Brian Preston's Money Guy Review: Strike Up the Brand

I'm a sucker for brand names. You say that MP3 player of yours has more memory and better functionality than all those stupid Apple gadgets? Oh, and it costs 70 percent less? Yeah, I'll still take my iPod. And that no-name bagged cereal is made by the exact same machines as the stuff I buy in the boxes for twice as much? Hand me the Cocoa Krispies, that other stuff is for suckers.

The same is true of most of my podcasts—and particularly financial podcasts. Why trust some guy I've never heard of share his take on retirement accounts when I can get solid information from podcasts backed up by names like The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Vanguard, or Bloomberg? 

But that was before I heard about Brian Preston's Money Guy podcast. I'm not sure how I started listening to his podcast in the first place—the thumbnail image for his show is just a guy with a goofy grin and a stack of Monopoly money by his side. Oh, and an apple. An apple! Who art-directed this shot? 

But if you're willing to judge a podcast by something other than the proverbial cover, you will not be disappointed. Preston provides in-depth, rock solid information on everything from negotiating your refinancing fees to the best Black Friday websites for your post-Thanksgiving shopping. He's a certified public accountant and certified financial planner, but you'll never hear him shilling his services. 

Certainly, there are other podcasts that offer financial and investment information, but few do it with his level of detail. Instead of telling you, broadly, that some fees can be renegotiated when you refinance, he'll explain which fees they are (processing fees, for example), if they have other names (sometimes they're called document fees) and WHY you can negotiate them. When he talks about the four or five Black Friday websites, he'll tell you his favorite and describe the best ways to search through them.

I was particularly impressed by a recent podcast where he pulled the SEC's investment advisor information from Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff and explained some of the tip offs that not all was well with his investments. He highlighted the murky areas that gave Madoff the leeway to do almost as he pleased for years. This? A public service I didn't see from any of the brand names I usually depend on.

But the best part about Preston is how open he is to ideas. He'll read messages he gets on air, sometimes seeming genuinely hurt by criticism, but always finding (and incorporating) constructive advice to improve his show. He'll promote listeners' good ideas, like one about a tax credit for those who pay off principal on their mortgages faster than required, encouraging listeners to tell their state and national representatives. 

This is a guy who is truly enthusiastic about personal finance issues, and it's always a joy to listen to him. His shows might have more tangents than a geometry textbook, but if you're used to the tightly produced podcasts from the brand names mentioned above, it's actually kind of refreshing.

Since starting his podcast three years ago, he's gained legion followers and has occasionally served as a talking head for finance shows. Preston may not be as well known as gurus like Jim Cramer and Suze Orman, but perhaps he will be. I like to think that I didn't pick an unknown, I picked a brand ahead of its time.