The Rob Berger Show

The treasury department released the new I Bond rates today. They came in at 4.28%, which included a fixed rate of 1.30%, unchanged from the previous six months. https://treasurydirect.gov/savings-bo... Join the Newsletter. It's Free: https://robberger.com/newsletter/?utm...

Several years ago, I stumbled upon a quote from Dave Ramsey about credit card rewards. I’ll never forget those 11 words. : “No one ever says they got rich off of credit card points.” As I read his words, I knew immediately that he was wrong. One could build wealth through credit card rewards. In this sense, credit card rewards aren’t special. Saving and investing small amounts of money from any source over time will turn into piles of cash. We just need to allow compounding to work its magic. It was then that the idea of Rewards Stacking was born. Over the past four years, we’ve saved and invested all our credit card rewards. Our balance now stands at $37,834.55. While that doesn’t make us rich (yet), it’s an impressive sum, particularly when you consider that it required no sacrifice on our part. It wasn’t about cutting back or working harder—just saving and investing the free money credit card issuers send us every month. In this video, I’ll share exactly how we did it and, more importantly, how you can do it, too. Rewards Stacking: https://www.allcards.com/rewards-stac... Robinhood Gold Card (Referral Link): https://robinhood.com/creditcard/?ref... Join the Newsletter. It's Free: https://robberger.com/newsletter/?utm...

In this episode, we'll look at three of the largest investing platforms, Fidelity, Vanguard, and Schwab. I'll share 7 things based on using these platforms for 20+ years.

Robinhood is promoting up to a 3% match on IRA contributions, and for a limited time, a 3% match on IRA transfers. A viewer asked me if I thought this was a good deal. In this video I'll share my thoughts on the program, some of the things to look out for, and why I ultimately decided not to transfer my IRAs to Robinhood. Join the Newsletter. It's Free: https://robberger.com/newsletter/?utm...

Retirement isn't always a sunny walk in the park. While I have no regrets that I retired in my 50s, it hasn't been without its challenges. Here are 7 lessons learned after four years of retirement. Join the Newsletter. It's Free: https://robberger.com/newsletter/?utm...

In this video we'll look at a portfolio a viewer sent in to me. It's from their investment advisor, and we will be asking 5 key questions about the portfolio that I would ask if an advisor put me in the same portfolio. 1. What's the target asset allocation? 2. Have you made any changes to the target asset allocation? 3. How do you pick the funds to implement the plan? 4. Why isn't a simpler, less expensive portfolio a better choice? 5. How do you invest your own money? Join the Newsletter. It's Free: https://robberger.com/newsletter/?utm...

Vanguard recently launched an FDIC-insured account called the Vanguard Cash Plus Account. We'll review this new account, compare it to other FDIC-insured options, and compare it to money market accounts. Join the Newsletter. It's Free: https://robberger.com/newsletter/?utm...

In a recent video answering a caller's question, Dave Ramsey described those promoting the 4% Rule as "stupid," "goobers," and "morons. He described the 4% Rule as stupid and said he's "perfectly comfortable" with an 8% withdrawal rate. In this video, I'll describe his rationale and why I'm "perfectly comfortable" telling him he's wrong. New Retirement: https://go.robberger.com/new-retireme...% FICalc: https://ficalc.app/ Dave Ramsey Video: https://twitter.com/mbontrager5/statu... Join the Newsletter. It's Free: https://robberger.com/newsletter/?utm...

Is buy and hold investing dead? A recent WSJ article suggests that the set-it-and-forget-it style of investing can't survive the current economic trends. I walk through my thoughts on the article, along with an important memo by value investor Howard Marks. Join the Newsletter. It's Free: https://robberger.com/newsletter/?utm...

Not long ago investors had to pay the U.S. government for the privilege of owning TIPS. The real yields, that is the yield after factoring in inflation, were negative. Last year, as a phoenix rising, real yields broke above 0%. Today the real yield on 10-year TIPS is about 2.50%. This offers some intriguing options for those in or near retirement. Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities, or TIPS for short, are U.S. government bonds whose principal amount adjusts for inflation. They are as close a sure thing as an investor can get. Of course, there is no free lunch. What an investor gives up with TIPS is the possibility of better returns with nominal bonds (should inflation end up lower than expected) or with more risky assets such as stocks. For many retirees, however, risk is a four-letter word. So let’s explore two TIPS ladder strategies that retirees might want to consider. We'll walk through building a 30-year TIPS ladder and a 5-year TIPS ladder. Join the Newsletter. It's Free: https://robberger.com/newsletter/?utm...

A viewer emailed me asking how to buy gold. He knew I didn't personally invest in gold. But he asked how he might go about investing in gold. So in today's video we'll look at five important questions you must answer when buying gold: 1. Should you buy gold in a retirement or taxable account? 2. Does a gold IRA ever make sense? 3. Should you own physical gold or gold ETFs? 4. What type of gold ETFs are best? 5. If you wanted to buy physical gold, where's the best place to buy it? Join the newsletter: https://robberger.com/newsletter/?utm...

7 simple steps anybody can take to address the fear of retiring. Video's Sponsor is New Retirement: https://go.robberger.com/new-retireme... The Retirement Planning Tools I Use: 1. New Retirement (Retirement Planning): https://go.robberger.com/new-retireme... 2. Empower (Investment Tracking): https://go.robberger.com/empower/yt-f... 3. Tiller (Budgeting): https://go.robberger.com/tiller/yt-fe... Other Tools/Resources: 1. Projection Lab: https://go.robberger.com/projectionla... 2. Low-Cost Advisors: https://robberger.com/low-cost-financ...

Investment fees rob you of your wealth. High investment fees, such as the industry standard 1% of assets under management AUM, can literally cost you hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars over a lifetime. But what about investment fees once you retire? It turns out that a 1% fee in retirement can significantly lower the chance of success of your retirement plan and reduce your spending by 10% or more. In this video we look at 3 tools you can use to understand the impact of investment fees on your retirement plan. Join the newsletter: https://robberger.com/newsletter/?utm...

Morningstar Investor replaces the old Morningstar Premium subscription service for retail investors. It brings a much needed facelift to Morningstar's portfolio tracker. While it offers features that may be valuable to some investors, it still has a long way to go before being the type of tool most investors will find useful for the money. Join the newsletter: https://robberger.com/newsletter/?utm...

I seem to be fighting a never ending battle against "dividend investing." Don't get me wrong, dividends are an important part of the returns equity investors receive from stocks and stock funds. The problem comes when we misunderstand the nature of dividends and the role they should play in our portfolio. One mistaken belief I see is that dividends are necessary for compounding, or that a higher dividend yield results in more compounding. Nothing could be further from the truth, as we discuss in this video. Join the newsletter: https://robberger.com/newsletter/?utm...

The debt ceiling crisis is taking us closer to the "X Date," the date the U.S. would start to default on its obligations. Many have asked me what would happen if the unthinkable occurred and the U.S. did in fact default. In this video I'll share four things: 1. A brief history of the debt ceiling 2. Ramifications of a debt ceiling crisis that gets resolved 3. Ramifications if the U.S. actually defaults 4. What, if anything, we should do to prepare Join the newsletter: https://robberger.com/newsletter/?utm...

We know that dollar cost averaging (DCA) underperforms lump sum investing (LSI) about two-thirds of the time. That's because stocks tend to go up more often than they go down. But does LSI beat DCA when stock market valuations are high compared to historical averages, as they are now? That's the question we cover in this video. Join the newsletter: https://robberger.com/newsletter/?utm...

In this video, I ask ChatGPT some questions about sophisticated investing and retirement topics. Here are a few examples: What is the 3-fund portfolio? Is the 4% Rule still valid? What Fidelity funds can we use to build the 3-fund portfolio? The responses ChatGPT returned were amazing. It's not perfect, but it's very good. And while artificial intelligence won't replace financial advisors any time soon, it definitely can be part of our own research into financial questions. Join the newsletter: https://robberger.com/newsletter/?utm...

In this video I'll explain why bonds are a better, long-term investment than cash, particularly for those in retirement. Join the newsletter: https://robberger.com/newsletter/?utm...

Today we'll start by looking at my investment portfolio. Then I'll answer your questions. Join the newsletter: https://robberger.com/newsletter/?utm...