Mai Nguyen, director of the Department of Social and Emotional Wellness Supports for Buffalo Public Schools, talks supporting the whole child and teacher. She also discusses the 403(b)/457(b) event she held that attracted close to 300 educators. 

• Buffalo Public Schools Department of Social, Emotional, and Wellness Supports
• Buffalo City Schools 403(b)/457(b) Plan
• Learned by Being Burned - Short pod series about how teachers got burned then got wise to the 403(b)
• Meridian Wealth Management
• 403bwise.org

Nothing presented or discussed is to be construed as investment or tax advice. This can be secured from a vetted Certified Financial Planner (CFP®). 

More like: Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss. We review Equitable's new Equi-vest Series 202 403(b) product. Note: We talk Buffalo Bills football and Oregon Duck football for the first six minutes and 25 seconds.  

• Equi-vest Series 202
• Learned by Being Burned - Short pod series about how teachers got burned then got wise to the 403(b)
• Meridian Wealth Management
• 403bwise.org

Nothing presented or discussed is to be construed as investment or tax advice. This can be secured from a vetted Certified Financial Planner (CFP®). 

Dr. Jeff Venables is a veteran South Carolina Chemistry teacher whose advocacy led his district to add Aspire, Fidelity and Vanguard to their 403(b) lineup. But he's not done there. He's now lobbying state legislators. 

• Jeff's District
• TL; DR Finanical Literacy for Employees of South Carolina Public Schools
• Karl Fisch State Books for Educators
• Learned by Being Burned - Short pod series about how teachers got burned then got wise to the 403(b)
• Meridian Wealth Management
• 403bwise.org

Nothing presented or discussed is to be construed as investment or tax advice. This can be secured from a vetted Certified Financial Planner (CFP®). 

Dan and Scott discuss their recent in-person speaking engagement in Florida which has left them a tad under-the-weather. They also discuss how to make the 457(b) even more superior to the 403(b). Finally, Dan hits Scott with a surprise topic. How does he react?

• Council for Great City Schools
• Learned by Being Burned - Short pod series about how teachers got burned then got wise to the 403(b)
• Meridian Wealth Management
• 403bwise.org

Nothing presented or discussed is to be construed as investment or tax advice. This can be secured from a vetted Certified Financial Planner (CFP®). 

Dan and Scott discuss accessing 403(b) money at 59.5 while working and the new age 60 "super" catch up provision which will go into effect in 2025. Dan also talks about completing the mission he and three other friends started in 1990: to see a game in every NFL city.   

• 401(k)/403(b)/457(b) Age 60 "Super" Catch-Up
• One Weird Trick to Fix Retirement Plans a.k.a. "SECURE" Act 3.0
• Learned by Being Burned - Short pod series about how teachers got burned then got wise to the 403(b)
• Meridian Wealth Management
• 403bwise.org

Nothing presented or discussed is to be construed as investment or tax advice. This can be secured from a vetted Certified Financial Planner (CFP®). 

Karla Kirkling, executive director of healthcare and benefits at Chicago Public Schools shares how she used data, facts, and common sense to create one of the best single-vendor K-12 403(b) in the country. It is plan that will save employees tens of thousands of dollars in fees over the lifetime of their careers.   

• City of Chicago 403(b)/457(b) Plan
• 403bwise Grade of City of Chicago Plan
• Learned by Being Burned - Short pod series about how teachers got burned then got wise to the 403(b)
• Meridian Wealth Management
• 403bwise.org

Nothing presented or discussed is to be construed as investment or tax advice. This can be secured from a vetted Certified Financial Planner (CFP®). 

Cullen Roche is an economist, author, father and Founder and Chief Investment Officer of the Discipline Funds, a low-fee advisory firm.

• Jan Hatzius
• FRED Economic Data (St. Louis Fed)State 457(b) Plan Rating Project
• Learned by Being Burned - Short pod series about how teachers got burned then got wise to the 403(b)
• Meridian Wealth Management
• 403bwise.org

Nothing presented or discussed is to be construed as investment or tax advice. This can be secured from a vetted Certified Financial Planner (CFP®). 

Every state runs a generally excellent 457(b) plan that firefighters, police, and other state employees contribute to. These plans often have large assets under management which leads to extremely low-cost investing options. Many states permit educators to contribute to these plans. Unfortunately not all do. We discuss our new tool that allows users to search state 457(b) plans for eligibility, plan costs, availablitly of low-cost index funds and other metrics. 

• State 457(b) Plan Rating Project
• Learned by Being Burned - Short pod series about how teachers got burned then got wise to the 403(b)
• Meridian Wealth Management
• 403bwise.org

Nothing presented or discussed is to be construed as investment or tax advice. This can be secured from a vetted Certified Financial Planner (CFP®). 

Audio recording of our September 25, 2024 event with Lucretia Ryan about the dangers of choosing Medicare Advantage. It is recommended that you click link (below) to visual accompanying Lucretia's presentation before listening to audio. 

• Visual Resource to Accompany Lucretia's Presentation 
• Learned by Being Burned - Short pod series about how teachers got burned then got wise to the 403(b)
• Meridian Wealth Management
• 403bwise.org

Nothing presented or discussed is to be construed as investment or tax advice. This can be secured from a vetted Certified Financial Planner (CFP®). 

Little known role — Compliance Administrator — can have massive effect on 403(b)/457(b) quality. Many school districts are being misserved and they don't even know it. Dan also shares a private jet story. 

• Are Educator Retirement Plans Getting Hijacked by Compliance Administrators?
• Learned by Being Burned - Short pod series about how teachers got burned then got wise to the 403(b)
• Meridian Wealth Management
• 403bwise.org

Nothing presented or discussed is to be construed as investment or tax advice. This can be secured from a vetted Certified Financial Planner (CFP®). 

Former custodian Jeff York talks retirement and the joy it has brought him. He also talks finances — including a bold approach to homeowners insurance — and a little fishing.

• 2019 Podcast with Jeff
• Learned by Being Burned - Short pod series about how teachers got burned then got wise to the 403(b)
• Meridian Wealth Management
• 403bwise.org

Nothing presented or discussed is to be construed as investment or tax advice. This can be secured from a vetted Certified Financial Planner (CFP®).