The Home Repairs You Should Be Saving For
Everyone wants the move-in-ready house. You want to unpack your boxes and start living, not immediately start a list of projects. But move-in ready only tells you how a house looks the day you get the keys. It doesn’t tell you what could be waiting five, ten, or fifteen years down the road. The truth is, every house is a collection of things on a timer. Your roof, HVAC, water heater, appliances and more all have a lifespan, and eventually, the bill comes due. In this episode, we’re breaking down how long the major parts of your home typically last, what they cost to replace in 2026, and a simple way to start saving now so when something does go out, it’s not a financial emergency.
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The 18th Birthday Money Checklist Every Parent Needs
What actually happens to your child’s money the day they turn 18? And we mean the actual day. While it may feel like just another birthday, behind the scenes, a lot changes in the eyes of the bank and the law. New financial doors open for your child, while some of the access and control you’ve always had as a parent can suddenly change. Most families don’t realize it until they run into a roadblock they never saw coming. In this episode, we’re breaking down exactly what changes at 18, what parents need to know, and what you can do now to make the transition a whole lot smoother.
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The Beneficiary Check-Up
You spent the time getting your will just right. But did you know one little form can override the whole thing? This week we dig into beneficiary designations, the payable-on-death and transfer-on-death forms quietly sitting on your bank accounts, retirement plans, and life insurance, and why the name you scribbled down years ago beats whatever your will says. We walk through the mistakes that quietly cost families, including the ex-spouse who is somehow still listed, where all these forms like to hide, and a simple check-up you can knock out in about fifteen minutes this week. It is one of the smallest, most loving things you can do to make sure your money lands exactly where you want it to.
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MyFSB Book Club: Number Go Up by Zeke Faux
This month our MyFSB Book Club read Number Go Up by Zeke Faux, and let us tell you, we walked in thinking we would finally understand crypto and walked out with a whole lot more than that. We are talking mysterious founders nobody can identify, a spreadsheet explanation that actually made the blockchain click, lavish Bahamas mansions, twenty-five-thousand-dollar cartoon apes, and a dark underworld of fraud that genuinely stopped us in our tracks. Is crypto the future of money or just the world's fanciest game of FOMO? We dig into all of it, argue a little, laugh a lot, and figure out why a good old-fashioned community bank still helps us sleep at night. Grab your headphones and settle in. This is one you will want to hear.
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Is the Backdoor Roth Actually Legit? Breaking It Down
The name alone makes it sound sneaky. "Backdoor Roth." It brings to mind Prohibition and slipping through the alley entrance of some speakeasy. But here is the good news we walked away with after this episode: it is completely legal, completely legitimate, and for the right person, it can be a really smart way to build a bucket of tax-free money for the future. We sat down with Jolene Johnson, a financial advisor with Kemper Capital Management, to make sense of it all. Jolene has spent 20 years helping individuals, families, and business owners turn their financial goals into real plans, and she has a gift for taking something that sounds complicated and making it feel doable.
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