The Rob Berger Show

I'll start by sharing some excellent books I'm reading right now. Then we'll turn to your questions.The Power Broker: https://amzn.to/3IF9woOConvict Conditioning: https://amzn.to/3XTEeiAPsychology of Money: https://amzn.to/3kgBjTdThe Perfectionist's Guide to Losing Control: https://amzn.to/3Kvvko2Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking: https://amzn.to/3kgoCYEJoin the newsletter: https://robberger.com/newsletter/?utm...

You've found a bank with a great savings or CD rate, but it's in another state and you've never heard of it. Or perhaps you just want to know how safe your existing bank is.In this video we'll cover four free tools you can use to confirm that a bank or credit union is federally insured (FDIC or NCUA) and whether it's financially stable.Join the newsletter: https://robberger.com/newsletter/?utm...

Avantis launched this year a global stock ETF called the Avantis All Equity Markets ETF. In one ETF it can cover the entire stock portion of a portfolio. In this video I'll discuss the pros and cons of this fund from my perspective.Join the newsletter: https://robberger.com/newsletter/?utm...

A list of the best 0% APR and balance transfer credit cards: https://www.allcards.com/interest-fre...In this video we'll walk through the strategy my wife and I used to get out of credit card debt many years ago. We used 0% balance transfer cards, which eliminated our interest payments and helped us get out of debt faster and for less money. Join the newsletter: https://robberger.com/newsletter/?utm...

Maxifi is retirement planning software designed by Boston University professor Larry Kotlikoff. I've spent several days trying out the software, and this video is my review of the tool.There are several things I like about the tool. Data entry is easy. It doesn't require input of detailed investments or even a budget. Beyond housing, it asks for no spending details. Instead, it provides you with how much the tool calculates you can spend each year in retirement.Its social security tool is also robust. For example, you can upload your earnings history from SSA, which the tool uses to calculate your best claiming strategy.That said, Maxifi is not a tool I can recommend or plan to use. Its spending calculations do not account for the sequence of returns risk. It uses very conservative default settings, without explaining the consequences of these assumptions. And I found the tool overall not very transparent when it comes to understanding how the calculations were performed or how the various assumptions affect the results.Join the newsletter: https://robberger.com/newsletter/?utm...

Tonight we'll start by discussing what makes up a comprehensive retirement withdrawal strategy. Then we'll discuss your questions.Join the newsletter: https://robberger.com/newsletter/?utm...

The CBO released a report estimating that under current law, Social Security benefits will be cut by 23% in 2034. For those who can claim Social Security between then and now, the potential cut raises an important question. How should the potential cuts affect when you claim social security?In this video we use the free tool Open Social Security to answer this question.Join the newsletter: https://robberger.com/newsletter/?utm...

We'll start by discussing what's called the SEC Yield of a bond fund. Then we'll turn to your questions.Join the newsletter: https://robberger.com/newsletter/?utm...

For those considering moving their TSP investments to an IRA, here are mutual funds and ETFs that mirror the C Fund, S Fund, I Fund and F Fund of the Thrift Savings Plan. We also look at the G Fund, which doesn't have an alternative.Join the newsletter: https://robberger.com/newsletter/?utm...

The Vanguard Dynamic Spending Rule is one of several retirement withdrawal strategies that use the guardrails concept. The idea, in theory, is to generate a spending plan that has some of the annual spending consistency of the 4% Rule, while at the same time remaining sensitive to market fluctuations.I'll walk through how the rule works, its pros and cons, and a free tool that will enable you to test the Vanguard Dynamic Spending Rule for yourself.Join the newsletter: https://robberger.com/newsletter/?utm...