The Rob Berger Show

Latest Episodes:

RBS 232: 2025 Free Income Tax Calculator (FQF) Oct 03, 2025

Show notes

In today's Five Question Friday (FQF) video, we cover this questions:
1. Can you recommend a detailed tax estimator?
2. How to plan Roth conversions without a fancy retirement planner?
3. Should you pay off a mortgage early or invest the money?
4. Are identity theft protection services worth the cost?
5. How does reinvesting vs spending dividends affect return assumptions for retirement planning?
Resources
2025 Tax Calculator: https://www.efile.com/tax-return-calc...
*Note*: eFile is still updating some aspects of the calculator for 2025 tax laws.
Boldin: https://go.robberger.com/boldin/yt-fqf
Vanguard Roth Conversion Calculator: https://advisors.vanguard.com/tax-cen...
Join the Newsletter. It's Free:
https://robberger.com/newsletter/?utm...

RBS 231: Live Medicare Q&A With Ari Parker, JD Sep 26, 2025

Show notes

Get free guidance on Medicare from Chapter, a company I've partnered with, by calling 410-220-5494. If you call Chapter, please let me know about your experience.
It's Not That Complicated https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Hqs4v7wLCjhh5ohWVVSNTs2HsGz9nufD/view
Join the Newsletter. It's Free:
https://robberger.com/newsletter/?utm...

RBS 230: Free Medicare Resources to Help You Pick the Best Plan for You (Part 3 of 3) Sep 25, 2025

Show notes

In this episode, we'll walk through resources you can use to get free help with Medicare. The Resources are broken into three categories:
1. Free online educational content
2. Free Medicare guidance from SHIP
3. Free Medicare guidance from insurance brokers

Resources
Medicare: https://www.medicare.gov/
CMS: https://www.cms.gov/
KFF: https://www.kff.org/topic/medicare/
SHIP: https://www.shiphelp.org/
JAMA Study on SHIP: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama...
Chapter: 410-220-5494
Federal Lawsuit: https://www.justice.gov/opa/media/139...
Join the Newsletter. It's Free:
https://robberger.com/newsletter/?utm...

Get free guidance on Medicare from Chapter, a company I've partnered with, by calling 410-220-5494. If you call Chapter, please let me know about your experience.

RBS 229: 7 Things to Know About Medicare Open Enrollment (Part 2 of 3) Sep 25, 2025

Show notes

In this episode, we'll walk through 7 things you must know about Medicare's annual open enrollment period.
Resources
It's Not That Complicated (pdf): https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Hqs4...
Medicare & You 2026 (pdf): https://www.medicare.gov/publications...
2025 Medicare Parts A & B Premiums and Deductibles: https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-she...
Medicare Part A Costs: https://www.medicare.gov/basics/costs...
Medigap Plans: https://www.medicare.gov/health-drug-...
KFF Medigap Article: https://www.kff.org/medicare/key-fact...
Can I Change Medigap Plans? https://www.medicare.gov/health-drug-...
Compare Medicare Plans: https://www.medicare.gov/plan-compare...
Join the Newsletter. It's Free:
https://robberger.com/newsletter/?utm...

Get free guidance on Medicare from Chapter, a company I've partnered with, by calling 410-220-5494. If you call Chapter, please let me know about your experience.

RBS 228: Original Medicare or Medicare Advantage: Which Is Right for You? (Part 1 of 3) Sep 25, 2025

Show notes

In this episode, we'll walk through the key differences and pros and cons of Original Medicare vs Medicare Advantage plans.
Resources
It's Not That Complicated (pdf): https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Hqs4...
Medicare & You 2026 (pdf): https://www.medicare.gov/publications...
2025 Medicare Parts A & B Premiums and Deductibles: https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-she...
Medicare Part A Costs: https://www.medicare.gov/basics/costs...
Medigap Plans: https://www.medicare.gov/health-drug-...
KFF Medigap Article: https://www.kff.org/medicare/key-fact...
Compare Medicare Plans: https://www.medicare.gov/plan-compare...
Join the Newsletter. It's Free:
https://robberger.com/newsletter/?utm...

Get free guidance on Medicare from Chapter, a company I've partnered with, by calling 410-220-5494. If you call Chapter, please let me know about your experience.

RBS 227: 3 Essential Tools to Evaluate Your Investment Portfolio Sep 15, 2025

Show notes

A viewer asked me to suggest some tools he could use to evaluate his investment portfolio and asset allocation. So in this video we looked at three of my favorite investment tools:
1. Empower: https://go.robberger.com/empower/yt-3...
2. Kubera: https://go.robberger.com/kubera/yt-3-...
3. Google Sheets: https://robberger.com/investment-trac...
Join the Newsletter. It's Free:
https://robberger.com/newsletter/?utm...

RBS 226: What Budgeting App is Best for Those With a Learning Disability? (FQF) Aug 24, 2025

Show notes

In today's Five Question Friday (FQF) video, we cover the following questions:
1. What are the best finance apps for those with a learning disability?
2. Is 3% SWR the new 4%?
3. How do you model tax-free income in Boldin?
4. In what account type should you hold cash you plan to spend in the first few years of retirement?
5. What inflation rate should you assume in retirement?
Resources
Monarch Money: https://go.robberger.com/monarch-yt/y... (Use Promo Code ROB50 for 50% off the first year)
Simplifi: https://go.robberger.com/simplifi/yt-fqf
Boldin: https://go.robberger.com/boldin/yt-fqf
Fidelity article: https://www.fidelity.com/learning-cen...
Shiller PE: https://www.multpl.com/shiller-pe
Kitces article: https://www.kitces.com/blog/the-ratch...
Join the Newsletter. It's Free:
https://robberger.com/newsletter/?utm...

RBS 225: 8 Ways to Reduce Medicare IRMAA Payments Aug 20, 2025

Show notes

In today's video, we discuss how Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount (IRMAA) payments are calculated and 8 strategies to reduce or even eliminate the payments.
Resources from the Video
Reddit Forum Post: / strategies_to_reduce_irmaa_costs_medicare
2025 IRMAA Brackets: https://www.humana.com/medicare/medic...
IRMAA MAGI Calculation: https://secure.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0...
SSA-44 Form: https://www.ssa.gov/forms/ssa-44.pdf
Boldin: https://go.robberger.com/boldin/yt-irmma
ProjectionLab: https://go.robberger.com/projectionla...
Join the Newsletter to get a 10% discount code off of ProjectionLab:
https://robberger.com/newsletter/?utm...

RBS 224: What is the Tax Triangle? (FQF) Aug 15, 2025

Show notes

In today's Five Question Friday (FQF), we cover five great questions and one tax calculator:
1. What is the Tax Triangle? (Traditional, Roth, and taxable accounts)
2. Is the Withdrawal Amount in FICalc the same as spending?
3. When should you sell an investment that's at a loss?
4. How far into the future should we plan?
5. When and how quickly should you change asset allocation as you near retirement?
Tool: Retirement Tax-Friendly States: https://smartasset.com/retirement/ret...
Resources
Blackrock Asset Return Map: https://www.blackrock.com/corporate/i...
FICalc: https://ficalc.app/
Boldin: https://go.robberger.com/boldin/yt-fqf
Perplexity Result: https://www.perplexity.ai/search/what...
Perplexity Tax Triangle: https://www.perplexity.ai/search/what...
Join the Newsletter. It's Free:
https://robberger.com/newsletter/?utm...

RBS 223: How Bracket Filling Can Lower Your Tax Bill in Retirement Jul 28, 2025

Show notes

A viewer recently asked about bracket filling:
"I haven't heard you or other financial advisors say much about "bracket filling" in retirement. Is it reasonable to think that in retirement I should be filling a tax bracket up with pre-tax accounts, then using after-tax accounts for withdrawals that reach into the higher bracket? Is there a way to model this in Bolden?"
It's a great question that we cover in this video.
Resources Mentioned in Video
Boldin: https://go.robberger.com/boldin/yt-EN...
Join the Newsletter. It's Free:
https://robberger.com/newsletter/?utm...

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected