How a Second Grader Beats Wall Street | Allan Roth | 033
Catching Up to FI: Financial Independence for Late Starters
Release Date: 09/03/2023
Catching Up to FI: Financial Independence for Late Starters
What if the biggest shift in your FI journey isn't hitting the number—but finally realizing you need a life plan, a tax plan, and maybe even a fiduciary teammate to help you spend it? Bill steps into the guest chair with Morningstar's Christine Benz for a thoughtful, surprisingly candid conversation about going from financially illiterate "rich doctor syndrome" to fully conscious wealth stewardship. He walks through the entire arc. But this episode goes deeper than a standard "how I retired" story. This episode covers: ➡️ Bill's path from paycheck-to-paycheck physician to...
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What happens when the two co-hosts stop being polite, start being honest, and publicly debate the money moves they still don't agree on? We throw open the doors on four of our favorite friction points: Simple index-fund investing versus "modest complexity" Whether high school personal finance classes are actually helping What to make of the new 530A Trump accounts Taking Social Security at 62 versus waiting The fun here is that neither of us is playing a character. Jackie comes in swinging for simplicity, practical execution, and "please stop overcomplicating this...
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What if the real reason family wealth disappears by the third generation has almost nothing to do with investing, and everything to do with what parents fail to teach at home? We sit down with Dr. Julia Myers, founder of Generational Wisdom, for a conversation that goes way past trusts, spreadsheets, and "someday" estate plans. Julia shares the medical crisis that abruptly ended her pharmacy career, the mindset shift that followed, and why she now believes legacy is not what you leave to your kids, but what you leave IN them. Together we unpack the three silent killers of generational wealth:...
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APRIL IS FINANCIAL LITERACY MONTH! What do you get when two late starters hand the mic to two twenty-somethings and let the money questions fly? In this unusually fun follow-up to the University of Tennessee classroom visit, we bring Dr. Karen DeLong and two of her students, Emilie and Britton, onto the podcast to tackle the real questions young adults ask when money stops being theoretical and starts getting personal. Emilie – Majoring in Finance and International Business with a minor in Agricultural Business and will be pursuing a career in Wealth Management. Britton – Interning with...
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APRIL IS FINANCIAL LITERACY MONTH! What happens when you hand a room full of almost-graduates a microphone, a few $2 bills, and permission to ask the money questions most adults still avoid? In this special on-the-road episode, we take you inside the financial literacy presentation at the University of Tennessee to share a few highlights of our recent talk. It's energetic, imperfect, and deeply encouraging. Financial literacy doesn't have to be stiff or scary. Sometimes it just looks like showing up, telling the truth about your mistakes, and helping the next person get a much earlier start...
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APRIL IS FINANCIAL LITERACY MONTH! What if one passionate professor, one classroom, and a few brave money questions could change hundreds of financial lives before graduation? We head to Knoxville for a special Financial Literacy Month episode with Dr. Karen DeLong, the University of Tennessee professor quietly doing the work most schools still don't: making sure students leave campus with more than a degree. Karen shares how three advanced degrees somehow included zero personal-finance education and how that gap pushed her to build an annual money session for her students. Bill and Jackie...
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April is Financial Literacy Month and we're starting a little early! That's because we are so excited to launch a new project called "The Great 401(k) Cleanup." What if the easiest way to boost your retirement odds this year isn't reducing your spending or a side hustle, but cleaning up that messy, confusing 401(k) you've been ignoring? We are using Financial Literacy Month to launch a full-on 401(k) intervention with a step-by-step guide including: Access From Home Contributions Beneficiaries Investments Rate of Return What’s Next 401(k)s and...
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What if the best retirement advice didn't come from a spreadsheet—but from a real retiree saying, "I wish I'd done it sooner"? Jackie crosses over to "REAL Retirees: Uncut" for a refreshingly candid, walk through of what six years of early retirement have actually looked like. She also shares her top five reasons to retire early, from time freedom and better mental health to the surprising new opportunities that open up when your job no longer runs your calendar. And because this is still Catching Up to FI, she closes with a message straight to late starters: most people wake up later than...
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What if you were already financially independent at 40… and didn’t realize it until a random pension search and a couple of podcasts blew the whole thing open? This was Jaylynn's "Surprise FI" and he joins the show to take us blow by blow. He gives us look back to his childhood of money orders, loving parents, and “value over flash” shaped him. He shares how he went from thinking the stock market was gambling to maxing out a 401(k), building a brokerage account, and accidentally discovering he had already hit FI in his forties. But this isn’t just a “run the numbers and quit”...
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Today we’re putting AI (Artificial Intelligence) to the test with AI money expert Jeffrey Trull. He's founder of the blog and newsletter, Money Meets AI where he shares tested prompts for your money. He joins us to sort the genuinely useful from the wildly overhyped when it comes to AI. We expand our conversation into prompts, privacy, hallucinations, portfolio questions, Google vs. ChatGPT, paid vs. free tools, and where AI can actually save real time for DIYers. Along the way, Bill wrestles with the tradeoff between efficiency and original thought, Jackie pushes the "AI as thought partner"...
info_outlineAllan Roth is the founder of Wealth Logic, LLC, an hourly-based Investment Advisory and Financial Planning firm that uses behavioral finance, logic, and data to develop a financial approach that will produce significantly higher real returns than most investors for their desired level of risk.
He has been working in the investment world for 25 years in corporate finance and also has additional decades of experience in portfolio construction and performance benchmarking.
Allan takes pride in being mocked on a semi-regular basis by some financial professionals for his hourly fee model and its apparent inability to make him rich. He is also the author of How A Second Grader Beats Wall Street and writes for AARP, Barron’s, ETF.com, Advisor Perspectives, and others. Allan has taught investments and behavioral finance at the University of Denver, Colorado College, and the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs and currently teaches continuing education classes on the subject to CPAs, attorneys, and CFP® certificants. Despite the many credentials he has earned, Allan claims he can still keep investing simple and “dares us to be dull” and think like second graders in our investing. His professional goal is never to be confused with Jim Cramer.
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Resources mentioned on the show:
Wealth Logic - Dare to be Dull
How a Second Grader Beats Wall Street by Allan Roth
The Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of America's Wealthy by Thomas J. Stanley
Predictably Irrational by Dr. Dan Ariely
How to Think About Money by Jonathan Clements
The Four Pillars of Investing: Lessons for Building a Winning Portfolio by William J. Bernstein
Common Sense on Mutual Funds by John C. Bogle
Fama and French's Three-Factor Model
Open Social Security: Free, open-sourced Social Security strategy calculator
The Long View Podcast Episode: I Embrace Dumb Beta with Allan Roth
Catching Up to FI Episodes 008 & 009: We're Talking Millions! With Paul Merriman
Winning the Loser's Game: Timeless Strategies for Successful Investing by Charles D. Ellis
Disclaimer: We are not lawyers, financial advisors, accountants or tax experts. Please consult your own professional advisors before making any important decisions. Our content is for entertainment and education purposes only.