While there's been lots of headlines and hand-wringing on inflation lately, thus far interest rates, which tend to surge along with inflation, have remained tame. Rates on everything from savings accounts to mortgages are still bouncing along near historic lows.

The question is, how long can that last?

One school of thought, advanced by the Federal Reserve, is that inflationary pressures, now showing up as higher prices on everything from used cars to factory wages, are "transitory" and will begin receding as pandemic labor and supply chain shocks subside.

Others think inflation is here to stay. That could have a negative impact on both stocks and bonds. That's because the fate of both stocks and bonds, along with many other investments, is intimately tied to interest rates.

When rates are low, as they have been for a decade, companies pay less to borrow and have more to spend, which boosts profits. When rates rise, the opposite occurs: higher borrowing costs, lower profits, lower stock profits.

Rising rates also mean that safer investments, like banks and government bonds, will look increasingly attractive relative to stocks, resulting in money leaving stocks, driving down prices.

What's an investor to do? That's what this week's "Money!" podcast is about. We're going to explore specific investments that can not only survive, but thrive in rising rate envrionments.

As usual, my co-host will be financial journalist Miranda Marquit. Listening in and sometimes contributing is producer and novice investor Aaron Freeman.

Want more information? Check out these resources:

Become a member: https://www.moneytalksnews.com/members/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nearly every day, there's news that affects you and your money. From politics and taxes to markets and interest rates, things are happening that affect your savings and your future -- so many things, in fact, it's hard to keep up with them all.

Problem solved. We track everything that's happening every day. And every couple of weeks, we condense it all and report everything you need to know in a special edition of the "Money!" podcast.

In addition to recapping the news, we check in on our personal investments, and discuss ideas and suggestions to make you smarter and richer, all without boring you to death in the process.

As usual, my co-host is financial journalist Miranda Marquit. Listening in and sometimes contributing is producer and novice investor Aaron Freeman.

Want more information? Check out these resources:

Become a member: https://www.moneytalksnews.com/members/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Everybody wants to do the right thing for our planet. We want to reduce pollution, keep the world from warming up and fight for clean air and water. We also want to do the right thing when it comes to people: encourage diversity, stop sexual harassment and support fair labor practices. And when it comes to investing, we want companies that embody the same beliefs: companies that don't hurt the earth or the people on it.

That's the idea behind Environmental, Social and Governance investing, also known as ESG, or Socially Responsible Investing, known as SRI.

Putting your money where your beliefs are: It's getting ever-more popular. As of 2020, more than $17 Trillion has found its way to funds that specialize in ESG. But is ESG investing really going to save the planet, or is this another clever package Wall Street is using to wrap up your money?

We're about to find out. Because that's what this week's "Money!" podcast is about. We're going to look under the hood of ESG investing and when we're done, you'll have everything you need to decide whether it's fantastic or fad. And we're going to do it without making your eyes glaze over.

As usual, my co-host will be financial journalist Miranda Marquit. Listening in and sometimes contributing is producer and novice investor Aaron Freeman.

Want more information? Check out these resources:

Become a member: https://www.moneytalksnews.com/members/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The average American should expect to live about 79 years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

If you're lucky, you're going to spend about one-third of that time sleeping. With the remaining time you have, the idea should be to spend as many of them as possible doing what you want to do and as few as possible doing what you have to do.

How do you maximize leisure hours and minimize labor hours? Work smarter, not harder.

That was the theme of Money Made Simple, a book I wrote back in 2004 and a course we now offer on this website.

With a few simple tips, tricks and habits, you can manage your financial life in minutes a year, and probably do a better job of it than you're doing now.

That's what this week's "Money!" podcast is about. We're going to turn you into a master of money management: organized, efficient and effective. And we're going to do it without making your eyes glaze over.

As usual, my co-host will be financial journalist Miranda Marquit. Listening in and sometimes contributing is producer and novice investor Aaron Freeman.

Want more information? Check out these resources:

Become a member: https://www.moneytalksnews.com/members/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nearly every day, there's news that affects you and your money. From politics and taxes to markets and interest rates, things are happening that affect your savings and your future -- so many things, in fact, it's hard to keep up with them all.

Problem solved. We track everything that's happening every day. And every couple of weeks, we condense it all and report everything you need to know in a special edition of the "Money!" podcast.

In addition to recapping the news, we check in on our personal investments, and discuss ideas and suggestions to make you smarter and richer, all without boring you to death in the process.

As usual, my co-host is financial journalist Miranda Marquit. Listening in and sometimes contributing is producer and novice investor Aaron Freeman.

Want more information? Check out these resources:

Become a member: https://www.moneytalksnews.com/members/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If I asked you, "What are the most common ways people waste money?," how would you respond?

You might say, "paying for unused memberships and subscriptions", or "buying things you don't really need", or "letting food go bad."

These are all common ways of wasting money, and there are plenty more. But one thing that likely wouldn't appear on your list, but should, is "paying too much in income taxes."

Every dollar of deductions you can find will reduce your tax bill by 10 to 37 cents. Every tax credit you can dig up will lower your bill dollar for dollar.

But here's the thing with taxes: Once the year ends on December 31, many of your opportunities to save vanish with it. That's why you should always do a quick review during the last few months of the year to make sure you're not missing something that could save you hundreds, or even thousands.

That's what this week's "Money!" podcast is about. We're going to talk about how to save money next April with a quick review now. And we're going to do it without making your eyes glaze over.

As usual, my co-host will be financial journalist Miranda Marquit. Listening in and sometimes contributing is producer and novice investor Aaron Freeman.

Want more information? Check out these resources:

Become a member: https://www.moneytalksnews.com/members/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Social Security recently announced the biggest increase to monthly payments in about 40 years, with a rise of nearly 6%.

That's got to be great news for recipients, especially considering that over the last 10 years, no annual increase has exceeded 3%. In 2015, there was no increase at all.

That highlights one of the toughest things about retirement; creating an income that keeps ahead of inflation.

But Social Security isn't the only game in town. There are other ways to achieve growing income. Example? Dividend stocks.

If you're not familiar with companies that pay dividends, you should be. Dividends are simply a share of a company's profits, typically sent out every three months.

While there are no guarantees, some companies have been paying dividends literally for decades without missing a beat, as well as increasing them every year.

Take 3M, for instance; the industrial conglomerate. 3M has increased its regular dividend every year for more than 50 years. In 1989, they were paying 32 cents a share. Last year? $5.88. That's a compound annual growth rate of 10%. That's way better than Social Security has delivered. And, dividends, unlike the pathetic interest you earn at the bank, can get favorable tax treatment. Rather than rates as high as 37%, qualified stock dividends are taxed at a rate from zero to a maximum of 20%.

So now you see what attracts income investors to dividend stocks: a tax-advantaged retirement income that has the potential to increase. And here's more icing on the cake. Your principal can also rise. In 1989, 3M was going for about 20 bucks a share. Now it's more than $180. No bank account produces returns like that.

Of course, there's no free lunch. There's always risk when investing in any stock, no matter how high the quality. To minimize that risk, you've got to learn some fundamentals.

That's what this week's "Money!" podcast is about. We're going to talk about how to find the best dividend stocks, step by step. And we're going to do it without making your eyes glaze over.

As usual, my co-host will be financial journalist Miranda Marquit. Listening in and sometimes contributing is producer and novice investor Aaron Freeman.

Become a member: https://www.moneytalksnews.com/members/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

My wife Sara and I look at things a bit differently. She sees cool things and buys them. I watch her to determine what's cool, then buy the stock of the company that makes it.

Nearly 20 years ago, when Apple revolutionized portable music, I bought Sara an iPod. She loved it, as did pretty much everyone else in the world. I didn't initially buy one for myself, because I thought they were too expensive. Ditto with the iPhone. I did, however, buy Apple stock in 2001.

That was easily the best investment I've made in my 40+ years of buying stocks.

Then there's Facebook. Sara was all over it long before I even realized what social media was about. But when I realized she and everyone else I've ever met were on Facebook nonstop, I bought some stock. That was 2016. Even though I got in relatively late, I'm still up 250% in five years.

These are examples of a classic investment technique; looking around to see what people are excited about, then investing in it.

Of course, you don't invest on that basis alone; it's not the only important factor. But it's been a good starting point for me over the years.

And it's just one of many techniques to find market winners.

That's what this week's "Money!" podcast is about. We're going to go over the art and science of picking stocks, step by step. Hopefully you'll learn something that will make you richer.

As usual, my co-host will be financial journalist Miranda Marquit. Listening in and sometimes contributing is producer and novice investor Aaron Freeman.

Want more information? Check out these resources:

Become a member: https://www.moneytalksnews.com/members/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nearly every day, there's news that affects you and your money. From politics and taxes to markets and interest rates, things are happening that affect your savings and your future -- so many things, in fact, it's hard to keep up with them all.

Problem solved. We track everything that's happening every day. And every couple of weeks, we condense it all and report everything you need to know in a special edition of the "Money!" podcast.

In addition to recapping the news, we check in on our personal investments, and discuss ideas and suggestions to make you smarter and richer, all without boring you to death in the process.

As usual, my co-host is financial journalist Miranda Marquit. Listening in and sometimes contributing is producer and novice investor Aaron Freeman.

Want more information? Check out these resources:

Become a member: https://www.moneytalksnews.com/members/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ever hear phrases like "common knowledge" or "conventional wisdom"?

Typically, the reason knowledge is common and wisdom is conventional is because it's true, or at least makes sense. Otherwise, it presumably wouldn't have a long shelf life and get passed around for years.

But here's the thing: sometimes conventional wisdom is stupid and common knowledge is wrong.

Here's one of many examples: Ever hear someone say, "After you retire, your expenses will be much lower."

While it's possible that will be true, it's also possible it will be laughingly false. Depending on what you plan to do during your retirement years, you could easily be spending a lot more than you did while working. That's why you need to think about how you're likely to spend your golden years, then plan on where the gold will come from.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to questionable, irrelevant, outdated or just plain bad money advice.

That's what this week's "Money!" podcast is about. We're going to list 20+ bad bits of advice, explain why they're off the mark and replace them with new conventional wisdom that's wise and common knowledge that's knowledgeable.

As usual, my co-host will be financial journalist Miranda Marquit. Listening in and sometimes contributing is producer and novice investor Aaron Freeman.

Want more information? Check out these resources:

Become a member: https://www.moneytalksnews.com/members/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.