Your Money on Easy Mode

Damien Olenslager
  • 5.0 (3)
  • Self-Improvement
  • Updated Weekly

Welcome to Your Money on Easy Mode, the show that teaches you how to build wealth with minimal effort. Your host, Damien, is here to teach you how to save more, invest for your future, and enjoy the process. Damien is that weird friend who obsesses over credit card bonuses, high-yield savings account interest rates, and index fund expense ratios so you don't have to. Every week he exposes important news and tackles meaty money topics to give you an unfair advantage in the financial arena. Let's put YOUR MONEY ON EASY MODE!

  1. Jul 19

    45: Every Costco Price Tag Is Sending a Signal

    Most Costco members are paying sixty-five dollars a year and activating maybe half the value. The rest is sitting on every trip, waiting. This episode covers a framework for getting full value from every warehouse visit. The safety net: a thirty-day price adjustment window where you can claim the difference on any price drop, without returning anything. The signal system: a .97 price ending means a manager markdown, an asterisk means the item is discontinued. The perimeter play: the gas station and pharmacy at the edges of the warehouse, including one that is open to non-members by federal law. If you have a Costco card and you have never claimed a price adjustment or noticed the asterisk system, this episode is your reset. Chapters 00:00 Costco Membership Savings Secrets 00:58 The Costco Safety Net 03:32 Decoding Costco's Price Tags 07:06 Play the Perimeter: Costco Gas and Pharmacy 10:03 The Importance of Activating Membership Benefits Get my free guide to where to spend your next dollar: https://stan.store/YMOEM/p/get-the-easy-mode-money-ladder-now Get my guide on how to destroy your debt: https://stan.store/YMOEM/p/get-the-easy-mode-guide-to-destroy-your-debt

    45: Every Costco Price Tag Is Sending a Signal

  2. Jul 5

    44: What Is Paze? Is It Safe? And the 10x Points Trick

    Seven of the biggest U.S. banks quietly built their own digital wallet to rival Apple Pay. If you bank with Chase, Wells Fargo, or Capital One, you're probably already enrolled. It's called Paze, and most people have no clue what it is or whether they should touch it. In this episode, we keep it simple: what Paze actually is, whether it's safe (short answer: yes, and here's why), and the limited-time Chase promo handing out 10x points on purchases you're already making. We cover the fine print (the monthly cap, eligible cards, and how to stack it) so you grab the value without overthinking it. No hype, no finance-bro nonsense. Just whether this thing is worth five minutes of your attention. Subscribe for more money on easy mode. Chapters 00:00 Paze: A New Digital Wallet 00:35 What Paze Actually Is 02:08 Is Paze Safe? 03:45 By Itself, Is Paze Even Worth It? 06:06 The 10x Points Promo (The Reason to Care) 07:48 The Smart Way to Use It 09:50 Homework and Wrap-Up Get my free guide to where to spend your next dollar: https://stan.store/YMOEM/p/get-the-easy-mode-money-ladder-now  Get my guide on how to destroy your debt: https://stan.store/YMOEM/p/get-the-easy-mode-guide-to-destroy-your-debt

    44: What Is Paze? Is It Safe? And the 10x Points Trick

  3. Jun 21

    43: The Costco Membership Math Nobody Checks

    Most Costco members picked their membership tier at signup and have not looked at it since. That gap has a specific price. This episode introduces the Costco ROI Ladder: three spending tiers that tell you whether the $65 Executive upgrade earns back its cost, and when adding the Costco Anywhere Visa by Citi pushes your return to 4% on warehouse purchases or 5% on Costco Travel. The breakeven is $3,250 in annual qualifying spend. Most households are close enough to that threshold that the math check takes less than twenty minutes. If you have a Costco membership and have never run these numbers, this one gives you a clear answer. Chapters 00:00 Understanding Costco Membership Tiers 01:23 The Breakeven Math 04:45 The Citi Card Layer 07:38 Navigating the Consumer Trap in Costco Rewards 08:09 The Consumer Trap 11:56 Final Thoughts on Costco Membership Strategies Get my free guide to where to spend your next dollar: https://stan.store/YMOEM/p/get-the-easy-mode-money-ladder-now  Get my guide on how to destroy your debt: https://stan.store/YMOEM/p/get-the-easy-mode-guide-to-destroy-your-debt

    43: The Costco Membership Math Nobody Checks

  4. Jun 14

    42: Is inKind Actually Worth It? The Honest Breakdown

    There's a dining app called inKind that gives you up to 25% back on restaurant meals plus regular coupons, and it costs nothing to use. So what's the catch? In this episode, Damien breaks down exactly how inKind works, why the deals are real, and the one question that tells you in three seconds whether it'll save you money or quietly cost you more. You'll learn when it's a genuine win, how it stacks with your dining rewards card, and the two traps (pre-buying credit and expiring cash back) that flip a good app against you. If your favorite restaurant is on the list, this might be the easiest recurring discount in dining. If it's not, you'll know to skip it. Run the Already-Going Test and never overthink a dining deal again. Your Money on Easy Mode: practical financial clarity without the jargon, fluff, or finance-bro nonsense. New episodes weekly. This is not personal financial advice. Chapters 00:00 What is inKind? 00:59 How inKind Works 03:03 When inKind Is Genuinely Smart 04:06 The Already Going Test: Real Savings Explained 06:21 The Two Traps That Cost You Money 08:30 Homework and Final Thoughts

    42: Is inKind Actually Worth It? The Honest Breakdown

  5. Jun 7

    41: You Gave Your Gas App Permission to What?

    Your car insurance company wants to watch you drive. But in some cases, the data collection is already happening — through your gas app. In January 2025, the Texas Attorney General sued Allstate and its subsidiary Arity for secretly collecting driving data on forty-five million Americans through apps like Life360 and GasBuddy. No enrollment. No consent. Just code embedded in apps people use for entirely different things. This episode breaks down how auto insurance telematics programs actually work, what the median savings really is, when your rates can go up instead of down, and how to use the Permission-to-Profit Test before agreeing to any monitoring program. If someone in your life is weighing a telematics program, this one gives them the full picture — not just the discount brochure. Chapters 00:00 Your Car Insurer is Watching You Drive 01:54 What Telematics Actually Is 05:09 The Real Math on Savings 08:49 The Data Privacy Scandal 13:37 The Permission to Profit Test 16:59 Surveillance Creep in Consumer Products 19:50 Homework and Wrap-Up Get my free guide to where to spend your next dollar: https://stan.store/YMOEM/p/get-the-easy-mode-money-ladder-now Get my guide on how to destroy your debt: https://stan.store/YMOEM/p/get-the-easy-mode-guide-to-destroy-your-debt

    41: You Gave Your Gas App Permission to What?

  6. May 24

    40: Did You Pick the Wrong CMA? Fidelity vs. Schwab vs. Vanguard

    Switching to a brokerage cash account was the right call. Picking the right one is the harder question — and the answer is different depending on how you actually use money. This episode runs the Cash Home Score on Fidelity, Schwab, and Vanguard across yield, access, protection, and integration. Vanguard currently leads on yield at three point three five percent with the strongest FDIC coverage — and no debit card at all. Fidelity wins on features if you set SPAXX as your core position (most people never check this). Schwab wins if Zelle is non-negotiable. Whether you're picking for the first time or reconsidering where you already are, this episode ends with a clear decision framework. Chapters 00:00 Cash Management Accounts Compared 02:03 Yield: What Your Cash Actually Earns 06:33 How Your Cash Is Protected 10:00 The Debit Card Question 13:20 What It's Like to Live in These Accounts 16:59 The Cash Home Score 19:03 But Which Account is Right for You? 20:56 Final Recommendations and Homework Get my free guide to where to spend your next dollar: https://stan.store/YMOEM/p/get-the-easy-mode-money-ladder-now  Get my guide on how to destroy your debt: https://stan.store/YMOEM/p/get-the-easy-mode-guide-to-destroy-your-debt

    40: Did You Pick the Wrong CMA? Fidelity vs. Schwab vs. Vanguard

  7. May 10

    39: The Passive Income Math Nobody Shows You

    Passive income sounds simple until you run the actual math. Most popular strategies have failure rates above eighty percent, and the people selling the courses are often making more from the course than from the strategy itself. This episode uses the Passive Income Iceberg framework to expose what's hidden beneath every impressive income screenshot: the capital requirements, the upfront labor, the realistic timelines, and the numbers the platforms actually publish. We cover what a hundred thousand dollars earns you in dividends, HYSAs, and REITs right now; why seventy-five percent of course creators earn less than a thousand dollars a year; and the three-rung income ladder that reflects how passive income actually gets built. If you've been tempted by dropshipping, affiliate marketing, or an online course — or just want a realistic roadmap to income that doesn't require you to work forever — this one is built for you. Get my free guide to where to spend your next dollar: https://stan.store/YMOEM/p/get-the-easy-mode-money-ladder-now Get my guide on how to destroy your debt: https://stan.store/YMOEM/p/get-the-easy-mode-guide-to-destroy-your-debt Chapters 00:00 The Illusion of Passive Income 01:34 The Passive Income Iceberg 04:43 What Influencers Sell vs. What the Data Shows 09:05 What Genuinely Passive Income Actually Pays 13:15 The Effort-Based Streams 13:42 Effort-Based Passive Income Streams 18:24 The Time-vs-Capital Spectrum 18:46 The Passive Income Spectrum 23:43 Homework Assignment 25:03 The Full Picture of Passive Income

    39: The Passive Income Math Nobody Shows You

  8. Apr 26

    38: Your Cheap Stuff Is Expensive

    Cheap isn't always frugal. Every time you replace the same pan, shoe, or appliance, you're paying more than the person who bought quality once. This episode introduces the Cost-Per-Use Score (price divided by expected uses) the formula that reveals the true cost of any purchase. Damien walks through when Buy Once, Cry Once actually applies (daily-use items, the five-year test), when it's a trap (status purchases, new hobbies, hidden maintenance costs), and how planned obsolescence — a strategy costing the average household over a thousand dollars a year in tech replacements — stacks the deck against cheap buyers. The episode closes with a five-question protocol for any purchase over a hundred dollars. If you've ever replaced the same thing twice and wondered where your money went, this one's built for you. Get my free guide to where to spend your next dollar: https://stan.store/YMOEM/p/get-the-easy-mode-money-ladder-now Get my guide on how to destroy your debt: https://stan.store/YMOEM/p/get-the-easy-mode-guide-to-destroy-your-debt Chapters 00:00 "Buy Once, Cry Once" 01:27 The Cost-Per-Use Score 05:11 When "Buy Once, Cry Once" Actually Applies 09:27 When "Buy Once, Cry Once" Is a Trap 13:38 Planned Obsolescence: Grrrrrr 17:22 The Five Question Protocol 20:55 The Mental Payoff of Quality Purchases

    38: Your Cheap Stuff Is Expensive
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Trailer

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

Welcome to Your Money on Easy Mode, the show that teaches you how to build wealth with minimal effort. Your host, Damien, is here to teach you how to save more, invest for your future, and enjoy the process. Damien is that weird friend who obsesses over credit card bonuses, high-yield savings account interest rates, and index fund expense ratios so you don't have to. Every week he exposes important news and tackles meaty money topics to give you an unfair advantage in the financial arena. Let's put YOUR MONEY ON EASY MODE!

Information

  • Creator
    Damien Olenslager
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    46
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Damien Olenslager
  • Show Website
    Your Money on Easy Mode

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