How Much Life Insurance Do You Need?

Summary

Podcast Summary: Money Guy Show – "How Much Life Insurance Do You Need?"

Released on February 12, 2025, the Money Guy Show, hosted by Brian Preston and Bo Hanson, delves into essential financial topics to empower listeners in their wealth-building journey. In the episode titled "How Much Life Insurance Do You Need?", the hosts address multiple listener questions, providing clear, actionable insights on life insurance, homeownership in early retirement, optimizing savings rates, and transitioning to maintaining wealth.

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1. Determining the Right Amount of Life Insurance

Listener Question: Chris D. inquires, "How do I decide how much life insurance I need? My wife and I have no kids and both make about 60k a year."
Timestamp: [03:40]

Bo Hanson's Insight: Bo begins by outlining the primary goal of life insurance: to financially protect those who depend on you in the event of your passing. He emphasizes the importance of considering factors such as shared financial responsibilities, like mortgages or a single income household. "The general goal of life insurance is that if someone were to be disadvantaged by your passing, not just emotionally, but financially..." [03:51]

Rule of Thumb: Bo suggests a straightforward rule: 10 times your annual income. For a combined income of $60,000, a policy around $600,000 is advisable, potentially rounding up to $750,000 or $1,000,000 for added security.
“A really nice rule of thumb, Brian, and then why don't you talk through how, if you want to go deeper in the rule of thumb, you can kind of think through that.” [04:00]

Brian Preston's Additions: Brian expands on Bo’s framework by highlighting additional considerations such as the duration of financial support needed and the flexibility to cover debts and living expenses during a challenging period after a loss. He advocates for term insurance, particularly for young individuals, and discusses the benefits of eventually transitioning to self-insurance through asset accumulation. “Term insurance is our favorite where because we do think that eventually, if you structure this right enough time, with enough discipline, it'd be great if you can just wean off of the insurance and let your assets self insure you to a large degree.” [06:00]

Notable Quote: Bo Hanson emphasizes personalization in life insurance planning. “It's not like a one size has to fit all.” [07:53]

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2. Homeownership vs. Renting for Early Retirement

Listener Question: Nicole A. asks, "I want to optimize to retire early. Is it safer for a long retirement to own a house or more financially smart, to rent and invest?" She mentions planning to retire by age 50 with an anticipated $800,000 from selling her current home.
Timestamp: [09:26]

Brian Preston's Perspective: Brian discusses the advantages of owning a home, especially if purchased during low-interest periods, as it locks in housing costs and can be a stable component of financial planning. However, he warns against forcing homeownership in high-interest environments, which might impede aggressive saving necessary for early retirement.
“But if you're somebody who's aspiring to own, then that definitely is going to something you're going to balance whether you're saving and investing or you're trying to make that purchase decision on that house.” [10:08]

Bo Hanson's Perspective: Bo elaborates on the flexibility renting offers compared to the long-term commitment of homeownership. He highlights that owning a home provides predictable housing costs, while renting introduces variability due to potential rent increases and inflation. Bo advises listeners to avoid adhering to external advice rigidly and instead tailor their housing decisions to their personal retirement vision.
“If you buy and you own a piece of real estate, you're locked into it. Especially if you took out a mortgage that says, hey, I'm going to pay on this thing for 30 years until I pay it off.” [12:28]

Notable Quote: Bo Hanson underscores the importance of a personalized financial plan. “You need to define and construct a financial plan that is personalized for you and your circumstances and your goals.” [12:22]

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3. Including Business Investments in Savings Rate

Listener Question: Nick 99 asks, "I'm 25 and I have a full-time job and a business. I max out my Roth IRA and contribute 6% to my 401k. The remainder I invest into my business. Can this be included in my 25% savings rate?"
Timestamp: [15:26]

Brian Preston's Insights: Brian advises that investments directed toward one's business should not be counted toward the personal savings rate. He explains that while investing in a business can significantly increase income and offer substantial returns, it doesn't replace the need to build independent financial assets apart from one’s primary income sources.
“I think a lot of times the reason you're saving and investing in the Roth IRAs, the retirement accounts, even your taxable investment accounts, is you're trying to build financial assets that are independent of your human capital and your work.” [16:00]

Bo Hanson's Recommendations: Bo concurs, emphasizing that while business investments are valuable, they should remain separate from personal savings goals. He encourages entrepreneurs to strive toward saving 25% independently to ensure financial flexibility and security outside of their business ventures.
“You cannot count it towards your 25%. So I would argue outside of that, get to saving 25% as quickly as you can.” [18:00]

Notable Quote: Brian Preston highlights the importance of diversifying financial assets. “You've got to be building assets outside of your human capital, outside of your business venture.” [16:30]

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4. Transitioning to "Stay Wealthy" Behaviors

Listener Question: Ban Beanbo asks, "When would you say that you can switch into stay wealthy behaviors? I'm 27. I have a $515,000 net worth, $235,000 in investments, and $90k in cash. I save over 25% into investments and my goal is to pay off my house. What are your thoughts?"
Timestamp: [19:26]

Brian Preston's Perspective: Brian describes the transition from wealth-building to wealth-maintaining as a gradual journey rather than a sudden switch. He cautions against complacency, especially for young earners who might be tempted to reduce savings once they achieve a substantial net worth. Brian emphasizes the importance of continued financial discipline to prevent lifestyle inflation from undermining long-term financial stability. “I worry about conceiving that this is not a seven figure portfolio yet... you're starving on saving and investing at such a young age.” [21:00]

Bo Hanson's Recommendations: Bo agrees with Brian, highlighting that maintaining wealth involves several practices beyond saving, such as having a well-funded emergency reserve, diversified investment portfolios, adequate insurance, and estate planning. He encourages listeners like Ban Beanbo to continue focusing on building wealth while simultaneously integrating wealth maintenance strategies to ensure sustained financial health. “Are you taking advantage of the other strategies available to you from a risk mitigation standpoint? Do you have wills in place and estate documents and appropriate insurance?” [24:26]

Notable Quote: Brian Preston uses an analogy to stress the importance of ongoing financial vigilance. “It's like your spending habits expanding to a point where it's not sustainable for the future.” [22:00]

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Conclusion

In this episode, Brian Preston and Bo Hanson provide comprehensive guidance on assessing life insurance needs, balancing homeownership with early retirement goals, accurately accounting for business investments in personal savings, and transitioning to wealth maintenance behaviors. Their expert advice underscores the importance of personalized financial planning, disciplined saving, and strategic investment to achieve and sustain financial independence.

Notable Closing Quote: Bo Hanson wraps up by reinforcing the value of personalized financial strategies. “Whatever that plan is, is going to be the best solution for you.” [12:28]

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For more insights and personalized financial advice, visit moneyguy.com and explore the resources offered by Brian Preston and Bo Hanson.

Transcript

[Chris D]

All right, this next one is from Chris D. Chris D. Before you.

[Brian Preston]

Before you jump in this, I can't help but I get slacks come across my. Do you realize how many breakers are being tripped in the building because of all the.

[Bo Hanson]

It's because it's freezing in Nashville right now.

[Brian Preston]

Y'all know how cold it is in Nashville right now? I told my wife that this is not. This isn't healthy. I even ran upstairs and I. I know all my plumbing's on interior walls, but still. Did you go dripping? I went upstairs. I went upstairs this morning just to run because I woke up and it was like 12 or whatever it was. And then yesterday it was like eight and I was like, you know, I haven't checked all my lawns upstairs. Make sure.

[Bo Hanson]

You went and dripped your pipes, didn't you?

[Brian Preston]

I didn't drip them, but I went and turned them on. Make sure that they were all working. But it's. I don't know, in my skin. I don't know if y'all can see it. I'm starting. You're like, is Brian human or reptile? Human or reptile? You know, right now it's pretty questionable.

[Bo Hanson]

Well, here's the thing. So it is like we have like single digit, single digit or low teen temperatures here in Tennessee. It's pretty unusual for us here in.

[Brian Preston]

The suburbs of Snowing in Jacksonville, Florida today, supposedly.

[Bo Hanson]

Was it really? I did not know that. And so. And also so those of you who have not come to do a studio tour, by the way, if you ever come to town, we'd love to do a studio tour. If you've not seen. This is a like, old building. It's like over 100 years old. And so like, it's drafty ish and stuff. And so it gets cold in here. So we don't want our people to be cold. We want our people to be very comfortable when they're at work. We want them to have a pleasant, wonderful, happy working environment. So we got tons of space heaters. But when all the space heaters go at once and start pulling off of this, you know, hundred year old electricity, it trips the breakers. So it's a thing. It's happening. I don't know what else to tell when. You know, when my wife and I first got married, I was so tight that. Have I told you this story before? When we first got married, I was so tight, I would not turn on the heat. I would not turn on the heat in our. In our house until like February or March. So literally every night I'd be like, babe, I'm so sorry. Put on your wool socks, put on your sweatpants, throw on your hoodie, and that's how we're going to live. And she stayed.

[Brian Preston]

We are from Georgia. This is all throwback to the late Jimmy Carter residential, where he. That's what he used to tell you is, you know, keep your thermostat low and put on an extra layer.

[Bo Hanson]

That's what I did.

[Chris D]

No, I can't handle it if it's below 70.

[Bo Hanson]

Yeah. Oh, not. Not anymore.

[Brian Preston]

Yeah. You run your heat up over 70 every single day.

[Bo Hanson]

Goodness gracious, Every single day.

[Brian Preston]

You do too.

[Bo Hanson]

I put it down to 67 to sleep at night. What do you keep your house at? 55.

[Brian Preston]

I sleep at 62.

[Bo Hanson]

62. I'm just shivering. I'm cold thinking about it.

[Chris D]

I'm always cold, though.

[Brian Preston]

So if it was up to me, we would not have this many space heaters. I don't think they're very efficient.

[Bo Hanson]

Fortunately, you've lost control of this thing.

[Brian Preston]

Oh, no, believe me, I know. Now I'm just hoping we don't burn the building down. Small victories.

[Bo Hanson]

I'm sorry, who asked the question about it?

[Brian Preston]

I'm so sorry. I couldn't help but notice that all these. Because, by the way, I walk in this morning, half the lights are off in my side of the office, and then. And I know it's show day, and I see Carter, and I'm like, where's Beau? He's not in his office. And he's like, oh, him and Marcy are flipping breakers. So I'm like, oh, okay. And he's like, yeah, I'm starting a meeting. And I was like, well, if you weren't running two space heaters. But then I found out it wasn't just his space heaters. You were running space. You are on the same circuit.

[Bo Hanson]

All of us.

[Chris D]

Yeah, because your offices are.

[Bo Hanson]

They're so cold. Those windows are freezing, but they're beautiful and cold. Thanks for coming to our TED Talk. Hey, financial question.

[Chris D]

All right. This was from Chris D. And he says, how do I decide how much life insurance I need? My wife and I have no kids and Both make about 60k a year.

[Bo Hanson]

Awesome. So what is the ultimate goal of life insurance? This is a pretty good thing to level set. The general goal of life insurance is that if someone were to be disadvantaged by your passing, not just emotionally, but financially, someone depends on you for their well being. We would argue that there is an insurable interest on your life. So commonly, if you have Someone and you bought a house together and you have a mortgage, or maybe you have kids or you have a spouse that stays at home, or you're a higher earning spouse for a lower ending spouse, lower earning spouse. Those are all things that would substantiate there's an insurable interest on your life. Meaning if something were to happen to you, you'd want to be able to replace your income and fund other financial goals. Well then the question comes back to, okay, well, how much should I have? I'll give the easy rule of thumb, Brian, and then why don't you talk through how, if you want to go deeper in the rule of thumb, you can kind of think through that. But generally speaking, a really nice rule of thumb, if you want to think about how much life insurance, especially for young people to start with, is about 10 times your annual income. So if you were to have an income of $60,000, we would say that, okay, maybe a $600,000 life policy would make sense. Or you could even round that up to 750,000 or even round it up to a million. Because at young ages, for healthy individuals, life insurance is incredibly affordable. It's not something that has to be a super expensive undertaking. So that's kind of the general loose rule of thumb. Ten times your annual income. But what about for this couple, Brian, who doesn't have any kids, or maybe for someone who does have other extenuating circumstances like mortgage and kids, how would you go about deciding an appropriate insurance?

[Brian Preston]

Well, I mean, you kind of gave a lot of the breadcrumbs there is that you need to think about who's counting on this money, what income is being replaced. So for a couple who don't have kids, you said it, debt. And then I'd also be thinking about the component of time. If your significant other passes away, I mean, that is going to shock us all to the core. There's probably going to be a period of time that you're just not going to be able to work. You might need to have at least some flexibility to pay your debts, pay, you know, living expenses and so you can get back up on your feet. So that's why it's not going to be a ton. I mean, that's term insurance is our favorite where because we do think that eventually, if you structure this right enough time, with enough discipline, it'd be great if you can just wean off of the insurance and let your assets self insure you to a large degree. That's the ideal. Now look, I have clients we Buy permanent insurance or help them locate permanent insurance. Because sometimes for estate planning or other type of things you need to go to permanent. But for a lot of people, term does good work. The other thing I was thinking about with life insurance is just the general fact of it is one of those things where it's a hard discussion. I like it that it lets people have these discussions about how are we living our life, what do we need for the future? And have those difficult. Make it a broader thing with wills, with disability insurance, because as we know and we've shared, you're much more likely to become disabled while you're in your working career than you are to die prematurely. So make sure you understand that component. I was trying to think if there was any other elements, but I think that covers most of that.

[Bo Hanson]

Did you talk about timeline too? Like not all. Even when you think about term policies, they're not all created equal. Sometimes you can do 30 year term policies or 20 year term policies, or 10 year term policies. You can actually customize the life insurance coverage you have for the amount of shortfalls. So if you know you're someone who's within a decade of financial independence, you may not need a 30 year policy, you may need a 10 year policy. Or if you just want to make sure that you're protected over the long term and you're younger ish and healthier ish, you could do a 30 year policy and have yourself covered for a really long time. So it's not like a one size has to fit all.

[Brian Preston]

You can't assume you're always going to be insurable. I will say that's always the disclaimer you put out there. But if you are a person that has good family history, you're healthy, a good practice, you can ladder term policies. So we see people buy 20 year term policies with each child, you know, and they can, that way they phase out over time. The other thing, now I'm going to screw this part up because it's been years since I went through all my training. But there was some anecdotal or it was not. It was actually statistically information that like significant others, if you die Prematurely, like under 40, there's a good chance that your spouse will remarry. But between 40 to mid-50s, I think it's pretty dry on remarrying. And then I think it was post 60, you see coupling, people get back together. Just if you look at the trends of individuals and that can go into your planning for how you want to handle that. Because if you have a significant other, especially if they don't have. If you don't have kids and other things and they're younger, there's a chance that your need might be shorter on them marrying again.

[Bo Hanson]

Sure.

[Chris D]

Great. Christy. If you would like a Tumblr for asking a question, you can email winneroneyguy.com all right, next up, we have an interesting one from Nicole A. She says, I want to optimize to retire early. Is it safer for a long retirement to own a house or more financially smart, to rent and invest? I will make $800,000 from selling and I plan to retire by age 50. So it sounds like she already owns a place.

[Brian Preston]

Here's the thing. If you already, if you can own and you can control that, like anybody who bought houses pre 20, when was this huge runoff pre product? Yeah, it was probably, probably first quarter 2020 or first quarter even 2021. Then you've locked in your cost of homeownership and now you just have to worry about property taxes. And if you have a low interest on that mortgage, that's the best of all worlds. That's why people who are trying to. Because you can control your variables as much as possible. But what I worry about is this is because now if you fast forward to right now and you're trying to figure out, do I own, meaning go buy something, or do I continue to rent? Well, now we have a different question. It's different because the cost of entry is a little out of wonk right now because interest rates are much higher, affordability of housing is much higher. And I don't want you to force the ownership side so much so that it jeopardizes your ability to save in an aggressive way, to be part of the fire fine movement that you're trying to see of financial independence that much earlier. So it's really a two prong approach. You have to figure out if you're already in a house. Great, you've locked into your variables. But if you're somebody who's aspiring to own, then that definitely is going to be something you're going to balance whether you're saving and investing or you're trying to make that purchase decision on that house.

[Bo Hanson]

Yeah, this is a bit of a hot take of ours and we catch a little bit of flack on this because some financial minds out there will tell you, oh, if you want to be financially successful, you have to do this. Or if you want to be fun, you have to do this. When it comes to homeownership, we actually don't say that there is a have to on one side or the other. I mean, certainly we fall in the camp of we own our homes and we want to be on the homeownership side. And one of the beautiful things about someone who's going to retire early is when you own your house, if you have a mortgage on it, you have a fixed cost that you're going to pay for your housing. Now, yeah, it might vary based on taxes and insurance and that sort of thing, but it's relatively locked in. If you rent, you lose some of the control over what your housing costs are going to be in retirement because there will be rental increases and inflation and that sort of thing that you have to factor in. Now, on the flip side, when you buy and you own a piece of real estate, you're locked into it. Especially if you took out a mortgage that says, hey, I'm going to pay on this thing for 30 years until I pay it off. It's a big time commitment. When you rent, you're really only locking yourself down for the term of your lease. Maybe it's 12 months, 18 months, 60 months, so on or so forth. So you have to define based on retire early. What is your vision of retiring early? It's not uncommon for us that we'll have clients who live in an area and they buy a house, they pay for it, and they say, hey, we're gonna, we're gonna relocate. We've been in the northeast and we want to go down somewhere warmer down in the Southeast. Okay, great, we're gonna sell our house in Northeast. But rather than go and buying a home immediately, we're gonna go rent for the first few years of our retirement to kind of figure out where we want to be. Do we want to be in this area, this part of town? What kind of house do we need? What size home do we need? There's nothing wrong with going back and forth even between renting and ownership, if that's part of your overall financial plan. What I would caution you against, Nicole, is letting someone else tell you, hey, you have to do this, okay? If you're going to retire, you have to own a home, or if you're going to retire, you have to sell your home and invest all that equity so the money can be working for, for you. Either one of those can be true, but neither one of them has to be true. So you need to define and construct a financial plan that is personalized for you and your circumstances and your goals. And whatever that plan is, is going to Be the best solution for you.

[Chris D]

Wonderful. Thank you, Nicole. A for your question, if you would like a money guy Tumblr, you can email winneroneyguy.com it took me six questions.

[Brian Preston]

To realize that Beau was wearing my pullover.

[Bo Hanson]

What's funny is he. Every time I wear it, every single time I wear it.

[Brian Preston]

Do y'all think Bo looks good in that pullover?

[Bo Hanson]

I mean, I mean, he of course.

[Brian Preston]

Does, but this is what I mean. But this is years ago. We were hired by Toyota to come speak to them and they were so nice to us. They gave us this great Under Armour pullover. Under Armour quarters. And for somehow Bo and I lived in harmony, both wearing these beautiful pullovers for years. And then I think he stole mine because mine has disappeared.

[Bo Hanson]

But if I already had.

[Brian Preston]

Every time he wears it, I cuss.

[Bo Hanson]

Him, if I already had one, why would I steal the other one? Steal the other one?

[Brian Preston]

It just doesn't make sense. I don't, I'm very, I'm very mindful of where my clothes are at all times. And somehow it disappeared on me.

[Bo Hanson]

What's funny is you realize that, that, that engagement with Toyota was probably, gosh, it had to be close to a decade ago.

[Brian Preston]

Was it really?

[Bo Hanson]

Yeah. And yeah, here we are. We still, if you want to know if we love and still wear free swag, absolutely.

[Brian Preston]

I look over and I see Toyota right on his arm.

[Bo Hanson]

You know what? I thought I was gonna make it all the way through today without you saying it, but it looks too good.

[Brian Preston]

That was a plug for them. That's why, hey, give us free swag while we're doing presentations for you and you might get a free plug. Maybe they'll give you big Corolla, not.

[Bo Hanson]

Land Cruiser, Toyota references.

[Brian Preston]

Look at that. I can't help myself. Toyota, if you want to sponsor a studio, I know a great one. We don't do a lot of sponsorship around here, but I might make an exception for that one.

[Bo Hanson]

The Toyota Money Guy studio.

[Brian Preston]

And if you have any those Under Armour pullovers, let's make it happen.

[Bo Hanson]

Ryan would love one.

[Brian Preston]

Extra large.

[Bo Hanson]

Extra large. Oh, that's so good.

[Brian Preston]

It would solve a lot of strife here.

[Bo Hanson]

Honestly, there's no strife on my end.

[Brian Preston]

Cuz you're the have, I'm the have not.

[Bo Hanson]

Well, fair enough.

[Chris D]

All right, this next question, she's like.

[Bo Hanson]

Okay guys, are we ready to move on?

[Chris D]

This next question is from Nick and Nick 99. It says, hello, I'm 25 and I have a full time job and a business. I max out my Roth IRA and contribute 6% to my 401k. The remainder I invest into my business. Can this be included in my 25% savings rate? What are your thoughts?

[Brian Preston]

We get these. I always love when people say, can I count what I'm paying on my mortgage as my savings or can I put what I'm putting into my business? Here's a key thing, and I'll let you add to this beau is that when you, of course, your business, if people ask me what is the most valuable money I ever invested, it was my business, absolutely, because the business has increased my income substantially and has created a lot of benefits. However, I think a lot of times the reason you're saving and investing in the Roth IRAs, the retirement accounts, even your taxable investment accounts, is you're trying to build financial assets that are independent of your human capital and your work. And maybe your business turns into that because a lot of people, you know, they, they have those big payoff moments where they sell a business and they, they get a windfall, but that's not insured. So while you're on the journey of entrepreneurship, you've got to be building assets outside of your human capital, outside of your business venture. So because of that, I think it's, it's a no for me when you're trying to figure out financial independence wise. Now, in the beginning of your business though, because I've shared this, I'd be a hypocrite and we have a no hypocrite policy. There was a season of my life after my father passed away. And I was in that year and a half to two years that I was getting my ducks in a row and creating my, putting on my 3D glasses, creating my business plan, that pretty much 100% of my money went into planning for the business. And because I wanted to give the money, the business, as much cash and capital to be successful. Because a lot of business ventures fail, not because the talent's not there, not because the passion's not there, but because they just don't have enough capital to get them through that dry season of the three years it takes to get a business going.

[Bo Hanson]

So I want to repeat back what I heard to you, make sure it's right. So, uh. Oh, no, no, no, it was right. No, you cannot count money. You're investing in your business as part of your 25% savings. However, sometimes for entrepreneurs that's necessary. And so I agree with that fully because I do think for businesses that succeed, one of the best investments you could likely ever make would be pouring into a business that's going to ultimately be successful. What I would challenge you to do is as quickly as you can, by any means necessary, figure out how you can still get to saving 25%. I mean, I think about this, these businesses, Brian, that we own, we still invest heavily into them every single year and yet we're still making sure that we're hitting our savings numbers outside of what we invest in the business. So as soon, Nick, as you can begin doing that, I would still work towards that goal so that you begin to build up money on the sidelines, which will allow you from having to be in a sink or swim state with your business. Because essentially, if you can do both build the business and then build your wealth outside of the business, you're going to give yourself maximum opportunity and flexibility later in life. So you cannot count it towards your 25%. So I would argue outside of that, get to saving 25% as quickly as you can. And hopefully these investments in the business are going to be the rocket fuel that moves you in that direction to be able to save that 25%.

[Chris D]

Wonderful. Thank you, Nick for your question. Hopefully that gives you some stuff to think about. If you would like a money guy Tumblr, you can email winneroneyguy.com all right, I like the username on this one. It's from the great Ban Beanbo. When would you say that you can switch into stay wealthy behaviors? I'm 27. I have $515,000 net worth, 235,000 in investments and 90k in cash. I save over 25% into investments and my goal is to pay off my house. What are your thoughts? So maybe talk about what are those stay wealthy behaviors and then how do you know if you're ready for those?

[Bo Hanson]

Well, let me start at the beginning here. Bam Bimbo, Bam Bambino. Bam Bam, Bam bimbo. I like, I like that username a lot too. You're 27 years old, you have a half a million dollar net worth over $230,000 invested. I'm gonna assume a full emergency fund at $90,000. You're saving 25%. By all standards, you are absolutely crushing it. Right. Like I think for most 27 year olds in this country, when they see that, they'd be like, holy cow, this person is absolutely just rocking it. And that would be a fair statement. So does that mean that you have now made the wealth and now you can focus solely and exclusively on make wealthy tendencies? And another question on halfway, Brian, in addition to that does. Is that what that means? Is, is it like a switch? Like is one day I make wealth, make with make wealth, and the next day I am maintain wealth. Or is it a gradual process that happens over time as you begin to reach that critical mass and cross over into that new threshold?

[Brian Preston]

It's a road. It's not like you're cooking a turkey and you reach a certain temperature and all of a sudden the thing pops out and says, okay, turkey's done. I think it's more of a roadmap type situation where you're on a journey and you have to take measurements of where you are on that journey from time to time. And what I always worry about for somebody who's in their 20s, by the way, you're crushing it. I don't want to take away from that, but I will tell you, be careful. Sometimes my young financial mutants, you have huge incomes, you're doing really well and you jump out ahead with like yourself, you have a multiple six figure portfolio, you have good cash reserves there, and you're like, well, I've crushed, I'm way ahead of schedule. If I put this on a wealth multiplier right now, I'm going to be rocking this thing forever. The only thing I always get nervous about, first of all, you haven't reached full critical mass. Meaning that this is not a seven figure portfolio yet. Not that that's what it has to be. But I'm assuming if you're on a high income situation, the bigger your income is, and likely the bigger your spending, your monthly expenses are, the bigger the obligation of what you have to save and build is. And so for somebody who can save this much money at such a young age, there's a good chance that your spend rate is going to be high enough that it needs to be seven figures. And I also worry about if you're really young, if you take your foot off of the accelerator of saving and investing at such a young age, where does the money go next? The only thing really left if it's not saving building is consumption. And what could be a blessing right now for you is that you live on. You have this whole margin thing whooped, meaning that your discipline of life is you're living on less than you make. But if all of a sudden you flip the script and you started consuming more, would you now expand that lifestyle creep to the point that this is not sustainable for the future? A lot of people, I don't know if this analogy is going to hit perfectly, but I have a lot of People who are in private aviation and they tell me the biggest problem when you get into private aviation is that you'll buy yourself out of the hobby, meaning that you will buy, you know, you start off with like a Cessna and, you know, and it's very reasonable on the hourly, you know, burn rate, on the fuel cost and how much it costs to maintain it. And then you go up to a cirrus, and then by the time you get into Mooney's, and then you keep going up, before you know it, you can't afford your hobby. And I worry about that with lifestyle. I know it's not a perfect thing, but I think that that's the same. It's how you use your resources. So I would. I love what, what you're doing. Bam. No, bambino. Yeah, Bambino.

[Bo Hanson]

No, that's great. You nailed it.

[Brian Preston]

But keep on it a little bit longer because make wealth is so important. And by the way, we, before you switch into maintain, there are tools out there. This is exactly why we did the know your number course is because this lets you play with the variables of what's your rate of return, you're expecting, what's inflation, what are your goals, what's your savings rates. We want to give you something so you can pull all the different levers and kind of know where you are if you're just not at the point that you need a financial advisor yet, you know, take advantage of that tool. We made it affordable and, and good because we wanted you to be able to have some resource so that you could start playing around with the numbers to see if you had reached that critical mass point.

[Bo Hanson]

And you're doing, you're already doing some of the maintained wealth stuff. You have a fully a funded emergency reserve. I'm assuming that's what that $90,000 is. I don't know if you're still using target retirement index funds or if maybe you've moved on to like, more customized portfolio across your investments at 200,000. That may be something that you want to begin to entertain. And then are you taking advantage of the other strategies available to you from a risk mitigation standpoint? Do you have wills in place and estate documents and appropriate insurance? All of those fall into that maintain wealth category, even though you're still very much focused on making wealth. Making wealth. Making wealth. Well, I think you're at that precipice where you're kind of doing both. But the, the onus, the emphasis is still on the make wealth, and I will continue on. And then what I get so excited about is year 27 right now. When you get to 30, 35, 38, 40, it starts to look really, really exciting. Starting out with these.

[Brian Preston]

Well, I mean, I just did some basic math. If 90,000 was their cash reserves, even if you're three months, six months, that's between 180 to $360,000 of expense. I mean, or you could if they wanted to base it off of income. Either way, that's crushing it. That's not scientific, but it was just fun to do a thought exercise.

[Bo Hanson]

Bring a calculator on the show one time.

[Brian Preston]

You gotta be careful.

[Chris D]

All right. Thank you so much.

[Bo Hanson]

I was sitting there thinking it's like Billy the Kid just sitting there.

[Brian Preston]

Do you have a license to carry that, sir? Yes, I do.

[Chris D]

Is that the one that Caleb had to get off of ebay?

[Brian Preston]

I'm sorry?

[Chris D]

Is that the one that Caleb had to get for him off of ebay?

[Bo Hanson]

Is that then. Is that the new one? No, that's.

[Brian Preston]

Why do we have to. So this thing, we had to buy it off of ebay? I'm that old to make me comfortable.

[Bo Hanson]

They still make that dinosaur?

[Brian Preston]

Yeah, they still make it. This is time. Time value. Money is timeless. I could not find a new one. Do they make a new version of it, though?

[Bo Hanson]

Yeah, mine. The calculator that I've been using for the last 20 years.

[Brian Preston]

Oh, yours didn't Hewlett Pack. Yours is Texas Instrument.

[Bo Hanson]

Exactly. Once. Once TI Burst on the scene. They kind of did away with HP doing it.

[Brian Preston]

You see how flimsy your buttons are? I mean, I couldn't use your calculator for just how the. The buttons feel. These are firm. And see how they're even contoured. Yours are, like, all floppy when you move as fast as my thumbs move. That would never work. That TI can't do what my HP does.

[Bo Hanson]

Probably why there's so many of them readily available to be bought. Right?

[Brian Preston]

Like I said, this is like sidearm discussion. Here, you see this? We all have. Every cowboy's got to have their. Their preferred weapon. Mine is an hp. You should have seen me back in the day. We should. Is it down in the basement mold? Tin key?

[Bo Hanson]

Oh, yeah, it's somewhere. It used to be on set. Is somewhere.

[Chris D]

Oh, there's another one.

[Bo Hanson]

No, an actual 10 key.

[Brian Preston]

Like my public accounting days. I used to have a tin key that. I don't know how that came. Did I steal that from my first employer? That's kind of cool. Think about that. Why do I have a 10 key? I didn't buy it. How do I have a 10 key?

[Bo Hanson]

I packed up the box and walked out with it.

[Brian Preston]

It's like a military. That's like, if you're in the army and all of a sudden you take home with a bazooka. I'm sure that's frowned upon.

[Bo Hanson]

Pretty much the exact same thing.

[Brian Preston]

10 keys, a powerful instrument. Back in the day, I could foot a ledger, like something you've never seen. I don't know how we got into so many public accounting discussions.

[Bo Hanson]

The tin key is the bazooka of the financial world. I hope y'all put that together. That's fantastic.

[Chris D]

Love it. All right, thank you, the great man Meanbo, for your question. If you would like a money guy Tumblr much better, you can email winneroneyguy.com youm know, I only know that because of the sandlot movies.

[Bo Hanson]

Of course. Yeah. Do you. Do you know, like, the original, like, where the great Bambino came from? Like, do you know Babe Ruby?

[Brian Preston]

That's Babe Rudy.

[Bo Hanson]

Okay, good. Just make sure. Just want to make sure.

[Chris D]

Yeah, yeah, I got you.

[Bo Hanson]

Popularized by the Sandalon for, you know, this generation.

[Brian Preston]

Is that even old enough to need some cultural explanation?

[Bo Hanson]

What's so funny is, like, I'm so excited to show my kids the sandlot, but they're too young. Like, I just feel like not. Not quite yet, but that's going to be a fun. Like, it's going to be fun when you're. When my kids reach the age that I get to watch all the movies that, like, for. Not all the movies that form my youth, but a lot of the movies that, like, formed my youth. I'm excited to get to share that with them. They're just not quite ready for.

[Brian Preston]

I'm gonna go. I'll fast forward. I've got older children.

[Bo Hanson]

Huh?

[Brian Preston]

They're gonna disappoint you. I remember Jennifer and I showed Ferris Bueller's Day off, and it had to.

[Bo Hanson]

Be a hit, right?

[Brian Preston]

I mean, I think she liked it, but. And then we. Like, last week we did Gladiator, the original one. Yeah, I think she liked it. I don't know if it's just. You never get the reaction. I got the first Jurassic Park. Yeah, that one. If y'all. If y'all just. If you're my. You're not my age, so don't pretend you are. But if you're my age, the first time you saw those dinosaurs, you're like, holy cow, so these have changed. And it's so incredible. And then you show it to your younger children. And they're like, because they're so inundated with.

[Bo Hanson]

They don't think it's impressive anymore.

[Brian Preston]

It just doesn't seem that big of a deal. You should have grown up with Claymation. Gosh, it's gonna be so doing stop motion.

[Bo Hanson]

Think about showing my kids a Jurassic Park. That's gonna be a fun one, too. They'd be super scared of it right now, but we'll get there. Oh, goodness. That's a way to end the show.

[Brian Preston]

Is that really how we're gonna go?

[Bo Hanson]

Well, it's because all the people that are controlling the boards right now are all Ohio State fans. That is not. That is not sponsored by the money guys.

[Brian Preston]

I don't know how I'm gonna blame Ribi, because she's not even here, but Ruby, you know, classifies herself as a Buckeye. All these Cincinnati or Ohio, all these Ohio people that we let on, let them see. This is the problem. You move up.

[Bo Hanson]

We're from Georgia.

[Brian Preston]

You move up a little bit closer to Ohio and all these Ohioans. It's because I watch Ohioans.

[Bo Hanson]

The Ohioans. This weather doesn't. Doesn't bother them.

[Brian Preston]

They come a little south down to Tennessee. And is what you get on your. Your content stuff. All right, we'll do better.

[Bo Hanson]

What a downer.

[Brian Preston]

Celebrities there on our. On of our creative content paid for with UGA money.

[Chris D]

Yeah. All right, well, thank you to everybody who tuned in with us today. If you would like to get any of the resources that we talked about, you can find [e-mail] resources and don't forget that we've got a new show premiering.

[Brian Preston]

Oh, yeah.

[Chris D]

Monday, February 3rd. It's called making a Millionaire. So that trailer.

[Brian Preston]

Did you just do finger guns?

[Bo Hanson]

I did do fingers. It's pretty good.

[Chris D]

If you would like to check out the trailer for that, it's on our YouTube channel. Or you can go to moneyguy.com makingamillionaire to find out more info on that. And of course, as always, we will be back next Tuesday to answer all of your financial questions.

[Brian Preston]

I feel like, you know, in that Braveheart, that scene where he's. Mel Gibson's character is like, hold, hold. He's telling him not. Not to. Not to release just yet. That's why I am with Beau every day, because I'm like, even in our content meeting before, I was like, yes, I'm excited the show's releasing, you know, very soon. February 3rd.

[Bo Hanson]

February 3rd.

[Brian Preston]

But let's calm down. It's gonna be very good. But hold.

[Bo Hanson]

So I'm so excited.

[Brian Preston]

I hope you guys will love it as much as we've loved creating it and because there's been a lot that's gone into it. So it's going to be fun. But I'm super excited. I'll just say that I love it. Truthfully, this is. I'm holding because if I let myself go, so it's going to be good.

[Bo Hanson]

Thank you for the restraint. That was great.

[Brian Preston]

That was not a complete sentence, guys. We'll close out with. Hey, I'm a mess today. Respect the fu. Maybe not enough mct Oil in the coffee, so. But I'm your Host, Brian Preston. Mr. Bo Hanson. Moneyguy team out.

[Bo Hanson]

The Moneyguy show is hosted by Brian Preston and Bo Hanson. Brian and Bo are partners with Abound Wealth Management. Abound Wealth Management is a registered investment advisory firm regulated by the securities and Exchange Commission. In accordance in compliance with the securities laws and regulations, Abound Wealth Management does not render or offer to render personalized investment or tax advice through the Money Guy Show. The information provided is for informational purposes only, may not be suitable for all investors, and does not constitute financial, tax, investment or legal advice. All investments involve a degree of risk, including the risk of loss.