Money For the Rest of Us

Should You Be Invested 100% Stocks Before and During Retirement? A Recent Study Says Yes

03 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The pros and cons of investing your retirement assets 100% in equity, including half in international stocks. Why the 4% spending rule is too aggressi...

Listener Q&A on Investing and Living

13 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We close out 2023 by answering your questions on active vs passive management, market timing, investing for status, what we learned from Charlie Munge...

Dissecting Stock Returns: Financial Engineering or Genuine Growth?

06 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Do the impressive returns in public and private markets stem from strategic financial engineering or reflect actual economic growth?How corporate prof...

AI's Fork in the Road: Societal Bliss or Existential Threat?

29 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

One year after the release of ChatGPT, we explore the positive and negative paths AI could take and what individuals can do to assist with a positive ...

Using a Checklist Approach To Investing - The Money for the Rest of Us Philosophy

22 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this bonus episode, David visits with Bill Yount and Becky Heptig of the Catching Up to Fi podcast in a wide-ranging discussion on investing using ...

Is Tourism Harmful or Helpful? The Economic and Cultural Impact of Global Travel

15 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What are the economic and cultural benefits of tourism. What are the downsides to too much tourism. How to find the right balance.Topics covered inclu...

Easier Investing, Richer Life: TIPS Ladders to Annuities

08 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What are the pros and cons of partially funding retirement expenses with an inflation-indexed bond ladder versus an immediate annuity? There is a big ...

How To Invest Money - 10 Rules of Thumb for Individual Investors

01 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We discuss ten rules of thumb for individual investors to consider when saving and investing for and in retirement.Don't use institutional hand-me-dow...

The Price of Money - 700 Years of Falling, Can Interest Rates Keep Rising?

25 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Interest rates have been sliding for seven centuries. Dive into the historical forces driving this trend and examine whether the recent interest rate ...

Beyond Stocks: The Allure and Strategy of Credit Investments

18 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Why investing in non-investment grade bonds, leveraged loans, and preferred stocks is potentially more compelling than investing in common stocks at p...

How Much Should You Invest in Stocks? The Art of Position Sizing in a Volatile Market

11 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Our allocation to risky assets should vary based on the expected return, volatility, risk aversion, and how much we can earn risk-free. That means we ...

How Higher Interest Rates Alter Our Financial Blueprint

04 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We explore six impacts of higher interest rates on housing, capital projects, stock buybacks, excess returns for stocks, bonds, and other asset classe...

The House of Cards: Evaluating Economic and Financial Warning Signs

27 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What are the economic and financial system early warning signs that we should heed rather than get caught up in fearmongering? When should we start to...

Where Are Interest Rates Headed Next? Insights from the Jackson Hole Symposium

20 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Why you might want to lock in higher yields now, given real interest rates are the highest they have been in 15 years.Topics covered include:What was ...

Our Car Was Attacked! Is Property Crime Increasing?

13 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

David shares how thieves recently tried to smash and grab his luggage from his car while he was still inside it. He then explores property crime trend...

Die With Zero: Why You Should Start Spending Now

06 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

How to balance saving, investing, and spending for a fulfilling life. Why you will probably reach your peak net worth sooner than you think and should...

Bond Investing Masterclass Bonus Episode

30 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Three additional insights to help you confidently invest in fixed income. First, what are the different measures of bond yields, and which is best? Se...

From Boom to Bust: Why China's Stocks Lagged Behind Its Economy and Where to Invest Next

23 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

How badly has China's stock market performed except for one remarkable decadeWhat are the economic and governance factors that contributed to the unde...

Natural Disasters: Are They Truly Increasing?

16 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

From raging wildfires to devastating floods, how are these natural events reshaping our financial landscape? What if anything, should we be doing with...

Five Surprising Insights About Stock Indexes and Funds

09 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We share five things we have learned about stock index valuations, earnings, currency, and why value investing isn't dead.Topics covered include:How i...

Crisis-Proof Investing: Strategies for a Shaky Future

02 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Given climate change and other risks, how should you invest for the next forty years?Topics covered include:What predictions from the last forty years...

What If Social Security Had Been Privatized? The Value of Federal Government Pension Plans

26 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In 2005, Congress debated giving U.S. workers private savings accounts to invest their Social Security contributions in the stock and bond markets. Si...

Beware of Platform Risk - How PeerStreet, a Real Estate Crowdfunding Firm, Went Bankrupt

19 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

How to mitigate the risk of investing on crowdfunding platforms where there is little transparency on the underlying financial health of the platform ...

How and Why to Invest in AI

12 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

AI models like ChatGPT could lead to massive productivity gains, accelerated economic growth, and higher stock returns. Here's how to invest in AI.Top...

Why Are You Investing? Defining Your Rich Life with Ramit Sethi

28 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Camden and Bret sit down with Ramit Sethi, host of Netflix’s hit show, “How to Get Rich”, author of the New York Times bestseller, “I Will Tea...

How to Live Like You Are Already Retired

21 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

How to create and sustain a life of freedom and happiness you don't want to retire from.Topics covered include:What are the physical and mental aspect...

How Did They Do? - Revisiting Carbon, SPACs, Silver, Convertible Bonds, and Frontier Markets

14 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We review the performance and investment prospects for carbon, SPACs, silver, convertible bonds, and frontier markets.Topics covered:What has been the...

Is It Better to Rent or Buy a Home?

07 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

How to decide whether to rent a house or apartment or purchase a home or condo. What has been the financial return from owning a house?Topics covered ...

Don't Be Afraid to Invest In Commercial Real Estate - The Bullish Case for Equity REITs

24 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Why equity real estate investment trusts should be part of your investment portfolio despite the office sector's struggles.Topics covered include:Why ...

What Happens If The U.S. Defaults On Its Debt? Here's Why It Won't

17 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What are the grave consequences if the U.S. debt ceiling isn't increased and the government defaults? What would the Federal Reserve and the Executive...

Are the Economy and Financial Markets Zero-Sum Games?

10 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Does there need to be a loser for every winner when it comes to investing and economic growth?Topics covered include:What are zero-sum gamesHow tradin...

The Long-term Bullish Case for Gold

03 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Why you should allocate a small percentage of your assets to gold.Topics covered include:What is money, and how does gold fit with that definitionWhy ...

How Should Personal and National Wealth Be Measured?

26 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

How we measure wealth, riches, abundance, and well-being is more important today than ever.Topics covered include:How late 18th century philosophers A...

Which Inflation Protection Strategies Worked and Which Didn't?

19 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

With a total U.S. inflation rate of 14% in the past two years, we review how various inflation hedges performed over the past twenty-four months.Topic...

How the Coming Credit Crunch Could Harm the Economy and Real Estate Prices

12 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

How accelerating bank deposit withdrawals could harm the economy, including real estate prices. How dollars slosh around the financial system but alwa...

Did the Tariffs Work? The Trade War Five Years Later

05 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What has been the impact on trade and the trade deficit since the U.S. implemented tariffs on steel, aluminum, and goods made in China?Topics covered ...

Which is Best - Active or Passive, ETFs or Funds?

27 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

David has a fascinating discussion with Kristof Gleich about active management, indexing, and how ETFs and mutual funds really work.Topics covered inc...

How Profits Motivate Change

22 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

"If something is profitable, it will be done," says Martin Wolf of the Financial Times. We explore how profits will drive the energy transition and ho...

Are More Bank Runs Coming? The Collapse of Silicon Valley Bank

15 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What caused Silicon Valley Bank to collapse in only 44 hours, and how likely will the contagion spread, leading to other bank failures?Topics covered ...

A "Safe" 6% Yield: The Case for Investment Grade CLOs

08 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

How leveraged loans and CLOs work and how to invest in them. What are the risks and opportunities with the new CLO ETFs.Topics covered include:What ar...

This Stock Has a 15% Dividend Yield and Has Outperformed Warren Buffett. Should You Invest?

22 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Do activist hedge funds including Carl Icahn's add value? Should you invest in Icahn Enterprises L.P., a conglomerate with a 15% dividend yield and a ...

Beware of Survivorship Bias When Investing

15 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Why long-term U.S. stock market outperformance could be because it has avoided major catastrophes. Does an over-reliance on historical U.S. stock retu...

Does a 60/40 Balanced Portfolio Still Work? Time to Jettison Non-U.S. Stocks?

08 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What are the pros and cons of a simple stock and bond portfolio consisting of two funds or ETFs? Given U.S. stocks have significantly outperformed the...

How to Make Portfolio and Asset Allocation Changes

01 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We consider four case studies in which individuals struggle to decide what to do with their investment portfolios.Topics include:Why it's so difficult...

Bond Investing Master Class - How to Invest in Fixed Income

25 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What you need to know to confidently invest in bonds.Topics covered include:Key components of bond investing include face value, coupon rates, yield-t...

Will Generative AI Like ChatGPT Replace Your Job?

18 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

How sophisticated AI apps from OpenAI and other companies create articles, art, and other works that have never existed. How generative AI will impact...

Your Nation's National Debt: 5 Things You Need to Know

11 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We analyze the worrisome national debt situation in the U.S., UK, and Japan and consider what will determine the likelihood of defaultTopics covered i...

Listener Q&A

04 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We kick off 2023 by answering your questions on making portfolio changes, risk tolerance, the strong dollar, inflation and retirement, influential boo...

Use Caution With Private REITs Like Blackstone’s BREIT - Is Now a Good Time to Invest in REITs?

14 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

How public equity REITs differ from private REITs. Why investors are selling out of private REITs and why private REIT sponsors like Blackstone and St...

What if the World Stopped Shopping?

07 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

How to solve the conundrum that consumption reductions lead to economic disasters while benefiting the environment.Topics covered include:Why consumpt...

Where to Invest Your Cash Savings for Higher Yields

30 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

What are the best options for safely investing cash.Topics covered include:High-yield savings accountsCertificates of DepositsGovernment BondsMoney Ma...

Is Emerging and Frontier Markets Investing Still Worth It? - with Asha Mehta

23 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Camden and David converse with Asha Mehta, Managing Partner & CIO at Global Delta Capital about the bullish case for emerging and frontier market ...

Is Cryptocurrency Dead? Will the FTX Fallout Kill Crypto?

16 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

How the bankruptcy of FTX, the world's third-largest crypto exchange, undermines trust in cryptocurrency and decentralized finance, making it even mor...

What Is the IMF and Why Is It Controversial?

09 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

How the International Monetary Fund, the world's economic firefighter, works for global monetary cooperation and prosperity while using its own made-u...

Is Success Due to Hard Work, Talent, or Luck?

02 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

How to survive in a world where luck and randomness play a pivotal role.Topics covered include:What are power lawsWhat are the narrative fallacy and h...

Worry-Free Retirement Investing

26 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

How to use laddered inflation-indexed bonds (i.e., TIPS), CDs, fixed annuities, and fixed index annuities to meet retirement living exp...

Annie Duke on Better Investing and the Danger of Grit

19 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In Episode 406, David and Camden visit with Annie Duke about how to better manage our investment portfolios including when and what to sell. We also d...

When Volatility Spikes, Financial Things Break - The Case of UK Gilts and Pensions

12 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

What is volatility and what causes it to rise and fall? How volatility itself contributes to more volatility such as in the example of the chaotic UK ...

Why Is the U.S. Dollar So Strong? Will It Continue?

28 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

What has caused the U.S. dollar's currency exchange rate to be the strongest in twenty years? How a strong dollar leads to slower global economic grow...

The Pandemic Might Be "Over," but Not the Repercussions

21 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

How risk perceptions and actions have changed over several years of the pandemic. How the pandemic's impacts continue to affect politics, the economy,...

Why Student Debt Is So High and Why Forgiving It Doesn't Fix the Problem

14 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

What are the drivers that lead to higher student loan balances? Why a one-time student loan forgiveness program doesn't solve the problem of increasin...

Why Diversifying Your Portfolio Feels So Awful

07 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Warren Buffet said, "Diversification makes very little sense for anyone that knows what they’re doing." He also said, "Diversification is a protecti...

What If High Inflation Doesn't End? How To Invest If High Inflation Stays

31 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

How economic wars, pandemics, and worker shortages could lead to years of high structural inflation. What needs to happen to avoid this dire inflation...

Unintended Consequences Impact Everything

24 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We explore examples of positive and negative unintended consequences, what causes them, and how to navigate a world where unanticipated things happen ...

When Should You Hire An Investment Advisor? Two Case Studies

17 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We analyze two listeners' portfolios. One who is close to retirement and considering hiring an outside money manager. The second is 45 and just sold a...

How To Invest Based on Cycles

10 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This episode edits and remasters two earlier episodes on investing based on cycles to focus on timeless investing principles.Topics covered include:Wh...

Forsage and Herbalife—How Multi-Level Marketing, Pyramid Schemes, and Ponzi Schemes Differ

03 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Why it is challenging to distinguish a legitimate multi-level marketing company from a pyramid scheme as hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman found out ...

How Population Trends Will Impact Growth, Inflation, Investing, and Well Being

27 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

How slowing population growth and an eventual population peak will lead to competition for foreign workers, potentially higher inflation, and ultimate...

How To Get Better At Risk Taking

20 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Five ways we can better take and manage risk.Topics covered include:How likely is it that China will invade Taiwan and the stock market will fall 80%W...

What Happens If Your Brokerage Firm Goes Bankrupt?

13 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

How protected are you if the brokerage firm where you hold your stocks, bonds, and crypto assets files for bankruptcy? Why you shouldn't store your cr...

Part 2 - What Is Money and How To Think About It

06 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

David and his son Camden conclude their conversation about money.Topics covered include:A review of money principles discussed in Part 1How money is c...

Part 1 - What Is Money and How To Think About It

29 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

David and his son Camden hold a conversation about money, its attributes, how it's created, and how money differs from investments.Topics covered incl...

How to Survive a Bear Market

22 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Three things investors can do to survive this bear market and thrive in its aftermath.Topics discussed include:What are bear markets, how often do the...

Why David Isn't Podcasting This Week and Our New Closed-End Fund Course

15 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week on the show, David shares some investing lessons from fly fishing and introduces our new course on How To Invest in Closed-End Funds.Between...

Are BlackRock and Vanguard Too Big and Powerful?

08 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

How big index fund and ETF providers have increased their sway over publicly-traded companies while potentially discouraging competition. What can be ...

Is Airbnb Intensifying the Housing Crisis?

01 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We explore whether long-term and short-term single-family home rentals are contributing to higher rents, higher home prices, and a housing shortage. W...

Will Quantitative Tightening Lead To Even Greater Financial Losses?

25 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

How financial markets and the economy performed last time the Federal Reserve took away the punch bowl by raising its policy rate and pursuing quantit...

Why Most Money Fails - Six Principles to Navigate the Unstable World of Money

18 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

How should you approach money given most of it either collapses or loses its purchasing power due to inflation.Get our free six-day email course on ho...

When Should You Pay a Premium?

11 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

What are examples of when it makes sense to pay more than the usual price or fair value for an item or asset?Topics covered include:Why we are willing...

Is It Time To Invest In Big Tech or Medium Tech Stocks? (FAANGs and FANMAGs)

04 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

With many of the largest tech stocks falling over 20% year-to-date, is now the time to invest? Has the market changed to where tech investing is a saf...

Has A Commodities Bull Market Super Cycle Started? If So, How Do You Invest In It?

27 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

What causes secular bull and bear markets in commodities. What factors suggest a new commodities bull market has started and how can investors partici...

How To Be A Successful Contrarian Investor

20 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

How contrarians combine value and momentum to take positions opposite what the consensus believes. What is the consensus view in today's financial mar...

Is A Famine Next? Food Inflation, Food Riots, and Investing in Commodities and other Real Things

13 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Why food costs are soaring and what we can do about it. Why inflation rates could start to drop. Why commodity futures, including agriculture futures,...

Investing in Business Development Companies (BDCs) and other Niche Assets That Trade on Stock Exchanges

06 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We review the ten asset categories that trade on major stock exchanges, many of which are smaller niches in which individual investors have an edge ov...

How Stories Drive Our Happiness and Financial Success

30 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Stories determine economic and financial outcomes, both our own and the world in aggregate. Here's how to craft and follow stories that will lead to b...

People Like Us Invest Like This - Remastered with New Introduction

23 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week, we revisit a classic episode released five years ago. In a newly recorded introduction, David shares the background on the episode and why ...

Do We Even Need Leaders?

16 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

How societies have functioned without leaders, including leaderless megacities that survived over 800 years.Topics covered include:Is geopolitics more...

Is Stagflation Coming?

09 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Will the world experience both inflation and subpar economic growth at the same time?Topics covered include:What is inflation and what causes itWhat h...

What If It's Different This Time? - The Impact of the Russian-Ukraine War

02 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

What can we do to prepare if the Russian-Ukraine war gets even worse?Topics covered include:How risk and uncertainty differ as does how we manage them...

What Investment Style Fits Your Personality?

23 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

How to decide the investing scale and timeframe that works best for your temperament.Topics covered include:How stocks perform in the days and weeks f...

Five Financial Lessons From Middlemarch

16 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Key takeaways from one of the greatest personal finance novels of all time.Topics covered include:Why it is easier to keep doing the same old thingWhy...

Lifecycle Investing, Risk Parity Portfolios, and Why Stocks Are Riskier in the Long Run

09 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

How lifecycle investing and risk parity portfolios can assist you in having sufficient assets to retire. What are the two types of time diversificatio...

Are Stablecoins Safe? Should You Own Them?

02 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

How stablecoins are similar and different from other monetary assets. What are stablecoin risks. Why central bank digital currencies are one of the bi...

When Should You Sell An Investment?

26 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We explore four reasons to sell an asset with a focus on the Ark Innovation ETF, Bitcoin, and equity REITs. We also put the current stock market sell-...

Find Your Retirement Investing and Living Style

19 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

What are the pros and cons of the four approaches to managing retirement savings. How to implement a bucketing or time segmentation retirement investi...

Should You Invest In Small and Mid Cap Stocks? Is Now the Time?

12 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Small and mid-cap stocks have underperformed large-cap stocks for over a decade. Is now the time to increase your allocation?Topics covered include:Ho...

Year-End 2021 Listener Q&A Episode

15 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We answer listener questions in our final episode of 2021.Topics covered include:Estimating financial market returns in the next thirty yearsInvesting...

How To Invest in Web3, DAOs and the Metaverse

08 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

What is Web 3.0 and how will it transform the world? How you can invest your time and money in decentralized autonomous organizations and other Web3 p...

What Investment Strategies Do Best During High Inflation Periods?

01 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

How different asset classes and investment strategies have performed during periods of unexpectedly high inflation. While trend and momentum strategie...

Is There a Global Energy Crisis?

17 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

With oil, natural gas, coal, and gasoline at the highest prices in eight years, we consider if there is an energy crisis due to an over-reliance on re...