Episodes

This week, I talked with Phil Schuman, Director of Financial Literacy at Indiana University. Phil and I have been working together since last fall on a project to increase college financial literacy. The program, called Money Smarts U, is through Indiana University, but will eventually be available for other colleges to adopt and offer to their students. We’re pretty excited about the change this can bring in increasing the financial preparedness of recent college grads. When everything is said ...

M$D: October 10, 2041 Meet CJ. CJ’s main concerns, in his words: We are an early 30’s married couple that is looking to have kids soon. We have a house, but we are looking to upgrade that in the next few years as well. I got a late start to my career so I wasn’t able to really start saving for retirement until I was 30. I am on the tail end of student loans (about 5 years left) that I have from pursuing my MBA. We are finally saving how we want to, but are still not sure if it is enough for all ...

This week on PTPTV, I talk youth sports with Travis Dorsch. He’s got quite the title, are you ready? Dr. Travis Dorsch: Former Professional Football Player, Assistant Professor, Founding Director of the Families in Sport Lab in the Department of Family, Consumer, and Human Development at Utah State University. Yes, I do give him a hard time about how long this title is. To summarize: he studies the impact of youth sports on families. My primary approach to this topic has been financial. And no, ...

M$D: June 10, 2036 Meet Cindy. Cindy’s main concerns, in her words: My husband and I are separated and the divorce will be final in a couple of months. He no longer lives in the house, so it’s just my income providing for us. We have two children ages 10 and 5. I make $68k yearly (net $4,200), 403B is $132K (my employer matches and I match at the highest rate monthly $292), life insurance ($250K) and employer ($68k), savings $1,650 ($300 monthly), credit card debt is $2,800, rent $1,200 and no m...

M$D: August 26, 2049 Meet Rhonda. Rhonda’s main concerns, in her words: My husband and I recently paid off our businesses. We have been investing all our money into them and not saving much for retirement. We now have quite a bit of money every month we would like to invest and save for our son’s college education. We want to make the smartest choices possible. We are debt free other than our home. I love your podcast and I would be grateful for the opportunity to talk with you. Thanks!

On this episode of the Million Dollar Plan, I answer your questions. Do you want to send me some questions? Go ahead, hit me up at askpete@petetheplanner.com. Today I answer questions from Tim, Karen (spelled the way I think it should be spelled), and Barbara. I tackle a tricky question on investing and money markets. Karen wrote with some retirement questions and I have to deliver some bad news. And finally, I help Barbara plan for the future after the sale of her home. Intrigued? I was. At lea...

M$D: May 13, 2064 Meet Jack. Jack’s main concerns, in his words: I make $1,900 a month net, I also make some commissions although I’m still new so not entirely sure how consistent that will be! So, I would like to plan for just the $1,900. I have about $3,000 in debts. I’m getting married in July. So my debt is the ring and honeymoon. My rent is $525 a month and I have around $100 for utilities. I have a ROTH IRA and I’m really worried that I won’t have enough for retirement due to lack of fundi...

M$D: October 28, 2027 Meet Tatiana. Tatiana’s main concerns, in her words: Hello Pete, Our goal is to be debt-free except for our house by November 2019 if not sooner! What can we invest in that will increase our net worth and minimize our tax liability while we are paying down debt or should we ignore that and just focus on the debt and just save min to 401k and HSA until then? Also very concerned that our ER savings is very small for our in income. When will we be millionaires? Ages: both 46 y...

It’s time we talk about Power Percentage. Again. Ever since my podcast on this topic a few weeks ago, I’ve been receiving lots of questions. If you have no clue what a Power Percentage is, check out Episode 120 or watch the first episode of PTPTV. To summarize, it’s the best way to measure the health of your financial life. Ever. It’s a way to see how much of your income is being used to move you forward. Here are some of the questions I address: * What is and isn’t included in my power percenta...

M$D: September 29, 2026 Meet Rey. Rey’s main concerns, in her words: I wouldn’t normally be contacting you, but I have come upon a not-normal situation. I am a RN ($52k), my husband is a fire captain ($58k) and we have 3 boys ages 10, 8 and 8 (yes, twins). Recently, my brother passed away and I was left with approximately $510k in life insurance. I’m not sure what to do with it. I’d like to pretend I don’t have it and invest it for the long haul. I’ve been talking to a financial consultant, whic...

My friend David Klain is a real estate czar, the owner of my favorite coffee shop (Zing Cafe), and a parent. So it’s no surprise that last week he and I got talking about our kids’ financial futures when I bumped into him. The conversation was so great, I invited him on the show. Over coffee, we talked about saving for college, teaching work ethic, planning for retirement, and creating a better financial life for our children. David and I pretty much see eye to eye on these topics, but it can ge...

M$D: January 28, 2024 Meet Mark. Mark’s main concerns, in his words: I have 300k in retirement savings. Putting $3000 a month toward retirement in Roth 401k and 457b plans (We make too much for a Roth IRA). Have $170,000 in student debt. Three kids and 529 plans for each of them. We want to make sure we are putting money in the right places to minimize tax implications. Should we be paying off debt or working on retirement? Right now we are splitting money between the two. Subscribe on iTunes | ...

In this episode I talk about financing. Surprisingly, I haven’t touched on this topic much yet. But today, I got fired up about it. Over and over again, I’ve come across people who have ruined their financial lives by financing a purchase they couldn’t afford outright. Making a big purchase isn’t about affording the payment, it’s about affording the purchase. Of course, I want you to afford the payment, but it doesn’t matter if you can afford a payment if you end up locked into a loan you can’t ...

M$D: July 16, 2034 Meet Penny. Penny’s main concerns, in her words: Hi Pete. I just discovered your podcast a week ago and have listened to 30 episodes so far and have already made some changes to my financial life (like not having huge amounts of money sitting in savings account). I need help with budgeting and making sure I am on the right track where I am at in my life. I am a single lady living in an expensive city and have done a good job of saving money and paying off debt ($30k in student...

In this episode of the Pete the Planner® Show, I talk visualization. If you are wandering aimlessly through your financial life, this is the key you are missing. Visualizing the financial life you want is a great tool to get you motivated to achieve it. You use visualization every single day. For me, it’s usually food. Any given day you can find me visualizing the Fat Havana Burger from Fat Dan’s. Sigh. So good. Every day, my brain is making plans and thinking through ways I can get the sandwich...

M$D: June 16, 2033 Meet Bernard. Bernard’s main concerns, in his words: I’m not completely sure how to plan effectively for my retirement. My wife and I are both public school teachers. In our state, we will receive a pension when we retire. We each have a 401k from our previous jobs as private school teachers. Combined, we have about $95,000 in those. Our pension will be equal to 2/3 the average of our highest paid years in the public school system. We get that benefit when our age + years in t...

M$D: N/A Meet Princess Leia (or, if you’re a longtime listener and heard her first episode, welcome back Princess Leia) Leia’s main concerns, in her words: I was featured on your podcast a little over a year ago and you gave me the name Princess Leia… Rest in Peace, Carrie Fisher. I was hooked and practiced what I learned from your podcast and book. Maybe this is breaking the rules… but I’d love to speak with you again. A lot has changed from a year ago, and I mean a lot. I know you don’t have t...

Topic: Retirement Checklist Special Kudos: Ann, our listener of the week who suggested this topic No matter what your age, you’re going to walk away from this episode with either a wake up call and a list of what to do next or…the opposite of a wake up call? A go-back-to-sleep call? And the reassuring feeling of being on the right track. We will cover: * Income sources in retirement * Major financial obligations * Healthcare Plus I drop a little info about PTPTV, the next big thing here at the P...

M$D: N/A Meet Aaron Age: 29 Aaron’s main concerns, in his words: We just got married on July 22nd and would like to be financially literate and on the same financial page. We are fortunate enough to have our condo paid off but I do have significant student loan debt.

Topic: College Savings Special Guest: Troy Montigney, ‘The 529 Guy’, Executive Director of the Indiana Education Savings Authority This week we talk saving for college, specifically Indiana’s 529 plan. You may have heard me talk about this before in the form of a commercial on the radio. I’m happy to do these commercials because I believe strongly in the 529 plan. I’ve often felt that society has attacked the college spending issue from the wrong direction—focusing too heavily on post-funding ra...

M$D: 10/3/2026 Meet Ed Age: 38 Ed’s main concerns, in his words: In 18 months, we went from supporting two people on two full-time incomes to supporting five people on one. We now have 1 full-time and 1 part-time income. We have been able to save for retirement and pay off debt even after the income reduction, but are now having trouble deciding if it is okay to begin spending some of the money or if we should put more towards kids’ college and retirement. We also received some inheritance money...

Topic: Fresh Starts Special Guest: Marc Williams, A.K.A. Mr. Kinetik, A.K.A. Mr. K This week I talk Fresh Starts for the new year with my friend Mark Williams. Financial goals—how do we make them and how do we keep them? I go over four ways to start your financial new year off on the right foot. Check out Mark on his Twitter, Bandcamp, or website.

M$D: N/A Meet Dave Age: 28 Dave’s main concerns, in his words: I am in medical sales and my wife is in procurement. Getting married next month. Share bank account. Combined, we make about $110k/year, but we always seem to have the same amount of money we had when we were single and making about $36k/year. Need to pay off credit card debt and save. I would also like to start investing or supplementing our income.

Topic: Charity Special Guest: Steven Shattuck from Bloomerang.