Timothy Sumer

My friend and financial expert Farnoosh Torabi joins me to answer a relationship & money question from a listener named Janice.⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ Janice is engaged, and she calls to ask: Should she get married? She earns double what her fiancé makes. She has no debt except her mortgage. Her retirement accounts are well-funded. He makes half of her salary. He’s carrying $20,000 in credit card and student loan debt. He has two children from a previous marriage and pays 25 percent of his income to child support. He has zero retirement savings other than his state-funded teachers pension. They’ve been together for 8 years and engaged for three. But she’s unsure about whether or not she should walk down the aisle. Should they get married? Is this a smart financial decision?⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ Farnoosh and I both tackle this question together — and we disagree on some points, which makes this conversation better!! Farnoosh is the bestselling author of When She Makes More, a book that takes an in-dep...

Should Bret invest in a Traditional IRA or a Roth IRA? If Amanda gets married, how will her child support be affected? What about her student loan forgiveness? Joe is investing in bonds, which average a rate of return that’s equal to the interest rate on his mortgage. Should he switch to all-equities and redirect his bond investments into mortgage payoff, instead? Taunia has a car loan, a 401k loan, a home improvement loan, a primary mortgage, and a second mortgage. She also has an emergency fund that only covers two months of expenses, and she’s trying to save for college for her two children. What should she prioritize? Mickey has a six-month emergency fund. Should he leave it in a savings account or invest in bond ladders? David made $10,000 from a side hustle last year. Can he open a Solo 401k or SEP-IRA for his side hustle business? If so, which one should he choose? Should Andy invest in a Target Retirement Date fund, or should he split his money between a U.S. in...