Do you feel a little lost when it comes to your finances? Joel and Matt make money management simple and more understandable, says Pooja Ramakrishnan.
With the weather getting warmer and days stretching longer, most of us already have our eyes on the next month or two. Whether it’s going back to our home countries or traveling to a new and foreign place, summer is almost always filled with plans made well in advance. Furthermore, most of these choices are often made after considering one’s budget. This is especially true for students. Saving up several months in advance to afford a grand trip or using every last penny to couch-surf your way across the world, either way, it’s money that’s on our mind.
Yet, we receive no formal education on the fundamental life skill of money management. How to Money, a podcast by two best friends aims to change this by making money management simpler, easier and more understandable. From experimenting with their own budgets and figuring out tips and hacks along the way, Joel and Matt illustrate what it’s like to live a fulfilling life with what means you already have. To them, the philosophy of being rich is not just about having more money but doing more with the money you already have.
Apart from their general recommendations for lifestyle changes that allow you to save, they also talk about rules of thumb one should use for investing, making purchases and building a life savings. Additionally, they help you prepare for a rainy day or identify scams so that you can remain alert. This is especially relevant considering TU students were recently scammed into paying EUR 3,000.
All the advice doled out by the two has been tried and tested by themselves
Each episode begins with Matt and Joel discussing a new craft beer that they’re trying out – which happens to be one of their hobbies – and proceeds to explain how they tackled a money challenge in their own way. In precise detail, they cover the theme efficiently and without excessive rambling. What I find most appealing, though, is that all the advice doled out by the two has been tried and tested by themselves. They’re not financial pundits with a knack for stocks or trading. Rather, they just seem like your friends around the block who’ve found ways to convert boring (but necessary!) activities such as budgeting into a less dreadful exercise especially when done with a close friend, partner or sibling.
Although a money podcast itself might sound a tad dry, rest assured that many of their episodes talk about a wide range of things including money matters related to board game purchases, hobby expenditure, commute prices and various other miscellaneous expenses that we often don’t consider.
Most of all, it’s comforting to know, from Joel and Matt’s experiences, that it’s okay to feel a little lost when it comes to your finances and that there’s help out there. Ultimately, How to Money has allowed me to look at money and managing it very differently. As I inch closer to the world of salaries and savings, I feel slightly more prepared to tackle the delicate balance between living frugally and living poorly. Since it’s inexcusable to not have life skills such as financial literacy, this fun podcast can be your way to change that. Happy listening!
Pooja Ramakrishnan, Master of Environmental Engineering student, is a science student during the day and a poet by night. She balances the two with her curiosity and fascination for the world we live in.
Pooja Ramakrishnan / Freelance journalist
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