Talking Real Money - Investing Talk

Investing "professionals" run the gamut from highly skilled and honest to truly dangerous. How can you avoid the mediocre to crooked financial advice providers out there? Tom and Don have some simple ways to protect your wealth from the unscrupulous. Plus, listeners ask: What is the name of the bank paying over 4%? How should money be allocated between taxable and tax-advantaged "baskets?" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The end of the year often brings mutual fund investors an unpleasant surprise that can raise taxes; the realized capital gains distribution. How can you avoid this tax surprise? Are traditional mutual funds headed for extinction? Dimensional Funds rolls out a total market ETF to compete with Avantis. Then, listeners ask: How can the Washington state estate tax be avoided? Do they have enough to live a confortable and enjoyable retirement? How do you find a financial advisor you can trust? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What's the best way to create a retirement income stream from your investment portfolio. Today, Tom and Don share four popular income strategies. Then, we hear from you (actually, a few of you): Does it make sense to sell Apple stock to pay off a HELOC (home equity line of credit) early? What is the best way to invest an inheritance? How does money have to be withdrawn from a non-spousal inherited IRA? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Once thought to be nearly extinct (except for government workers), some major employers are bringing back the old fashioned pension plan. Does the apparent certainty of a pension make it a better retirement option than defined contribution plans, like 401k and 403b Plans? Plus, listeners ask: Should the proceeds from the sale of an investment property be moved into a DST (Delaware Statutory Trust)? Should a regular mutual fund be sold and an ETF purchased instead? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In todays's Q&A session: Which funds should be used in a 403b? Thanks for the podcast. How much of fixed income should be in inflation hedges? How could a mom squeeze a bit more income out of her portfolio? Did it makes sense to sell bond funds and move into T-Bills? Is an umbrella liability insurance policy needed? How should a million dollar portfolio be invested? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A recent list of "the best mutual funds" is best ignored. The funds prised in this piece are not great funds, just a few that got lucky by being in the right investments at the right time. Plus, most of the funds are eclectic, expensive, and extremely risky. Then, Tom defends his Bob Brinker criticism and a listener asks: Should a multi-fund portfolio be converted to ETFs? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Most know him as the "Wolf of Wall Street." After ripping on investors for millions of dollars, Jordan Belfort claims to have "seen the light" and now believes that low-cost, index-style investing is the path investors should take. Then, listeners look for help... ...with a Health Savings Account's (HSA) divestment allocation. ...understanding why the value of a dividend fund has barely moved. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Forget the 4% rule, Dave Ramsey wants you to believe that you can take an 8% annual income from an American Funds (or other broker-sold) portfolio. We explain why that is incredibly unlikely. Then on to the questions: What's the best allocation among funds in the Thrift savings Plan? Should a REIT in a taxable account be sold and invested in something more tax-efficient? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A new study of Americans financial knowledge shows that a sizable portion of us are woefully uniformed about financial matters. Tom and Don share the results and ideas for improving our fiscal education. Plus, listeners ask: What do we think of a move from bonds into T-bills? Is a financial advisor needed and why? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is the last show of Thanksgiving week, as Tom and Don are taking time off. In the episode, we discuss the many problems with 401k and 403b plans that keep employees from doing as well as they might in other types of accounts. Listeners want to know: Does it make sense to invest almost $500,000 in a jumbo CD? Why don't we make longer episodes and suggest people listen at higher speeds? What do (did) we think of Bob Brinker? In what order should retirement accounts be used for income? How much would a diversified account have made so far in 2023? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today, we talk about the biggest reason housing prices have stayed so high in a period of rising rates. We also consider the right time to sell a home and downside and the impact a changing real estate sales market might have on real estate agents careers. We discuss the foolishness of keeping money in low-yield savings accounts. We also hear from listeners: How should a brokerage accoiunt be consolidated? Getting a lot on a savings accounts and hoping rates stay high. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you want to reduce the amount you pay the IRS in 2024, there are several things you can do before the year is up to reduce your tax burden. If you wait until it's time to file next April, your deduction options are severely limited. Listeners ask us: If I convert one IRA to a Roth, must I convert them all? How do you choose between financial advisors with widely divergent strategies? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Don addresses the following: Why should a portfolio be rebalanced regularly? Is a state teacher's pension pre-tax money or can it be rolled over tax-free? What is the difference between the pre-tax, Roth, and after-tax 403b options? Finally, a listener appreciates the Medicare episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As AI grows exponetially more knowledgable, are investors ready to move from human to many investing advice? Are there skills that people have that artificial intelligence can't mimic? Plus, listeners ask: What is the best order to draw from various types of retirement accounts? Which is the better Avantis total market ETF: AVGE or AVGV? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Tom finally sits down with the finance guy to buy his car, he is pitched a bunch of extra warranties and given some terrible investing advice. So, today, we discuss all of the mistaken beliefs people have about investing. Then, we hear from listeners asking: Is it better to buy houses or invest in stocks and bonds? What is the required minimum distribution formula for retirement accounts? Finally, we get a call from someone who has done well in real estate. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With U.S. stock prices running hot versus the rest of the world, could your portfolio benefit from more international stocks? Tom and Don share some numbers and historical data. We ask, is Robin Hood's 1% IRA contribution worth it? Don reads a bad review. Then, because of technical difficulties, we hear from just one listener: How should a young person's retirement be invested in Vanguard funds? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We share yet another example of the premise that luck is behind the success of most professional money managers. A new book portrays Ray Dalio, the founder of the giant hedge fund Bridgewater Associates, as just another average investment guesser who may have gotten lucky in the past. Then, listeners ask: Should I sell old I-Bonds and pay the penalty to invest in newer bonds with a fixed rate plus inflation adjustments? How should I allocate my employer retirement investments between various Vanguard funds? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This Friday, Don answers questions about: How many beneficiaries of a 529 plan can transfer $35,000 into a Roth IRA? Does a micro-cap fund have a place in a portfolio? Should a retirement lump sum be investing in rolling maturity fixed annuities? Is there any reason to NOT fund a 457 plan? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The average American family’s net worth has risen to 1 million dollars, yet few of us have the money for a $500 million yacht. However, there are 16 million mini-millionaires in the United States. How do you join the millionaire (or upper-middle) class? LIsteners ask: Does it make sense to tax-loss sell a total bond ETF to a tax-free bond ETF? Should you sell funds when they have gone up 20%? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Retiring later seems like a viable option for those who failed to save enough to afford retirement. What is the reality of working past 65? What are the new 2024 retirement plan contribution limits? We take listeners' questions: Should liquid money be invested in a 13-month CD? Can a portion of a parent's HSA be used for an adult child? Can a storage unit buyer transfer old savings bonds to his name? Should a small pension be withdrawn as a $30,000 lump sum? What should a 62-year-old do to catch up on retirement? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices