Short questions with Dana Perino for Brian Brenberg

You've seen us on screen, but have you ever wondered what we're like off-camera? 

For the last few months, I’ve enjoyed checking in with some of your favorite Fox personalities to learn more about who they are behind the scenes. 

What's the one thing Jesse Watters couldn’t live without? What's Bill Hemmer’s favorite Halloween costume? And what's sitting on Greg Gutfeld’s nightstand?

But that's not all! The fun is just getting started.

This week, we're excited to shine the spotlight on Brian Brenberg, currently a co-host of "The Big Money Show" (weekdays, 1 p.m./ET) alongside Jackie DeAngelis and Taylor Riggs.

He joined FOX Business as a contributor in 2020 and provides financial commentary and analysis across the network’s platforms. Throughout his tenure, he's appeared on a number of programs, including FBN’s "Mornings with Maria" and "FOX Business Tonight," as well as FOX News Channel’s "Outnumbered."

P.S. We have so much more in store for you. Stay tuned each week for new editions of "Short Questions with Dana Perino" — and if there’s a question you want answers to or a suggestion for the person I should interview next, leave a note in the comments section below.

Brian Brenberg of Fox Business Network's "The Big Money Show" reveals his best investing advice for those just getting started — and what he would tell his younger self if he could.  (Fox News Digital)

Q: Prior to becoming a co-host of "The Big Money Show" on Fox Business, where had your career taken you? 

BB: My first job was at a video store, where I learned that "Be Kind, Rewind" are words to live by.

During college, I stocked car tires and motor oil at Walmart and drove a forklift at a lumberyard. Eventually, I found my way into finance, and somehow that morphed into becoming a college professor for 14 years. 

Not a professor of forklift driving, to be clear. I was very bad at that.

Q: How did you make your first dollar? 

BB: Selling baseball cards at a roadside card table with Pete Hegseth. Ask him.

Q: Growing up, what was your favorite board game or card game? Did you like Monopoly, or have you always been drawn to finance?

BB: I hated Monopoly with a passion. 

My dad would make us play with him so that he could bankrupt us one by one. Now I have kids and I love Monopoly.

"Self-awareness is a professional superpower. And its absence is kryptonite."

Q: What question do you think every manager should ask in a job interview?

BB: "If I spoke with your former colleagues, what would they say is your greatest weakness?" 

Self-awareness is a professional superpower. And its absence is kryptonite.

Q: If Elon Musk called you tomorrow with an open seat on the next SpaceX flight, would you go?

BB: Heck, no. But I’d definitely want to know who put us in touch, because I’m pretty sure I don’t have any friends with those kinds of connections.

Q: What advice would you give someone who's new to investing and wants to start building wealth?

BB: Learn how to budget so you can plan to save. 

You can’t invest what you haven’t set aside. Get in the habit of putting money in the bank. 

Then take some of that and put it in a CD. Then take some of that and put it into a retirement savings vehicle. 

"You can’t invest what you haven’t set aside. Get in the habit of putting money in the bank." 

If you can nail all of that, you won’t need my advice anymore.

Q: If you were a contestant on a cooking show, what dish would you prepare to impress the judges?

BB: I’d make "Bad Day Soup." It’s a Brenberg family staple. 

You can find it in the "Cooking with Friends" cookbook by Carley Shimkus. 

It’s not impressive, but it is very red. And, technically, food.

Q: What is your favorite app on your phone? Bonus points if it is one that I don’t already have downloaded on my phone! 

BB: Gryphon. It’s the app that controls our home Wi-Fi. It allows me to turn off our internet so that we’re all forced to get off our screens. I wield it liberally and joyfully.

Q: When should you start teaching your kids about financial responsibility?

BB: The first time you stop for McDonald's and they complain that their friends’ parents buy them sushi. Finance is the road from McDonald's to sushi.

Q: Last book you read? 

BB: "Truman" by David McCullough. It’s about 1,000 pages long, but you won’t regret any of them.

"Surround yourself with people who have healthy affections, and you increase your odds of making wise decisions." 

Q: How do you approach the balance between investing and saving for the future versus enjoying the present?

BB: I start by asking my wife for her opinion. If she thinks it’s worth buying now, then it usually is, because her heart is tuned to what makes our family flourish. 

Surround yourself with people who have healthy affections, and you increase your odds of making wise decisions. 

Q: What is the best piece of advice you would give your younger self?

BB: The more you trust in the grace of God and not your own striving, the freer you will be to pursue much more than you ever imagined.

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To read all of Dana Perino's earlier "Short Questions" interviews for Fox News Digital, check out this (long) list!

For her interview with Jackie DeAngelis, click here. 

For her interview with Claudia Cowan, click here. 

For her interview with Max Gorden, click here. 

For her interview with Jared Cohen, click here. 

For her interview with William La Jeunesse, click here.

For her interview with Matt Finn, click here.

For her interview with Rich Edson, click here.

For her interview with Gov. Chris Sununu, click here. 

For her interview with Ross Rayburn, click here. 

For her interview with Mark Meredith, click here.

For her interview with Emily Compagno, click here.

For her interview with Chad Pergram, click here.

For her interview with Mike Emanuel, click here. 

For her interview with Gillian Turner, click here. 

For her interview with Madison Alworth, click here. 

For her interview with Nate Foy, click here.

For her interview with Laura Ingraham, click here. 

For her interview with five New York FOX reporters, click here. 

For her interview with Katie Pavlich, click here.

For her interview with Guy Benson, click here. 

For her interview with Pete Hegseth, click here. 

For her interview with Sandra Smith, click here. 

For her interview with Nicolas Yannicelli, click here.

For her interview with Abby Hornacek, click here. 

For her interview with Elise Bitter, click here. 

For her interview with Brian Kilmeade, click here.

For her interview with Kennedy, click here.

For her interview with John Roberts, click here. 

For her interview with Janice Dean, click here. 

For her interview with Charles Payne, click here.

For her interview with Trey Gowdy, click here.

For her interview with Johnny "Joey" Jones, click here. 

For her interview with Bill Melugin, click here. 

For her interview with Jimmy Failla, click here. 

For her interview with Tyrus, click here. 

For her interview with Ainsley Earhardt, click here.

For her interview with Lawrence Jones, click here. 

For her interview with Dr. Arash Akhavan, click here. 

For her interview with Martha MacCallum, click here. 

For her interview with Bret Baier, click here. 

For her interview with Kayleigh McEnany, click here.

For her interview with Harold Ford Jr., click here. 

For her interview with Shannon Bream, click here.

For her interview with Jessica Tarlov, click here.

For her interview with Leo Terrell, click here.

For her interview with Geraldo Rivera, click here. 

For her interview with Clay Travis, click here

For her interview with Bill Hemmer, click here. 

For her interview with Greg Gutfeld, click here.

For her interview with Benjamin Hall, click here.

For her interview with Judge Jeanine Pirro, click here.

For her interview with Jesse Watters, click here.

For more Lifestyle articles, visit www.foxnews.com/lifestyle.