Money For the Rest of Us

Hosted by J. David Stein

Business Investing

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581

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Aug 2026

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About the show

A personal finance and investing podcast on money, how it works, how to invest it and how to live without worrying about it. J. David Stein is a former Chief Investment Strategist and money manager. For close to two decades, he has been teaching individuals and institutions how to invest and handle their finances in ways that are simple to understand. More info at moneyfortherestofus.com ]]>

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August 12, 202626 min

5 Steps to Simplify Your Investment Portfolio

What are the steps to simplify your portfolio, given that it is likely spread across multiple accounts? We focus particularly on retirees, who have to weigh additional considerations like withdrawals, Roth conversions, and required minimum distributions. We also explore which areas of the stock and bond markets are attractive right now as you seek to simplify and/or rebalance your portfolio. Sponsors Try NetSuite for Free Delete Me – Use code David20 to get 20% off Show Notes and Related Content A Complete Guide to Investing in I Bonds and TIPS (2026) 550: Asset Location: Where You Invest, Where You Live, What You Can Access Free Investment Strategy Report Insiders Guide Email Newsletter Get our free Investors' Checklist when you sign up for the free Money for the Rest of Us email newsletter Our Premium Products Asset Camp Money for the Rest of Us Plus See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

July 29, 202626 min

How to Navigate the AI Debt Bubble

We explore the expected size of AI-related debt, which vehicles hold it, what could go wrong, and how to protect yourself. Topics covered include: How AI capex boom compares to other large booms and busts What fixed income vehicles hold AI-linked debt What mechanisms are being used to transfer AI-debt risk. How circular finance is contributing to the AI infrastructure buildout What could go wrong with the AI infrastructure buildout that could lead to losses on AI-related debt How to tell what exposure you have to AI debt Sponsors Delete Me – Use code David20 to get 20% off NetSuite Insiders Guide Email Newsletter Get our free Investors' Checklist when you sign up for the free Money for the Rest of Us email newsletter Our Premium Products Asset Camp Money for the Rest of Us Plus Show Notes AI debt slide deck used for episode RBC Weighs $2 Billion Risk Transfer to Hedge Data Center-Linked Loans by Esteban Duarte and Paula Sambo—Bloomberg Hyperscalers Tap External Financing as AI Capex Outruns Cash Flow—FactSet Insight What History Tells Us About The AI Investment Boom by Larry Swedroe—Financial Advisor Goldman Sachs Warns on AI’s Debt Tsunami — Is This the End of the AI Boom? by Rich Duprey—Yahoo! Finance Progress and peril by Pablo Hernández de Cos—BIS The Opportunities and Risks AI Presents for the Economy and Financial System by Governor Lisa D. Cook—The Federal Reserve Financial Stability Report by The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System—The Federal Reserve Financing the AI infrastructure boom: on- and off-balance sheet borrowing by Egemen Eren, Ingomar Krohn and Karamfil Todorov—BIS How AI debt financing impacts duration supply and interest rates by Hugo De Vere, Srini Ramaswamy and Seth Searls—Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas US Life Insurers Held $807 Billion of Hard-to-Sell Credit by Alexandre Rajbhandari—Bloomberg Insurers are funding AI infrastructure – NAIC wants to know if the ratings hold up by Paul Lucas—Insurance Business US Corporate Bonds Statistics—sifma See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

July 15, 202625 min

Is Inflation Manipulated? If So, What to Do About It

How inflation numbers are manipulated to appear lower. How to change your mindset about inflation to get ahead of it. Topics covered include: How Inflation (PCE) Calculations Are Changing Why the CPE Changes Are Suspicious The Biggest Changes Ever to Inflation Calculations What Causes Inflation AI Buildout Is Boosting Inflation How Rising Income Can Overcome Inflation Inflation Is Currency Debasement Most Things Get Cheaper and Better Over Time Personal Inflation Rate and Retirement We Can Beat Inflation by Improving Our Skills Inflation Manipulation vs Inflation Fabrication How to Outsmart Inflation Sponsors Delete Me – Use code David20 to get 20% off NetSuite Retirement Investing Webinar and Portfolio Cohort Insiders Guide Email Newsletter Get our free Investors' Checklist when you sign up for the free Money for the Rest of Us email newsletter Our Premium Products Asset Camp Money for the Rest of Us Plus Show Notes Preview of the 2026 Annual Update of the National Economic Accounts—BEA The Inflation Outlook by Governor Stephen I. Miran—U.S. Federal Reserve Toward A More Accurate Measure Of The Cost Of Living by The Advisory Commission To Study The Consumer Price Index —SSA A Complete Guide to Understanding and Protecting Against Inflation by David Stein—Money for the Rest of Us Live Retirement Portfolio Cohort—Money for the Rest of Us Related Episodes 475: Inflation’s Illusion: Debunking the Normalcy of Currency Debasement 429: Which Inflation Protection Strategies Worked and Which Didn’t? See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

June 24, 202629 min

A Listener's Path from Zero to Millionaire in 10 Years - Nine Lessons to Get You There

David shares nine lessons a listener followed to become a millionaire. Topics covered include: The benefit of underspending on housing What rate of return and how much would you need to save to grow a portfolio to one million dollars Why historical studies of the S&P 500 returns are misleading David's recent portfolio mistake Sponsors Delete Me – Use code David20 to get 20% off NetSuite Retirement Investing Webinar and Portfolio Cohort Insiders Guide Email Newsletter Get our free Investors' Checklist when you sign up for the free Money for the Rest of Us email newsletter Our Premium Products Asset Camp Money for the Rest of Us Plus Related Episodes 498: What I Learned Investing in the Past Decade 454: How To Invest – Ten Rules of Thumb for Individual Investors See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

June 10, 202625 min

Will You Be Forced to Own SpaceX and Other AI Stocks?

SpaceX, Anthropic, and OpenAI are all going public. Why now? And what will their weight be in index funds? What other U.S. ETF options are there if you don't want to have such a high concentration in stocks tied to AI. And finally, if you do buy SpaceX, what would need to happen to earn a reasonable return on your investment? Sponsors Delete Me – Use code David20 to get 20% off NetSuite Retirement Investing Webinar and Portfolio Cohort Insiders Guide Email Newsletter Get our free Investors' Checklist when you sign up for the free Money for the Rest of Us email newsletter Our Premium Products Asset Camp Money for the Rest of Us Plus Show Notes Space Exploration Technologies Corp. Form S-1 Registration Statment Under the Securities Act of 1933—SEC Elon Musk Is Dropping a Boulder in a Kiddie Pool by Matteo Wong—The Atlantic Passive Aggressive: The Risks of Passive Investing Dominance by Chris Brightman and Campbell R. Harvey—SSRN Passive Investing and Market Quality by Philipp Höfler, Christian Schlag, and Maik Schmeling—SSRN Investments Mentioned iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV) Tema S&P 500 Historical Weight ETF Strategy (DSPY) Defiance Large Cap ex-Mag 7 (XMAG) Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight (RSP) Invesco FTSE RAFI US 1000 (PRF) See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

May 27, 202625 min

Don't Fall Into the Dividend Trap. How Investors Misunderstand Covered Call ETFs

We explore the free dividend fallacy and how it applies to option income strategies. We break down the return drivers of covered call ETFs and examine the long-term performance record and volatility. Finally, we explain why it's better to own a single stock than a single-stock covered call ETF, such as MSTY, NVDY, or TSLY, offered by YieldMax. Show Notes The Dividend Disconnect - Samuel M. Hartzmark and David H. Solomon Sam Hartzmark on Dividends - Meb Faber Research The New American Hustle: Dividends Over Day Jobs - Denitsa Tsekova and Vildana Hajric - Bloomberg Covered Calls Uncovered - Roni Israelov and Lars N. Nielsen - Financial Analysts Journal Volatility Risk Premiums Embedded in Individual Equity Options: Some New Insights - Nikunj Kapadia and Gurdip singh Bakshi Sponsors Take the Money for the Rest of Us book quiz to see which investing book is best for you. Delete Me – Use code David20 to get 20% off Investment Mentioned Invesco S&P 500 BuyWrite ETF (PBP) JPMorgan Equity Premium Income ETF (JEPI) WisdomTree Equity Premium Income Fund (WTPI) YieldMax TSLA Option Income Strategy ETF (TSLY) Tesla (TSLA) YieldMax NVDA Option Income Strategy ETF (NVDY) NVIDIA (NVDA ) YieldMax MSTR Option Income Strategy ETF (MSTY) Strategy (MSTR) Related Episodes 471: Unlocking Income—A Comprehensive Guide to Investing in Covered Call ETFs 466: Does Dividend Investing Still Work? See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

May 13, 202623 min

We Are All Wayfinders

Why we have to navigate investing, business, and life with a compass rather than a GPS. David also provides an update on what he has learned from hosting live portfolio cohorts and letting AI analyze his portfolio trades over the past 12 years. Sponsors Square - Get up to $200 in hardware Delete Me – Use code David20 to get 20% off Insiders Guide Email Newsletter Get our free Investors' Checklist when you sign up for the free Money for the Rest of Us email newsletter Our Premium Products Asset Camp Money for the Rest of Us Plus Show Notes Almost Reckless by Amy Smilovic—Penguin Random House Related Episodes 555: Five Practices That Have Shaped My Career 127: Investing Is Wayfinding See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

April 29, 202627 min

Five Practices That Have Shaped My Career

I share five business practices that have carried me through asset bubbles, financial crises, business pivots, and now the rise of AI. Topics covered include: Recommended note-taking app and practices Recommended periodicals How to get better ideas Why we need to understand the probabilities when pursuing a new course The latest insights on AI, prediction markets, and other topics Sponsors Square - Get up to $200 in hardware Delete Me – Use code David20 to get 20% off Live Portfolio Cohort - May 2026 Insiders Guide Email Newsletter Get our free Investors' Checklist when you sign up for the free Money for the Rest of Us email newsletter Our Premium Products Asset Camp Money for the Rest of Us Plus Show Notes Researchers Asked LLMs for Strategic Advice. They Got “Trendslop” in Return. By Angelo Romasanta, Llewellyn D.W. Thomas and Natalia Levina—Harvard Business Review Paul Kedrosky Gregor Macdonald - Cold Eye Earth Prediction Market Accuracy: Crowd Wisdom or Informed Minority? By Roberto Gomez Cram, Yunhan Guo, Theis Ingerslev Jensen, and Howard Kung U.S. Soldier Charged With Using Classified Information To Profit From Prediction Market Bets—Office of Public Affairs, U.S. Department of Justice 64% of business books are profitable. That’s the bottom line from our study of Business Book ROI.—Josh Bernoff Libsyn Statistics, visualized—Livewire Labs The Big Bang: A.I. Has Created a Code Overload By Mike Isaac and Erin Griffith—The New York Times High earners race ahead on AI as workplace divide widens By Madhumita Murgia and John Burn-Murdoch—Financial Times Related Episodes 496: Are You Taking Enough Aspirational Risk? 535: Six Principles for Thriving Under Uncertainty and How Big Tech Is Doing the Opposite See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

April 22, 20263 min

Invitation to Our Live Portfolio Review and Rebalancing Special Webinar

Please attend our live webinar on portfolio construction and rebalancing scheduled for Thursday, April 30th, at 12PM Eastern, 9AM Pacific time. I will cover the five steps to constructing and rebalancing a portfolio. I will also answer your questions. You can sign up for this special webinar at https://moneyfortherestofus.com/webinar/ See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

April 15, 202627 min

There Is No Perfect Portfolio. Just Good Enough

Why portfolio construction is messy, personal, and never perfect. We compare the pros and cons of several portfolio strategies, including target-date funds, risk parity, and role-based portfolios. We conclude with three AI-related fallacies that will help us better navigate the current moment. Sponsors Square - Get up to $200 in hardware Delete Me – Use code David20 to get 20% off Live Portfolio Cohort - May 2026 Insiders Guide Email Newsletter Get our free Investors' Checklist when you sign up for the free Money for the Rest of Us email newsletter Our Premium Products Asset Camp Money for the Rest of Us Plus Show Notes Money for the Rest of Us Live Portfolio Cohorts Why Everything Suddenly Is ‘Perfect’ by Paula Marantz Cohen—The Wall Street Journal Your Perfect Portfolio by Cullen Roche—Pan MacMillan My Core Investment Values by Peter Lazaroff—Peter Lazaroff Show Us Your Portfolio: Jared Dillian—Excess Returns: An Investing Podcast The dystopian fantasy of uselessness by Stephen Cane—The Financial Times Investments Mentioned State Street Bridgewater All Weather ETF (ALLW) RPAR Risk Parity ETF (RPAR) AQR Multi-Asset Fund (AQRIX) Related Episodes 491: The Five Layers of Investing 306: Three Approaches to Asset Allocation See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .