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
206 episodes
RBS 206: Is Now a Good Time to Start Investing? (FQF)
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 r...
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Episode 206
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18:54
RBS 205: A Smarter Way to Model TIPS Ladders in Retirement Planning Software
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...
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Episode 205
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17:10
RBS 204: Savings Account vs Bond Fund (FQF)
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 c...
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Episode 204
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21:34
RBS 203: Traditional vs Roth 401k: The Optimal Strategy
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 s...
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Episode 203
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11:55
RBS 202: Could Fake Inflation Data Destroy the Value of TIPS? (FQF)
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...
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Episode 202
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26:36
RBS 201: Here's When Social Security Runs Out of Money
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...
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Episode 201
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17:07
RBS 200: 9 Retirement Planning Mistakes You May Be Making
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 fac...
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Episode 200
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18:41
RBS 199: Should You Build a TIPS Ladder in Retirement? (FQF)
Welcome to Five Question Friday! Here are the questions we'll cover in today's video:1. Should You Build a TIPS Ladder in Retirement?2. Are Vanguard's LifeStrategy Funds a Reasonable Choice in Retirement?3. Is the 40/60 Portfoli...
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Episode 199
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28:15
RBS 198: 3 Financial Apps Worth Paying For in Retirement (FQF)
In today's Five Question Friday (FQF), we tackle these five fantastic questions:1. What financial apps are worth paying for in or near retirement?2. How do you enter money market funds into your investment tracking spreadsheet?3...
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Episode 198
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27:33
RBS 197: 7 Golden Rules of Retirement Withdrawal Strategies
Retirement withdrawal strategies are about a lot more than just the 4% rule or safe withdrawal rates. To better understand how they work and how you can apply them to your retirement, this video walks through 7 rules I follow when it comes to s...
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Episode 197
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25:32
RBS 196: Are Dividends Guaranteed Income? (FQF)
In today's Five Question Friday (FQF), we have five more great questions sent in by viewers:1. Should we think of dividends as guaranteed income?2. Should we invest in our HSA the same way we invest in our Roth IRA?3. How should...
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Episode 196
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23:15
RBS 195: How to Invest During Economic Chaos: Tariffs, DOGE & Deficit Concerns
In this video, I'll describe my approach to investing in uncertain times. To do so, I'll enlist the help of the D.C. subway system, Sir Isaac Newton, and the 1970s.The 60/40 Solution:
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Episode 195
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15:27
RBS 194: How to Hire A Financial Advisor (FQF)
In today's Five Question Friday (FQF), we cover the following:1. Some thoughts on how to hire a financial advisor2. Whether to consider Medicare premiums in your Roth conversion analysis3. How Social Security should affect our a...
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Episode 194
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26:30
RBS 193: My Portfolio Update And Changes to the Investment Tracking Spreadsheet (March 2025)
In this video, I'll share with you my current investment portfolio, including a big change I made in our traditional retirement accounts. I'll also share an update to my free investment tracking spreadsheet.
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Episode 193
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18:51
RBS 192: Should You Reduce Your Stock Exposure for Today's Market Valuations: 60/40 vs 40/60
With stock valuations near all-time highs in the U.S., many people are asking whether we should reduce or exposure to stocks. In fact, a recent Vanguard market outlook report concluded that a typical 60/40 retirement portfolio may be too rich, ...
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Episode 192
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17:16
RBS 191: The Bond Funds I Use To Protect My Retirement Portfolio (FQF)
Welcome back to another edition of Five Question Friday (FQF). Here are today's questions:1. What bond funds do I use in my portfolio?2. Do you really need an emergency fund?3. How does living off interest work with Bengen's 4% ...
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Episode 191
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27:00
RBS 190: Warren Buffett Just Dumped Berkshire's S&P 500 Index Funds. Should we?
Warren Buffett recently sol 100% of the two S&P 500 index funds Berkshire Hathaway owned, including Vanguard's VOO. In this video, we'll look at whether we should too.News Article:
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Episode 190
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10:17
RBS 189: These Fidelity Funds Beat a Vanguard 3-Fund Portfolio (FQF)
Welcome to another edition of Five Question Friday (FQF). Here are the 5 questions:1. Can one Fidelity fund beat the Vanguard 3-fund portfolio?2. How do expense ratios work with fund of funds?3. Concerning the 4% rule, which I b...
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Episode 189
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35:07
RBS 188: ProjectionLab Review (w/ Updates and Promo Code)
Get 10% off the cost of ProjectionLab with promo code RBERGER-10 using this link:
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Episode 188
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27:32
RBS 187: SEC Fines Vanguard $106.41 Million Over Target Date Fund Snafu
Today, the SEC announced a $106.41 million settlement with Vanguard following moves Vanguard made in 2020 that resulted in excessive capital gains distributions to retail investors. In this video, I'll walk through the settlement order and what...
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Episode 187
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7:36
RBS 186: A Simple Way to Leave Your Financial Advisor to Invest On Your Own Without Fear (FQF)
In today's episode of Five Question Friday (FQF), we start with a strategy you might consider if you want to leave your expensive financial advisor but you are afraid of going it alone. Here are all the questions in today's show:1. How ...
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Episode 186
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27:09
RBS 185: Are Investment Banks Worth the High Fees? FQF
We start this week's Five Question Friday (FQF) with a question about whether a 2% investment fee is crazy. Here are the five questions:1. Am I crazy to be paying a 2% fee to manage my investments at Morgan Stanley?2. Can you analyz...
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Episode 185
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21:48
RBS 184: 13 Must-Do Financial Steps To Take Five Years Before You Retire
With five years to go before retirement, there are several steps you can and should take to prepare. In this video, I'll cover 13 things to consider as your retirement date draws closer.Resources mentioned:Boldin:
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Episode 184
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18:14
RBS 183: 2025 Annual Portfolio Review Checklist
At least once a year it's important to review your investment portfolio and make any necessary adjustments. Here are the 10 things I check every year:1. Write down your planned asset allocation2. Compare your actual allocation to yo...
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Episode 183
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21:13
RBS 182: The Case Against After-Tax Asset Allocation (FQF)
Welcome to this week's edition of Five Question Friday. Here are the questions we'll be covering today:1. Should you include the value of your home in your asset allocation?2. Should we tilt our portfolio to 10% SCV?3. After-Tax...
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Episode 182
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25:07