Max Finance

We discuss employee stock purchase plans (ESPP), how they work and how to optimize your participation in one.

We discuss how to best prepare for a recession and navigate through it.

We discuss how to select investments and important considerations for maximizing the benefit of this tax advantaged account.

We discuss the basics of buying a house including saving for a down payment, setting a budget and understanding the true costs.

We discuss college planning and what items you should consider when saving specifically for this goal.

We discuss what you should think about financially when preparing to have a child.

We discuss how to get started in crypto and how much you should invest in it.

We explain what rebalancing and tax loss harvesting is and how to do it to maximize your investment returns.

Hear how we’ve made past decisions to buy or rent our homes.

We discuss the pros and cons of buying vs renting and why it’s not always the best idea to assume you should buy a home.

We discuss whether it’s a good idea to obtain life and disability insurance and some factors you should consider. Additional resources:  term4sale.com, policygenius.com

We discuss popular company-provided employee benefits and how to maximize their value.

We cover the basics of income tax including the difference between earned income and capital gains.

We discuss equity compensation of private companies (ISO and NSO stock options), how they work, how they’re taxed, strategies for exercising and selling. To learn more about equity compensation, we recommend Consider Your Options: Get the Most from Your Equity Compensation by Kaye Thomas and https://github.com/jlevy/og-equity-compensation

We discuss what an emergency fund is, why it’s important, how much you need and where to keep it.

We discuss which debt to prioritize paying down and when it makes sense to leverage debt in the first place.

We discuss the different types of debt, ther interest rates, how it accrues and how to track it.

Loren interviews George and his fiancee, Justine, about how they manage their finances together including buying a house, starting a business and saving for a wedding.

George interviews Loren and his wife, Anna, about how they manage their finances together and challenges they’ve faced including unemployment, obligations and different spending habits. 

We discuss how couples can work together to maximize their finances to achieve their goals and learn that there’s no one size fits all. 

We discuss contribution and withdrawal strategies for investment accounts when pursuing early retirement.

We discuss how to set a goal, select a safe withdrawal rate and model scenarios using calculators.

We discuss the basics of FIRE: What it is, What’s different, and How it works.

We discuss what to look for when choosing a financial institution for your investments.

We discuss personal finance tools to help you budget, plan for retirement and track your net worth to reach financial success.

We discuss the differences between brokerage, IRA, and 401k accounts and important considerations when choosing between them.

We review important milestones to achieve before you begin investing. Hint: Have positive cash flow, build an emergency fund, pay off high interest debt.

We discuss the basics of passive investing and why we think it’s the best way to maximize your money over the long term.

We discuss how your goal’s timeline and flexibility should be considered when determining investments and corresponding risk level.

We discuss financial goals, their importance, how to set and track progress towards them.

We discuss how to track spending (and income), strategies to save more and overcome common obstacles.

We define what having financial success is (hint: it’s not just having a high net worth) and our top 3 recommendations for achieving, plus a bonus tip.

Meet your hosts, George and Loren. Hear about our background and how we developed a passion for personal finance that ultimately led to this podcast.