On this week's Friday Q&A: Does more money in emerging markets make sense? What should be done with an 401k now that Vanguard has sold their servicing? Are these two funds diversified enough? Is there any way to calculate future call option premiums? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There aren't many ways to improve your odds while investing in stocks. So, why have investors like Warren Buffet been so successful and why do we belive in factor investing? Plus listeners want to know: Why do we suggest more expensive products from firms like Avantis and Dimensional? What are the differences between a 403b and a Roth IRA? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Don't be fooled by "money illusions." We are often confused about money math, particularly when it comes to the impacts of inflation. Our financial psycology can lead us to make bad decisions. The callers have questions about: Financial Planning for a Special Needs Family Member Estate Planning Strategies for Passing Wealth to Grandchildren Balancing Risk Tolerance with Retirement Savings Directing Inheritance to Grandchildren Understanding Indexed Annuities Learn more about your ad...

After bonds suffered a really bad year in 2022, many investors still hate them. Do all bonds deserve the recent bad reputations? Time for a fixed income reality check. We also discuss the bad advice given by most radio advisors. We also hear from listeners: Why do we dislike anuuities as investments? What do we think of the new DOL rule requiring all retirement rollover advice be held to the fiduciary standard? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Once again, the United States Depratment of Labor is trying to protect retirement investors against the lies told, and the high fees charged, by many providers of advoce for retirement pland rollovers and transfers. Will they succeed against Wall Street and Big Insurance? Plus, we take your questions: What's the best way to pay for a new roof? Why are my ETFs paying out taxable dividends? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This Friday's Qs: How should an aggressive investor invest money that is not needed in retirement? Does a QLAC make sense as a toold to control long-term care expenses? Are there any tax ramications from moving from an expensive funds to ETFs in a qualified retirement account? Does his portfolio idea make sense for a lazy retirement investor? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What is the best investment strategy in a time of higher "safe" interest rates? For many, the tendency is to play it safer, but how might that work out in the long run? Plus, we answer questions: How much is Edward Jones charging for their investment services? How can an investor harvest tax losses? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Far too many businesses offer their employees expensive retirement plans. You must know how much you're paying. Plus, many states are now allowing employees to set up automatic payroll deductions into their own IRAs. We hear from callers: What will interest rates do in the near future? What can be done with IRA distributions to reduce taxation? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This seemingly simple retirement quiz stumped most who took it. How will you fare? Take the quiz with us. Plus, what can you do if you have a low interest rate bank savings account? Listeners want to know: How long will mom's retirement assets last? Is there any way to get money back from a federal long-term care policy? How can money in a retirement plan be accessed before 59-1/2 without penalties? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our friend, Mark Hebner from Index Fund Advisors, joins Tom and Don to talk about the most important number to investors, total return. The rise and fall of prices shouldn't be of much concern to investors, it's how much you make on your investments. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week's Friday Q&A edition: How safe are investment in brokerage accounts? Why shouldn't someone tranfer an IRA to Robin Hood to collect a 3% bonus? What do we think of Fisher Investments "bucket" strategy? How should money be invested for the beneficiary of a special needs trust? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One of the problems with index funds is the fact that they slavishly follow the index. This means that for long periods they can own stocks that are way outside the indexes parameters. This is one argument for rules-basd funds. Then, listeners ask: Are we concerned about the decline in the number of publically-traded stocks? Is it okay to be 100% in stocks close to retirement? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Most American's have saved enough for even a $400 emergency? Start there, and then it's time to work on retirement savings. Along the way have those tough financial conversations with your partner. Plus, Don goes on a rant about the financial services industry and it's lack of client care. We hear from callers: With a little help for a previous caller. What do we think of a particular brokerage firm? How can money be moved from a regular IRA in an annuity to a Roth? Is Empower providing...

We recorded this episode as the Iranian attack on Israel was beginning. We discussed the impact of global events on your portfolio and how to invest during market turbulence. Then, we give you the chance to build your perfect economy with a quiz. We hear from some of you, too: Is a Fidelity advisor a fiduciary or not? Where should money for intermediate-term spending be invested? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Listeners love our question and and snswer episode, so here a special Monday Q&A featuring Tom and Roxyu Butner answer your written questions: Is a Total World Stock Market Index Fund Enough? Should You Pay Off a Low-Interest Mortgage Early? What do we think of the Geiten Clinger Withdrawal Strategy? Is Vanguard Advisor Services Worthwhile? What has happened to ESG Investing? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today's FridayQ we discuss: Robin Hood's recent offer of a 3% bonus on IRA rollovers. Avoiding a tax penalty of an inherited annuity. A listener's Talking Real Money Road Trip suggestion. The proper small cap portfolio allocation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We are innundated with articles featuring lists of the "best" investments. Are they really that good and should you invest in them? Plus, we hear from listeners: What's the difference between two bond ETFs? Upset about the performance of her bond fund. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Most advisors claim to be fiduciaries and even those who are always required to act in a client's best interests can have conflicts. What makes a true fiduciary financial advisor? We also discuss young investors sources of advice. Callers join in and ask: Does it make sense to split a bond portfolio between US and international bonds? How do you find the right advisor to write a financial plan? Can someone with a 401k still contribute to a Roth IRA? Why didn't a bank supply a 1099 for a...

Nobel laureate, Robert Shiller, believes that the U.S. stock market may have run its course for awhile. So, what should you do is he's right? You be shocked (wink) at the answer. Then, aa whole lot of listeners call in: Where should money from a property sale be kept for a future tax payment? Does it make sense to buy a little physical gold? Are money market fund yields lower than stated because of expenses? How should an early retiree invest and generate income? How can you calculate...

Paying too much for your retirement plan and the investments within can damage your future. Listeners ask: What do we think of direct indexing? Why isn't Don's book available as an audiobook?  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Submit your spoken questions at talkingrealfmoney.com. This week: What if "messing around" with a portfolio simply means using Avantis and DFA ETFs? Are Avantis ETFs reall worth the extra expenses versus Vanguard index ETFs? What should be done with a portfolio of broket sold Franklin-Templeton funds? Is there a way to take money out of an IRA early without paying a penalty? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What is your retirement number? Everyone should have one. Most people's number is too low, so you really need to try and calculate how much money you will need to have invested to create a decent stream of income for thosee post-work years. Then, we take your questions: Should a target-date fund be held in a non-qualified, taxable account? Instead of investing, why not just keep everything in one of today's high-yield money market products? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit...

Large-cap, U.S. stocks had a very good first quarter. However, many markets and previously hot stocks lagged far behind. What should this mean for your portfolio? We discuss the powerful research on investing psychology by Daniel Kahneman and Don's upcoming road trip. Plus, listeners join in: What's the best way to sell one house, build another, and still have enough money left to live on? How should a grandparent set up IRAs for working grandkids and how much might they eventually...

Every four years investors grow concerned about the terrible impact that "other" presidential candidate might have on the stock market after the election. Yes, the evidence shows that new president's have had no discernable impact on the markets, so stop worrying. The listeners ask: Is it time to start reducing a portfolio's aggressiveness? Should the money from maturing bonds be reinevsted in funds all at once or over time? What's the best way to take money out of retirement savings to...