Another Money Quiz
Can Tom beat the average American on a personal finance quiz? Don puts Tom in the hot seat with eight questions drawn from a financial literacy quiz developed by researchers at Stanford University and TIAA. The topics range from earning, budgeting, inflation, investing, debt, insurance, and risk to evaluating investment advice. Along the way, there’s plenty of good-natured ribbing, a debate over compounding, and a reminder that even financial professionals can stumble on carefully worded ques...
Can Tom beat the average American on a personal finance quiz?
Don puts Tom in the hot seat with eight questions drawn from a financial literacy quiz developed by researchers at Stanford University and TIAA. The topics range from earning, budgeting, inflation, investing, debt, insurance, and risk to evaluating investment advice. Along the way, there’s plenty of good-natured ribbing, a debate over compounding, and a reminder that even financial professionals can stumble on carefully worded questions.
Later, the guys answer listener questions about whether the small-cap value premium still exists despite the rise of private equity, and whether exotic portfolios like the “Golden Butterfly” really deserve their impressive back-tested reputations.
Plus, Tom gives an enthusiastic endorsement of Don’s Civil War novel, The Line Uncrossed.
00:18 – Tom faces an eight-question financial literacy quiz
03:49 – Inflation versus savings: the trickiest question
05:53 – Why diversification beats owning a single stock
07:11 – The power—and danger—of compound interest
08:50 – Insurance coverage young adults actually need
09:52 – Expected value and lottery math
11:10 – Appropriate investments for different ages
12:40 – Why compounding may be the most important concept in investing
13:39 – Which asset classes have historically produced the highest returns?
16:03 – Does the small-cap value premium still exist?
23:01 – Should investors trust the Golden Butterfly portfolio?
26:45 – Tom’s review of The Line Uncrossed
29:17 – Free meetings with Appella advisors
31:11 – Blue shirts, blue eyes, and wrapping up
00:22 - Quiz Show Kickoff
03:09 - Spending and Budgets
04:05 - Inflation Beats Savings
07:11 - Debt Doubling Trouble
08:52 - Insurance for Young Workers
09:55 - Lottery Risk and Reward
11:10 - Final Advice Question
12:41 - Beyond the Quiz
14:34 - Listener Questions Begin
15:51 - Small-Cap Value Debate
22:21 - Gold Portfolios and Backtests
26:32 - Book Plug and Closing
We're gonna do a really great financial feature. Don and Don are talking real money.
SPEAKER_00It's time to play games on Talking Real Money. Hello everyone,
Quiz Show Kickoff
SPEAKER_00I'm Don McDonald, your host for another exciting quiz edition of the Talking Real Money Podcast. Today, from the pages of Money Magazine, a quiz entitled Can you answer these eight personal finance questions better than most Americans? We'll find out soon with our contestant, Mr. Thomas Charles Cock. Tom, welcome to whatever the name of this quiz is, because I just forgot it, it was so darn long.
SPEAKER_03I just want to make clear, I don't want to do this. I don't like these quizzes. I and here's why I don't.
SPEAKER_02Because basically, it's let's see how many times Tom can be wrong on these things. Okay. People go, wait, he got it wrong.
SPEAKER_00Here's the key. I want you to concentrate.
SPEAKER_02Please, focusing.
SPEAKER_00Pay attention to the question. Okay. And then pay attention to the answers. Now, this is this was in money. It was based on a uh quiz, a 28-question quiz from Stanford University and Tia, the annuity people. But this is only eight of the 28 questions on their quiz.
SPEAKER_02Anna Marie Lussardi, the one I was on the podcast with. She's very bright. Yeah. Use the word of financial literacy.
SPEAKER_00I I I I I'm only doing the eight, Tom. I'm not doing all 28.
SPEAKER_02Thank you for relaxing. Completely embarrassing me. So I like that.
SPEAKER_00All right. Are you ready for today's?
SPEAKER_02As I'll ever be. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Are you sure?
SPEAKER_02Not really. No. I didn't I just say, no, I don't like doing this, but I'm going to do it anyway. I'll do it on the other side.
SPEAKER_00I want everybody to pay attention. Pay attention. Ready?
SPEAKER_03Okay. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Here's question number one. It concerns earning money, Tom. Earning money. That's our topic.
SPEAKER_03Can I just encourage others in my life to do that? Would that be okay?
SPEAKER_00Earning money instead of you? All right. Tom's salary. Oh no, it says Mark's. Mark's salary has increased over the past two years. What would be a plausible reason for this? You have four choices. Okay. A. The number of workers with Matt's skills has increased over the past two years. Oh no, no, I did. The number of workers with Matt's skills increased where he lives and works. I skipped it over back. Yeah. That's that's A. B. Mark completed several training courses at his local college. C. New technology reduced the demand for workers with Mark's skills. Or the fallback question for you, which is usually going to be effective but wrong, is D, I don't know.
SPEAKER_02Well, it's never going to be I don't know. D is I don't know. I'm going to go with the uh additional training, the college, etc. Additional training. You went with B, is that correct?
SPEAKER_00That's right. Yep.
Spending and Budgets
SPEAKER_00Correct answer.
SPEAKER_03Can we stop right there?
SPEAKER_00No, now it's on to spending. And again, this is one of those where you need to pay attention. Good because all the money gets spent in my house. I should be ready to handle this. But you know all about this one. Yeah, go. A household budget cannot be used for which of the following? A. To plan for necessary household expenses. B. To plan household discretionary spending. C to track household financial assets or the fallback. Answer D. Dono.
SPEAKER_02I'm going to go with the C on this one.
SPEAKER_00That is the correct answer.
SPEAKER_02And I'm retiring.
SPEAKER_00I want to say effective and correct. You are you are just have ever been 100% on anything. You are progressing betw uh toward the grand prize.
SPEAKER_03So which is I gotta do another one of these damn quizzes, right?
SPEAKER_00Exactly.
Inflation Beats Savings
SPEAKER_00All right. Number three, see, we're working our way through the world of finance. Number three has to do with saving money. Okay? Are you ready?
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00A Kiko has $1,000 in savings that earns a two percent rate of return over the course of the year. The inflation rate during the year is three percent. Which statement is true?
SPEAKER_02So she's making two on the savings and inflation's running at three.
SPEAKER_00That is correct.
SPEAKER_02Okay. That's not a good thing, by the way, just for those of you listening at home. That would be bad.
SPEAKER_00A. Yes. She can afford to buy fewer things at the end of the year. B, she can afford to buy more things at the end of the year. C, it's not clear whether she can afford to buy more things or fewer things at the end of the year. Or D, which is basically the same as C.
SPEAKER_03It really is. Don't do D.
SPEAKER_00Don't know.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, but because you've already told me don't do D, you dummy. D is for dummies. Uh I'm gonna go with C. It's not that's not very clear.
SPEAKER_00It's it is totally clear.
SPEAKER_02It's not say that she's spending the money, it's that she's saving the money. She's making the money.
SPEAKER_00I know, but if but no, listen to the answer. She can afford to buy fewer things at the end of the year, or she can afford to buy more things at the end of the year.
SPEAKER_02Unexpected expenses, that kind of thing that she had to spend the money on.
SPEAKER_00Okay. I'm gonna do it again. I'm two out of three. That's good. I'll call it there. Trevor Burrus, Jr. It's A. She can afford to buy fewer things with that money. That was implied in the question.
SPEAKER_02Okay. All right. I I didn't know.
SPEAKER_00You are not allowed to extrapolate additional factors.
SPEAKER_03If I'm your financial advisor, I'm like, fix that.
SPEAKER_00First of all, make less than inflation. That's bad. This is the saddest thing. Or investing. Which statement about investing is correct, Tom?
SPEAKER_02Okay, please.
SPEAKER_00This is about investing. This is your area of expertise. If you fail this question, it's over. You are done.
SPEAKER_03Can I quit today?
SPEAKER_00And you're younger than me.
SPEAKER_03I'm fully aware of that.
SPEAKER_00It's just sad if you can't get this one right.
SPEAKER_03Okay.
SPEAKER_00A investing in the stock of a single company is typically safer than investing in a mutual fund that holds shares of many companies in multiple industries. B investing in the stock of a single company and investing in a mutual fund that holds shares of many companies in multiple industries are typically equally safe. C, investing in a mutual fund that holds shares of many companies in multiple industries is typically safer than investing in the stock of a single company. Or D, I don't know.
SPEAKER_02Okay, so C was holding an investment with many securities in it rather than holding one.
SPEAKER_00Yes. Okay.
SPEAKER_02So in my judgment, holding many is safer than holding one.
SPEAKER_00So C would be your final answer?
SPEAKER_02C is my final answer.
unknownYes.
SPEAKER_02Oh my god.
SPEAKER_00Congratulations.
SPEAKER_02That's three out of four, man. 75. That's usually my usual average.
SPEAKER_00So five.
Debt Doubling Trouble
SPEAKER_00This is about managing debt.
SPEAKER_03Oh, okay.
SPEAKER_00Okay, so you're gonna have to think back to when you were in debt. Exactly. Not applicable now, but it was. Jose owns, not owns, he doesn't own because he's in debt. Jose owes $1,000 on a loan that has an interest rate of 20% per year, compounded annually. If he makes no payments on this loan at this interest rate, how many years will it take for the amount he owes to double? Come on, this is math. A, more than 10 years. B 5 to 10 years. C fewer than five years. Or the old D super dummy, yeah. I do not have a 20%.
SPEAKER_02Wouldn't it be five years? Then it would take.
SPEAKER_00Well, wait, but think about it for a minute. It says compounded annually.
SPEAKER_02Okay, then it would be C fewer than five years.
SPEAKER_03Thank you for saving me. I was close. You were going to go to five to ten.
SPEAKER_00You were going to go five to ten. I knew it. And I'm going, no, no, no, Tom, Tom, think about it. It's 20% added this year. Compounded. And then next year, it's 20% added to 1200.
SPEAKER_02Which, by the way, I think compounding is one of the most important concepts in financial literacy that's not top.
SPEAKER_00It is, and it's one of the most dangerous when you owe money.
SPEAKER_02Well, yeah, on the other flip side, it's not good. Sure.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. All right. Are you ready for six? Yeah. You're doing well.
SPEAKER_02Not really.
SPEAKER_00You've only failed on one, and it was the one I kind of I really was shocked you failed, but that's okay. Anyway, I thought you'd totally get inflation. I really did. I I I don't know why I thought that.
SPEAKER_03As I said, I really
Insurance for Young Workers
SPEAKER_03enjoy this.
SPEAKER_00Now this one may be, this could be, this one could be problematic for you because it's about insurance, and that's not your area of expertise. So we're going to give you a break on this one. All right?
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Catherine is a single 25-year-old worker who is in good health. What type of insurance coverage is she most likely to need in the near term? A disability insurance. B life insurance. C. Long-term care insurance, or D, I wasn't paying any attention.
SPEAKER_02Well, I was paying attention. Um so life insurance, that doesn't sound likely. Long-term care insurance? I don't know. You're 25, probably not. So I'll have to X those two out and go with disability insurance.
SPEAKER_00So you sure you don't want to say D? Don't know.
SPEAKER_02Well, I don't know, but I'll go.
unknownOkay.
SPEAKER_00Congratulations. You got the bell. Only two more, and then you and then you get a reprieve. I am retiring at the end of all. You get a reprieve to for a QA.
Lottery Risk and Reward
SPEAKER_00All right. Seven. Comprehending risk. Come on, right up your alley. Yeah. Lottery A pays a prize of $200. And the chance of winning is 5%. So if you win You get $200, but you have to have a $2. Right.
unknownRight.
SPEAKER_00So the max there is $200. 1 20 chance of $200. Lottery B pays a prize of $90,000. Yeah. And the chance of winning is 0.01. Expected winnings are greater in which lottery? Lottery A, A, B, Lottery B, C, La they are equal. D, I haven't a clue.
SPEAKER_02Well, I'm gonna go. I I know I'm going out on a limb here. Please saw it off right after I'm on it. But um, always been my goal.
SPEAKER_00And actually the trees have been asking for that too.
SPEAKER_03I'll go with lottery. A Oh, thank God.
SPEAKER_00You are doing so well. And now we're down to our. We're down to our final question. Can I bring somebody in for my final question?
Final Advice Question
SPEAKER_00You know that applause was really weak. Hey, come on, audience, do a better job. We now have our final question. All right. This is this is much better. Thank you. Thank you very much. All right, here we go. Yeah. This is evaluating sources of information. Which of the following pieces of investment advice appears to be inappropriate for the respective individual? And that means the person named in the answer, Tom. That is the respective individual. Okay. The person mentioned in the answer, okay. Yep. A, a stock index fund to a 30-year-old worker saving for retirement.
SPEAKER_02Okay.
SPEAKER_00Is that inappropriate or appropriate? Don't answer.
SPEAKER_02Okay.
SPEAKER_00B, a stock fund that invests in small startup businesses to a 75-year-old retiree. I hate it.
SPEAKER_02They make 75 sound ancient better.
SPEAKER_00C. Well it is. A bond fund to a 60-year-old worker for some of her retirement savings, or I have no idea what this question even means.
SPEAKER_02Which of these three is inappropriate?
SPEAKER_00Which of the three is inappropriate?
SPEAKER_02That's inappropriate. So it's going to be B is in boy on that one. Okay, good.
unknownThank you.
SPEAKER_00Ladies and gentlemen, our final tally. Oh got seven answers correct. Oh. Which makes him smarter than a few people.
SPEAKER_03Not many, but a few.
SPEAKER_00Thank you. Thank you all. Thank you all for being a part of our game show. We appreciate you
Beyond the Quiz
SPEAKER_00oh so much.
SPEAKER_02And there's two things that I would add to this, the one because I think that are very important, all joking aside, when it comes to literacy. Compounding interest, because I looked this up. Well, it was there. It was just backward interest.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it wasn't very good. You know, if you took, I looked this up.
SPEAKER_02This is something everybody should know. 10,000 to start, 10% a year, which is I think hard to make. In 40 years, you have 452,000.
SPEAKER_00Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER_02That's all dramatic. People overlook that. So if you had a you know long work career, that's that's pretty amazing. The other one that I don't see on here is you do kind of, because they say, is it riskier to own one or many? Um Yeah, we have. But I still think the a better question is what makes you more over time? We've talked about this, but people still don't believe you. Is it in in I'll ask you, in order, what makes more stocks, real estate, or bonds? Has made you, I should say. What's what's put those in order, the three investments that have been. Wait a minute, which which will or which has? Which has. We can't say will because we don't know.
SPEAKER_00Okay, because it would it would be stocks in the past, but it might not be one forward.
SPEAKER_02And bonds, which put those in the correct order of requests. Stocks. Stocks.
SPEAKER_00Bonds and real estate are similar, but real estate probably a little higher.
SPEAKER_02No, bonds have made more.
SPEAKER_00Really? Darn it.
SPEAKER_02Oh yeah, but you're right, it is pretty close. Because real estate's made, I think, one percent over inflation.
SPEAKER_00About one percent over inflation, yeah.
SPEAKER_02So bonds have made about two percent over inflation long term.
SPEAKER_00So it's close. Is that all bonds? See, I really could get in the weeds on this one.
SPEAKER_02No, that's uh that's just yeah, just bonds, yeah.
SPEAKER_00No, no, but which bonds? Aggregate bonds, treasury bonds, corporate bonds, junk bonds? We'll say ag. We'll go with the ag. You don't even know. You don't know what the correct answer is, do you? See, therefore, I could have gotten that right.
SPEAKER_03I'll be
Listener Questions Begin
SPEAKER_03in trouble. All right. Uh shall we go questions?
SPEAKER_00Well, I gotta check and make sure we uh let's check our time. Yeah, we're great for a couple of questions. Perfect. So here are questions that were sent in at talkingrealmoney.com on the ask a question button there, and they were typed. And uh Tom reads them, and sometimes he actually gets on the horn with you, and we uh we we record those questions and play them during the podcast. So there's a lot of ways to get in touch with us. You can also speak your questions using the microphone button in the lower right-hand corner at talkingrealmoney.com. So please do that every now and again. Those go to the Friday QA podcast that I do every week, except holidays, and uh lately we've had some holidays, which means pretty much.
SPEAKER_02We have another one coming up Juneteenth, coming up here soon. Well, actually, that we have already passed. Hold on.
SPEAKER_00By the time the show is on the I told you yesterday's show was in July.
SPEAKER_02Good Lord, this is still May or something, isn't it? We're getting ahead, remember?
SPEAKER_00Okay. Uh whatever. Because Tom's on vacation? It's up to you. All right, we're should we restart. I think we uh we have uh another one of those coming up probably any second. But it that's good because it allows questions to build up because the questions over the summer kind of lighten, they dwindle a bit. So get send
Small-Cap Value Debate
SPEAKER_00those questions in. Go to talkingrealmoney.com and here's one of those that you typed.
SPEAKER_02Really good question from Chad in Delavan, Wisconsin. Subject. This time it's different.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it's not. Okay, I I don't even need to know the question. Okay, next it's not. Is it don't know? Is it not? No, it's no, it's an absolute, it is not different this time. Well, let me read the question. All right. Hi, Tom. I was doing my psychic answering.
SPEAKER_02The number of U.S. publicly traded small cap stocks has decreased 50 to 66 percent since the small value premium was introduced by Fama and French 30 years ago. I think it's been longer than that, but okay, we'll go we'll go with your number. The decrease is at least partially due to small companies being held by venture capital and private equity. I've heard I've heard other financial gurus on their podcasts opine that the premium to a small value tilt either no longer exists or has been significantly lessened because the small cap value companies are now privately held. What say you? Okay.
SPEAKER_00I've got some actual numbers here because I Yeah, and and the fact is that there are um just in the U.S. alone, just so you talk about a reduction. Well, how many large cap stocks are there in the U.S., Tom, roughly?
SPEAKER_02Well, let's start with how many stocks there are total. I think it's like is it like 7,000?
SPEAKER_00No, in the U.S.
SPEAKER_02I thought that was totally.
SPEAKER_00It's about 4,500.
SPEAKER_02Total U.S. total U.S. stocks. Okay.
SPEAKER_00So about 700 are large. Yep. About eight, nine hundred are mids.
SPEAKER_02So you're still left with a significant number.
SPEAKER_00Um small caps are somewhere around 1800, 2,000. Okay. Microcaps a thousand. Those are companies that are tiny but they're still publicly traded. There are st there are quite a few of them. Yeah. There are quite a few of them. And remember, the small cap benchmark is the Russell 2000, which, by the way, contains 2,000 stocks. Because it's the Russell 2000. But okay, a few of those are mid-caps, but come on.
SPEAKER_02What you're really asking is should I invest in the state? Is it different this time, yeah? Or should I not? Because the premium's dead. So I would I went back, by the way, first of all, this is from IFA.com. 99 years and four months of data. U.S. small cap value stocks, a 15% annualized return. U.S. core equity, 11.8. So that's a pretty substantial case.
SPEAKER_00Core equity, though, includes small cap.
SPEAKER_02Some small. Yes. Large is actually a little bit less than that. But let's just go with the last 27 years, 99 through April 2026. U.S. small cap value, 9.3% annualized U.S. large, 8.5. So almost a 1% annualized difference, which over, as I just said, compounding makes a big difference. So, and by the way, in in addition to that, I would still argue that it's fairly intuitive that small cap value stocks should make more because you're taking more risk. You should you're gonna get paid for taking that risk. So, no, we're not throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Yes, we continue to own small cap value and we overweight to it. And um it's not none of this changes my belief. I'll put it that way.
SPEAKER_00By the way, the the the the small cap value tilt factor was first elucidated. It wasn't discovered by, but but they they were the the the people who wrote about it, were uh Eugene Fama and Kenneth French. Fama's a Nobel Prize winner, French is a uh professor at Dartmouth. These are very smart people who did a lot of research, and they still, to this day, despite all this hooplaw about private equity, which is just uh it's it's a distraction, the premium, it doesn't have anything to do with how many small cap value stocks are out there. The premium is simply a compensation for the level of risk you're taking. That's all it is, that's all they'll tell you it is. So you can take that risk with a thousand stocks or five hundred stocks or two thousand stocks, and it still exists, but for long periods of time it hasn't existed. And then it returns. And by the way, twenty five to five years ago, that small value premium did vanish. It did. So it came roaring back recently.
SPEAKER_02What you said twenty-five to five years ago. I don't understand that.
SPEAKER_00Well, that means that recently, within the past five years, three well, actually two or three years, I was just broadening the scope a little. In the past few years, small value has roared back. Yeah. But it was underperforming for about a 20-year period, and everybody said, oh, small value premium, that's dead.
SPEAKER_0227 years still ahead by almost a percent a year.
SPEAKER_00So when it outperforms, it outperforms big.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Or half.
SPEAKER_02But what you said is I'm completely agreeing. You're taking more risk. You need to get paid to take that risk. Otherwise, people, you know, won't put their money there. So um, and by the way, when did you see when they actually start to finish the research on this? Wasn't that the 70s, I want to say, or something?
SPEAKER_00No. I think that's the same. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
SPEAKER_02Well, because um David Booth released their U.S. That was just that was indexing.
SPEAKER_00No, that was indexing 74.
SPEAKER_02That was David David Booth when he was with uh No, no, I'm talking about the small cap funded dimensional was 1981, is when they started it. So um when they published. It's been a while, I'll put it that way. But no, our opinion remains the same.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and and this, by the way, this came up about 30 years ago, this same spurious argument uh when we had acquisitions like crazy, when small companies were being bought up left and right. Everybody said, Well, we're we're we're running out of small caps because they're all being bought. Well, they st apparently they still exist because uh let's see, the paper, the cross section of expected returns, was published. In 1992, in the Journal of Finance. Okay. So we're looking at Yeah. Coming to the A. And then they followed up with another paper called Common Risk Factors on the Returns of Stocks and Bonds. That's when they introduced the three-factor model, which was market size and value. That was in 1993.
Gold Portfolios and Backtests
SPEAKER_00And their their data, all their U.S. data goes back to 1926. Yeah, that's when the research That's the period covered. But uh no, this is all just this is a bunch of people looking to break through the financial media noise. Yeah. So if you say something a little outrageous, you get attention.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Uh speaking of attention, should we give Matt some attention? He writes from Hyde Park, Utah. He says, Tom Adon, I listened to a recent podcast episode of Risk Parity Podcast that focused on best portfolios for drawdown with the highest safe withdrawal rate. The number one portfolio was the golden ratio portfolio. Uh the Boglehead three fund portfolio, way down at the bottom. I've included the chart. Love to hear you guys respond to this as I know you don't use gold, managed futures, and long-term treasuries in your portfolios. I think that's a good thing. It's golden something. No, no, the name of the portfolio is the same.
SPEAKER_00Oh, the golden butterfly. Which sounds dirty to me for some reason. I'm not sure. Let's just leave it there. Don't bring the golden butterfly home. Anyway. Oh my gosh, I just had uh never mind. I'm not even gonna say the vision that popped in. I wouldn't. This is open flies away. Um the golden butterfly would not have worked well prior to gold having its big run-up that it's gonna be. Which is had lately.
SPEAKER_02So also bugs are gonna say.
SPEAKER_00The golden butterfly would have stunk to high heaven if you owned it between 1980 and 2000.
SPEAKER_02Right. Gold was a good idea.
SPEAKER_00When gold was negative. Yeah. So these are all back-tested things, and you know, this is this is what data fiends do. And the guy who creates this is by the way, is an engineer and he's a data fiend. He loves data. And but the data can be misleading. It's the old adage, lies, damned lies, and statistics. Where's Disraeli when you need them? You can't you you can't judge what a portfolio might do based on what it has done in the past unless there is some scientific basis for that. And when it comes to adding gold to a portfolio or managed futures to a portfolio, there's very little peer-reviewed data to support that idea. So uh quit thinking so darn much.
SPEAKER_02Well, I again, I think if you if you're doing this on your own, you're gonna a three fund portfolio from the Bogleheads, probably fine. You're getting, you know, a global portfolio of stocks, you're getting some bonds to put the brakes on when things go down.
SPEAKER_00And I I looked at the list and my eyes glazed over because I mean Paul Merriman's right there in the back.
SPEAKER_03Is that all that glowy? Anyway.
SPEAKER_00I read it and I went through and I and and I looked at him and I went, you know, if I had the time, I and I which I don't, and I'm not gonna do, because I'm not a crazed data cruncher, but if I had the time, I could probably find that at various points, if you measured it at various points in time, those portfolio's positions shifted dramatically from one to another being the top performer. So And they will.
SPEAKER_02And but and don't, by the way, do not go home and try the golden butterfly. Uh it's just a bad idea. I I you know somebody could get hurt.
SPEAKER_00Well, you know, the other thing that came to mind, and this is gonna be I'm not gonna say what it is, but the other thing that came to mind was was Vikings. Did you watch that show? Yeah, that's but that's the one that's Do you remember the butterfly thing?
SPEAKER_02No, I don't remember that, so I don't want to.
SPEAKER_00That was a horrible, horrible torture. Oh, but it wasn't a golden butterfly.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, okay. That's true. Speaking of flitting from flower to flower. Before we ask you,
Book Plug and Closing
SPEAKER_02pollinating, I have a favor to ask all of you. All of you. Yeah. If I would like you all now to go to the certain website called Amazon.com. Never heard of it. Yeah. Uh oh, are this is this are you putting in a book plug for me? Yeah, I am. Uh really liked my book.
SPEAKER_00Tom bought 15 of them.
SPEAKER_02I've been giving them out to people. They love them. Um and then type in Civil War novels.
SPEAKER_04Or Civil War novels.
SPEAKER_02Your book.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_02Number two on my list. So then when it pops up, click on it and buy one. Let's keep Don high on the rankings here.
SPEAKER_00Here's what would help. If you really like it, and only if you really like it, if you don't like it, whatever. Uh leave a review. Those reviews really.
SPEAKER_02Because you only have two right now, I think, or something. You have two like a professional.
SPEAKER_00But the book's been the book's been out for a week?
unknownNo.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. At the time of this recording, yes. A little over a week when we recorded it. When you hear this, it'll it's been out about maybe a month. About that. Yeah, thank you, Tom. That was a very nice book.
SPEAKER_02The book is wonderful. It's a great story. It's right up there next to the book that I think you should compare it to, and that is a book called Killer Angels. Went by a guy named Sherra.
SPEAKER_00It was uh Was it Michael or Jeff?
SPEAKER_02I think I want to say it was the son. So I think that's Jeff. Jeff, yeah. So that's goes back 30 years ago? Long time. So great book. But Don's is equally good. So go there.
SPEAKER_00It's called The Line Uncrossed. You didn't say the name.
SPEAKER_02Oh, pardon me. That would help, wouldn't it?
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Uh anyway, the line uncrossed.
SPEAKER_00Because they're all gonna buy like the killer angels and go. That Don change his name?
SPEAKER_02That's not Don, is it Nom de Plume? Uh so take advantage of that. It's a great offer.
SPEAKER_00And don't try the nom de plume at home either.
SPEAKER_03You'll get hurt. You're old. Don't do it.
SPEAKER_00You gotta be young to pull off the nom de plume.
SPEAKER_03And the golden butterfly.
SPEAKER_00The golden butterfly.
SPEAKER_03Oh, I think we should have to be a lot of the same.
SPEAKER_00You know, actually, even if we were on the radio, we could have we could have gotten away with that. Yeah. Because we didn't say any bad words. We didn't make this an This does not deserve an E, Apple. Oh, by the way, when we got that E for that one episode, which we never figured out why, Apple just categorized it as explicit. Uh, I think it's because we say the name Tom Cock. I'm honestly thinking that's it.
SPEAKER_02Probably does. But they pulled it.
SPEAKER_00They went, oh, there's nothing explicit in this silly money podcast. No. So would it be? Ask questions at talkingrealmoney.com. Uh if you want some help, maybe you want to have a meeting with one of our advisors at Appello. Maybe you want to have a meeting with Tom. You know, and by the way, did you know you could do it for free?
SPEAKER_02You could do it for free. You know, we've been getting more meetings lately of uh people, our regular listeners saying, I really want you to talk to my dad or mom. Oh. Been kind of fun.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Oh, and are are they getting dad and mom in on the conversation?
SPEAKER_02We have a call and we say here's what the we look at the portfolio and here's things you should consider. It's been it's been interesting, yeah. So the what's the point of the thing? It's time to get rid of the insurance agent. No, we're not selling insurance agents.
SPEAKER_00Who's the brother-in-law? No, it's time to get rid of the uh advisor who works for the insurance company who's the relative.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Well, it's but it's Marge's nephew.
SPEAKER_02He's been a great guy for 35 years, and we only own six annuities. So um, but any of those things, and we're happy to help anybody. Because somebody else I just ran into uh outside of work and they're like, Will you do will you talk to me about this?
SPEAKER_03I talked to everybody.
SPEAKER_00So how do you do how do they do that though? How do they sign up to meet with you?
SPEAKER_02Oh, I I think you can just go to talkingrealmoney.com, click on meet an advisor, type my name in there.
SPEAKER_00People do it all the time. You wouldn't know because I don't think you've ever visited the site, but Yeah, I have actually. You did? You went to talkingrealmoney.com.
SPEAKER_02You don't remember why? Oh, I know why, because when you changed the pictures, I was unhappy. Remember, I wanted to go see the I don't like the new picture. Oh wait, of you? No. Well, no, of you. I don't care about your picture. I care about my picture. No, but the the picture of you is your it's your headshot, dude. I know. I didn't No, okay. I thought it was the one with you and I standing there. Oh, that's why Oh, that was there. That was that was the picture we took when we were uh with with Paul. I like ret I like pictures at least 10 years and older. You know that.
SPEAKER_00So Oh, it was because it's too recent.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, exactly. Because it makes you look your age. Exactly, which I don't like.
SPEAKER_03I read I admit all that fully. Come on. You know that.
SPEAKER_02So anyway, that's what I'm saying.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I just don't care. I truly don't care. But the but but I get the difference. I mean, right now Tom is wearing a uh pressed uh starched pressed shirt. That's true. With a with a blue-green tie. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Properly tied in a perfect Windsor. How about only half, though. Half Windsor. Yeah, I know. Yeah. And I, on the other hand, am wearing blue Amazon. Well, no, I have five or six blue teeth. I believe you do. Well, my my wife says that I should wear blue because of my my blue eyes. Oh. There we go. We gotta go now. This is just degenerating. Thanks for listening. We appreciate you being there. If if you want to torture your friends, tell them about the program. Make them listen too. I'm Don. That's Tom. And some of the time here on the podcast, we're talking real money.
SPEAKER_06The opinions and views expressed on this podcast were current on the date recorded. Opinions, estimates, forecasts, and statements of financial market trends that are based on current market conditions constitute our judgment and our subjects change without notice, including any forward-looking estimates or statements which are based on certain expectations and assumptions.
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SPEAKER_06Information presented on the podcast is not personalized investment advice from Oppello Wealth. The views and strategies described may not be suitable for everyone. This podcast does not identify all the risks, direct or indirect, or other considerations which might be material to you when entering any financial transaction. Past performance does not guarantee future results, and profitable results cannot be guaranteed. We hope you realize that the information provided on Talking Real Money is for informational, educational, and hopefully enjoyable purposes only. The podcast is not trying to get you to buy or sell any financial products or securities. Instead, the program is provided as a public service by Appello Wealth, a fee-only registered investment advisor.
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