The Rob Berger Show

Hosted by Rob Berger

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Episodes

255

Latest episode

Aug 2026

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EN-US

About the show

Personal finance for smart people by the host of the Dough Roller Money Podcast. Rather than forcing you into a one-size-fits-all financial plan, we discuss the tools, resources, and strategies that will empower you to make the best money decisions for you and your family.

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60 recent

August 11, 2026Episode 2557 min

RBS 255: Warning: Don't Fall For This 'Rob Berger' Scam

Scammers are sending emails pretending to be me. In this episode, I explain several fake Rob Berger email addresses listeners have reported, along with examples of the messages being sent. Some of them start with a friendly note about a YouTube comment. Some pitch questionable investment opportunities. Some try to move the conversation to WhatsApp or Telegram. One even claims a 10% weekly return. My only real email address is: rob@robberger.com If you receive an unexpected email from another address claiming to be me, it is not me. I will not track down your email from a YouTube comment. I will not send you an unsolicited investment opportunity. I will not ask you to move a conversation to WhatsApp, Telegram, the phone, or any other messaging app. The purpose of this video is simple: be careful, check the sender, and do not reply to these messages. If you receive one from a Gmail account, you can report it to Google. I included the reporting link below. Resources mentioned in the video: Gmail abuse report form: https://support.google.com/mail/conta... Gmail phishing help: https://support.google.com/mail/answe... Join the Newsletter. It's Free: https://robberger.com/newsletter/?utm...

August 7, 2026Episode 25418 min

RBS 254: Is The Market Too Expensive To Invest?

Sam and his wife are two years from early retirement, sitting almost entirely in cash because they think the market is too overvalued to buy. Here's why waiting for the obvious crash is harder than it looks, and a no-forecasting plan to get from all-cash to a portfolio you can actually hold. Resources in Video Boldin: https://go.robberger.com/boldin/yt-ma... ProjectionLab: https://go.robberger.com/projectionla... Note: if you subscribe to my free newsletter (link below), be sure to use the 10% discount code for ProjectionLab Shiller CAPE ratio: https://www.multpl.com/shiller-pe SGOV (iShares 0-3 Month Treasury ETF): https://www.ishares.com/us/products/3... Join the Newsletter. It's Free: https://robberger.com/newsletter/?utm...

August 4, 2026Episode 25320 min

RBS 253: Bonds vs. Bond Funds: Does Holding to Maturity Actually Protect You?

Are individual bonds safer than bond funds? After my last video on cash versus bonds, a lot of you pushed back with the same argument: with an individual bond or a bond ladder you can hold to maturity and get your money back, and a bond fund can't do that. In this video I put that idea to the test with real numbers. I start with the one thing we have to understand first, the difference between a bond's maturity and its duration. Duration is what tells us how much a bond or a bond fund moves when interest rates change. Then I look at how the funds actually did. Vanguard's Total Bond Market (BND) and an iShares 7-10 year Treasury ETF both got hit hard in 2022. Next we look at a single 10-year Treasury from the start of 2022, the kind you can hold to maturity, and track what really happened to it once you factor in inflation. Join the Newsletter. It's Free: https://robberger.com/newsletter/?utm...

July 31, 2026Episode 25227 min

RBS 252: Fidelity vs. Vanguard: Which Is Better for Your Cash? (FQF)

This week on Five Question Friday (FQF): Question 1: Is Fidelity or Vanguard the better place to keep your cash? Question 2: Is a 1.25% AUM fee reasonable? Question 3: What's the best way to preserve capital once you're in your 70s? Question 4: Should your cash bucket be a fixed dollar amount or a percentage of your portfolio? Question 5: Is it safe to share your personal finances with AI? Join the Newsletter. It's Free: https://robberger.com/newsletter/?utm...

June 26, 2026Episode 25153 min

RBS 251: Will AI Replace Me and My YouTube Channel? (FQF)

Resources in Episode Morningstar: https://go.robberger.com/morningstar/... Fidelity Article: https://www.fidelity.com/viewpoints/r... Kitces Article: https://www.kitces.com/blog/retiremen... Spend Safely in Retirement Article: https://robberger.com/spend-safely-in... Fidelity HSA App: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/fidelit... Join the Newsletter. It's Free: https://robberger.com/newsletter/?utm...

June 19, 2026Episode 25034 min

RBS 250: Will the SpaceX IPO Crash the Stock Market? (FQF)

This week in Five Question Friday (FQF): mega IPOs, sequence of returns risk, RMDs from a bonds-only IRA, Roth conversions after 59 1/2, and VT versus VTI plus VXUS. Question 1: Will the giant IPOs coming in 2026 drain money from the market and depress stock prices? Question 2: Is 20% to 30% in bonds enough protection against sequence of returns risk? Question 3: If you move your IRA entirely into bonds, will RMDs force you to sell bonds when they're down? Question 4: If you're over 59 1/2, why not make every IRA withdrawal a Roth conversion? Question 5: Is "VT and chill" costing you 0.7% a year compared to holding VTI and VXUS separately? Resources mentioned in the video: SpaceX IPO pricing: https://www.npr.org/2026/06/11/nx-s1-... S&P 500 buyback data: https://www.spglobal.com/spdji/en/cor... Money market fund assets: https://www.ici.org/research/stats/mmf Bengen's original 1994 paper: https://www.financialplanningassociat... Kitces/Pfau rising equity glidepath: https://www.kitces.com/blog/should-eq... IRS RMD FAQs: https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/... IRS Publication 590-B (Roth and IRA distribution rules): https://www.irs.gov/publications/p590b RMDs come out before conversions: https://irahelp.com/new-rule-all-ira-... The two Roth 5-year rules: https://www.kitces.com/blog/understan... The VT vs VTI/VXUS articles in question: https://princetonasset.com/2026/05/25... Elm Wealth on VT vs VTI/VXUS: https://elmwealth.com/vt-vs-vti-vxus/ Bernstein on the rebalancing bonus: https://www.efficientfrontier.com/ef/... Foreign tax credit basics: https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Forei... Join the Newsletter. It's Free: https://robberger.com/newsletter/?utm...

June 17, 2026Episode 24917 min

RBS 249: Is Dave Ramsey Right About Beating the S&P 500?

In today's video we discuss if we should try to find investments that consistently beat the S&P 500. Resources From Video • You Can’t Win With Money While Your Life I... https://www.spglobal.com/spdji/en/res... https://www.morningstar.com/funds/xna... https://www.morningstar.com/funds/xna... https://www.morningstar.com/etfs/arcx... Join the Newsletter. It's Free: https://robberger.com/newsletter/?utm...

June 12, 2026Episode 24827 min

RBS 248: Is a Stock Market Crash Inevitable and How Should We Prepare? (FQF)

In today's Five Question Friday (FQF) video, we cover these questions: 1. Is the market inevitably going to crash, and how to mitigate 2. When to take SS and investing the early payments 3. Should we even bother tracking portfolio performance? 4. How to calculate how much money you need to retire comfortably 5. Why retirees still need an emergency fund Resources From Video Open Social Security: https://opensocialsecurity.com/ FI Calc: https://ficalc.app/ Boldin: https://go.robberger.com/boldin/yt-fqf Empower: https://go.robberger.com/empower/yt-fqf Snowball Analytics: https://go.robberger.com/snowball-ana... Join the Newsletter. It's Free: https://robberger.com/newsletter/?utm...

May 29, 2026Episode 24715 min

RBS 247: 4 Golden Rules for Avoiding Financial Scams (FQF)

In today's Five Question Friday (FQF) episode, we cover these questions: 1. Four golden rules for avoiding financial scams 2. Finding and canceling forgotten subscriptions 3. Sharing passwords and 2FA with your spouse 4. Finding trustworthy help managing finances in old age 5. Are debt consolidation services legitimate? Resources From Video FTC Avoiding and Reporting Scams: https://consumer.ftc.gov/scams ReportFraud.ftc.gov — If you encounter a scam, report it here to help law enforcement stop scammers. IdentityTheft.gov — If you think a scammer has your personal information, this site walks you through recovery steps. Rocket Money: https://go.robberger.com/rocket-money... Monarch Money: https://go.robberger.com/monarch-rob5... (Use code ROB50 for 50% off the first year's subscription) 1Password Families: https://go.robberger.com/1password/yt- AADMM Find a DMM Directory: https://secure.aadmm.com/ Nolo's Guide to Daily Money Managers: https://www.nolo.com/legal-encycloped... NFCC Agency Finder: https://www.nfcc.org/agency-finder Consumer Financial Protection Bureau - Credit Counseling Guide: https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-c... Join the Newsletter. It's Free: https://robberger.com/newsletter/?utm...

May 27, 2026Episode 24614 min

RBS 246: I Tested ChatGPT for Finance Against My Budgeting App — Here's What I Found

In today's episode, we discuss the following: 1. ChatGPT for Finances 2. A free version 3. Whether this is the end of budgeting apps Resources From Video ChatGPT Prompt: Create a beautiful dashboard that shows me my spending by category, a pie chart that I can click on to show which transactions make up that category, and identify any suspicious transactions and also any recurring expenses. Really make the dashboard really pretty. Join the Newsletter. It's Free: https://robberger.com/newsletter/?utm...