Money Guy Show
By Brian Preston, CPA, CFP®, PFS and Bo Hanson, CFA, CFP® | Fee-Only Fiduciary Advisors
Bring confidence to your wealth building with simplified strategies from The Money Guy. Learn how to apply financial tactics that go beyond common sense and help you reach your money goals faster. Make your assets do the heavy lifting so you can quit worrying and start living a more fulfilled life.
61 episodes
All Episodes
Front-Loading Wealth to Buy Future Freedom
Front-loading wealth in your 20s isn’t about austerity--it’s strategic time compression. Small, consistent moves create optionality, letting you pause income without sacrificing progress. Freedom isn’t earned later; it’s engineered now through deliberate trade-offs that turn time into leverage.
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Why Financial Systems Reward Ignorance and Punish Delayed Gratification
Financial illiteracy isn't accidental -- it's exploited. 49% of Americans lack basic money knowledge, and the system profits from their mistakes. Discover how behavioral traps, invisible costs, and design flaws keep you dependent -- and how to break free.
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Money Amplifies Systems--Not Creates Happiness
Reaching $284,000 won’t fix what money didn’t break--purpose, connection, and time freedom. True wealth is rewiring your relationship with money before it rewires you.
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Saving Too Much Sabotages Financial Future and Well-Being
Saving too much can sabotage your financial future and well-being. Discover the five critical pitfalls of misplaced financial priorities and build wealth while living a richer, more balanced life.
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Unpacking Financial Decisions Beyond the Price Tag
Discover the hidden financial drains in your everyday spending. Learn to see beyond the price tag and understand the true cost of what feels "worth it."
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Early Financial Discipline Creates Future Flexibility and Burnout Risk
Discover how early, extreme saving can create future flexibility but risks burnout. Learn to balance intense discipline with life enjoyment for sustainable wealth building and freedom.
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The Intelligence Paradox: Behavioral Biases Sabotage Wealth Building
High IQ alone sabotages wealth building through overconfidence and analysis paralysis. Discover how behavioral biases, not lack of knowledge, create wealth gaps and how to counter them.
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Debunking Peer Wealth Myths to Drive Disciplined Saving
Perception of peer wealth is inflated, driving overconsumption. Understanding median income reveals controllable levers like discipline and savings rate unlock true wealth.
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Financial Disconnect Erodes Marital Harmony -- Communication is Key
Marriage finances are less about money and more about communication disconnects. Learn how to turn financial discord into a united front and a stronger partnership.
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Financial Planning Requires Decade-Specific Focus and Adaptation
Financial success hinges on adapting your strategy across decades, not just following a static checklist. Evolving your focus prevents compounding disadvantages that become exponentially harder to correct later.
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Hidden Costs of BNPL: Overspending and Hindered Wealth Building
BNPL services, while convenient, actively fuel overspending and sabotage long-term wealth building, creating a hidden cost that outweighs perceived ease.
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Debunking Financial Myths: Ferrari, FICO, and Business Acquisition Pitfalls
Unconventional financial advice often hides significant risks. Learn to identify flawed strategies and build lasting wealth through disciplined, foundational investing.
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Generational Wealth Debate: Data Reveals Nuanced Reality
Today's young adults earn more inflation-adjusted income than previous generations, yet face significant headwinds in housing and education costs. Understanding interconnected financial dynamics reveals a clearer path to wealth.
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Beyond 20% Rule: Personalized Savings Rate Crucial
A personalized savings rate, informed by age and goals, reveals the limitations of the 20-25% rule and unlocks true financial independence.
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Strategic Complexity Fuels Financial Freedom with Future Simplification
Build substantial wealth by strategically embracing complexity, then simplifying for freedom. Learn how to navigate the trade-offs between active wealth creation and passive enjoyment.
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Average 401(k) Balances Mask Significant Retirement Savings Shortfall
Average 401(k) balances mask a widening retirement savings gap, especially for those in their 30s and 40s. Early decisions and consistent contributions are critical to avoid falling short.
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Inadequate Emergency Funds Fuel Credit Card Debt and Financial Insecurity
Nearly one-third of Americans have more credit card debt than emergency savings, creating a cycle of debt that hinders financial progress and peace of mind.
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"Get Rich Quick" Schemes Fail; True Wealth Requires Discipline
Discover why "get rich quick" schemes fail and learn how disciplined, time-tested methods build true, lasting wealth. Understand the pitfalls of shortcuts and embrace proven strategies for sustainable financial security.
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Renting Offers Superior Wealth Building Over Homeownership in 2026
Renting, not buying, can build more wealth and offer greater flexibility in today's housing market, challenging the traditional American Dream.
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Recession Advice Falls Short -- Focus on Long-Term Strategy
Recession predictions are a guess; build resilience by proactively constructing a financial framework that anticipates and leverages market cycles, not by reacting to headlines.
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"The Shadow of the 'Trusted' Advisor: Unpacking the Cost of Deception"
Discover how misplaced trust and overlooked details can devastate finances, costing years of compound growth. Learn to safeguard your savings and build true security.
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Strategic Financial Rule Bending for Personalized Wealth Building
Master financial rules by strategically knowing when and why to break them for personalized wealth building and long-term advantage.
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40 Cents of Every Dollar Vanish From 401(k)s
Forty cents of every dollar in a 401(k) vanishes due to premature withdrawals, sacrificing substantial future wealth. Learn how to protect your nest egg from this devastating drain.
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Three-Bucket Strategy: Tax Allocation Drives Retirement Wealth Accumulation
Maximize retirement wealth by strategically filling tax-free, tax-deferred, and after-tax accounts in the right order. Your savings strategy must evolve with your life stage.
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Average Income Wealth Building: Defense Before Offense
Master financial defense and offense to build wealth from an average income. This playbook reveals how strategic discipline, not just higher earnings, creates a durable wealth-building engine.
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Separate Finances Can Obscure Joint Wealth-Building Opportunities
Separate finances can mask inefficiencies and create downstream challenges. Learn how to leverage distinct financial spheres for greater collective wealth building and legacy creation.
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Embrace the Mundane Middle: Patience and Milestones Accelerate Wealth
Transform the slow, monotonous middle of wealth building into a powerful engine for financial freedom by embracing patience and celebrating incremental wins.
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Retirement Readiness: Beyond Numbers to Social and Health Pillars
Retirement readiness hinges on social connection and health, not just savings. Proactively build relationships and prioritize well-being now to ensure a happy, engaged future.
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Debunking Financial Fallacies: Luck, Debt, and Luxury Traps
Uncover how mistaking luck for skill and chasing instant gratification derails wealth. Learn to distinguish durable strategies from fleeting trends for sustainable financial growth.
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Millionaire Mindset: Prioritizing Long-Term Advantage Over Immediate Gratification
Wealth isn't just math; it's mastering your mindset to prioritize long-term gains over immediate desires, preventing psychological traps that derail financial success.
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Car Choice: A Wealth-Building or Wealth-Destroying Financial Decision
Your car choice significantly impacts wealth-building. Discover how prioritizing reliability over prestige accelerates your financial journey, avoiding costly mistakes.
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High Income Masks Financial Sloppiness and Derails Wealth Building
High income masks financial sloppiness, enabling costly mistakes. Learn how ambitious professionals can avoid these pitfalls to build lasting wealth.
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FOO: How Systemic Discipline Builds Financial Resilience
Build financial resilience through a structured system that creates a durable advantage, allowing consistent wealth accumulation even when life throws curveballs.
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Leveraging Time: The Ultimate Wealth Accelerator for Children
Unlock exponential wealth by strategically deploying time as your child's ultimate financial asset, far surpassing conventional savings.
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Financial Advice's Systemic Consequences Versus Lived Realities
Financial advice often misses systemic realities. Discover how housing, wealth, and retirement planning face hidden costs and require dynamic adaptation for true financial resilience.
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Small Financial Decisions Create Large Wealth Disparities
Small financial decisions create dramatic wealth divergence. Understand the compounding cost of conventional choices to build true wealth and avoid common pitfalls.
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Financial Principles Unlock Retirement Security for Young Adults
Nearly 30% of young adults believe retirement is impossible, but this pessimism stems from a misunderstanding of wealth-building principles, not insurmountable barriers. Discover the actionable roadmap to achieve financial security.
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Self-Managed Real Estate Creates Time Deficit Despite Financial Success
Successful real estate investment can become a time-consuming job, hindering financial freedom. Re-evaluate your assets to align wealth-building with your life priorities and reclaim your time.
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401(k) Evolution's Subtle Impacts on Wealth Accumulation
New 401(k) rules shift mandatory Roth catch-ups for high earners, increasing immediate taxes. Alternative investments risk distracting from proven wealth-building strategies.
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Disciplined Investing Outperforms Trend Chasing for Sustainable Wealth
Chasing market trends leads to underperformance; true wealth is built through disciplined, long-term strategies and embracing the "boring" core of your portfolio.
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Frugality's Nuance: Avoiding Deprivation and "Penny Wise, Pound Foolish"
Online financial advice often masks complex implications. Learn to distinguish smart saving from detrimental miserliness to build wealth without sacrificing quality of life.
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Strategic Tax Planning Accelerates Lifetime Wealth Accumulation
Legally minimize taxes across your financial lifecycle by strategically leveraging tax code complexities, not just retirement accounts, to architect decades of compounding advantages and significant wealth.
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Vanguard's Market Predictions: A Cautionary Tale for Investors
Market predictions often mislead; focus on your long-term financial plan and consistent investing to navigate volatility and achieve growth.
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Aggressive Saving's Hidden Cost: Anxiety Over Present Enjoyment
Aggressive saving can paralyze present enjoyment, especially with health uncertainty. Learn how to balance future security with living life now to avoid regret.
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FIRE Movement's Nuanced Risks and Lifestyle Trade-offs
Early retirement strategies risk financial precarity and restrictive lifestyles due to miscalculated timelines and evolving needs. Recalibrate withdrawal rates and inflation-proof projections for sustainable financial independence.
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Location Is Secondary to Income and Discipline in Wealth Building
Wealth hinges on income opportunities and discipline, not just location. Discover how to build wealth by strategically leveraging income and controlling spending, regardless of where you live.
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Financial Hacks Mask Perilous Downstream Consequences
Uncover how seemingly clever financial hacks often mask disastrous execution, leading to hidden costs that undermine genuine, sustainable wealth.
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Age-Adjusted Financial Strategy: Leveraging Time and Discipline for Wealth
Wealth creation demands a dynamic strategy: leverage time and discipline to maximize financial margin, adapting your approach to earning and spending across life stages.
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Unpacking Hidden 401(k) Fees That Erode Retirement Savings
Hidden 401(k) fees can cost you thousands. Discover how revenue-sharing and "closeted index funds" silently erode your retirement savings and learn how to fight back.
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High Income Without Discipline Is Wealth Mirage
High income without disciplined execution is a mirage. Learn how to avoid this trap and build real wealth, even with a substantial salary.
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Wealth Creation Mechanics Shift Dramatically With Age
Wealth creation mechanics stay constant, but their application and pitfalls shift dramatically with age. Understand these age-specific dynamics to gain a significant advantage.
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FIRE Movement Trade-offs: Beyond Accumulation to Intentional Allocation
Discover the nuanced trade-offs of the FIRE movement. Learn how strategic resource allocation, not just wealth accumulation, unlocks true financial freedom and present happiness.
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Misleading Financial Advice Hinders Long-Term Wealth Building
Harmful financial advice disguised as shortcuts can cost years of wealth-building. Learn to spot these traps and follow proven principles for sustainable prosperity.
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Nine Micro Habits Drive Sustainable Financial Well-Being
Automate savings, question prices, and document goals to build wealth and achieve financial well-being through consistent, small actions.
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Long-Term Investing Success Through Controllable Behaviors
Long-term innovation consistently drives markets to new highs, proving short-term fears unfounded. Focus on controllable savings and mindset, not market noise, for guaranteed wealth growth.
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Strategic Income Increase and Asset Reallocation for Family Goals
Achieve financial goals by increasing income by $1,000 monthly and strategically reallocating vehicle equity to fund essential family needs.
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Five Levels of Wealth Accumulation: From Stability to Abundance
Master five wealth levels, from basic stability to ultimate abundance, by mastering disciplined behaviors and strategic planning, not just income.
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Gamified Finance Platforms Dangerously Blur Investing and Gambling
Integrating sports betting into investment platforms normalizes gambling, risking financial ruin. Investing builds wealth; gambling statistically ensures loss.
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Debunking Financial Misconceptions for Long-Term Wealth Building
Discipline beats desire: Avoid luxury car debt, speculative "tricks," and impulse buys to build real wealth through smart investing and strategic planning.
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Investable Net Worth Benchmarks Drive Financial Independence Timeline
Most Americans miss critical wealth-building benchmarks by age 30, yet a 25% savings rate starting in your 30s can secure financial independence by 65.
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Money Guy Methodology Dramatically Shortens Homeownership Timelines
Save for a down payment faster than you thought possible. Discover how strategic financial planning, not just location, unlocks homeownership in years, not decades.
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