Talking Real Money - Investing Talk
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Talking Real Money - Investing Talk
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 real investing (not speculating) advice, and really explain the financial issues that effect all of us....
Episodis Recents
1849 episodis
Don't Invest?
A debate over jelly bean flavors quickly pivots into a takedown of a flashy Inc. Magazine article claiming people shouldn’t save for retirement. Don a...
Retiremeet 2026 Part Two
Broadcast from RetireMeet 2026 in Bellevue, Don and Tom reflect on the evolution of retirement planning—from a narrow focus on investments to a broade...
Retiremeet 2026 Part One
Broadcast live from RetireMeet in Bellevue, Don announces that after nearly four decades of Saturday radio shows, Talking Real Money will end its live...
Future Jobs
Don and Tom start with the classic “jelly beans in a jar” experiment to explain the wisdom of crowds and why large groups often produce surprisingly a...
More Questions!
This Friday Q&A episode tackles several thoughtful listener questions covering 401(k) investment choices, Roth conversion strategies, bond market fear...
Free Money?
AI hype is colliding with financial reality. Don and Tom examine Elon Musk’s suggestion that artificial intelligence could create such abundance that...
Teach Real Investing
Financial education is expanding nationwide—but much of it is still teaching speculation instead of investing. Don and Tom critique stock-picking cont...
With the Cost?
Don and Tom revisit the eternal temptation to beat the market, dismantling the appeal of equal-weight indexes and active management claims by highligh...
Funds or Ladders?
This episode dives into the surprisingly emotional world of fixed income investing, exploring whether traditional bond funds like BND still make sense...
More Qs reQuired
On this Friday Q&A episode, Don answers listener questions on international stock overweighting inside a Seattle city retirement plan, whether a Vangu...
Slicing Fees
Vanguard slashes fees again, pushing its average expense ratio down to six basis points. Don and Tom contrast that with outrageously expensive ETFs ch...
It's One Portfolio
This episode focuses on smart portfolio construction across multiple accounts, using AVGV to complement limited 401(k) options, and why allocation sho...
Rules of Thumb
This episode moves from the origin of “rule of thumb” to why most investing rules of thumb don’t work for real people. Tom and Don explore a Yale prof...
Extra Income?
Don and Tom examine Kiplinger’s list of top retirement side gigs and separate practical ideas from pipe dreams, questioning whether executive coaching...
Crypto Qs Return
After a bump in crypto-fueled listener calls, Don tackles a mix of practical and philosophical money questions: why Fidelity’s new “stablecoin” isn’t...
Going So Low
Vanguard lowers fees yet again, pushing its average expense ratio down to just six basis points — a move that underscores how dramatically fund costs...
Even 500 Is Too Few
Don and Tom tackle S&P 500 concentration risk and the dominance of the Magnificent Seven, explaining why diversification still matters despite compell...
Over Active?
Don and Tom dissect a Morningstar article naming the “best core stock funds” for 2026, noting the sharp decline in recommended actively managed funds...
Nicer Qs
In this Friday Q&A episode, Don introduces a new AI audio enhancement tool that dramatically improves the sound quality of listener questions, then di...
Know You Can't Know
Markets may feel calm despite geopolitical noise, but uncertainty is the permanent condition of investing—and the price of admission for higher return...
When Dull is Desirable
Talking Real Money opens with a stark illustration of why Bitcoin fails as a usable currency, showing how volatility can destroy real-life budgets ove...
A Better Way
0:04 Dow hits 50,000 while most stocks lag—why it’s a meaningless headline
0:59 Robinhood and Palantir slide—speculators start getting ne...
Alternative Employment
Don and Tom step away from pure investing talk to explore how AI, layoffs, and stagnant wages are reshaping career paths—especially for young people a...
Nice, Warm Questions
In this Friday Q&A episode of Talking Real Money, Don tackles five thoughtful listener questions ranging from confusing 401(k) collective investment t...
Don't Stop Saving
Don and Tom take on Elon Musk’s claim that AI will make retirement saving obsolete, pushing back hard on the idea that technology or billionaires will...
Investments Can Grow
Tom and Don break down why gold, silver, and individual stocks remain speculative distractions rather than reliable investments, using recent volatili...
Hot to Not
In this episode of Talking Real Money, Don and Tom dig into the Washington State pension system’s heavy exposure to private equity, sparked by Jason Z...
High Yield Risks
In this episode of Talking Real Money, Don and Tom take aim at “magical” high-yield investments, focusing on why junk bond funds often behave more lik...
Cold Days Qs and As
In this Friday Q&A episode, Don answers listener questions on handling backdoor Roth conversions with investment gains, whether Avantis or Vanguard ma...
Hard to Stop
Don and Tom examine the long disciplinary history of former broker James Tuberosa and his attempt to reinvent himself as a registered investment advis...
Hedge Funds Pitch
Don and Tom break down why hedge funds’ so-called “comeback” doesn’t justify their massive fees, showing how simple index portfolios continue to outpe...
Selling Game
Don and Tom kick off the show with weekend banter and nostalgia about checkbooks before diving into why buying and selling a home remains one of life’...
Who Do We Owe?
Don and Tom tackle fears about U.S. national debt by breaking down who actually owns it (mostly Americans), why “China owns us” is wildly overstated,...
ETF + Q&A
In this listener-driven episode, Don, Tom, and advisor Roxy Butner tackle a wide range of investing questions, starting with the explosive growth of E...
Auto Save
Don and Tom open with sports banter and TV talk before diving into state-run retirement savings programs, explaining how auto-enrollment boosts partic...
Money Game?
A chaotic but revealing game-show-style opening leads into a sharp lesson on why market trivia doesn’t matter nearly as much as discipline. Tom and Do...
Now Spend It
Most retirees aren’t spending anywhere near what they safely could — often barely 2% of their savings — and that hesitation may be costing them the ve...
Taking Your Qs
This Friday Q&A covers real-world money decisions with real consequences, including how to invest life-insurance proceeds after a spouse’s death, why...
House Rich?
Retirement income doesn’t have to mean hoarding assets or obsessing over leaving an inheritance. In this episode of Talking Real Money, Don and Tom di...
Bespoke Future
This episode dismantles the myth of “one-size-fits-all retirement,” arguing that retirement isn’t a date, an age, or a lifestyle—it’s a personal trans...