Personal Finance Episodes

In today’s episode, we unpack how much Amazon knows about you, cover a few money stories from the news, and answer listener questions, then Ralph kicks off Life Insurance Week with a quick 15-minute check. In This Episode ✓ What Amazon’s About You page knows about you ✓ How to find and edit your own profile ✓ Money stories from the news that could hit your wallet ✓ Three listener questions on bills, debt, and retirement accounts ✓ Life Insurance Week: a 15-minute check to get started Resou...

If you’ve ever walked onto a car lot without a number in mind, this episode shows you the four mistakes that cost people thousands and the 2410 rule that keeps you in control. In This Episode ✓ A We Buy Ugly Houses franchise owner’s 15-year sentence for a $40 million fraud, and the one search that could have flagged it ✓ A Georgia tax preparer accused of keeping truck drivers’ IRS payments, and how to confirm yours arrived ✓ Why you pay the IRS directly and ask any preparer for proof of filin...

Hosts: Ralph Estep Jr., LPA & Juliet, first-time entrepreneur What happens when even six-figure earners stop feeling high income? In this episode of Becoming Financially Confident, Ralph Estep Jr. breaks down why a Dollar General CEO says shoppers earning $100,000 or more no longer feel high income, plus a simple grocery price check you can try this week. Ralph and Juliet also cover how to split a restaurant check without the awkwardness, why one in five Americans call sports betting an inves...

Hosts: Ralph Estep Jr., LPA & Juliet, first-time entrepreneur What happens when a small IRS notice sits unopened in your junk drawer? In this episode of Becoming Financially Confident, Ralph Estep Jr. breaks down how an IRS notice can escalate from a CP14 to a final notice, plus what you should do as soon as a letter arrives. Ralph and Juliet also cover why retirees still need emergency savings, a proposed homebuyer savings match, the iPhone Siri settlement, using AI for money questions, and ...

Hosts: Ralph Estep Jr., LPA & Juliet, first-time entrepreneur In this episode of Becoming Financially Confident, Ralph Estep Jr. explains Why parents should put a simple written agreement in place before an adult child moves back home College freshman money skills: Needs versus wants, compound growth, and responsible credit card use. Medicaid family caregiver programs: How family caregiver pay may work in some states and why approved hours, paperwork, and state oversight matter. Credit util...

Hosts: Ralph Estep Jr, a licensed public accountant of over 30 years + Juliet, a first-time entrepreneur. Here's what we got into today: Average credit scores drop for the first time since 2013, and why you should care about yours What happens when you win $2,000 or more at a casino HSAs versus FSAs, and why you should put as much as you can if you have an HSA This week's giveaway update and the money move: checking your withholding Got a money question for me? Send it to us at becomingfin...

Hosts: Ralph Estep Jr, a licensed public accountant of over 30 years + Juliet, a first-time entrepreneur. Here's what we got into today: What is direct primary care as a healthcare solution What to consider when evaluating your mileage credit card benefits Why stacked buy now, pay later plans at the grocery checkout worry me What to consider between mechanical breakdown insurance versus a dealer warranty Thoughts on the proposed 32-hour workweek bill Our new weekly Amazon gift card giveaw...

Hosts: Ralph Estep Jr, a licensed public accountant of over 30 years + Juliet, a first-time entrepreneur. This week was heavy on scams and money habits. Quick recap: Three scams to watch: kill switches on subprime auto loans, home equity checks disguised as junk mail, and AI callers targeting new widows and bail-money victims, together costing people millions. Two settlements working in your favor: Amazon Prime refunds are jumping to $200, and Amway's own numbers confirm most people lose mone...

Hosts: Ralph Estep Jr, a licensed public accountant of over 30 years + Juliet, a first-time entrepreneur. Here's what we got into today: The IRS deadline for anyone who filed an extension is October 15, and I'm telling clients to file even if they can't pay in full, since the penalty for not filing is steeper than the one for paying late. A new poll has 89 percent of people 65 and older saying they'd rather raise taxes on younger workers than touch their own Social Security, and I think we're...

Hosts: Ralph Estep Jr, a licensed public accountant of over 30 years + Juliet, a first-time entrepreneur. Here's what we got into today: A fake bank login scam that's cost people $262 million since January, and the bookmark trick I use to stay out of it Why card surcharges up to 3% are pushing more shoppers back to paying cash A new prison bail scam where inmates use smuggled phones to trick families, including one case where someone sent $12,000 over Cash App Juliet and I go back and forth...

Hosts: Ralph Estep Jr, a licensed public accountant of over 30 years + Juliet, a first-time entrepreneur. Here's what we got into today: Consider getting a Trump Account for kids born 2025-2028, the government automatically puts $1,000 in the account Open enrollment is coming up, so check if your employer provides a Flexible Savings Account (FSA) You can get cash if an airline cancels your flight Review several side hustles from renting out a parking spot to getting paid as a mock juror. We...

Hosts: Ralph Estep Jr, a licensed public accountant of over 30 years + Juliet, a first-time entrepreneur. Here's what we got into today: A Maryland law banning those unsolicited home equity loan checks starting October 1, and what to look out for yourself The December 31 deadline to open a Solo 401k or SEP IRA and maximum your money if you picked up side income this year Dollar Job Framework: Discover your net worth and get clarity on what you want versus what you do, then Design the financia...

Hosts: Ralph Estep Jr, a licensed public accountant of over 30 years + Juliet, a first-time entrepreneur. Here's what we got into today: Amway (an MLM) will have to payout $225 million after promising recruits that they will make $40,000 a year, when in reality it is only $657 A $694 million settlement is wiping out car loan debt for thousands of people, so it's important to check your credit report Amazon Prime refunds just jumped from $51 to $200 Community mailbag: Should I loan my brother...

Hosts: Ralph Estep Jr, a licensed public accountant of over 30 years + Juliet, a first-time entrepreneur. Here's what we got into today: Why you should check in on your CDs once it matures You may qualify for a car loan interest deduction worth up to $10,000 a year Is personalized pricing legal? Considerations on whether side hustling on Rover is for you How to read your credit report Tomorrow, we're getting into timeshares, and Juliet puts Ralph on the hot seat with questions that Ralph c...

Join Ralph Estep Jr (licensed public accountant) & Juliet (not an accountant) as they dive into: What options are there saving for a grandchild (savings account, Trump Account, 529) Annual Notice of Change are being mailed out before September 30, and why it matters even if you're not the one on Medicare Why naming beneficiaries for your 401K and IRA + a story where a missing beneficiary name turned a 12% tax hit into 35% Dive into the Dollar Job Framework, starting with naming a real money ...

Happy Saturday, everybody! Mortgage rates just climbed to a 13-month high, the IRS changed the 1099 threshold to $2,000, and I finally answered the question I get asked more than almost any other: do you owe a dead relative's credit card debt? We also got into what financial confidence really means, the framework I use with clients to give every dollar a job, and a conversation with a finance coach about money and marriage that hit closer to home than I expected. I'm Ralph Estep Jr., a license...

The Federal Reserve asks Americans the same question every year: if you got hit with an unexpected $400 expense right now, how would you pay for it? The answers say a lot about where people actually stand with money, and it's not what you'd guess. On today's episode, Juliet and I dig into what that $400 question really reveals, then walk through the four stages I've watched people move through on the way to real financial confidence. Before that, three quick things worth knowing about your mone...