Real Money Pros

A financial decision can make perfect sense on its own and still create an unexpected consequence somewhere else.

This week, Jeremiah and Nic look at that tax domino effect through situations they're dealing with in actual planning. A rental property is sold for needed liquidity, but the capital gain could affect the owner's wife's ACA health insurance subsidy. A Roth conversion could improve the long-term tax picture while increasing income today. And a deduction that reduces taxable income may not necessarily reduce the MAGI number you're trying to manage.

They also discuss Roth vs. pre-tax contributions, partial 1031 exchanges, SEP IRAs vs. individual 401(k)s, accelerating business expenses and building tax diversification before retirement. The question isn't simply whether any one strategy is a good idea. It's what else changes when you use it.

With the fourth quarter underway, Jeremiah and Nic explain why now is the time to start putting those pieces together, especially for strategies that need to be completed before year-end.

Listen, Watch, & Connect!

https://www.therealmoneypros.com

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Ataraxis PEO

https://ataraxispeo.com

Tree City Advisors of Apollon:

https://www.treecityadvisors.com

Apollon Wealth Management:

https://apollonwealthmanagement.com/

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Private markets have historically been dominated by pensions, endowments and other large institutional investors. But as access expands, individual investors are increasingly encountering private equity, private credit and other investments outside the traditional public markets.

This week, Jeremiah Bates and Alex Lundgren are joined by Christian McCormick, CFA, Head of Client Portfolio Management at Meketa Capital, for a three-hour deep dive into how private markets actually work. Christian explains the differences between public and private investments, why companies are staying private longer, and how private equity firms invest in and work with businesses. They also break down venture capital, growth equity and buyouts, along with the due diligence involved in evaluating private investments.

Then, the conversation turns to the investor's side of the equation: liquidity, long holding periods, drawdown funds, evergreen and interval funds, portfolio allocation and the tradeoffs that come with investing in assets that can't simply be sold with the click of a button.

Finally, Christian takes a closer look at private infrastructure, including power generation, transportation, pipelines, digital infrastructure and data centers. They discuss why infrastructure has attracted more investor attention, how these projects can generate income and returns, and where inflation protection and diversification can fit into the picture.

Listen, Watch, & Connect!

https://www.therealmoneypros.com

Christian McCormick & Meketa Capital

https://meketacapital.com/profile-mccormick

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Ataraxis PEO

https://ataraxispeo.com

Tree City Advisors of Apollon:

https://www.treecityadvisors.com

Apollon Wealth Management:

https://apollonwealthmanagement.com/

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Treasury yields are rising, but what does that actually mean for your money?

Nic dives even deeper into what a Treasury yield is, why bond prices and yields move in opposite directions, and why higher yields can affect more than just the bond market. From stock valuations and cash yields to mortgage rates and retirement income, changes in interest rates can work their way into several parts of a financial plan.

The bigger question isn't whether Treasury yields are up. It's whether the change actually matters to your plan.

Listen, Watch, Subscribe, Ask!

https://www.therealmoneypros.com

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Ataraxis PEO

https://ataraxispeo.com

Tree City Advisors of Apollon:

https://www.treecityadvisors.com

Apollon Wealth Management:

https://apollonwealthmanagement.com/

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Selling a business can be one of the biggest financial events of an owner's life, but getting a good deal takes more than simply finding a buyer.

This week, Jeremiah Bates is joined by Rob Wolfe, Managing Director at Apollon Wealth Management, to discuss what makes a business attractive to potential buyers and how owners can prepare years before an exit. They cover the difference between owning a practice, a business and an enterprise, along with owner dependency, recurring revenue, customer concentration, clean financials, due diligence and the factors that can ultimately influence what someone is willing to pay.

They also answer real questions from business owners approaching a sale, including how to determine what a company is actually worth, who should be involved before responding to an offer, taxes after a sale and how to turn the proceeds from a business into long-term financial independence.

Then, the conversation shifts to investing beyond traditional stocks and bonds. Jeremiah and Rob break down private equity, private credit and other private-market investments, how access to these investments has expanded, where they may fit within a portfolio and one of their biggest tradeoffs: liquidity.

Listen, Watch, & Connect!

https://www.therealmoneypros.com

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Ataraxis PEO

https://ataraxispeo.com

Tree City Advisors of Apollon:

https://www.treecityadvisors.com

Apollon Wealth Management:

https://apollonwealthmanagement.com/

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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

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Ataraxis PEO

https://ataraxispeo.com

Tree City Advisors of Apollon:

https://www.treecityadvisors.com

Apollon Wealth Management:

https://apollonwealthmanagement.com/

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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

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Ataraxis PEO

https://ataraxispeo.com

Tree City Advisors of Apollon:

https://www.treecityadvisors.com

Apollon Wealth Management:

https://apollonwealthmanagement.com/

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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

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Ataraxis PEO

https://ataraxispeo.com

Tree City Advisors of Apollon:

https://www.treecityadvisors.com

Apollon Wealth Management:

https://apollonwealthmanagement.com/

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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

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Ataraxis PEO

https://ataraxispeo.com

Tree City Advisors of Apollon:

https://www.treecityadvisors.com

Apollon Wealth Management:

https://apollonwealthmanagement.com/

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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

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Ataraxis PEO

https://ataraxispeo.com

Tree City Advisors of Apollon:

https://www.treecityadvisors.com

Apollon Wealth Management:

https://apollonwealthmanagement.com/

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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

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Ataraxis PEO

https://ataraxispeo.com

Tree City Advisors of Apollon:

https://www.treecityadvisors.com

Apollon Wealth Management:

https://apollonwealthmanagement.com/

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