The Rob Berger Show

The Rob Berger Show

Personal finance for smart people by the host of the Dough Roller Money Podcast. Rather than forcing you into a one-size-fits-all financial plan, we discuss the tools, resources, and strategies that will empower you to make the best money decisions for you and your family.

Episodes

June 24, 2025 26 mins

One of the challenges of the 4% Rule is what your initial safe withdrawal rate should be. While the name of the rule suggests one should start with 4%, there are countless reasons why that start point may not be right for you. For example, you may retiree early, you may not use the same asset allocation the rule was based on, you may have concerns about future stock market returns, inflation or both.

Enter withdrawal strat...

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In today's Five Question Friday (FQF), we look at the following questions:

1. TIPS Funds vs Individual TIPS--which provides the better inflation protection?
2. Is a 4% withdrawal each year with no inflation adjustment a reasonable withdrawal strategy?
3. Can tax loss harvesting reduce IRMAA payments?
4. How can you estimate the annual income of an investment portfolio?
5. How do I track my net worth?

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We look at the following questions in today's Five Question Friday:

1. Are growth stocks best for Roth IRAs?
2. How should you pay taxes on retirement account withdrawals?
3. How should you invest in retirement if you are scared of the stock market?
4. What's the ideal set-it-and-forget-it retirement portfolio?
5. Should you withdrawal cash from investment accounts to create an emergency fund?

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In today's Five Question Friday video we cover these questions:

1. Why has Bill Bengen gone from 4% to 5%?
2. Is it ok to put Social Security bridge money in a money market fund?
3. How do Fidelity's Zero Funds compare to Vanguard Index Funds?
4. Should cash count towards your asset allocation?
5. Should you convert Vanguard Mutual Funds to ETFs?

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I viewer named Eileen asked about how her children, who are in their twenties, should invest. Here's her question: Can you do a video on constructing a retirement account (Roth) for my 20 year old kids? They are contributing 15%. I am thinking 10% VGSLX, 10% VSIAX, 30% VTIAX and 50% either VTSAX or VVIAX. Your thoughts please.

In this video I'll walk through the 3 goals of long-term investing, evaluate Eileen&apo...

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In today's Five Question Friday we look at these 5 questions:

1. Does a Market Crash Change How to Use the 4% Rule?
2. How do bond ETFs generate returns?
3. Are Timothy Funds a good option?
4. Is Fidelity HSA a solid account?
5. What's better in retirement, Schwab Intelligent Portfolios or a TDR Fund?

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In this video, I share my experience attending a free dinner investment seminar. The seminar was allegedly to help investors handle volatility in the markets. Instead, it turned out to be a sales pitch for expensive, complex investing products like a leveraged options strategy.

Here are links to the resources I mention in the video:

SPIVA Report: https://www.spglobal.com/spdji/en/res...
Concentration of SP500:...

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In this edition of Five Question Friday (FQF), we look at these five questions:

1. My 401k is not employer matched, should I stop contributing to my employer 401k and open a Roth IRA instead?
2. Where should we keep cash we'll need to spend in 12 to 18 months?
3. Can you implement the bucket strategy in Boldin?
4. SCHD + TIPS & Chill?
5. Do Short-Term Treasury Bills provide the same inflation prote...

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In today's Five Question Friday (FQF) we'll tackle the following questions:

1. Is now a good time to change your asset allocation?
2. Do target date funds force you to sell stocks in a down market?
3. Does the IRS treat the withdrawal of dividends as taking out earnings or contributions from a Roth IRA?
4. Is an 80% Chance of Success in Retirement reasonable?
5. How much should you allocate to int...

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In this video, I'll run down several high-yield options for your cash. I'll also discuss where we are keeping our cash today.

Bank Bonuses: https://www.allcards.com/best-bank-bo...
CD Rates: https://www.allcards.com/cd-rates/
Savings Rates: https://www.allcards.com/savings-acco...
No-Penalty CD Rates: https://www.allcards.com/no-penalty-c...
Vanguard Money Market Funds: https://investor.vanguard.c...

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The Center for Retirement Research at Boston College recently surveyed financial advisors, asking what the major risks were to their clients' retirement. In this video, we'll look at the top 5 risks financial advisors identified, and compare them to the five biggest risks according to retirees.

Here's the study: https://crr.bc.edu/wp-content/uploads...

ProjectionLab (Use Code RBERGER-10 for a 10% di...

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Here are today's Five Question Friday (FQF):

1. Are financial apps safe?
2. Can you help me understand the risk of bonds?
3. How are mutual fund dividends taxed?
4. How should we think about annuities for retirement income?
5. Does Ben Felix hate index funds?

Ben Felix video:    • The Problem With Index Funds 

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Here are the five questions we'll cover in this week's edition of Five Question Friday:

1. Is now a good time to do a Roth conversion? (John)
2. Mutual Funds vs ETFs (Shane)
3. Should we invest more in international stocks? (Phil)
4. Is Gold a hedge against inflation? (Cathy)
5. Has 2025 wrecked our retirement plans? (Doug)

Resources

Boldin: https://go.robberger.com/boldin/yt-fqf...

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Welcome to another edition of Five Question Friday (FQF). We actually have 6 questions today plus a free investment tracking tool:

1. Do I send Facebook friend requests to viewers?
2. Is this a good time to start investing?
3. Is rebalancing in volatile times just market timing?
4. If following the 4% rule, should the amount you pay in taxes be included?
5. Should an emergency fund be part of your asset all...

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A viewer named John emailed me the following question: "I'm planning to build a 5yr TIPS ladder to provide some inflation protected income in the years before Medicare and SS.  How do I model that "account" in Boldin??"

It's a great question, and it gives us the opportunity to look at an often overlooked feature of retirement planning software--pension income. Yes, a TIPS ladder can be modeled...

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Here are the questions for this week's Five Question Friday (FQF):

1. Are savings accounts better than bond funds?
2. Can you please explain nominal and real returns?
3. Does it matter if the market is up or down if you do a Roth conversion?
4. Will I be taxed twice on reinvested dividends?
5. Do you really need more than one broker?

Bonus Question: What camera and mic are you using?

...

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Choosing between traditional and Roth 401k contributions is difficult. It forces us to make a guess about our taxes years or even decades from now. In this video, we'll discuss some of the factors that can affect this decision. And then, I'll share one strategy that may make the decision much easier.

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Welcome to another edition of Five Question Friday (FQF). Here are the five questions we'll cover:

1. Will fake inflation data destroy TIPS?
2. How should a pension affect your asset allocation?
3. Do advisors really add 3% to your returns?
4. TIPS Ladder vs TIPS Fund
5. Investing in a Roth vs Traditional Retirement Account

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According to the latest report from the Board of Trustees of Social Security, it will become insolvent in 2033. Without money in the trust fund to bolster tax receipts. The Social Security Administration will only be able to pay out 79 cents on the dollar in benefits.

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Retirement planning requires that we make a lot of assumptions about the future. From all of these assumptions and other data, most software spits out a "Chance of Success." That number can make the future appear more certain than it is. In fact, many people make some big mistakes with their retirement plans.

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