Talking Real Money - Investing Talk

By Don McDonald

Financial talk radio veteran, Don McDonald and former host of Serious Money on PBS, Tom Cock, join forces to talk about real money issues. In each episode, they solve real money problems, dole out

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The podcast currently has 2,565 episodes available.

Best of Talking Real Money - Investing Talk

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Number 1: Ep. 1967: Find the Robot
It’s Friday Q&A—with a small experiment. Don slips one AI-generated voice among the listener questions and challenges you to identify the robot, with his complete two-book library hanging in the balance. The financial questions are thoroughly human: where to keep a future car fund, whether an $11,000 Roth-conversion program earns its fee, when children can fund Roth IRAs, and what happens when bond holdings move from a traditional IRA into a Roth. Don also tackles the enviable problem of an oversized HSA, its inheritance rules and post-65 flexibility, plus the timing tradeoff for Social Security survivor benefits. 0:46 — Friday Q&A and the find-the-robot challenge 4:03 — Where should a $70,000 car fund live? 7:21 — Is an $11,000 Roth-conversion plan worth it? 9:39 — Roth IRAs for children—and newborns 11:13 — Bonds that move into a Roth conversion 13:54 — The $500,000 HSA problem 16:43 — When a surviving spouse should claim Social Security Questions? Comments? Click!
August 28, 202621min
Number 2: Ep. 1961: Smart Enough to Know Better
Being great at running a company does not make anyone a market oracle. Don and Tom unpack the money regrets of successful CEOs—and the costly confidence that often follows success. They draw the line between business skill and investment skill, explain why financial literacy matters, and make the case for diversification over hindsight, stock-picking games, and concentrated bets. Then they turn to listener questions on catching up at 43, investing a church endowment, an underperforming robo portfolio, and where stock dividends should go near retirement. Topics 03:46 CEOs, money regrets, and false confidence 08:10 Financial literacy without the stock-picking game 10:21 Tesla hindsight and the bets we didn’t make 11:41 Asset allocation and the cost of being too conservative 15:20 Business owners and concentration risk 17:48 Catching up on retirement saving at 43 21:22 A 60/40 church endowment with a 2.5% draw 23:12 When a robo portfolio badly trails the market 25:35 Dividends, bonds, and rebalancing near retirement Questions? Comments? Click!
August 20, 202631min
Number 3: Ep. 1962: The Jester’s Portfolio
Friday’s question pile ranges from the safest bond fund around to the harder question of what retirement is actually for. Don sorts through the choices with his usual preference for simple, sturdy answers. He weighs the TSP G Fund against BND, checks the bona fides of Raisin and The College Investor, and argues that leaving work makes sense only when something better is waiting on the other side. Then comes a candid disagreement over 21-fund portfolios, followed by a pension decision for a well-funded couple who can afford to self-insure. The court may have advisors, but Don is still happy being its jester. Topics 03:26 Is the TSP G Fund enough fixed income? 05:47 Raisin and The College Investor: useful and legitimate? 09:44 Retirement needs a purpose, not just an age 12:37 Twenty-one funds, advisor complexity, and honest disagreement 16:11 Single-life versus joint-survivor pension choices 18:57 Social Security timing, RMDs, and a very strong retirement plan Questions? Comments? Click!
August 21, 202623min
Number 4: Ep. 1965: The Market Hasn’t Sung Yet
The market’s long winning streak has investors wondering whether a crash is waiting in the wings. Don and Tom look at the S&P 500’s run, the lost decade that followed the 1990s boom, and why international diversification changed that outcome dramatically. They also explain why market timing asks the impossible: missing the worst days sounds wonderful, but missing the best days can be devastating. The less theatrical answer is still the useful one—make a plan, understand your tolerance for risk, diversify broadly, and sit still. Then it’s on to a near-retiree offered a portfolio stuffed with individual stocks, whether international bonds belong in a simple portfolio, why a professionally managed 20-fund portfolio is different from a DIY one, and how to rebalance when Roth and traditional accounts complicate the job. 3:33 — A historic market streak—and what might follow 4:31 — The lost decade diversification softened 7:08 — Why timing the best and worst days fails 9:22 — The boring answer: plan, diversify, be patient 14:04 — Individual stocks on the eve of retirement? 23:02 — A quick Celebration restaurant detour 24:28 — Do international bonds belong in your portfolio? 27:38 — When 20 funds are too many—or not 32:24 — Rebalancing across Roth and traditional accounts Questions? Comments? Click!
August 26, 202641min
Number 5: Ep. 1959: Bond. Very Long Bond.
AI’s appetite for data centers is sending tech giants to the bond market—and some of that debt will still be around in 2075. Don and Tom look at the scale of the borrowing and why a tempting yield deserves a closer look. They separate coupon rate from yield to maturity, explain senior unsecured debt, and show how brutally interest-rate-sensitive a 50-year bond can be. The verdict: these bonds may belong in a broad index, but they don’t belong on your personal shopping list. Listener questions cover sequence-of-return risk, Roth IRAs versus 529s for children, and the smart savings order for a 19-year-old earning real money for the first time. Timestamps: 0:38 AI, data centers, and corporate debt 3:40 The $50 trillion U.S. bond market 5:21 Big Tech’s borrowing binge 7:06 Coupon rate versus yield to maturity 8:10 The danger in a 50-year bond 12:45 Sequence-of-return risk in retirement 16:05 Roth IRAs and 529s for children 20:14 A young saver’s order of operations Questions? Comments? Click!
August 18, 202633min