The Rob Berger Show

Latest Episodes:

RBS 252: Fidelity vs. Vanguard: Which Is Better for Your Cash? (FQF) Jul 31, 2026

Show notes

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?
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RBS 251: Will AI Replace Me and My YouTube Channel? (FQF) Jun 26, 2026

Show notes

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...
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RBS 250: Will the SpaceX IPO Crash the Stock Market? (FQF) Jun 19, 2026

Show notes

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...
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RBS 249: Is Dave Ramsey Right About Beating the S&P 500? Jun 17, 2026

Show notes

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...
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RBS 248: Is a Stock Market Crash Inevitable and How Should We Prepare? (FQF) Jun 12, 2026

Show notes

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...
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RBS 247: 4 Golden Rules for Avoiding Financial Scams (FQF) May 29, 2026

Show notes

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...
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RBS 246: I Tested ChatGPT for Finance Against My Budgeting App — Here's What I Found May 27, 2026

Show notes

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.
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RBS 245: How many years of "safe funds" should you hold beyond guaranteed income? (FQF) May 22, 2026

Show notes

In today's Five Question Friday (FQF) video, we cover these questions:
1. How many years of "safe funds" should you hold beyond guaranteed income?
2. Reducing portfolio risk in retirement when returns aren't needed
3. Budgeting app that syncs the Sam's Club Mastercard
4. Does the 4% rule account for pre-tax vs. after-tax assets?
5. Should you only sell stocks when the market is at record highs?
Resources From Video
Budgeting Apps: https://robberger.com/best-budgeting-...
Monarch Money: https://go.robberger.com/monarch-rob5... (Promo code: ROB50)
https://www.wallstreetcourier.com/spo...
https://www.morningstar.com/economy/w...
https://www.monarch.com/connection-st...
https://robberger.com/research/asset-...
https://www.kitces.com/blog/the-impac...
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RBS 244: How One Retiree Used the Bucket Strategy to Generate $241,098 in Extra Wealth May 18, 2026

Show notes

In today's video, we answer the following question: Can the bucket strategy help you generate income and grow your wealth in retirement, even as you're spending money to live on?
Retirement Manifesto Articles
First Article: https://www.theretirementmanifesto.co...
Second Article: https://www.theretirementmanifesto.co...
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RBS 243: The Floor & Enjoy Retirement Strategy (FQF) Apr 24, 2026

Show notes

In today's Five Question Friday (FQF) video, we cover these questions:
1. Floor & Enjoy Retirement Strategy
2. Target Date Funds
3. Paying Taxes on Roth Conversions
4. Vanguard’s New BondBuilder ETFs
5. Boldin vs. Empower
Resources From Video
Empower: https://go.robberger.com/empower/yt-fqf
Boldin: https://go.robberger.com/boldin/yt-fqf
https://longevity.stanford.edu/wp-con...
https://robberger.com/spend-safely-in...
https://fundresearch.fidelity.com/mut...
https://fundresearch.fidelity.com/mut...
https://advisors.vanguard.com/tax-cen...
https://investor.vanguard.com/investo...
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