Money For the Rest of Us

How Capitalism Gets Off Track

04 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

How inequitable business models like those in the gig economy can lead to a financial crisis, more regulation, and doubts about the viability of the f...

Using Momentum Investing and Trend Following

28 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

How momentum investing works, what are some of the challenges in implementing it, and how can individuals use momentum in their investment portfolios....

Invest Like a Tesla

21 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

How the composition of Tesla's autopilot software gives clues to how we should invest, recognizing there are no perfect algorithms for driving or inve...

What Happens If U.S. Interest Rates Turn Negative?

14 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

What are negative interest rates, why they could come to the U.S. and what investors can do about it.In this episode you will learn:How negative inter...

Should You Invest In Gold?

07 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

With gold at a six-year high, is now the time to invest? What determines the price of gold and what are ways one can invest in this precious metal? We...

Better Not Bigger, Circular Not Linear - How the Global Economy Is Changing

31 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

How a less energy intensive and more regenerative economy will allow the developing the world to advance without breaching ecological boundaries.In th...

Is Value Investing Dead?

24 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Why has value investing underperformed growth investing for over twelve years and how to position your portfolio for the eventual rebound in value inv...

Is This Why Interest Rates Are Falling and the Global Economy Slowing?

17 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Has the off-shore dollar market in terms of dollar financing and currency hedging gotten so big that it can dictate Federal Reserve monetary policy in...

Will The Libra Cryptocurrency Revolutionize Money?

10 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Will Facebook's Libra Cryptocurrency transform money as we know it or is it "the most invasive and dangerous form of surveillance devised thus far?" H...

How Financialization Pushes Up Home Prices

26 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

How the demand by corporations and individuals to turn single-family homes into rental units is pushing up home prices, making it more difficult for f...

It’s Not Just Wealth That Compounds

19 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

How the power of compounding applies not only to wealth, but influence, expertise, and creativity. How non-monetary investments can lead to greater mo...

Will Artificial Intelligence (AI) Change Investing?

12 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

How does artificial intelligence and machine learning work and what are some examples of how individual investors can use AI in their investing.In thi...

With Interest Rates Falling, Why Do You Own Bonds?

05 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

How an asset class such as bonds can play different roles in your portfolio depending on your investment philosophy. In this episode you will lea...

Should You Be 100% Invested In Stocks?

29 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

What are the pros and cons of having your entire investment portfolio invested in stocks versus a multi-asset class portfolio.In this episode you’ll...

Are IPOs the New Ponzi Scheme?

22 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

How venture capital funded startups run up massive losses while justifying premium valuations using creative profitability metrics. These private comp...

How To Become Wealthy

15 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The three-step plan for becoming financially wealthy and how to be wealthy without the money.In this episode you’ll learn:The results of two recent ...

Impact Investing and Intentionality

08 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

How individuals can have a positive impact while earning a good return investing. What are some examples of socially responsible and impact investment...

Investment Rule One—Avoid Ruin

24 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

How reducing exposure to a catastrophic event, such as running out of money during retirement, is a better strategy than trying to accurately predict ...

Should You Invest in India?

17 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Why respected investors and economists believe India will be the fastest growing economy and potentially best-performing stock market over the next tw...

How to Avoid Investment Fraud

10 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Here are precautions we can take to avoid ponzi schemes and not become victim to investment fraud. In this episode you’ll learn:What are sources to ...

More Indexes, ETFs and Manager Skill, but Less Alpha

03 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

How the increase in indexing is leading to the creation of more stock indexes, most of which are used by active managers. How more indexing makes it m...

What Central Banks Don’t Know Should Concern You

27 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Why an inverted yield curve is disconcerting given such low interest rates. Why those low rates could lead to radical central bank policies during the...

Is College Worth It?

20 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

#245 With more and more college degrees being granted and higher student loan balances, when does it make sense to go to a highly selective college or...

Are You Spending Too Much? (FIRE Edition)

13 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

#244 How we can use filters to better manage how much we spend and make sure our spending has a meaningful impact on ourselves and the world. Thanks t...

Do You Have Enough to Retire? (FIRE Edition)

06 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

#243 What are the key metrics to determine if you have reached financial independence and can retire early. How major stock market losses can derail e...

Should You Let Warren Buffett Manage Your Money?

27 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

#242. Does it make financial sense to buy Berkshire Hathaway stock and let Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger manage your money? We evaluate Berkshire ...

Do Budget Deficits Matter? Modern Monetary Theory Explained

20 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

#241 Why modern monetary theory isn't worried about federal budget deficits, why budget deficits never go away and what are the risks if budget defici...

Three Financial Lessons from Thoreau

13 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

#240 What Henry David Thoreau can teach us about calculating costs, profits, benefits and living a life free of "quiet desperation." Thanks to Bl...

How to Be a Successful Trader

06 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

#239 Why successful trading of commodities futures, foreign currencies and options depends on exploiting novice traders. Thanks to Molekule and Sleep ...

The U.S Is More Socialist Than Denmark with Home Mortgages

30 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

#238 How the U.S. mortgage market differs from the Danish mortgage market. Danish mortgage rates and defaults are lower than the U.S.. and unlike the ...

Brexit Is A Mess—Lessons Learned

23 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

#237 What can we learn from the difficulties the UK is having in negotiating an exit from the European Union. What happens next? Why there is always a...

How Investors Cope With Radical Uncertainty

16 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

#236 How heuristics, filters and reasonable stories help us cope with radical uncertainty and make investment decisions. Thanks to Netsuite and T...

What If Home Prices Always Fell

09 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

#235 How to evaluate the purchase of a depreciating asset, such as buying a house in Japan where prices have declined 23 out of the past 29 years.&nbs...

Index But Don't Herd

19 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

#234 How and when to use passive indexing strategies without following the crowd. Thanks to Masterworks and Sleep Number for sponsoring the episode.Fo...

Is An Emerging Markets Crisis Imminent?

12 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

#233 What is the cause of the economic crisis in Argentina and how likely is it that other developing nations will experience a similar financing cris...

Is It Time To Invest In Commodities?

05 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

#232 Why investing in commodities such as oil and gold is challenging. What you need to know before you invest. Thanks to New Retirement Planner for s...

What Determines How Much You Make

28 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

#231 Why different occupations pay differently or even the same occupation in different countries. Why the same occupation can pay differently for dif...

Use Caution With Real Estate Crowdfunding

14 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

#230 With RealtyShares and other crowdfunding platforms shutting down, should you invest on these platforms and if so how do you go about evaluating t...

Stop Maximizing Your Returns Using Modern Portfolio Theory

07 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

#229 Why modern portfolio theory is a defective way to build out an investment portfolio. This episode explains a better approach to asset allocation....

How Tokenization Will Radically Change Investing

31 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

#228 How distributed ledger technology and tokenized assets will increase liquidity, transparency and fractionalization, allowing investors to purchas...

How To Teach Children About Money

24 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

#227 Here are four most important things to teach children about money and why showing is better than telling when it comes to kids and money. Thanks ...

How To Spot Asset Bubbles and What To Do About Them (The Case of Cannabis)

17 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

#226 What are the characteristics of an asset bubble and how to invest when one exists. Are cannabis stocks in a bubble? Thanks to Blinkist and Policy...

How To Invest In Bonds and Other Fixed Income Securities

10 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

#225 How to evaluate interest rate risk, credit risk and other factors when investing in bonds. Thanks to Sleep Number for sponsoring the episode.For ...

Mastering the Market Cycle—New Book by Howard Marks

03 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

#224 How to position your investment portfolio based on market cycles. Investing principles from Howard Marks' new book Mastering the Market Cycle.&nb...

How To Invest When You Have Little Money

26 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

#223 How commission free ETFs, mobile apps and zero fee index funds make it easier to invest if you have little money. What are some examples of commi...

Why We Overpay and How It Leads To Income Inequality

19 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

#222 How asymmetric information, price discrimination and the stories we tell ourselves contribute to artificial profits and income inequality. Thanks...

Should You Prepare For The Next Financial Crisis?

12 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

#221 How the Great Financial Crisis changed how individuals and institutions invest, and why we shouldn't invest solely focused on the next crisis. Th...

Where Should You Invest Your Cash Savings?

05 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

#220 How to evaluate cash savings options at banks, credit unions and brokerage firms. Why are yields on cash savings so much higher than a few years ...

The Incredible Shrinking Stock Market

29 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

#219 How fewer publicly traded companies, less stock shares outstanding and more intangible assets have led to higher earnings growth for U.S. listed ...

Is China or the U.S. More Vulnerable?

22 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

#218 What are the headwinds facing China that could slow economic growth, but still could lead to China growing faster than the U.S. Also, what is goi...

Rebalancing, Overvaluation, Market Timing, and Stock Splits

15 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

#217 Which rebalancing strategy is best or should we even bother rebalancing? Should we just exit stocks completely, especially given how overvalued t...

Avoid This Investment: P2P Lending

08 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

#216 Why peer-to-peer lending on platforms like Lending Club and Upstart is no place for individuals to invest given higher defaults, lower returns an...

Is A Dollar Collapse Coming?

01 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

#215 Will stagflation cause the dollar to crash and be a bottomless pit when the next recession hits? That is what Peter Schiff is predicting. We look...

Should You Trade Currencies (Forex) Like Soros?

25 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

#214 How the foreign exchange market works and how George Soros made more than a $1 billion shorting the British pound in 1992. Why currency trading t...

Why Health Insurance Is A Mess

18 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

#213 How health insurance isn't really protection against a catastrophic illness but prepayment of routine healthcare consumption, leading to overcons...

Trade Wars Increase Prices and Poverty

11 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

#212 How a complex global trade system has reduced poverty, raised incomes, increased productivity, and lowered prices while a trade war will reverse ...

How To Navigate A Housing Bubble

27 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

#211 Why housing bubbles can last such a long time and what to do if you really want or need to buy a house in a frothy market. More information, incl...

Are There Always Winners and Losers When Trading?

20 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

#210 Why fair markets require uncertainty for both the buyer and the seller, and why sellers don't need to disclose everything they know to the buyer....

Why Bother Investing Internationally?

13 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

#209 Is it worth investing outside your home country given the risk? Should you hedge currency risk? What is the impact of Chinese "A" share listed co...

The Biggest Market Crash Is Recyclables

06 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

#208 How a Chinese ban and careless recycling habits by households and businesses led to a market collapse in recyclables. More information, including...

How Do The Mega Rich Invest?

30 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

#207 Why the mega rich don't have magical investing powers, but there are some investing attributes they possess that we can emulate. More information...

Be Bear Aware of Bank Loans

23 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

#206 Why the leveraged loan market (i.e. bank loans) is becoming more risky. What are collateralized loan obligations and how do they influence bank l...

Is The Federal Reserve Really Printing Money?

16 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

#205 If the Federal Reserve has printed over $2 trillion dollar and given it to banks to lend, why is U.S. inflation still low? More information, incl...

Why Are Investment Returns So Low?

09 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

#204 How low real interest rates contribute to low returns for stocks and other risk assets. How real interest rates are determined. More information,...

Is Investing More Like Poker or Chess?

02 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

#203 How to make better investing and life decisions. More information, including show notes, can be found here.Episode SummaryDavid asks the question...

Will Your Next Car Be Electric?

25 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

#202 What are the impediments to the mass adoption of electric vehicles. More information, including show notes, can be found here.Episode SummaryOver...

Is Your Portfolio Unbalanced?

18 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

#201 Why most conventional portfolios make huge and often unintended bets on the stock market. How role based investing can lead to a more balanced po...

The Great National Debt Debate

11 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

#200 Joshua Sheats from the Radical Personal Finance podcast and I discuss our different views regarding the national debt and the severity of the U.S...

What Kind of Money Is It?

04 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

#199 How a bank panic led to the creation of the Federal Reserve, and why having diversified sources of money can protect us in case we have a bank pa...

Capitalism Is Creation

28 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

#198 Why save for retirement if capitalism is going to collapse and/or universal basic income will be available. How millennials can lead the next wor...

The Power of Less and Local

21 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

#197 Why having less things and activities gives us more freedom and happiness. Why low probability risks are unacceptable if the consequences affect ...

How To Survive Financially

14 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

#196 Why relying on averages is dangerous given our fate is often determined by extreme events and how we react as financial markets, the economy and ...

Has A Trade War Begun?

07 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

#195 Why duties and other actions are necessary to address trade disputes, but across the board tariffs are a blunt instrument that can lead to a deva...

Four Investment Lessons From Warren Buffett

28 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

#194 Four investment lessons from Berkshire Hathaway's fiscal year 2017 Shareholder Letter with additional insights from Howard Marks and Seth Klarman...

Why Plan If Life Is So Unpredictable?

21 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

#193 How planning helps us avoid catastrophic errors while maintaining flexibility and margins of safety allow us to thrive even if our plans don't wo...

Is Anything Scarce Anymore?

14 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

#192 In this episode we explore scarcity. Artificial scarcity created by laws and real scarcity created by our evolving lifestyles and economy. We'll ...

Has The Bond Bear Market Begun?

07 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

#191 Why interest rates are rising and what could happen to bonds, stocks and the economy if rates returned to more normal levels. More information, i...

How To Keep Up With Inflation

31 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

#190 What investments are best for maintaining purchasing power relative to inflation. Using the pencil as an example, how inflationary and deflationa...

Should The Minimum Wage Be Raised?

24 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

#189 Will increasing the minimum wage help or harm workers and businesses? How many U.S. workers are paid at or below the minimum wage? More informati...

Should You Pay Off Debt Or Invest?

17 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

#188 How our net worth is more than our financial capital but includes our lifetime earning capacity or human capital. What role does debt play in inv...

Do You Have Dollars and Sense?

10 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

#187 Why opportunity costs should be our primary frame for deciding what to buy instead of anchoring, mental accounting or whether we pay with a credi...

Why Do We Pay Taxes?

03 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

#186 Why paying taxes has very little to do with funding the federal government. We also explore the potential impact of the U.S. tax reform on househ...

Introducing Topics by Money For the Rest of Us

27 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

There is no regular episode of the podcast this week, but there is a new podcast you can subscribe and listen to: Topics by Money For the Rest of Us. ...

A Conversation On Retirement With Jason Parker - Year End Special

20 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

A wide ranging discussion on retirement math, sequence of return risk, investing buckets, scaling exposure to Bitcoin and gold, and creating a lifesty...

Are U.S. States Just Like Greece?

13 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

#185 How Illinois and other states can suffer a debt crisis like Greece but why it wouldn't lead to an economic depression similar to what Greece suff...

Massive Job Losses Are Inevitable But There Will Still Be Work

06 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

#184 Why technology eliminates jobs but doesn't increase the level of unemployment even though for more than 50 years that has been the worry.See Priv...

How To Invest In Commercial Real Estate

29 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

#183 What to look for when investing in public real estate investment trusts ("REITs), private REITs and direct real estate deals on crowdfunding real...

Was Tulipmania Just Like Bitcoin?

22 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

#182 What caused tulip mania in the 17th century in the Netherlands and how is it similar to Bitcoin?See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy a...

Does Illegal Immigration Help or Hurt the Economy?

15 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

#181 What is the economic impact of illegal immigration. What would be the cost and impact of mass deportation.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com...

Can You Outperform Harvard's Endowment?

08 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

#180 Why have college endowments underperformed a simple three fund Vanguard portfolio? Should you mirror a simple two or three fund portfolio or inve...

Free Markets and the Great Famine

01 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

#179 How a concern about interfering in markets and trade may have contributed to over one million deaths during the 19th century Great Famine in Irel...

Japan the Impact of a Shrinking Population

25 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

#178 How a country’s working age population growth impacts economic growth and stock returns. What Japan can do about its population decline.See Pri...

How Business Contributes To Income Inequality

18 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

#177 How high profits and low investment by business in R&D and workers lead to income inequality. Why the current situation is unsustainable and ...

Are 60 Percent of Americans Insolvent?

11 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

#176 What percent of Americans are insolvent and what makes data trustworthy.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy No...

How To Conduct Investment Due Diligence

04 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

#175 What attributes should you look for in analyzing an investment advisory firm, financial planner, investment partnership, crowdfunding platform or...

Navigating Modern Life Like The Amish

27 Sep 2017

Contributed by Lukas

#174 What the Amish can teach us about adopting new technology without being overwhelmed.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and Californi...

Should You Invest Based On Economic Cycles?

20 Sep 2017

Contributed by Lukas

#173 What are some of challenges of investing using long-term economic cycles.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy N...

Equifax Aftermath—Should You Freeze Your Credit To Protect Against Identity Theft?

13 Sep 2017

Contributed by Lukas

#172 Why your personal data will be compromised if it hasn't already been, and what to do to protect yourself from the consequences of identity theft....

The Extraordinary Impact of Cities

06 Sep 2017

Contributed by Lukas

#171 Why cities are the primary driver of economic growth and why do they outlive companies.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and Califo...

Are Financial Markets Efficient?

30 Aug 2017

Contributed by Lukas

#170 Why investment markets can be both efficient and inefficient depending on the environment, and how that should impact your investing.See Privacy ...