Investing from Nothing

In 1966, a retiree began drawing four percent a year from savings while the Dow crept toward one thousand. In this episode we look at how much you can safely pull from your savings each year in retirement, and at where the four percent rule really came from. We also look at what the stretches of history that nearly broke it show about that rule. Finally we look at what a sensible retiree can do to keep that yearly check steady. This episode was created with artificial intelligence: AI-assisted script and AI-generated (synthetic) voice.

One day the market jumped eleven percent while the headlines still screamed disaster, and that's where we start. In this episode we look at whether you can step aside during the scary stretches and hop back in at the right moment, and how the best and worst days really work. The long record shows how closely those days sit together and what a handful of them are worth to a ten thousand dollar investment. Finally, we look at what a sensible investor can do about it. This episode was created with artificial intelligence: AI-assisted script and AI-generated (synthetic) voice.

We start in the spring of two thousand eight, when funds named for the year twenty ten lost about a quarter of their value and the people holding them were only two years from retiring. In this episode we look at what actually sits inside a fund with a year in its name, and how the glide path really works. The record shows that funds carrying the very same year held very different amounts of stock. Finally, we look at what a sensible investor can check in ten minutes. This episode was created with artificial intelligence: AI-assisted script and AI-generated (synthetic) voice.

A retired man in Tokyo checks the same number every morning for thirty years, and the market behind it had fallen about eighty percent from its peak near thirty eight thousand nine hundred. In this episode we look at whether a whole market can really stay down for decades and how the thing actually works. The long record shows what happens to people who paid a high price at the start and kept watching one line. Finally we look at what a sensible investor can do about a long wait. This episode was created with artificial intelligence: AI-assisted script and AI-generated (synthetic) voice.

Between 2006 and 2012, the typical home in Las Vegas lost more than half its value, even though its owners had been told a house is the safest investment there is. In this episode we look at where a home's return really comes from, and at what taxes, upkeep, insurance and selling costs quietly take from the price gain. We also look at what more than a century of data from sixteen countries shows about housing. Finally, we look at what a sensible investor can do with their own home. This episode was created with artificial intelligence: AI-assisted script and AI-generated (synthetic) voice.

In 2013, about half of American adults said they couldn't cover a surprise four hundred dollar bill with cash. In this episode we look at how much cash an emergency fund really needs, where that money should sit, and why idle cash may not be as lazy as it feels. We walk through locked bank doors, long job searches and credit lines that shrank when people needed them most. Finally, we look at what a sensible investor can do to size a fund around their own bills and the steadiness of their income. This episode was created with artificial intelligence: AI-assisted script and AI-generated (synthetic) voice.

In December 1972, investors paid about forty two times earnings for America's favorite fifty stocks, and Polaroid traded near ninety. In this episode we look at the Nifty Fifty, the one decision stocks that banks and ordinary savers bought at almost any price. We follow what history shows about the crash that came next and what a famous professor found when he checked the long run decades later. Finally, we look at what a sensible investor can do before buying whatever everyone loves this year. This episode was created with artificial intelligence: AI-assisted script and AI-generated (synthetic) voice.

In February 2009, General Electric cut its dividend for the first time since 1938, and retirees all over the country opened smaller checks. In this episode we look at where dividend money actually comes from and what really happens to a stock on the day it pays you. We also look at what theory and history say about dividends and why so many investors love them anyway. Finally, we look at what a sensible investor can do to build a steadier paycheck. This episode was created with artificial intelligence: AI-assisted script and AI-generated (synthetic) voice.

In October 1981, the average thirty year mortgage rate in America hit about eighteen percent. In this episode we look at a listener's question about whether spare savings should pay off the house early or go into investments, and how a home loan really works. We also look at where the thirty year mortgage came from and what history says about paying it down. Finally, we look at what a sensible investor can do with their own extra money. This episode was created with artificial intelligence: AI-assisted script and AI-generated (synthetic) voice.