Talking Real Money - Investing Talk

Don McDonald
  • 4.5 (820)
  • Investing
  • Updated Daily

Financial talk radio veteran, Don McDonald and former host of Serious Money on PBS, Tom C**k, join forces to talk about real money issues. In each episode, they solve real money problems, dole out real investing (not speculating) advice, and really explain the financial issues that effect all of us. Plus, it's actually fun! Talking Real Money is a podcast designed to provide the real help we all need to enjoy a really great future. Call in with your questions anytime at 855-935-TALK (8255).

  1. 5h ago

    Gravity Loses, Eventually

    Rule Four of Financial Physics says everything eventually rises—not every stock, not every year, but human productivity and global economic output over time. Don and Tom explain why buying the broad market is ownership in thousands of businesses, not a trip to the casino, and why international diversification matters when nobody knows which country will lead the next century. Then Kenneth asks whether a tiny slice of his emergency fund belongs in stocks. The answer is still no: emergencies tend to arrive when markets are already falling. The guys also look at using qualified charitable distributions from inherited IRAs and why smart tax planning should not let the tax tail wag the financial dog. Finally, they compare BND with TIPS and ultra-short bond funds, unpack the trade-off between price stability and durable yield, and explain why preferred stocks cannot replace the ballast in a 60/40 portfolio. 00:44 AI music, a low-budget show, and big-money topics 02:46 Financial Physics Rule Four: everything eventually rises 04:05 Stocks are ownership, not a casino bet 05:13 Macroeconomic gravity and two centuries of productivity 07:45 From $48 to $90,000 of U.S. output per person 08:22 Letting thousands of companies do the heavy lifting 09:18 AI, global output, and a Social Security token tax 11:03 Why the next century demands global diversification 13:35 Should emergency-fund money ever go into stocks? 19:56 Inherited IRAs and qualified charitable distributions 21:40 BND versus TIPS and ultra-short bond funds 26:59 Why preferred stocks are not bond substitutes 29:13 Theme-song experiments and the Talking Real Money singers Questions? Comments? Click!

    Gravity Loses, Eventually

  2. 2d ago

    Another Day of Q and A

    Can 21 funds deliver useful global diversification—or mostly camouflage overlap, cost, and complexity? Don opens the Friday Q&A by giving one listener a sharper set of questions to take back to an advisor, including what each fund actually contributes and what would be lost by owning fewer. The questions then move from portfolio architecture to retirement reality. A listener learns why RMDs and Roth conversions should not wag the retirement dog, and another faces a sudden $15,000-a-month skilled-nursing bill that changes the investment plan for good reasons—not because of market timing. There’s also a timely Roth-conversion opportunity for a young worker headed back to school, a warning about state charges on multi-year guaranteed annuities, and a sober return estimate for a balanced portfolio. Add one lovingly brutal critique of Competitive Don, and the listener mailbag is officially doing its job. 00:39 Welcome to Friday Q&A 02:50 Are 21 funds too many? 05:40 Don’t let RMDs wag the retirement dog 09:13 Investing for a $15,000-a-month care bill 12:44 A low-income-year Roth conversion 15:30 Competitive Don gets reviewed 18:04 State charges on multi-year guaranteed annuities 19:05 What return should a 60/40 portfolio expect? Questions? Comments? Click!

    Another Day of Q and A

  3. 4d ago

    The Index Ate Their Homework

    Active fund managers have a new explanation for years of underperformance: index funds have made their old job harder. Don and Tom examine that award-winning excuse, revisit how indexing reshaped the business, and return to the stubborn arithmetic—when active management charges more, matching the market still means losing to it after fees. Listener questions widen the lens. A UK investor wants to move from 60/40 to 50/50 without taking needless currency risk, while a family needs a sensible plan for a $200,000 windfall, a near-term car purchase, Roth contributions, and the money left for a brokerage account. The show closes with a federal retiree’s TSP allocation and a critique of an AI-built income portfolio stuffed with dividend funds. The throughline is simple: start with the job the money must do, favor total return over yield theater, and keep the plan easier to understand than the sales pitch. 00:33 AI jingles on demand 02:31 Active managers blame index funds 08:34 A Social Security benefit wrinkle 10:00 A UK investor moves from 60/40 to 50/50 16:11 Planning a $200,000 windfall and car purchase 20:20 A federal retiree’s TSP choices 22:59 AI builds a dividend-income portfolio 28:24 The jingle experiment continues Questions? Comments? Click!

    The Index Ate Their Homework

  4. 5d ago

    The Big Question Pile

    Listener questions take over the studio as Don and Tom work through a very big pile without sacrificing any more forests than necessary. The quick tour runs from life insurance in retirement to the seductive yield on floating-rate bank-loan ETFs—and why extra income usually comes with extra risk. Then a live call turns asset allocation into an actual retirement plan: how a couple can move from 90/10 to 70/30, use Roth space intelligently, and rebalance without guessing what the market will do next. The hosts also weigh simplifying banking at Fidelity or Schwab, the Social Security shortfall, and the limits of retiring at 53 on a $2.8 million 401(k). It’s a brisk, practical Q&A about making portfolios safer, simpler, and realistic—plus expensive vacations, old television, and the strange persistence of paper. 00:00 A special midweek Q&A 03:29 Life insurance after retirement 06:47 The risk behind high-yield bank-loan ETFs 11:12 Bonds inside Roth accounts 13:14 Moving a portfolio from 90/10 to 70/30 22:54 Spending more after years of saving 25:18 Consolidating banking at a brokerage 26:53 How to repair Social Security 31:10 Can $2.8 million fund retirement at 53? Questions? Comments? Click!

    The Big Question Pile

  5. 6d ago

    Bubble Trouble?

    AI stocks are booming, valuations are stretched, and capital spending is surging. Does that add up to a bubble—or just another story investors cannot reliably time? Tom and Don walk through Fidelity’s warning signs without pretending anyone can ring a bell at the top. The practical conclusion is less exciting and more useful: stay diversified, keep realistic expectations, include the fixed income your plan needs, and do not mistake a recent gain for money the market owes you forever. Then a caller pressure-tests the flexible 5% withdrawal idea, followed by questions on delaying Social Security after leaving work and why convertible bonds add complexity without much benefit for individual investors. 00:00 Time compression and the AI boom 02:42 Is artificial intelligence in a bubble? 04:51 Earnings, cash flow, and valuation signals 07:14 Capital spending and the rate-cycle argument 08:56 Fidelity’s verdict—and the diversified response 11:13 The greed hidden inside market timing 13:04 How flexible is a flexible 5% withdrawal? 19:56 Delaying Social Security after stopping work 23:44 Convertible bonds and a very expensive C-share fund Questions? Comments? Click!

    Bubble Trouble?

  6. Jul 27

    Fluctuation Is the Feature

    Markets fluctuate. That sounds obvious—until a favorite stock climbs for years and investors start treating gravity as optional. Tom and Don revisit Financial Physics and the essential difference between a temporary market decline and permanent single-company damage. The cure is not predicting the next dip. It is connecting the return you need with the volatility you can tolerate, then owning thousands of companies and rebalancing instead of reacting. Questions range from IRA eligibility for business owners to building a global portfolio in Singapore, choosing bonds near retirement, using a self-directed 401(k) window, and making a retirement plan before the calendar makes one for you. 00:00 Money Monday and the law of financial fluctuation 02:57 Why individual winners eventually stumble 05:04 Temporary market declines versus permanent stock losses 06:56 Return, volatility, and the tradeoff nobody escapes 09:32 Diversification across roughly 10,700 companies 12:16 IRA contributions for LLCs, partnerships, and corporations 15:54 A listener’s investing journey from Singapore 18:08 Fixing a concentrated U.S. portfolio overseas 21:17 Bonds as retirement approaches 23:40 Self-directed 401(k) windows and overthinking 24:31 Build a retirement life—not just a retirement date Questions? Comments? Click!

    Fluctuation Is the Feature

  7. Jul 24

    Brakes, Balance & $5 Million

    Bonds are supposed to be the brakes in a portfolio—but should those brakes be BND, a shorter-term fund, CDs, or a Treasury ladder? Don explains why duration, yield stability, and personal comfort make the answer more nuanced than one ticker. The Friday questions keep coming: pairing AVGE with VT, moving $5 million from real estate into a retirement portfolio, understanding an emerging-markets fund that became legally non-diversified, and building 529s for grandchildren. The final stretch is all planning: Roth conversions and IRMAA, choosing a HELOC over a 401(k) loan, and resisting the urge to let the tax tail wag the retirement dog. 00:00 A full inbox of financial questions 02:30 BND versus short bonds, CDs, and Treasury ladders 06:45 AVGE plus VT—or unnecessary overlap? 10:23 Moving $5 million from real estate into markets 14:51 When an index fund becomes legally non-diversified 18:18 Building 529s and Roth head starts for grandchildren 22:16 Roth conversions, RMDs, and IRMAA 25:23 HELOC or 401(k) loan for renovations? 28:01 The tax tail and a long Roth-conversion plan Questions? Comments? Click!

    Brakes, Balance & $5 Million

  8. Jul 23

    Robot Advisor, Human Judgment

    AI can crunch a portfolio, harvest losses, and explain an investment concept in seconds. But can it stop a nervous investor from selling at exactly the wrong moment—or understand the life behind the spreadsheet? Tom and Don test the robot-advisor promise, even asking ChatGPT to weigh in. The verdict is a useful division of labor: let technology handle repeatable mechanics, while human judgment, fiduciary responsibility, and behavior coaching remain hard to automate. Then the questions get wonderfully strange: whether a 0.70% advisory fee earns its keep, how a concentrated tech fund hides risk behind a huge return, whether a $100 million Bitcoin Roth story adds up, and how to invest an inherited account. 00:00 Are AI advisors coming for financial planners? 03:06 ChatGPT offers its own cautious verdict 04:14 Where automation helps—and where humans matter 09:36 What investors should ask their advisory firms 12:10 Is a 0.70% advisor fee earning its keep? 16:50 The concentrated tech fund with a dazzling record 21:12 A purported $100 million Bitcoin Roth 25:22 Building an inherited-account portfolio Questions? Comments? Click!

    Robot Advisor, Human Judgment
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4.5
out of 5
820 Ratings

About

Financial talk radio veteran, Don McDonald and former host of Serious Money on PBS, Tom C**k, join forces to talk about real money issues. In each episode, they solve real money problems, dole out real investing (not speculating) advice, and really explain the financial issues that effect all of us. Plus, it's actually fun! Talking Real Money is a podcast designed to provide the real help we all need to enjoy a really great future. Call in with your questions anytime at 855-935-TALK (8255).

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