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The Stacking Benjamins Show

The Stacking Benjamins Show

Written by: StackingBenjamins.com | Money Podcast | Cumulus Podcast Network
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Named the Best Personal Finance Podcast by Bankrate.com and Kiplinger, The Stacking Benjamins Show features a light and friendly tone. Hosts Joe Saul-Sehy and OG aim to make financial literacy fun for all as they sit around the card table in Joe's Mom's half-finished basement and talk with experts about personal finance, saving, investing, and important money trends. As Fast Company once wrote, the Stacking Benjamins podcast "strikes a great balance of fun and functional." So join Joe and OG every Monday, Wednesday and Friday as they read your letters, discuss major headlines, and throw in some trivia and laughs for free.2023 SB Podcast LLC | Cumulus Podcast Network Economics Personal Finance Self-Help Success
Episodes
  • The Best Money Advice We Wish We Knew at 20 (Live from Texas A&M - Texarkana) SB1830
    Apr 17 2026
    What would you ask about money if you had the mic? Live from Texas A&M Texarkana, Joe Saul-Sehy, Paula Pant, and financial educator Jay Davis take questions from students facing real-world money decisions—like choosing between passion and paycheck, avoiding lifestyle creep, investing safely, and building a financial future from scratch. If you're in your 20s—or wish you could do them over—this episode is packed with the advice we wish we knew earlier. Plus: Doug climbs into the rafters (again) for a trivia showdown you won’t forget. 💡 What We Cover in Today’s Episode Passion vs paycheck vs peace: How do you actually choose a career without regretting it later? Why “follow your passion” might be terrible advice—and what to do instead How to avoid lifestyle inflation when your income jumps The easiest way to “hide money from yourself” (and why it works) The real difference between 401(k)s, IRAs, stocks, and gold (finally explained clearly) What “safe investing” actually means (hint: it depends on time) The biggest money mistakes college students make—and how to avoid them Why systems beat discipline every single time Smart ways to manage student loans after graduation The underrated power of an emergency fund (aka your freedom fund) How networking—not your resume—can shape your financial future 🧠 The Big Takeaways You don’t need perfect discipline—you need better systems Your first few years out of school can change everything financially “Safe” depends on when you need the money The earlier you start, the more your money works (hello, compounding) Most people don’t fail from lack of knowledge—they fail from lack of action 🎤 Special Guests Paula Pant – Host of the Afford Anything Podcast Jay Davis – Executive Director of Financial & Entrepreneurship Engagement, Texas A&M Texarkana Thank you to Red River Credit Union for underwriting this live show! FULL SHOW NOTES: https://stackingbenjamins.com/live-q-and-a-with-paula-pant-1830 Deeper dives with curated links, topics, and discussions are in our newsletter, The 201, available at https://www.StackingBenjamins.com/201 Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    1 hr and 9 mins
  • The Mental Game of Money: What Elite Athletes Know That Most Investors Don't (SB1829)
    Apr 15 2026
    The same mental patterns that cause investors to panic-sell during a downturn, chase validation through status purchases, or freeze up when facing big financial decisions -- those are the exact patterns performance coach Jim Murphy has spent decades helping elite athletes overcome. His framework isn't about trying harder. It's about getting aligned. And today he brings it down to the basement to help Stackers apply it to the one game that matters most -- the one you play with your own money and your own life. What You'll Walk Away With The three pillars of extraordinary performance -- belief, freedom, and focus -- and why chasing results instead of these three things is costing you more than you know Why the score, the portfolio balance, and the quarterly statement are all distractions -- and what elite performers focus on instead The resonance framework that helps you recognize when you're making decisions from alignment versus anxiety Four daily goals that reorient your attention from outcomes you can't control to the process that actually produces them Why the same ego patterns that derail pro athletes -- always comparing, never satisfied -- show up identically in how most people handle money The homeless harpist story: what Jim did with his last $100 when he was $90,000 in debt -- and what happened next Why retiring from a career you've tied your identity to can feel exactly like getting cut from a team -- and how to prepare for it before it happens Five questions to ask yourself before any high-stakes decision to know whether you're operating from fear or from genuine conviction The AI warning hiding in this episode -- why an assistant that never disagrees with you might be the most financially dangerous tool in your arsenal What a cancer diagnosis in January taught a performance coach about what the best possible life actually looks like Why This Matters Now In your 40s, the financial pressure is real -- but so is a quieter kind of pressure that rarely gets named. Am I building the right life? Am I making decisions because they matter to me, or because of what other people will think? Jim Murphy's work sits at the intersection of those two questions, and the answer he keeps arriving at is the same one the best investors, the best athletes, and the most contented people share: stop optimizing for the scoreboard and start arranging your days around what actually makes you feel fully alive. From the Basement Jim Murphy joins Joe and OG to walk through the framework behind his new book, The Best Possible Life -- including the desert solitude, the FedEx job, the homeless harpist, and the cancer diagnosis that field-tested everything he teaches. Joe and OG close out the episode with a Psychology Today headline on AI and financial trust -- and OG's story about nearly committing accidental tax fraud because Claude was being extremely encouraging about a box he absolutely should not have checked. Doug arrives with McDonald's trivia in honor of Tax Day and Ray Kroc's first store. Whether the basement scoreboard survived the week is a question best answered with your earbuds in. Resources Mentioned The Best Possible Life by Jim Murphy -- available wherever books are sold Inner Excellence by Jim Murphy -- also available wherever books are sold Jim Murphy on Substack -- live Q&A coaching sessions and weekly newsletter; find him at interexcellence.com Jim Murphy on Instagram -- @InterExcellence Mental Toughness Training for Sports by Dr. Jim Loehr -- referenced by Jim as a foundational influence Psychology Today article on AI and financial trust -- linked in show notes at stackingbenjamins.com Stacking Benjamins Guides -- updated monthly at stackingbenjamins.com/guides Stacking Benjamins Vault -- budget and net worth tracking at stackingbenjamins.com/vault Stacking Benjamins Meetups -- find a group at stackingbenjamins.com/bad FULL SHOW NOTES: https://stackingbenjamins.com/achieve-your-inner-excellence-with-jim-murphy-1829 Deeper dives with curated links, topics, and discussions are in our newsletter, The 201, available at https://www.stackingbenjamins.com/201 Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    57 mins
  • Geopolitical Risk Is Spiking. Here's Why You Should Do Nothing. SB1828
    Apr 13 2026
    Oil prices up. Tariffs in the headlines. Markets bouncing. Your phone serving you a fresh reason to panic every 10 seconds. This week Joe Saul-Sehy and OG break down why everything you're feeling right now is normal, why acting on it is the mistake, and how to think about your portfolio when the world feels like it's on fire. Plus CFP Anna Allem joins OG for the basics segment, walking through the three-bucket investing framework that makes it easier to ignore the noise. In this episode: Why volatility is the price of admission, not a warning sign, how the news business and your investing strategy are working against each other, why a broadening market is actually a healthy sign, and the foundation, bridge, engine framework for goals-based investing. Biggest takeaways: In a normal year the market drops 14% from its high watermark at some point during that year. Then it recovers. That's not a crisis. That's Tuesday. The media's job is to keep you on the platform. Your job is to stay in the market. Those two goals are not compatible. When you tie your money to a specific goal with a specific timeline, the day-to-day noise becomes almost irrelevant. Know which bucket your money is in and why. Resources mentioned: The Stacking Benjamins scorecard: stackingbenjamins.com/scorecard The Vault: stackingbenjamins.com/vault Stacking Benjamins guides (taxes, college planning, HR): stackingbenjamins.com/guides FULL SHOW NOTES: https://stackingbenjamins.com/how-to-manage-geopolitical-risk-1828 Deeper dives with curated links, topics, and discussions are in our newsletter, The 201, available at https://www.stackingbenjamins.com/201 Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    56 mins
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