Historian and investor Joseph Moore, PhD, spent over a decade digging through 300 years of American financial advice to find out what actually worked, and what everyday people, not just the Rockefellers of the world, were told to do with their money.

In this conversation with Melissa Joy, CFP®, Joseph explains why Americans used to say “go ahead” instead of “get ahead,” what that shift in language reveals about self-reliance and the American dream, and why perspective on how hard life used to be (one and a half shirts per person in 1870, no flush toilets well into the twentieth century) can reframe how we think about today's challenges.

They also dig into a subject close to Melissa's heart: the long, well-documented history of women managing, investing, and building wealth, from Ladies' Home Journal financial columns to Abigail Adams quietly out-investing John Adams. Joseph shares what his own real estate investing taught him about the myths of passive income, makes an unlikely defense of personal finance gurus, and reflects on how his working-class upbringing in rural South Carolina shaped a book that became a national bestseller.

What You'll Learn

• Why Americans historically said “go ahead” instead of “get ahead,” and what that language reveals about self-reliance versus collective pessimism
• How dramatically material life has improved in the last 150 years, and why that context matters when comparing today's challenges to the past
• Why the idea of a long history of stay-at-home moms is a myth, and how women's self-employment and part-time income kept most American families afloat
• The overlooked history of women investing in mortgages, securities, and real estate going back to the 1700s, including Abigail Adams's investment returns
• Why real estate is not always a passive investment, and what it actually takes to make money owning it
• A historian's case for what personal finance gurus get right, and where their advice tends to fall short
• Why saving a percentage of every paycheck in the stock market is newer advice than most people realize
• The power of living on one income and investing the other, a strategy with roots stretching back generations

Guest Bio

Joseph Moore, PhD, is a national bestselling author, historian, and investor whose self-experimentation with history's wildest financial strategies made him financially independent in his mid-40s. His writing has appeared in The New York Times and through HarperCollins and Oxford University Press. His new book, How to Get Rich in American History: 300 Years of Financial Advice That Worked (and Didn't), is an instant USA Today bestseller. You can find his free newsletter and more of his writing at josephmoorebooks.com, and follow him on Instagram.

The previous presentation by PEARL PLANNING was intended for general information purposes only. No portion of the presentation serves as the receipt of, or as a substitute for, personalized investment advice from PEARL PLANNING or any other investment professional of your choosing. Different types of investments involve varying degrees of risk, and it should not be assumed that future performance of any specific investment or investment strategy, or any non-investment related or planning services, discussion or content, will be profitable, be suitable for your portfolio or individual situation, or prove successful. Neither PEARL PLANNING’s investment adviser registration status, nor any amount of prior experience or success, should be construed that a certain level of results or satisfaction will be achieved if PEARL PLANNING is engaged, or continues to be engaged, to provide investment advisory services. PEARL PLANNING is neither a law firm nor accounting firm, and no portion of its services should be construed as legal or accounting advice. No portion of the video content should be construed by a client or prospective client as a guarantee that he/she will experience a certain level of results if PEARL PLANNING is engaged, or continues to be engaged, to provide investment advisory services. A copy of PEARL PLANNING’s current written disclosure Brochure discussing our advisory services and fees is available upon request or at https...

Retirement talk tends to fixate on a magic number, but Melissa Joy, CFP®, and fellow financial planner and podcaster Stephanie McCullough argue the real work happens well before and long after that number is reached. In this candid conversation, the two planners compare notes on what they see in their own practices: clients who retire on a fixed rule of thumb only to discover it doesn't flex with real life, retirees who under-spend out of fear even when the plan says they can afford more, and families quietly overwhelmed by aging parents' finances, unspoken inheritances, and adult children who haven't yet launched.

Melissa and Stephanie also dig into the myths that shape how people think about retirement long before they get there, from the outdated idea that retirement equals age sixty-five, to the belief that a portfolio should get more conservative simply because a client is getting older.

They close with a rapid-fire round covering the most overrated retirement rule of thumb, the most underestimated expense, and what people should and shouldn't be losing sleep over, before reflecting on how their own work with retirees has shaped how they each plan to retire themselves.

What You'll Learn

• Why the idea that retirement equals age sixty-five is outdated, and how ageism, layoffs, and longer lifespans complicate that math
• Why Melissa and Stephanie now encourage many clients to spend more, not less, in the early years of retirement
• The difference between a plan “failing” and a plan needing adjustment, and why that framing matters
• Why the four percent rule and age-based portfolio allocation are two of the most overrated pieces of retirement conventional wisdom
• The most underestimated retirement expenses, including Medicare surcharges (IRMAA) and dental care
• How to navigate family conversations about aging parents' finances, inheritance, and adult children who still rely on financial support
• Why having a plan for aging in place, or choosing not to, is one of the most overlooked parts of retirement planning
• Why even confident self-managed investors need a transition plan for handing off financial management as they age

The previous presentation by PEARL PLANNING was intended for general information purposes only. No portion of the presentation serves as the receipt of, or as a substitute for, personalized investment advice from PEARL PLANNING or any other investment professional of your choosing. Different types of investments involve varying degrees of risk, and it should not be assumed that future performance of any specific investment or investment strategy, or any non-investment related or planning services, discussion or content, will be profitable, be suitable for your portfolio or individual situation, or prove successful. Neither PEARL PLANNING’s investment adviser registration status, nor any amount of prior experience or success, should be construed that a certain level of results or satisfaction will be achieved if PEARL PLANNING is engaged, or continues to be engaged, to provide investment advisory services. PEARL PLANNING is neither a law firm nor accounting firm, and no portion of its services should be construed as legal or accounting advice. No portion of the video content should be construed by a client or prospective client as a guarantee that he/she will experience a certain level of results if PEARL PLANNING is engaged, or continues to be engaged, to provide investment advisory services. A copy of PEARL PLANNING’s current written disclosure Brochure discussing our advisory services and fees is available upon request or at https...