Hey, everyone! We’re excited you’re with us for our 2024 Book Club!
Below find our 11-week agenda with session details, prework, and helpful links. After sessions, check back here for video links to all of the sessions so you can catch up with lessons you may have missed.
1/17: Orientation Session: How We’re Going To Get You STACKED!
- 60 minutes
- Overview
- Introductions
- Disclaimers / Warning about sharing
- The Top of the Mountain – How We’ll Succeed at Getting STACKED
- Tools we’ll use to get STACKED
Recording: Here’s the link to the orientation session
1/24: Session 1: One Idea to Rule Them All
Prework – Read Chapter 1 and review Accomplishments at the end of the chapter. Think about your responses to these questions and be ready to talk about your goals!
Worksheet – Print if possible or create a facsimile to work from: Chapter 1 Worksheet
Links – Bookmark this calculator for our discussion in this Session: https://www.bankrate.com/retirement/retirement-plan-calculator/
Session Details:
- 90 minutes
- Building Your Goal List
- Timelining Your Goals
- Goal Comparison/Fight
- Four Cornerstones vs. Timeline
Recording: Here’s the link to Session 1
1/31: Session 2: Setting Up Your Money Dashboard & Budgeting Tetris (fun!)
Prework – Read Chapters 2 & 2A! and the end-of-chapter achievements.
Worksheet(s) – Print everything related to Chapter 2 if possible or create a facsimile to work from. Take a look through them, but don’t get too hung up on anything. We’ll work on these together during the session.
Links – Check out this article with great suggestions for budgeting apps and try a few out yourself! https://thecollegeinvestor.com/32672/best-budgeting-apps/
Additional Helpful Links and Calculators – https://www.newretirement.com/retirement/stackingbenjamins/?affiliate=joe3
Session Details:
- 90 minutes
- See in a moment where your money is vs. where it should be
- Budget Meetings (how the work/agenda/what if I quit?)
- Tools (our favorites…and how to know BAD tools)
- What’s your Budget Type?
- Tracking/Budgeting
Recording: Session 2.
2/7: Session 3: Increasing Your Income & Taking Action
Prework – Read Chapters 3 and 7, and review the end-of-chapter achievements.
Worksheets – Find Worksheets for this week’s topics here. Print if possible or create a facsimile to work from.
Links – Check here for links to helpful articles and tools for this week.
Session Details:
- 90 minutes
- Asking for more money (does and don’ts)
- Side gigs…good/bad/ugly
- LOCKING DOWN THIS INCOME STREAM
- What stops us from taking action?
- Clearing roadblocks and moving forward
Recording: Session 3.
2/13 (TUESDAY CLASS): Session 4: Debt, or Driving a Moped Down a Dirt Road to Hell/Credit (AKA One for Me, Three for the Bank)
Prework – Read Chapters 4 & 5 and review the end-of-chapter achievements.
Worksheets – Find Worksheets for this week’s topics here. Print if possible or create a facsimile to work from.
Links – Check here for links to helpful articles and tools for this week.
Session Details:
- 90 minutes
- Why we’re not excited to talk about consolidation
- Eliminating debt
- Consolidation
Recording: Session 4.
2/21: Session 5: Thinking like a CFO (or not)
Prework – No new reading, but…
- Create a plan to pay down your debt more effectively
- Get your credit score
- Check your credit report
- Freeze your credit (with the 3 bureaus – this is different from deactivating your credit card (if it was stolen))
- Set up autopayments
Worksheets – Check for any Worksheets related to this week’s topics. Print if possible or create a facsimile to work from.
Links – Check here for links to helpful articles and tools for this week.
- The calculator we used to decide whether to pay extra on the loan or invest can be found here.
- The piece on Infinite Banking can be found here.
Session Details:
- Eliminating debt vs. optimizing
- The math behind optimizing
- Why “non-optimizing” may win the day (even at the expense of more money)
Recording: Session 5.
2/28: Session 6: What To Expect When You’re Investing
Prework – Read Chapters 6 and 10: review the end-of-chapter achievements.
Be prepared with investment statements!
Worksheets – Find Worksheets for this week’s topics here. Print if possible or create a facsimile to work from.
Links – Check here for links to helpful articles and tools for this week.
Session Details:
- 90 minutes
- The basics – what investments SHOULD I choose?
- How mutual funds/ETFs work (and what they are)
- How to evaluate investments – timeframe
- How to evaluate investments – tools
- Where to start/when to change
3/6: Session 7: What To Expect Now That You’re Invested & How To Get Rich Quicker
Prework – Read Chapters 11 and 13: review the end-of-chapter achievements.
Worksheets – Find Worksheets for this week’s topics here. Print if possible or create a facsimile to work from.
Links:
Morningstar.com – Franklin Mutual Beacon A
Paul Merriman – How To Beat The S&P 500
Portfolio Visualizer: Efficient Frontier
Why It’s A Sub-Optimal Time to Use Asset Allocation (…not the title of the piece, which references that only a few stocks are leading the charge…making one asset class shine above everyone else…also WSJ Subscription Required)
Nick Maggulli piece (scroll to the section on rebalancing for his thoughts, which echoes the feelings of both OG and me.
Session Details:
- 90 minutes
- Putting together a portfolio
- Efficient Frontier
- Investment Policy Statements
- Using Morningstar
- How to get rich quicker
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3/13: Session 8: Avoiding Risk Management Horror Stories
Prework – Read Chapters 8 and 8a: review the end-of-chapter achievements.
Worksheets – Find Worksheets for this week’s topics here. Print if possible or create a facsimile to work from.
Links:
Session Details:
- Why “risk management” and not “buying insurance”
- How insurance works – what to buy
- How to save LOTS of insurances
- Automating your insurance process
- Agents vs. low-cost carriers
Recording: Session 8.
NEW DATE!!!! 3/19: Session 9: Inflation and Taxes: The Two Horsemen of the Investing Apocalypse AND Estate Planning – The Final Frontier
Prework – Read Chapters 9 & 12 and review the end-of-chapter achievements.
Worksheets – Find Worksheets for this week’s topics here. Print if possible or create a facsimile to work from.
Links –
- Tax Brackets for 2024 – Forbes
- Tax Triangle – Stacking Benjamins
- Sean Mullaney’s Frugal Living Comparison Chart – Stacking Benjamins
- Estate tax rates – Federal AND State – Nerdwallet
Session Details:
- 90 minutes
- Why inflation matters/reassessing risk
- Cutting your tax load – how a 1040 works
- Investment taxation and your 1040 – where’s the opportunity?
- Tax efficient investing
- Estate Basics
Recording: Posted here after the session.
New Date!!!! 3/28: Session 10: Hiring Advisors Who Won’t Bleed You Dry/Session Wrap-Up
Prework – Read Chapter 14 as well as the Conclusion, and review the end-of-chapter achievements.
Worksheets – Find Worksheets for this week’s topics here. Print if possible or create a facsimile to work from.
Links – Check here for links to helpful articles and tools for this week.
Session Details:
- 90 minutes
- How I look at advisors
- Building your own plan
- Building a team
- Questions to ask – who to interview
- How to fire advisors (and why you should)
Recording: Session 10.
