← The Stacking Benjamins Show
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- [00:04]
Joe Saul-Sehy
This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Fiscally responsible financial geniuses, monetary magicians. These are things people say about drivers who switch their car insurance to Progressive and save hundreds. Because Progressive offers discounts for paying in full, owning a home, and more. Plus, you can count on their great customer service to help you when you need it. So your dollar goes a long way. Visit progressive.com to see if you could save on car insurance, Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Potential savings will vary. Not available in all states or situations.
- [00:43]
OG
Close your eyes, exhale, feel your body relax, and let go of whatever you're carrying today.
- [00:50]
Doug
Well, I'm letting go of the worry that I wouldn't get my new contacts in time for this class. I got them delivered free from 1-800-contacts. Oh, my gosh. They're so, so fast.
- [00:59]
OG
And breathe.
- [01:00]
Doug
Oh, sorry. I almost couldn't breathe when I saw the discount they gave me on my first order. Oh, sorry. Namaste. Visit 1-800-contacts.com today to save on your first order.
- [01:11]
Nikki
1-800-Contacts. What a great Monday, man. I had a fantastic weekend. How about you, og?
- [01:18]
OG
Yeah, probably my weekend that's about to happen was probably amazing.
- [01:25]
Nikki
If I could remember that far back into the future as we remember exactly.
- [01:28]
OG
What I did in a week from now.
- [01:29]
Nikki
Dud. Doug. Dud. Dud. Wow.
- [01:36]
OG
What about you?
- [01:37]
Nikki
That was Monday. Tongue not working yet. Doug, how you doing, man?
- [01:41]
JJ
Fantastic, Joe. I'm doing this whole thing in reverse because I'm spending a lot of my midweeks in a great spot and then I go down to the Detroit area for the weekend and do squat. But somewhere in there I'm having a good time.
- [01:57]
OG
Those eight hour commutes.
- [01:59]
JJ
Yeah, exactly.
- [02:00]
OG
Really quite amazing.
- [02:01]
JJ
Exactly.
- [02:02]
Nikki
Well, you know who stands in place for eight hours keeping us safe every.
- [02:05]
OG
Weekend while you're at attention the entire time?
- [02:08]
JJ
Buckingham Palace Guards.
- [02:09]
Nikki
It's. Well, no, the US version of Buckingham Palace Guards, which is our own military members. So we begin every week by saluting our military. So let's raise our guns with.
- [02:21]
JJ
With cooler guns. And no funny hats, because who needs.
- [02:26]
Nikki
The funny hat, right? Right. On behalf of the men and women making podcasts about funny hats in mom's basement and the men and women at Navy Federal Credit Union who serves our troops and our veterans, here's to you people who kept us safe all weekend. Let's all go Stacks and Benjamins together now, shall we?
- [02:46]
OG
Clink. Hey, this is Joe's sister, Nikki. I think I might be the only girl in the world who has a brother who spends his entire day in the basement pretending he has an Internet radio show.
- [03:05]
JJ
Live from Joe's mom's basement, it's the Stacking Benjamin Show. Foreign Doug and the times, well, they're changing. If you file taxes, don't worry. If you don't, I won't tell. But I think the IRS will still be on to you. Today's episode is for you. Government legislation has changed the tax game again. And today we'll review some of the big planning opportunities for stackers just like you. We'll couple that with a call from JJ who wonders about 401k contributions and how they work. Confused by your workplace plan? We've got you covered. And you know what? I'll also share a TikTok minute about the meaning of life. And then I'll share what probably brings the most meaning to your life. My astounding trivia. And now two guys who think debt snowballs are great as long as you're throwing them at high interest rate loans. It's Joe. Oh, and. Oh, J.J. juh G.
- [04:18]
Nikki
I swear to God, Doug, you said that because it's end of July. It's like 104 degrees. So let's talk about snow. Yeah, like a little psychosomatic. Yeah. Hey, everybody. Welcome to Air Conditioning for the Wind podcast. I am Joe Saul Sehi. It is Monday in the basement. And that means that we've got an action packed show for you today. As Doug, you so eloquently explained, we've got tax savings, we've got 401k, we've got the meaning of life. And like the cherry on top, we got Mr. OG. How are you, brother?
- [04:54]
OG
Just happy to be here. I'm just here so I don't get fined. Sorry. That a football thing from Marshawn Lynch?
- [05:00]
Nikki
Is it from Marshawn lynch or have you said that like 50 times more than Marshawn lynch has ever said it?
- [05:04]
OG
I might have said it more than him at this point, but it really, really resonated with my soul. I was like, oh, you're my people, bro. Like, I get it.
- [05:14]
Nikki
Yeah. But isn't the thing that truly resonates with your soul tax savings? I think that probably is it.
- [05:21]
OG
Yes, it is by far. If you can figure out a way to not pay the man.
- [05:25]
Nikki
So we're gonna warm OG's heart today. Hopefully. Finally, Doug, after all these years, we're going to warm OG's heart with some tax savings. But first we have some sponsors to make sure that we can keep on keeping on. You don't pay a penny for any of this tax savings. So hold on. We're going to hear from these awesome stacking Benjamin sponsors and then we're going to dive into what you need to know to save some money on your tax bill. Do you remember the time before the Internet ruled our lives? Well before that time, AOL brought America Online with email and Instant messenger. By 2000, AOL was so powerful it set its sights on media giant Time Warner. Deal was supposed to bring us into the future, but instead it became one of the messiest corporate disasters on record. But what went wrong? Was it culture clashes, the dot com crash, or something deeper? Business wars gives you a front row seat to the biggest moments in business and how they shape our world. Because when your flight perks disappear, your favorite restaurant chain goes bankrupt, or new tech reshapes everything overnight, there's always a deeper story behind the headlines. Follow Business wars on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcast. You can binge all episodes of Business wars, the AOL Time Warner disaster early and ad free right now on Wondery Plus. This episode is brought to you by Navy Federal Credit Union. Navy Federal can help you find and finance the right vehicle with ease. With Navy Federal's car buying service powered by Truecar, you can find the vehicle that's right for you as you search through inventory, compare models and and you could get an amazing rate when you finance with Navy Federal. Visit navy federal.org truecar to learn more. Navy Federal Credit Union Our members are the mission. Navy Federal is insured by NCUA Credit and collateral subject to approval.
- [07:24]
OG
Hello darlings. And now it's time for your favorite part of the show, our stacking Benjamin's Headlines.
- [07:31]
Nikki
Our headline today, actually, Doug sent us. Doug, what's up with you being on top of like current events?
- [07:37]
JJ
I'm killing it lately. I'm on my game.
- [07:39]
Nikki
It's incredible. Madora Lee wrote this piece. Madora writes one big, beautiful bill offers Americans lots of tax benefits. Here are a few to plan for. We're going to dig into this brand new legislation and I'm sure there's still a lot to come on because this thing is around 900 pages long. We've heard, of course, a lot of people talking about the $6,000 bonus deduction for seniors. That's been well publicized. Also, no tips on taxes and overtime. That's been publicized.
- [08:11]
OG
But there's going to be no taxes on tips in overtime. Not tips on taxes and overtime.
- [08:15]
Nikki
No tips on taxes.
- [08:17]
OG
No, I'm planning on tipping. Tipping taxes. That's a new thing.
- [08:20]
Nikki
Did I say no tips on taxes?
- [08:22]
OG
No tips on taxes. Yeah.
- [08:26]
Nikki
Can you see the IRS agent at your house?
- [08:28]
OG
No, no, no, no, no, no, sir, we are not allowed. No gratuities. Accepted.
- [08:33]
Nikki
I understand you're excited I'm here. However, please, please, please.
- [08:38]
OG
Thank you. No, your patronage is enough for us.
- [08:41]
JJ
We ensures prompt audits.
- [08:43]
Nikki
Well, that's what I was thinking. Doug was. Sometimes people kind of hint that they're going to tip well so they get better service. When the IRS agent shows up at your house and you start flashing them a few bills, like, is that tipping or just straight out bribery?
- [08:57]
JJ
Yeah. I don't think that's going to end the way you think it is.
- [08:59]
OG
That might not go, especially now because there's no taxes on tips. Maybe, maybe this is a new thing. Maybe you're like, hey, man, look, here's the deal. We can come to an arrangement.
- [09:09]
Nikki
If you're a stacker who's tried this and you're not behind bars, Write me Joe stackybenchments.com There are a few terms stackers that you're going to need to know to fuel today's discussion. Let's start off with a couple of these that are going to be important. OG let's talk. First of three is a tax deduction. How's a tax deduction different than the next one on my list? A tax credit.
- [09:33]
OG
Tax deductions versus tax credits. A lot of people use these interchangeably, but it really is a big difference. A tax deduction is going to reduce your overall income that you're going to pay taxes on. So if you make $100,000 and you have a $10,000 deduction, then you are going to pay taxes on 90,000. If you have a tax credit, tax credits go against your tax bill. So, for example, in that previous example, you have $100,000 of income, maybe you owe. At the very bottom of the tax form, it says, this is your total tax, $10,000, and you have a $5,000 credit. Now you only owe $5,000. So credits go against the money that you owe. Deductions go against your income, which is going to, you know, reduce the money that you owe. But it's not a dollar for dollar thing, because if you lose $10,000 of income, that might affect your tax bill by 12% or 15% or whatever. So credits are better than deductions. If you flipped over a Monopoly card and it said you could have $10,000 of credits or $10,000 in deductions, you want the credits.
- [10:40]
Nikki
Yeah. I mean, think about this. Let's say they give you that $10,000. That is 10,000 bucks, OG I mean.
- [10:45]
OG
As if somebody else is helping you write the $10,000 tax bill.
- [10:48]
Nikki
Yeah. Where if it's a ten dollar deduction, you're just deducting that, as you said earlier, from your income. So you'll get a, you'll get some money, but nowhere near.
- [10:56]
OG
Yeah, you get a benefit. Both are beneficial.
- [10:58]
Nikki
The third is what's called the standard deduction. People are going to need to know that for this discussion too. So we talk about deductions. What's the standard deduction for our new filers out there?
- [11:07]
OG
Well, several years ago, I think this was in 2017, I think the first tax cut, Jobs act in 2017 is where they increased the standard deduction. So when you do your taxes, there's certain things that you can put as deductions. You can have interest you pay on your mortgage. You can have some amount of property taxes and state income taxes, which is one of the changes. You can have some charitable contributions that you can deduct from your income and you can keep track of all that stuff, healthcare expenses, that sort of stuff. And you can keep track of all that and put that on your tax form. Or you can just take what the government gives you, which is they say, hey, if you're married and you're filing joint, you get 30 grand. So you can take our number of 30 or you can calculate your own number, but you always get the higher of the two. So 90, I don't know the number. I feel like it's 90%. Some large, large, large percentage. 80, 90% of people just take the standard because their normal lifestyle expenses or lifestyle deductions wouldn't equal the standard number.
- [12:06]
Nikki
It makes it so much easier for so many filers.
- [12:09]
OG
Well, you'd think so, but it's, I mean, especially if you're kind of on the, on the edge, you still have to do it both ways anyway to.
- [12:14]
Nikki
See which one, just to see which wins. Yeah.
- [12:17]
OG
But then there's also the component of keeping track of all this stuff. So, you know, let's say that you are close now. You have to keep track of all that stuff for longer. So just take that for what it's worth. You keep your records longer.
- [12:30]
Nikki
I should say, as people are diving in. Speaking of records, one thing we used to keep track of that since 2017, a lot of people haven't, that's charitable contributions. Because those rules changed a ton. However, they're changing Again, OG charitable contributions no longer just for itemizers. Under the OBBB year end, charitable deduction planning could be beneficial. One of the contributors to this piece said you can deduct $1,000 per person or $2,000 per couple in what's called above the line charitable contribution deductions if you cannot itemize. So, oh, gee, even people that don't itemize might want to make sure that they're tracking their charitable deductions.
- [13:12]
OG
Yeah, there's another component of the charitable contributions too, which is now it's also adjusted against your income. And I believe this is only for itemization for the charitable contributions. If you make a charitable contribution in 2026 or later, I think it might just only go through 2028. Like you said earlier, there's so many pages of this that you, like, read one thing, you're like, oh, cool, I got it. And then you go, wait a second, I got page 640. And that says something, you know, that adds an addendum to page 300 or something. But anyways, there is going to be an adjustment to your charitable contributions based on your income. So if you are going to itemize and make charitable contributions, which that's one of the components that people use to itemize, the first percentage of your income of charitable contributions isn't going to count. So if you make half a million dollars and you donate 10,000, you'd say, oh, I could put 10,000 on my deductions. No, the first 5,000 doesn't count. That's going to introduce some little tax planning potentials for the end of this year. And also think about kind of lumping those contributions in subsequent years, because if you do 10 every year, it might.
- [14:24]
Nikki
Be better to do 0 this year, 20 next year.
- [14:27]
OG
Yeah, 0 this year, 20 next year, 0 for five years, and then do 50 to be able to use more of it of a percentage.
- [14:33]
JJ
Joe, in the spirit of trying to be a one on one level podcast, a couple of seconds ago you said above the line. What's the line?
- [14:41]
Nikki
Yeah, above the line means that you can take it without itemizing, without going through those itemized deductions. So if you're somebody taking that standard deduction that we talked about earlier, you can still take advantage of this charitable contribution.
- [14:57]
OG
Do that plus. Yeah, you can do the standard plus this additional little bit.
- [15:02]
JJ
I mean, I was going to say all of that. You just said it a little clearer than I did. So that's why I asked you to chime in and do that.
- [15:07]
Nikki
No, I'm glad You stopped there because this idea of above the line, below the line, something that hangs people up. Let's talk about the next area. So that was charitable contributions. What if you're buying a car? Well, potentially good news for you too. Interest deductions on personal auto loans. The OBBB has made new personal auto loan interest deductible for non itemizers. So again, what they call above the line, even if you don't itemize, you might be able to deduct the interest on your personal auto loan. First time this has ever happened.
- [15:40]
OG
I laugh at this because I can imagine these back alley deals with the, with the auto manufacturers. Does this not scream like somebody somewhere, oh, it totally freezed somebody's palm and was like, we need to sell a few more Ford pickup trucks.
- [15:55]
JJ
Anything we do about that close to the size of a home loan. So they're like, what's the difference dude? Let's just let it all write up.
- [16:01]
OG
You're not wrong. I mean, you see some of these SUVs are $100,000, $110,000. And now they're doing eight year loans. You know, like people freak out when you do a 15 year mortgage. Like, oh, that's so much money, dude. What's an eight year car loan?
- [16:17]
JJ
Can I get a car equity loan?
- [16:19]
OG
I know.
- [16:21]
Nikki
By the way, personal auto loan interest used to be deductible until 1986. That eliminated that. But this, to be clear, this is.
- [16:31]
OG
Only person that could have taken advantage of that on this call is Joe Easy.
- [16:34]
Nikki
This is, this is deductible.
- [16:36]
JJ
I like that one.
- [16:37]
Nikki
This is. Yeah, very funny old guy.
- [16:39]
JJ
That was pretty good.
- [16:41]
OG
I remember those days. Those are the golden days. And I get right off my car.
- [16:45]
Nikki
Oh man, this is the first time that even if you just take the standard deduction, you also still have an opportunity.
- [16:54]
OG
So, so let's go buy cars.
- [16:56]
Nikki
Under the OBBB, Americans could deduct up to $10,000 of interest. $10,000 of interest on your car back to your hundred thousand dollar car. You can deduct up to $10,000 of interest on your taxes beginning in. This one begins in 2025.
- [17:13]
OG
Yeah.
- [17:13]
Nikki
And it sunsets in 2028. So some of these are right now. This one, the charitable contribution 2026. This one, 2025. Sunsets.
- [17:22]
OG
The economy, baby.
- [17:23]
JJ
Damn, why did I pay my car loan?
- [17:25]
OG
The economy, stupid. Go get another one. Go get a car equity loan.
- [17:29]
Nikki
Yes, go take another one. Now this one you're going to need to read more about stackers if you're somebody with that $100,000 car. There are specific requirements to qualify for the deduction that could make it harder to take advantage of. For example, the purchase has to be a new US assembled vehicle. This is where the lobbying comes in. If it's a new US assembled vehicle for personal use and income limitations, there's going to be some phase outs. Those apply. Not phase outs, just income limitations that apply. But you might be able to deduct the interest on your car whether you itemize or not. All right, let's go into a couple that are for families, which by the.
- [18:08]
OG
Way, hold on just a second. Thinking about that car thing.
- [18:10]
Nikki
Sure.
- [18:11]
OG
Now think about all the record keeping that has to happen at the car loan facilitators who now have to be able to provide to the IRS like your mortgage company does the documentation. Documentation, you know, a 1098 or whatever it's called. Is it going to be a 1098 C for car?
- [18:29]
Nikki
Maybe.
- [18:29]
OG
I don't know. And by the way, where does all that cost of all those people paper and process go? I'm going to guess it's going to be rolled into that loan that you're now able to deduct that apparently is good for you.
- [18:41]
Nikki
Yeah, go out and take a huge car loan now because it's tax deductible. It's awesome we get to deduct it. I mean, what could be.
- [18:45]
OG
What's your payment limit? Oh, great news. This is deductible.
- [18:48]
Nikki
Who cares about the payment?
- [18:49]
OG
It's a write off.
- [18:51]
JJ
You were joking, OG but that's exactly what it's for. 1098 C is for contributions of motor vehicles, boats and airplanes. You're a genius when you are not even realizing you're being a financial genius. That pisses me off.
- [19:07]
Nikki
Can you see this conference room at the irs? What are we going to call it, Betty? I think we call it 98C.
- [19:15]
JJ
It's the same team of crack professionals that came up with all the abbreviations for the states.
- [19:19]
Nikki
Wait for it. Everybody. Wait for it. The C is for automobile. Let's move on to people with families or stackers with families. If your employer offers a Dependent Care flexible spending account. I love these things. If you have kids in daycare and you're not using the Dependent Care Flexible spending account, take a couple aspirin, lay down, then tomorrow go and sign up.
- [19:45]
OG
Well, sign up at your next open enrollment.
- [19:47]
Nikki
Yeah, Agreed. Funds for these get withdrawn for your paycheck before taxes are deducted. So pre tax child care or for adults unable to care for themselves. The OBBB permanently increases the annual maximum contribution to 7,500 bucks. Doug's pointing at himself. He says he qualifies.
- [20:09]
JJ
I haven't been able to care for myself for 12 years.
- [20:11]
Nikki
I think you're under barely able to care for yourself. But the OBBB permanently increases the annual maximum contribution to $7,500 into this account, or 3,750 for married couples filing separately. Just another reason among 50 bajillion to file jointly. That's up from $5,000. OG I mean, this is a 50% increase in the amount you can put into that account. To your point, I think at open enrollment, this is the big go to if you've got child care.
- [20:43]
OG
Yeah, the biggest thing to keep track of here is it's a reimbursement plan. So you put money in and then you take it back out and then you move it all about. It's like the hokey pokey. You have to use it all by the end of the year. So you have to. Well, you have to earn through it by the end of the year. Most of the time they give you till the end of January to take the money out. So just be sure that you're going to use $7,500 of child care, which kind of hard not to if you have a kid in child care. You're probably spending $25,000 for child care, but it also affects your cash flow. So as you put the money in in January, your paycheck is going to go down, and then in the end of January, you've accumulated, you know, a month's worth of money in this. Now you can send in January's child care bill in February to get reimbursed for your out of pocket. You know what I mean? So you gotta be okay from a cash flow standpoint. This is where it gets kind of confusing is, you know, you're gonna be taking $500, $600 out of your paycheck for the first month and a half before you get that money back. That could have an impact on your cash flow. You have to have to prep for it.
- [21:45]
Nikki
This is where the emergency fund really serves its purpose.
- [21:48]
OG
I mean, yeah, it's. Yeah, you have to, because if you.
- [21:50]
Nikki
Have an emergency fund, you dip into the emergency fund here till you get that one month, six weeks ahead, and then you're just, then you're rolling and.
- [21:57]
OG
You' so basically, with the dependent care flexible savings account, you're putting money into this account pre tax. So you're getting a tax Deduction. Back to our first conversation. You're getting a tax deduction on this for 7,500 bucks and you're turning around and reimbursing yourself for your out of pocket costs. So Effectively, you're paying $7,500 of child care pre tax. If that's how you think about it, fantastic.
- [22:18]
Nikki
The increases begin next year.
- [22:20]
OG
It should be freaking 25,000. I don't know why it's. Yeah, I don't know why it's been 5 or 75. Like it's, it's like it's not even in the ballpark of really making an impact, but it's something.
- [22:29]
Nikki
The increase begins next year. But open enrollment this year is when you're going to sign up. So if you've got open enrollment coming up in the fall, you are going to want to jump all over that one. We've got two more here that are kind of just a one, two punch. The child and dependent care credit gets a double boost. Starting in 2026, the credit rate increases to 50% from 35% of qualifying expenses up to $3,000 for one child, up to $6,000 for two or more children. For families with the lowest incomes, the percentage gradually decreases as your income rises. The child independent care credit. Oh, gee. So for our stackers that have very, very low income, this can be a game changer because this is a tax credit and it's jumping up by a substantial amount.
- [23:20]
OG
Yeah. The other piece about credits, by the way, is they're refundable. Is that a good way to say that? It's basically if you have a tax deduction, you know, you're using an example. You make $100,000, have a $10,000 deduction. Now you owe taxes on 90. If you have $100,000 of income and have a $200,000 deduction. I don't know how you do it, but let's say you did. You don't get a negative hundred. You just go to zero.
- [23:43]
Nikki
Oh, one star. I'm giving the IRS one star for that.
- [23:46]
OG
However, on the credit side, let's say that this person that you're talking about has a tax bill of 1500 bucks. After all the dust settles, it's $1500. But they have a $6000 credit. They don't go to zero. They go to negative 4500. They're going to get a check for $4,500. So credits, if you end up in the black, I guess, is a way to put that. If you end up in the Black, you're getting the cash. If a deduction, you end up in the black, that just, they just go, we're square, you know, so you definitely want to work to optimize those credits. And I think from a tax planning standpoint, maybe this is kind of where you're going with all of this as the technology catches up. We talked about this a couple of weeks ago. It's not quite. I haven't known any tax programs that have perfectly mastered the planning yet for the new bill. But as this becomes more prevalent, let's say September, October timeframe, I don't know why you wouldn't be jumping on TurboTax and putting in a sample tax plan for 20, 25 and saying, here's where my income is, here's where I think I'm going to be like, what does this look like and what can I adjust? Because if you're right on the edge of one of these things and you have the fourth quarter to say, oh, I can put a little bit more money in my 401k, drop me below this number. And now I get this $6,000 credit, like you want to know about that In October when you go to do your taxes, they're always backward looking. And so taxes, CPAs, enrolled agents, very few of them do tax planning in advance. They always. The thing I hate the most about taxes is the CPA will go, oh well, you should have done this. And you're like, well, dude, where were you in October when I could have done it? You know, it's March, I'm out of time because of this. I would really strongly encourage people to. If you don't have a planner or an advisor who's doing this tax planning stuff, you need to be sitting down in October, downloading TurboTax or whatever and just kind of putting in a sample attack. Like, here's where I think I'm going to finish the year. What does this look like and where am I at? Because TurboTax and these other tax softwares will tell you, hey, you're $500 over this limit for this deduction. And you go, oh, what can I do? I got three months to figure out how to manipulate this data so that I qualify for this new thing.
- [25:59]
Nikki
Well, so much has changed, as you mentioned, that you're going to get some surprises. I mean, there's a lot of people thinking, oh, I'm not going to be eligible for this, for this credit. Listen to this. The way the new credit rate faces down for taxpayers is also changed. The income threshold to receive the lowest 20% credit has jumped from 206,000 for a married couple filing jointly and 103,000 for individuals from pre Obbury B. Income levels 86,000 to 43. 43,000. So we've gone from 86,000 OG to 206,000. The number of people qualifying for this has exploded. Like, there's just a ton of people now that think, yeah, this doesn't apply to me. And it does. These changes result nearly 4 million families seeing an increased tax credit according to first 5 years fund, a nonprofit focused on ensuring families have affordable access to quality child care and early learning programs. Lots of planning opportunities here. We will link to this piece in the show notes and of course, we'll talk about this a little later. We have a tax guide where we update it every single month. That tax guide is going to be more expensive starting on August 1st. So stackingbenjamins.com guides gets you to our guide if you want to start digging into the tax planning immediately.
- [27:19]
OG
I just want to know one thing.
- [27:21]
Nikki
What's that?
- [27:22]
OG
Hey, Doug, are you down with obb?
- [27:25]
JJ
You know me.
- [27:26]
OG
Yeah, I thought so.
- [27:27]
Nikki
And we also know that Doug is down with some trivia. Doug, what's going on, man?
- [27:37]
JJ
Hey there, Stackers. I'm Joe's mom's neighbor, Doug, and I'm loving St. Patrick's in July festivities here in mom's basement. We're drinking shiner.
- [27:45]
Nikki
St. Patrick's in July?
- [27:47]
JJ
Yeah, I mean, it's every year. Joe, don't act like you haven't done this. You were hammered last year. Probably why you don't remember it. We're drinking shiner. We're watching old Irish movies, by the way.
- [27:59]
Nikki
Hold on. Shiner. Irish.
- [28:01]
JJ
A lot of Irish people here in Texas drink shiner, so it counts.
- [28:05]
Nikki
Okay.
- [28:06]
JJ
We're watching old Irish movies like that one that came out Today back in 1978, Animal House, this classic starring again. I think there was an Irish like boom mic operator on that. So it counts. This classic, starring John Belushi and a host of other comedy stars, details the story of a fraternity in trouble all the time, like us. You know what gets fraternities in trouble? Well, a ton of things. Pretty much everything. But at the root could be, oh, I don't know, beer. So let's talk about which beer brand do college kids, the legal ones I'm talking about, spend more Benjamins on than any other brand? Let's focus even more. According to CR Research, which brand is the most popular on college campuses? I'll be back Right after I go hunt for some leprechauns. That sounds wrong.
- [29:06]
Joe Saul-Sehy
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- [29:42]
Nikki
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- [30:20]
Doug
You buy a pair of socks, that's two socks. You buy a pair of Bomba socks, that's four socks. Because one purchased is one donated. Socks are the number one most requested clothing item in homeless shelters. So when you buy a pair of super comfortable Bombas socks, you're also donating a pair. Bombas customers have powered over 150 million donations. So Bombas would like to thank you 150 million times, but we only have like 30 seconds. Go to bombas.com and use code audio for 20% off your first purchase. That's B O-M B A S.com and use code audio at checkout.
- [30:55]
JJ
Hey there stackers. I'm renowned leprechaun hunter and guy who loves lucky charms. It's getting worse. The classic film Animal House cashed in a ton at the box office on a budget of only $2.8 million. It hauled in a whopping $141 million.
- [31:18]
Nikki
Wow.
- [31:18]
JJ
I'm no math majorette, but that's a ton of coin. College campuses are also known for being places where tons of tons of beer is consumed. According to CR Research, which brand is consumed the most? If you said Budweiser, hey Boomer, how are you? But you're wrong. It's Corona. And now the guy leading this Irish Holiday in July celebration, it's Joe Osalci.
- [31:45]
Nikki
I think you're leading the celebration. And Corona. Would you have expected og that Corona on college campuses, that that's the beer?
- [31:57]
OG
No, I wouldn't.
- [31:58]
Nikki
No no. Who knew?
- [32:00]
JJ
Find this hard to believe. CR research just dropped a couple of pegs in their credibility rating.
- [32:04]
OG
I think it's gotta be like natty life, right? That makes way more sense. Yes.
- [32:10]
Nikki
Keystone.
- [32:11]
JJ
If you're a college student listening right now or a recent college student in the last, whatever, five years, please write us and let us know because I just seriously doubt the kids are buying kegs of Corona.
- [32:23]
OG
Hold on, guys, before I open this. Another beer. Who's got a lime?
- [32:27]
JJ
Yeah, can we put a giant lime in the keg?
- [32:31]
Nikki
Time for our TikTok minute. This is the part of the show where we shine a light on a TikTok creator either sharing some brilliance or some air quotes. Brilliance. Oh, gee, we're going to. Tanya sent this to us and she said we've been talking a lot about purpose and meaning lately. We going to hear some brilliance or some air quotes? Brilliance from the one Tanya sent us?
- [32:52]
OG
Well, if it's about purpose, I'll say probably. Fine. It's fine. Still, tech talk is the devil.
- [32:57]
Nikki
This is Marjorie, age 92, who's been asked a question about her favorites. You said you traveled.
- [33:06]
OG
Yes, almost entire world.
- [33:09]
Nikki
What was your favorite place that you've been? Wherever I am at the bottom moment. Sharp it. Sweet wisdom from 92 years old. I think you nailed it.
- [33:20]
OG
O such a cop out answer.
- [33:22]
JJ
When you're on the right side of the grass at 92, you're happy wherever you are.
- [33:27]
OG
True.
- [33:27]
Nikki
But I think if you've got that attitude at 32, wherever I am right now, like, how many people do you know? They're so distracted. They're checking their phone, they're checking their watch. They're on to the next thing. Jerry Seinfeld. Doug has that whole bit about that I wake up, you're like, I got to get to work, man. I got to get to work. The second you get to work, you're like, oh, I got to figure out where I'm going to lunch. And then you get to lunch. I got to get ready to go home.
- [33:48]
JJ
Yeah. Always looking forward.
- [33:50]
Nikki
Be happy where you are. Thanks, Tanya, for sending that to us. And we have talked a lot about meaning lately and I think Marjorie nails it. All right, on to longer segment and one that is meaningful, especially to stacker jj. JJ thought, you know what? I better call Saul.
- [34:06]
OG
See?
- [34:06]
Nikki
Hi. N o G. This is when a stacker calls in like JJ and asks a question. If you've got a question for us, head to stacking benjamins.com voicemail and you can ask a question like JJ is today. Hey, JJ, what's going on, man?
- [34:25]
F
Joe, OG and of course Doug. I'm a longtime listener and third time caller. I realized that my T shirts are worn out and I wanted a new T shirt, so thought I'd make a call Getting, getting to serious business. Actually, I am touching 50 this year and I wanted to know, I understand that the 401k contributions, you have a $7,500 increase in this 401k contributions after 50. Just wanted to check how does it work? Does, like, do I automatically get to contribute or my employer or my 401k provider needs to do something at their end or will it auto or can I automatically increase my contribution? Thank you. And also thank you for all the great work you do and helping the community.
- [35:15]
JJ
You're welcome, guys. I never imagined that that's what former Michigan quarterback and current Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. mcCarthy would sound like.
- [35:23]
Nikki
And he's 50 years old. He looks much younger than that.
- [35:26]
JJ
Yeah, he's doing well.
- [35:28]
OG
He was red shirted.
- [35:32]
Nikki
Just took a couple years off. Jj, good to hear your voice again. No, G, this is cool. First of all, he's turning 50 and he talks about this $7,500 increase before we get to his call. What's. What's that all about for people that don't know this little magical rule.
- [35:47]
OG
Yeah. When you get old, super old, you get to put more Money in your 401k. And then when you get super duper old, you can even do more. So from 60 to 63, you can do even more than the old people from 50 to 60. And it's. What?
- [36:01]
JJ
Come on, man.
- [36:02]
OG
What?
- [36:05]
JJ
You just fired like seven shots at us because you're two and a half years away from that magic number.
- [36:12]
OG
Age is how you feel on the inside. Honestly, right now I feel beat to hell. But for what it's worth, I did just text my brother and I'm like, God, my son sore right now.
- [36:25]
JJ
What'd you do? I got out of bed.
- [36:26]
OG
I got out of bed. I looked at a golf club.
- [36:29]
Nikki
When you were a kid, you'd fall out of a tree, bounce, you'd fall off your bike on a gravel road, and now you just wake up funny.
- [36:37]
OG
Yeah, I just like fold myself out of bed and hopefully somewhere between my bed and the ground, my legs start working. You're like, please, God. Work, work, work, work. Oh, sweet. They worked.
- [36:47]
Nikki
All right, so at 50, he can put $7,500 more in there.
- [36:50]
OG
Yes. Back to the point at 8.
- [36:51]
Nikki
Yeah.
- [36:52]
OG
So the year it's not 50. So it's the year in which you turn 50. So if you are somebody that has a birthday, let's say on January 1st, you can start putting in money. If you have a birthday that starts on that is December 31st, you also are eligible for the 7,500 the whole year. So you don't have to wait until you turn 50 to kind of flip that switch. And the question is, is how do I, how do I flip the switch? How do I? Because the max right now is 23, 5. How do I get to that 31? And the answer is, you just keep putting money in. Now you are responsible. So to JJ's question, he doesn't have to tell his employer, hey, by the way, I'm going to turn 50 this year. I should be able to get to do that other 7500. He needs to go on the 401k website and make sure that he's contributing enough to get to 31. Because if his percentage is set at 10% and that 10% gets him to 23. 5 Spread out through the year, then he's just going to hit 23. 5. He needs to go in and go, Well, I got 31 this year, I need to go to 13% or whatever the math turns out to be, and then they will continue the contribution. If you are somebody who's under 50 and you say, well, I'm going to turn my contribution up, well, what happens in October? They go, oh, you're good, man, you're maxed out, you can't do anymore. And so from October to December or whatever the math works out for you, then you don't put any money in. So there's nothing you have to do. You don't have to tell your employer, you don't have to tell the 401 people, they already know in the system that you're eligible for that higher number, you are responsible for actually putting in the higher number. And this also would affect if you were doing mega backdoor Roth contributions. So let's say that you're somebody that has been putting in 30 or 35,000 anyway every year because you were doing your 23 and then maybe you did another 15 and did the Roth conversion every year and all that sort of fun stuff. Well, now they're not going to default necessarily. They might depends on your plan. They're not going to default necessarily to keeping it in those same percentages. They may say, oh, well, now he can do 31. We're just gonna from 23 to 31 keep it as your 401k. And now your, you know, mega backdoor might only be 5,000. So you gotta get in and make sure those percentages are the way that you want them.
- [38:56]
Nikki
There's a lot of people, every time they reach this point that they have the ability to contribute more, maybe in some cases, like we talked earlier with the obbb, people are like, okay, how am. How am I gonna afford this? I think what's kind of magical, OG is if you don't think you can put away more, just put in a little more. Just test it. Test it and see. Yeah, it's not like you can't lower it again later. I know you've said this on, on previous shows. I don't think you've ever suggested to somebody, they start moving the number up that's come back to you later and said, I need to move it down. It just. You find a way to afford whatever the paycheck gives you.
- [39:42]
OG
Yeah, I mean, I think there's a threshold for that. I mean, depending on your income. Right. So that's a thing. I wouldn't say. My personal opinion about this wouldn't be to like, increase it by a little bit. My personal opinion would be increase it by a lot and then see how much pain you're in and then come down. So if you're at 23 and you're like, I can go to 31 legally, but I mean, damn, that's $8,000, $7,500 more. Right. Like, I don't have that much money in my budget. I don't know. Try it. You know, that's. Whatever it is, $700 more a month or something, $600 more a month. I would do the 600 more a month and see what happens to your cash reserve. You know, if next month your cash reserve goes down by 600, I might try it again. If it goes down by another 600, well, okay, you're right. You can't do it. Or your credit card bill goes up by 600 and you can't pay it off. All right? I mean, $600 is not going to ruin you one way or the other, but it's worth trying. And to your point, and just from an experiential standpoint, anecdotally, I think that if you're in the go zone of income and you've got some pretty good income and you just kind of live and do your thing, you're not going to notice that 600 bucks being gone and your life will just adapt to having 600 fewer dollars in your account for some people. I get it. There's some people that would write in and say, no, everything's budgeted. But if you got a little fluff, don't just go, I'm going to increase it by 50 bucks. No, screw that. Do go all the way and then come back if you need to.
- [41:03]
Nikki
I love this playfulness of looking at these things as if you're a lab rat. And this is this, you know, let's just test it and see where my pain point is. It turns this thing that can be onerous to some people, like saving and makes it really fun. I'm just going to test the limits, see where it goes. Let's see this. This is the second time today, Stackers. We've talked about how that emergency fund, that cash reserve plays a role here because you can be a lab rat if you've got the cash reserve. So if you don't have the cash reserve yet, get that cash reserve in place. And then regardless of whether it's, you know, I'm going to change my deductibles, I'm going to put more in my 401k into my Roth, whatever that might be. You can do that much easier if you've got that little buffer account. You can start playing around. JJ, thank you so much for the question. Stacking benjamin.com voicemail gets you to the line where OG can answer your question.
- [41:56]
JJ
Doug, I'm dying to get to the back porch. Can we get to the back porch? Joe?
- [42:00]
Nikki
Well, we are there now, brother. What's going on?
- [42:03]
JJ
Well, it occurred to me that today we talked about taxes and HR benefits because of the, I don't know how many B's to say obb. You only have a couple of days left. I don't know if people get this, but you've only got a couple of days left to get our guides before the price goes up. Because you said, I think last week they're going to like 12,000 or $14,000 or something like that.
- [42:25]
Nikki
Nowhere near that.
- [42:26]
OG
But yeah, give or take.
- [42:27]
JJ
So get them now because we update them every month.
- [42:29]
Nikki
It's over 57 easy payments and we've already been lobbying the administration to see if on the next bill people can deduct the interest.
- [42:37]
JJ
They write them off on their tax.
- [42:38]
Nikki
Or their HR guide.
- [42:40]
JJ
It's a write off, Jerry. We update them every month and the, this BBB thing is huge example of why it's key to get a guide like ours. We update them as the rules change and then you Just download the new one. So you pay for it once, like $27,000 or something. You pay for it once and then you just get it forever. There's lots of new cool updates coming in the next few months. So get them now. Bye. Bye. Bye.
- [43:09]
Nikki
I would love to tell you what one of the really big updates coming is. It's going to make the guide, which is already pretty easy to use. People that have it already know that. But it's going to make them even, even more easy to use. So stacking benjamin.com guides get you there.
- [43:25]
JJ
Yeah, just go do it. There's another reason I wanted to get to the back porch, because we haven't talked about this in a while, but we've got some reviews. Oh, time for a couple of reviews.
- [43:33]
Nikki
Yeah, let's do one.
- [43:35]
JJ
Okay. I noticed it's very convenient that you skipped over these for the last few weeks. But back in June, interested bystander said.
- [43:45]
Nikki
Interested bystander. Interested bystander, by the way, who updates their review of our show quarterly. We just got our quarterly review. So I feel like I go into HR and I sit across from innocent bystander. I'm like, how have our shows been the last three months?
- [44:00]
JJ
Well, we're apparently doing a lot better. And I'm just going to read the beginning of it because it's long and it's very effusively complimentary, but the beginning of it is really the key. It's this, Doug, is an excellent addition. Like, I just showed up for like 10 years. Dude, I just got here.
- [44:16]
Nikki
Notice you. You're so demure that people don't notice you at first. Yeah, they have no idea.
- [44:23]
JJ
I know. So good. We also have it says lol multiple times today, gents. 1702 was excellent. So it's episode number 1702. It's weird. They're saying skip Omaha. Well, yeah, we all try to skip Omaha. Oh, no, no, no. Sorry. It's Skip in Omaha wrote that they LOL multiple times today.
- [44:44]
Nikki
And then episode 1702 was our discussion about the 4% rule and the question around whether if the 4% rule truly is bigger. Turns out the guy that created Bill Bangin has said that it, for a lot of people can be over 5%. You can safely withdraw from your 401k or your retirement funds. So we gave all our stackers a raise. Doug. That must be why. Lol. And he skipped to the bank to take up more money.
- [45:11]
JJ
Yeah. Laughed all the way to the bank. And then we have another review that is lobbying to Change the name of the show. And I'm carrying the flag on this one because apparently Shua in Arizona says it should be called Doug and Friends.
- [45:25]
Nikki
No way.
- [45:26]
JJ
I mean, it's the title of the review. That's how I read it. I came for the finance from Joe, but I stay for Doug and his trivia. His questions are clever, clever, clever, clever. His delivery is hilarious, and the guy steals the show every time. I especially love the way he delivers a real review. Did you guys know if I did, I wouldn't have named myself? Sure. Like, sure. I wrote it.
- [45:51]
Nikki
Never.
- [45:52]
JJ
I especially. I especially love the way he delivers the results of the trivia on Friday. Suck it, og. Despite the objections from OG no wonder Benjamin's wouldn't be the same. More Doug, please. Shua checks in the mail.
- [46:08]
Nikki
I love how Doug, as fast as possible, just skims over the fact the guide price is going up in just a couple days so we can get to this review. Like, this was the backboard right here. He wanted to get there. Thank you, everybody, for spending time with us today. We know your time's valuable and we want to make sure that our shows are a great use of time. If you know somebody else who's just beginning their financial journey or they don't know how well, in today's example, how taxes work, some strategies to put more Money in your 401k. The meaning of life today on today's show. I think there's a lot here, but at the end of every show, Doug summarizes it so you can take it to the water. Cool and go. Guys, guess what you missed on today's stacking Benjamin show. Doug, what are the top three things people should have on their to do list from today's show?
- [46:55]
JJ
Well, Joe, first, take some advice from our headline, stay on top of tax changes. While recently it hasn't felt like there were many planning opportunities. They're back, baby. Second, take some advice from Marjorie, age 92. Where's your favorite place? Hopefully it's with us right now. But the big lesson, when Joe's mom yells toga party like it's Animal House all over again, just run. I'm telling you, run. For humanity's sake, get out of here. You don't want to do jello shots with Joe's mom. Trust me, learned from that one thing back in 98. Still feeling it. Join us Wednesday when economist Ted Dintersmith joins us to teach you about the math you need to make better money and life decisions. It's math time in the basement with the man who truly makes math fun. There's one guy who can do it. It's Ted Talk Intersmith. This show is the property of SB Podcasts, LLC, Copyright 2025, and is created by Josal Sehive. Joe gets help from a few of our neighborhood friends. You'll find out about our awesome team@stackingbenjamins.com along with the show notes and how you can find us on YouTube and all the usual social media spots. Come say hello.
- [48:12]
Nikki
Oh, yeah.
- [48:13]
JJ
And before I go, not only should you not take advice from these nerds, don't take advice from people you don't know. This show is for entertainment purposes only. Before making any financial decisions, speak with a real financial advisor. I'm Joe's mom's neighbor, Doug, and we'll see you next time back here at the Stacking Benjamin show.
- [49:25]
Nikki
I got a note from stacker Jenny, who wrote, for those of us stuck in the sandwich generation, a lot of those people og people that have kids at home and taking care of parents and even if they don't live with you, I mean, Doug, there's some of that that you help with with your mom. Yeah, I try to help with mom, but as. As all our stackers know, that that doesn't always go so well. And my sister Nicole also helps, and Doug helps with mom far more than I.
- [49:53]
JJ
Who's Nicole? I have a sister named Nicole.
- [49:57]
Nikki
Of course I do.
- [49:58]
JJ
You have a sister named Nikki. You don't have a sister named Nicole.
- [50:02]
Nikki
Just the confusion that just created in Doug's brain. But Jenny says for those of us stuck in the sandwich generation, taking care of parents and kids at home, she wants us to check out comedian Susan Rice. Here's a little taste of what the sandwich generation is going through right now. Guys.
- [50:22]
G
Care of my mom and dad for many years. I wasn't good at it. They died.
- [50:26]
OG
But.
- [50:30]
G
When I say they died, they did. But they were very old. My dad was shy of 99 and my mom was just turned 97. They died two months apart. And they were married when Jesus was in junior high. My mom and dad never, ever developed dementia or Alzheimer's. They had their mind right to the end. They were there every day.
- [50:58]
OG
They were there.
- [51:02]
G
They just woke up happy.
- [51:03]
JJ
They woke up.
- [51:07]
Nikki
What are we doing today?
- [51:09]
G
Like, I'm the cruise director. We're going to Costco. They're having a twofer on coffins. Let's measure.
- [51:21]
Nikki
Fabulous. Susan Rice.
- [51:22]
OG
It's funny.
- [51:24]
Nikki
Jenny, thanks for maybe hopefully making a few people taking care of parents laugh on that.
- [51:30]
OG
One a little chuckle.