Asking Away

Talking Real Money - Investing Talk

Don McDonald

Education, Business, Investing, How To

4.5 • 811 Ratings

🗓️ 27 March 2026

⏱️ 23 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

A lively Friday Q&A kicks off with some unintended voice effects courtesy of Don’s grandkids before diving into listener questions on money market funds versus high-yield savings accounts, Roth vs. traditional 401(k) decisions in high tax brackets, expense ratios in fund-of-funds like Avantis ETFs, the limited value of international bonds, the reality behind indexed annuity caps, and whether investors should ever move beyond simple one-fund portfolios. The throughline: keep it simple, understand risk vs. safety, and don’t overestimate your ability to outsmart well-constructed investment strategies. 0:04 Grandkids + Rodecaster voice effects open 1:55 HYSA vs. Schwab money market funds (SWVXX, Treasury MMFs) 3:54 Risk spectrum: prime vs. government money markets 5:35 Why some online banks are ditching ACH transfers 6:54 Roth vs. traditional 401(k) in a high tax bracket 8:11 Blended strategy and tax flexibility over time 10:21 AVGV expense ratio—are fees stacked? 10:47 Fund-of-funds pricing explained (no double dipping) 11:41 International bonds: worth it or unnecessary complexity? 13:22 Indexed annuity caps—can they go up? (the reality) 15:33 Why indexed annuities remain opaque and costly 16:08 One-fund portfolios vs. DIY allocation thresholds 17:42 Why simplicity often beats customization 18:47 Don’s own one-fund 401(k) approach 19:32 Plug: Short Storyverses podcasts 20:06 Plug: Financial Fysics Kindle release Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Jamie Lang and Sophie Haboo have arrived on Disney Plus.
0:04.0	We're having a baby.
0:06.0	We're having a baby.
0:07.0	I've always wanted to be mom.
0:09.0	And we're bringing you on our journey through everything.
0:12.0	I have no idea what we're doing.
0:13.0	Thank you. I have more of an idea.
0:15.0	I think of it like a Tamagotchi.
0:17.0	At the end of all of this...
0:20.0	We're going to have a little baby.
0:21.6	Raising Chelsea, a Hulu original series streaming April 2nd exclusively on Disney Plus.
0:27.2	18 plus subscription required T's and T supply.
0:34.9	Reality Radio for a really great future.
0:38.0	We're talking real money.
0:40.9	All right.
0:41.7	This is going to sound really strange.
0:45.3	But this is how my roadcaster was set up for the beginning of the program.
0:53.9	I'll take that off for a second.
0:56.7	You see, yesterday my grandkids were here,
0:58.8	and they think my studio is the coolest thing ever.
1:02.6	And they discovered that my Roadcaster Pro actually does voice effects.
1:08.1	So the two of them, five and seven years old, were just entertaining the hack
	...

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