On this Friday Q&A episode, Don answers listener questions on international stock overweighting inside a Seattle city retirement plan, whether a Vanguard target-date fund might be a smarter emotional guardrail than self-managing allocations, how much term life insurance a family really needs (hint: it’s about replacing income, not funding Ivy League dreams), whether an aggressively small-value–tilted Avantis portfolio is too risky for a disabled early retiree, and how to evaluate a $36,000 pension annuity versus a $500,000 lump sum using withdrawal math instead of Monte Carlo optimism. The recurring theme: feelings aren’t an edge, discipline beats prediction, and structure matters more than conviction.

0:09 Fewer recorded questions lately and how to submit them

1:41 Seattle city employee overweighted in international stocks

3:36 Why “historic pivots” and gut feelings aren’t an investing edge

4:50 Target-date fund vs. self-built allocation

7:27 Using small-cap/value funds alongside a target-date fund

9:15 Risk tolerance vs. emotional market timing

10:53 How much term life insurance is enough?

12:35 Replacing income vs. funding lifestyle extras

12:44 Aggressive Avantis (AVGV/AVGE/AVNV/DFAW) portfolio review

15:50 What happens if your portfolio drops 50%?

17:10 Pension choice: $36k annuity vs. $500k lump sum

21:29 The 41-year math on the lump-sum difference

22:52 Why lump sum often makes you the “insurance company”

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