Talking Real Money - Investing Talk

It can be difficult to get precision investment allocation with "pure" index funds. What are index funds, anyway? Callers ask us: Do stock investments make sense at age 70? How good are the investments in a broker-designed portfolio? What do we think of a dividend-centric portfolio? Then, we discuss the pitfalls of a high-income portfolio. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphon...

"Do as I say, not as I do," Many in the financial advice business epitomize this aphorism. A few are brave enough to admit that they fail to follow their own good advice. One of those is Christine Benz from Morningstar. Why do we fail to follow what we know to be good financial advice? That's up for discussion in this episode. Callers want to know: Is there a better parking place fo...

On this week's Friday Q&A: Vanguard has made another customer angry with their $25 fee and they want to know how to move. Do these two ETFs provide enough diversification? After one year in a Kai-Zen Trust, a disillusioned buyer wants to know if he should continue funding it. What do we think of Dave Ramsey's advice to take Social Security payments at age 62? Learn more about your ad...

With the US Supreme Court ruling against the student loan, elimination plan, what can students do now to help reduce the burden of their education debt? Plus, we talk about special people and their special financial treatment. Then, listeners ask: Should they go ahead and annuitize a variable annuity or move it into an IRA Is this work 401(k) plan diversified enough? Learn more about your ad choic...

In this episode, we share the surprisingly good returns for 2023 so far and what it means going forward. Then we share a terrible way to find a fiduciary investment advisor and why it’s so hard to find high-quality financial advice. Callers ask about the following: Flexible withdrawals in retirement planning. We explain how withdrawing a reasonable percentage each year can provide a sustainable in...

In today's Q&A session: Does it make sense to buy a new home free and clear with the proceeds from the old house? Which Vanguard bond fund is the best choice? What are good ETFs in which to start investing overseas? Are these 401k funds active or passive? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Questions? Comments? Click!

Lookin' to make 5% on your fixed income investments? With most banks still paying pathetic interest rates, there is a trick to getting substantially more on FDIC-insured CDs. Then, we hear from you: What should be done with a portfolio of almost 500 individual bonds? What investing advice do we have for armed services members? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Que...

We are inundated with "expert" financial advice. Is it worth heeding? There are a lot of people who claim to be able to predict the financial future, but they all have one thing in common with plain old us. They CANNOT know the future. So, why bother listening, watching, or reading their advice? Then, we hear from some of you wondering: If Bitcoin makes simple mathamatical sense as an in...

What are the big issues that drain your wealth after you retire? Here are five of the biggest wastes of money in retirement: Housing, health, scams, Social Security, and investing. Listeners ask: How can I be sure that my portfolio reflects my core beliefs? How should money from a condo sale be invested in retirement? After losing a job is life insurance still needed? Learn more about your ad choi...

Risk is part of life, but should we really worry about the possibility of losing everything? A 100% loss from your investments is almost 100% avoidable if you stop gambling. You can dramatically increase your chances of total loss with leverage. Listeners ask: Is a 6 to 7% esoteric bond product a safe way to create retirement income? What should be done with five non-income producing real estate i...

In this episode, Don randomly ends up with a host of similar questions: Is a tax-managed fund better than an ETF? Is the tax-advantage enough to justify using a real estate ETF in a taxable account? Should money be move out of an underperformingAvantis ETF? Would it be smart to move from target-date funds into better performing ETFS? What's the best place to park short-term money being used f...

The "Baby Boom" generation continue to own a large percentage of their wealth in stocks. Are they taking too much risk or are they saavy investors? Then, listeners ask Tom and Don: Can couples get around the "wash sale rule" by trading in their seperate accounts? Should a portfolio's missing asset class be purchased slowly or all at once? Learn more about your ad choices....

Passive income is paradoxical. While it sounds like getting something for nothing, it either requires a lot of work or money (which generally requires wealth to accumulate). Why do so many people chase after this impossible dream? Plus, you want to know: How should a $250,000 nest egg be invested? Should I ask my broker to help me invest in low-cost index funds and ETFs? Learn more about your ad c...

It's a lesson we constantly fail to learn: Avoid investing in your company's stock. Employees who believed their firm could not fail have lost billions of dollars. We compare the rate you can get on a Bank of America CD in the bank itself versus through a brokerage firm. The difference is shocking. Plus, how to make a CD ladder. Listeners stop by to ask: What should be done with an inves...

A bull market seems to encourage us to watch our investment portfolios more closely, which can lead to bad, emotionally-driven decisions. Why do we rush into the hot stocks? Plus, an example of studying an advisor's form ADV, Part 2. Listeners want to know: What kind of impact would moving investments have on average annual returns? Is paying bills from a checking account or with a credit car...

In this week's Q&A episode: Is it true you can live off of capital gains tax-free? How should young adults' Roth IRAs be invested? What do we think of the cash product from MassMutual's "Flourish" program? Does monthly rebalancing make sense? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Questions? Comments? Click!

As we approach retirement, several things cause concern, but what do retirees worry about most? Discover how to reduce concerns about running out of money before running out of life. Then, we hear from listeners: Sharing a trick to own the market without using ETFs or funds. Is Morningstar a good source to research funds recommended by my LPL advisor? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaph...

Do you need a robo advisor to help you create a fixed-income portfolio? Can they make you more money while also charging you more? We compare a robo advisor bond buying service to cheap bond ETFs. Plus, we take listeners' questions: Will returns rise if you never rebalance your portfolio? A salesperson suggests moving an old 403b to his Roth IRA. Should I ask if he's a fiduciary? Learn m...

Dave Ramsey received $30 million to promote a deceptive timeshare seller and now faces a huge lawsuit. Much of the financial advice in the media is bought and paid for, leaving you to wonder whose advice to trust. Then a listener: Shares his Tesla excitement, and we explain our concerns about owning Tesla or any other individual stock. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...

Look at that. Despite all of the "economic uncertainty," the longest bear market since 1948 has officially ended. How many stocks were responsible for the return of the bull? What does that mean for your portfolio and future? We also talk about small side hustles and the changes and troubles at Vanguard. Then listeners ask: How can an investor in a Fidelity retirement plan invest in inte...

Don fields your comments and questions: Praise for Vanguard's customer service. Taking us to task over life insurance advice. How to invest when Roth ineligible? What would happen if Apple failed? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Questions? Comments? Click!

Most Americans invest primarily in US stocks. The same holds true for other countries. How has that worked out for, say, the Japanese. With the help of a recent Morningstar study, we make the case for global portfolios. Listeners want to know: If it makes sense for a child to skip collge and go directly to a trade? Is it okay to invest in Avantis ETFs like AVGE? Learn more about your ad choices. V...

"Investors" – and we use that term a loosely as possible – are pouring money into anything that seems even remotely connect to AI (artificial intelligence). The end result is not likely to be pretty. Listeners want to know: What do we think of the Oxford Club's 200+% return bond trading strategy? Why own international stocks when the US has done so well? Learn more about your ad cho...

Another fearful event passes and will soon be forgotten. The debt deiling "crisis" is over. What's next? We discuss why we panic financially and how we can make market movement less painful by controlling emotions. What is happening in the Asian markets and should you be concerned? How much had non-fiduciary advice costing investors? Listeners ask: What do we think of a Vanguard adv...

It's Friday! That means Don is answering a few more of your questions: What should be done with some old, expensive funds in a Roth? Does a pre-tax retirement contribution reduce Social Security earnings penalties? Does it make sense to use RMDs to make charitable contributions? Is an expensive, actively managed small-cap value fund better, and do target-date funds have hidden fees? Learn mor...