Five Minute Finance

A listener asks: "We've been saving for college for our three kids age 7, 9, and 12 for several years using 529 plans that are time to our kids' high school graduation. Up until now we thought we were doing well. This past year we had a great year and saved almost $60,000 for college, and also put away some for retirement. But now, we're thinking about switching to a private school that would cost...

A listener asks: "The current economic situation seems to be taking a turn with high inflation, interest rates on the rise, and the pandemic potentially slowing down, allowing the economy to reopen. Given that backdrop, I'm curious about how to choose investments for the future? Even for the long-term, 5-10 years, how do you perceive this macro environment and what investments will you shift?" Mat...

The Fed has indicated that they will raise short-term interest rates this year, perhaps multiple times. Given that rates are on the rise, how might that affect your portfolio allocation? Is there something that you can do about it? First, you can always take the long-term view, have a well-balanced portfolio invested for the future, and just stay on course. You don't have to change anything. Targe...

"I am turning 18 soon, I have an account shared with my dad, but are there specific funds I should invest in? For example, Roth IRA, Target Date Fund, and should I invest in foreign markets/am I even old enough to do that? Or should I stick to investing in companies I think will do well and stick to those?" Congratulations on having the interest and means to save and invest at a young age! I absol...

Target Date Funds (TDF) are one of the best inventions in the investment industry. These funds allow individual investors a one-stop purchase to invest in stocks, bonds, and cash across the US, International, large companies, small companies, and bonds. But even better, the rebalancing occurs automatically and is set to take on less risk as you approach retirement! The big downside to on...

Net Worth is something  very simple  but it tells you a lot about your situation. By spending the time to aggregate your various financial accounts, home, car, business, or other valuable 'stuff', you can start to get organized. And it also helps surface ways of saving of making more money in the future! Maybe you have a fund with a high cost or can combine multiple accounts to simplify...

When it comes to saving money for the future, there are variety of accounts from IRAs, 401(k), 403(b), HSAs and more! How do you know which is best for you? 🤔 Megan and I chat about her recent article which goes through exactly which accounts to fund for 2022. A brief summary: Pay off credit card debt Flow qualified education expenses through a 529 Contribute up to the match in your 401(k) o...

Matt Robison and I take a look at what transpired during 2021 in the financial industry including a look at the stock market, ESG, Crypto and Inflation. The US stock market continues to  rise , posting highs throughout 2021. It has been on a tear, posting  20%+ return  the past two years and besting 16% annually over the past decade!  Does this lead to any insights for mar...

A Donor Advised Fund (DAF) is an account that you own and manage, just like your brokerage account.  The difference is how it’s treated when it comes to paying taxes. Money that you put into the DAF is treated by the IRS as having been given away to a non-profit organization, even though it’s still under your control.  That means you get to deduct it from your income and pay less in taxe...

Near the end of the year, after the market has been up 20%+ for the past 2 years: now is a good time to check in on your portfolio balance. Do you still have the correct mix of stocks and bonds to meet your goals? 🤔 It’s important to understand  your  financial goals and have a portfolio balance that has the best chance to reach them. And if you had that dialed in (you did, ri...

Freedom Investing: Investing in Economically Free Countries “Would you rather put your money in companies founded in North Korea or in South Korea?” This is the opening thought experiment posed by  Megan Russell  of Marotta Wealth Management. The difference between the two is obvious. Do you want your money sitting in a state-controlled environment like North Korea or in a more economica...

Want to save on taxes?  Matt and I discuss 8 different strategies that can help you keep more money in your pocket. We cover the first 3 tips in this first podcast, followed by 5 more in the next podcast. Use Index funds over actively managed funds. This is generally great advice, but also better at saving on taxes due to       less turnover of holdings. Use ETFs instead of mut...

Want to save on taxes?  Matt and I discuss 8 different strategies that can help you keep more money in your pocket. We cover the first 3 tips in this first podcast, followed by 5 more in the next podcast. Use Index funds over actively managed funds. This is generally great advice, but also better at saving on taxes due to       less turnover of holdings. Use ETFs instead of mut...

It’s not often that you are in the position to  donate 100% of your   income  to charity. However, if you find the capacity and willingness to give, this year has special tax rules that you should be aware of. The IRS is allowing a 100% deduction off your taxable income for charitable donations. This means that you are left with $0 in income and  owe $0 in taxes!  While th...

In today's radio broadcast, Matt and I discuss two  major  topics: I-Bonds and Pledged Asset Line of Credit. I-Bonds are issued by the US Government  directly  on  TreasuryDirect.gov.  While you can only purchase $10k in a single year, the current yield is over 7%! This could be a good place to park part of your emergency savings and get a good return, however  be aware of the fine print which inc...

The last few years have been  awful  in so many ways - we’re all well aware of that. But it’s also exposed us to a new environment to consider what is truly important in our lives. It’s forced a new perspective and we gain a new understanding. This is one factor that has lead to the Great Resignation: the strange phenomenon that has more workers on the sideline and a great many switching...

Today I discuss Congress’ proposal of taxing unrealized capital gains for individuals with over $1B in Net Worth. I’m curious how this will work and if the government will collect anywhere near the $250B that they predict. Matt Robison is an expert in public policy and capital hill, so it’s the perfect chance for us to discuss this topic. Enjoy the wide-ranging discussion on the intersection of pu...

It’s smart to review your tax strategy and planning to keep more money in your pocket. Use the checklist below as a starting point to see what might apply in your situation. Maximize contributions to your employer retirement accounts (401k, 403b, etc) ✅ Maximize contributions to your Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA) ✅ Top off your Health Savings Account (HSA) ✅ Take your Required Minimum Di...

Julie heard about a real estate investment idea on the radio and was curious: Should I invest in this advertisement? We break down the topic into two parts:  Should you invest in Real Estate? How do you evaluate an investment opportunity that you are considering? Bottom Line Up Front: Yes , I believe that Real Estate has a place in a well-diversified investment portfolio. Pause , research , a...

I often recommend using your Health Savings Account (HSA) as another retirement account with tax benefits. This is different than the way most people approach the HSA because it starts with the word “Health” and you can pay for medical expenses. But you can invest the money for the far future allowing it to grow and compound tax-free. The best part is that you can even  pay yourself back &nbs...

Did you know that your investments cost money? Those mutual funds, ETFs, brokerage accounts, etc - are not free, despite the marketing. It takes people and companies to produce those products, so you better believe you are paying for them somehow.  It pays to understand the costs. The biggest one I want to cover today is called the  “Expense Ratio”  for a mutual fund or ETF because...

Do you recall how you felt in March 2020? You felt  terrible . How do I know? Everyone did. The news was bad, the future uncertain, the death toll rising and current events were spiralling downwards. The market had fallen 35% in 3 weeks. There were  no  bright spots. With the news and environment unchanged, the stock market started going up. And it kept going. Why?&nb...

We all know that you can barely get any interest, or return, on your savings account. The Fed is keeping the interest rate  very low , which translates into  low returns on savings  and safe assets like money markets and government bonds. With so little return in the traditional fixed-income side of your portfolio,  does that fundamentally change the way you should consider ris...

We all know the risks, we understand how to think about the pros and cons of a decision. But when it comes to the stock market,  are you certain you’re thinking about it the right way? The risk  isn’t  that your portfolio goes down in value, the risk  is  that you can’t reach your goals. What are your goals and when do you want to reach them? When do you expect to spend th...

Borrow, Buy, Die.    That’s how billionaire’s avoid paying much in taxes. When your assets are growing quickly (10%+ / year), you don’t need to sell stock or pay yourself a salary, you just borrow money at 2% interest / year. If you have significant wealth, and it continues to grow, you can take advantage of borrowing money at low cost. If there is a downturn in the economy or the market...