Identify Bad Brokers
Before you hand money over to a "financial advisor" (broker) you'd be wise to check their disciplinary history a brokercheck.finra.org.
Episodes
Talking Real Money Minute - Investing Advice and Money Musings
Looking for real investing advice and a fresh financial perspective, but don't have time for a full podcast. Spend a minute (okay, 90 seconds) with 30-year financial talk show host, Don McDonald. Learn how to build the wealth you need for a brighter future based on solid science, not hunches.
Episodes
Buffett vs. The Market
Many consider Warren Buffett to be the best stock picker of all time. So, he must beat the dull, boring market, right?
Diversification vs. Timing
Is it a good time to be in growth stocks or value? Are U.S. stocks going to rise faster than international issues?
Smart or Dumb Risk?
Are you taking more risk than you should with your investments? Greed can make us do dumb things.
Buy What Rises
In the ongoing battle between growth and value investing, beware of playing on the winning side.
Pay Off Mortgage?
Should you work to pay down your mortgage? Don explores the pros and cons.
Too Late to Profit
If someone has a system for beating the market it is bound to stop working as more people use it.
Better Tax-Free School Savings
Don briefly explains how 529 plans work and the new rules that allow them to help pay of student loans and more.
Dangers of Going Naked
When you gamble your losses are limited, unless you're gambling on some options, where losses are potentially unlimited.
Dave's 12% Obsession
Dave Ramsey seems fixated on 12% as the return you can expect from investing in the stock market. Not only is that not an accurate historical figure, it is an expectation that will likely leave many sorely disappointed.
Hertz Might Hurt You
Hertz Car Rental is in trouble. There stock has plunged. They have billions in debt. They have filed for bankruptcy. Yet, they want to offer you new shares of stock. What's in it for you? Danger.
Stocks as Sport
With no sports to be on, bored sports gamblers have chosen to lose their money day-trading stocks. Losing is still losing and luck rules the game.
Market Mind Games
If you want to keep both your sanity and your money you need to find a way to avoid the market's tricks.
Let the Dow Die
Don hates the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Not only is is not an index, it only represent about 0.002% of all the stocks traded in the world. Can't we start calling something else "the market."
Cash Out Issues
Over $1 trillion was moved into cash. Why that's a mistake in more than one way.
Annuities: You Usually Lose
Immediate annuities seem like a nice safe way to guarantee income, but the insurance company will almost always win the bet.
Getting Breaks for Your Broker?
Most loaded mutual funds offer lower commissions for larger amounts invested, but many brokers advice against these breakpoints to pad their pockets.
How Much Are You Paying?
The survey says that most people either don't know how much they pay for advice or actually believe they're paying nothing. The truth is far different. Check out our advisor cost comparisons at talkingrealmoney.com/compare .
Traders Can't Win
Want to make money in the day-trading business? Then sell people fake trading classes, because you're unlikely to make much, if anything, trying to trade securities.
Undervalued Value?
Some pundits want you to believe that value investing no longer works. Just because something hasn't been successful lately doesn't mean it won't come back.
What's Average, Isn't
While the stock market may post impressive averages, you're unlikely to see that return in a particular year. To get the "average" you must accept the ingoing fluctuations.
Anything For a Buck?
Despite the fact that they are being sued by the Washington State Attorney General, Dave Ramsey continues to recommend a time share exit firm that has almost 360 complaints with the Better Business Bureau and 78 one-star reviews on Yelp. I wonder if he'd still reccomend them if they didn't pay him?
Six Percent With Safety?
An online column recently touted an investment retirement income yielding 6%. Can you really get that much income safely?
How Much to Retire?
Here's a simple (albeit not easy) way to determine how much money you might need to retire comfortably.
Why Annuities?
Except is a very few cases an annuity is probably one of the worst investment choices you can make. So, why do we buy them?
Returns Require Risk
Wall Street lies. Insurance agents lie. There is aboluetly no way for you to enjoy high investment returns with little or no risk, no matter how badly you want it.
The Oracle vs The Index
Many in the press are critical of Warren Buffett's recent stock picking problems. They forget that he has always said that investing in a diversified, low-cost portfolio makes more sense than stock picking.
Seeing the Forest for the Trees
Even though the near future looks bleak eventually the economy will come back.
Exchange Traded Gambles
The exchange traded fund industry is concerned about speculative ETFs sullying the industry's name and want the riskier stuff to go by another name.
Telling the Truth Hurts
It appears that most of those providing financial advice have issues with honesty. They worry that if you knew the truth you wouldn't give them your money. They're probably right.