WhatTheFs

It is the long Labor Day weekend in the US...end of the traditional summer holiday period, that starts with Memorial Day in the last week of May. And with this episode, I am wrapping up the first season of WhatTheFs, my labor of love that also spanned from Memorial Day to Labor Day. 15 episodes including this one, that dropped every Fri....without fail!
WhatTheFs, my weekly take on Fads, Films, Finance, and Fun, with Friends, will be back in a few weeks time in a repackaged and in a better format...so this is just a breather as I work on new ideas and incorporate your feedback for the upcoming season.

In this final episode of the first season, I recap the topics that were covered in the previous fourteen episodes.
Under What The Finance, I covered

1. Retirement (Roth IRA - Ep.1),
2. Estate Planning (Wills/Living Trusts Ep 14, Buy Borrow Die approach in Ep 13, and the PoD/ToD options in Ep 4),
3. Income & Tax Savings tips (I Bonds, Ep 6, and HSAs in Ep 7),
4. Kids Financial Literacy & College education (Legal/Financial docs for when child turns 18 - Ep 2, New CC & building Credit history in Ep 3, and Money for Nothing/College for Free through 529s in Ep 11 :-), &
5. Stocks & Alternative Assets (Top 10 stocks for 10X returns - Ep 10; Crypto basics & investment options in Ep 8 & 9).
6. Episode 12 was focused on Frauds, Scams & Hacks - how to protect yourself and your loved ones;

And in What The Fun/Film parts of the episodes, there were two movies:

• Promising Young Woman (Netflix)
• Sylvie's Love (Amazon Prime),

plus the following recommended streaming shows:

• On Netflix - Lupin, The Kominsky Method, Russian Doll, Never Have I Ever, Serpent, and Better Call Saul
• On Apple TV+ - Ted Lasso, and Mythic Quest, and
• On HBO - Big Little Lies

Thanks to all the loyal listeners...the community spanned 15 countries & 165 cities! I am amazed and grateful 😇
Thanks to all those who helped with the conceptualization, the marketing, the feedbacks, and with sharing.
Continue to be interested in hearing back on what/who/how you would like to hear in the next season. So please do provide that feedback!
I have a bonus at the end of the episode, so hope you listen to it, and give all the previous ones a good listen too!

I enjoyed putting these episodes together every week, and I do hope you enjoyed listening to them. If you do, please also share with your friends & social circles and recommend they subscribe too. Hearing back from you on my Facebook Page What The Fs will also help me make these better aligned to listener tastes.

Here are the links to subscribe to it on all major podcast directories, and share it with your friends...these links will continue to remain active during this pause.

Buzzsprout: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/1721890.rss

Apple Podcasts:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/whatthefs/id1570521351

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/49d8IxKEcCOoFK4vhgyFmH...

@What_TheFs is my twitter handle...hope to see you there too.

Someone is killed...but who? why? and by whom?
The enchanting coastal town of Monterey in California, right at the edge of one of the most scenic drives in the world, the Big Sur, is the setting for this stunningly mesmerizing HBO series on the lives, the loves, and the losses of the top 1%, nay the top .01% amongst us. The star wattage of the cast is by itself enough to put this two-season series in the top 1% of streaming shows too, but the plot, the characters and the gorgeous cinematography, make it to the .01% level!
And is murder itself the mystery? More than a whodunit, this is a relationship expose...and the real mystery is about the little lies we tell ourselves and those around us to cover up the big holes in our lives. Big Little Lies!
What happens when the rich and famous don't do proper estate planning? Like it happens in this series, they run into custody issues, guardianship questions for their minor children, property disputes, what have you...all because they didn't bother to tune into WhatTheFs :-)
Will you Trust me by listening to the quick primer on what are the different estate planning tools, when to use them, and their key differences?
I enjoy putting these episodes together every week, and I do hope you enjoy listening to them. If you do, please also share with your friends & social circles and recommend they subscribe too. Hearing back from you on my newly launched Facebook Page What The Fs will also help me make these better aligned to listener tastes.

Here are the links to subscribe to it on all major podcast directories, and share it with your friends...

Buzzsprout: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/1721890.rss

Apple Podcasts:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/whatthefs/id1570521351

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/49d8IxKEcCOoFK4vhgyFmH...

@What_TheFs is my twitter handle...hope to see you there too.
Next week will be the 15th episode in the first season of WhatTheFs...will be a special one, so don't forget to tune in next week as well.

Welcome to the latest episode of WhatTheFs, lucky episode number 13! WhatTheFs episodes are my weekly take on fads, films, finance & fun, with friends, and have been dropping regularly every friday. I do know they have become sort of a weekly ritual for some of the committed listeners and their families, so thanks for your support.
I strive to keep in touch with whatever the F is happening around the world, so that five minutes with me over the weekend should make your next five days happy, make you money, or both! Paanch taaza minute mein paanch din ka jaaykedaar mazaa.

In today’s episode, titled Buy, Borrow, Die? Better call Rak...I am delighted to share with you two items that are BOATs - Best of All Times. A streaming series recommendation that ranks amongst the very best, is a totally bingeable series on par, and dare I say, even better than its predecessor ‘sequel’. And the ultimate estate management, tax savings & capital gains avoidance strategy called Buy, Borrow, Die! And why the Biden Tax Plan could be like the Taliban :-)

A bonus lawyer joke is in there too ;-) It's all good, man!
I enjoy putting these episodes together every week, and I do hope you enjoy listening to them. If you do, please also share with your friends & social circles and recommend they subscribe too. Hearing back from you on my newly launched Facebook Page What The Fs will also help me make these better aligned to listener tastes.

Here are the links to subscribe to it on all major podcast directories, and share it with your friends...

Buzzsprout: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/1721890.rss

Apple Podcasts:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/whatthefs/id1570521351

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/49d8IxKEcCOoFK4vhgyFmH...

@What_TheFs is my twitter handle...hope to see you there too.
Bfn...Till next week then!

Once upon a time ...the garden of internet was an unspoiled, innocent, open playground for all of us. It held so much promise. There was an Apple in this garden too. Beguiling, tasty....And then the serpent appeared! The fault lines from the offline world, the typical human failings showed up here too, and even a bite of the mighty apple has not been enough to restore the internet to its pristine state.
Welcome to the 12th episode of WhatTheFs, my weekly take on Fads, Films, Finance & Fun, with Friends! In todays episode, called the Serpent in the Garden of Internet, I bring to you two items that showcase, what else, the serpent.
In What The Film, a Netflix limited series that is based on the exploits of the notorious conman, Charles Sobhraj, who prowled, defrauded and killed unsuspecting victims in the hippie trails of South Asia during the 70s! A larger than life figure for those who grew up in India and heard about his dodges, frauds, capture, and escapes, his backstory and the extent of his evil needs to be seen to be believed.
There is another reason why I chose this series for today’s episode! Sobhraj lured and defrauded his victims back in the days before mobile phones & internet, but there are parallels and lessons for us in todays world, in the age of the internet.

In the What The Finance section, I am touching upon What The Fraud....the frauds, scams & hacks that have permanently taken away the innocence and promise of the Garden of Internet! Sprinkled with some tips and suggestions to make sure you and your family never become a victim.
Serpent in the Garden of Internet: Hope you find this episode useful...and if you do, pls do share with your friends & social circles, and do drop me your inputs, experiences & feedback on the topic so we can all learn from each other!

This is Rak, signing off on the latest in WhatTheFs, my Weekly Take in Five on Fads, Films, Finance & Fun, with Friends!

Here are the links to subscribe to it on all major podcast directories, and share it with your friends...
Buzzsprout: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/1721890.rss
Apple Podcasts:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/whatthefs/id1570521351
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/49d8IxKEcCOoFK4vhgyFmH?si=EFpQKn-xSzGGBiKY7HZGug&dl_branch=1
See you again next week...till then, happy listening!

Welcome to the Eleventh episode of WhatTheFs, inspired by and with apologies to Mark Knopfler & the Dire Straits band!
Never have I ever sung publicly before, maybe not even in private 😔, but this knock-off on their popular song contains a simple but relevant message on how to use the power of long-term investing & compounding to get money for college, for free.
For an average person in the US, and even globally, college fees & expenses for their kids are the second biggest spending they would do in their lifetimes, right after investments in their home. Currently, four years at a top-notch private school can set a family back by close to a quarter million dollars per college going child, as not everyone is eligible for grants or aid! That's a significant amount and can come as a nasty surprise if you are not prepared for it, leaving you scrambling at the last minute, dipping into regular savings, retirement funds, or seeking student loans.
It is August, time to make tuition payments for colleges in the US, and I was thinking about how useful our 529s (savings vehicles in the US specifically designed for college, now even school, funds) have been in helping with our boys' college fees. We started investing in these as soon as they were born, and while we may not have maximized it every year, I am happy to confess that what I tried to sing (more like screeched! - sorry Mark :-), is something we have personally benefited from greatly.

So how does this College for free thingy really work? I made some assumptions, did some simple math, and have explained those in this episode too! Assuming you start as soon as they are born (you can start later too) using the 529 route, and invest regularly in aggressive stock-weighted options, your money can grow in 20 years to provide you with gains & earnings that alone are sufficient to pay for four years of college in a private school! All your gains are tax free if used for higher education...and in some states, you also get breaks for investing in the state plans.
There are other options for saving & paying for college, and I have only focused on the main one, the 529s. You can find more details, information, comparisons etc at this excellent site savingsforcollege.com
Money for Nothing, College for Free: Hope you like this episode...pls do share with your friends & social circles, and do drop me your feedback and review comments!

This is Rak, signing off on the latest in WhatTheFs, my Weekly Take in Five on Fads, Films, Finance & Fun, with Friends!

See you again next week...till then, happy listening!
Here are the links to subscribe to it on all major podcast directories, and share it with your friends...
Buzzsprout: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/1721890.rss
Apple Podcasts:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/whatthefs/id1570521351
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/49d8IxKEcCOoFK4vhgyFmH?si=EFpQKn-xSzGGBiKY7HZGug&dl_branch=1