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 licensed public accountant with 30 years in the business, and I'm joined by my cohost Juliet. We're live every Monday through Friday from 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM Eastern on Becoming Financially Confident.

Here's what we got into this week:

• Reminded everyone about two live class action settlements, Google Play and O'Reilly Auto Parts, both with deadlines this month
• Broke down why the 30-year mortgage rate climbed to 6.71%, the highest it's been in over a year
• Walked through the new 1099 rule. Clients only have to send you one if they paid you $2,000 or more, up from $600, and that does not mean the income is tax free
• Answered the question I get asked constantly about inherited debt. If you're just an authorized user on a card, you are not responsible for what's owed after someone passes away
• Gave you my money move of the week: add a PIN to your phone carrier account and turn on two-factor authentication on your bank and email before someone can hijack your number
• Got into what financial confidence actually means, starting with a Federal Reserve stat that stopped me cold, 12% of adults couldn't cover a surprise $400 expense
• Laid out the Dollar Job Framework, the seven-step process I use with clients (dream, define, discover, design, deploy, debrief, develop) to give every dollar a job before it leaves your account
• Showed you the four numbers on your Explanation of Benefits, and the only one that should ever show up on a bill with your name on it
• Talked through what Turo and other car-sharing platforms actually cover, and the four questions to ask before you rent out your own car
• Explained why the price at the pharmacy counter is rarely the cheapest one, and how a free app like GoodRx can save you real money
• Got personal about the year my own marriage almost ended over money, and what changed once I actually started listening
• Welcomed Karen Hackman, a finance coach who works with couples, to talk about what 18 years of financial silence in her own marriage taught her

Got a money question? Send it to me at becomingfinanciallyconfident.com/live. Want to catch us live? Same link, Monday through Friday, 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM Eastern.

Follow us on our socials:

LinkedIn

Facebook Group

Instagram

Skool Community

Companies mentioned in this episode:

• Google Play
• O'Reilly Auto Parts
• Verizon
• AT&T
• T-Mobile
• GoodRx
• Turo
• Geico
• Travelers
• Allstate
• State Farm
• Amazon

Have a great weekend, everybody.

Happy Friday! Before you sign anything with a debt collector on the phone, there's a letter that can stop them in their tracks, and there's a tax deadline this week that catches self-employed people who've never owed one before. Plus, marriage and money coach Karen Hackman joins me to talk about the 18 years it took her and her husband to get aligned on money, and what finally changed it.

I'm Ralph Estep Jr., a licensed public accountant with 30 years in the business, and I'm joined by my cohost Juliet. We're live every Monday through Friday from 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM Eastern on Becoming Financially Confident.

Here's what we got into today:

• A debt collector can call you seven times in seven days, but on the eighth call federal law says they've gone too far, and I walked through the 30-day written dispute letter that makes them prove you owe the debt
• If you're self-employed or get 1099 income, your estimated tax payment is due Tuesday, September 15, and I explained why the IRS penalizes you for not paying as you go
• Employer health insurance costs are projected to jump 8.2% next year, the biggest increase since 2003, so I talked through what to actually look at during open enrollment
• I shared why I love WalletHub for tracking spending and catching credit report errors, since the FTC found 1 in 4 people have one
• Karen Hackman from Money and Marriage joined us. She was married 18 years before she and her husband Wayne got on the same financial page, and she walked us through sinking funds, how a $4,000 credit card balance turned out to include two years of fraud nobody caught, and how she's teaching her daughter Charlotte the same lessons

Got a money question for me? Send it to me at becomingfinanciallyconfident.com/. Or come watch us live every weekday at becomingfinanciallyconfident.com/live.

Have a great weekend, everybody.

Links mentioned in this episode:

becomingfinanciallyconfident.com/wallet

moneyandmarriage.net

Karen Hackman's booking calendar link

Follow us on our socials:

LinkedIn

Facebook Group

Instagram

Skool Community

Companies mentioned in this episode:

• YouTube
• Money and Marriage
• WalletHub
• Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
• Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
• Vanguard
• Fidelity Investments
• Amazon
• Amazon Prime
• Airbnb
• Booking.com
• Instagram
• Facebook
• The Walt Disney Company (Disney)

For thirty years people have handed me their tax documents and their secrets in the same folder. Today I handed Juliet mine. I'm Ralph Estep Jr, licensed public accountant, and this is the episode where I said out loud what almost happened to my own marriage over money. My cohost Juliet and I go live Monday through Friday, 11:30 to 12:30 Eastern, on Becoming Financially Confident.

Three things landed in your mailbox or your paycheck this year that most people are getting wrong, and one story I've never told on this show before.

Here's what we got into today

• A student loan letter with a 90-day clock attached, and what happens if you ignore it
• A 529 rule change that opens up money most parents assumed was locked away for college
• The truth behind "no tax on overtime," and why your last paycheck might not match what you expected
• The moment my wife told me she was leaving, and what I did in the hour after

Send me your money question at becomingfinanciallyconfident.com. Tomorrow, finance coach Karen Hackman joins us to talk money and marriage, so get your questions in now.

Mentioned in this episode:

becomingfinanciallyconfident.com/quicken

becomingfinanciallyconfident.com/ezwill

Follow us on our socials:

LinkedIn

Facebook Group

Instagram

Skool Community

Companies mentioned in this episode:

• YouTube
• Facebook
• LinkedIn
• StudentAid.gov
• Vanguard
• Fidelity
• Gemini
• Anthropic (Claude)
• Quicken (Simplifi)
• EZ Will & Trust
• Google
• Dunkin'
• Wawa
• Seven Stars

Ralph Estep Jr. here, licensed public accountant, thirty years in the business, still finding new ways to get surprised by what people don't know about their own money. My cohost Juliet and I go live Monday through Friday, 11:30 to 12:30 Eastern, on Becoming Financially Confident.

Before you sign that lease renewal or say yes to a side hustle with your car, listen to this one. Today we broke down how much room you actually have to negotiate rent, the dependent care tax benefit that just got its first increase since 1987, and why the price your pharmacy quotes you isn't always the real price. We also dug into Turo, and I walked through the real costs of renting out your car.

Here's what we got into today

• Nearly 2 in 5 new apartment listings are offering concessions, and I explained why landlords would rather cut you a deal than let a unit sit empty
• The dependent care FSA limit went from $5,000 to $7,500 per household, and I ran the tax math on what that actually saves a family
• I walked through why 20 to 25 percent of filled prescriptions aren't priced at the cheapest option, and how I use GoodRx myself before handing over an insurance card
• The FTC says 1 in 4 credit reports have an error on them, so I talked about why that's worth checking

Everybody talks about Turo like it's free money sitting in your driveway. I wanted to know if that's actually true, so I ran the real numbers. Commission, insurance, taxes, wear and tear, all of it. What I found changes whether this side hustle is worth your time.

• Juliet and I broke down whether either of us would actually rent our car out on Turo, including the three earning plans and what they don't cover
• In Explain It Like I'm Broke, I walked through my son's actual explanation of benefits statement and the four numbers that matter on it

Send me your money question at becomingfinanciallyconfident.com. Or watch us live at becomingfinanciallyconfident.com/live.

Have a great day, everybody.

Mentioned in this episode

becomingfinanciallyconfident.com/wallet

becomingfinanciallyconfident.com/lawdepot

Follow us on our socials

LinkedIn

Facebook Group

Instagram

Skool Community

Companies mentioned in this episode

• Turo
• GoodRx
• WalletHub
• Lively
• LawDepot
• GEICO
• Travelers
• Allstate
• State Farm
• Apple
• McDonald's
• Chevrolet
• Bentley
• Rolls-Royce
• Honda
• Royal Copenhagen
• Becoming Financially Confident

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 money this week.

Here's what we got into today:

• The Federal Reserve's $400 question. 12 percent of adults couldn't cover it at all. Another 15 percent would put it on a credit card and carry the balance. Only 63 percent could handle it without stress. I break down what each of those answers actually means for where someone stands financially.
• Streaming prices are climbing again. ESPN Unlimited jumps to $31.99 and Peacock Premium to $12.99 on September 17. I share the spreadsheet trick I use with clients to catch these increases before they quietly add up.
• FAFSA opens October 1 for the 2027-28 school year. I went through this with my oldest son, so I explain why filling it out early matters even if you don't think you'll qualify for aid.
• A new tax rule lets you deduct up to $1,000 in charitable giving, or $2,000 if you're married filing jointly, even if you don't itemize. I also clear up a mix-up I see every tax season: GoFundMe donations don't count as charitable giving.
• The four stages of financial confidence: awareness, intentionality, stability, and growth. Juliet and I talk through what each one actually looks like, using her own experience rebuilding her emergency fund after being downsized.
• I introduce the Dollar Job Framework, my seven-step process for giving every dollar a job before it leaves your account: dream, define, discover, design, deploy, debrief, develop.
• This week's money move: put a PIN on your SIM card and turn on two-factor authentication everywhere you can.

If you're one of the 37 percent who couldn't cover that $400 charge without borrowing or selling something, this episode isn't about shame. It's about figuring out which of the four stages you're actually in, and what the next right move looks like from there.

Send me your money questions at becomingfinanciallyconfident.com/question, I read every one. Or watch us live weekdays at becomingfinanciallyconfident.com/live.

Mentioned in this episode:

becomingfinanciallyconfident.com/quicken

Follow us on our socials:

LinkedIn

Facebook Group

Instagram

Skool Community

Companies mentioned in this episode:

• ESPN
• Peacock
• BankGo
• Federal Reserve
• Quicken
• GoFundMe
• IRS
• FAFSA (Federal Student Aid)
• T-Mobile
• Verizon
• Netflix
• Dunkin' Donuts
• Starbucks
• ChatGPT
• School of Podcasting (Dave Jackson)
• Marriage and Money (Karen Hackman)

I'm dealing with a head cold today, so forgive the voice, but we've got a full show for you. Mortgage rates just hit 6.71%, the highest in over a year, and I'll walk you through what that actually does to your buying power. We also dig into why your regular savings account might be handing the bank $573 a year that could've been yours, what an IRS CP2000 notice really means (spoiler: it's not an audit), and whether you're on the hook for a parent's credit card debt after they pass away. Plus a new 1099 rule that's going to confuse a lot of freelancers, three class action settlements closing out this month, and this week's money move to protect your phone number from getting hijacked.

I'm Ralph Estep Jr., a licensed public accountant with 30 years in the business, and I'm joined by my cohost Juliet. We're live every Monday through Friday from 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM Eastern on Becoming Financially Confident.

Here's what we got into today:

• Three class action settlements with September deadlines, including one that pays out for a cookware brand without a receipt
• Mortgage rates climbed to 6.71%, and I explain why I don't think we're heading back into the 4 and 5 percent range anytime soon
• The 1099 threshold jumped from $600 to $2,000, which sounds like good news for business owners but could trip up a lot of gig workers come tax season
• Dana in Ohio has $15,000 parked at 0.4% interest. I broke down the math on high-yield savings versus CDs and showed her how to build a CD ladder
• Marcus in Pennsylvania got a CP2000 notice for $3,200. I walked through exactly what that letter is asking for and why it's not the audit he thought it was
• Yvonne in Michigan is getting collection calls over her late mother's credit card debt, even though she was only an authorized user, not a joint account holder
• This week's money move: lock down your phone number with a carrier PIN before someone else does. I had someone try to hijack mine, so I speak from experience on this one

Got a money question? Send it to me at becomingfinanciallyconfident.com.

Want to watch or listen live? We're on weekdays from 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM Eastern at becomingfinanciallyconfident.com/live.

Have a great week, everybody.

Mentioned in this episode:

becomingfinanciallyconfident.com/quicken

becomingfinanciallyconfident.com/stamps

becomingfinanciallyconfident.com/ezwill

Follow us on our socials:

LinkedIn

Facebook Group

Instagram

Skool Community

Companies mentioned in this episode:

• Ironclad
• Google Play
• O'Reilly Auto Parts
• Quicken Simplifi
• Stamps.com
• EZ Will and Trust
• Disney
• Fidelity
• Verizon
• Venmo
• Cash App
• IRS Taxpayer Advocate Service
• Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)

We found out the hard way that waiting to save for retirement cost over a million dollars, and this week Juliet and I are unpacking that along with a $770 prescription that dropped to $25, a car dealership story involving my mom in 1993, and the real hourly pay behind a DoorDash shift once you factor in gas and taxes.

https://www.becomingfinanciallyconfident.com/retirement-regrets

This is our weekly highlights recap, pulling the best moments from this week's episodes of Becoming Financially Confident, Monday through Friday, August 31 through September 4.

We're Ralph Estep Jr., a licensed public accountant, and Juliet Chuang. Catch us live every weekday at 11:30 AM Eastern.

This week we:

• Answered a listener letter from John, who's turning 50 and just starting to build savings, and told him why it's not too late
• Shared how a pharmacist tip cut a prescription cost from $770 a month down to $25
• Told the story of Ralph's mom getting talked into a $412 car payment after being quoted $300, and how 12-year-old Ralph stepped in
• Walked through why rolling negative equity into a new car loan can cost you $17,000 the day you drive off the lot
• Explained exactly how to freeze and unfreeze your credit report so you're protected but not locked out when you actually need a loan
• Did the real math on a five-hour DoorDash shift, and found the driver was making $6.17 an hour after mileage and self-employment tax
• Shared Ralph's confession that he didn't save a dollar for retirement until he was 47, and what that delay actually cost him: over a million dollars
• Walked through a Zelle scam attempt Juliet dealt with on Facebook Marketplace
• Explained why a HELOC refinance can wipe out years of mortgage paydown

Watch or listen live weekdays at becomingfinanciallyconfident.com/live

Got a money question for us? Send it our way, we answer these on the show.

Happy Friday! Today's episode centers on something a lot of homeowners are being offered right now.

If your lender has dangled a refinance that "saves you $700 a month," you need to hear this before you sign anything. That's the big one today, and we've also got childcare costs, a shorter health insurance deadline, and a scam worth knowing about.

I'm Ralph Estep Jr., a licensed public accountant with 30 years in the business, and I'm joined by my cohost Juliet. We're live every Monday through Friday from 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM Eastern on Becoming Financially Confident.

Here's what we got into today:

• In the mailbag, Mark and Krista asked if cash-out refinance money counts as income. It doesn't, but that's not the real cost. The lender resets your loan back to a full 30-year term, which wipes out years of paydown, tacks on closing costs, and can even cost you the mortgage interest deduction if the cash isn't spent on the house
• The government says childcare is affordable at 7% of income. Real families are paying closer to 20%, and I see it every day in my tax practice. If your employer offers a Dependent Care FSA, that's worth checking before open enrollment closes
• Health insurance open enrollment through the marketplace now runs November 1 to December 15, a month shorter than it used to be. My own premium went from $1,500 to $2,600 a month for two people, and it's projected to jump another 25% this year
• A cruel new scam is targeting people who already got scammed once, promising to recover their money for an upfront fee. There's no such thing, so report it at reportfraud.ftc.gov, call your bank's fraud department, and file with your state attorney general's office instead
• Our Friday money move was freezing your credit at all three bureaus, Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax. Juliet did hers this week and felt a lot more secure

Got a money question for me? Send it to becomingfinanciallyconfident.com/question. No question is off limits, and we'd genuinely love to hear from you.

Watch or listen live weekdays at 11:30 AM Eastern at becomingfinanciallyconfident.com/live. Have a great weekend, everybody.

Mentioned in this episode:

Stamps.com: becomingfinanciallyconfident.com/stamps

WalletHub: becomingfinanciallyconfident.com/wallet

LawDepot: becomingfinanciallyconfident.com/lawdepot

Report a scam: reportfraud.ftc.gov

Follow us on our socials:

LinkedIn

Facebook Group

Instagram

Skool Community

Companies mentioned in this episode:

• Money Lion
• Experian
• TransUnion
• Equifax
• WalletHub
• LawDepot

I didn't save a single dollar for retirement until I was 47, and today I'm walking you through what that decision actually cost me. Plus, SNAP benefits are about to change for millions of families, and ground beef just hit $6.89 a pound.

https://www.becomingfinanciallyconfident.com

This is Becoming Financially Confident, live weekdays from 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM Eastern.

I'm Ralph Estep Jr., a licensed public accountant with 30 years of experience, and I'm joined by my cohost Juliet.

On Today's Episode:

• What It Costs Me: I didn't save a dollar for retirement until I was 47, and I show you the real math on what that decision cost me
• SNAP's family-of-four benefit rises to $1,023 on October 1, but the work requirement now stretches to age 64, and I walk through what that actually means for households affected
• Ground beef hit $6.89 a pound because cattle herds are at their lowest level in years, and Juliet and I talk through some practical swaps
• Medicare's open enrollment window opens October 15, and I break down why premiums are projected to climb even after the Social Security cost-of-living bump
• A car dealership scam making the rounds right now, including the one thing you should always verify before sending a deposit

Watch or listen live at https://www.becomingfinanciallyconfident.com/live.

Got a money question for me? Send it my way at https://www.becomingfinanciallyconfident.com/question and I'll answer it on the show.

Links mentioned in the show:

Stamps.com: https://www.becomingfinanciallyconfident.com/stamps

WalletHub: https://www.becomingfinanciallyconfident.com/wallet

EZ Will & Trust: https://www.becomingfinanciallyconfident.com/ezwill

Companies mentioned in this episode:

• Fidelity
• WalletHub
• EasyWill
• SNAP
• Medicare
• Stamps.com

I found out this week that fewer than half of us have claimed a 1% discount that's sitting on our student loans right now, my car insurance keeps climbing even though I haven't had a single claim, and one of my own clients once owed the IRS $18,000 because of a health insurance rule almost nobody knows about.

Visit our website: https://www.becomingfinanciallyconfident.com

This is today's episode of Becoming Financially Confident, airing weekdays at 11:30 AM Eastern.

I'm Ralph Estep Jr., a licensed public accountant with 30 years in the business, and I'm joined by my cohost Juliet.

On today's show:

• That 1% student loan discount expires September 30th, and I walk through exactly how much it's worth and how to set up autopay without getting hit with an overdraft
• Why my own insurance costs keep rising even though nothing about my driving has changed, and the exact script I use to shop three quotes the right way
• A hard lesson from my own office: a client who owed $18,000 in health insurance subsidies he didn't realize he'd have to pay back, and the one thing you can do at healthcare.gov today
• Why I told my own team "don't do it" when we talked about delivery driving side hustles, and the real numbers behind why it can pay as little as $6 an hour
• What buy now, pay later actually does to your credit, and the statistic that surprised even me

Watch or join us live at https://www.becomingfinanciallyconfident.com/live.

Links mentioned in this episode:

Stamps.com affiliate - https://www.becomingfinanciallyconfident.com/stamps

Quicken Simplifi affiliate - https://www.becomingfinanciallyconfident.com/quicken

WalletHub affiliate - https://www.becomingfinanciallyconfident.com/wallet

Health insurance marketplace - https://www.healthcare.gov

Equifax - https://www.equifax.com

Experian - https://www.experian.com

TransUnion - https://www.transunion.com

Prescription just got 97% cheaper through a program most people don't know exists, gas is running 90 cents higher than last Labor Day, and nearly 3 in 10 car trade-ins are underwater by an average of $6,884. That's today's show.

This is Becoming Financially Confident, live weekdays at 11:30am Eastern.

I'm Ralph Estep Jr., a licensed public accountant with 30 years of experience, and I'm joined by my cohost Juliet Chuang.

Today we covered:

• Prescription prices fell 3.1% this year, the biggest drop since 1963, but I'll tell you why that number didn't move my own pharmacy bill, and the manufacturer program that took my own medication from $770 a month down to $25
• What actually makes sense financially between driving and flying for Labor Day, and the rule I use now that I'm older
• How to spot a fake charity before you donate, including the sites I actually use to check where the money goes
• Why 1 in 4 credit reports has an error on it, and how I use WalletHub to keep an eye on mine
• Today's Breakdown, what it means to be underwater on a car loan, how rolling negative equity into a new loan can quietly cost you thousands more in interest, and the order you should negotiate a car deal in so you don't get taken advantage of
• This week's money move, freezing your credit reports at all three bureaus

You can watch or listen live with us at https://www.becomingfinanciallyconfident.com/live.

Got a money question? Send it to me at becomingfinanciallyconfident.com.

Links referenced in this episode:

• becomingfinanciallyconfident.com
• becomingfinanciallyconfident.com/community
• becomingfinanciallyconfident.com/wallet
• becomingfinanciallyconfident.com/lawdepot

Companies mentioned in this episode:

• Happy Harry's
• Walgreens
• Goodrx
• WalletHub
• Charity Watch
• give.org
• Charity Navigator
• Tunnels for Towers