Real Money Pros

Real Money Pros
  • 5.0 (19)
  • Investing
  • Updated Daily

Money: you make it, you want more of it, and you want to protect it. We are The Real Money Pros, a show hosted collaboratively by experts who specialize in investing, financial and estate planning, taxes, insurance, and any other way to grow wealth. Plus, we make it fun! We help you know good advice from bad – especially when everyone seems to want a piece of your money.

  1. 4d ago

    Rising Treasury Yields, Social Security & Year-End Tax Moves (9/12/2026)

    What do rising Treasury yields actually mean for your portfolio, and should market volatility change the way you're investing? This week, Nic Daniels and Alex Lundgren start with September market volatility, rising Treasury yields and the relationship between bond prices and yields, while explaining why investors should be careful about making long-term portfolio decisions based on elections, geopolitical events or short-term market swings. A listener preparing to retire after 37 years with the Postal Service asks about using a Social Security survivor benefit while delaying her own benefit, along with coordinating her pension and inherited IRA. Later, Nic and Alex cover year-end tax surprises from bonuses, vested RSUs, property sales and other windfalls, including estimated-tax penalties and why Form 2210 and Schedule AI can matter when income arrives unevenly during the year. They also share a real retirement-planning case involving a federal employee deciding how to sequence her pension, TSP and Social Security, before wrapping up with open enrollment and life insurance considerations.   Listen, Watch, & Connect! https://www.therealmoneypros.com ————————————————————— Ataraxis PEO https://ataraxispeo.com Tree City Advisors of Apollon: https://www.treecityadvisors.com Apollon Wealth Management: https://apollonwealthmanagement.com/ —————————————————————

  2. Sep 3

    Your Retirement Plan Works. But Will It Hold Up?

    Your retirement projection is green. The Monte Carlo analysis shows a 95% probability of success. Everything looks good. So what could still go wrong? A retirement plan is only as good as the assumptions behind it—and real life rarely follows those assumptions perfectly. In this episode, we look beyond investment returns at some of the risks that can change an otherwise strong retirement plan: long-term care, the early death of a spouse, living longer than expected, helping family, lifestyle creep, liquidity problems, market declines early in retirement, and changing tax laws. More importantly, we discuss how these risks can actually be incorporated into the planning process through stress testing, liquidity planning, appropriate investment risk, and regularly updating the assumptions behind the plan.   Listen, Watch, Subscribe, Ask! https://www.therealmoneypros.com ————————————————————— Ataraxis PEO https://ataraxispeo.com Tree City Advisors of Apollon: https://www.treecityadvisors.com Apollon Wealth Management: https://apollonwealthmanagement.com/ —————————————————————

    Your Retirement Plan Works. But Will It Hold Up?

  3. Aug 31

    What Does a Great Financial Plan Actually Look Like? with Bob Ruelle (8/29/2026)

    What does financial planning actually mean beyond managing an investment portfolio? Jeremiah Bates and Nic Daniels are joined by Bob Ruelle, Senior Vice President of Financial Planning at Apollon Wealth Management, to walk through how an experienced planner approaches a client's entire financial picture. Bob explains why good planning starts with understanding a person's goals, lifestyle, concerns and priorities before recommending anything—and why the financial plan itself should ultimately be the benchmark for whether a strategy is working. The guys cover tax planning, Roth conversions, retirement withdrawal strategies, RMDs, Social Security, Medicare IRMAA, insurance, risk management and estate planning—and, more importantly, how those decisions affect one another. Bob explains why a good financial plan organizes your finances, while a great one connects them, prioritizes the biggest opportunities and continues evolving as life changes. Later, they discuss common estate-planning mistakes, including outdated trusts and assets that were never properly titled. A caller whose husband is incapacitated after a bicycle accident brings the importance of powers of attorney and incapacity planning into real life. And to wrap it up, whether it can make sense to give children part of their inheritance while you're still alive, including annual gift exclusions, gift-tax reporting, appreciated property, cost basis and the tradeoffs between gifting assets now versus leaving them at death.   Listen, Watch, & Connect! https://www.therealmoneypros.com ————————————————————— Ataraxis PEO https://ataraxispeo.com Tree City Advisors of Apollon: https://www.treecityadvisors.com Apollon Wealth Management: https://apollonwealthmanagement.com/ —————————————————————

  4. Aug 27

    No Obvious Heirs? Your Estate Plan May Look Very Different

    Estate planning is often built around a familiar structure: your spouse makes decisions for you, your children eventually inherit your assets, and a responsible family member serves as executor or trustee. But what happens when you don't have children—or an obvious person to fill those roles? In this episode, we discuss how estate planning changes when there aren't default answers. Who should make financial or healthcare decisions if you're incapacitated? Who should administer your estate? And if leaving a traditional inheritance isn't part of the plan, what do you actually want your wealth to accomplish? The conversation also explores how professional fiduciaries may fit into the picture, different ways to think about legacy beyond children, and why having no major inheritance goal can create a very different retirement-spending conversation.   Listen, Watch, Subscribe, Ask! https://www.therealmoneypros.com ————————————————————— Ataraxis PEO https://ataraxispeo.com Tree City Advisors of Apollon: https://www.treecityadvisors.com Apollon Wealth Management: https://apollonwealthmanagement.com/ —————————————————————

    No Obvious Heirs? Your Estate Plan May Look Very Different

  5. Aug 24

    Where Investors Go From Here with Eric Sterner - AI, Healthcare, Private Markets & Portfolio Strategy (8/22/2026)

    Brian Wiley and Alexandra Lundgren are joined by Eric Sterner, Chief Investment Officer at Apollon Wealth Management, for an extended conversation on portfolio strategy and where he sees opportunities developing across the investment landscape. Eric discusses why the AI investment story extends well beyond technology stocks, with potential beneficiaries across healthcare, utilities, industrials, materials and the infrastructure needed to support continued AI growth. The conversation also explores healthcare and biotech, portfolio diversification, private equity and private credit, and the tradeoffs investors should understand before allocating money to alternative investments. A listener considering SpaceX and XRP brings the discussion back to fundamentals: building emergency savings, using diversified investments as a foundation, and keeping speculative investments in perspective. The final hour shifts to insurance and risk management, including term versus permanent life insurance, IULs, annuities, long-term care and disability coverage, and what an insurance company's "guarantee" actually means.   Listen, Watch, & Connect! https://www.therealmoneypros.com ————————————————————— Ataraxis PEO https://ataraxispeo.com Tree City Advisors of Apollon: https://www.treecityadvisors.com Apollon Wealth Management: https://apollonwealthmanagement.com/ —————————————————————

    Where Investors Go From Here with Eric Sterner - AI, Healthcare, Private Markets & Portfolio Strategy (8/22/2026)

  6. Aug 20

    Should You Pay the Tax or Take on Debt?

    You need cash for a major purchase or investment opportunity. You could sell appreciated investments and potentially trigger capital gains taxes—or borrow the money and leave your investments alone. Borrowing can sound like the obvious choice. After all, loan proceeds generally aren't taxable income. But what happens when it's time to pay the loan back? In this episode, Nic breaks down the planning behind selling investments versus borrowing, including when debt can be an effective short-term tool, when paying the tax may actually leave you better off, and why avoiding taxes today shouldn't be the only goal. The takeaway: Don't just compare taxes today. Consider interest, risk, time frame, repayment, and how the decision fits into your overall financial plan.   Listen, Watch, Subscribe, Ask! https://www.therealmoneypros.com ————————————————————— Ataraxis PEO https://ataraxispeo.com Tree City Advisors of Apollon: https://www.treecityadvisors.com Apollon Wealth Management: https://apollonwealthmanagement.com/ —————————————————————

    Should You Pay the Tax or Take on Debt?

  7. Aug 17

    Is the American Dream Changing? Homeownership, AI, Crypto & the New Workplace (8/15/2026)

    The financial world looks very different than it did just a few years ago. Brian Wiley is joined by Steve Cilley of Ataraxis PEO for a wide-ranging conversation about how changes in technology, the workplace, housing, and the economy are reshaping the way people build and protect wealth. The show begins by looking back at the economic fallout from COVID, including stimulus, inflation, changes in employee expectations, and the lasting impact on businesses. A listener with gains in XRP brings the conversation into cryptocurrency, tax-loss harvesting, cost-basis tracking, cold wallets, and the challenges of proving and protecting ownership of digital assets. Brian and Steve then look ahead to AI and robotics, discussing which jobs may be disrupted and why owning capital could become increasingly important as technology changes the labor market. The discussion shifts to whether homeownership still makes financial sense, especially for younger generations facing higher prices and interest rates. They compare buying versus renting, home equity versus investing, the changing age of first-time buyers, and the financial and lifestyle tradeoffs behind the American dream of owning a home. The final hour focuses on business owners and the modern workplace: employee classification, remote workers across state lines, payroll and employment-law risks, compensation agreements, managing employees, and why growing businesses eventually need their systems and advisors to grow with them.   Listen, Watch, & Connect! https://www.therealmoneypros.com ————————————————————— Ataraxis PEO https://ataraxispeo.com Tree City Advisors of Apollon: https://www.treecityadvisors.com Apollon Wealth Management: https://apollonwealthmanagement.com/ —————————————————————

    Is the American Dream Changing? Homeownership, AI, Crypto & the New Workplace (8/15/2026)

  8. Aug 9

    Tax-Smart Retirement: Where to Invest & Which Accounts to Spend First (8/8/2026)

    Where you invest your money is only part of the equation. Which accounts hold those investments, how they're taxed, and where you eventually take income from can have just as much impact on your financial plan. Brian Wiley and Jeremiah Bates begin with a listener looking for conservative retirement income, breaking down Treasury bills, notes and bonds, buying at auction versus the secondary market, bond ladders, CDs, annuities, interest-rate risk, and why avoiding state income tax shouldn't be the only consideration when choosing an investment. The conversation then turns to asset location and retirement income—how taxable accounts, traditional IRAs, 401(k)s and Roth IRAs should work together, and how taxes can influence which accounts you spend from in retirement. The hosts also discuss staying disciplined through market volatility, investing for younger generations, and compare Trump Accounts with 529 plans and custodial accounts. The show closes with listener questions on Backdoor Roth IRAs, the pro-rata rule, consolidating old retirement accounts, and how to fund large retirement expenses without creating unnecessary taxes.   Listen, Watch, Subscribe, Ask! https://www.therealmoneypros.com ————————————————————— Ataraxis PEO https://ataraxispeo.com Tree City Advisors of Apollon: https://www.treecityadvisors.com Apollon Wealth Management: https://apollonwealthmanagement.com/ —————————————————————

    Tax-Smart Retirement: Where to Invest & Which Accounts to Spend First (8/8/2026)
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
19 Ratings

About

Money: you make it, you want more of it, and you want to protect it. We are The Real Money Pros, a show hosted collaboratively by experts who specialize in investing, financial and estate planning, taxes, insurance, and any other way to grow wealth. Plus, we make it fun! We help you know good advice from bad – especially when everyone seems to want a piece of your money.

Information

  • Creator
    Real Money Pros
  • Years Active
    2017 - 2026
  • Episodes
    102
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Real Money Pros Syndicate LLC
  • Show Website
    Real Money Pros

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