Joel and Matt are best friends who love talking about money while drinking delicious beer. So they created a podcast incorporating both! 25 million downloads later they are still energized by the mission of reaching people with practical money-saving advice.
The Status Quo Isn’t Working
40% of Americans don’t have the ability to cover an unexpected $400 expense, college students are graduating with unfathomable sums of debt, and the world of personal finance has become increasingly complex.
It’s Time to Make a Change
Altering the way you handle your personal finances is a major part of the solution. But where do you start? Who can you trust? And how much will that advice cost you?
How To Money is a podcast & website providing the knowledge & tools that normal folks need to thrive in areas like debt payoff, DIY investing, & crucial money tricks that will provide continuous help along your journey. We believe that access to free, unbiased, and jargon-free personal finance guidance is more necessary than ever before.
I’m Joel
I have been in the money media space for over 15 years and apprenticed under one of the best money minds of all time, Clark Howard, for many of those years. But exploring the world of personal finance has always been more than just a job for me.
When I was 12-years-old our family car was silently repossessed from the carport in the middle of the night. My parents both worked hard but found themselves unable to pay the note on that ill-advised new car purchase. As the financial difficulties compounded, bankruptcy became the only option.
What I remember most about those days were the fear and uncertainty. Those years of financial turmoil left an indelible mark on me.
I don’t aspire to Jeff Bezos or Elon Musk levels of wealth. Most of us don’t. We want to attain solid financial footing so we don’t have to constantly worry about our finances. How To Money springs from the desire to see individuals and families thrive.
I want to help people make wise money decisions that prevent the sort of financial hardship situations that I experienced first hand growing up.
And I’m Matt!
The conversation happened when my newly married wife, Kate, and I were driving to work. We had recently started our own photography business and were driving to a shoot in our one and only car- an old Honda with a busted A/C. Earlier that week we had been staying up late binging on some Downton Abbey, and now as the summer sun began to bake us while we barreled down the interstate, Kate asked:
“How are the Crawleys able to live like that? They don’t have real jobs or anything…”
Aside from the fact that Downton was just a made-up show on PBS, our conversation meandered from small business hustling to generational wealth and living off of the estate. Finally, we landed on the term financial independence because that was at the core of Kate’s question. We had no desire to live in a castle and ride in fox hunts, but we did know that we wanted to have more options than we currently had at that moment.
We wanted to have the choice to say no to a photography gig that wasn’t a good fit even if it was going to pay handsomely. We wanted the option to be able to jump on a cheap flight to Ireland for a last-minute vacation, to add onto our little bungalow, or for Kate to stay home with kids once we started growing our family. We’re not the only ones who have these aspirations.
Options give you more control over your life and who doesn’t want more freedom to pursue the things you care about?! That’s why Joel and I are obsessed with helping others with their money- it’s not because we want you to be “filthy rich”, but because we want you to lead a fulfilling life, and mastering your personal finances is a vital step in getting there.
