The Dough Roller Money Podcast

There are three major tax preparation software packages on the market that most do-it-yourself tax preparers will use – TurboTax, TaxACT and H&R Block. Comparing these three options to find the cheapest can be a real chore. Each has several editions with varying features. As a result, it is important to compare competing editions between […]

The post The Cheapest Tax Software of 2016–TurboTax vs TaxAct vs H&R Block appeared first on The Dough Roller.

Direct download: DR_160--Tax_Software_Prices_Compared.mp3
Category: -- posted at: 8:00pm EDT

In what order should you pay down your debts? For those working hard to get out of debt, it’s an important question. Often we focus on either the amount of our debt or the interest rates. But what if the interest rate on a loan can change, either because it’s a variable rate or perhaps a […]

The post How to Use the Debt Avalanche with Variable Rate Loans appeared first on The Dough Roller.

Direct download: DR_159--Debt_Snowball_with_Variable_Rate_Debt.mp3
Category: -- posted at: 8:00pm EDT

Investing in a 401(k) plan at work can be a lot like eating at a cheap buffet. There are a lot of options, but they’re all bad. For those trying hard to keep investing costs down and to invest with a solid asset allocation plan, having bad options in a 401(k) or 403(b) is like finding […]

The post How to Make the Best of a Bad 401(k) appeared first on The Dough Roller.

Direct download: DR_158--Bad_401ks.mp3
Category: -- posted at: 8:00pm EDT

When you look at your investment portfolio, does Rube Goldberg come to mind? Goldberg was a Pulitzer Price winning cartoonist famous for drawing complicated contraptions designed to perform a simple task.  In fact, Webster’s New World Dictionary defines a “Rube Goldberg” as a “comically involved, complicated invention, laboriously contrived to perform a simple operation.”   […]

The post Was Your Portfolio Designed by Rube Goldberg? appeared first on The Dough Roller.

Direct download: DR_157--How_to_Simplify_Your_Asset_Allocation.mp3
Category: -- posted at: 8:00pm EDT

The tax implications of mutual funds and ETFs can make the tax code look simple. Unlike investing in individual stocks, mutual funds can generate capital gains even when you haven’t sold any shares of the fund. These distributions make asset location–whether to hold certain investments in taxable or retirement accounts–critical. To help us sort through […]

The post How to Limit Taxes from Mutual Funds and ETFs–An Interview with James Rowley of Vanguard appeared first on The Dough Roller.

Direct download: DR_156--Asset_Location_with_Vanguard.mp3
Category: -- posted at: 8:00pm EDT

Credit Card signup bonuses offer significant benefits.  Many cards offer bonus miles or points worth $400 or more in statement credit.  Other cards simply offer bonus cash or free airline tickets. A reader named Ben wrote to me recently asking about these bonuses: I’ve been curious about credit card sign on bonuses for a long […]

The post List of Credit Cards that Offer Signup Bonuses appeared first on The Dough Roller.

Direct download: DR_155--Credit_Card_Sign_Up_Bonuses.mp3
Category: -- posted at: 8:00pm EDT

Imagine that could use an online tool that could help you choose the asset allocation for your investments, whether in an IRA or a taxable account, reinvest all of your dividends, rebalance your portfolio as the value of your investments change, and perform even more complicated strategies, like tax loss harvesting. Now imagine that this tool […]

The post Interview With Herbert Moore of WiseBanyan appeared first on The Dough Roller.

Direct download: DR_154--WiseBanyan_Interview.mp3
Category: -- posted at: 5:35am EDT

Tax loss harvesting is one of the few free lunches in the world of investing. With a little planning, you can reduce or even eliminate your capital gains in any given year. In some cases, you may also get a deduction from ordinary income of up to $3,000. Tax Loss Harvesting, sometimes abbreviated TLH, has come […]

The post A Guide to Tax Loss Harvesting & Robo Advisors appeared first on The Dough Roller.

Direct download: DR_153--Tax_Loss_Harvesting.mp3
Category: -- posted at: 8:53pm EDT

So much of our lives are lived on autopilot. We go about each day pretty much the same way we lived the previous day, and likely how will live tomorrow. From our morning routine to our drive to work, to our coffee break mid-afternoon, to dinner with friends in the evening, our habits control many […]

The post 7 Ways to Harness the Power of Habit appeared first on The Dough Roller.

Direct download: DR_152-The_Power_of_Habit.mp3
Category: -- posted at: 9:22pm EDT

Two of the biggest robo advisors are Betterment and WealthFront.  At first glance they may appear to be virtually identical.  Both create diversified portfolios with similar low cost ETFs.  Both rebalance your portfolio, reinvest your dividends, and offer tax loss harvesting.  Both have slick, easy to use websites. But there are some significant differences between […]

The post Betterment vs. Wealthfront appeared first on The Dough Roller.

Direct download: DR_151-Betterment_vs_WealthFront.mp3
Category: -- posted at: 8:00pm EDT

There’s been a steady rise in “victim mentality” propaganda.  We hear it a lot from certain politicians who want to convince us that the “system” is rigged or that “income inequality” keeps us from improving our lot in life.  Some talk about wanting to give us a fighting chance, as if America hasn’t already served […]

The post Are 401(k) and IRAs a Fraud? appeared first on The Dough Roller.

Direct download: DR_150-Is_DIY_Retirement_a_Fraud.mp3
Category: -- posted at: 8:00pm EDT

With the start of the new year, January is the perfect time to evaluate your finances.  I did this recently, focusing on budgeting. I used to hate budgeting, but now I have a different view of it. I use YNAB, my favorite budgeting software, to make it easier. January is a natural re-set when it comes […]

The post 8 Budgeting Moves to Make for 2015 appeared first on The Dough Roller.

Direct download: DR_149-8_Budgeting_Moves_to_Make_for_2015.mp3
Category: -- posted at: 8:00pm EDT

The wave of robo-advisors (e.g., Betterment, WealthFront, Personal Capital) have one thing in common–they can’t manage your 401(k) investments. Today I have the opportunity to interview Chris Costello, the co-founder of Blooom. For $15 a month, Blooom will automate the process of selecting an asset allocation and rebalancing your 401(k) investments. It works with just […]

The post How to Automate Your 401k–An Interview with Blooom Founder Chris Costello appeared first on The Dough Roller.

Direct download: DR_148-Interview_with_Blooom_Co-Founder_Chris_Costello.mp3
Category: -- posted at: 8:25am EDT

A few weeks ago in the Dough Roller weekly newsletter I asked the following question: “What would you do if you came into $10,000?” I received a lot of answers.  What surprised me about the responses were how similar they were.  The varied in the specific details of how people would spend $10,000, but they shared […]

The post DR 147: 10 Ways to Invest $10,000 appeared first on The Dough Roller.

Direct download: DR_147-10_Ways_to_Invest_10000.mp3
Category: -- posted at: 10:22pm EDT

How can thinking small help you accomplish big things? Why do most new year’s resolutions fail? And how can you baby step your way to a better 2015? I’ve been spending some time thinking of ways to be more productive. And that’s not about accomplishing everything, but rather accomplishing the most important things. For example, […]

The post DR 146: The Power of Daily Goals (and 15 ideas to get you started) appeared first on The Dough Roller.

Direct download: DR_146-15_Daily_Goals.mp3
Category: -- posted at: 9:03am EDT

Investors today must make countless decisions. We have to decide on the type of account to open, where to open it, an asset allocation plan, specific investments, mutual funds vs. ETFs, and the list goes on. It can be overwhelming. This hit home for me recently when I received the following email from a reader: […]

The post DR 145: 6 Keys to Successful Investing appeared first on The Dough Roller.

Direct download: DR_145_-_6_Keys_to_Successful_Investing.mp3
Category: -- posted at: 8:00pm EDT

Choosing between competing financial priorities is one of the hardest things to do in all of personal finance. Over the years I’ve received countless email from readers asking variations of the same thing related to financial goals. Should you pay off all of your debts before you begin investing? Should you fully fund your retirement […]

The post DR 144: 6 Keys to Setting Financial Priorities appeared first on The Dough Roller.

Direct download: DR_144-6_Keys_to_Setting_Financial_Goals.mp3
Category: -- posted at: 8:59am EDT

It’s common financial advice to max out a 401k. Putting as much away in a tax advantaged account as possible is just smart financial planning. There is of course a limit to how much we can contribute each year to a workplace retirement plan. And that has some asking whether they should max out their […]

The post DR 143: Should You Max Out Your 401k Early in the Year? appeared first on The Dough Roller.

Direct download: DR_143--Should_You_Max_Out_401k_Early.mp3
Category: -- posted at: 8:00pm EDT

Your credit scores are never more important than when you are about to buy a home. That pesky 3-digit number can lower or raise your interest payments by tens of thousands of dollars over the life of a mortgage. So it was no surprise when a reader named Kelly sent me the following email: I […]

The post DR 142–How to Track All 3 of Your Credit Scores appeared first on The Dough Roller.

Direct download: DR_142-Track_All_3_Credit_Scores.mp3
Category: -- posted at: 8:00pm EDT

Financing a car is almost an automatic step. With the cost of the average car in the neighborhood of $32,000, very few people pay cash for a car. Yet this is just one of many times we shouldn’t go with the flow. There are plenty of reasons to pay cash for car, as well as […]

The post DR 141-6 Reasons to Pay Cash for a Car (and how to actually do it) appeared first on The Dough Roller.

Direct download: DR_141-6_Reasons_to_Pay_Cash_for_a_Car.mp3
Category: -- posted at: 8:00pm EDT

1