The Personal Finance Podcast · Andrew Giancola

26 Things to Do with Your Money In 2026!

·59 min·4 clips

A $3,000 emergency fund becomes $500 per paycheck when Andrew breaks down the goal.

1. The Personal Finance Podcast episode "26 Things to Do with Your Money In 2026!" is Andrew's yearly checklist for money decisions in 2026. 2. Andrew hosts the show, identifies himself as founder of mastermoney.co, and frames the episode as a practical roadmap for people who want to master their money. 3. The episode asks what listeners should actually do with their money in 2026, not just what they should think about. 4. Andrew says managing money is "90% psychology" and 10% head knowledge, so he starts with rebuilding trust around money. 5. He tells listeners to separate bad decisions from identity, saying "You are not bad with money" because of debt or a bad year. 6. He recommends quick wins early in the year, such as reducing an expense, saving a little, or investing the first $20. 7. Andrew says confidence compounds faster than returns once the ball gets rolling. 8. He introduces a goal-setting system that turns annual targets into monthly, paycheck, and weekly actions. 9. His example is a $3,000 emergency-fund goal that becomes $500 per paycheck for someone paid twice a month. 10. He also breaks that goal into $250 per week and applies the same method to debt, income, vacations, health spending, and investments. 11. Andrew says every listener needs a financial baseline built from the last three to six months of expenses. 12. He defines essentials as housing, food, transportation, debt payments, and health care. 13. He separates those from non-essentials like eating out, movies, and drinks with friends. 14. Andrew says the baseline matters because it shows burn rate and helps with emergency-fund planning. 15. He pushes automation for bills, investments, and savings so money moves without willpower. 16. He names Fidelity, Vanguard, SoFi, Ally, and Betterment as places where automatic investing or bucketed savings can be set up. 17. The tone is instructional and repetitive by design, with Andrew restating the same money principle in several forms. 18. The format is a solo, numbered list with examples, direct commands, and occasional references to Master Money Academy and checklists. 19. Listeners who want a 2026 money reset and concrete systems will likely find this useful. 20. Listeners who prefer a short interview or narrative story may skip it.

As heard by us

A practical money checklist built around simple, repeatable moves.

Andrew treats 2026 like a money checklist, and the episode works best when it stays plain about what to do next. It moves through savings, spending, investing, inflation, and account limits without wandering too far from the point, so the advice feels usable instead of lofty.

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Why you'd press play

You want a 2026 money reset you can actually start this week.

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