Money For the Rest of Us
A personal finance and investing podcast on money, how it works, how to invest it and how to live without worrying about it. J. David Stein is a former Chief Investment Strategist and money manager. For close to two decades, he has been teaching individuals and institutions how to invest and handle their finances in ways that are simple to understand. More info at moneyfortherestofus.com
Episodes
Should you borrow money to magnify returns in your 401 (k), IRA, or other tax-deferred retirement account?
We examine Basic Capital, which allows investors to leverage their retirement account investments.
We also explore how the wealthy don't use debt to generate wealth but to manage it.
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As Baby Boomers continue to retire, some analysts expect financial markets to feel the strain. We examine whether demographic shifts truly shape stock and bond returns, or what other factors matter more.
Topics covered include:
- Will retiring baby boomers lead to lower stock prices or higher interest rates
- Some earlier demographic predictions and how they worked out
- How do natural interest rates reflect the demand and suppl...
David converses with best-selling author David Bach about preventing burnout through sabbaticals, moving to another country, why retirees should take Social Security as early as possible, and Bach's idea of a flat tax on IRA distributions.
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Can you really make money sports betting on low-risk, high-probability events?
Topics covered include:
- The growing size and influence of the U.S. sports betting market
- Recent sports betting scandals
- How sports betting odds work
- An intriguing low-risk approach to sports betting
- Why the low-risk sports betting approach is still gambling with a negative expected return
- Behavioral biases that encourage sports betting
- Revisiting th...
What’s the difference between hoarding and investing? There’s a reason markets built on productive assets—like stocks and bonds—are far larger than hoarding markets such as gold and cryptocurrency. In this episode, David explores why that is, and shares why he recently bought Zcash, and how it’s both similar to and different from Bitcoin.
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How AI gets simple finance wrong, and how to make it work for you, not mislead you
Topics covered include:
- How AI ignores the time value of money
- A detailed example of ChatGPT misleading by making a simple math mistake
- Some examples of opportunity costs and sunk costs when making financial decisions
- Understanding how AI works can help us use it more effectively
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Are gold and silver up more than 50% in 2025 because investors fear currency debasement, or is this rally just the latest meme trade? In this episode, we explore the supply and demand forces behind gold and silver, discuss investing strategies, and outline what to watch to see if investors truly are worried about debasement.
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How to decide when to invest in municipal bonds versus new tax-efficient bond ETFs that don't invest in munis.
We analyze several newer ETFs that earn bond-like returns while avoiding paying taxable income distributions.
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Investments Mentioned
Vanguard Tax-Exempt Bond ETF (VTEB)
iShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond ...
This week there isn’t a regular Money for the Rest of Us episode, but David shares an update on what’s happening behind the scenes. He previews an exclusive Plus member livestream on the forces shaping the next decade, explains why there won’t be a new episode next week, and highlights fresh content available on YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Substack. David also reflects on consistency, community, and the pro...
What happens when the money supply grows too slowly or too quickly? From gold-standard deflation to QE-driven inflation and inequality, we trace the lessons of monetary history, and what we can do today to protect ourselves in an age of infinite money.
Topics covered include:
- How is the money supply measured, and why is it a subjective exercise
- What is an example of a negative money shock
- Why an optimal monetary polic...
From salmon leaping along the Vancouver Island coast to fake bands on Spotify, this episode explores the divide between the physical and digital economy, and what lumber markets, managed forests, and everyday life teach us about staying connected to the real.
Topics covered include:
- How timber investing works and why it is reflective of how industries evolve
- What percent of economic output is physical versus digital, and ...
Central bankers set policy with incomplete information, unobservable targets, and constant trade-offs between growth, inflation, and employment. In this episode, we delve into how the fight for Federal Reserve independence could impact markets, interest rates, and your financial future.
Topics covered include:
- What Federal Reserve Chair Powell said at the Fed's annual Jackson Hole Symposium
- What is the Federal Reserve's m...
From the dot-com boom to today’s AI frenzy, bubbles follow a familiar script. This episode explores how to recognize them, what sustains them, and how to position your portfolio without getting swept up in the hype.
Topics covered:
- How U.S. stock markets are the most concentrated and most expensive of all time
- What constitutes a bubble and what sustains it
- How to invest during a bubble
- Changes David recently made in his por...
A practical framework for making better decisions, managing risk, and finding opportunity in unpredictable environments. We contrast these principles with the massive $2.9 trillion AI data center build-out by Big Tech, which is betting big on a single superintelligence future.
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Dave Thomas, CIO and Founder of long/short hedge fund, Atalan Capital Partners, shares why most hedge funds fail and the keys to being a long-term successful investor.
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S...
David converses with renowned illustrator and financial philosopher Carl Richards on the abstraction of money, attention capital, distinguishing risk from uncertainty, and the importance of taking microactions.
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Show Notes
A new executive order could radically reshape retirement investing by allowing private equity, crypto, and gold in 401(k) plans. This episode examines the factors driving the demand for alternative assets in defined-contribution plans, the potential risks to everyday investors, and why fiduciary rules and financial literacy gaps still matter.
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We explore the compelling questions surrounding artificial intelligence. Will AI create more new jobs than it destroys? Is AI already destroying jobs? Are we seeing overinvestment in companies and infrastructure in the AI space? Is there evidence that AI has increased productivity?
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Show Notes
Behind the Curtain: A white-collar bloodbath by Jim VandeHei and Mike Allen—Axios
How the investing landscape is being reshaped by the global race for critical minerals.
Topics covered in this conversation between FEG's Greg Dowling and private equity firm Kinterra Capital's co-founders, Cheryl Brandon and Kamal Toor include:
- How mining and mineral processing work
- What are critical minerals, what is driving the demand for them, and will it continue
- How the rise of passive management has led to underinve...
We examine how robo-advisors have evolved over the past decade to determine if their services justify the fees they charge.
Topics covered include:
- How large are the top 5 robo-advisors
- Robo-advisor fees
- Robo-advisor holdings
- Why robo-advisors are turning toward direct indexing for tax loss harvesting
- How much excess return does tax loss harvesting generate
- Who can benefit from using robo-advisors
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