Best Joel Butcher Podcasts (2025)

1
Ask HTM - Jumping Back Into the Workforce, HELOC Cash Grab, and Free Life Insurance Gotchas #1021 51:16

Play Pause

25m ago51:16

51:16

Let’s kick off the week with some fresh listener questions we have lined up for you! And don't just stand on the sidelines- if you have a question you’d like us to answer, toss your voice memo our way. It only takes about 90 seconds to record and you can find a step by step guide over at HowToMoney.com/ask . Regardless of how random or bizarre you …

1
Friday Flight - Bad RAPs, Price Match Murder, & Premium Points Credit Cards #1020 38:14

6m ago38:14

38:14

Time for a Friday Flight- our little sampling of the week’s financial news and what it means for your personal finances. There are a lot of headlines out there, but we boil them down to specific takeaways that will allow you to kick off the weekend informed and help you to get ahead with your money. In this episode we explain some relevant and help…

1
WE BACK - Frugal Fun, Travel Tips, & Sabbatical Takeaways #1019 35:27

23h ago35:27

35:27

Finally… a freshie! We’re done with bestie episodes for the summer and are excited to sit down and fill everyone in on what we’ve been up to for the past six weeks. We recount how lucky and blessed we are to be able to take a break from our 9-5, share some of our favorite ways we saved money while traveling (somehow in our first episode back we man…

1
Jesus Christ Super-Saver: Ancient Wisdom & Your Money (Bestie Ep) #1018 47:22

3d ago47:22

47:22

We’re glad Ikea exists. The ability for a vast majority of the population to get their hands on some incredibly functional, well designed, and affordable furniture is a good thing. But, you’re also unlikely to pass Ikea furniture down to your kids or for that matter, use it for more than a handful of years. Compare that to a campaign dresser from t…

301
Ted Kaczynski | The Unabomber - Part 9 35:28

3d ago35:28

35:28

The lead agent called out to Ted, asking for help with a property line. Ted, wary, peered from the doorway, his frame gaunt from years of isolation. The agent stepped closer, explaining the map issue. As Ted leaned forward, the agent grabbed his right arm, yanking him from the cabin. Another agent swiftly cuffed his left, snapping on handcuffs. Ted…

1
How Complicated Should Investing Be? (Bestie Ep) #1017 48:18

6d ago48:18

48:18

Have you ever renovated a home? If so, then you remember all of the decisions that you had to make that initially were a lot of fun. Paint colors, light fixtures, tile, even the kind of toilet you wanted… but eventually it gets old and you just want it done. If you can’t relate, even picking up a loaf of bread at the grocery store can be overwhelmi…

1
Small But Mighty Real Estate Investing w/ Chad Carson (Bestie Ep) #1016 56:15

8d ago56:15

56:15

We’re stoked to be talking with our friend Chad Carson, aka Coach Carson, which is also where you can find him online: CoachCarson.com. We’ve known Chad for years now but just because this feels like a more casual conversation to us, that doesn’t mean that he’s not going to bring the heat! We tout the benefits of small-time real estate investing, b…

1
Is Early Retirement A Smart Goal? (Bestie Ep) #1015 56:18

10d ago56:18

56:18

Cinderella is such an absurd story! Seriously, when you stop and think- it’s pretty messed up: a prince dances with a girl he’s never met before for one night, and then he sends his goons around town to find her so they can get married. There’s a reason you go on dates for at least a few weeks before proposing. You’ve gotta kick the tires and perfo…

1
Overcoming Our Idiot Brains (Bestie Ep) #1014 53:29

13d ago53:29

53:29

Have you seen the meme of the guy on a bike who puts a stick in his spokes and then crashes? There are literally hundreds of different versions based on this goofy comic. For instance the first frame on one says “15 holes of good golf,” then followed by “my brain realizing I’m playing well,” as he puts the stick in the front wheel before writhing i…

1
Food Stamps to Financial Freedom w/ Yanely Espinal (Bestie Ep) #1013 56:40

15d ago56:40

56:40

We’re joined today by Yanely Espinal, who is also known as MissBeHelpful in the online world of personal finance. Yanely was born in Brooklyn, she is a first generation daughter of immigrants, and even though she went to Brown University it didn’t take long for her to rack up over $20,000 in credit card debt. Academic performance doesn’t automatica…

1
Ted Kaczynski | The Unabomber - Part 8 35:15

17d ago35:15

35:15

The blast site was a slaughterhouse: blood on the walls, metal quills in the plaster, the air thick with the smell of explosives. Murray’s remains were barely recognizable, pieces collected in bags for analysis. The Unabomber’s early bombs left room for doubt—maim or kill? Sacramento settled it. Ted, the Unabomber, was out for blood, targeting anyo…

1
Biking is a Money & Life Hack (Bestie Ep) #1012 54:06

19d ago54:06

54:06

“Spend less than you make.” This is a maxim that is not only true but, if followed, will allow you to accomplish so many other goals that you might have in life. It’s a foundational concept. Similarly, we also think the same can be said for biking. Get this one thing right in your life- pedal your way to wherever you need to go, and so many other a…

1
The Diminishing Returns of Frugality (Bestie Ep) #1011 54:43

20d ago54:43

54:43

Have you ever eaten so much dessert that you thought you might puke? Or maybe you find yourself at the end of a shopping spree with too many clothes in your closet than you could ever possibly wear? In both cases we’re talking about the diminishing marginal utility that we receive from each additional item we consume- the first cup of water after a…

1
Life After Financial Independence w/ The Mad Fientist (Bestie Ep) #1010 49:10

22d ago49:10

49:10

We had the pleasure of sitting down with our friend Brandon Ganch, who is The Mad Fientist, while we were recently traveling in Scotland! Brandon started his career as a computer programmer but then quickly added blogger, podcaster, musician, and producer to his expanding list of pursuits and interests. This is a more casual conversation but listen…

1
The Dirty Truth About Home Ownership (Bestie Ep) #1009 53:05

24d ago53:05

53:05

You’ve gotta wait 30 minutes to get back in the pool if you’ve eaten! Don’t pee in the pool- it’ll turn red! There are a lot of things we learned in childhood that we’ve likely discarded as false or at least irrelevant at this point. But there are probably some things we still believe because they were ingrained in our brain at an impressionable ag…

1
Financial Pessimism Will Eat You Alive (Bestie Ep) #1008 51:12

27d ago51:12

51:12

Whether you saw some crazies doing it on TikTok or read about it in a fitness magazine, it seems like a lot of folks are giving ice baths a try. Evidently it’s supposed to be good for your health, but regardless, there are hordes of people who are intentionally soaking in ice cold water around the 55 degree range. Of course this goes completely cou…

1
The Good Enough Job w/ Simone Stolzoff (Bestie Ep) #1007 55:05

29d ago55:05

55:05

“Work will always be work. Some people work doing what they love. Other people work so that they can do what they love when they’re not working. Neither is more noble.” This is a quote from Simone Stolzoff’s new book The Good Enough Job: Reclaiming Life From Work, that’s set to publish in a couple weeks. And regardless of where you fall on that spe…

1
Ted Kaczynski | The Unabomber - Part 7 31:56

1M ago31:56

31:56

Smoke billowed through the house as Susan ran outside, shouting for help. Their elder daughter, alerted by her mother’s cries, also sought assistance. The blast came from a pipe bomb crafted by the Unabomber.Essex County Sheriff Armando Fontoura summoned the ATF, who sifted through the kitchen debris and identified parts consistent with the Unabomb…

1
Money Gears: Ordering Your Money Decisions Properly (Bestie Ep) #1006 54:10

1M ago54:10

54:10

Over 1,000 years ago, somehow, the Vikings were able to sail from Norway to Greenland. Without relying on any special instruments or any rudimentary technology, they were even able to reach as far as North America! Evidently they relied on the polarization of the sky, whales or birds they came into contact with, and the color of the ocean- quite re…

1
Financial Independence Exists on a Spectrum (Bestie Ep) #1005 50:15

1M ago50:15

50:15

Are you ‘credit card FI’ or are you ‘sabbatical FI?’ But maybe we’re getting ahead of ourselves… First, does anyone else remember the home run obsession back in 1998? In an attempt to beat the single-season record, home runs became the only metric that anyone watching baseball seemed to care about. But what’s interesting is that most MLB games aren…

1
Use It Up, Wear It Out, Make It Do, or Do Without with Katy Wolk-Stanley (Bestie Ep) #1004 51:58

1M ago51:58

51:58

Everybody has heard of a consumer advocate before- someone who helps to make sure that individuals are getting the best deal possible. Or to make sure that the quality of the products is up to snuff. For instance think of Consumer Reports and the countless reporting and tests they perform on the different items we use as consumers. But you likely h…

1
Butchering Your Grocery Bill (Bestie Ep) #1003 52:22

1M ago52:22

52:22

Do you know something that we’re all currently doing? Breathing. It’s something we rarely actively think about, but it turns out that there are ways to improve our technique- by breathing through our nose instead of our mouths, or by taking deeper slower breaths. Well we’re talking about another basic subject today: buying groceries. This elementar…

1
Essential Habits For Financial Success (Bestie Ep) #1002 53:40

1M ago53:40

53:40

Close your eyes and think back to high school. No matter if those were the best years of your life or if you were more of a wallflower, you were likely told that you needed to get good grades- but why? Was it because you knew that you needed a particular GPA in order to get into a specific school? Maybe, but a lot of high schoolers just know that i…

1
Solutions for Money Anxiety with Financial Therapist Lindsay Bryan-Podvin (Bestie Ep) #1001 57:10

1M ago57:10

57:10

There’s more to successfully handling your money than just figuring out the financial nuts and bolts. Money has emotional and psychological components to it as well, which is at the core of what our guest today focuses on. We’re happy to be joined by Lindsay Bryan-Podvin, who happens to be the first financial therapist in the state of Michigan. She…

1
Ted Kaczynski | The Unabomber - Part 6 36:15

2M ago36:15

36:15

Ted grappled with his own contradictions: “As you know, I have no respect for law or morality. Why have I never committed any crime? (of course, I’m not talking about something like shooting a grouse out of season now and then. I mean felony type stuff—burglary, arson, murder, etc.) Lack of motive? Hardly. As you know, I have a good deal of anger i…

1
Ask HTM Anything! #1000 1:05:49

2M ago1:05:49

1:05:49

Join us as we celebrate our 1000th episode with an AMA!!! We are incredibly thankful and fortunate that we’re able to create a podcast for listeners who are looking to better their lives by improving how they handle their money. Of course at the core of the show are ways to earn, save, spend, and invest more effectively… all with a little bit of Jo…

1
We're (mini) Retiring! w/ Jillian Johnsrud #999 58:51

2M ago58:51

58:51

*Special Episode Alert*... take a peek behind the curtain as we have an intimate, candid chat with our friend Jillian Johnsrud, a master of intentional career breaks and author of the upcoming book Retire Often (out in September). As we take a summer hiatus from new podcast episodes, we dive deep with Jillian into the art of stepping away from work…

1
From Monk to Money Manager w/ Doug Lynam #998 51:15

2M ago51:15

51:15

Today’s guest, Doug Lynam, has lived an extraordinary life! From overcoming bankruptcy to achieving financial security, taking vows of poverty as a Benedictine monk to managing over $250 million in assets as a wealth advisor, and graduating top of his class as a Marine to spending 20 years in monastic life, Doug’s journey is as diverse as it is ins…

1
Ask HTM - Road Trips with Old Cars, Steps to Combining Finances, & When to Drop Escrow #997 51:31

2M ago51:31

51:31

Let’s kick off the week with some fresh listener questions we have lined up for you! And don't just stand on the sidelines- if you have a question you’d like us to answer, toss your voice memo our way. It only takes about 90 seconds to record and you can find a step by step guide over at HowToMoney.com/ask . Regardless of how random or bizarre you …

1
Friday Flight - Dumpster Diving, Insurance Dodging, & Pudgy Penguins #996 40:48

2M ago40:48

40:48

Time for a Friday Flight- our little sampling of the week’s financial news and what it means for your personal finances. There are a lot of headlines out there, but we boil them down to specific takeaways that will allow you to kick off the weekend informed and help you to get ahead with your money. In this episode we explain some relevant and help…

1
The Power of Cash w/ Jay Zagorsky #995 51:27

2M ago51:27

51:27

Will our guest today convince us to ditch digital payments?! Listen to find out! Because here’s something that we hear all the time: “You can just Zelle me” or “Venmo me!”. It’s sort of like “I’ll just Uber to the airport” – once a company name has become a verb, is it possible to decouple it from culture? And of course the fact that they’re incred…

1
Ted Kaczynski | The Unabomber - Part 5 33:46

2M ago33:46

33:46

The Unabomber’s evolution was chilling. His early bombs, crude concoctions of smokeless powder and match heads, were child’s play compared to this. The device that maimed Hauser was a three-quarter-inch-diameter pipe, sealed with metal bar stock plugs and secured with pins. Nail fragments, lead, and double-pointed tacks served as shrapnel, designed…

1
Ask HTM - Teenage Homebuyers, Best Type of Life Insurance, & Making Easy Money with Securities Lending #994 51:41

2M ago51:41

51:41

Let’s kick off the week with some fresh listener questions we have lined up for you! And don't just stand on the sidelines- if you have a question you’d like us to answer, toss your voice memo our way. It only takes about 90 seconds to record and you can find a step by step guide over at HowToMoney.com/ask . Regardless of how random or bizarre you …

1
Friday Flight - Unemployment Uptick, Ridiculous Returns & The 4% Rule Debunked #993 38:22

2M ago38:22

38:22

Time for a Friday Flight- our little sampling of the week’s financial news and what it means for your personal finances. There are a lot of headlines out there, but we boil them down to specific takeaways that will allow you to kick off the weekend informed and help you to get ahead with your money. In this episode we explain some relevant and help…

1
No New Things w/ Ashlee Piper #992 56:26

2M ago56:26

56:26

I’m pretty sure everyone listening will want to either get out of debt, reduce the amount of clutter in their life, crush other financial goals, become healthier and happier… OR, why even choose? Why not select: d - all of the above?! That’s because that was the outcome of our guest today, Ashlee Piper, who documented her journey in her new book No…

1
Ask HTM - Early Retirement Target Date Funds, Frugal Personal Hygiene, & Coercive House Painting #991 51:27

2M ago51:27

51:27

Let’s kick off the week with some fresh listener questions we have lined up for you! And don't just stand on the sidelines- if you have a question you’d like us to answer, toss your voice memo our way. It only takes about 90 seconds to record and you can find a step by step guide over at HowToMoney.com/ask . Regardless of how random or bizarre you …

1
Friday Flight - TACO Trading, Pointless Points, & Millionaire Renters #990 34:17

2M ago34:17

34:17

Time for a Friday Flight- our little sampling of the week’s financial news and what it means for your personal finances. There are a lot of headlines out there, but we boil them down to specific takeaways that will allow you to kick off the weekend informed and help you to get ahead with your money. In this episode we explain some relevant and help…

1
Pharmacist to Full Time Real Estate Investor w/ Ryan Chaw #989 55:51

2M ago55:51

55:51

Newer listeners may not realize how OBSESSED with investing in real estate we were back in the day. In fact, when we were batting around ideas for a podcast, we initially thought it might be focused only on real estate... Luckily we zoomed out enough to cover personal finance more broadly. And it’s not that we’re not excited about rentals anymore, …

1
Ted Kaczynski | The Unabomber - Part 4 31:51

2M ago31:51

31:51

The homemade green cylindrical box perched atop a can on the floor was studded with dials and gauges, or so the instructor said later. Angelakos saw wires—loop switches attached to the sides running up each upright shaft of a wooden handle. This in turn was attached to the wooden box that rested on top of the gallon can. Angelakos reached out for i…

1
Ask HTM - Buying a Used Mattress, Best Use of an Inheritance, & Disqualified from a Roth #988 50:36

2M ago50:36

50:36

Let’s kick off the week with some fresh listener questions we have lined up for you! And don't just stand on the sidelines- if you have a question you’d like us to answer, toss your voice memo our way. It only takes about 90 seconds to record and you can find a step by step guide over at HowToMoney.com/ask . Regardless of how random or bizarre you …

1
Friday Flight - Credit Crunch, MAGA Money, & Gas Gouging #987 36:13

3M ago36:13

36:13

Time for a Friday Flight- our little sampling of the week’s financial news and what it means for your personal finances. There are a lot of headlines out there, but we boil them down to specific takeaways that will allow you to kick off the weekend informed and help you to get ahead with your money. In this episode we explain some relevant and help…

1
Impoverished Upbringing to Money Monster w/ Listener Nick Gangwer #986 53:10

3M ago53:10

53:10

We’re trying something completely new for our episode today: we’re hearing from a listener. Not in the form of a question submitted via voice memo, but we’re actually sitting down and having a ‘real money’ conversation, with Nick Gangwer. We met Nick at a listener hang about a year ago and his personal story and the proactive steps that he had take…

1
Ask HTM - Special Roth Accounts, Investing During A Sabbatical, & Reverse Mortgages #985 51:28

3M ago51:28

51:28

Let’s kick off the week with some fresh listener questions we have lined up for you! And don't just stand on the sidelines- if you have a question you’d like us to answer, toss your voice memo our way. It only takes about 90 seconds to record and you can find a step by step guide over at HowToMoney.com/ask . Regardless of how random or bizarre you …

1
Friday Flight - Streaming Sports, Trade-In Tradeoffs & AI Lies #984 36:53

3M ago36:53

36:53

Time for a Friday Flight- our little sampling of the week’s financial news and what it means for your personal finances. There are a lot of headlines out there, but we boil them down to specific takeaways that will allow you to kick off the weekend informed and help you to get ahead with your money. In this episode we explain some relevant and help…

1
Practical AND Beautiful Investing Advice w/ Callie Cox #983 56:40

3M ago56:40

56:40

What it means to have a practical and beautiful portfolio. How recent policy decisions have roiled the stock market. Right-sizing your risk tolerance… These are just a few of the topics we discuss with our guest Callie Cox who is a part of the Ritholtz Wealth Management team. She is also the author of OptimistiCallie, her newsletter where she seeks…

1
Ask HTM - Unnecessary Credit Cards, Creatively Funding Grad School, & Dropping Car Insurance To Save #982 52:42

3M ago52:42

52:42

Let’s kick off the week with some fresh listener questions we have lined up for you! And don't just stand on the sidelines- if you have a question you’d like us to answer, toss your voice memo our way. It only takes about 90 seconds to record and you can find a step by step guide over at HowToMoney.com/ask . Regardless of how random or bizarre you …

1
Ted Kaczynski | The Unabomber - Part 3 31:11

3M ago31:11

31:11

ATF experts analyzed the scattered remains: a nine-inch-long, one-inch-wide pipe encased in a wooden box, secured with nails, rubber bands, screws, epoxy, three-quarter-inch black plastic tape, and half-inch filament tape. The explosive was two types of smokeless powder packed in the pipe. The makeshift trigger resembled a child’s plaything: a nail…

1
Friday Flight - Paper Wealth, Target Date Trends, & Bye Bye Buffett #981 36:01

3M ago36:01

36:01

Time for a Friday Flight- our little sampling of the week’s financial news and what it means for your personal finances. There are a lot of headlines out there, but we boil them down to specific takeaways that will allow you to kick off the weekend informed and help you to get ahead with your money. In this episode we explain some relevant and help…

1
Creating a Post-Layoff Action Plan w/ Marlo Lyons #980 54:54

3M ago54:54

54:54

Gone are the days of constantly job hopping in order to rapidly boost your salary! Remember when perusing new job listings during your lunch break while WFH led to a 10-30% pay bump?! Now, with the uncertainty we’re experiencing in the overall market, it’s not just the new hires who are a bit nervous about hanging onto their jobs. Even government w…

1
Ask HTM - Pro Help to Break the Paycheck to Paycheck Cycle, Down Payment Money Market Accounts, and Viable Student Loan Forgiveness Plans #979 45:33

3M ago45:33

45:33

Let’s kick off the week with some fresh listener questions we have lined up for you! And don't just stand on the sidelines- if you have a question you’d like us to answer, toss your voice memo our way. It only takes about 90 seconds to record and you can find a step by step guide over at HowToMoney.com/ask . Regardless of how random or bizarre you …