Costs of Being Mortgage Free

This Friday Q&A episode tackles several thoughtful listener questions covering 401(k) investment choices, Roth conversion strategies, bond market fears, inherited IRA planning, and investment club mechanics. Don explains why opaque collective investment trusts and “cycle” funds o ...  Show more

Exchange-traded funds began as simple, low-cost index vehicles, but their popularity has sparked a flood of increasingly speculative products. Don and Tom explain how more than 1,000 new ETFs launched in the past year—many involving leverage, crypto exposure, or even single-stock ...  Show more

You can’t eliminate all risk from investments. After all, the zombie apocalypse could strike tomorrow and probably wipe out your entire portfolio. But you can reduce risk, even among high-return investments. In fact, these are precisely the investments you want to minimize risk f ...  Show more

When I did a rent (and invest) vs. buy analysis back in January 2021 with a 2.6% interest rate, the results were pretty neck-and-neck. As rates climbed this year, I figured it would be fun (I’m using the word “fun” loosely) to revisit the exact same scenario with the higher rate. ...  Show more

Buying a home with contingencies is rare during housing bull markets. But as higher mortgage rates dampen investor demand, being able to put in contingencies before buying a home is now more possible.

Let me share with you why buying a home with contingencies can make y ...

We explore six impacts of higher interest rates on housing, capital projects, stock buybacks, excess returns for stocks, bonds, and other asset classes, and individual opportunity costs.

Topics covered include: