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. Plus, it's actually fun! Talking Real Money is a podcast designed to provide the real help we all need to enjoy a really great future. Call in with your questions anytime at 855-935-TALK (8255).
Episodes
January 6, 2026 • 43 mins
With Tom on vacation and an eerily convincing AI stand-in holding down the mic, Don kicks off 2026 by tackling one of the most persistent listener questions: how to actually find a true fiduciary—and how to eliminate salespeople fast. Using FINRA’s BrokerCheck as a simple filter, the show explains why the “B” matters, why dual-registered advisors are still a risk, and how complexity is often a red flag. From there, the conversation...
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January 5, 2026 • 26 mins
Wall Street is pitching “fixed-maturity ETFs” as the perfect solution for retirees who want certainty, income, and peace of mind—but are they actually solving a problem that already has simpler answers? In this episode, Don and Tom break down what bonds and CDs really do, why fixed-maturity funds are being pushed so hard right now, and how fees quietly eat away at the promised benefits. Along the way, they explain the real role of ...
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January 2, 2026 • 30 mins
The calendar flipped, but the rules didn’t. In this New Year Friday Q&A, Don tackles listener questions on longevity annuities (QLACs), legacy insurance mistakes, advice-only advisory services, and the growing trend toward complex fixed-income systems and alternative investments. From insurance math that favors the house to eye-watering fees dressed up as innovation, the message stays consistent: simplicity beats sophistication, fe...
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December 31, 2025 • 45 mins
This episode dismantles the idea that successful investing comes from finding the next hot thing. Instead, Don and Tom argue that good portfolios are built by eliminating what doesn’t belong: actively managed funds, sector ETFs, alternatives, high-yield bonds, gold, and other distractions that add complexity without purpose. Drawing on a Morningstar column by Amy Arnott, they reinforce that most investing mistakes come from chasing...
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December 30, 2025 • 44 mins
As the year crawls to a close, Don and Tom torch the ritual of “New Year, New You” financial advice and take aim at the endless lists of five things you must do next year. They break down why year-end deadlines are mostly psychological theater, why prediction-based investing is a sucker’s game, and how even AI—when pressed—admits the truth: diversification beats cleverness, patience beats prediction, and complexity usually hides hi...
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December 29, 2025 • 30 mins
In this post-Christmas edition of Talking Real Money, Don McDonald and Tom Cock dismantle one of the most seductive myths in personal finance: the promise of high returns, no risk, and tax-free income. Using the lawsuit filed by Kyle Busch against Pacific Life as a case study, they expose the dark mechanics of indexed universal life insurance—hidden commissions, opaque costs, fabricated indexes, and returns that quietly disappoint....
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December 26, 2025 • 21 mins
A year-end Boxing Day Q&A covering realistic downside expectations for global portfolios, the marginal value of adding international small-cap value, details for RetireMeet 2026, and a deeply skeptical look at Medicaid-compliant annuities. The common thread: diversification helps, simplicity usually wins, and when complexity shows up early, commissions are often lurking nearby.
0:04 Boxing Day confusion, goodwill, and a short-form...
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December 24, 2025 • 44 mins
It’s surprisingly hard to know what something is really worth until someone actually tries to buy it—and that problem is front and center in private funds. Don and Tom unpack why private equity, private real estate, and other “alternative” investments often look calm and stable on paper, only to suffer brutal price drops once they finally trade in public markets. From a Wall Street Journal example of a private real estate fund losi...
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December 23, 2025 • 44 mins
A Wall Street Journal column argues that younger investors are turning to options, crypto, and betting as a rational response to a “rigged” economic system. Don and Tom aren’t buying it. While acknowledging real headwinds—student debt, housing costs, wage gaps—they dismantle the idea that gambling is an intelligent adaptation. Drawing on history, lived experience, and actual math, they make the case that leverage, speed, and desper...
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December 22, 2025 • 33 mins
Streaming was supposed to save us money. Instead, it quietly rebuilt cable… with better branding and worse self-control. Don and Tom trace the journey from rabbit-ear TV to today’s subscription sprawl, where “it’s only $14 a month” quietly becomes hundreds per year. They break down why streaming costs have exploded faster than inflation, how duplication and inertia drain wallets, and what actually works to fix it (bundling, pruning...
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December 19, 2025 • 22 mins
In this holiday Friday Q&A, Don opens with a festive announcement about Season’s Readings—now Apple-featured and temporarily commercial-free—before diving into listener questions on fixed annuities versus CDs, a creative (and complex) 529-to-Roth strategy tied to Georgia tax deductions, simplifying IRA management and RMDs at Schwab or Vanguard, the unavoidable tax traps of old investment clubs structured as partnerships, and the pe...
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December 18, 2025 • 30 mins
Market drops are a gift when you’re young and a potential gut-punch when you’re retired, and this episode walks through why that’s true—and what to do about it. Don and Tom break down sequence-of-returns risk in plain English, then explore practical defenses: cash buffers, CD ladders, bucket strategies, flexible withdrawals, partial retirement, and why stocks still belong in retirement portfolios whether you like it or not. Listene...
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December 17, 2025 • 45 mins
This episode of Talking Real Money takes aim at the latest “easy money” illusion—house flipping—explaining why rising costs, higher interest rates, softer housing demand, and plain old competition have drained much of its appeal. Tom and Don connect flipping’s decline to a familiar pattern of speculative behavior, much like day trading or past real estate manias, and reinforce why there are no reliable shortcuts to wealth. Listener...
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December 16, 2025 • 44 mins
A classic TRM episode that starts with Tom’s ill-fated attempt to cross a flooded Snoqualmie River (spoiler: no walking on water) and turns into a timely lesson on market returns, diversification, and why comparing your portfolio to headline numbers is usually a mistake. Don and Tom unpack eye-popping 2025 performance across U.S., international, bonds, and small-cap value, warn against recency bias and overpriced active funds, and ...
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December 15, 2025 • 32 mins
If you’re nearing retirement and uneasy about the math, you’re not alone. Don and Tom tackle the uncomfortable reality that most near-retirees haven’t actually run the numbers—and many won’t like what they see when they do. Drawing on Vanguard data and real-world client experience, they break down three practical ways to shrink a retirement gap: working longer (but not necessarily full-time), thoughtfully tapping home equity, and s...
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December 12, 2025 • 25 mins
A holiday-flavored Friday Q&A that covers a lot of ground without selling a single candy cane. Don answers listener questions on Medicare vs. Medicare Advantage (and the IRMAA buzzsaw), how to safely reposition an elderly parent’s taxable account, whether to ditch target-date funds for a DIY equity portfolio, how to think about international small-cap ETFs, why teaching kids to pick stocks is a terrible idea, and what to expect whe...
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December 11, 2025 • 32 mins
Today’s show turns a national mood ring into a money lesson. Don and Tom walk through a new Wall Street Journal/NORC survey that sorts Americans into four emotional quadrants—comfortable optimists, comfortable pessimists, stressed optimists, and stressed pessimists. Tom takes the quiz live, landing squarely where most Americans do: personally comfortable, broadly pessimistic. The two unpack why sentiment is so gloomy despite solid ...
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December 10, 2025 • 43 mins
Don and Tom take a sharp look at Vanguard’s surprising new direction, especially the decision to fold annuities into 401(k) target-date funds through lightly regulated collective trusts. They contrast Vanguard’s historical simplicity with today’s trend toward complexity, comparing costs, structure, and risk across major providers. Listeners call in with questions about Roth conversions, Schwab target-date funds, entering the market...
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December 9, 2025 • 44 mins
In this special seasonal episode, you and Tom resurrect Ha or Duh, tearing through Investopedia readers’ “rules to live by” and dismantling the silliest ones with mock gravitas. Between the dad-joke arms race, a spirited defense of compounding, strong opinions on due diligence, and a surprising detour into crypto-mad zip codes, the show blends real financial guidance with holiday-season chaos. The episode also hits deeper listener ...
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December 8, 2025 • 28 mins
In this episode, Don and Tom saddle up for a tour through Schwab’s “Good, Bad, and Ugly.” They applaud CEO Rick Wurster’s warning about the growing overlap between gambling and investing, take a hard look at Schwab’s retail-side conflicts and non-fiduciary sales practices, and then recoil at the truly ugly: Schwab’s acquisition of Forge Global and its push to open private-company speculation to everyday investors. From there, they ...
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