Couple of Sense Podcast

As a married couple, we know how important it is to keep open communication – especially about things that affect both of us like our household finances.  Money is one of the largest sources of conflict in a relationship, especially a marriage.  We have found success as a couple, and with starting Couple of Sense in keeping up our lines of communication as a top priority in our relationship.  This serves us well as a married couple – and our methods transition easily to other relationships including friendships, roommates, parents, siblings or business partners. We keep our money talks private generally speaking, but our goal with Couple of Sense is to help others with breaking through the barriers in talking about money – so we decided with episode 10 to leave our inhibitions at the door and share how we talk to each other about money. Podcast Length: 

We keep things as light as we can, but today we talk about the benefits of an emergency fund and how wonderful it is to have a cushion when crisis hits your life.  Just like having a will, or life insurance – having an emergency fund is really an essential part of a well balanced budget.  How to keep/store your emergency fund and how much you need is up for debate – but we have our opinions that we believe strongly in which we share with you today.  We'd love to hear your feedback on what you do for an emergency fund and any other thoughts you have on the subject. Podcast Length:  31 Minutes

While it is not a huge priority for Sarah and I, it is pretty undeniable that there is a certain warm and fuzzy feeling when thinking about early retirement.  Whether you retire to spend more time on activities, time with family or to travel – or if you want to leave your 9 to 5 to continue work on a passion project.  In Episode 8 we talk about early retirement, some thoughts on how to get there and what paths to avoid (ie basic online calculators). Podcast Length:  34 Minutes

In Episode #7 we talk about Debt and Debt Freedom. Did you know the origins of the word Freedom was "freedom from debt"? Just some of the magic we talk about.  We go through the main different types of debt and how you would get them, like mortgage debt, student debt and consumer debt.  We talk about how to avoid some debt all together and pitfalls some people fall into.  We talk about strategies on paying off student/consumer debt quickly and share the steps we took to pay down our mortgage aggressively.  Show Quote: "Whenever you use someone else's money there is a cost associated with it so it's important to understand what the risks are." Podcast Length:  77 Minutes

Your budget is a living and breathing document.  It is a wonderful tool that can grow and shrink with your resources.  It is a guide to financial health, a snapshot of your life and the key to reaching your goals.  Unfortunately changes to your budget are not always positive – but some determination and rational thoughts can get you through it. Sarah and I have a chat about some examples of budget change requirements, some advice – we go through the ups and downs of the life of a budget. We also have changed recording locations in hopes to eliminate the sound of our desktop fan, we'd love to hear from you if it sounds better! Show Quote: "You've got to do the math" Podcast Length:  60 Minutes

We tackle the topic of home renovations – as a whole.  We might dive into specifics on various areas of the house later but for now we talk in generalities.  Some of the areas we cover are saving money on sweat equity projects, safety vs savings, some tips on savings and finally upgrading your house for personal value vs financial value. We share some personal stories about our experiences in our humble abode, some horror story renovations we've witnessed and remove the mask of those 30 minute home renovation shows that make it all seem so easy. Show Quote:  "Whenever you do a DIY project, it is important for it not to look DIY" Podcast Length: 40 minutes

Have you ever felt peer pressure to spend money that you didn't have or didn't want to spend?  We've all been there at some point in our lives. In this podcast we talk about peer pressure from friends, at work, parents and even your partner.  We share stories about when we have experienced peer pressure in the past and we give you some tips on how to cope.  And maybe offer a little courage to say no. It's easy to say and hard to do but don't let anyone pressure you to spend money that you don't want to.  No one else has to deal with the consequences of you spending money. Show Quote: Advice is great but pressure is not. Podcast Length: 55 minutes

Does the word budget make your cringe? Do you associate living on a budget with settling for bad quality, less quantity or generally lower happiness?  The word budget should actually be pretty positive and having a budget results more in freedom than it does anything else. We explore the differences between living on a budget and budget living.  We define budgets and how we approach ours. Show Quote: "In both situations, whether its budget living or living on a budget you're really saving money…and that's a good thing" Podcast Length: 30 minutes

 Do you track your net worth? You should!  Does it define you as a person? No! In this podcast we breakdown how to calculate your net worth, some watch outs and our thoughts on sharing.  Net worth is an important part of your financial picture and you should track (with realistic numbers) and see your progress over time. Show Quote: "Over the long term, your net worth is about the choices you make daily and not your starting point." Podcast Length: 30 minutes

Welcome to the Couple of Sense Podcast Welcome to the Couple of Sense Podcast.  We spend our first podcast laying the foundation of what we believe, talk about our background in personal finance.  Then we dive right in talk about communication between couples, why in society we have an issue talking about money and some tips to improve communication. Talking about money is really hard.  We have a lot of emotions tied into money and people still have a hard time talking about it even with the people closest to us.  We share some tips and talk about our struggle with talking about money that we have had in the past around debt.  Podcast Length: 45 minutes   Sarah & Scott