What Are Trump Accounts (And Should You Set One Up for Your Kids)
Release Date: 01/28/2026
What I Look for Before Trusting a Financial Influencer
Money Ripples Podcast
Start making passive income here: Have you ever noticed how financial influencers, or “finfluencers,” seem to be everywhere on social media right now? Scroll Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube and you’ll see people yelling about debt, promising overnight wealth, or claiming they’ve cracked the financial code. The real question is this: how do you know who to trust? In this episode, I pull back the curtain and walk you through exactly how I personally evaluate financial influencers. I’m not here to tell you who to follow or unfollow. Instead, I want to show you how to think...
info_outline
Is Self Storage the Trending Investment in 2026: with Alex Pardo
Money Ripples Podcast
Start making passive income here: Is self-storage investing the place we should be going as we head into 2026? That’s exactly what I’m digging into in this episode with returning guest Alex Pardo. Alex isn’t just a storage operator, he’s done nearly a thousand single-family transactions, built a real estate wholesaling business, and then made a bold pivot in 2020 into self-storage. And if you’ve felt like real estate has been rough the last few years, you’re not alone. I wanted this conversation because I’ve been watching the storage space closely, and I’m asking the...
info_outline
What Are Trump Accounts (And Should You Set One Up for Your Kids)
Money Ripples Podcast
Start making passive income here: What are these new Trump accounts, and are they actually a smart move for your kids’ financial future? That’s the question I’m answering in today’s episode, because while these accounts are being marketed as an incredible opportunity, there are some serious downsides you need to understand before you jump in. The Trump account was introduced as part of the so-called “big, beautiful bill” passed in the summer of 2025. It’s being promoted as a way to give kids a financial head start, almost like a hybrid between a 529 college savings plan...
info_outline
I'm Reconsidering the AI Stock Bubble - Is a 2026 Boom Coming?
Money Ripples Podcast
Start making passive income here: Are my 2026 market predictions wrong? Is there still an AI-driven stock market boom ahead of us, or are we getting dangerously close to another major correction? In this episode, I challenge my own assumptions and break down why some of Wall Street’s biggest institutions believe the bull market is far from over and why I’m still not convinced. I walk you through recent analyst predictions from major financial firms like Goldman Sachs, UBS, and other institutional strategists who argue that the stock market isn’t in a bubble. Their...
info_outline
Will AI Replace Your Job? How to Protect Your Career by Operating in Your Genius
Money Ripples Podcast
Start making passive income here: Is AI really the beginning of the end for jobs or is this one of the biggest opportunities we’ve ever seen? That’s exactly what I dive into in this episode with my longtime friend and former college roommate, Aaron Matthews, a fractional CTO/COO with over 21 years of leadership experience across healthcare, insurance, and technology. Everywhere you look, the headlines are screaming that AI is taking jobs. Engineers are being laid off. Middle managers are disappearing. Entire roles are being redefined. But the real question isn’t whether AI is...
info_outline
Do Trump’s Credit Card Caps and Housing Crackdowns Actually Hurt Americans
Money Ripples Podcast
Start making passive income here: President Donald Trump is making big promises as he approaches his one-year mark: banning institutions from buying real estate, capping credit card interest rates, and even talking about firing Jerome Powell. If you’ve been hearing these headlines and wondering, “Is this actually good for the economy, or are we about to make things worse?” this episode is my straight-shooting breakdown of what happens next and why these ideas won’t do what people think they’ll do. Let me be clear: this isn’t a pro-Trump or anti-Trump rant. I’m not...
info_outline
The Teen Who Made $250K Before Graduation And How Your Kid Can Learn the Same Skills
Money Ripples Podcast
Your future doesn’t start after school, it starts now. 7F Teenage Tycoon teaches teens how money works, how businesses are built, and how real wealth is created. Tap the link and become a Teenage Tycoon today - Start making passive income here: We talk a lot about building wealth, passive income, and freedom but the real question, especially as parents, is how do we teach our kids to do the same? In this episode, I sit down with Bill Allen, founder of Seven Figure Flipping, to talk about raising financially confident kids who understand money, business, and opportunity. Bill...
info_outline
She Escaped Soviet Hardship, Lost $100K… and Still Built the American Dream
Money Ripples Podcast
Start making passive income here: All of us have hard times. The real question is: how do you bounce back when the setback hits you financially, emotionally, and personally all at once? In today's episode, I sit down with Tatiana Zagarovsky, whose story is the kind that makes you rethink what you’re capable of when life punches you in the face. Tatiana immigrated to the United States after growing up in the Soviet Union, where entrepreneurship was treated like a crime and “capitalists” were painted as villains. She later immigrated again through Israel, built a successful career...
info_outline
After Losing My Dad… This Is the Money Wisdom I Can’t Stop Thinking About
Money Ripples Podcast
Start making passive income here: So many of you have heard the story of my father before, whether it was here on the Money Ripples podcast or inside my book, The Work Optional Blueprint. But after my dad passed away just a few weeks ago, there’s one piece of advice he gave me about money that hasn’t stopped echoing in my head. And today, I felt compelled to share it with you. My father was the definition of a penny-pinching saver. Raised after the Great Depression, he believed deeply in saving everything possible. He bought things on sale, avoided debt at all costs, and...
info_outline
The Most Hands-Off Turnkey Strategy Yet And What Bonds Have to Do With It
Money Ripples Podcast
Start making passive income here: You hear us talk about real estate all the time on this show but what most people don’t realize is that the bond market may be one of the biggest hidden forces influencing real estate returns right now. In today's podcast episode, I sit down with Jeremy Watson, CEO of Bedrock Investment Property, a longtime investor and entrepreneur who has been investing since 2006, has helped buy and sell 5,000+ properties, and has completed four business exits. Jeremy also spent a decade in the financial advice world, reviewing hundreds of millions of dollars’...
info_outlineStart making passive income here: https://bit.ly/4pWnc1c
What are these new Trump accounts, and are they actually a smart move for your kids’ financial future?
That’s the question I’m answering in today’s episode, because while these accounts are being marketed as an incredible opportunity, there are some serious downsides you need to understand before you jump in.
The Trump account was introduced as part of the so-called “big, beautiful bill” passed in the summer of 2025. It’s being promoted as a way to give kids a financial head start, almost like a hybrid between a 529 college savings plan and a retirement account. The government even kicks things off with a $1,000 contribution for children born between January 1, 2025 and the end of 2028. Sounds great on the surface, right?
But once you dig into the details, things get a lot murkier. In this episode, I break down exactly how Trump accounts work, including contribution limits, taxation, investment restrictions, and withdrawal rules. While you can contribute up to $5,000 per year per child, all of that money goes in after tax, grows tax deferred, and then gets taxed again when withdrawn. That’s right double taxation. And if the money is used for non-qualified purposes, there’s also a 10% penalty on top of that.
We also talk about how these accounts are locked into stock market index funds, meaning there is zero flexibility. You can’t invest in real estate, private lending, gold, Bitcoin, or any other alternative assets. You’re forced into the market whether it’s a good time or not, which raises a big red flag for me as someone who teaches control, flexibility, and cash flow.
I also explain why the administration is pushing these accounts so hard, how political incentives play a role, and why these accounts feel more like a popularity grab than a truly helpful financial solution.
When you compare Trump accounts to alternatives like a Roth IRA for kids or even better, properly structured whole life insurance you’ll see that there are far more efficient ways to build wealth without market volatility, penalties, or government rule changes.
I walk you through the pros and cons, the hidden dangers, and what I believe is a far superior strategy for parents who want certainty, tax advantages, and true financial control for their children.
If you’ve been considering Trump accounts or just heard the hype, this is a must-listen before you make a decision you might regret later.