Motley Fool Answers

We have a new address, and I'm not talking post cards! Going forward you can catch Bro and Alison every Tuesday as part of the new Motley Fool Money podcast. Here's a sneak peek of what you can expect from the daily show, starting on January 5, 2022. See you there! Subscribe on Spotify Subscribe on Apple Podcasts Or find us on your favorite podcast app!

It’s the last episode of Answers (but don’t worry, we’re just moving to Motley Fool Money every Tuesday). We’ll reminisce on our biggest lessons learned over the last seven years and answer your questions, some financial, some festive.

Motley Fool Analyst Bill Mann joins us to talk about why the market is up but your portfolio may be down. We’ll share some big news and battle our online shopping demons. Pretty please take our survey on what you want to hear on the show! https://www.foolinsights.com/se/04BD76CC18830996

Tens of millions of workers contribute to 401(k)s, thanks to a benefits consultant who got creative with a 1978 law. That consultant, Ted Benna, joins us to talk about how he came up with the idea, how he got Uncle Sam’s seal of approval, and the ways that Wall Street have abused the 401(k). He also discusses his new book, “401(k)s and IRAs for Dummies,” including why he thinks Roths are over-sold and his recommendations for retirement plans for small business and the self-employed.

The financial planner’s financial planner talks Roths, asset location, and managing sequence of returns risk. He also tells the story of how he got into the financial advice biz, and offers some career-development and time-management advice.

Alison asks Bro 10 burning questions about inflation, including why it's so high, is it worse in the U.S., and what can be done about it — both nationally and in your portfolio. And Fool analyst Aaron Bush answers a listener question about choosing the new Bitcoin futures ETF over actual Bitcoin.

Alison and friends share some investing lessons from listeners, Bro interviews Sheryl Garrett, founder of the Garrett Planning Network, about finding the right fee-only planner for your circumstances, and we answer a listener question about I bonds and their current 7.12% yield.

Motley Fool Analyst Eric Bleeker joins us with his advice to avoid getting burned when investing in crypto. Bro interviews Bill Schultheis, author of The Coffeehouse Investor's Ground Rules: Save, Invest, and Plan for a Life of Wealth and Happiness. And we answer your question on picking which stocks to sell when you need the cash to buy a home (or whatever, it’s none of our business).

Morningstar’s Director of Personal Finance, who has twice been named to Barron’s list of "100 Most Influential Women in U.S. Finance," explains how she builds her model portfolios, how people should approach the long-term care conundrum, how to close the gender gap in finance, and what she learned from her “faux-tirement.”

We’ll argue the bear and bull case for investing in Facebook with the help of Jason Moser and his alter ego. Robert explores a more holistic approach to evaluating your expenses with the help of financial planner Matt Trogdon. We’ll answer your question about capital gains taxes and include one too many U2 references.

Foolish analysts share the stock that taught them their biggest investing lesson. Bro interviews saving for college expert Mark Kantrowitz about… well, saving for college. And we answer your questions about options for rolling over your old 401k.

Americans are quitting their jobs at record rates and we discuss how to thrive amidst this existential labor crisis. Bro explains the work to retirement ratio for saving enough and we’ll answer your question about building up cash in a frothy market.

Wade Pfau is one of America’s top financial-planning experts and the author the recently published Retirement Planning Guidebook: Navigating the Important Decisions for Retirement Success. Bro talks with Wade about how to coordinate your portfolio, Social Security, home equity, insurance, and different types of accounts to create dependable income that lasts as long as you do.

Chinese stocks are down 14% so far this year, Motley Fool analyst Ben Ra joins us to explain why. The Ascent’s Brian Frey shares the buttery soft red flags of a pyramid scheme. And we answer Adam’s question on which types of stocks belong in which types of accounts.

The Motley Fool’s Chief Investing Officer shares his latest thinking on the market, get more out of your spending with Values Based Budgeting, and we answer Ken’s question on when to take Social Security.

We’ll unpack how banking and managing your money can be much more expensive to do when you’re poor. Bro interviews Roger Young of T. Rowe Price about determining whether you’re saving enough for retirement. And we answer a question from a generous sister.

The National Retirement Risk Index measures how many Americans will be able to maintain their standard of living after retirement. Are you at risk? We'll find out today as Bro goes right to the source, with special guest Geoffrey Sanzenbacher from The Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.

Alison explains hipster antitrust and wonders how we should feel as investors and consumers, Bro shares the five rules for the Roth five-year rules, listener David asks how to choose what to sell under the 4% Rule.

Back to vault! In this episode, then-CFO of The Motley Fool (now Managing Director of Motley Fool Ventures), Ollen Douglass, joined us to share his advice for how to negotiate your bills (and more!). Alison was mean to a vegan for no good reason while Dayana Yochim shared etiquette for splitting the dinner tab.

In this episode from the vault, Morgan Housel joined us to talk about how to keep your emotions from sinking your wealth. We also discussed recent (lol, 2015!) allegations about Amazon’s toxic workplace culture.