← The Stacking Benjamins Show
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- [00:00]
Joe Salsihai
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. State Stay Farm here to help you succeed with your business. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there 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 you could get an amazing rate when you finance with Navy federal. Visit navy federal.org truecar to to learn more. Navy Federal Credit Union Our members are the mission. Navy Federal is insured by NCUA Credit and collateral subject to approval Happy Monday Stackers. Just a quick note before we hit play on today's Monday episode of the Stacking Benjamin Show. You know, sometimes there are episodes that we do because I think they're going to be great for you. And there's other times that it's what I need to hear. And if your spring summer has been as jumbled as mine has been, you know what, keeping track of of your stuff is really the message that I needed to hear this week. So that's going to be our theme today and Friday. Tracy McCubbin, organizational expert, one of the top guests we ever had on the show. And you know what, a lot of people initially when they heard Tracy said, what does she have to do with money? Well, if you have ever been around somebody who's phenomenal with money, organization gets you there. Having things automated, being able to find what your expenses were, having the heartbeat. But many people are what a mentor of mine called stuck in the weeds, right? If you've ever been out on a boat and you're stuck in the weeds and you can't really move because you're handling all the little things, you could never keep your eye on the big stuff. Tracy McCubbin Today it's going to help us get organized. This episode was originally from 2019. We also in this episode talk about Social Security and the Social Security stuff really holds up. Although we are going to talk about some 2019 numbers. So realize this is from six years ago and some of the numbers have changed and that is why there's going to be a couple discrepancies. But I listened to this entire episode already before you heard it. And I think that between Tracy and that, it's awesome. So one more thing before I hit play going on in mom's basement. We are very much undercharging for our guides. If you don't know what I'm talking about, we have these guides and we up update them every month. So if your job ever changes, your tax situation changes, your life changes, you don't have to go buy another guide. We update this every month and we started off with our HR guide. So if you're somebody that has always been frustrated and not sure what exactly to choose when it comes to your human resource decisions, this is phenomenal. We work with a bunch of HR directors to make it and that guide is amazing. Equally as amazing one that came out earlier this year is our tax guide. Two parts to the tax guide, tax planning and tax preparation. And we dive deeply into both areas. Everything from setting things up along the tax triangle to some of the little things that we often see tax software miss on the filing side. So it's all there. In both guides, we are raising our prices by nearly a third to a hundred and twenty dollars. But that's not gonna happen till August 1st. You can still get them at the current price if you go to stackybenjamins.com guides, take a look at them both and snag the guide before the price goes up. I wanted to give everybody who's already a fan of the show notice before we raise prices. All right, that's it. Tracy McCubbin today. I so love this woman. She is just such a voice of reason and she's going to help you unclutter your life and work through the emotions of that, plus Social Security. All right, Steve, hit play. Let's go. Hey, Nick Loper here from the side Hustle show. When I'm not helping people earn money outside of their day job, I'm stacking Benjamins.
- [04:41]
Doug
Live from Joe's mom's basement, it's the Stacking Benjamin Show. I'm Joe's mom's neighbor, Doug, and Joe's mom is on a tear. You just missed it, man. This place is a complete pit. And she went on an epic rant. I mean, OG never picks up his socks. Joe with those Bavarian pretzels.
- [05:10]
Joe Salsihai
Dude, get over it.
- [05:11]
Doug
That trip ended like a year ago. So it's time for us to call in some great help. And today we welcome organizational expert Tracy McCubbin. Plus, in headlines retirees are losing millions by claiming Social Security at the wrong time. When should you claim your benefit? We'll share that, plus throw out the Haven lifeline to a lucky listener and still leave time for my completely well organized trivia. And now two guys who really need to pay attention to today's guest. Seriously, guys, what's with the KitKat wrappers all over the place? It's Jo and oh Ja ja ja ja G.
- [05:57]
Joe Salsihai
We'll clean it up later. We'll get around to it.
- [06:00]
OG
Well, you can you see that that.
- [06:02]
Joe Salsihai
Crazy thing about round to it, you know about someday I'll get around to it. Like what does a round to it cost? You know, not a square to it, but around to it. Oh, hey everybody. Welcome to dad Jokes for the Win podcast. I'm Joe Salsi. Hi, Average Joe. Money on Twitter. And this is Wednesday and this is Monday on the Stacking Benjamin show. It's bad when you think it's Wednesday and it's. Yeah, the week's just beginning.
- [06:28]
OG
To keep them all straight, I'm apparently.
- [06:30]
Joe Salsihai
Hoping it's half over.
- [06:30]
OG
Dude, they all end in days. It's impossible to put them in the right order.
- [06:34]
Joe Salsihai
How can you even keep up? I know we'll dive into the show in just a moment, but we have a couple sponsors that help us keep on keeping on. We're going to hear from them and then we're going to rock and roll with Tracy McCubbin. And our headline in just a second, Small Business Owners State farms 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, State Farm is there.
- [07:24]
OG
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- [07:52]
Joe Salsihai
We got Tracy McCubbin here today. But first we got some headlines. So let's get this party started.
- [07:57]
OG
Hello darlings. And now it's time for your favorite part of the show. Our Stacking Benjamin's Headlines.
- [08:04]
Joe Salsihai
Our first deadline today comes to us from investment news. This is written by Mary Beth Franklin. You know those people that you talk about having on the show and no idea why it doesn't happen, but Mary Beth, hopefully going to be on the show at some point. But Mary Beth writes, retirees lose. I'm going to put a blank here. Blank amount by claiming Social Security too early. How much money do you think retirees lose by claiming Social Security too early?
- [08:33]
OG
In total or the average?
- [08:35]
Joe Salsihai
We could do both or either. I've got both numbers.
- [08:38]
OG
Both. Either or neither.
- [08:39]
Joe Salsihai
I came prepared.
- [08:41]
OG
All right. I think when I do the financial plans and we run the projections, I think the difference ends up being a couple hundred thousand for a couple. So 100,000 a person.
- [08:50]
Joe Salsihai
111,000 per household.
- [08:53]
OG
Oh, per household.
- [08:54]
Joe Salsihai
It's. On average, retirees collectively lose 3.4 trillion with a T. By claiming Social Security too early.
- [09:03]
OG
Well, they're doing their part to keep Social Security solvent. You don't want to run it out too fast, just in case.
- [09:10]
Joe Salsihai
I'm going to just throw a little back.
- [09:11]
OG
Just going to just hold some back.
- [09:13]
Joe Salsihai
Make sure everybody's taken care of here. It's not all about me.
- [09:16]
OG
That's right.
- [09:17]
Joe Salsihai
Marybeth writes, despite all the talk about the value of maximizing Social Security benefits, seems very few retirees are listening. The fact that only 4% of retirees wait until age 70 to claim their maximum retirement benefits is not news. What is newsworthy, however, is how much those early claiming decisions are costing retirees in terms of potential retirement income and overall wealth. Social Security pays over 1 trillion in benefits to more than 65 million people every year, or about 9 out of every 10 retirees. It accounts for about one third of all retirement income each year. I want to back up and read that again slower, because I don't want to gloss over that. It accounts for about one third of all retirement income.
- [10:02]
OG
Sounds like you should make sure you maximize that third.
- [10:05]
Joe Salsihai
A lot of people not doing some very much saving, though. I mean, if that's, if that's a third of the income that's out there might not be saving enough money.
- [10:12]
OG
It's not terrible. I mean, the average family Social Security benefit would be, what, 2,500 bucks? Three grand? Maybe that was a third.
- [10:21]
Joe Salsihai
Well, that's true.
- [10:22]
OG
That ain't bad.
- [10:23]
Joe Salsihai
Yeah, no, you're right. If you're living on nine a month, that's not a bad place to be. About 50% of current retirees report that more than half their annual income comes from Social Security, that's tough. While a third report that more than 90% of their income comes to these benefits.
- [10:40]
OG
Now we're getting in the category of should have saved more, but that those.
- [10:46]
Joe Salsihai
Numbers kind of show that there's really not a middle ground, is there? People are either saving way, way, way a lot or they're not saving at all.
- [10:54]
OG
Well, and the point of this whole thing is about making sure that you maximize the benefits and people even know how to do it. Now. It used to be, you know, 10 years ago I could do a webinar on Social Security maximization things and it would be packed. And people are like, I've never heard of these unique filing strategies. And they got rid of some of them, you know, some different tax laws along the way. But now even people know they're like, oh yeah, I know you're supposed to wait. Well, what are you going to claim at 70? Right now I'm going to do mine at 64. Waiting stuff for them people, not me.
- [11:27]
Joe Salsihai
Well, there's a crossover point where it makes sense. I mean, first of all, you got to know you're going to live a long time.
- [11:32]
OG
Well, that's a trade off. I mean, nobody knows if you're going to get hit by a bus tomorrow or not, but chances are pretty good. Not so. I think you have to err on that side of it. I think you have to recognize that life expectancy is increasing for most people. We look at it through the views of our parents and grandparents and say, well, Grandma kicked the bucket at 82, so I must be destined to be hit by the bus at 83 or something. But half of grandma's classmates had polio. You know, I mean, like that, that doesn't exist anymore. Well, mostly. So I think you have to recognize that it's important to be optimistic, realistic. Also, maybe you do half and half. You do one of the spouses in a couple claims later, a little bit earlier on the other one, then it's always a gambler.
- [12:20]
Joe Salsihai
What's the upside to claiming it later? Because you and I, you know, we're talking about later equals better. But there's probably a large percentage of people listening that have no idea why, why later would be better.
- [12:31]
OG
There's a couple of different components to it. So depending on when you were born, everybody has a full retirement age as per the Social Security administration. So after 1960, your full retirement age is 67 for 1960, back to, I think 54. It decreases at two month intervals in different blocks. So it's like your full Retirement age, because you're an old guy, might be, hey, oh, sitting right here, dude, still 67. But, you know, it's like, you can look, yours might be 65 and, you know, 10 months or something like that. And that's the date at which you get the number that's shown on your statement. So when you look in your statement, you can just look these up. On SSA.gov you have to create an account and they require really stupid password combinations, so you'll forget it and have to reset it. But just know this from experience, like a really stupid user. It'll be nothing. You'll ever. You'll go back to it in two years from now and go, this can't be me. I would never use this user.
- [13:27]
Joe Salsihai
There's no way. I was hairymonkey 467. Oh, yes, I was.
- [13:31]
OG
Yes, I am, as a matter of fact. But anyway, so you get that full amount that's listed on the statement. Anything before that, all the way Back to age 62, you get a pretty severe reduction for. We're talking about how to benefit it moving forward. For every year you wait, you get a guaranteed 8% increase plus whatever the cost of living is for that year. So in some years it's low. This year it was 2% or something like that. And the way that I think about it is this. You've got two buckets of money. You've got your investment portfolio and you've got this Social Security portfolio. One bucket might grow at 8 to 10% a year, right? That's your investment portfolio. Another bucket will grow at 8 to 10% a year for the next three years. If you could get a guaranteed 8% return, even if there's no inflation, wouldn't you rather take that? I mean, it's only three years anyway. For most people that are trending toward retirement now, like anybody past 1960, it's going to be three years worth of that. They're called delayed retirement credits. But I think you have to do the trade off. Here's where people get in trouble with this, by the way. They look at it and say, all right, I'm going to defer Social Security. I'm going to live on a little bit extra out of my portfolio until Social Security kicks in. So maybe I planned on Social Security being 2,500amonth. I'm gonna take 2,500amonth out of my investment accounts. Boom, there's my five grand to live on. All's right in the world. But I wanna delay Social Security so I need to take 5,000amonth out of my investment accounts. Now, recognizing that that's too much and that in three years from now, I'll dial that back. But here's what people do. They do the 5,000, then they file for Social Security and go, this is way better. Now I have 7,500 to live on. And don't commensurately decrease that withdrawal from the investment portfolio. That's where you can get into trouble with this.
- [15:16]
Joe Salsihai
Yeah, it is. It's something that I think you, you should probably look into more than a day before you are ready to.
- [15:26]
OG
Well, here's the other thing to think about too. If any of these other situations apply to you. If you were ever married before and if you're not presently married now, if you were widowed at any point in time, that has an impact. And the other piece with Social Security is every so often you just have to get your statement and review it. Believe it or not, I know this is going to come as a complete shock to most people. The government is not infallible. What they do on occasion make slight data entry errors.
- [15:55]
Joe Salsihai
Sometimes you should have said hashtag spoiler before that.
- [15:58]
OG
Yeah. So it's not surprising to find your Social Security statement lacking the data. The correct data, that is. And so your benefit is based on your highest 35 years worth of earnings. You might want to get those, make sure those numbers are right.
- [16:13]
Joe Salsihai
Our second headline comes to us from MarketWatch. I've got a new side gig for you and I.
- [16:19]
OG
Great. I already have four of them.
- [16:22]
Joe Salsihai
No, this is a good one. Listen to this. All of them are good so far. Jeanette Satenbre wrote this piece. These apps charge money for the privilege of saving money. So here's what we do. We're going to charge you a bunch of money so that you can save some money.
- [16:36]
OG
All right, I'm on board. So we have to create an app and then we are going to collect.
- [16:41]
Joe Salsihai
Money, charge a bunch of money, let people save into my left pocket.
- [16:47]
OG
Okay.
- [16:47]
Joe Salsihai
And then if you get four of your friends to save, you'll get a good. No, I'm, I, I don't know about that. Let's read this. Jeanette writes play to save. That's the name of the game for some people looking for easy incentives to stash away a little extra cash without thinking twice about it. Before Mike Pearson, 37, his wife planned a trip to the Bahamas last year, they downloaded a savings game app that let them set it and forget it. We wanted to set a savings goal to help pay for the trip and we thought it'd be good way to force ourselves to save up. Pearson, founder of the personal finance website Credit Takeoff, told Market Watch he downloaded a personal finance app called Capital with a Q, Q, a P, I, T, a L, of course, which links to a unit because. Because why not? Which links to a user's checking account and lets them set savings goals like a ring day fund, spa weekend or concert or student loan payment. The app has customizable rules. Pearson chose one that rounded up his transaction to the next dollar and put the difference in his savings account when he made a purchase for $9.60. The app then deposited $0.40 into a savings account. He was able to create a joint goal so his wife could also contribute to their savings plan. Pearson estimates he and his wife save three to four dollars a day for a year. Doesn't sound like much, but that's about a hundred dollars a month or twelve hundred dollars a year. Pearson said he saved up five hundred dollars, she saved seven hundred. Together, their savings paid for plane tickets and part of the hotel in the Bahamas. Here's kind of the key here though. When Pearson used the app, it was free. But Capital now offers a free 30 day trial followed by a fee of three to twelve dollars a month, depending on the service people use. I want to talk about two things here. Number one, this idea of gamification is a real thing. Turning savings into a game. You and I both know that when you started people on a savings plan, you watch them at first struggle with it, but man in their head, if they could change that into a game and went, let's see how much we can do. Let's see how far we can take this. It went from this onerous thing to this really fun, exciting thing. And people that had never saved a dollar their whole life were off and running.
- [18:53]
OG
Well, it's just like why charities will have the little thermometer that you've got to fill up or something like that. It's just a, just a way to see your progress. It's a way to make it a little bit more exciting than ho hum. I'm putting $500 a month in my Roth. Yeah.
- [19:06]
Joe Salsihai
If you have trouble saving man, gamify it to create some type of a, some type of a way to make it sticky. The second thing here, this guy Brad's not wrong. Hiding money from yourself, even through these little roundups, these little amounts of money, they can contribute tons of money to your future.
- [19:24]
OG
Mrs. OG is really good at hiding money for me, so she Must have a ton saved up.
- [19:29]
Joe Salsihai
You're going to be that family that you hear about in the news where you're.
- [19:33]
OG
I highly doubt this.
- [19:34]
Joe Salsihai
75 years old and you find out that, that Mrs. OG has been stashing away money whole life hiding it from you.
- [19:41]
OG
I don't think that's true.
- [19:42]
Joe Salsihai
She's got a treasure chest in the.
- [19:43]
OG
Backyard like a mason jar full of.
- [19:46]
Joe Salsihai
Quarters just stacked with, with. With quarters. What do you think about a fee of 3 to $12 a month that they saved $1,200? They wouldn't have saved. Would you pay. So if it's a his and her thing, he pays $3, she pays it $6. Would you pay $6 to save 1200 bucks?
- [20:08]
OG
Well, here's the thing. I wouldn't pay that to save that. But for the service associated with this product, maybe. I mean, it's. It's just relative to what you value that at. I mean, this company created this tool, right? And the people who work there need to make money and they have to have computers and Internet and whatever else. So companies have to make money in order to continue to produce greater products and services. So I would separate it from the perspective of I'm not paying $3 to save my money. I'm paying $3 for this tool that does this for me. It rounds the things up so I don't have to go into my bank account every day and say, oh, this transaction was, I should transfer 40 cents to my bank account or to my savings or whatever.
- [20:52]
Joe Salsihai
But I remember this with a potential financial planning client. Like in a first meeting with this gentleman, he. I show him, I don't know anything about him. I'm just quizzing him about things about his life. And he's telling me, first of all, he tells me his goals, and then we talk about where his stuff is. And I remember he had money leaking out all over the place. And so at the end of the meeting, I told him all these dollars that he would save a month. And it was seriously big money. It was maybe it was maybe 8 or $900 a month this guy had falling through the cracks. And then I told him my fee and I told him that I haven't even really begun to dig, right? I haven't looked at everything. I just asked him some random questions at a meeting, and I already found eight or nine hundred bucks.
- [21:41]
OG
He was not impressed.
- [21:43]
Joe Salsihai
And he went, oh, that sounds like a lot of money. And I said, Really? 900amonth, and I haven't even started. And he just couldn't get around the fact that he was going to have to pay money to make money. Now, hopefully he took that. He took what, what we talked about and he went and did it. I can tell you maybe not from experience, that rarely happened. You could point it out all day long people go, oh yeah, wish I could. And then go home and do nothing. But the frustration I have sometimes is people go, oh, $3 to save 1200 bucks. I don't know if I need that tool.
- [22:22]
OG
Well, it's just like the. This goes down in the same category as, you know, what's better, a 0.15% mutual fund or a 0.12% mutual fund. It's like, yeah, who gives a crap?
- [22:35]
Joe Salsihai
They go through a few more apps here. Santa Clara based Logan Alec, founder of the blog Money Done Right, says he stashed away between 100 $120 a month using an app called Long Game. They make money by charging banks at partners with a referral fee. That's actually a free app. Another game, Smarty Pig, provides virtual piggy banks. The savings account collects up to 1.8% APY and users grow funds for personalized goals like emergency funds or graduation parties. One called Tibbets helps kids crowdfund money for college. Sorry, you don't want to crowdfund your kids college.
- [23:12]
OG
I would love to. I just don't want to crowdfund other people's kids.
- [23:14]
Joe Salsihai
For college, students can create a gamer profile. It costs $10 for annual registration, similar to a GoFundMe page detailing college goals. They play educational computer games and after completing them, friends and family are invoiced to donate. How would you like to play a game and then get invoiced?
- [23:31]
OG
I kicked your butt at Monopoly. You owe me 50 bucks.
- [23:34]
Joe Salsihai
Bam. There it is. The app also charges a premium $7.99 for players to get access on multiple platforms like Apple, iPhones, tablets or laptops. Other games offer lottery style gambling. Earn, a San Francisco based nonprofit aimed at helping low income people manage their finances, is expanding.
- [23:54]
OG
This doesn't make any sense.
- [23:55]
Joe Salsihai
I'm sorry. Talking about gambling and. Oh, we help low income families.
- [23:58]
OG
Yeah, the exact people who shouldn't. Okay.
- [24:01]
Joe Salsihai
Is expanding the reach of its incentivized savings game by partnering with a credit.
- [24:06]
OG
Union, the California Lottery, where all your dreams come true.
- [24:10]
Joe Salsihai
But you know what? Seriously, if you're in a low income family and you're used to hearing about maybe people around you that, that gamble, maybe saying, hey, gamble this. I remember talking to somebody, I'm not going to get the name of the app right. But was talking about how, you know, if you use certain language with different people. Well, Tara Jackson on the show last week, you know, people's language. Maybe that helps. I don't know some of these companies. Maybe we should get on the Friday fintech segment so that we learn more about these. But paying money to make money.
- [24:41]
OG
You're paying money for the service.
- [24:42]
Joe Salsihai
I think our takeaway here, I think we've got two of them. Number one is Social Security. Do the math. Oh, gee. Do the math at a time, look up your statement and hope you get a user ID that actually makes sense.
- [24:57]
OG
I think you get to create it, but I remember there being some really weird rules around it.
- [25:01]
Joe Salsihai
Taran Duran Fan967 that would never be me. Second, gamifying your finances. Yes, absolutely. The more you turn it into a game, the more likely it is you're going to save. Tracy McCubbin is upstairs talking to Mom. She is an organizational expert. What I love about Tracy OG is that she realizes is more than anybody, it's not about the stuff around your house. Her goal is not to help people clean up the nooks and crannies of their house and their financial life. Her goal is to get this emotional baggage, which is really what all this stuff represents, big time emotional baggage. To get that all out in the open. And I think especially when it comes to your financial life, cleanliness, as mom says, what is that is close to godliness next to next to godliness. Yeah. So coming down to the basement, so happy she's here with us, our good friend Tracy McCubbin. And coming down the stairs to the basement, it's our new friend, Tracy McCubbin. How are you?
- [26:23]
Tracy McCubbin
I'm great. How are you today?
- [26:25]
Joe Salsihai
Well, I'm fantastic now that, that you're here because as you can see, Tracy, we've got some clutter in the basement. So we need your help.
- [26:32]
Tracy McCubbin
Excellent. And just so you feel better, you're not alone. I was telling somebody last night that we as a country, we're in the middle of a clutter epidemic, a clutter crisis. We are drowning in stuff. People who feel shame about their clutter or don't understand, they need to know that they are not the only ones.
- [26:52]
Joe Salsihai
And I want to get to all that. But first I want to ask you kind of a personal question, Tracy. Usually I don't ask this question, but you have a very simple dedication in your book. That's to your grandma. Tell me about the relationship between you and Your grandmother?
- [27:07]
Tracy McCubbin
My grandmother was a huge part of my life. She was a teeny, tiny, little Scottish woman. And when I was growing up, I spent a lot of time with her. And she was a child of the Depression, an immigrant from Scotland, a central California farm girl. And so much of what I learned came from her, including how to drive a stick shift and how to make olives and how to keep a neat house, the benefits of being organized. So when I look back on what formed me as a human, including my sense of humor, I really owe a lot to her. So I was so moved to be able to dedicate this book to her.
- [27:48]
Joe Salsihai
What specifically has resonated enough that it's still with you today from her?
- [27:52]
Tracy McCubbin
You know, it's in the dedication, and it sticks with me every day. Don't put it down. Put it away.
- [28:00]
Joe Salsihai
Is she the main driving force, or were there other forces in your family as you were growing up? Why did you get into decluttering?
- [28:05]
Tracy McCubbin
I'm the child of a hoarder. My father is an extreme hoarder. I had other family members that were also hoarders. They are discovering that the hoarding disorder is quite possibly genetic. So when I trace it back, there was a great uncle, there was a grandfather. You know, there were other people. So I have spent my life watching someone I care and love struggle with their relationship to their stuff. So, you know, when I started working with clients, I had this empathy, and, you know, somebody said to me recently, wow, you took your deepest psychic wound and turned it into a business. So, you know, it's given me a real insight into how complicated our relationship to our stuff is.
- [28:52]
Joe Salsihai
I read somewhere, though, that you call yourself obsessive compulsive. Delightful. I mean, I like the delightful on the end of that, though. But obsessive compulsive, that's part of hoarding. I mean, did you just get the maybe opposite side of that?
- [29:06]
Tracy McCubbin
Yeah, I definitely have ocd. It's a pretty mild form of it, and I have done quite a bit of cognitive behavior therapy around it to fix it. I am a go back and check the doors to make sure they're locked, to make sure the oven's off three, four, five, six times. And so I've done a lot of personal work to move through it. One of the things that they're finding, Joe, is that OCD and hoarding disorder are separate. They often can go hand in hand, but they don't necessarily live together. But I definitely got. I need everything in the right place. I need that sense to feel Good. So I have embraced it and not fought against it and helped create a very successful business with it.
- [29:52]
Joe Salsihai
Well, as you know, there's lots of people fighting it. And as you mentioned, just after you walk down the stairs, that this is, this is an epidemic. I mean, we've got clutter all over the place. What are the reasons for that?
- [30:04]
Tracy McCubbin
It's a combination. It's a combination of cheap consumer goods. You know, stuff has never been cheaper to buy. And also stuff's never been easier to buy. You can shop without. You know, I always joke, it's like you can shop without putting your pants on. You know, between Amazon and all those discount sites, you can even get your groceries. And what people don't realize is that, that online shopping is a big dopamine hit. You know, you fill your card up, you hit pay. You're not feeling the exchange of the money. It's a credit card that's been put in months ago, so we're not even aware of how much we're consuming. And then it just shows up. So there's absolutely outside forces, I believe, conspiring to just fill our lives with too much stuff and stuff we don't need.
- [30:56]
Joe Salsihai
Well, and it's funny because, and you mentioned this in the book, that we buy this stuff to be happier, Tracy, and yet that we buy all this crap and it makes us miserable.
- [31:06]
Tracy McCubbin
Here's the thing that we're all missing. We have been sold a bill of goods that we think it's about the stuff, and the stuff is what's going to make us happy. For example, I tell people, think about when you travel, right? You go off, I know you just went on a trip and you throw a few things in a bag and you take a suitcase and you're gone for a week or two and you don't think about anything else. You don't miss anything at home. You don't think like, I wish I had that mushroom scrubber or where's my Insta pot on this trip. It's not about the stuff. The stuff comes to us with no meaning and we dump all this meaning on top of it. And we think it's gonna fulfill us. And it's not. It's about the relationships in our lives. You know, I just read something really interesting. It was a palliative care nurse who'd spent her whole career working with people as they were passing. I think it was the five things everybody said and not one person said, I wish I had more stuff.
- [32:05]
Joe Salsihai
That's funny. I mean, not funny. Haha. Funny. And what a remarkable thing, because we often think is we're at the mall, and the mall is always crowded, right?
- [32:16]
Tracy McCubbin
Because everyone's searching, right? Everyone's. This is going to be the thing. It's funny. People always think that because I wrote this book and I've been a professional declutter that, you know, I'm so kind of perfect in my relationship to stuff. And I was saying to somebody the other day, I got on the scale, and I didn't like the number that I saw, and I was like, you know what I need? I need a book to tell me how to eat clean. That's what I need. A clean cooking cookbook. Okay? I have the Gwyneth cookbook. I got the Kelly. Like, I got all the cookbooks. I don't need another cookbook to tell me how to eat clean. I need to put down the cookie, and I need to pick up the carrot.
- [32:57]
Joe Salsihai
I was thinking about that, about working out the other day. I'm like, you know what I need? I need a new book that'll show me, you know, like a great weightlifting regime. And I'm like, I think I have four of them.
- [33:07]
Tracy McCubbin
I heard you're like, I could actually put those books on the end of the barbell and lift those.
- [33:14]
Joe Salsihai
Well, that's one of the things that you talk about that I find interesting. And actually, I think the. The basis of a lot of what you do is around these ideas of clutter blocks. Explain clutter box to everybody.
- [33:24]
Tracy McCubbin
This is the thing I'm the most excited about this book. So having been a professional declutterer for 12 years and having worked with thousands and thousands of clients, I kept seeing this commonality. I kept seeing that people wanted to get rid of their stuff, but they couldn't. They were literally blocked. It was like something kept coming up. And I realized over time that they had. We all have emotional blocks to letting go of our stuff. And there's seven of them, and we all share them. They come in and out. Sometimes we have more than one. Sometimes we have, you know, all of them. It's a commonality that we all share, and they range from everything to what I call clutter block number one. My stuff keeps me stuck in the past. These are things that we hold onto because they remind us of times gone by. You know, maybe, you know, our sports trophies or clothes we used to be able to fit into. And what that stuff does is it reminds us. It makes us think that our best days are behind us. And then they go on to clutter. Block number four, what I call my fantasy stuff for my fantasy life, you know, these are the things that we buy that we think, like, I'm gonna become a runner, so let me buy. I'm gonna become a ultra marathoner. And so we buy all the gear to be an ultra marathoner, and we take two steps, and we're like, I don't like to run.
- [34:50]
Joe Salsihai
Yeah, like. Like this aspirational stuff. If I buy it. Well, we were just talking about this. If I buy it, I'll do it.
- [34:56]
Tracy McCubbin
Exactly. Exactly. So the book is fantastic because I lay out all seven of the blocks and give the reader a chance to realize it, find where it exists in their own life. And then I give them bridges to work through it, and then very, very concrete plans to actually conquer the clutter. And it works.
- [35:17]
Joe Salsihai
We don't have time to go through all of them, but I thought we'd walk through one of them so people can grab onto this and understand what they're talking about. And let's. Let's look at clutter Block number one, you say the clues for clutterblock number one, which is my stuff, keeps me in the past. Large amounts of children's artwork, but no more children like my kids. My kids just turned 24, and. And luckily, I don't think I have that one. But a lot of people I know do. You walk into a house and it's all about, you know, their kids. Picture their kids at 12 years old.
- [35:47]
Tracy McCubbin
And it's even deeper than that. It's the, you know, stacks of, like I call the famous turkey hands. You know, the outline of a hand that the kid made. And you're like, okay, maybe one, but you don't need one for every year. It's the participation trophies. It's the things that at the time were important in their development, but as they get old. Look, and here's the thing. Most of the time, the kids don't want it. They're like, I don't even remember playing in that game. Let it go, somebody said. And I thought this was such a great thing. I have all this stuff. When I see it, it makes me think about what I've already done. But when I see a clear space, I feel like I'm waiting for my future. And look, there are some memories that I want to keep. Of course, I'm not telling you to throw everything away, but if that stuff that sentimental. Oh, it used to be is holding you back and clogging up your life, that's the block. That's the block in Action. That's when you need to look at letting it go.
- [36:49]
Joe Salsihai
So right here in the basement, I have a couple old trophies from when we played softball, like, 12 years ago, like, literally right around the corner. What do I do with that? Do I throw it away or if they're my kids stuff, if it's my kids stuff, do I hand it to my kids and let them decide if they throw it away or not?
- [37:06]
Tracy McCubbin
Yep. So if you have adult children, and I think you can even start this in the teenage years, it's up to the kids. It's their stuff. They need to be responsible and decide. And by the way, they don't get to say, oh, you have a big house. You know, leave it in grandma's basement. She's got room. If you're an adult and you want it, you're responsible for it. And here's what I'd say about your softball trophies. When you look at them, do you go like, that was great. And you replay the game in your mind. You're like, that was fun, but I'd rather be playing softball again.
- [37:35]
Joe Salsihai
I think of one funny story that I probably don't need the trophy to tell.
- [37:39]
Tracy McCubbin
Right. Cause you're not going to forget the story, right?
- [37:41]
Joe Salsihai
Not going to forget that story. It was. We were an awful softball team that won one game the entire season. It just happened to be the one that got us into the playoff game. And when we won that game, that ensured that we were good enough to get a trophy.
- [37:56]
Tracy McCubbin
And, you know, here's a great. I talk a lot about, in the book about what I call conscious donating. Donating things. Not just throwing them in the landfill or just not dropping them off at one place and leaving for a nonprofit to sort through. And what a lot of people don't know with trophies is that there are quite a few organizations. And I think in la, it's. I think it's the Braille Institute. But a lot of organizations that work with sort of disabled athletes or, you know, they'll collect old trophies and pull the. The little plate off and reuse them.
- [38:29]
Joe Salsihai
I saw that when. It's funny because you just jogged my memory. I saw that when I was in Texas, there was an organization in Houston that did that. That was so cool to see. And I've got so many participation trophies from 5Ks. And frankly, even when I sign up for a 5K now, Tracy, I just tell them, I look at the T shirt. I realize at a time I'm probably not going to wear that. And I just go, you know, What? Keep the money. I don't need a T shirt either. You know, donate the T shirt or don't make one for me. I try to even put that on my. On my entry form. No T shirt.
- [38:58]
Tracy McCubbin
I know, it's fantastic. Right? Like, that's the other thing. And I talk about this in the book. It's not only breaking through the clutter, but it's looking at our habits of bringing stuff in. You know, just because it's free doesn't mean you want it.
- [39:12]
Joe Salsihai
Yeah, right.
- [39:13]
Tracy McCubbin
You don't have to take it.
- [39:15]
Joe Salsihai
No. You go to these conferences, you get all this free stuff, you come home, you throw it in the trash.
- [39:19]
Tracy McCubbin
Exactly.
- [39:20]
Joe Salsihai
You also have down here, then outdated clothes that no longer fit the time or. Or the person. But, you know, Tracy, everybody tells you this fashion's gonna come back. It's gonna come. Those bell bottoms are gonna come back.
- [39:32]
Tracy McCubbin
And what I like to say is, if you wore it the first time around, you probably shouldn't wear it the second time around. You know, I. Here's one of the things I tell people about clothes. If you saw that item hanging in a store today, would you buy it again?
- [39:49]
Joe Salsihai
Yeah.
- [39:49]
Tracy McCubbin
Chances are. No, probably not. You know, so it's a reminder of a bygone time. And I think, you know, I'd rather. I'd rather you're looking forward. And I can guarantee there's probably a photo somewhere of you in those bell bottom pants.
- [40:06]
Joe Salsihai
Well, we keep that way hidden. All the dishes to host a holiday they don't host anymore. So is that, like, for holiday parties that you just no longer host?
- [40:15]
Tracy McCubbin
Yeah, this is for, you know, my clients whose kids are grown up or perhaps even grandparents now, and they used to host Christmas or Hanukkah, but now the next generation is you're not hosting the parties in the same way that you used to, and that's okay. So let that stuff go. I actually got a package the other day from my mother that was all the Christmas ornaments. She's. Yeah, I'm not doing this anymore. They're all yours. So it's being aware of where you are in your life.
- [40:44]
Joe Salsihai
But. But it's also funny. You see, a lot of times older people, and we've read all kinds of statistics about how older people get increasingly lonely. And I feel like a lot of these things that you're talking about may be a way to try to remind yourself of these relationships that maybe you should be trying to work on instead of collecting stuff.
- [41:04]
Tracy McCubbin
Absolutely. And that's, you know, one of the great things that I'm seeing with my clients who are downsizing from big houses where they have all the stuff is that they're moving into communities where it's easier to have the personal relationships. I just moved a woman out of a house that she'd been in since 1960. Big, giant house, all full of the stuff. She never opened the drapes. She was really lonely, but thought she was finding comfort in her home. Moved her into a big community. The first night she was there, her son sent me a photo. She hosted a cocktail party. She hadn't had a cocktail party in her house. House in 15 years. She had neighbors over. They made martinis. She was participating in life. So sometimes thinking that that stuff, it gives you a sort of sense of comfort, and it actually keeps you from participating.
- [41:57]
Joe Salsihai
Yeah. Yeah, right. Because you feel like you're participating. You feel like you're okay if I got the stuff.
- [42:03]
Tracy McCubbin
Exactly. Exactly. And it's. It's reminding you that your best days are behind you, as opposed to, my life is changing. How can I make this my best days?
- [42:15]
Joe Salsihai
You. You call it the bridge. On each one of these clutter blocks. The bridge for the first one that we've been talking about, you say is hanging onto this item in alignment with your vision for your life right now. Allow yourself to acknowledge and experience any feelings of loss that come up. It's important to remember that the stuff can't actually keep the past alive. Exactly what you're talking about now. Then give yourself permission to hold on to one box of the items that represent that time, place, or age for you. Care for it properly. Meaning don't put it in the basement if it's damp. Don't put in the attic if you've mice. Make sure this is something future generations can look through and immediately understand the story you were trying to tell. Boy. So people have a little bit that they pass on that really the collection. And then you're starting to think about greatest hits instead of keeping everything.
- [43:02]
Tracy McCubbin
Exactly. Exactly. That's such a great way to put it. Your greatest hits. Your things that amuse you, your things that, like, spark that you know, that you can think about, but if you're so burdened by it, you're not even honoring your own memories. You're just actually, like, feeling the weight of all the stuff that you've made yourself responsible for.
- [43:22]
Joe Salsihai
We're not going to declutter every person's house right now, Tracy. But. But I wanted to ask you just a couple questions about where to start. What do I do? I walk through My rooms and kind of look at the emotions around each room. What do I do?
- [43:34]
Tracy McCubbin
Yeah. So here's. Here's a couple great starting places. As you're going through your daily life, I want you to look at where you feel like, where you feel the traffic jam. Right. Where do you like this just. Room isn't working. I can't. I can't cook dinner really easily. I got to spend all this time clearing off the counter.
- [43:52]
OG
Or.
- [43:52]
Tracy McCubbin
Or I'm not getting dressed in the morning without a bunch of stress because I can't find my clothes in my closet. Right. Look where the clogs, the blocks are, where things aren't going smoothly and identify those areas. And then think about what's your vision? How do you want the room to be? Do you want to cook a healthy meal? Do you want to be able to eat at your dining room table? But right now it's so covered with stuff. So really think about a vision for it, and then that's going to kind of tell you where you want to tackle first. And if this is hard for you, if this is difficult, don't start with the most emotionally loaded stuff. Don't start with the baseball card collection or the photos. Start with something that you're a little less attached to and be successful. See what it feels like to let go and create something space. And then you'll be ready to tackle the bigger, more, more loaded things.
- [44:52]
Joe Salsihai
I love this idea of working your way up and getting some wins. Let's say that we got those wins. We declutter our house. The biggest question I'm sure everybody has is, then what systems do I need to put in place to make sure it doesn't just come back again later?
- [45:08]
Tracy McCubbin
Exactly. It's really about getting honest about your buying. Do you need to maybe see schedule with the family or by yourself a weekly or a monthly decluttering where you go like, okay, things are getting a little out of control. Here are some litmus tests for me. I always tell people, if it takes you more than 20 minutes to put to neaten up a room, that's a sign that your stuff is getting the best of you. So there are a few things that you can go, all right. It's just like when you have to go to the next hole in your belt when you've been eating a little too much, that you need to rein that in. It's the same thing with clutter. If you can't put your clothes away in 20 minutes and neaten up your bedroom, something's out of Whack.
- [45:52]
Joe Salsihai
I don't know anything about that belt loop thing. I have no idea what the heck you're talking about there. The book is making space clutter free. And by the way, not only is it just from beginning to end, all the ways to get in touch really with emotions around your stuff and then make your, your house kind of suit your vision, your possession suit your vision, but also it's. And I, I wrote you this as we were scheduling. Tracy, this is one of the most pretty books like that I've. That I've seen. Like, like the people responsible for putting just the physical copy of this together. This is really cool.
- [46:29]
Tracy McCubbin
Thank you. I love it. I think it's beautiful. And here was. One of the visions behind it was people. We all feel so much shame around our clutter that I wanted to make the book so pretty that people wouldn't be embarrassed to have it out. You know, that it wasn't this like you're a clutterer and you're failing. It was like here's something that's an object that you will not feel embarrassed. So that was a big impetus. But I think it's so pretty too. I love it.
- [46:59]
Joe Salsihai
I want to end with this, which is, you know, there's people listening here that have houses full of stuff. Kind of what you're talking about with your dad. You know, what's the one message that you'd like to say to those people?
- [47:12]
Tracy McCubbin
You're not the only one. There is solutions and help out there and it's something that you can do for yourself. It's going to take a little bit of work. It's going to take a lot of honesty. But there is a way to turn this around and I believe in them and I'm standing with them and I'm cheering them on.
- [47:36]
Doug
Hey there trivia fans. I'm Joe's mom's neighbor, Doug and check out how organized I've gotten. While Joe and OG are about as neat as a Walmart five dollar DVD bin, I have all my jokes on note cards categorized by color, theme and snorg level. Here's a level five for you. Check this out. Have you heard about the movie about constipation? No. That's because it hasn't come out yet. See there. Ah, yeah, I know, it's amazing. You're welcome. Well, something else great is my holiday calendar that tells me that this device called the Rosetta Stone was found today in 1799. The this stone was the key to deciphering which ancient language I'll be back with the answer. And no, it wasn't Pig Latin in just a moment.
- [48:27]
Joe Salsihai
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 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.
- [48:59]
Tracy McCubbin
On WhatsApp. No one can see or hear your personal messages. Whether it's a voice call message or sending a password to WhatsApp, it's all just this. So whether you're sharing the streaming password in the family chat or trading those late night voice messages that could basically become a podcast, your personal messages stay between you, your friends and your family. No one else, not even us. WhatsApp message privately with everyone.
- [49:28]
Joe Salsihai
If you went on a road trip and you didn't stop for a Big Mac or drop a crispy fry between the car seats or use your McDonald's bag as a placemat, then that wasn't a road trip. It was just a really long drive. Participating McDonald's.
- [49:47]
Doug
Hey there, trivia fans, and welcome back. I'm Joe's mom's neighbor, Doug, with the Tracy McCubbin approved and expertly structured answer to today's trivia question, which was this. Before the break, I asked you about the Rosetta stone. Found in 1799. The stone proved essential in deciphering what ancient language.
- [50:05]
Joe Salsihai
Which.
- [50:05]
Doug
The answer right here under the oh, that's for an Oreo box. Where the hell did that go? Oh, yeah. Back pocket, back pocket. It's all part of the system. Unfold it. Come on, Doug.
- [50:20]
OG
Huh?
- [50:20]
Doug
Oh, yeah, yeah, here it is.
- [50:21]
Joe Salsihai
Yeah.
- [50:22]
Doug
Which language was it? And your answer. With three different versions of one single decree issued in 196 BC, including. Including ancient Greek, the Rosetta stone was used to finally crack those darned Egyptian hieroglyphics. Well, that is the correct answer. I can dispel the myth that the decree said anything about everyone working down on the Nile River Valley to get in on this great pyramid scheme the pharaoh had going on. Total fake news.
- [50:53]
Joe Salsihai
Big thanks to Tracy McCubbin for coming down to the basement. This idea of decluttering OG it's very hard to work when you've got clutter all over the place.
- [51:05]
OG
Tell me about it.
- [51:07]
Joe Salsihai
I mean, they're triggers, right? I mean, you look around you and you're like, oh, I gotta do that thing. Oh, I gotta do that thing. Oh, I gotta do that thing. Like, focus becomes very hard.
- [51:15]
OG
I actually just went through an office kind of remodel, if you will. And I took out almost all the flat space in my office because I was noticing that anything that was a table. I had a really big desk in my office, much bigger than I needed it to be. It just accumulated stuff. It was just a place to put stuff. By taking out all of the flat space. I didn't have a place to put the stuff anymore, so I had to do something with it when it was there. I couldn't just go, I'll deal with that later. Because, boy, it's like the dishes or something. If you don't do the dishes every day, just all of a sudden you go, well, I just have to throw the house away because it's too many dishes to do.
- [51:57]
Joe Salsihai
But. But I like this thing she talks about also, that we buy all these things that supposedly to make us happy, and then we bring them home and they sit on a shelf where they make you sad because you have too much stuff.
- [52:11]
OG
Too much stuff.
- [52:11]
Joe Salsihai
And. And when you went to buy it, it was all about. Right. I mean, look at marketing. Hey, if you just get all this extra stuff, you're going to feel much, much more happy. Well, we all have tons of stuff now. Why don't we feel incredibly happy? I also love her point about how nobody. Nobody sews anymore.
- [52:27]
OG
Like, nobody sews anymore.
- [52:29]
Joe Salsihai
Yeah. Do you remember your mom sewing up your stuff? But heck, if you can go down to Target and buy a new one for six bucks, why would you. Why would you fix the thing you have? I saw somebody talking about this about a TV the other day online. They were showing their TV picture and they said, well, should I take it to get it fixed? Like, you kidding me? Fixing that TV versus getting a new one, the cost having that TV fixed versus going to get the new thing. I mean, we're in this disposable. It's so easy to just throw it away. Well, and stuff piles up.
- [53:01]
OG
I was going to say it would be easy if you threw it away, if. But the problem is, it's like, I want new dishes and I'll fix the old one. And I can't get rid of these because these are also nice. So now I have twice as much stuff, you know?
- [53:14]
Joe Salsihai
Well, I know you have hoarders in your family.
- [53:17]
OG
It's amazing.
- [53:18]
Joe Salsihai
It is. It's it's scary.
- [53:20]
OG
It's unbelievable. Yeah.
- [53:21]
Joe Salsihai
Yeah, it is. It is very scary. One of my favorite movies was this film. Hello, my name is Doris. And she's this. But. But all this stuff has memories attached to it. Yeah. And so because of that, they can't. Oh, I'm gonna fix that later. Oh, I'm gonna. Oh, this was given to me by X person. It's. It's so sad. Thanks again, Tracy. I think it's such a great message. Hey, let's throw out the AVEN lifeline OG and tackle some of life's most important questions. A big benefit of doing this show is that we get to talk to people like Mike. Say hi, Mike.
- [53:55]
OG
Hey, Joe and OG my question to you is about 529 plans my parents are going to contribute to my son's 529. And I was wondering if you could earn money from the interest into another account. Just kind of curious. All right, thanks. Bye.
- [54:18]
Joe Salsihai
How about that money from the interest on a 529. So 529 makes money. Can you transfer that to a different account?
- [54:28]
OG
Well, I'd ask more questions as to why you could transfer to a different 529 if you wanted. But if you're like, hey, since my parents aren't giving me any money and they're gonna give it to my stupid kid, I'm gonna take all the earnings. That's really the thing, because that's immediately.
- [54:46]
Joe Salsihai
What I thought that Mike, our brand new friend Mike. You're saying he's a little greedy?
- [54:52]
OG
No, I'm just saying that maybe he's angry that his parents are giving money to his kid and not him. He's like, I'll show you your principles can estate stagnant. So if that's. No, you can't do that. I mean. Well, first of all, it's depends on who the account owner is. Right. We'll control whoever gets to make distributions and that sort of thing. And if you take the money out for any purpose other than school costs, and there's some flavor around that, but.
- [55:19]
Joe Salsihai
That does bring up one question. Can you transfer money from one 529 to another 529 like an IRA rollover?
- [55:26]
OG
Yes, absolutely. Okay.
- [55:27]
Joe Salsihai
With no. No penalties there.
- [55:29]
OG
Correct. Yep.
- [55:30]
Joe Salsihai
Yeah. So if you don't like one, you can move it to another. Now, some 529 might have back end fees.
- [55:37]
OG
Some.
- [55:38]
Joe Salsihai
So you got to watch out for those. If your parents chose a 529 plan that has some ugly fees to take money out of, you might Want to watch out for that. The investments might have those. Yeah, I can't figure out why you do that either. Like, why would you take.
- [55:52]
OG
Other than the reason I suggested.
- [55:54]
Joe Salsihai
Yes. Other than the light is all pockets.
- [55:57]
OG
Which I'm sure that's not it, but it might be. Or maybe it's just, you know, hey, there's too much money in the 529. Like mom and dad are throwing in, you know, 30 grand a year and he doesn't need all this, so we could use the income for other things.
- [56:11]
Joe Salsihai
Now, the Good news about 529 money too, Mike, is that you can also use that for other beneficiaries that are in the family. So if child doesn't use it, depending on who the owner is, the owner may be able to change the beneficiary to be somebody else in the family.
- [56:28]
OG
Yeah.
- [56:29]
Joe Salsihai
So check that out. Thanks for the question, Mike. You got a question for the show, head to stackybenjamins.com forward/voicemail. That leads you to the Haven Lifeline and. And then onto the show.
- [56:42]
OG
Then onto some cool swag.
- [56:43]
Joe Salsihai
I know you got the fight night shirt. I. I have to say, it's embarrassing with Tracy McCubbin here today. I don't know where my fight night shirt is. I have no idea where it is. I was looking for it the other day and. Oh, I see you borrowed it. You went into my closet, borrowed my.
- [57:01]
OG
Clothes, helping you clean up.
- [57:02]
Joe Salsihai
Yeah, nice job. Speaking of helping, if you need some cleanup with your finances. How about that, huh?
- [57:08]
OG
It's probably the best one ever, actually.
- [57:10]
Joe Salsihai
Oh, gee. And his team taking on new clients for you to talk to his team about what it would take to get them into your corner. Head to stackybenjamins.com forward/og also. Thanks, Pete. People who have left A review of this year podcast tells the world exactly how this show is slightly different than other financial shows that they may have heard of in the past. Mom's got this one on the refrigerator today. Here's five stars from Chris. Hockey, Chris writes is the only podcast I wish there were daily episodes of.
- [57:43]
OG
Oh, man, we tried that.
- [57:45]
Joe Salsihai
I. Yeah, that. That went nowhere. Chris. That is way tough. Tried to do that too with the My Money with Friends podcast and couldn' do that either. I began listening two months ago. It's completely changed my mindset of how an early investor like myself should be setting goals. While the Jim Cramers of the world boast about hot takes on how to gamble, Joe and the other guy give realistic and relatable advice on how to set myself up for success, no longer afraid to ask my advisor dumb questions, and I'm even getting great tips on how to thoughtfully bring up savings topics to my wife. The other three listeners of this show may joke about never learning anything, but my growing fat stacks prove otherwise. Thanks. Thanks to you, Chris, for the review. That's, that's, that's awesome. I'm so proud and showing the bridge club when they come over later today. All right, that's going to do it for us, Doug. It's all on you now, man. What should we have learned today?
- [58:41]
Doug
Sure thing, Joe. Hey, first, take some Advice from Tracy McCubbin. While it's nice to declutter to make your house pretty, a better and more permanent solution is to focus on the emotions around your stuff. You'll find that the clutter may take care of itself once you work through those feelings. Second, Social Security. While it isn't right for everyone to take it later if you can, you're often able to maximize your benefit much more by waiting. But the big lesson, don't crack jokes about Egyptian pharaohs. They'll just go run into mummy. Mummy pharaohs. Oh God. Come on, people. Now that's funny. Special thanks to Tracy McCubbin. You can find more from Tracy at her site, TracyMcCubbin.com or through our show notes page at stackingpegens.com this show was created by Joe Salsihai, produced by Richie Rudder Reese and engineered by the amazing Steve Stewart online. Visit us on Twitter at Benjamin's cast or on our Facebook page. I'm Joe's mom's neighbor, Doug, and I just noticed it's just as dark and damp down here as Joe's Soul. SB Podcasts may receive payment on the show from sponsors and guests in the form of books, giveaway items, discounts or other remunerations. There's no way you would take advice from these dorks. But like Joe's mom always says, don't take advice from people you don't know. This show is for entertainment purposes only and before making any financial moves, consult with a real financial advisor.
- [61:12]
Joe Salsihai
This headline has nothing to do with money, but I absolutely love it. Listen to this. This is from the Los Angeles Times, written by Jen Harris. Have you seen this new pop up hotel that sold out in minutes?
- [61:27]
OG
I think I know what you're talking about. The Taco Bell Hotel Sounds like the El Royale.
- [61:33]
Joe Salsihai
Reservations for the Taco Bell Hotel in Palm Springs sold out faster than Coachella. A representative for the Irvine based fast food chain Said it took two minutes to book all the rooms at its four day takeover of the V. Palm Springs Hotel. This August, everything from check in to the pool floaties is being given the Taco Bell treatment. It'll be the only place, other than your apartment where you can get crunch wraps in bed.
- [61:58]
OG
Does not sound like an enjoyable vacation to me.
- [62:01]
Joe Salsihai
No. Fourth meal has never been easier.
- [62:04]
OG
It's terrible. Like, what? I don't even get it.
- [62:07]
Joe Salsihai
I wonder if, like I just.
- [62:08]
OG
How did it get past, like, the executives? Here's an idea. Call me crazy. So you know how we got that nacho cheese thing and everybody likes it and it's good. Okay, so here's what we should do. Let's make a hotel.
- [62:24]
Joe Salsihai
I like the fact that it's not actually a real hotel, it's a fake hotel. I mean, it's a real hotel, but it's not really them. Much like if you get a taco from Taco Bell, that beef on the taco isn't.
- [62:37]
OG
It's like seagull.
- [62:38]
Joe Salsihai
Real beef. Yeah.
- [62:41]
OG
Have you experienced like profoundly awesome service at Taco Bell that makes you feel like staying at a hotel with that level of service would just be like, it's run by 16 year olds. Like that's going to be somehow the.
- [62:57]
Joe Salsihai
Ones that won't look you in the eye. Of course, when I'm at Taco Bell, I'm not looking them in the eye either because I'm so full of shame.
- [63:03]
OG
I'll have a.
- [63:04]
Joe Salsihai
Okay, give me a number. One, please, please, please. Don't look at me.
- [63:07]
OG
Ten pack of soft tacos. Anything else? Yes, some nachos.
- [63:12]
Joe Salsihai
No judgment.
- [63:12]
OG
Dr. Pack, how many plates and forks do you need, sir? No, no, just eat them out of the box. How many settings? None. Just, Just me. I used to be able to put down 10 soft tacos. Just like a conveyor belt. Like that Homer Simpson with the, with the donuts in hell did they have.
- [63:35]
Joe Salsihai
Where you grew up, did they have the. That fast food chain that was a flash for just a few years? Hot now.
- [63:42]
OG
God, yes.
- [63:43]
Joe Salsihai
Ten cent hamburgers, everybody.
- [63:45]
OG
I thought they were more than that.
- [63:46]
Joe Salsihai
Well, that might be our age difference, but they were. But, but, but when they first started.
- [63:50]
OG
They were like 39 or something. Yeah, it was really inexpensive.
- [63:53]
Joe Salsihai
Yeah, they were nothing.
- [63:53]
OG
You could spend two bucks and get six meals.
- [63:56]
Joe Salsihai
Yes. And I remember, I remember a friend of mine and I getting those and taking them back to my house and mom just staring at me going, you know, you're not gonna be able to do that forever. I'M like, whatever.
- [64:10]
OG
Down like two double cheeseburgers, two large fries, and a Mountain Dew.
- [64:16]
Joe Salsihai
Yeah. For like $2 and 50 cents.
- [64:18]
OG
Yeah. Out the door. That included tax.
- [64:19]
Joe Salsihai
It was. It was the most amazing.
- [64:22]
OG
You waited in line for about eight seconds. Yeah, I was handing them out. Yeah.
- [64:26]
Joe Salsihai
It was so fast. Yeah. The menu was super simple. It was. It was well hot. And now.
- [64:32]
OG
Yeah, it was hot.
- [64:33]
Joe Salsihai
Can't figure out why it. Seriously, they did so much volume. How do you go out of business? How did, how did they fold up?
- [64:39]
OG
They might not have folded up.
- [64:41]
Joe Salsihai
They might just say, we made enough money.
- [64:45]
OG
We're five now. We're five burgers. They were, they were, they were fire hamburger bloggers.
- [64:55]
Joe Salsihai
But this old Taco Bell gives a. Gives a whole new definition of fire. It does run for the border. Yeah. It's the cool thing though. You get that craving at 2:30 in the morning. You wake up, all you got to do is go down to the bar area and get yourself.
- [65:12]
OG
It's run by 16 year olds.
- [65:14]
Joe Salsihai
Do them. Do they make up names for the rooms too? Make up names for the items on the menu like they do at Taco Bell. Like, is there any. Is there any Mexican person that had ever heard of a gordita?
- [65:29]
OG
Yeah, that's a word.
- [65:30]
Joe Salsihai
Gordita is a real thing.
- [65:31]
OG
Yeah, it's a descriptor.
- [65:33]
Joe Salsihai
It is. I just. The Taco Bell Daves. We should come up with like financial names. Save a source. I don't know. No, no, maybe not Taco Bell.
- [65:46]
OG
So when's your reservation?
- [65:48]
Joe Salsihai
Yeah, I'd leave next week.