5 Life-Changing Money Lessons from Jonathan Clements (SB1744)

The Stacking Benjamins Show

Joe Saul-Sehy and Josh ‘OG’ Bannerman, CFP

Personal Finance, Financial Planning, Education, Retirement, Investing, Cfp, Business, Money

4.4 • 2K Ratings

🗓️ 6 October 2025

⏱️ 57 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

What if the key to a richer life isn’t about chasing the next hot stock or grinding harder — but learning to master the timeless truths of money? In this episode of The Stacking Benjamins Show, Joe Saul-Sehy, OG, and Neighbor Doug pay tribute to legendary financial writer Jonathan Clements by revisiting five of his most impactful lessons. These aren’t complicated formulas or secret hacks — they’re the kind of deceptively simple ideas that change the way you think about money, work, and what truly matters.

We’ll explore why prioritizing financial stability before passion can actually lead you to a more fulfilling career, how “winning by not losing” may be the most underrated investing strategy of all time, and why patience isn’t just a virtue — it’s a tax strategy. Along the way, we’ll talk about how to strike the right balance between frugality and joy and why living your life may be the best investment you ever make. Plus, we help Stacker Kat tackle a tricky severance situation and share tips on how to put that cash to work without capsizing your financial plan.

If you’ve ever wondered how to align your money with a life you actually love, this conversation is the perfect mix of inspiration and actionable wisdom. Grab your coffee mug and settle into Mom’s basement — this is an episode you’ll come back to whenever you need a financial reset.

What You'll Learn

The real reason you shouldn’t chase passion too soon — and what to do instead
How to avoid the most common (and costly) financial mistakes
Why patience pays: how time turns taxes into opportunity
How to balance frugality with actually living a fulfilling life
Smart ways to use severance, high-yield savings, and investing strategies together

Points To Ponder:

Which of Jonathan Clements’ five money lessons hits closest to home for you?
Have you ever faced a tough severance decision like Stacker Kat’s? What did you do?
Do you believe financial stability should always come before passion — or is there a time to flip that script?

FULL SHOW NOTES: https://stackingbenjamins.com/five-pearls-of-wisdom-from-jonathan-clements-1744

Deeper dives with curated links, topics, and discussions are in our newsletter, The 201, available at https://www.stackingbenjamins.com/201

Enjoy!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	You know, it's going to be an exciting week when we just hit record. And I've already finished my coffee. Like, it's gone. It's gone. What makes that exciting? That sounds pretty miserable to me. It sounds like the worst way to start a week ever out of coffee. Well, that means that I'm already caffeinated way more than I thought. You ever get to the bottom of your cup and you're like, oh, crap. When I see the bottom. Yeah. Oh, no.
0:23.9	No, because there's always more. that I'm already caffeinated way more than I thought. You ever get to the bottom of your cup and you're like, oh, crap.
0:21.4	When I see the bottom.
0:22.6	Yeah.
0:23.4	Oh, no. No, because there's always more. I finish that way quicker than I thought. There's always coffee in the banana stand, Joe. We can't do that, OG. We have a show and I'm committed to this audience. We're going to get the show done. that I'll get more coffee.
0:36.0	Okay.
0:36.5	But for now, raise your mug.
0:38.3	Raise your empty mug in my case. We're going to get the show done. That'll get more coffee. Okay. But for now, raise your mug.
0:38.3	Raise your empty mug in my case or your full mug.
0:43.2	What's all you drinking, Doug?
0:44.5	Coffee out of a can.
0:46.1	Yes.
0:46.9	Lime-flavored Kirkland sparkling water coffee.
0:50.3	Yeah, that's what I'm drinking.
0:51.6	On behalf of the men and women making podcast at Mom's Baseman and the Women at Navy Federal Credit Union, as we do every Monday.
0:59.4	Here's a big salute to the troops that kept us safe all weekend.
1:01.7	Thank you so much.
1:03.9	And now, it's all head out and stack some bedjamins together this week.
1:09.9	Stack them.
1:12.5	Let's get some stacking going. is hot ray symmetrical book stacking just like the philadelphia man's tribunence of
1:19.5	1947 you're right no human being would stack books like this. Listen. You smell something?
1:38.1	Live from Joe's Mom's basement, it's the stacking Benjamin's show. I'm Joe's Mom's Neighbor, Doug, and last week we mourned the death of longtime personal finance columnist Jonathan Clements.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Joe Saul-Sehy and Josh ‘OG’ Bannerman, CFP, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Joe Saul-Sehy and Josh ‘OG’ Bannerman, CFP and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.