In recent months, my two daughters have given me a personal perspective on just how hot and how competitive the real estate market is right now. Both decided to buy homes in the Kansas City area, and both had to make unsuccessful bids on multiple houses before they were able to close on their new homes. That millions of families all over the country are trying to navigate these same issues is quite a turnaround from just a decade ago, when folks were hesitant to buy houses in the shadow of the Great Recession.

However, as we discuss on today's show, many economic factors that caused the housing market to collapse in 2008-2009 are contributing to the current housing boom. That doesn't mean we're headed for another bubble burst, but it does mean that folks need to weigh all their options if they're looking to buy or sell right now, especially if you're eying a potential retirement home.

Longtime Keen on Retirement listeners might remember a running gag where Matt Wilson and I would joke with our co-host, Steve Sanduski, about all the bitcoin we suspected he was hoarding. At the time, bitcoin had just emerged from one of its periodic freefalls and was starting to seep back into the general public’s awareness.

And then, in 2018-2019, it dropped again.

Today, as the value of one bitcoin hovers in the tens of thousands of dollars, this digital asset is back to making headlines and generating a lot of questions from our listeners. And it turns out that, all kidding aside, our buddy Steve really has been playing very close attention to how Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies could affect our economy and our monetary system. He’s even started a new podcast, The Digital Money Advisor, focused on exploring these very issues.

So, on today’s show, we decided to put our co-host on the hotseat and ask Steve what he’s learned on his deep dive into bitcoin.