The Stacking Benjamins Show

Episode SB1824 – Building Your Personal Finance Curriculum (At Any Age)

Air Date: April 3, 2026
Host: Joe Saul-Sehy
Panelists: OG (Josh), Paula Pant (Afford Anything), Reuben Miller (Fortunes and Frictions blog)
Theme: Creating Your Personal Finance Curriculum at Every Stage of Life

Episode Overview

This episode explores how to build a personal finance "curriculum" for yourself, no matter your age or financial background. With graduation season approaching, hosts Joe, OG, Paula, and special guest Reuben Miller (advisor and blogger at Fortunes and Frictions) exchange ideas on what foundational financial knowledge everyone should have, what’s often missed or misunderstood, and how to keep your learning relevant throughout life’s stages. With their trademark friendly banter, the crew breaks down what you need to know, when you need to know it, and how to keep growing your money skills for the real world.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Why a Personal Finance Curriculum?

[02:26–04:00]

• Joe frames the need: “There’s a bunch of stuff that we need to know… we skip around a lot. So how do we build that foundation from the bottom?”
• Personal finance education now required in 39 states (WSJ headline). But financial learning is lifelong, and it’s never too late to “go back to school” with your money.

2. Are We Teaching the Right Stuff in Schools?

[11:50–16:20]

• Paula welcomes the rise in personal finance classes but wishes schools wouldn’t skip economics: “It would be better as a both/and, rather than an either/or.” – Paula Pant, [13:23]
• Reuben points out most high school students’ money questions center on debt: “Every single question was a different facet of how do I get myself into debt up to my eyeballs.” – Joe Saul-Sehy, [15:28]
• What sticks? “So much of our financial lives…the way we get paid, 401k matching—these things are not relevant to a 17-year-old… What is the curriculum and are the kids going to remember it?” – Reuben Miller, [14:29]

3. What Should Be Lesson One?

[17:05–21:00]

• OG on where to start: “The first order of business…is to go, where is everything at presently? And that is being truthful to yourself.” – OG, [20:12]
• Paula adds: Always ask “what’s coming up in my life in the next three to five years?” Planning for the near future makes financial goals concrete and actionable.

4. Goal Setting and Trade-Offs

[21:00–25:00]

• Joe summarizes: “You can afford anything. Just not everything. This idea of trade-offs feels like it’s where you would start.” – Joe Saul-Sehy, [22:27]
• Paula: “It’s easier to pick investments, understand insurances… if it’s all aligned with this thing we want for ourselves.”
• Reuben: Once you’re organized, most decisions come down to “what is the distribution of likely outcomes? … I wish people understood distributions of likely outcomes more.”

Memorable OG Quote:

“I think the really relevant things are: how do we teach kids or anybody for that matter…just defer gratification a smidge, you know, like just a little bit.”
— OG, [19:50]

5. Curriculum Structure: Key Pillars & What Gets Learned Too Late

Foundation: Cash Flow, Debt, Emergency Fund

[50:41–53:23]

• Reuben: “The traditional way of using a savings account is pretty much irrelevant today.” Seek high-yield savings or brokerage accounts.
• Paula: “Your behavior matters more than math. The best nutrition plan is useless if you won’t follow it… same with money.”
• OG: “Debt is awful in every form… every dollar you pay someone else is money you’re not accumulating for yourself.”

Risk Management: Credit, Insurance

[53:30–58:34]

• Reuben: “When you buy life insurance…just identify the gap to sustain your family’s lifestyle. Don’t overinsure.”
• Paula: For those struggling financially, “the thing to fix is not your credit score… focus on increasing the gap between what you’re earning and what you’re spending.”
• OG: “Most people spend way too much time insuring low-probability events… and not enough time on the higher ones, like disability or long-term care.”

Growth: Investing, Retirement, Taxes

[59:03–64:13]

• Reuben: “Most investors’ issue is they just get in their own way. You need a philosophy, a design, and an implementation plan.”
  • Decide: Do you believe in the market (index funds/low fee) or active management? Stick to your plan.
• Paula: “People should be aware of behavioral/cognitive biases… loss aversion, recency bias. Once you can name it, you can spot it in yourself.” – [61:09]
• OG: “Taxes are a year-round event. Don’t wait for April. Especially around investing, the difference can be huge.”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Forecasts & Humility:
  “No one should be making those forecasts on a one year basis… If you look at long-term data… Just don’t play that game.”
  – Reuben Miller, [07:33]
• Paula’s Credit Score Wisdom:
  “Why do you want to improve your credit score when instead you could focus on…increasing the gap between what you’re earning and what you’re spending? Because that delta…is the crux of your problems.”
  – Paula Pant, [55:29]
• OG on Debt:
  “There’s no such thing as good debt. There’s just less crappy debt.”
  – OG, [53:06]
• Reuben on Curriculum Fatigue:
  “23-year-olds without dependents don’t need insurance.”
  – Reuben Miller, [54:50]
• Joe on Personalizing Learning:
  “If I can’t do what I want in life, my financial plan failed. It doesn't matter if I beat the S&P or not.”
  – Joe Saul-Sehy, [23:19]

Suggested Basic Curriculum Structure

1. Foundation
   • Know your own numbers (assets, debts, income, expenses)
   • Emergency fund in high-yield or money market, not default savings accounts
2. Trade-Offs & Goal Planning
   • Build plans around your actual goals in the next 3–5 years
3. Behavior & Awareness
   • Recognize your emotional triggers and habits
   • Be wary of behavioral biases (recency, loss aversion)
4. Risk Management
   • Use insurance for real needs, not just to “have more”
   • Disability insurance often more important than life insurance when young
   • Don’t over-focus on credit scores unless planning a major move/loan
5. Investing & Growth
   • Develop an “investment philosophy” (e.g., passive vs. active)
   • Stick to your plan and know that markets are random
6. Taxes
   • Plan tax strategy year-round, not just during filing season
7. Ongoing Education
   • Adapt your curriculum as your life changes (new family, job, aging parents)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [02:26] – Joe introduces the concept of building your personal finance curriculum
• [11:50] – WSJ headline: most states now require personal finance courses
• [17:05] – Each panelist shares their “lesson one” for finance beginners
• [21:00] – How goal setting/trade-offs drives good planning
• [50:41] – Things people learn too late: cash flow, debt, and emergency fund
• [53:30] – Risk management, insurance, credit scores
• [59:03] – Investing philosophies, avoiding behavioral pitfalls
• [62:59] – Humility in investing, learning from failure
• [64:13] – Taxes: think ahead, all year

Panel’s Suggested Resources

(As requested for people wanting to dig deeper)

• High-Yield Savings / Brokerage accounts:
  • NerdWallet, Bankrate
• Behavior & Budgeting:
  • “Your Money or Your Life” by Vicki Robin
• Investment Psychology:
  • “The Psychology of Money” by Morgan Housel
• Investment Policy Statements:
  • Bogleheads.org; DIY resources
• Personal Finance Blogs:
  • Fortunes and Frictions (Reuben Miller), Afford Anything (Paula Pant)
• Financial Planning Tools:
  • Spreadsheet, Personal Capital, Mint

Tone and Takeaways

Light-hearted and relatable as ever, the Stacking Benjamins panel stresses the importance of self-awareness, pragmatic decision making, and building financial knowledge that’s relevant to where you are in life—not just what’s on a standardized class syllabus. They argue for a curriculum that’s goal-driven, adaptive, and grounded in real-life scenarios, not hypothetical textbook cases.

“Start with the stuff that matters in your life right now. Then you can worry about learning the stuff you might need in the future.”
— Reuben Miller (as highlighted in Doug's outro, [67:24])

Main Takeaway:
Your personal finance curriculum should be flexible, rooted in your own goals, and focused on behavior as much as on numbers. Don’t wait for a crisis or a class—start where you are, know yourself, and keep adjusting as your life changes.

[Trivia and recurring show in-jokes omitted for focus on main content.]