Doug (5:15)

Live from YouTube, it's the Stacking Benjamin show. I'm Joe's mom's neighbor, Doug. And we're coming to you thanks to Benjamin Franklin, who on this day in 1752, flew a kite in a lightning storm and discovered electricity. And I thought I was a hero for picking up the meat tray on the way into work today. So if flying a kite is all it takes to achieve greatness, apparently meat trays aren't enough. How do you find ways to become better with less work? Helping us talk about how getting more lazy can spruce up your portfolio, we welcome the author of control your retirement destiny, Dana Anspach. Also, let's welcome a man who was there to hold the kite for Ben Franklin. From lenpenzo.com it's Thomas Jefferson. I'm just kidding. It's only Len Penzo. Also with us, a man likely to tell you to go fly a kite. It's Og. And now a guy who's here to light up your retirement plan, Jehoshah Seahawk.

Joe Saul-Sehy (6:37)

Hey, everybody. Welcome to Friday. Let me be the first one to welcome you. I'm Joe Salsi. Hi, average Joe Money on Twitter. And we are for the first time coming to you live from YouTube with the Friday show. We're going to be doing these live all summer, so if you can join us. And it's always fun to say the word Friday. Normally a Monday when we record this early in the week. Nothing I like better than saying welcome to Friday. We record these Mondays, 4pm Central, 5pm Eastern. Do the math on wherever you are on our YouTube channel at stacking Benjamin's. But we're not here to talk about that. We're here to talk about how being a little bit lazier with your money is the key to success. Let's start off with the gentleman across the card table from me. It's Mr. OG. How are you, buddy?

OG (7:22)

That's me.

Joe Saul-Sehy (7:23)

Yes. Thank goodness you and I don't have a five second delay between our discussions.

Doug (7:29)

Just between your synapses.

Joe Saul-Sehy (7:31)

Nice. And he's gonna pause for effect. That's fantastic.

OG (7:36)

Doug ruined it. Doug ruined it.

Joe Saul-Sehy (7:39)

And the gentleman who's coming to us from deep under Los Angeles, the guy who really apparently, according to Doug, held the string to the kite for Ben Franklin. Is it true, Len? Were you there?

Len Penzo (7:50)

Rumor has it. But I will never admit to that at all.

Joe Saul-Sehy (7:55)

Never can neither how are you doing? Nor deny. I'm great, man. How are you? You ready for this weekend?

Len Penzo (8:01)

I Of course I'm ready for every weekend here and I'm just glad to be amongst all of you good looking people. Great to be on YouTube so I can see everybody.

Joe Saul-Sehy (8:12)

And Doug, of course, pointing to yourself on YouTube, you miss. You miss all the visuals when you hear the audio only and wondering what the heck she's doing here with us back. It's about time that the property values on this podcast are going up. Dana Anspach is here. How are you?

Dana Anspach (8:29)

I am doing great. Happy to be back. And yes, an Spock or an spa, I will answer to either one.

Joe Saul-Sehy (8:36)

Just what? Don't call me late for dinner. Whatever the phrase is. I don't know, can we just.

Doug (8:42)

For. For my ego. Can you just specify which of the two of us said your name correctly?

Dana Anspach (8:48)

Well, definitely it was you.

Joe Saul-Sehy (8:53)

Dana. For. For the people. Dana, whatever your last name is. For all the two people that don't know what you do, tell everybody what you do.

Dana Anspach (9:06)

Well, I have a fee only investment advisory firm that specializes in helping people transition into retirement. So that point in life where you have to live off your acorns, that's really what we do. It's very different than the accumulation phase. And I have a lot of material out there. Books control your retirement destiny. A course on the great courses called how to plan for the perfect retirement. So lots of materials that help people plan for that later stage in life.

Joe Saul-Sehy (9:33)

I also like following you on Twitter, your Twitter handle. Off the top of my head. Retire before 55.

Dana Anspach (9:40)

It's at moneyover 55.

Joe Saul-Sehy (9:42)

Money after 50. Swing and a miss. I was so close.

Dana Anspach (9:47)

Close at moneyover55.

Len Penzo (9:49)

Yes.

Dana Anspach (9:49)

I love Twitter. It's my, my one and only just about social media channel right now.

Joe Saul-Sehy (9:53)

The less social media I have to do, the better. I'm just so ye. Please, please. No. Well, good news. We're going to talk about doing nothing and how that can help your portfolio results today. We've got Dana here, we got Len here, we got OG we got Doug. But first, that can really take a toll on you did on me. Between minimum payments and interest rates, really stressful and at times I feel like you just can't get ahead. Navy Federal Credit Union understands debt's a huge stressor. They're here to help. Navy Federal Credit Union has all the financial tools and resources you need to dominate debt. The first thing you do, think like a cfo, create a debt payoff strategy and then look at Navy Federal for the tools you need. Right now, Navy Federal Credit unions offering a 0% intro APR and credit card balance transfers for 12 months plus you can also get $250 when you spend 2500 dollars in your first 90 days on a cash reward or cash reward plus credit card. Not a reason to take out a credit card, but as a part of your debt strategy, it can be super helpful. Don't let debt drag you down. Visit navy federal.org to start dominating debt today. Navy Federal Credit Union Our members are the mission. Navy Federal is insured by NCUA. After the intro rate expires, variable APRs are 15.15 to 18%. There's why you want a debt strategy. Stackers based on credit worthiness rates are subject to change. ATM fees for cash advances are up to $1 at all non Navy Federal ATMs. Small business owners State Farm's there with small business insurance to fit your specific needs. Whether you're starting a new venture or growing an existing one, State Farm helps you choose the right coverage to protect what matters most. Working with a local State Farm agent helps you understand your coverage options, offering local support to help you achieve your goals. Focus on turning your passion into a thriving business, knowing your insurance can change as your business grows. Stay Farm here to help you succeed with your business. Like a good neighbor. Stay Farm is there. All right, let's get this party started, shall we? Today's piece comes to us from a blog called the Science of well Being. Lori Santos wrote this. Dr. Laurie Santos. And the piece that inspired us today is Do Nothing, Stay in Bed, Be Idle, how to live a bit Better by doing a bit less. And this is something og that I think today, especially when we see things like all these productivity numbers that come in, I mean when people look at stocks, they look at how efficient is everybody, right? We are so worried about efficiency, efficiency, efficiency. I, I think at some point that might blow up on our face.

OG (12:49)

Well, in the and you look at the outcome of COVID and everybody working from home, the assumption was that everybody was going to be super lazy and not get any anything done. But in fact there was more productivity, got more done by having the flexibility to do it when you wanted to, which may be a different issue altogether. That could be a problem if you can't separate that work and home stuff. If you, you know, your dining room table is also your office. But yeah, I don't think lack of productivity is an issue for most people, honestly.

Joe Saul-Sehy (13:19)

But do you think, Dana, that, you know, as OG talks about the malaise that was the time of COVID and Covid continues, do you think that this becomes a Problem that we don't have these time off days anymore. These times when we're not thinking about work. It's all just kind of muddied together.

Dana Anspach (13:36)

I think it's a big problem. We only have so much energy and, and when you're constantly on your brain, never get refresh and recharge and you know, we just had an employee out for a week and she said she managed Wednesday through Friday to not check her emails. But that means Monday and Tuesday of last week she was still in there and we were talking about it literally two hours ago, about the importance of just checking out and having that true downtime. It's really, really important.

Joe Saul-Sehy (14:03)

Seriously, how far into vacation, Dana, do you have to go before you're actually on vacation mentally? Because it takes me a good two days.

Dana Anspach (14:13)

Yeah, probably about two days. And, and a. Sometimes I'll schedule like a few completely offline days where I'm not allowed to do anything and then I'll have to have like a few hours to check in and then I can have a few more offline days and then a few hours to check in.

Joe Saul-Sehy (14:27)

There's this thing we do OG where we naturally check our phone. Right? Like, how do you avoid checking your phone every, you know, 12 minutes when you're on vacation?

OG (14:35)

Well, it's not about not checking your phone, it's about not checking work stuff. So you just have to disable the work things on your phone. You know, we have a completely virtual team both for Stacking Benjamins and for our planning firm. And our rule is if you don't want to be bothered, you should have your phone on do not disturb. And, and I was alerted to that fact this morning when my phone rang at 8 o'clock and I was still blissfully asleep, you know, which is one of the things they talk about in this article. Sleep longer. Like I'm in for that. But that was my fault for not having my phone on do not disturb. And it was one of our team members who's like, hey, good morning. You got time for a question? I'm like, yeah, sure, go ahead. Are you feeling okay? You don't sound, you don't sound so good. Like, well, you woke me up, so.

Joe Saul-Sehy (15:19)

That'S a good problem to have.

OG (15:20)

Turn your, turn your stuff off. That's the easy way to do it.

Joe Saul-Sehy (15:23)

But Len, you've seen the nature of work. I mean, you've been working for the man for how many years and you've seen the nature of work and the amount that, that the workplace demands from you. I'm sure it's changed over your career.

Len Penzo (15:33)

The demands have not changed, but the technology has change point where it does make it harder for you to check out. If you want to check out.

Joe Saul-Sehy (15:42)

You don't think that the demands from your boss has changed. Because I hear from most people that, you know, 8:00 at night, 9:00 at night, still in, in the game where it used to be, 5:00, I could go home.

Len Penzo (15:52)

Well, for me you always had to do that kind of thing. So the thing is though now is like OG said, is for your own sanity, you have to recognize that you have to be your own person. And sometimes you have to tell the company or your boss or whoever, I'm just not reachable after a certain time. That's just the way it. I'm sorry, I'm not beholden. I know you're paying my paycheck, I'm putting in extra hours. But there is a point where, you know what, it's off limits. And you've got to draw that line and you've got to, you have to set that line with your boss otherwise they are going to take advantage of you. You just absolutely have to. And if that means turning off your phone and throwing it in the drawer, then you do that after say, you know, six, seven, eight o'clock at night because you'll just drive yourself nuts. The company will take, take everything they can from you if you let them.

Joe Saul-Sehy (16:39)

I want to stick with you for a second, Len, because as P says, it's not hard to find self help books and business gurus telling you that in order to be happy and successful, you need to be fully committed to your goals and give a hundred percent every waking second of the day. But I'm more interested in the people who recommend a more moderate approach. She writes, even extolling the virtues of sometimes shock horror, doing nothing. And I don't even look at that as more moderate. I just think doing something 100 of the time, every waking hour of the day is a path to burnout.

Len Penzo (17:11)

I totally agree with that. You've got to have downtime. You've got to have at least an hour a day, two hours a day where you don't do anything. You just got to let go and get away and just do something, do a crossword puzzle, play a sudoku, or just sit in a room and meditate. But you've got to have that alone time. Otherwise you will burn out.

Joe Saul-Sehy (17:33)

Dana, before we hit record, you told us about a mentor that had a great Phrase about the power of doing nothing.

Dana Anspach (17:38)

Absolutely. Kathy Kolbe, it's K O L B E is the founder of a series of assessment tools and she has a book called five rules for trusting your gut. And one of them is do nothing when nothing works. It's my favorite one of her five rules. And it goes through my mind all the time when I'm in overdrive. And I realize it doesn't matter how many emails or messages. Like, I just need to check out and take two or three hours to, you know, as Len said, really meditate, be quiet, sit and stare at the blue sky, you know, look at my dog whenever it might be something to just let my mind quiet down. We're more creative or we respond better. There's just so many benefits to having that downtime.

Joe Saul-Sehy (18:21)

Do you block out downtime in your day?

Dana Anspach (18:23)

So I have just started that practice recently. So I'm in a leadership training program. And that's one of the key things is they're teaching is you have to have this. They call this strategic thinking or we call it white space time. So I am blocking white space time on my calendar and it is making a big difference.

Joe Saul-Sehy (18:40)

Doug knows white space time. He's there about four out of every five hours of the day. I think fairly certain tabula rasa is.

Doug (18:50)

The technical term for it. And that's what my brain is.

Joe Saul-Sehy (18:53)

I thought it was like hakuna matata is what the the phrase was tabula rasha.

Dana Anspach (18:59)

What does that mean?

Doug (19:00)

It's literally blank slate.

Joe Saul-Sehy (19:02)

Blank slate.

Doug (19:03)

That's what my brain is. I'm just ready to accept super intelligent ideas. And then the stuff you guys say.

Joe Saul-Sehy (19:12)

Wow, just zoom that one almost past us. Oh, gee. You and I are in a coaching program that you. That you recommended to me, strategic coach, where doing nothing is a key component.

OG (19:26)

Well, you know, it's just a philosophy that I think is backwards and is broken for most people. And we're in the process of hiring some new people to our team and we were talking about it in kind of our interview process. It's like everybody thinks that you got to work really hard in order to earn time off. You know, if I work really hard, then I can go get some time off. But especially in our jobs, you know, thinking about content creation for the show and being creative. And Dana, you and I have the similar, you know, financial planning businesses and thinking about how to think about strategically helping clients and all the other stuff that goes on with running a business. You have to have the capacity to do that. And the Way that, Joe, you and I have been taught on this, and I have been for a long time, is in order to work really hard, you have to have had time off and you do your best work immediately following an extended amount of time off. And that could be a weekend or it could be a week or whatever the time period is. But we were talking about this in this interview the other day where I said, you know, you never get a client email on a Sunday afternoon that says, hey, by the way, I won the lottery yesterday, I can't wait to talk to you about it. Most client emails on Saturday or Sunday start out with, I've been doing some thinking and, and it's, it may not be bad, it just may be a list of things that's on their mind or of, or, you know, or maybe bad or, you know, who knows? But nevertheless, if you see that on a Sunday at noon, because you don't have the discipline to turn your phone off on Friday or Thursday, whenever your last day is, and you see it now, what did you just do? You took the entire rest of the day on Sunday, which should have been for rejuvenation, so that you're good to go on Monday, and you just started grinding that out. Like, how am I going to reply to this? Maybe I should do it right now. He wrote it on Friday at 6:00 at night. Now it's already Sunday at 2. And now you've consumed that and you've taken away the opportunity to really, you know, rejuvenate over the weekend.

Joe Saul-Sehy (21:20)

Your weekend's done. Either way. Like, either way, whether you, whether you respond or not, your weekend's done. Because if you don't respond, you're going to panic about it. If you do respond, then you're still going to ruminate over, well, let's see.

OG (21:30)

You'Re setting up the wrong example, right? I mean, you know, like Len said, and I know, Doug, you've said this to me as we've talked about different business things in the past. Like, you know, some of this is incumbent on the employer, right? Like if I send, if I send a text message to a team member or I send an email at 10:00 at night to somebody, and then I also say, oh, by the way, you don't have to really read it, but it's coming from the boss, you know, it's kind of like, well, I know he says I don't have to read it, but maybe I kind of do have to read it. And I bet he probably wants me to read it, you know, that's kind of sort of our responsibility as leaders also, is to not allow that sort of nonsense into our environment.

Joe Saul-Sehy (22:10)

Yeah.

Doug (22:10)

And you create the culture. Right? We've talked about that, too. As the leader, whether you're the ultimate boss or even just the leader of your team, you create the culture. I want to challenge a phrase you used at the beginning of that og either challenge or just pivotal. It's on like Donkey Kong. I work really hard, so I deserve the time off. And I think that has sort of been built into us as a culture, at least in Western culture, that's been built into us for the last maybe 75 to 100 years.

OG (22:40)

100%.

Doug (22:41)

But I think what really we can do as business leaders, what we can change, is I deliver and I've created this value so then I can have the time off. Because it's not about how much time you're putting in, it's about what you're delivering. And so if you are able to have that white space time or do whatever you need to do so that you can kick ass on Monday morning and deliver something in 45 minutes, who cares if it took you six hours to do it or 45 minutes, you delivered something of value. I led consulting team at the nation's second large health insurer. And a new CEO came in and was troubled by the huge mix or percentage of tens of thousands of associates who were working from home. The company grew by acquisition over years and years and years. And a lot of those people were working in places and living in places where we didn't have offices. And so by that very nature, they started working out of their homes. And she wasn't a real fan of that. Wanted to find a way from a culture perspective, how do we pull everybody together? Because felt like culture really grows from being together physically. Bit of a misnomer or a misdirection, if you ask me. So we were asked to create this study on what would it take to move everybody back into the office. And beside the just astronomical financial burden it would take to move everybody into the same office, what we found when we went in to look a lot of data is the retention of people who were working from homes at the company was significantly higher than people who were working in the office. The amount of time it took to recruit and the cost to recruit new people to work out of their homes was a lot lower than it was to create people, recruit people into the office. The people who are on the high performer list, like 67 or 68% of the people who were tagged as up and coming leaders in the company, they were all work from home associates. I mean, every metric you can come up with pointed to you should have everybody working from home and really just focus on delivery. What are they delivering for their role and let them have that flexibility so they can create balance in their lives because they're going to deliver more. They didn't love that answer, but nonetheless, there is a lot.

OG (24:58)

Got retired.

Doug (24:59)

Yeah, there it is. But there is a lot of value to us having the balance in our lives that, that will create that space so we can deliver more. And it's not about how much time we're putting in. It's about what we deliver.

Joe Saul-Sehy (25:16)

But oh gee, I think that from our coaching, that's even a misnomer because it's not even about delivery. It's about you have to have that time because that's what creates the creativity in the delivery. It's not that you deserve it at all.

OG (25:27)

Yeah, yeah. I mean the, the outcome is value provided or given or whatever you want to say. That's the outcome. But in order to have that, you need to have the creativity space to do that. You know, however you want to phrase it. Some fancy word that Doug used, I don't even know.

Joe Saul-Sehy (25:45)

White space, tabula, hakuna matata. Gotta be your hakuna matata on time. Dr. Santos writes a few here. Number one. And just pitch in if you do these. Go to bed early. Any of you guys practice that one? Go to bed early. Letting you? I do. Dana, you go to bed early.

Len Penzo (26:02)

I do too, but I get up early.

Dana Anspach (26:06)

I do too, but I think I was in bed around 8:30 last night. It depends on the night, but sometimes if my brain says it's time, I'm just, I'm out.

Joe Saul-Sehy (26:14)

Yeah. And Len, you as well?

Len Penzo (26:17)

Yeah. 9 o'clock usually is my bedtime, but I'm up at 5 and sometimes before that. So I'm on.

Dana Anspach (26:24)

Same here.

Joe Saul-Sehy (26:24)

I'm on too much of a yo, yo. I'm either up really late or in bed really early and I need to stop that second. Take an hour off for lunch and talk to people. Who does that one? Any of you guys do that one? No.

OG (26:36)

I talked to Doug when I drive to Chickfila.

Joe Saul-Sehy (26:39)

Perfect. There it is. Is talking to Doug. Talking to somebody. There's a meme that I love. I love that book, Never Eat Alone. I think that's a fantastic book about networking and about what they're talking about here. Network talk to people, exchange ideas. But I love the meme with the dude who's sitting in the workplace lunchroom reading. Never eat alone while. While he's eating alone. Right? Yeah. Number three on this list. And your working day on top. Dana, when I was a financial planner, I had a mentor tell me this. Your loved ones are never going to recognize the fact that some days you're done early, some days you're not. You come to home early one time and they think you can come home early all the time. And yet by the same token too, having your day end at the same time kind of trains your brain. Do you end your day at the same time?

Dana Anspach (27:27)

No, my days end all over the place. So sometimes I'm teaching live YouTube classes and I might be here till 7:30 or 8. And other days I may leave at for. And some days I may have a meeting at 6am because we have clients in 33 states. And so it's. It's all over the place for me.

Joe Saul-Sehy (27:45)

Yeah. Do you like the suggestion though? Trying to make it uniform all the time?

Dana Anspach (27:49)

You know, I'm not a uniform all the time kind of person, so I like variety. So a little bit of variety. And I prefer the flexibility to adjust my day. If it's easier one morning to start really early and be able to be done early, I. I like having those options.

Joe Saul-Sehy (28:05)

Man, I so prefer just working during the day. Nighttime hours always kill me. I just want to be doing my own thing. Len, how about you? Well, you said yours already. You said your job sometimes can be 24 7.

Len Penzo (28:15)

Yeah. That doesn't mean I don't try to impose regular hours. And I will block off on my computer, I will put out of office at what should be my normal. But that doesn't mean I'm, you know, inflexible. If somebody wants to really push me or there's something that's an emergency, that must be done. I mean, obviously I override that, but I try to force that on people and let them see on my calendar, hey, I don't plan to be here after a certain time time.

Joe Saul-Sehy (28:40)

Speaking of that, Len, you've got a monster commute. You ever do this one? Think of your commute as idle time. Like you get to listen to the radio, have some fun.

Len Penzo (28:49)

You know what? I read that and I was shaking my head. I was like, now, maybe it's because I'm in Southern California and the commute is hell usually when you're driving, at least for me, when I was coming home, when I was going wasn't so bad, but it Was not pleasurable. So there. No, I. To me, that is not downtime. That is, you know, stress time. So at least in Southern California, it's not pleasant.

Doug (29:09)

Pleasant.

Dana Anspach (29:10)

I have a really short commute. I loved that because there was times where I was trying to schedule. I called in my drive time call, so, you know, have the hands free. And so I try to use that time productively. I only have a 22 minute commute. It's not. Not that bad.

Len Penzo (29:24)

So you can multitask, Dana?

Dana Anspach (29:26)

Well, I mean, I can talk with both hands on the wheel.

Len Penzo (29:31)

I would drive right off the road trying to do a meeting like that.

Joe Saul-Sehy (29:34)

Len can't do that.

OG (29:37)

Did you find that you liked it though? Or did you. Did you kind of cancel that practice?

Dana Anspach (29:42)

You know, I really liked that suggestion. No, I canceled that practice for the most part. Every once in a while there's a, you know, one off conversation that I might use that time. But I like just putting on music or having that quiet time. I'd never seen that in writing before this article. I thought it was great.

OG (29:58)

There has to be like, the little shutdown, you know, you get the. People talk a lot about morning routines. Yeah, get up, you have this. But you have to have the evening shutdown ritual also. And sometimes we do that for bed. Bed, right. Brush our teeth, put in our pajamas, you know, do whatever like, kind of those steps are. But coming into or out of the office, I think is just as important. I work from home, have for a long time for our family. The trigger is when the door is closed. Like, I'll try not to leave the office any later than six, a lot of times earlier. But then I'll walk out and close the door. Like the office is locked. And that lets everybody know and more me subconsciously, like, nope, we're done with work for the day. Day. And everything stays in this room, you know, so.

Dana Anspach (30:41)

Yeah, I like that. I have. I have trouble transitioning out of work. I do my mind sometimes, and then I won't be paying attention at home because I'm still thinking about something that's a. That's a harder transition for me.

Len Penzo (30:52)

Yeah, I will admit I was guilty. I can remember a couple of vacations I went on where I was actually working on vacation. And I mean, we went somewhere, you know, and I was so mad, I would. I would get angry at myself. It's like, you know, how am I letting myself do. But I had, you know, I saw it as I had to do it. And, you know, I regret that now. But, yeah, so you got to watch yourself. If you can help, you know, avoid that, please do, man.

Joe Saul-Sehy (31:21)

Me too. I'm with you. I would totally do that. And told everybody. I'm like, no, I work a couple hours a day while I'm on vacation. That was stupid. If I could take that back. Last on this list, by the way. Don't automatically pick up your smartphone when you have a spare moment. Have you ever tried not. Not to pick up your cell phone? I was at the eye doctor this morning. The nurse left the room. I'm waiting for the doctor. First thing I do, I have a book with me. I've got a magazine with me. I reach for my smartphone immediately, like. Like, no. Anybody figure out how to not do that? Anybody? Pick the luck on that one.

Dana Anspach (31:54)

I leave mine out of sight a lot. So at work, I'll leave it out of sight.

Joe Saul-Sehy (31:57)

Don't bring it. Just don't bring it.

Dana Anspach (31:59)

Yep. At home, I leave it in the other room. That helps a lot.

Len Penzo (32:02)

Yep. Me too. I'm old school. I don't even use my smartphone for anything other than phone calls, believe it or not. I don't surf on it. I don't do anything.

OG (32:11)

I believe it. I've texted you numerous times with no reply.

Len Penzo (32:14)

It takes a while, doesn't it?

OG (32:16)

I'm at the door. Please open. I've got the pizzas we discussed.

Len Penzo (32:21)

I'm serious. Yeah, yeah.

Joe Saul-Sehy (32:23)

The only one I've mastered is at restaurants. Somebody gave me this tip a few years ago. Everybody stacks their phones in the middle of the table. Table. And even if the people with me don't do that, I take my phone, I turn upside down, I put it in the middle of the table, and then every time I reach for it, I have to reach halfway across the table. And then I realize that I'm doing it again, and it's like six or seven times a meal. Doug's looking at me like, that's not a great thing. No.

Doug (32:46)

You've never once done that with me.

Joe Saul-Sehy (32:47)

Well, with you, that's case. Case in point. Yeah.

Len Penzo (32:55)

One thing about this. This YouTube thing we're on right now, I was looking. I was like, when did. When did the honeybee buy that? I'm looking behind me, and I see a plant. And it was Dana's plant, actually. It was the plant on her corner of her screen there. So I didn't realize. I thought that was on my screen.

Joe Saul-Sehy (33:10)

Square next to you.

Len Penzo (33:12)

Yes, it was in the square next to me. I was like. But I thought it was on my square there, and I was looking at for the plant that we had bought.

Joe Saul-Sehy (33:18)

Does feel kind of like an episode of the Brady Bunch here though, with all these little squares. Coming up next, the second half of this discussion, we've talked about your workplace environment and how to clean that up and buy yourself time, which also buys you some money. But second, we're going to talk about financial movement moves. What financial moves are there out there where it's better to do nothing? That is coming up in the second half of the show. But before we get to that, of course we take a break in the middle of every show for our year long competition between our three main contributors where we feed them some trivia for maybe the absolutely worst trophy of all time that currently OG's hanging on to. Dana, today you're playing on behalf of contributor Paula Pant. And you know what, what that brings up. There's some good news and some bad news. When you're playing for Paula, do you want the good news or the bad news first?

Dana Anspach (34:10)

Well, let's, let's get the bad news out of the way first. I'm so sorry, Paula.

Joe Saul-Sehy (34:14)

Well, the bad news is you're already in last place, which may be for you is the good news because there's not that much pressure unless you're feeling some pressure to maybe get Paula back in the game. You have five and a half points, you and team Paula. OG has six and a half points. Points. And last week og, while you were away, Len pulled further ahead winning last week's competition. So he's now at 9 with a commanding lead. So I think OG is not gonna be taking any time off anytime soon again so we can maybe get back in the game. Dana, that also means because you're in last, you also get to pick last. So you get to hear what everybody else does first. But to get there, I think. Doug, you've got our trivia question today. What do we got brewing?

Doug (34:59)

Hey there, Stackers. I'm Joe's mom's neighbor, Doug. Ah, flying a kite. The thing kids used to do before they started watching people fly kites on TikTok. Good thing Franklin didn't live in Japan though, because at one point kite flying was banned in that country because too many people preferred flying kites to going to work. So what year were kite kites band in Japan? I'll be back with the answer after I try to get this stupid knot undone. Tuck and I, Doug and I really locked in there.

Joe Saul-Sehy (35:36)

Ton of fun looking up this question. This was a fascinating one. And we start with you, Mr. Penzo Kites banned in Japan. The kite making industry died in Japan. People stacking fewer. Ben. Well, they don't stack. Benjamin's Japan. What's the. The currency? The yen.

Len Penzo (35:52)

Right, the yen. They're stacking yen.

Joe Saul-Sehy (35:54)

Yep. Stacking fewer yen in the. In that industry.

Len Penzo (36:00)

I don't know. It's another one. Who knows? Let's see. Kites. Well, I don't think this is the 1900s. It's got to be in the 1800s or 1700s. Probably the 1800s. I'm just going to hit right in the middle and say 1850.

Joe Saul-Sehy (36:17)

You think 1850 in Japan they outlaw kites, Mr. OG I was thinking similar.

OG (36:25)

Time frames as Len for no other reason than the strategy that goes into it. Not gonna make it super easy for. For Dana here to pick a different number. I'm gonna say 17. It's an odd number. Just to really follow everyone up on.

Joe Saul-Sehy (36:49)

The map maybe needs to be, well, who knows? Dana, you've got 1850 and 1791. What was your first thought when you heard this question?

Dana Anspach (36:58)

I am all the way on the other side of the spectrum. I mean, how would you even enforce kite banning in the 1700s? I mean, do you send, like, you know, stone tablets out to let everyone know that the kites are banned? I don't know. So I went with 1960.

Joe Saul-Sehy (37:15)

1963, they ban kite. So much. Much more recent time frame. Well, that's cool. We got, like, three different eras here, guys. 1850, 1791, and 1963. We'd love to tell you who's right, and we will, but in just a minute. Today's show is sponsored by Strawberry Me Stackers. All right, everybody, let's talk careers. You know, you work hard, you bring in a paycheck, maybe even contribute to your 401k. Like a responsible adult gold star. For years, you. But here's the thing. Making money is great, but making the right moves to actually grow your career and earn more, Are you doing that? Because, let's be honest, hoping your boss finally notices you and hands you a raise. That is not a plan. That is a gamble. And unless you're the type of person who gets excited about betting their retirement on meme stocks, you probably want a better strategy. I certainly don't do. I have a coach, Mary Lou, that I meet with every Monday morning, and Mary Lou and I lay out my week. We talk about doing the things that are important to my family, that are important for my health, and the things that are important for financial literacy and stacking Benjamins and the intersection of all those things. And that's where Strawberry Me career coaching can help you. They'll match you with a certified career coach, somebody you know knows how to help you get ahead. Like my coach helps me negotiate better pay and actually make smart money moves. So you're not leaving money on the table. You've heard me talk about this before. The key is to have people around you, smart people around you who hold you accountable to getting those things you say that you want for yourself. If you're anything like me, you've been meaning to quote, update your resume for like the last five years. I remember what Mary Lou said. Are we going to keep talking about this book? Are you finally going to write it? And I'm very proud of Stacked. But without Marie Lu, I would have never had Stacked. Your career is your biggest financial asset. It's time to start treating in that way. When I started treating it that way, things change. It can be the same for you. So here's the deal. Go to Strawberry Me. It's Strawberry Me stacking and you'll claim your $50 credit. That strawberry Me stacking because because maximizing your earnings is just as important as maximizing your investments. Strawberry Me does not facilitate or provide healthcare services. Please consult with a healthcare professional. But guys, let's get smart people around us, shall we? And now word from our sponsors at Betterment when investing your money starts to feel like a second job, Betterment steps in with a little work life balance. They're an automated investing and savings app, which means they do the work work while they build manage your portfolio. You build manage weekend plans while they make it easy to invest for what matters, you just get to enjoy what matters. Their automated tools simplify the complex and put your money to work optimizing day after day and again and again. So go ahead, take your time to rest and recharge. Because while your money doesn't need a work life balance, you do make your money hustle with Betterment. Get started@betterment.com that's B-E-T T E R M E N T.com investing involves risk performance not guaranteed.

Doug (40:40)

I can say to my new Samsung.

Joe Saul-Sehy (40:42)

Galaxy S25 Ultra hey, find a keto.

Doug (40:44)

Friendly restaurant nearby and text it to Beth and Steve.

Joe Saul-Sehy (40:47)

And it does without me lifting a finger so I can get in more squats anywhere I can. 1, 2, 3. Will that be cash or credit?

Dana Anspach (40:56)

Credit.

Doug (40:57)

4 Galaxy S25 Ultra the AI companion that does the head heavy lifting. So you can do you get yours@samsung.com compatible. Select apps requires Google Gemini account. Results may vary based on input.

Joe Saul-Sehy (41:09)

Check responses for accuracy. Len, you kick this off at 1850 now that you heard Dana and OG lock in their bets. You like where you sit?

Len Penzo (41:20)

Yeah, I kind of do, actually. I think I got a little bit of the 1900s in there. I think I got. Yeah, I do. I like where I'm at.

Joe Saul-Sehy (41:27)

Oh, gee. 1791. Dana thinks that might have been way too early. Like, how do you enforce a kite ban in 1791?

OG (41:35)

Morse code, obviously.

Joe Saul-Sehy (41:37)

Yeah. Was there Morse code in 1791 yet?

OG (41:42)

Sounds like a trivia question.

Joe Saul-Sehy (41:45)

Probably a future trivia question. Dana, you've got. You've got a big chunk of the 1900s. Feeling good?

Dana Anspach (41:54)

Just. Yeah, I'm feeling good about it.

Joe Saul-Sehy (41:57)

All right, well, let's see how good you should feel. Doug, what's our answer, my friend?

Doug (42:03)

Hey there, Stackers. I'm Joe's mom's neighbor, Doug. Flying a kite is one of life's greatest joys until you see your first television set. But they didn't have those back in those days. On the island nation of Japan, kites became the new PlayStation, and too many people were calling in sick. So what year did Japan ban kite flying? Well, it was about 203 years before Dana's guests in the year 1760, which means OG was only 31 years off, and he is today's winner.

Joe Saul-Sehy (42:43)

Nice job, Mr. OG getting himself back in the game here. OG now back seven half, and Dana only 200 and some years off. So good work there.

Dana Anspach (42:55)

It's like market timing, you know? We just shouldn't do it.

Joe Saul-Sehy (42:58)

That's right. How many times have you been on the show? Show? Maybe four, I think.

Dana Anspach (43:02)

I think about four.

Joe Saul-Sehy (43:04)

Yeah.

Dana Anspach (43:04)

Maybe five.

Joe Saul-Sehy (43:05)

Have you won?

Dana Anspach (43:06)

I don't remember.

Joe Saul-Sehy (43:08)

It means so much to our show.

OG (43:09)

That's how important it is.

Joe Saul-Sehy (43:11)

That's right. It's like, I will wipe that away. Which might be code for no as well. Right. Yes. Let's move on, Joe, Move on. Yes, speaking. Speaking of moving on, time for the second half of our conversation. Let's go. Second half of this conversation, where we go from the workplace into talking about your money spec. Remember the old days, Len Penzo? You're the old guy. You walk into a place and you always had to say, so and so sent me to get the discount.

Len Penzo (43:55)

And where's my toaster?

Joe Saul-Sehy (43:57)

That's right. Yes, absolutely. I thought it was stadium blanket or a frisbee. Yeah.

Len Penzo (44:02)

Or whatever.

Joe Saul-Sehy (44:03)

All right, we're gonna throw away this. This fantastic piece from the science of well being at this point. And now I'd like to get all of our money pros, all your favorite things. And Dana, let's do the obvious one first. There's one thing I'm sure that everybody thinks about, especially a cfp, that's a great time to do nothing when it comes to your money.

Dana Anspach (44:26)

Yeah, I think when people see the latest headlines and they instantly want to change their investment allocation, that's the one that comes to most of our minds. So you build a long term allocation plan. It's designed to weather, in our case, a 20 or 30 year time horizon. And then the headline comes out and the client's like, I think we should do this or I think we should do that. And to me, those are the perfect times to do nothing. But of course we say that it's what we owe. Always say, each time this question comes.

Joe Saul-Sehy (44:55)

Up, how hard is it? At a time like now when you've got some asset classes down more than others, you meet with your client to rebalance their portfolio and they come in and they're like, ooh, there's this one that's doing really well, Dana. And then you have to tell them that rebalancing means they do the exact opposite of what they're hoping for. Is that a difficult conversation?

Dana Anspach (45:18)

Well, so in our process, we're working with people who are living off their acorns, so we don't rebalance in the way that you're describing. We have bonds set to mature or CDs set to mature to meet clients near term cash flow. So. So it's a really different kind of question. That might be a great question to throw to og, you know, for accumulation clients. Yeah, we're working on that rebalancing process in a more traditional sense. But right now we're just saying, hey, leave the stock portion alone. When it's going up, we will sell pieces of it and buy CDs or bonds that are going to MAT. Now those CDs and bonds that you already have are maturing, and we're going to use that to fund your retirement paycheck.

Joe Saul-Sehy (45:57)

So you're just harvesting the stuff that's down the least or up the most in times like now, if necessary.

Dana Anspach (46:03)

We harvest well right now we don't need to. We planned that out. You know, we plan 10 years out so we don't have to mess with anything that's down right now. We have plenty of time to wait for a good year and there'll be plenty of those over the Next seven to ten years. Years.

Joe Saul-Sehy (46:18)

Oh, gee. Hard for clients to rebalance if they're in the accumulation phase?

OG (46:22)

Well, I don't really think so. I mean, maybe emotionally, but from an analytics standpoint, it's. It kind of sort of makes sense. You know, it's like you want to acquire the things that are at a lower cost and sell the things that are a higher cost, and that's that buy low, sell high type of thing. And by and large, most people rebalance automatically through their normal contributions. You know, if you've got an investment allocation that that is the way that it should be, then your normal monthly payroll contributions or your systematic investing every month will mostly take care of that, except for the most extreme circumstances, maybe like, you know, during the. During the early parts of COVID when the market was down. But the interesting thing, I think, on the rebalancing thing that's going on right now is that everything is behaving very similar. And that whole idea of let's have lots of safety and fixed income just really hasn't materialized. And people are kind of surprised by that. So I think that's a little bit more timely than anything. But especially if you're accumulating, I mean, it's such a great thing to think about, perspective. And look back at five years ago, you would have said, I'd love to take a 70% return over five years in the market. And that's what you have. You've got a 70% return in the last five years. That's still better than average. It just so happens that you also had that same 70% return 15 months ago. So that looked a lot better in four years than it does in five. But it's still good, you know, just. Just be okay with it.

Joe Saul-Sehy (47:52)

Len, we just covered the obvious one. Leave your hand out of the cookie jar. That's your portfolio. At times like now, let's go over some ones that might be. Seem a little more esoteric for people. What's another place where doing nothing thing with your money is maybe the best move?

Len Penzo (48:06)

Well, how about keeping up with the Joneses? I think a lot of people want to do that. They'll see their neighbors got a new car, their neighbors just remodeled their house or something, and you feel, you know, you kind of feel the peer pressure to do the same. Well, that's check, check. So, I mean, but give me another one. It helps to. It really helps to check, you know, check yourself and not. Not before you follow them for the sake of following them. That's just sit Back. Take a deep breath and. And, you know, look at yourself and your finances and see if that really makes sense.

Doug (48:40)

Wreck yourself.

Joe Saul-Sehy (48:41)

Thank you, Lens. Len's like, honeybee. We can live in a tent for a few more years. I know they have siding on their house. We don't need any siding on our house.

Len Penzo (48:52)

Like, I just upgraded the bunker. There's no money for anything else right now.

OG (48:56)

No new, like, likelihood of rain in Southern California. It's very low.

Joe Saul-Sehy (48:59)

Right.

OG (49:00)

We don't need to have a roof.

Joe Saul-Sehy (49:02)

Just because everybody else has windows doesn't mean we need windows.

Len Penzo (49:06)

You know what?

Joe Saul-Sehy (49:06)

You brought that up.

Len Penzo (49:07)

Ojam. When I was a kid and I grew up in Southern California, our house needed a new roof. And the roofing company told my dad that's exactly. They took the roof off. It was in the summertime, and they said they didn't cover. They didn't put a tarp or anything over because it doesn't rain. And over the weekend. Weekend it rained. There was a big old summer rainstorm. Rarity. But it just. And, oh, my God, it was such a mess. And I remember my dad had to go to court with these guys.

Joe Saul-Sehy (49:37)

Are you kidding me? They didn't want to fix it then.

Len Penzo (49:40)

No, no, no. Nope.

Joe Saul-Sehy (49:43)

Wow. Hey, I know it's our fault, but we're gonna make you take us to court.

Len Penzo (49:46)

Yep.

Joe Saul-Sehy (49:47)

How does that suck? That's horrible.

Len Penzo (49:49)

Yeah.

Joe Saul-Sehy (49:51)

Dana, what's another one we're doing? Nothing might be your right move.

Dana Anspach (49:55)

You know, what came to my mind is you'd have to do something in order to do nothing but setting everything up on autopay so it would take that bit of work. But because we work with clients in the decumulation phase, we talk about the go go years, the slow go years, the no go years. And when people slow down, oftentimes it starts about mid-70s, they get forgetful. We had a client who shared with us. He just got diagnosed with mild cognitive decline. And I asked, you know, how did you know, what led you to go to your doctor? And he said, I, you know, started missing bills and so setting things up on autopay. Unfortunately, after practicing over 25 years, I've seen cases where people missed a key insurance payment later in life, and the insurance policy lapsed, and they ended up needing it. And if that had just been set up on autopay, you know, auto pay, retirement paychecks coming out of their account into their main checking account, auto bill pay for their insurance policies. Yeah, you had to do something to get it set up. But Once it's set up, you get to do nothing.

Len Penzo (50:54)

What were those years you said? The no go.

Dana Anspach (50:56)

They're called the go go years. So early retirement, the slow go years, which often start around your mid-70s, and then the no go years, so oftentimes around your 80s, where health conditions, you know, kind of overtake things.

Len Penzo (51:11)

You forgot one. The Bogo years.

Dana Anspach (51:14)

The Bogo years.

Len Penzo (51:15)

The buy one, get one free.

Dana Anspach (51:19)

When does that occur?

Len Penzo (51:20)

Nobody. Everybody's shaking their head, okay, that's going on the cutting room.

Doug (51:24)

We can buy years. I didn't know that that was an option. We get to buy.

Dana Anspach (51:28)

It's like buying pension years.

Joe Saul-Sehy (51:30)

I, I think Len's talking about the ARP discount years is what he's. Is that what you're referring to?

Len Penzo (51:37)

I don't know. I. I don't know. It was a bad joke. Throw it away. Just take that out and post.

Joe Saul-Sehy (51:42)

Oh, no, no, no. Oh, geez. Already forgotten it. Yeah.

OG (51:48)

And throwing.

Joe Saul-Sehy (51:49)

But, oh, gee, what Dana says I think is right on. Also, though, for accumulators, because people always try to, you know, buy the dip. I'm going to save money and then I'm going to buy the dip. If you, if you have it on automatic investment, you don't play this roulette game.

OG (52:05)

Well, you're doing it right. I mean, it's like it's happened. Those are my favorite things. Like, oh, you know, maybe I'll wait and wait for the market. It's happened. It already has happened. Many, many, many, many times. You know, and where were you then? Why didn't you go get a mortgage and refinance your house and take all the equity out of your house and dump it in the market and because it's stupid, you know, you're not going to do that. You're just going to do the thing that's just kind of set up and follow the plan. That's the do nothing stuff. I think in kind of concert with this, the way that you want to set up the doing nothing is to make sure that you've got the time to set aside, to do nothing. Len said it before about meditation, you know, being quiet by yourself. If you haven't sat in a chair in a quiet room doing nothing, like, just go try it and see how long you last. It is very hard to do because there's so much sensory stuff going on all the time in our lives. Whether it's your phone or the background noise of the kids or your work environment, or you go to Starbucks and you work there. There's Always this kind of humor and bustle of stuff going on.

Joe Saul-Sehy (53:15)

Yeah.

OG (53:16)

Sit in a quiet room by yourself and then try to guess how long you've sat there. It's like they did this study when we were having kids study a thing that they did for, like, new parents where they had everybody close their eyes, they dim the lights so it was all nice and dark. So this is, you know, expecting mom and their spouse or partner. And then they had this nice soothing music going. And then they cranked up this loud baby crying. Like, just screaming how babies do, right? They cry.

Joe Saul-Sehy (53:46)

And like the one on my flight right behind me on the way home last week.

OG (53:51)

Yeah. How lucky are you? So they did this, and the instructor's like, nope, you got to keep your eyes closed. Don't. Just whatever. And they just kept it going, kept it going, kept it going, kept it going, kept it going, kept it going like that, like newborn cry. And then they said, okay, everybody write down how long it's been. Don't look at your watch. And everybody's like, 50 minutes. It's been 35. It was like 90 seconds. It's like the most. It just seems like forever. You got to be able to kind of train yourself to. To have that proverbial detox time perspective. And that gives you the opportunity to then be in the moment, to make good decisions, which largely are to just sit there.

Joe Saul-Sehy (54:35)

I want to end with you. What is your. What's your tip?

OG (54:39)

That was. That was all of it, buddy.

Joe Saul-Sehy (54:40)

That was the whole.

OG (54:42)

That was the.

Joe Saul-Sehy (54:43)

That was it.

OG (54:44)

That was. I. I put it all together in one package.

Joe Saul-Sehy (54:47)

I. I got it. You were just transitioning into, like, I.

OG (54:51)

Layered multiple stories on top of one another.

Joe Saul-Sehy (54:53)

Brilliant.

OG (54:54)

It was just a magical, fantastic experience for everybody who was paying attention.

Joe Saul-Sehy (54:57)

It was so, so magical. I didn't even know that that was the thing.

OG (55:01)

So it was so great that you didn't even know that that was the thing.

Joe Saul-Sehy (55:04)

It was sub sublime. It was sublime.

OG (55:07)

Quite amazing.

Joe Saul-Sehy (55:07)

You know, the one that I had was a spot where maybe doing nothing makes the most sense. I've met a lot of people that when they have something that happens to their house or to their car, they automatically call their insurance agent. I would try to sometimes do the math first before, because your insurance price may go up enough that. And if it's close to your deductible amount, it probably would make more sense to just pay it out of pocket and do not file the claim. So maybe do nothing. Is his mind a little modified? All right, that's going to do it. Yeah, I've got one more.

Dana Anspach (55:42)

I mean I see people that go to these free lunch seminars or read the latest article on news, you know. You know, and they're high pressure. If you get do this by this Friday, you're going to get this rate or this. To me, there's where you do nothing.

Joe Saul-Sehy (55:56)

Also I like that one. The Warren Buffett line that there's no such thing as a cold strike in investing. Don't have to do it. I should have asked lan Og you guys got another one.

Len Penzo (56:06)

Well, I was going to say for something but it's, it's just, it's PI. It's really, it's kind of taking from Dana's main point. Anyways, I was going to say if there's something you want to buy that's big like a car or something on a whim, you know, wait on it, don't do it. Wait, yeah, take it. Take a sleep on it, you know. But that's kind of, that's kind of stole from Dana. So I didn't.

Joe Saul-Sehy (56:25)

And but still good, good suggestion. Absolutely. That's going to do it for today. Let's find out what all of you are doing right now, where you work. Oh gee, let's start with you. Big plans this weekend? Yeah. Oh yeah.

OG (56:38)

As a matter of fact, golf tournament that we are going to win, I'm thinking. And then I'm getting on an airplane and going to the beach for a week. So I'll see you losers later.

Joe Saul-Sehy (56:46)

Show off. Oh my goodness. Mr. Penzo, what's going on@lempenzo.com?

Len Penzo (56:52)

I got nine financial tips for teens and 20 somethings based on probably the nine of the most basic things you might want to know from a personal finance and life perspective@lenpenzo.com awesome.

Joe Saul-Sehy (57:08)

Fantastic. Great reading as always@lempenza.com. dana, thanks for hanging out with us again. I appreciate it.

Dana Anspach (57:15)

It's been a lot of fun. I love it.

Joe Saul-Sehy (57:18)

Circus as usual. Feel like we save a lot of the circus for what Data's here. What's going at Sensible Money. What's coming up? Tell me.

Dana Anspach (57:26)

Oh, we got a webinar coming up on how to make a retirement spending plan, AKA budget. I don't like the word budget. I like spending plans. So I've been working on the slides for that. I think it's next Thursday or the Thursday after. It's on our website sensiblemoney.com and then I personally have taken up pickleball and it's fun. I like it.

Joe Saul-Sehy (57:47)

Nice. I have never. If you guys play pickleball, I never have.

Doug (57:52)

It's too trendy for me. Do you take your pug? Do you take your pug to the pickleball court?

Dana Anspach (57:58)

I don't have a pug. No, I have a pit bull, but I don't think he would like it.

Doug (58:04)

Close second.

Joe Saul-Sehy (58:05)

All right, that's going to do it. You'll find Dana at Sensible Money. And again, the Twitter. Since I got it wrong the first time, I'll let you say it at money over 55. Money over 50. 55. All right, that's gonna do it for today. A lot of people to thank. By the way, if you want to hang out with us as we make it, make this live. Come join us. We're doing this just for the summer where we're doing live recordings. Head to YouTube, the Stacky Benjamin's YouTube page and join us at 5pm Eastern and do the math on wherever you're at and you can hang out with us while we make the show. All right, Doug, you got it from here. What should we have learned today? Today?

Doug (58:46)

Well, Joe, first, don't be afraid to take some time to rest and be idle. What have we been buying all these time saving appliances for if we don't have time to relax a little bit? Plus, doing nothing is also the best option when it comes to your investments. Like a good wine, let them breathe. Second, take a pro tip from leading. Just put an indefinite out of office message on your email. You'll get tons of downtime at work. But the big lesson? Sure, go fly a kite. But maybe don't tell Joe's mom to join you. I went upstairs after the trivia question. She's like all stressed out so I told her, hey, go fly a kite lady. Totally bit my head off. Apparently she's not into kite flying as much as the Japanese are. Thanks to Dana Anspaugh for joining us today. You can find dana@sustainablemoney.com thanks to Len Penzo for joining us. You can find len@lenpenzo.com thanks also to OG for joining us today. Looking for good financial planning help? Head to stackingbenjamins.comog for some amazing pictures. I'm sorry for his calendar. This show is the property of SB Podcast, LLC, Copyright 2022 and is written in part by Paulette Perhaps, who helps writers power their words, their work and their earning potential with her Powerhouse Writers coaching program. Find out more@powerhousewriters.com thanks also to our team who made today possible. Karen Repine is our Producer Tina Eichenberg and Gertrude Smith are, are our social media mavens. And Brooke Miller handles the show notes and our amazing newsletter, the 201. Not only should you not take advice from these losers, don't take advice from people you don't know. This show is for entertainment purposes only. Before making any financial decisions, speak to a real financial advisor. Sorry, Dana's not a loser. You can take her out of that. That's it for today, folks. We'll see you back back here on Monday at Stacking Benjamin's.

Joe Saul-Sehy (61:40)

Welcome to the after show. This is the part of the show that doesn't exist. You found the hidden track. Congratulations. It's funny, as I go around the country, the number of people that tell me that it took them six months. And I saw we were on YouTube doing this, I saw we lost two people after they thought that we were. That we were long gone. Or they just don't care about the hidden track. But I was wondering, you know, Len, when you were talking about that, what clearly would have been a homeowner's claim, as well as taking the people them to court, I was thinking about some weird homeowners claims that I've seen and also some things that I had insurance agents tell me off the record to do. Like number one, don't commit insurance fraud. Because you heard this on the show. So I just want to make that clear. However, I did have an insurance agent tell me that if your dog ruins something in your house and you instead say a raccoon did it, one is your pet, the other one is a wild animal and one is covered in one isn't. I don't know if that is still true. And like I said, don't commit insurance fraud, however that is.

OG (62:50)

But if you're gonna do it, if you're gonna do. Let me give you the script.

Joe Saul-Sehy (62:55)

Exactly how this works. Yes, OG that could be our. You know how they say you need a lead magnet to get people to watch your stuff, you know, to subscribe to your things. That could be our lead magnet. Magnet. How to cheat on your insurance. No, probably, probably not. But anyway, I'm thinking of weird claims. Like I had a hawk in my grill one time. Like there's mine. Who. Who has had a hawk fly into their grill. And by the way, the hawk was still alive and we were sure that there's no way that hawk could be alive and we knew it was alive. When we're driving down the road after we hear this thump and this thing just comes into the grill when we're driving along at 60 miles an hour in this car? Yes.

Doug (63:37)

Are you talking about your mouth? Joe, which grill were you.

Dana Anspach (63:40)

Oh, I was thinking like cooking grill.

Joe Saul-Sehy (63:42)

I was like, what? No grill of our car. This hawk hits our car, and then we're driving down the road a little further and this big wing comes up over the hood and then goes back down. And it happened a couple times before we were able to pull over. So we were sure that. And the hawk was alive and it was half in the. The grill and anyway, that's my weird claim. Danny had a weird homeowner's car insurance claim.

Dana Anspach (64:08)

Not weird, but I had someone break into my house once in January 2012. And yeah, they went to the master bedroom and took all the jewelry, but they ransacked like, every drawer was open. It was like you see in the movies. There was just stuff pulled out and stuff everywhere. And the crazy thing is the front door wasn't locked, but they kicked it in.

Joe Saul-Sehy (64:29)

Just because that's what you do. You got to keep your bad boy street cred.

Dana Anspach (64:35)

And here's the even crazier thing. So I had. My dog had passed away, and I had his ashes. They were going to go to Colorado with me to go out in his favorite hiking trail. And so they were in my underwear drawer, and I. And it was a bag of white powder, and they stole it. And so I didn't realize it until later in the year I went to go to Colorado, and I'm like, I know they. What they thought that was. They probably thought they got a big pile of drugs and it was my dog's ashes that they stole.

Joe Saul-Sehy (65:06)

The last laugh is on them as they're making lines on the dining room table of your. Of your dog. By the way, I know we shared this on one show maybe a year ago, and this was a story that happened in a campground. A couple heard something at 3 in the morning, didn't think anything about it, went out the next next morning. And there was a hope hose coming out of their RV where they had tried. Had tried to siphon gas. The bad news is they accidentally stuck it in the sewer tank instead. And there's this big pile of vomit next to the hose where they realized it a little too late that they'd. Yeah, Len, how about you? Any strange claims? And Len, you're muted.

Len Penzo (65:54)

There we go. Can you hear me? Sorry about that. I went on mute because I had to go back into my archives because I know I did a story story on weird insurance claims once before. So I went and looked at my old archives. This is a strange insurance claim. This is true story happened in South Carolina in 2008. The homeowner, he had an insurance policy with. With three accidental death and dismemberment policies. So what he did is he conspired the homeowner, he conspired with his partner to cut off the hand of a mentally disabled friend who was in their career. Yeah. So he intentionally cut off his friend's hand with a pole saw. Then he claimed that it was the friend lost his hand in an accident while the homeowner was sawing a tree down, if you can figure that out. And obviously, well, he got caught and it was for. It was for 750000 claim. So. But yeah, I mean that's the lengths people will go for insurance fraud.

Joe Saul-Sehy (66:52)

Oh, that is. That is horrible. Hey Doug, you want to come over later?

Len Penzo (66:59)

I gotta cut some trees.

Joe Saul-Sehy (67:02)

Just asking. Oh gee.

Doug (67:06)

How about as long as it's my left hand.

Joe Saul-Sehy (67:09)

How about you OG Got one?

OG (67:10)

No, just two. Two legit claims. So, you know, nothing too exciting. Just a couple of hail damage roofs which is common. Feels like a. A scam every time you get a.

Joe Saul-Sehy (67:21)

New roof in Texas, but common occurrence in Texas. Annette hanging out with us here on YouTube says the house that she bought had 18 flying squirrels in the attic and a snake. Yeah, didn't. Didn't file a claim though. Rick had something happen that was similar to me. Said I had a small group of birds fly in front of my truck, but one didn't make it. Sadly. I look behind me and I see the bird on the road. But the two to three birds that were with it went and flew to the ground and encircled it like a you. Like a eulogy. They all had a silent prayer for the bird that did not make it past Rick.

Doug (67:55)

They were picking its pockets.

Joe Saul-Sehy (67:57)

Maybe something else going on. Look fresh.

Doug (68:01)

No, don't. No, don't.

Joe Saul-Sehy (68:03)

Okay.

Doug (68:11)

Foreign.

Joe Saul-Sehy (68:17)

Welcome to a live recording of the Stacky Benjamin show. I'm Joe Saul Sehi and you can see we have a fun group of contributors here today. Got Dana Ansbach to save the show. I'm not going to stop calling you Dana Ansbach. I'm going to keep doing that. I can't.

Dana Anspach (68:31)

I love it.

Joe Saul-Sehy (68:32)

I've been doing it for too long. And you finally today tell us that there's a different way to say it and we've been Smith.

Dana Anspach (68:39)

Exactly.

Joe Saul-Sehy (68:43)

All right, Doug, you ready to. Ready to make a show?

Doug (68:47)

Do I get my inspirational music that really pumps me up or Do I have to just wing it?

Joe Saul-Sehy (68:52)

No, you'll get to. You'll get the music. Yes.

OG (68:55)

Sweet.

Joe Saul-Sehy (68:55)

Yeah. We're doing this whole thing as live as.

OG (68:58)

It's a new track. It's Kesha.

Doug (69:00)

Wait a minute. Is. Is. Is my video for Dana frozen, or is she just like a deer in the headlights and terrified to be on camera?

Joe Saul-Sehy (69:12)

She was pretty frozen.

Doug (69:14)

All right. It's not taxidermy. It's really Dana.

Dana Anspach (69:17)

Was I holding super still?

Joe Saul-Sehy (69:19)

You were. There was.

Doug (69:20)

It was pretty amazing.

Joe Saul-Sehy (69:22)

It's pretty good.

OG (69:22)

Wow.

Dana Anspach (69:23)

I was riveted by waiting for the music.

Doug (69:26)

Yeah.

Joe Saul-Sehy (69:27)

All right, we ready to do this, guys? Let's. Let me get to my stuff and. Well, maybe, maybe not. Oh, here we go. Okay. All right, Doug, you're supposed to go live from YouTube. No.

Doug (69:55)

I. I did.

Joe Saul-Sehy (69:57)

I know. So earlier. Doug. Doug didn't have a delay.

Doug (70:00)

Delay going.

Joe Saul-Sehy (70:01)

Yeah, there's a big F delay like that.

Doug (70:05)

That music actually, that was like a minute frozen and blurred on my screen.

Len Penzo (70:10)

It was like a one minute delay.

Doug (70:15)

Oh, well, this is a restream issue because I've got gigabit giant fat old pipe right up to the interweb machine, so it ain't me.

Joe Saul-Sehy (70:28)

There's so many jokes in that statement. There's just.

Doug (70:31)

It's a huge. I have a huge opening. A huge opening that's accepting of both ways. It's a bi directional pipe.

Joe Saul-Sehy (70:41)

Just.

Doug (70:42)

No, it's ethically accurate. I'm just giving you the technical explanation.

Joe Saul-Sehy (70:48)

No. All right, hold on. When I. So I'm gonna start right now, and let's see if it's gone away here. Start right there.

Doug (71:02)

Live from YouTube, the stacking Benjamin show. That's not gonna work, is it?

Len Penzo (71:08)

Almost like.

Joe Saul-Sehy (71:11)

Yes, I agree with. I agree with Annette.

OG (71:16)

All right. Don't they have these? Don't they build this in on purpose with live events so they can dump, like, all the swear words.

Doug (71:24)

Oh, yeah. That we're dealing with. They instituted the Doug 5 second rule.

Joe Saul-Sehy (71:30)

All right, here's what we're going to do. Doug, you're just going to have to do it, and then we'll add the. We'll add the audio. Audio in. Hitting it after.

Doug (71:37)

Fix it in post. Just like my photographer.

Joe Saul-Sehy (71:40)

All right, here we go. What are you doing?

Doug (71:57)

All right, you figured it out.

Joe Saul-Sehy (71:59)

The hell are you doing?

Doug (72:01)

You're so smart. I wanted to hear you about the lag again and the audio problem. Okay. But Annette loved that. I guarantee you she's laughing her ass off right now.

Joe Saul-Sehy (72:12)

We got an audience of one. Annette Annette, we're just doing this for you.

Doug (72:16)

She is calling all seven of her friends right now.

Joe Saul-Sehy (72:21)

Tana is like, why am I here? Like, are we actually doing this?

Dana Anspach (72:27)

Did I blow my hair dry for this?

Joe Saul-Sehy (72:29)

Yes.