While college savings accounts like 529s provide some nice tax benefits, there are strings attached (including the dreaded 10% penalty for non-education related withdrawals).  In this episode of Grow Money Business we dive into how much parents should really be saving for their kids’ college education amid a changing landscape for education and student loans.  We also cover an interesting month in the markets and an article reviewing recent performance of single stock ETFs.

We’ve seen a massive amount of change in the federal government in the last month since Trump was inaugurated for his second term.  The threat of tariffs and inflation, DOGE’s dismantling of legacy government programs, and discussion of annexing Canada and Greenland has many people concerned.  This episode we cover the gamut from a financial perspective, including how investors should interpret what’s happening in Washington, whether we should be concerned about inflation in the near term, and how the markets have responded so far.

It’s been an interesting few weeks in the markets since President Trump’s inauguration. A Chinese company produced an AI chatbot that performs as well as U.S. competitors at a fraction of the cost. Nvidia’s stock lost 17% the following day after the company published its work, confirming the threat to Nvidia’s business model. We cover an article highlighting what this all means, review the outperformance of non-U.S. equities, and answer a listener question about whether they can retire early without having to touch their Roth accounts in this episode of Grow Money Business.

Should you be concerned that the market’s just made several all-time highs? This question comes up in various forms any time stock markets set new records. As tempting as it is to assume that what goes up must come down, the market doesn’t think that way. We cover this concept in detail in today’s episode, along with Vanguard’s recent 2025 market forecast and an update on how markets have done since the election.

A lot has happened in the markets over the last few weeks. In this episode we cover what’s new in the stock, bond, and crypto markets since the election, and to should expect from the Trump administration with regard to economic and tax policy.

This week on the show we field a listener question about whether their concern about government spending should be reflected in their investment portfolio. We also review an article about market efficiency / inefficiency, and provide an update on mortgage and long term bond rates.

Most Americans have at least some of their retirement savings sitting in workplace retirement plans like 401ks, 403bs, SEP-IRAs and the like. And when you leave a job, due to a retirement transition or not, many people wonder what they should do with the savings they’ve accumulated in the plans.

We’ve noticed that the more people tend to have in their retirement plans, the more reluctant they are to take action out of fear of making a mistake. In this episode of the podcast we’ll answer several questions about 401k rollovers:

· Should I keep my savings in the 401k or roll the funds into an IRA?

· Can I roll my 401k directly into a Roth IRA?

· My savings is in the Federal TSP. I’ve heard the plan is really good. Should I roll the funds into an IRA when I retire or stick with the TSP?

We’ll also review the logistics of 401k rollovers and how you can avoid major mistakes.

Downsizing from your large, long-held family home is a popular concept for retirees, but may not always be the best choice.  Even though smaller homes are less costly & easier to maintain, giving up your family's major meeting venue may not be the best choice.  This week we respond to a listener question on whether downsizing might be right for them, and cover Nvidia's recent earnings call and an article about the prevalence of gift card scams.

There are a ton of different ways to give to charity, but not all of them will help you on your taxes.  This week we cover a listener question about tax efficient charitable giving, and when it will or will not help you.  We also cover the recent interest reduction announcement and an article on the new etiquette of negotiating real estate commissions. 

Many retirees are concerned about the state of Social Security, and some of them even expect the program to crumble in the next few years. Does that mean you should get your money out now before it does? This week we respond to a listener question about by explaining what’s going on with Social Security, how long it’ll be before the Social Security trust runs out of money, and what will happen when it does. We also cover an article from Consumer Affairs about why car insurance premiums are rising so much, and review a very strong rebound in the markets.

Our guest this week is Tom Nally, who’s recently launched Tax Now to help taxpayers and their professionals navigate this landscape. The platform syncs up with the IRS database and simply notifies you when there are updates to your account. It’s a sorely needed tool, and Tom walks us through what he’s built and how the launch has gone.

We also cover an article about Trump’s interest in allowing the sitting president more control over monetary policy and summarize a volatile week in the markets.

Financial media love to create lists of the “best” and “lowest cost” states to retire in.  This week we answer a question about the differences between Tennessee, Texas, and Florida as retirement destinations, and what you should consider when relocating in retirement.

Early retirement is a popular goal for many, but actually making it happen can be challenging. One major obstacle is the early withdrawal penalty imposed to distributions from IRAs & 401ks before 59 ½ years of age.

This week on the show we answer a listener question about how to navigate this landscape and a few possible workarounds. We also cover whether index investing has impacted the markets, and an article about how inflows to hot investment funds can falsely influence performance numbers.

Early retirement is a popular goal for many, but actually making it happen can be challenging. One major obstacle is the early withdrawal penalty imposed to distributions from IRAs & 401ks before 59 ½ years of age.

This week on the show we answer a listener question about how to navigate this landscape and a few possible workarounds. We also cover whether index investing has impacted the markets, and an article about how inflows to hot investment funds can falsely influence performance numbers.

One question we get a lot is why we’d ever want to invest in countries other than the U.S. The U.S. stock market has done far better than other countries recently. It’s the biggest national market in the world. The U.S. has the strongest, most resilient economy. And the U.S. dollar is the world’s reserve currency. Why would we ever want to invest anywhere else?

This week on the show we cover this question in detail, June’s inflation data, and an article on the impact that inflation has on bond markets.

Bitcoin ETFs are here! Should you be investing in them? One of our listeners reached out this week to ask whether they’d be a good fit for his retirement account now that he’s back to making contributions. We cover the back to front of bitcoin ETFs and whether he should them for his accounts. We also cover an article about new business starts post COVID, and an update on the legal mess Keith Gill aka “Roaring Kitty” is finding himself in.

This week we cover a listener question about how to handle an inheritance of $850,000. Jason recently dropped the question in our mailbag after receiving the inheritance unexpectedly. He and his wife are in a stable financial situation and aren’t sure what to do next. Grant shares his thoughts on what the couple should do.

We also review an article in The Atlantic covering whether monetary policy actually works in practice, and the presidential debate after a relatively quiet week in the markets.

Our guest on the show this week is Jeremy Harbour. Jeremy has been involved in the M&A market across the globe for decades. He’s the founder and CEO of the Unity Group, a boutique international mergers & acquisitions firm. He also runs the Harbour Club, a professional network focused on teaching M&A best practices to entrepreneurs. Jeremy shares with us the do’s and don’ts and buying and selling businesses after dozens of successes and failures he’s had over the years. We also cover an article by Global Financial Data that reviews concentration in the US stock market today compared other periods dating back to the late 1700s.

We dedicated this week’s episode to another mailbag question from our listeners related to tax withholdings.  Here in the U.S., most people set some money aside throughout the year from their income and/or estimated tax payments, to be put toward their income tax bill for the year.  Then they cross their fingers when it comes time to file their return, hoping that they don’t owe any more than what they’ve set aside.

In this week’s episode Grant covers the ins and outs of tax withholdings, and answers a listener’s question on whether they should adjust their withholdings for 2024. 

Michelle Seiler Tucker is back on the show this week to discuss how higher interest rates have impacted the market climate for business sales.  Michelle is the best selling author of Exit Rich and has been in the M&A business for over 20 years (selling over 1,000 business over that time frame).  She shares a few basics of what business owners can do now to set themselves up for future success, as well as how the buyer’s perspective has changed.

We also cover some market news.  Gamestop has been in the news recently after Keith Gill, aka “Roaring Kitty” posted screenshots of his holdings and announced a YouTube livestream last week.  Gamestop proceeded to make a surprise earnings announcement, in addition to a secondary share offering after seeing it’s price jump over the last two weeks.