Mark Riepe: We’ve all struggled with financial decisions, such as “Are these meme stocks really worth the risk?” or “How can I stop procrastinating and get an estate plan in place?” But how do you end up making that decision? Do you rely on your instincts and just make a call that seems right? Do you spend hours reading and researching your options and then end up with analysis paralysis and ultimately do nothing?
Or do you just keep kicking the can down the road and never end up making any decision?
Many financial decisions are deceptively complicated. It’s not enough to simply understand how your finances work; you also need to understand how your hard-wired behavior affects those decisions.
I’m Mark Riepe, and for the new season of Financial Decoder, we’ll bring you a variety of stories about decisions involving your money—and we’ll have our Schwab experts on hand to offer their practical advice.
Laura McDowell: Mark, one’s financial health is as important as your physical and mental health. Think about it. I mean, your financial health has far reaching implications. Financial freedom is about being able to have choice in life.
Mark Riepe: From investing in special purpose acquisition companies to charitable giving, we have episodes lined up to cover a wide variety of topics and help you improve the way you approach financial crossroads. And all of them are offered with a dose of realism.
Liz Ann Sonders: Well, Mark, as you know, anytime I get a question that has the word ‘crystal ball’ in it, I start by saying mine is just as cloudy as everybody else’s …
Mark Riepe: And our experts offer their advice with an understanding of how emotions play such a strong role when it comes to decisions about money.
Laura McDowell: My family owned a seasonal restaurant when I was young. So my first job was at eight years old. I was a dishwasher. I remember how much that experience changed my understanding of money so quickly, because I realized how hard I had to work for $8 an hour.
Mark Riepe: And later in the year we’ll have our experts describe what we expect for 2022.
The first episode of the new season drops on November 1st. Check your listening app to make sure you are subscribed. You can listen at Schwab.com/FinancialDecoder or wherever you get your podcasts.
For important disclosures, see Schwab.com/FinancialDecoder