The Dough Roller Money Podcast

We face countless personal finance decisions every day. They range from the seemingly trivial (should we go out for dinner) to the more impactful (how much should we spend on a home). Yet each of these decisions work together to over a lifetime to define our finances. Over the course of running this blog since […] The post DR 089: 12 Keys to Making Smart Financial Decisions (#7 is a Doozy) appeared first on The Dough Roller.

Recently a number of listeners to the podcast have asked about evaluating real estate investments. They want to know how much rent they would need to charge for a specific property to make it a “good” investment. The good news is that evaluating the numbers is really simple. Today we’ll look at 3 key ratios […] The post DR 088: 3 Key Ratios to Evaluate Real Estate Investments (#1 is All You Really Need) appeared first on The Dough Roller.

You’ve probably heard a lot of stories recently about new graduates with mountains of student loan debt. It’s not uncommon to hear of students with $100,000+ in school loans. Today I wanted to share a success story with you that bucks this trend. This story is about a young woman who made different choices when […] The post DR 087: How Natalie Graduated Debt-Free, Paid Cash for a Car, and Bought a Home (She’s Only 24!) appeared first on The Dough Roller.

Recently I’ve started receiving the Morningstar Portfolio Monitor. It’s a monthly pdf that Morningstar puts together for premium members who track their portfolio using Morningstar’s Portfolio Manager. Simply put, it’s an amazing look into an investment portfolio. In this article we’ll walk through a detailed review of the Portfolio Monitor (including screenshots). At the end […] The post DR 086: How to Spy on Your Own Investment Portfolio appeared first on The Dough Roller.

Many people keep some form of a budget. We use our favorite budgeting tool, YNAB. Others use a spreadsheet or pen and paper. Whatever the approach, a budget helps you understand your income and expenses. Fewer people track their net worth. A net worth statement tracks your assets and liabilities. It’s the scorecard of personal […] The post DR 085: How Your Budget and Net Worth Statements Work Together to Build Wealth appeared first on The Dough Roller.

It’s a good problem to have. You’ve maxed out your 401k and IRA contributions for the year and you still have some more cash to invest. What are your options? That’s the situation a reader named Harout recently emailed me about: I am a little obsessed with your podcasts. I listen to about one a […] The post DR 084: Where To Invest When You’ve Maxed Out Contributions To Retirement Accounts appeared first on The Dough Roller.

Have you ever wondered how professional bloggers get started and make a living? Blogs don’t just spring up overnight. They take months – even years – of hard work. But the work can be well worth the rewards, if you do it right. The best way to learn about starting a blog is to talk […] The post DR 083: How to Blog for a Living – An Interview with Bob Lotich of ChristianPF appeared first on The Dough Roller.

Exactly how much should you be saving for retirement? It seems that everybody has an opinion on this deceptively simple question. Actually, it is simple to answer, so long as you understand the implications of your choices. To address this question, we are going to look at the standard rules of thumb on retirement savings. […] The post DR 082: How Much Should You Be Saving for Retirement? appeared first on The Dough Roller.

Do you have student loans? Do you know someone who does? If you answered “yes,” then check out this interview with Andrew Josuweit, one of the founders of Student Loan Hero. It’s an excellent tool to help graduates organize their student debt, manage payments, and – hopefully – get out of debt faster. Topics Covered […] The post DR 081: Take Control of Your Student Loans with Student Loan Hero (An Interview) appeared first on The Dough Roller.

It’s official. Credit scores are the most confusing aspect of personal finance. The FICO formula remains largely a mystery. And don’t get me started on the multiple versions of credit scores out there. By one account, you may have 49 different FICO scores, not to mention dozens of credit scores calculated using non-FICO formulas. So […] The post DR 080: How to Build Credit When You Are Just Starting Out (the Smart Way) appeared first on The Dough Roller.

If you are in the market to buy your first or next home, a HUD home could potentially save you tens of thousands of dollars on the purchase price. While buying a HUD Home can save you a lot of money, there are some things to watch out for. In this article we’ll cover the […] The post DR 079: HUD Homes–Saving Big Money with HUD Foreclosures appeared first on The Dough Roller.

As regular readers know, I’m a big believer in DIY investing. One of my goals for this site, my free weekly newsletter, and the podcast, is to arm investors with the information they need to invest on their own. Some folks, however, will still want some help. For these folks, my goal is to promote […] The post DR 078: Are Low Cost Investment Advisors a Myth? [Interview with Mitch Tuchman of Rebalance IRA] appeared first on The Dough Roller.

One of the great things about producing a podcast are the emails I receive from listeners. Recently a listener named Kate emailed me about the 50-20-30 budget. One thing led to another, and now Kate and her fiancé Trevor are guests on the show. Kate and Trevor’s story was so inspiring that I wanted to […] The post DR 077: Teamwork for Your Budget – An Interview with Listeners Kate and Trevor appeared first on The Dough Roller.

It’s a hotly debated question. Is it better to buy or rent? We covered this question in detail in Podcast 59. Many argue that buying is best because on average homeowners have a higher net worth than renters. Rather than looking at averages, however, today we are going to look at an actual case study. […] The post DR 076: Is a Home a Good Investment? The Numbers Will Surprise You appeared first on The Dough Roller.

Recently I reviewed what Dave Ramsey calls his Endorsed Local Providers (ELPs). As I was doing research for that review I learned of Dave’s view that historically the S&P 500 has returned 12%. I also learned that he believes it will continue to do so over the long run. This was curious to me for […] The post DR 075: The Reality of Dave Ramsey’s 12% ‘Reality’ (and why it really matters) appeared first on The Dough Roller.

Many have said that Robert Kiyosaki’s ‘Rich Dad, Poor Dad’ book is a piece of fiction. Apparently, he never had a rich dad and a poor dad as described in his book, or at least that’s what many believe. But I did. My parents divorced before I was two, and both remarried. My father, who […] The post DR 074: My Real Life ‘Rich Dad, Poor Dad’ appeared first on The Dough Roller.

Next to the tax code, differential equations, and why Gilligan and the other castaways could never get off the island, annuities are really difficult to grasp. Frankly, any time you mix insurance products with investing products the result is ugly. Yet annuities can be a smart way to save for retirement and to generate income […] The post DR 073: Annuities 101–Interview with Tim Holmes of Vanguard appeared first on The Dough Roller.

When it comes to mortgages and credit scores, there are two really important questions to ask: What credit score do I need to qualify for a mortgage? What credit score do I need to get the lowest interest rate on a mortgage? These different but related questions are important if you are looking to buy […] The post DR 072: What Credit Score do You Need to Buy a Home? appeared first on The Dough Roller.

I‘ve always been suspicious of dollar-cost averaging. With DCA, rather than investing the cash you have all at once, you invest chunks of it over time. For example, you might invest $12,000 over the course of a year, $1,000 each month. In contrast, with lump sum investing, you’d put the full $12,000 to work right […] The post DR 071: Dollar-Cost Averaging Versus Lump Sum Investing–Which is Best? appeared first on The Dough Roller.

Several years ago I met Betterment’s founder and CEO, Jon Stein. At the time, Betterment was just getting started, and we had a chance to talk about what Betterment offered investors. Since then Betterment has grown significantly, with over $500 million under management. To find out what is new and to learn more about Betterment, […] The post DR 070: Investing Made Easy – An Interview with Betterment Founder Jon Stein appeared first on The Dough Roller.