, Tom, I think we all have something to gain. CPAs, as I said, are just naturally good with money. So that is one of the reasons they are in the business. So, they are role models and they are great leaders in the area of helping people understand how to use their money better, but in addition I think what happens is the CPA community, trust and ethics are there.

If you look at studies the CPA is the most trusted profession. So, what the CPAs stand to gain is a better, stronger economy, which is, I think, what we all have to gain. People say, “I am financially literate. I do not have to worry about it,” and I said, “Well guess what, if your neighbor is not, who is going to pay for your neighbor?” [laughter] You know, that is what we all have to think about. We all have to help those who are not financially literate become more financially literate. So we will have a better, more active society and a better economy.

Tom: Now as a CPA, do you see any persistent issues with your clients that you would like to focus on improving?

Mackey: Well, certainly with the boomers you see, it is not a propensity to savings. No, I think that is getting better. The recession has been a real wake-up call and that’s what recessions are. Recessions are a time that we get to reflect and see what’s working and not working in our lives. It has really I hit two group, I think, the hardest, very young professionals who are starting out they have never seen anything like this, and boomers who have put off saving, because they said, “I am never going to retire. I do not really need to.”

And they have been living on the edge with credit. Both of those groups kind of have a propensity to do that, and sometimes as a professional when things are good, in other words, when there is abundance and the economy’s expanding, it’s very difficult to explain to a client why they should save for a rainy day. [laughter] But, when there is a rainy day it is pretty east to say, “You know you need to save for a rainy day.”

Tom: Your talking about “Feed the Pig” was focusing on a certain demographic, 25 to 34-year-olds. Is there a reason why you guys are kind of narrowing your field to that age group?

Mackey: Sure, that age group shows that they have had sharp declines in savings and debt in the last 20 years, and also, what you see is if you have parents of the Depression, the Depression impacted people in a way that they took through their whole lives, and they have taught they’re children about savings and resourcefulness, and how to do things for yourself.

But the further you get away from that, I have parents of the depression, I am 53, but my parents were 40 when I was born. So, a lot of people my age do not have that, so the further you get away from that, the further you get away from any generation that’s had that kind of ethics built into the system. Of course the 24-year-olds of today have not seen that.

Tom: Right. Now are there any uncommon savings tips that Consumerism Commentary readers and listeners might be unaware of?

Mackey: Well, I will give you one of my favorites, Tom. One of them is, it is not a specific one, is to involve your family. One of the things that we, that “Feed the Pig” is about is teaching young people. You can actually do that within your family. Get your kids together and say we want to find ways as a family to save money, and if we save money as a family, we are going to save 50 percent for something fun, and we are going to take 50 percent and put toward our debt or some other objective. That way kids get to be a participant, and they get to learn the value of saving.

Some other ideas, my husband just came in the other day and said, “Wow! We have planted $2.39 worth of beet seeds and now we have a year’s worth of beet seeds.” It’s a little late to start your garden. But, if you haven’t, you can certainly get ready for next year. Gardening is a great way to save money. My husband and I have a monthly potluck, one of our main entertainment functions. We have six couples that we get together. We move around to different people’s houses. We take food and somebody decides what game we’re going to play that night. It’s incredibly cheap and incredibly fun entertainment.

Tom: Mackey, that was some good stuff. Thanks for talking with us today.

Mackey: Thank you, Tom.

Tom: That was Mackey McNeill, CPA, PFS, and member of the AICPA’s National CPA Financial Literacy Commission. You can learn more about “Feed the Pig” at feedthepig.org. This is Tom Dziubek and thanks for joining us on the Consumerism Commentary Podcast. [music]

Flexo: Thanks for listening to today’s episode of the Consumerism Commentary Podcast. We’re looking for feedback. To subscribe to the podcast, visit us at consumerismcommentary.com/pod. [music]

Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes cast)

The Consumerism Commentary Podcast is in full swing with new episodes every Sunday. Listen and subscribe now!

Podcast 14: ING Direct’s “We, the Savers” and the AICPA’s Feed the Pig Campaign

Podcast 13: Tips for Graduating Students and the Cash for Clunkers Program

Flexo — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 18:00:03 +0000

The thirteenth episode of the Consumerism Commentary Podcast features myself and our media producer, Tom Dziubek, in a discussion about tips for graduating seniors who are entering the job market and are embarking upon a career this summer. Also in today’s episode, Tom discusses the Cash for Clunkers program with an expert from Intuit, Bob Meighan.

[00:00] Introduction from Tom Dziubek
[00:44] Flexo and Tom discuss tips for new graduates
[01:09] — Proper “costumes” for job interviews and for work
[04:27] — Salary negotiations
[08:08] — Company retirement plans
[11:32] — Opening an IRA
[13:24] Interview with Bob Meighan of Intuit about the Cash for Clunkers program
[14:44] — Cash allowance that the program allows
[15:43] — What cars qualify for the program
[16:33] — Cash for Clunkers trade-in vs. independently selling your car
[17:33] — Discussing the possibility of buying a cheap used car in order to take advantage of the trade-in allowance
[18:06] — What cars can be purchased
[19:23] — How consumers get credited
[19:52] — How long the Cash for Clunkers program lasts
[22:36] End

Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes cast)

The Consumerism Commentary Podcast is in full swing with new episodes every Sunday. Listen and subscribe now!

Podcast 13: Tips for Graduating Students and the Cash for Clunkers Program

Podcast 12: Stupid Financial Advice and 5 Myths of Personal Finance

Flexo — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 18:00:38 +0000

The twelfth episode of the Consumerism Commentary Podcast features an interview with Ramit Sethi, author of I Will Teach You to Be Rich, the book, and I Will Teach You to Be Rich, the blog. Ramit, Tom Dziubek, and I discuss some of the stupid financial advice we have found online as well as the five myths of personal finance.

[00:00] Introduction from Flexo
[00:50] Interview with Ramit Sethi about stupid financial advice
[01:50] — The Reddit community
[03:27] — Frugality
[05:09] — Big wins
[08:03] — Knee-jerk behavioral change
[09:41] — The “buy and hold” strategy
[13:10] — Financial magazines leading up to the recession
[16:48] — Finding decent financial advice
[19:01] Ramit’s five myths of personal finance
[20:01] — Myth #1: Personal finance advice is only about spending less than you earn
[21:33] — Myth #2: Personal finance is about more will power
[22:55] — Myth #3: You can’t save any more money
[25:18] — Myth #4: Everyone is like you
[27:43] — Myth #5: Frugality will make you rich
[30:26] End

Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes cast)

The Consumerism Commentary Podcast is in full swing with new episodes every Sunday. Listen and subscribe now!

Podcast 12: Stupid Financial Advice and 5 Myths of Personal Finance

Podcast 11: Jon Gaskell from SmartyPig and New Consumerism Commentary Contributor, Jeff

Flexo — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 18:00:30 +0000

Today’s guests in the eleventh episode of the Consumerism Commentary Podcast are Jon Gaskell from SmartyPig and Consumerism Commentary’s newest contributor, Jeff.

SmartyPig is a unique banking application that works closely with West Bank to offer surprisingly high interest rates but presents limitations to its customers. In this interview, Tom Dziubek and SmartyPig founder Jon Gaskell explore SmartyPig’s purpose and the tools offered for goal-oriented savings.

I join Tom to speak with Consumerism Commentary’s newest contributor, Jeff. Jeff writes a weekly column for Consumerism Commentary, appearing usually on Thursdays. You can find Jeff’s articles here and on Jeff’s own blog, StretchyDollar.

[00:00] Introduction from Flexo
[00:36] Interview with Jon Gaskell
[01:20] — How SmartyPig helps savers stay goal-oriented
[01:50] — Accounts for children
[02:35] — How SmartyPig makes money
[03:28] — SmartyPig’s interest rates
[06:28] — Red McCombs’ investment into SmartyPig
[06:57] — SmartyPig account opening process
[09:15] — Contributing funds towards a SmartyPig goal
[11:42] — What happens when a saver reaches a goal
[13:58] — What happens if a saver doesn’t reach that goal
[15:04] — Using SmartyPig to help raise funds for charities
[17:55] Interview with new Consumerism Commentary contributor, Jeff
[18:55] — Jeff’s initial interest in personal finance
[19:30] — Why Jeff started writing about personal finance
[20:11] — Jeff’s favorite personal finance advice
[20:40] — Favorite personal finance authors and books
[21:16] — Jeff’s anticipated contributions to Consumerism Commentary
[22:29] End

Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes cast)

The Consumerism Commentary Podcast is in full swing with new episodes every Sunday. Listen and subscribe now!

Podcast 11: Jon Gaskell from SmartyPig and New Consumerism Commentary Contributor, Jeff

Podcast 10: Jim Wang From Grill Maestro and Business Success Blogger Erica Douglass

Flexo — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 18:00:11 +0000

In the tenth episode of the Consumerism Commentary Podcast, Tom Dziubek interviews Jim Wang and Erica Douglass. Jim Wang is the creator of Bargaineering and Grill Maestro, and in today’s interview, Tom and Jim discuss a variety of tips for creating a successful and frugal barbecue for July 4.

Erica Douglass is a business success blogger who sold her first business for $1 million. She coaches small businesses at Erica.biz. Tom, Erica, and I discuss her entrepreneurial experiences with building her own business and suggestions for anyone who would like to prosper while self-employed.

[00:00] Introduction from Flexo
[00:51] Interview with Jim Wang
[01:25] — Bargain tips for grill shoppers
[02:22] — Charcoal grilling
[04:12] — Preventive maintenance for grills
[06:38] — Meat buying tips
[09:25] — Other cheap ways to keep guests happy
[11:03] Interview with Erica Douglass
[11:44] — Erica’s teenage job
[13:07] — How Erica made a million dollars
[17:04] — Obstacles Erica faced in starting her company
[19:46] — Successful personality traits in entrepreneurs
[20:37] — Tips for aspiring entrepreneurs looking to beat poor startup success rates
[21:35] — More tips for entrepreneurs
[23:03] — Business goals for entrepreneurs
[24:23] — How Erica’s handling semi-retirement
[27:41] End

Transcript

Flexo: Welcome to Episode 10 of the Consumerism Commentary Podcast. I’m Flexo. In today’s episode Tom Dziubek speaks with Jim Wang from GrillMaestro.com and Bargaineering.com about saving money on your summer barbeque. And after the break I join Tom to speak with Erica Douglass, business success blogger from erica.biz.

[music]

Tom Dziubek: Welcome to the Consumerism Commentary Podcast. I’m Tom Dziubek. Ah, summertime, when the air is filled with the sounds of kids playing and the smell of hotdogs and hamburgers cooking on the grill.

Up to this point most people’s grills have only gotten a moderate workout, but with the Fourth of July closing in on us, many people’s grills are about to go into overtime. But what if you are on a budget? Are there any ways you can save money and still keep you friends satisfied and entertained?

Today we’re talking to Jim Wang, founder of GrillMaestro.com and also of personal finance website bargaineering.com. Jim, thanks for joining us.

Jim Wang: Thanks for having me on the program.

Tom: Jim, let’s start with grills since, well, since it’s hard to host a barbecue without one. This may be the best time for some people to seek a replacement for their existing grill will either be that they discovered it doesn’t work anymore. Maybe that it’s just too small. Do you have any good bargain tips for people going grill shopping?

Jim: I always like going with a charcoal grill. I usually find that charcoal grills are cheaper because if you go get one of those Weber grills it’s a very simple system. It kind of looks like a can and it’s got an area for the coals. You got the grill and you got the cover.

You can really get one of the smaller ones for $20 or $30, even larger maybe $50 or $60, something like that. When you get into the propane it starts getting a little more expensive because of the systems involved. But if you want to get really simple get the Weber Grill and it’s generally very cheap, very easy to put together.

Tom: So go with simple charcoal then. I guess you are a big fan of charcoal?

Jim: I’m a fan of charcoal.

Tom: Is it just because of the cost or because you like the flavor of charcoal grilling?

Jim: I like the flavor of charcoal grilling. Some people think that propane is a lot easier to manage because all you need to do is turn a switch and light it and away you go. But I find that charcoal gives you the ability to get a little closer to the cooking process.

While it may take a little more time to get the coals going and things spread out, you get a little more control over everything. So, I’m a big fan. Also the cost. You really can’t beat getting a $30 or $40 grill and being able to cook as well as a propane grill that may cost you $100 or $150 to $200.

Tom: Do they make charcoal grills big enough to keep people satisfied or at least allow the chef to cook a lot of burgers and hot dogs at one time?

Jim: Yes, they definitely do. They have charcoal grills that are as big or bigger than propane. Because really, I mean, part of the reason is because when working with charcoal, manufacturers are aware that people that cook with charcoal are probably savvier with the grill. And so they can get larger and larger. All your competition grillers, barbecuers, they are always using these huge monstrosities of grills, and those are all charcoal.

Tom: Oh, really? Interesting.

Jim: Yeah, because there’s the stigma with propane, because propane is just a gas. It’s a sense that there is no love in it.

Tom: Right.

Jim: You buy the tank and while I like our propane grill because it’s quick. You turn it on. You are ready to go in a few minutes. Then you shut it off and then you leave. You don’t have to worry about the coals cooling down and the safety issues of that. But I think charcoal is where it is if you want to go budget.

Tom: Let’s stick with charcoal grills here. Let’s talk about preventive maintenance on these grills. What do people need to be concerned about for the long-term health of these grills, be it on a day to day basis? Oh, I guess charcoal grills are pretty easy to maintain considering all you are going to deal with is the charcoal briquettes and perhaps the lighter fluid, right?

Jim: Yeah. The basics are pretty simple. The one thing you have to be careful of and this is true for propane and charcoal grills is keeping the grill grates clean.

That’s the number one maintenance tip for any type of grill. And what’s nice is that since charcoal grills are so simple, even if you do let gunk get stuck on it and it rusts and you don’t feel like using it again, you can buy a replacement fairly cheaply at like Target, Wal-Mart or even going to Home Depot.

I think maintenance on propane grills is a little trickier because of all the things that are involved. You have the burners. You have the fuel lines. You have…

Tom: The ignition.

Jim: The ignition, the grease trap. So you really need to be careful about keeping that stuff clean. I have a funny story about some preventative maintenance that I didn’t do, which is the most basic in a propane grill and that’s emptying the grease trap.

What happened was I got sent a leg of lamb and it has all this fat on it. And I didn’t want of the cut it off because that’s where all the good flavor is is in that fat. So I put it on the grill and I closed the lid. It’s dripping, the fat’s just dripping down like I opened up a faucet or something. It caught on fire.

It hit the grease trap and that caught on fire and then it melted the lining for the grease trap because there’s a little bit of rubber underneath so that if there were any spillover it doesn’t spill down. That dripped down to the fuel line. And this was all because I didn’t clean out the grease trap prior to using it.

Tom: Now, let’s talk about what cleaning out the grease trap usually entails. I know my grease trap looks like an empty can of green beans that just hangs from the bottom of the grill.

Jim: Yeah, for most it is. Unfortunately on the design of the grill that I bought it is actually a really large plate that isn’t very deep. And that’s probably the most poorly designed grease trap I had seen.

And I didn’t think about it when I was getting the grill but normally all you do is you slide it out and it looks like a can. It’s usually very deep and you just go over to the trash and you pour it out or wherever you dispose of grease.

Tom: Let’s talk about meat. Most people are hot dogs, hamburger-cookers, sometimes steak. Are there any good recommendations that you have for purchasing meat for your barbecue? Maybe you would be able to find bargains. Any other cheap cuts of meat that might be good and still wind up impressing your friends?

Jim: I am always a fan of barbecuing chicken. I love making wings on the grill. That smoky flavor really adds a lot to chicken and we like to do sides, thighs, drumsticks, any of that stuff. You put it in some barbecue and then you put it on the grill.

One thing to be careful of is that barbecue sauce does have sugar and it burns very easily. So if you leave it on to long it’ll just burn to a crisp without actually cooking the chicken itself.

Tom: Interesting.

Jim: Some other things, if you are not having a very large group, fish is something that we love doing also. You get one of those baskets and you put some salmon steaks on there, and those turn out pretty well. Another great thing, again with fish, cedar planks, we love doing this with salmon and you just get some cedar planks, you soak them in water for about 45 minutes beforehand, and then you put it on the grill and put the salmon steaks on top, and it really pushes in a lot of that cedar flavor.

Tom: Interesting.

Jim: But with fish, it is not something you want to do if you’re having a big party with like a dozen or 20 people.

Tom: How easy is it to put on cedar planks, are they something that you would just lay on top of the grate or would you actually go and remove the grate and lay the planks down in its place, or would that just burn?

Jim: That will just burn. Yah.

Tom: Yeah, I figured.

Jim: You will leave the grate on, and then put the planks on.

Tom: Yeah, important tip. If you use cedar planks, leave the grate on.

Jim: Yeah. Otherwise when you come back it’ll have smoldered and you’ll just taste smoke, which is probably not ideal.

Tom: One thing I did notice too now, is a good tip that I’ve used in the past, most people will go when planning their barbeque, they’ll go and purchase their meat a couple days ahead of time so they don’t have to worry about it on the day of the barbeque. However, I’ve noticed that in many cases you go to a grocery store, the meat manager will go and mark down any meat that is due to expire that day, or at least have a sell by date of the day you’re purchasing it on. I’ve saved up to like 50 percent in some cases on just buying ground meat.

Jim: Yep. They do that a lot. And they’re just trying to get — this is all stuff that is still good.

Tom: Right.

Jim: It is just getting to the last couple of days. The supermarkets know that you are going to buy it; you are probably going to stick in the fridge for a day or two, maybe. And so they want to get rid of these things now before you take it home and it gets bad.

So you go in, and you will get like a dollar off, two dollars off, three dollars a purchase, and that will save you money, especially if you are just going to use it that night.

Tom: Absolutely. Now anything else that you recommend for keeping your guest entertained and satisfied without spending a whole lot of money?

Jim: I always find that getting creative with your simple basic hamburger is always a fun way to go. I had a friend who has this great recipe. What he does is he gets some cheese and some jalapenos, which will work if you are a fan of hot and spicy food; and he takes the ground meat and he wraps it around the cheese so that it kind of cooks and melts at the same time.

Tom: Wow.

Jim: I guess it’s an inside out cheese burger with a bit of jalapeno in it.

Tom: Hey, trust me, you can never go wrong with jalapeno on something. And, you know, that’s just my personal preference too.

Jim: Me, too. I love spicy food. And I think its part of that creativity. You know, you can start asking for friends: “What sort of burgers do you like?” and start making these unique little style type burgers.

It can be as simple as getting some onions, green peppers; chopping it up, adding some Worcester, some soy, some garlic powder and just mashing that up into a burger. And it’s not expensive, because ground beef is usually fairly cheap relative to steaks and other things. So you can always go that route.

Tom: Jim, thanks for taking time out to talk to us today.

Jim: It was a pleasure. I had a great time.

Tom: That was Jim Wang, founder of Grillmaestro.com; and also of personal finance website Bargaineering.com. This is Tom Dziubek, and thanks for joining us on the Consumerism Commentary Podcast. Stay tuned, after the break we will be talking to Business Success Blogger, Erica Douglass.

Tom: Welcome to the Consumerism Commentary Podcast. I am Tom Dziubek. With unemployment numbers still on the rise, it’s allowed many people to take that extra time available to them and focus on their hobbies. Some entrepreneurial spirits may have taken their hobbies and turned them into side businesses for a little extra cash. And with a little more spare time on their hands, may now be thinking about making that side business a full time job.

Today we are talking to Erica Douglass of Business Success Blogger who coaches startup businesses through her website, erica.biz.

Erica, thanks for joining us today.

Erica Douglass: Hi, thanks.

Tom: On the other mic here at Diced Rhino Studios in lovely Hamilton Square is Flexo, founder of some startup called Consumerism Commentary. Flexo, thanks for making the trip out here.

Flexo: You bet.

Tom: Erica, I was looking at your bio out of your website. It seems you have a nose for making money, even at a young age. Now how did a 14-year-old girl from Indiana find a way to earn some impressive scratch in 1995?

Erica: I started looking for jobs that allowed me to work for home and even in 1995 on the Internet most work-from-home jobs were scams. You know, the old envelope stuffing and all of that stuff that really doesn’t actually work; you just send the money. But my parents coached me on how to find one. They said basically, "If they want you to send them money then it’s a scam." [laughter]

And I said, “Oh, I got it!” So I went on – I think it’s now CareerBuilder, but it was something else back then. I don’t remember the name of it. It was a website. And there was a search engine optimization company that was looking for people to work from home to submit websites for search engines. So guess who got to fill out the forms? That was me. And they paid me pretty well to do that.

Tom: Yeah, especially if you are 14 years old. I mean that’s really impressive. And it beats flipping burgers at the local Burger King.

Erica: Yeah, I got paid per contract. It turned out to be about $12.50 an hour. Of course, it depended on how fast I could hit that control C, control V, copy, paste, copy, paste. But I got to the point where I could do it really quickly and I could use a lot of keyboard shortcuts.

Tom: Let’s flash forward here a little bit. How did you get to make a million dollars?

Erica: It takes a while. I don’t want to mislead anybody. I think people assume that I started this business and then like a year later I sold it for a million dollars. That would be a real cool story. But it actually took me about six years to build my business to a million dollars.

Flexo: And that is still pretty quick. Was this business related to the search engine submissions or was this something else?

Erica: It is interesting that you ask that. The business that I started, that I eventually sold for a million dollars, was a web hosting company. So just in case we have any non technical people out there, what…my friend, who also runs a web hosting company, calls us "Internet plumbers." We are the people who make the websites on the Internet work. We host the backend of websites.

So all of the images and text that you see on a website has to be hosted somewhere on a computer, and that’s exactly what we did. We had a space in a big data center and we put up hundreds of servers. And it started out where I was doing web design and web development work; I was a guru PHP programmer. My clients needed some place to host their websites. And I had had really terrible experiences with a lot of hosting companies.

That’s a pretty common story. There are a lot of really bad hosting companies out there and only a few really good ones.

Tom: I am sure Flexo can tell you stories.

Erica: [laughs] Yeah, I am sure. Every tech person who has had to deal with a large traffic website has had to deal with a crappy hosting company. So the hosting company I had, had, the owners ex wife had literary walked off with my server. So I had this piece of hardware, the server of this computer, in their data center. And they divorced and she got mad and she stole his keys and grabbed his truck and took off with all the servers. [laughs]

I kid you not. I was really upset because all my data was gone. I had backups. But unfortunately my backups didn’t work. So this is my terrible experience. So when my clients started asking me, "Well, what hosting company can you recommend?" I was really leery, because here had had one that the guys ex wife had just walked in and stolen my server.

So I decided to start my own hosting company. And I was working at the time or I just stopped working for a start-up company that some of the techies might remember called cobalt networks. We made little blue servers; we made little cubes and racks, or what they were called. I was IT support at cobalt. And in exchange for doing some IT work for some of the sales guys, they had given me a couple of cobalt servers.

And since they were great for web hosting, I found a local data center and set them up and I told my clients: "Well, tell you what. I will host your websites for you."

And I did. And we grew from two servers to 14 to 16 to 80 to 100; and it just kept growing and growing. I was really surprised. But people wanted a hosting company where they could come meet you face-to-face. You know hosting companies are typically run by either geeks, who want to hide out in the server room and they don’t want to meet anybody, or, they are run by super uber business people, who are like the Wal-Mart of hosting companies, you know, they outsource everything, low-cost this, and you never get to meet anybody face to face.

So really what I started to thrive on was meeting my customers. And since I lived in Silicon Valley and my hosting company was based in San Jose, I got a lot of Silicon Valley’s hottest startups to come host with us, and as they grew we grew and we become more profitable. So eventually I was able to sell the business for over a million dollars.

Tom: What obstacles did you have to overcome in building your company? I am assuming you didn’t have to worry about marital spats, at least in that respect.

Erica: I have stayed single; I am not married. There are many obstacles. A lot of people ask me a question and they say, "Well, how was it that you were able to build your business to a million dollars when so many other companies, including most hosting companies fail?" And I see it as a difference in the way I ran my business. I was committed to running my business fulltime, and I was committed to making sure that my customers were happy. And I don’t see that commitment in the majority of business owners.

Most business owners… there seem to be two extremes. I was actually writing a blog post about this, but I haven’t got it quite flushed out yet. There’s the one extreme where you just want to make money as fast as you possibly can, and that’s not going to work. And then there is the other extreme where you are like really passionate about a topic but you have no idea how to make any money with it, and that really doesn’t work either.

And so you have got both of these. And lot of people making money catering to the people who have a passion, and then a lot of making money catering to the people who just want to make a lot of money really quick, but neither of those are really the total successful path. You have to have a passion about something, but you have to be willing to turn it into a business and market it full-time and take that leap.

Tom: You received an investment from your family that helped you build your company, would you have been able to be successful without that investment?

Erica: Looking back, I started my company in July 2001 and I received the investment from my parents, which was actually the money my grandmother left to my dad when she died and my dad did not need the money so he gave it to me in exchange for me writing a business plan which I had not done previously. [laughter]

So, I had to write a business plan, I had to learn how to do that and I did. So, in September 2002, they made that investment. So, my hosting company was all ready growing really well but since I was really young, I probably would not have qualified for a typical bank loan.

Now, that I am older and have an established credit, I probably would be able to just get a bank loan or something like that, which I highly recommend, by the way — the Small Business Administration, if you are in the US; there are lots of banks willing to lend to small businesses — if you are the owner and you have a good credit history. My company did end up getting a Small Business Administration line of credit as well later on. But, yeah, taking the money from my parents helped me grow the business faster. I do think it would have been as successful with or without the money, I just think it would have taken longer to get there.

Flexo: Are there some personality traits that lend a person to being an entrepreneur a little more than someone else? I guess I should ask, are there certain ways that people can look at themselves differently and determine that they have some entrepreneurial spirit within them, or are there just certain personality types that this would not be a good option for?

Erica: I think the main personality trait you are going to find in any successful entrepreneur is confidence, and it is confidence that their venture is going to work and that they have the right solution for a certain number of people. You have to be willing. When somebody comes to you and says, "Hey, I need an xyz provider," you say, "Hey, we can do that," [laughs] and if you cannot do that, be the first one to say, "Well, you know what, that is not really who we are but here is somebody who can help you."

Tom: Success rates for starting businesses, unless you happen to be in the Silicon Valley during the Internet boom, they are pretty low. Now, what do you suggest for aspiring entrepreneurs who would like to beat the odds and succeed with their business?

Erica: Well just to clarify, I was in Silicon Valley during the Internet boom. I moved here to San Jose in 1999 and I think it would have been harder to start a company in 1999 than it was when I started it in 2001. I started a company at perhaps the worst month ever [laughter] in the history of the United States to start a company, July 2001, because if you remember what happened a few months later was September and everything crashed. So here we are, all ready locked into long-term contracts in July and then September happens, and wow, everything is suddenly called off. So, it was really rough. I do not think it was easy to start a company then.

Tom: Do you have any good tips for aspiring entrepreneurs who want to start their own business?

Flexo: You mentioned some things all ready like being dedicated to working full time at their own business and keeping their customers happy, but what other specific suggestions do you have?

Erica: I think you have to learn marketing and you have to know sales and you have to be OK with sales. I certainly was not OK with sales when I started. I think a lot of people have a mis-perception of sales because they feel that sales is that slimy dude at the used car dealership when you walk in the door he is trying to sell you a crappy car that does not run and he is trying to make it look like a brand new Mercedes and people think, “Well I do not want to do that,” and I say, “Right, I would not either.” Sales to me is about finding what your customer wants and then seeing if you fit there, and if you do, being confident enough to make the offer and learning how to market your business is key too.

My new business will be teaching people how to market their business online through blogs and other tools. I have learned a lot about how to market my business online but how to market your business online is just one part of it; it is knowing where your customers are, it is knowing how to reach them, maybe it is by telephone solicitations, maybe it is direct mail, maybe it is setting up a blog and setting up an email list, but you have got to figure out where customers are and then go to them.

Flexo: You managed to build your company and sell to a larger company for a good amount of money. Is that the goal that most entrepreneurs should look to for their own business, and if so what do they do after that point?

Erica: I think there are two options. I think that one option is to build what is popularly coined now is a lifestyle business, and I think Tim Ferriss started that but I could be wrong, I think the lifestyle business is one where it is flexible for you, it works around your schedule, and it makes you a significant amount of income. It might be a full-time income for a business that you only have to work to a few hours a week on.

The key with a lifestyle business is finding the right people and then outsourcing to them, making it look very good to your customers and making sure that the people that you outsource to are extremely high quality. So, there are lots of lifestyle businesses and then there are businesses that you can build and sell.

So, I think you need to determine, when you start your business, do you want a lifestyle business that you can run for the rest of your life casually, or do you want a business that you can sell for a few million dollars and then live off the net proceeds? It is up to you. I do not think there is one right or wrong way to do it. It is just something that you need to think about when you are starting your business.

Tom: Erica, you are semi-retired. How are you handling your un-retired part of life right now? What are you doing with yourself?

Erica: I am writing on my blog at erica.biz. Unfortunately, recently, I have been dealing with some health problems and the good news is I have been seeing a nutritionist and it appears that my body is not regulating insulin properly. So what that means is I am really tired all the time. It has been getting progressively worse and I am finally on some supplements that are helping me to feel better. In fact, this has just been the past two or three days.

The retired part of me was really figuring out, after I sold my business and I had released this huge mound of stress from my life, figuring out who I am beyond my business and how to cope with being just me and not the owner of a hosting company. I think it is difficult to diagnose health problems when you are really stressed and what I did recently was I went to a conference, I spoke at the conference, for the first time, I pitched from the front of the stage. I sold a product while I was on stage.

I was very successful with that. I sold to 11 new customers. I got home, I started working on the product, trying to get my customers in the door and basically collapsed from exhaustion. It was really difficult.

The blog post I am working on now is how to deal with that sort of thing when it hits your business. My customers have been really supportive of me, thankfully, and I have been in communication with them about it. I think communication is really the key to ensuring that things do not go really badly, if something personally bad happens to you…

Tom: Right.

Erica: … you have to be constantly talking to your customers, constantly saying, “This is the status today.” Do not feel like you are talking to them too much. There really is not a point of too much communication. At least once a day you should be in contact with them saying, “This is what is going on with me today.”

The good news is they are extremely supportive and I have been able to retain all of them as customers, they are not upset with me, as far as I can tell, and they are excited to get their blogs up and running. That was the product I sold, was called “Turn Your Blog into a Business,” which I will be releasing online. It is just important to communicate with them. That is what I discovered and I am really pleased that they have all stuck it out with me and I am really pleased that I feel like now I am on the right track toward health again.

Tom: Erica, thanks for taking time out to talk to us today.

Erica: Sure, I am happy to. Thank you.

Tom: That was Erica Douglass, a Business Success Blogger who coaches startup businesses via her website, erica.biz. This is Tom Dziubek along with Flexo and thank you for joining us in the Consumerism Commentary Podcast. [music]

Rating: 5.0/5 (1 vote cast)

The Consumerism Commentary Podcast is in full swing with new episodes every Sunday. Listen and subscribe now!

Podcast 10: Jim Wang From Grill Maestro and Business Success Blogger Erica Douglass

Podcast 9: Penelope Trunk from Brazen Careerist and Leo Babauta from Zen Habits

Flexo — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 18:00:35 +0000

Penelope Trunk and Leo Babauta are today’s guests on the Consumerism Commentary Podcast. Penelope Trunk is the author of Brazen Careerist: The New Rules for Success and founder of the career advancement website Brazen Careerist. Tom Dziubek and I speak with Penelope about maintaining careers in today’s recession and she presents a number of tips for finding jobs right now.

Our discussion with Leo Babauta, author of The Power of Less and creator of Zen Habits, centers around the concept of minimalism and how this philosophy can improve your personal financial situation.

[00:00] Introduction from Flexo
[00:48] Interview with Penelope Trunk
[01:35] — The economy’s effect on the job market
[02:45] — Generation X versus Generation Y
[05:52] — Applying for jobs online is not enough, hire a resume writer
[08:14] — Standing out among a large pool of applicants
[09:30] — Cover letters
[11:15] — Personalizing the job search with social media
[14:15] — What Brazen Careerist offers career seekers
[16:50] Interview with Leo Babauta
[17:35] — The definition of minimalism
[18:48] — How minimalism is related to personal finance
[19:40] — Minimalism versus frugality
[21:49] — Applying minimalism to buying a house and car
[24:51] — Small changes to spending in line with minimalism
[26:48] — Gradually shifting to minimalism
[28:27] — Minimalism helps you lose weight
[30:15] — Applying ten healthy dieting principles to debt elimination
[35:05] End

Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes cast)

The Consumerism Commentary Podcast is in full swing with new episodes every Sunday. Listen and subscribe now!

Podcast 9: Penelope Trunk from Brazen Careerist and Leo Babauta from Zen Habits

Podcast 8: Greg Grunberg on iPhone App Yowza!! and TalkAboutIt

Flexo — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 14:15:57 +0000

Today’s Consumerism Commentary Podcast features an interview with Greg Grunberg, star of the NBC television series Heroes and drummer in Band From TV, a celebrity band to benefit charities. Greg, Tom Dziubek, and I discuss Yowza!!, the new iPhone (and iPod Touch) app for saving money co-created by Greg.

We also discuss Greg’s roles as an advocate for education about epilepsy and as a parent of a child with epilepsy. He created the website TalkAboutIt.org to educate the world about seizures and other aspects of this condition.

If you are a member of Twitter, follow @greggrunberg for Greg’s personal updates and @yowza for the latest news about Yowza!! including new retailers as they add coupons to the service.

For more information about epilepsy, visit Epilepsy Advocate, Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy (CURE), and of course, TalkAboutIt.org.

[00:00] Introduction from Flexo
[00:40] Interview with actor Greg Grunberg about Yowza!!
[01:15] — Greg’s friendship with producer J.J. Abrams
[04:14] — Greg talks about Yowza
[10:50] — Yowza continues to add more retailers
[16:19] — The freshness of Yowza deals
[19:29] — Discussion about the upcoming season of Heroes
[22:27] — Greg talks about epilepsy and the website TalkAboutIt.org
[32:53] — Greg continues discussion about Yowza
[38:46] End

Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes cast)

The Consumerism Commentary Podcast is in full swing with new episodes every Sunday. Listen and subscribe now!

Podcast 8: Greg Grunberg on iPhone App Yowza!! and TalkAboutIt

Podcast 7: Quicken Online New Features and 10,001 Ways to Live Large on a Small Budget

Flexo — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 18:00:13 +0000

This episode of the Consumerism Commentary Podcast features interviews with Barron Ernst and Linsey Knerl. Barron Ernst is the product manager for Intuit’s Quicken Online and in the podcast, Barron and Tom Dziubek discuss the financial product’s features. Linsey Knerl is one of several authors of 10,001 Ways to Live Large on a Small Budget. as well as the financial website Wise Bread.

[00:00] Introduction from Flexo
[00:44] Interview with Barron Ernst, product manager of Intuit’s Quicken Online
[01:17] — Quicken Online vs. other free financial management sites
[02:38] — Quicken Online’s “Trends” feature
[04:16] — Security at Quicken Online
[05:40] — Quicken Online on your cell phone
[10:07] Interview with Linsey Knerl, an author of 10,001 Ways to Live Large on a Small Budget
[11:28] — Ways to go green and save money
[15:00] — Saving money on health care
[17:31] — Avoiding tricky supermarket traps
[20:37] — Seeing the world for free
[24:03] End

Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes cast)

The Consumerism Commentary Podcast is in full swing with new episodes every Sunday. Listen and subscribe now!

Podcast 7: Quicken Online New Features and 10,001 Ways to Live Large on a Small Budget

Podcast 6: Frugality and 397 Ways to Save Money

Flexo — Sun, 31 May 2009 18:00:17 +0000

Kerry K. Taylor, author of 397 Ways to Save Money and creator of financial blog Squawkfox joins Tom Dziubek today to discuss her book, currently available from Amazon.ca. Kerry explains how she paid off $17,000 of debt in six months and how to make drastic life changes. She also shares some of her favorite tips from 397 Ways to Save Money.

[00:00] Introduction from Flexo
[00:39] Interview with Kerry K. Taylor of Squawkfox
[01:33] — Paying off $17,000 of debt in six months
[03:34] — Negotiating your first salary offer
[04:47] — Maintaining a student lifestyle and standard of living
[05:57] — Using any available tax credits and saving for retirement
[08:18] — Moving to an organic farm and making other drastic life changes
[11:36] — 397 Ways to Save Money
[13:55] — How renting an apartment can make you rich
[17:00] — How management fees deplete returns from your investments
[18:07] — Other surprising tips from 397 Ways to Save Money
[19:06] — Is the recent popularity of frugality just a fad?
[25:20] End

Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes cast)

The Consumerism Commentary Podcast is in full swing with new episodes every Sunday. Listen and subscribe now!

Podcast 6: Frugality and 397 Ways to Save Money

Podcast 5: Pursuing Your Passion and a Dual-Income Budget

Flexo — Sun, 24 May 2009 18:00:35 +0000

Today’s podcast features an interview with J.D. Roth from popular blog Get Rich Slowly. J.D. talks with Tom Dziubek and me about how he was inspired to begin writing about personal finance and his decision to leave the corporate world behind and take his passion to the next level.

Tom also speaks with Bryan J Busch from Stop Being Broken. Bryan is a usability expert, and Stop Being Broken is a series of videos pointing out problems with a wide variety of user experiences. One such user experience is the budget, and in this interview, Bryan explains what works for him and his wife. Here is the video and Excel spreadsheet mentioned in the interview.

[00:00] Introduction from Flexo
[00:48] Interview with J.D. Roth of Get Rich Slowly about following passions
[01:38] — The beginning of Get Rich Slowly
[04:04] — Leaving the box factory to write full-time
[05:50] — The effect of self-employment on social interactions and benefits
[07:37] — How to prepare for leaving a career
[09:07] — Seeking professional advice
[10:30] — The progress of Get Rich Slowly and unforeseen obstacles
[15:12] — Tips that apply to passions other than writing
[16:39] — Pursuing multiple streams of income and the effect of the recession
[19:28] Interview with Bryan J Busch of Stop Being Broken
[20:20] — A family budget system for dual income
[21:41] — Adapting the budget for a single income family
[23:48] — Using joint savings accounts in addition to checking accounts
[25:23] — Alternative approaches to the budget
[27:00] — Automatic transfers based on the budget
[28:44] End

If you have suggestions for the next edition of the Consumerism Commentary Podcast, or reactions to these interviews, feel free to leave a comment here or email your thoughts to podcast at this domain name.

Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes cast)

The Consumerism Commentary Podcast is in full swing with new episodes every Sunday. Listen and subscribe now!

Podcast 5: Pursuing Your Passion and a Dual-Income Budget

Podcast 4: Financial Advisory Website Thrive

Flexo — Sun, 17 May 2009 18:00:16 +0000

In today’s podcast, Tom Dziubek and I talk with Avi Karnani, founder, and Matt Wallaert, Lead Scientist, from Thrive about the services offered by this financial services website and about frugality.

To listen, use the player above (Adobe Flash required), download the podcast here, subscribe to the podcast RSS feed, or use the iTunes link. Note: open links in a new window (ctrl-click or command-click) to avoid interrupting the podcast.

[00:00] Introduction from Flexo
[00:36] Interview with Avi Karnani and Matt Wallaert of Thrive
[01:12] — Beginnings of Thrive
[06:11] — Matt Wallaert’s “Lead Scientist” role
[06:59] — Thrive vs. other financial advisory services
[08:55] — Can Thrive replace a financial planner?
[11:47] — Security information about Thrive
[14:06] — Thrive’s revenue streams
[15:29] — Frugality and its future
[17:41] Thrive Wrap-up

Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes cast)

The Consumerism Commentary Podcast is in full swing with new episodes every Sunday. Listen and subscribe now!

Podcast 4: Financial Advisory Website Thrive