Episodes
-
Welcome to another episode of Better Dave! Today, I'm diving into the fascinating world of personal finance and exploring how we can get our money working for us.
I've spent over three decades with the same bank, but recently, I've rediscovered the benefits of modern financial tools like SoFi and Acorns.
As I monitor my income and outcome in Monarch, I have noticed the more attention you spend on your money, the more money there is to manage.
Whether you're drowning in debt or just looking for smarter ways to manage your finances, there's something here for everyone. So, let's get started on building a better financial future together!
Mentioned In This Episode
Sofi online bank account
Acorns Banking (round up and invest)
Monarch Budgeting Program
Enjoy the show? Buy Dave a Coffee (or two)
-
Today's story reminds us there's still hope in humanity. In this episode, our host, Dave Jackson, shares a personal mishap that turns into a surprising testament to the goodness of people. After a pleasant bike ride in Ohio, Dave discovers he’s lost his wallet, containing all his essential cards and cash. His frantic search proves futile, leading to setbacks as he navigates the day without his wallet.
Lessons Learned:
Do not put ALL of your cards in your wallet.
Enjoy the show? Buy Dave a Coffee.
-
Missing episodes?
-
On the latest episode of Better Dave, titled "Putting the FUN in Funeral," host Dave Jackson shares a heartwarming and humorous tribute to his favorite teacher and mentor, Jim Blackstock. This episode takes us on an emotional yet uplifting journey, emphasizing the profound impact a great teacher can have on our lives.
Here are three key takeaways from this poignant episode:
- **Integrating Humor in Education**:
Dave underscores how Jim Blackstock's unique teaching style, blending humor with education, made learning enjoyable and memorable, influencing Dave's own teaching approach.- **The Power of Mentorship**:
The episode highlights the significant role mentorship plays in shaping personal and professional growth, as demonstrated by Jim's encouragement of Dave's writing, which started in his college days.- **Celebrating Life with a Smile**:
The touching account of Jim Blackstock’s funeral, infused with whimsy and laughter, serves as a reminder of the importance of celebrating life and the legacies we leave behind.🎙️ Tune in to reflect on the laughter and lessons shared in this special episode of Better Dave. It's a true testament to the lasting impact of teachers like Jim, who inspire and transform lives beyond the classroom.
Here is the episode I did before. The best teacher I ever had.
Like the show? Buy Dave a Coffee and Say Thanks!
-
Today I turn 59 and apparently, I have one goal: Don't Break a Hip. So I reflect a bit on my 20s, 30s, and 40s, as I have 365 more days in my 50's. According to AI, "From reminiscing about past relationships and experiences to contemplating the inevitability of aging and the challenges of staying healthy, Dave's musings offer a heartfelt and relatable perspective on navigating life's journey." So click Play already
Key Points:
You can't change people.I don't want to live a life filled with Ozzy Lyrics.
With some lessons, you need two chances to learn.
Getting old is weird, and I don't want to live in fear.
While the baby of the family gets away with murder, there is still a price to pay.
While she may be a queen, I need another divorce.
Mentioned In This Episode
River by Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell on the Grammys 2024
Ozzy See You On The Other Side
Prince Lonely Christmas ( the snare is weirdly in the right headphone)
Future.co (virtual weight loss coaches)
Like the Show? Consider buying me a coffee.
-
Sometimes we forget what life was like, and in todays' episode I realize that I can get the answer to just about everything with a few clicks of a mouse.
Things we learned today. Which way to set your ceiling fan in the winter.
Rhino Sex
Elephant Sperm Collection
-
Yuri Bezmenov was a russian journlist who defected to the USA. He explained a strategy of the KGB. HE said this in 1984.
It was called either ideological subversion, or active measures.
What it basically means is to change the perception of reality of every American to such an extent that despite the abundance of information, no one is able to come to sensible conclusions in the interests of defending themselves, their families, their community, and their country. It's a great brainwashing process that goes very slow and is divided in four basic stages.
The first one being demoralization; it takes from 15 to 20 years to demoralize a nation. Why that many years? Because this is the minimum number of years required to educate one generation of students The ideology is being pumped into the soft heads of at least three generations of American students without being challenged or counterbalanced by the basic values of Americanism
What Is The Result?
The result you can see, most of the people who were "half-baked intellectuals" are now occupying positions of power in the government, civil service, business, mass media, and educational system; you are stuck with them, and you cannot get rid of them. They are contaminated.
They're programmed to think and react to certain stimuli in a certain pattern. You cannot change their mind even if you expose them to authentic information.
Even if you prove that white is white and black is black, you still cannot change the basic perception and the logic of behavior. In other words, the process of demoralization is complete and irreversible.
To reverse this you have you need another 15 or 20 years to educate a new generation of common sense.
The demoralization process in the United States is completed already. For the last 25 years, actually, it's over fulfilled because demoralisation now reaches such areas where experts, would even dream of such tremendous success.
Most of it is done by Americans to Americans, thanks to a lack of moral standards.
Mentioned In This Episode
Yuri Bezmenov
Time Blindness Video
Time Blindness from the Cleveland Clinic
Like this episode? Buy Dave a Coffee
-
Today we have a very relatable topic to delve into. We've all had those days where everything seems to go wrong, where every step forward feels like two steps back. Well, my friends, today we're talking about having a bad day.
All I had to do was go to Walmart, buy some fruit and two cables, and get to the church by five for a special event. It just seemed like I couldn't catch a break all day.
No matter how bad your day is, someone might be having one that is even worse. It's hard, but try to find some gratitude in those situations.
-
Welcome back to another episode of "Building a Better Dave" with your host, Dave Jackson. In today's episode, a mysterious bump near the armpit is getting bigger. Dave takes us on a journey of curiosity, self-discovery, and a deep desire to stay healthy. Join us as we explore the hilarious yet relatable moments of navigating waxing, dieting, financial frugality, and the pains and fears that come with aging. So grab your headphones and prepare for another thought-provoking and entertaining episode of "Building a Better Dave."
-
So Meta/Facebook released a "new" app called Threads. I installed it to check it out, and well...
It's Twitter.
No. Seriously, it is Twitter (with a different name)
Why?
Because of a difference of opinion, once again, America separates.
Pinapple Pizza
Sompe people love pineapple on your pizza, while people like me are more traditional (pepperoni and maybe some onion).
Instead of trying a different type of pizza, we get HIGHLY offended and scream HOW DARE YOU! or ask, "HOW CAN YOU EVEN THINK THAT??? and instead of having a dialogue, we separate and go to our respective corners.
Instead of asking, "Hey can I try that?" or "Hmmm, that's an interesting concept," we scream for pistols at dawn. We want to wipe the different opinions of the planet, and here it is again, and it somewhat bums me out.
Sidenote: Easy opening tents.
-
I've started using a Continous Glucose Monitor (or as the cool kids call it a CGM) from Signos.
It's pretty amazing and the thing I love about it is if I put in my food into the app before I eat it, it will warn me, "Hey, you better exercise for 20 minutes when you finish eating THAT."
So I do, and I watch my blood glucose stabilize.
Grapes are out. Like, never again. Which is a bummer, as I love grapes.
FRONT OF MIND
The one thing this does is it helps you keep your health in front of you. I am constantly looking at it to see where I am. As I started to record this, I hit a spike, so I'll be going for a walk.
IF ONLY
Wouldn't it be great if there was some sort of warning for real life, "Hey, I'm going on a date with HER, and the app would go, "OK, but you're going to lose a house to her in a divorce in 11 years..."
-
Dallas turned 45 (See picture here) and Patrick Duffy, Linda Gray, Charlene Tilton, Audrey Landers, Steve Kanaly, Joan Van Ark, Sheree Wilson and Cathy Podewell met up for a reunion. Victoria Principal didn't attend.
. Here are three key takeaways:
Dave has never seen anyone who looks better after getting work done on their face
He advises women (and Men) to focus on healthy habits such as eating right and exercising if they're thinking of updating their appearance.
Dave questions the effectiveness of cosmetic surgery and suggests that it doesn't make people look better,
Have you had experience with cosmetic surgery? Are you happy with it?
www.betterdave.com/contact or call in your comments 888-563-3228
-
I looked up and I was subscribed to Peacock, Hulu, Netflix, Apple TV, Hbomax, the only one missing was paramount. I use YouTube TV to get "TV."
As I was considering closing these, I was worried that I wouldn't be able to chime in on the conversation around the water cooler at work. Then I remembered it's not 1995. I haven't had anyone since Christmas talk about a TV show that I felt I was missing out (Yellowstone, and I wasn't but I binged it on Peacock).
A friend of mine told me how he would subscribe to one at a time and watch all there is to watch, and when he starts to struggle to find something good to watch, he will unsubscribe and fire up a different service. Life is too short to watch mediocre entertainment (I grew up watching the Waltons... ugh...).
Financial guy Dave Ramsey talks about attacking your debt with the same intensity of a Gazelle who is trying to outrun a cheeta (the fastest animal on the planet). So while the 40ish dollars this will save me a month won't make me rich, it will help me pay off debts quicker, so why not.
Speaking of value, if this made you think, why not say thank you and buy me a coffee?
-
I spoke about my now PSTD reaction to finding pile after pile after pile of plastic bags that my sister (who NEVER throws them away) had stored throughout my house in a previous episode.
After watching a report from ABC News called Trashed: The Secret Life of Plastic Recycling that there was an option that had never crossed my mind.
Isn't that the way so many things are? We convince ourselves of an outcome, or our potential and we never challenge that thought. We never check to see if it is still true.
When I was a teenager, I worked in a grocery store. If someone walked in with a big bag (or a winter coat when it was warm outside) someone was going to watch you through the store to make sure you didn't shoplift. Now it is encouraged so the store doesn't have to pay for the bag you are using.
So what is the cure for plastic bags? Quit using them. Yep, that is an option and I spent $20 on Amazon and bought three usable grocery bags. My problem of always having a bag of bags that I always forget to bring with me when I go to the store (and then stuff more bags into the bag of bags) is solved. For me, who just HATED these bags, this is a big deal that was solved for $20. You can find cheaper versions as well.
If your water is drinkable from the tap, then, call me crazy... use it. If it's not then looking into a Brita Water Filter will save you money in the long run. Americans buy 29 billion water bottles a year. When I go to trade shows, I can always pick up some kind of metal 20 oz water bottle that keeps things cool, or you can buy an insulated metal water bottle with a chug lid (who doesn't love a good chug lid). for $13.
So why are we even using plastic bags (I know the idea was to save the trees, but in saving the trees we have a serious plastic issue now), the answer is simple. Who is involved in making these super thin plastic bags? The Big Oil, and Big Chemical industries.
Well, that answers a lot.
P.S. The book I was reading about the guy in the closet is Winning the War in Your Mind: Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life by Craig Groeschel.
Enjoy the show? Buy Dave a Coffee.
-
I've got some momentum going. My house is cleaner, my vocabulary is growing, my finances are more organized, I'm focused on losing weight, and I'm possessed by the spirit of my Mom, who is helping me locate the best deals for food.
When something doesn't go your way, it's not a failure. It's an experience that you can use to move forward in a smarter way.
00:11 Intro
00:37 Lots of Irons in the Fire
01:11 Triggered By My Uncle
02:15 Act 4
02:59 Dave The Slob
03:47 Health Benefits of Less Clutter
04:40 More Sleep = More Focus
05:14 monthlychallenge.fit
05:42 Duolingo
06:10 Dave Ramsey
Every Dollar
Financial Peace University07:32 Grocery Detective
09:55 Pennies Make Dollars
Enjoy the show? Buy Me a Coffee
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/davejackson -
In this episode, I talk about making a brain tattoo, setting myself up to succeed (if I can just remember what it is I'm working on...) and parenting yourself. I just need to add one thing to my routine.
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
Todoist App
Evernote App
Google Calendar
Todoist Tutorials
ENJOY THE SHOW?
Buy Dave a Coffee
-
While I never met him in person, a fellow Libsyn employee was killed by a drunk driver on 12/4/22. He was a wife and three young daughters.
If you're new, I was married to an alcoholic, and hearing about drunk drivers is somewhat triggering. Throw on top a parent leaving the earth way too soon, and now you really are hitting me on all levels.
But wait, there is more.
It turns out there are people who are using AI (artificial intelligence) to scrape the internet for obituaries so they can "write" an article about the person and cram the website full of ads. One person even did it in a video (with the monetization turned on and the comments - naturally - turned off).
In the same way, you can get the air knocked out of you; I have lost some of my faith in humanity. I can't even explain my thoughts.
It's not often that Dave Jackson is speechless.
If you'd like to help out his wife and kids, it will make you feel better
Here is the GO FUND ME page.
-
I am worried about men. I think we are an endangered species. Here is why:
SPORTS
We listen to sportscasters who are making millions talk about athletes who are making millions for team owners who make billions. There are dedicated radio stations that talk about nothing else than how the team is doing, and what they need to do to win.
None of that talk has any effect on the team. Zero
FOOTBALL COMMERCIALS
Then when you watch a football game, you always have:
1. The spokesmodel who didn't play football but is STUNNINGLY beautiful who will "pass it over" to people who actually played the game. She can also do that special piece during breast cancer awareness month.
2. There will be boner pill commercials, cause you know...priorities
3. Remedies for baldness. We will ship it to you in a private box - because nobody knows you're bald.
4. Trucks. Big trucks with deep voiceovers. These trucks have power unlike your small penis, which needs a blue pull to function.
5. Beer. If you can't afford a large truck you head to the mountains. This commercial lists no facts and only has a sweaty beer can that eventually you get to hear open.
5. Gambling. Kevin Hart (another millionaire) talks about the best way to gamble all of the money you worked hard to earn. They are giving away money to people who light their money on fire the fastest. Oh, and here is a phone number if this commercial triggered you.
BUT WAIT THERE IS MORE
6. My Self Esteem is tied to my team. If we lose, my week is wrecked (Really?)
7. Tick Shots - I just started paying attention to TikTok, and I am AMAZED at how GUYS (no women are doing this) are spending what must be hours if not days filming themselves trying to put a cup into a cup, or a ping pong ball, or flying a card into a clothespin. Whatever it is, it took a LOT of time to film. Which makes me think, "How much free time do YOU HAVE?"
So we are giving anyone who wants to say how stupid, pigheaded, and idiotic men are - lots of evidence.
Enjoy this episode? Buy Dave a Coffee
-
So I'm back from an event where people got offended by the presence of someone being in a room. That's a new one for me. I've been disappointed to see someone but seeing them never brought me harm.
How can you say you are for inclusion, and at the same time say you want to exclude someone? I don't understand.
I'm also sad to see people water down very powerful words. I save the "F word" for the end of the argument (thanks to George Carlin). I also hear people using the word Fascist, and I'm not sure they understand the definition.
We won't learn anything if we are yelling at each other, and I'm asking for help.
It will be interesting to see if asking for help is seen as violence.
Check out the commercial for the Fisher Price Podcast Set
Podcast Set - Saturday Night Live
-
It's hard to watch a friend get canceled. My friend Daniel is a devout Christian.
Currently, there is the worry that Roe Vs Wade will be overturned and abortion will be illegal.
Daniel left a comment on a tweet that was pro-choice. "“Stopping the mass murder of blacks and women, along with all the other babies, will be wonderful for the USA. How anyone could be so barbaric to endorse the murder of nearly 1 million babies every year is unbelievable." (He later deleted this tweet)
Daniel at the time was a Governor for the Podcast Academy. The TPA has a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion declaration on their site that reads,
We celebrate and support the industry of audio storytelling and fight to uplift and center the diverse communities of people doing this work.
We acknowledge the historical inequities that have existed in the space. We understand that to dismantle these inequities; it will take intentional efforts and commitments aimed at the communities that have long been subject to these inequities, including BIPOC, LGBTQ+ communities, people with disabilities, immigrants, and people across the spectrum of socio-economic class.
We encourage our members to hold us accountable, but we also realize that it is not the responsibility of marginalized communities to do this work for us. For these reasons, we invest funds into external, BIPOC+ led resources to help us continue in this work.This policy is a living document that grows as we do, and we look forward to continuing to evolve through our ongoing education, outreach, and efforts for mutual understanding.
After his comments went viral people started a petition to get him removed. They called him a racist, homophobic, and a misogynist.
Another fact, the Podcast Academy is 69% female.
Daniel was asked to resign, and when he declined he was fired.
Abortion
Mike Tyson said everyone has a plan until you get punched in the face. I think everyone has their views on abortion until they find out they are pregnant. I don't have a vagina, so I keep out of that conversation.
Racist
In the book, “Uncomfortable conversation with a black man” the author says to white people, I imagine some of you are thinking if black people can't decide which term to use, then how and why should white people be expected to know which term to use? Point taken? To the extent I can speak for anyone else, black is the most inclusive choice. There's no one label that will satisfy all.
I sued Google and found many websites stating THIS is the term that white people should use. They were all different.
Some wrong words are obvious (the N word) and others have white people asking, "Can I say this?" When I hear that people are saying he should stop breathing because he didn't put a capital on the "B" in blacks, it feels a bit extreme.
I asked this question in a group, and the group could not give me an agreed-upon answer. SO know that white people are trying, but it's confusing.
Learning
You don't learn when you talk, you learn when you listen. It's hard when we get upset. When we don't feel heard our voices get loud. That is being human, but you have to realize that we were all raised in our own bubbles of culture and are probably missing pieces when it comes to understanding others.
The internet can bring us all together to learn from each other if we are willing students with open minds.
There will be times when we agree to disagree. I am driving to PA next week to see a friend of mine who is an atheist. I am not. We talk about everything and anything - except religion. He's not changing my mind, and I'm not changing his. If we have questions we know where to go.
Dialogues
At a podcast event, there were two left-leaning, two right-leaning, and one LGBQT+ person and we all listened and talk about our experiences. This was the first time I realized what I learned in school is not accurate. Daniel was nothing but respectful. This was such a cool conversation that I remember it, and so does David Hooper (one of the guys at the table). It was like, "Hey remember when people could have a dialogue?"
A Better Use of Your Time?
Instead of digging through years of old tweets, right not reach out and ask to have a conversation. Steven Covey in the book the 7 Habits of Effective people says we should "understand before being understood."
John Mayer
In 2001 I pre-judged John Mayer as "another pretty-boy singer-songwriter who is going to make the girls scream."
I would overlook him year after year. 14 years later a friend told me I should give him a listen. I did, and it turns out he is an AMAZING guitar player. I had missed out on some great guitar playing, lyrics, and music.
My point is if we can take a second to get to know each other we might benefit from understanding each other. It may not always be easy, but anything of value rarely is.
Mentioned in this Episode
No Safe Places Documentary
John Mayer Belief (Lyrics video)
The Social Dilemma Trailer
Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man
Linconia
Pocahontas Exception
-
Today I share a story that I have not thought about in a long time. It's weird to think of a time when there was ONE TV in the house, and you couldn't fast forward through the commercials. My brother and I created a sport that we played during the commercials.
This came to me after attending a storytelling event from Matthew Disk who is the author of one of my favorite books Storyworthy.
He has an exercise where you list three random things you can touch. You then have one minute to come up with a story about one of those items, and then you two minutes to tell a story about it.
The word that inspired this episode was pillow.
- Show more
