Castuner

Becoming Financially Confident

Ralph V. Estep, Jr.

Breaking Free from Financial Shame, one conversation at a time.Most money advice assumes you already know what you're doing. This show doesn't.Becoming Financially Confident is a live weekday show for people who want to get their financial life in order without being lectured, judged, or sold something. Host Ralph Estep Jr. is a Licensed Public Accountant with more than 30 years of experience sitting across the desk from real people and real businesses — the shoebox of receipts, the tax notice nobody wants to open, the budget that never quite balances. He has made his own expensive mistakes, and he talks about them openly.This is not a new voice. Ralph has published more than 1,200 episodes across eight seasons, earned national recognition for his work, and written nearly a thousand articles on money, taxes, technology, and small business. Becoming Financially Confident is the next chapter of that same show, in the same feed — sharper, live, and built around one idea: you are capabl

Podcast website

Listen in your app

Episodes

1299 episodes

  1. Don’t come after my people — I call out Instagram trolls 17:01
  2. BFC Weekly Recap: Social Security 2032 Could Turn a $2,000 Check Into $1,560 14:35
  3. 704 Credit Score and $0 Savings: Where to Start 1:02:12
  4. Why Your Credit Card Doesn't Count as an Emergency Fund and Banks Can Cut It 1:01:56
  5. Fake Medicare Ads, Down Payment Gift Letters, and the Fed’s Next Move 1:01:45
  6. Leaving a Job? Your 401(k) Options and What Cashing Out Really Costs 1:01:31
  7. How Estimated Taxes Work When Your Freelance Income Jumps Around 59:34
  8. I Reflect on the Week: Wins, Tough Stuff, and 3 Numbers to Keep 11:37
  9. BFC Weekly Recap: Hidden 401k Fees, Forgotten Accounts, and a Mortgage Shortcut 17:43
  10. Inheritance Tax Questions Answered: The $15 Million Rule and Stepped-Up Basis 57:28
  11. Kidulting and Blind Boxes: How to Keep Fun Spending Inside Your Budget 1:01:30
  12. Inherited IRA Rules: What the 10-Year Rule Means for Your Taxes 1:03:21
  13. Target Date Funds Explained: The 401(k) Choice Most People Never Make 58:05
  14. The Viral $200 Social Security Bonus Isn’t Real, and Your 3.6% Raise Nets $68 56:49
  15. BFC Weekly Recap: Surveillance Pricing, Credit Unions, Minimum Payments, and Debt Lawsuits 17:13
  16. How a 40-Year Banker Paid Off $23,000 of Debt With a 401(k) Loan 1:01:05
  17. IRS Employees Snooped 86 Times, and 175 Taxpayers Were Never Told 57:49
  18. Debt Collectors Are Suing More and Winning: Why You Should Never Ignore a Summons 1:00:36
  19. Banks vs. Credit Unions: Who Owns Your Money and Who Pays You More 59:17
  20. Why Cashing Out an Old 401(k) Can Cost Around 40% and What to Do Instead 54:26
  21. BFC Weekly Recap: A $600,000 Pig Butchering Scam and a $225,000 IRS Bill 16:21
  22. 401(k) Loan Costs: Double Tax, Lost Growth, Job Loss Risk 56:54
  23. 4 Car Buying Mistakes That Cost Thousands (Plus Ralph’s 20/4/10 Rule) 1:01:21
  24. Good Debt vs. Bad Debt: Three Questions to Sort Every Debt You Carry 1:01:29
  25. Making vs. Having vs. Keeping Money: Where Your Paycheck Really Goes 1:00:35
  26. Social Security Benefits for Young Children, Costco for One, and Scam Calls 56:28
  27. BFC Weekly Recap: IRS Collections, Adult Kids Moving Home, and Premium Gas 17:56
  28. Splitting the Check Without Shame, and Why High Earners Don't Feel Rich 58:38
  29. What Happens When You Ignore an IRS Notice, Plus the iPhone Siri Settlement 59:56
  30. Credit Utilization Explained: The 1% to 9% Credit Score Sweet Spot 59:41
  31. Why 42% of Adult Children Expect No Inheritance From Their Parents 55:26
  32. Do Mileage Cards Make You Spend More? Buy Now Pay Later and Car Warranties 1:00:51
  33. BFC Weekly Recap: Fake Bank Logins, Widow Fraud, and a $200 Amazon Refund 21:06
  34. A Mortgage Lender Explains Why You Should Date the Rate, Not the Headlines 1:01:26
  35. Why TurboTax's Mistake Led to a $10,000 IRS Bill and 50% Penalty 59:43
  36. $1,000 Kids Savings Account, FSA Deadlines, and Your Airline Refund Rights 1:00:12
  37. The Dollar Job Framework: How to Discover Where Your Money Goes 59:05
  38. How a $694 Million Settlement Wipes Out Car Loan Debt, Even After Repossession 56:56
  39. BFC Weekly Recap: A $250,000 Catfish Scam, a Reverse Mortgage Mistake, and a Stolen Checkbook 25:30
  40. 3 Numbers to Check on Your Auto Insurance Declaration Page 1:00:12
  41. An Accountant Reacts to a $1.3 Million Love Scam and Our Own Timeshare Regrets 57:14
  42. What's on your credit report, and is Rover worth your time 58:35
  43. Savings Account vs 529 vs the New Trump Account for a New Grandbaby 1:00:40
  44. Overdraft Fees, Unclaimed State Money, and How Balance Transfers Really Work 58:53
  45. BFC Weekly Recap: Mortgage Rates Hit 6.71%, the New $2,000 1099 Rule, and Who Owes Debt After Death 44:03
  46. She Finally Understood Why Her Husband Was Fine With Debt 53:36
  47. He was a spender, and she was a saver. It almost broke their marriage. 57:37
  48. Should You Rent Your Car on Turo? The Costs, Taxes, and Insurance Nobody Mentions 59:48
  49. Why 37 Percent of Adults Can't Cover a $400 Emergency and How to Fix It 1:00:29
  50. New 1099 Rules for Freelancers, Class Action Deadlines, and Who Pays a Parent's Debt 1:00:22