Nice, Warm Questions
Fri Feb 06 2026
In this Friday Q&A episode of Talking Real Money, Don tackles five thoughtful listener questions ranging from confusing 401(k) collective investment trusts and investment club withdrawals to Roth conversion strategies, inflation fears in bond portfolios, and inherited IRA planning. Along the way, he emphasizes transparency over opacity, flexibility over prediction, and discipline over emotion. Don pushes back against fear-driven investing decisions, cautions against large tax moves based on uncertain futures, explains when TIPS do (and don’t) make sense, and praises a listener’s smart inherited IRA-to-Roth strategy.
Note: listener call audio has been enhanced with a new tool, making callers sound almost like they’re in the studio. Let us know what you think.
0:04 Podcast vs. radio intro, Friday Q&A format, and improved caller audio quality
1:00 How listeners submit questions through TalkingRealMoney.com
1:44 33-year-old with $330K in a 401(k) and confusing collective investment trusts
4:26 Why “intermediate cycle” funds are market timing in disguise
6:47 Investment club withdrawals and in-kind transfers after Schwab/TD merger
9:23 Why there’s no universal rule for investment club distributions
9:58 Complex Roth conversion plan and IRMAA concerns
14:31 Why large Roth conversions rely too heavily on tax predictions
16:59 The case for slow, flexible, incremental conversions
17:28 National debt fears and switching from BND to TIPS
20:47 When TIPS actually help and why panic reallocations fail
21:46 Emotional control as the core investing skill
22:10 Inherited IRA strategy to fund Roth contributions
24:15 Why spreading withdrawals over 10 years makes sense
25:09 Listener growth, competition with Stacking Benjamins, and call to action
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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In this Friday Q&A episode of Talking Real Money, Don tackles five thoughtful listener questions ranging from confusing 401(k) collective investment trusts and investment club withdrawals to Roth conversion strategies, inflation fears in bond portfolios, and inherited IRA planning. Along the way, he emphasizes transparency over opacity, flexibility over prediction, and discipline over emotion. Don pushes back against fear-driven investing decisions, cautions against large tax moves based on uncertain futures, explains when TIPS do (and don’t) make sense, and praises a listener’s smart inherited IRA-to-Roth strategy. Note: listener call audio has been enhanced with a new tool, making callers sound almost like they’re in the studio. Let us know what you think. 0:04 Podcast vs. radio intro, Friday Q&A format, and improved caller audio quality 1:00 How listeners submit questions through TalkingRealMoney.com 1:44 33-year-old with $330K in a 401(k) and confusing collective investment trusts 4:26 Why “intermediate cycle” funds are market timing in disguise 6:47 Investment club withdrawals and in-kind transfers after Schwab/TD merger 9:23 Why there’s no universal rule for investment club distributions 9:58 Complex Roth conversion plan and IRMAA concerns 14:31 Why large Roth conversions rely too heavily on tax predictions 16:59 The case for slow, flexible, incremental conversions 17:28 National debt fears and switching from BND to TIPS 20:47 When TIPS actually help and why panic reallocations fail 21:46 Emotional control as the core investing skill 22:10 Inherited IRA strategy to fund Roth contributions 24:15 Why spreading withdrawals over 10 years makes sense 25:09 Listener growth, competition with Stacking Benjamins, and call to action Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices