Easy Money Isn’t…

This episode of Talking Real Money takes aim at the latest “easy money” illusion—house flipping—explaining why rising costs, higher interest rates, softer housing demand, and plain old competition have drained much of its appeal. Tom and Don connect flipping’s decline to a familiar pattern of speculative behavior, much like day trading or past real estate manias, and reinforce why there are no reliable shortcuts to wealth. Listener calls drive a wide-ranging discussion on global diversification versus U.S.-only investing, the dangers of concentration risk in the S&P 500, how recency bias distorts performance comparisons, and why owning more markets matters more than making predictions. The episode wraps with practical retirement guidance for older investors, including simplifying portfolios with low-cost target-date funds, and closes with trademark humor and perspective.

0:05 Show open, intro banter, singing callbacks, and weekend rhythm

0:28 House flipping compared to day trading and FOMO investing

1:28 Why flipping activity is down sharply: costs, rates, and competition

3:41 The myth of “passive income” in real estate

4:50 Softer housing markets and demographic headwinds

6:02 No magic systems—long-term investing still wins

8:27 Lisa (Colorado): investing nonprofit funds at Vanguard

10:30 VOO vs VTI vs VT and the case for global diversification

12:29 Volatility, standard deviation, and diversification basics

14:44 Sharpe ratios, recency bias, and misleading performance metrics

16:54 Charles (Seattle): Boeing plans, VOO, and AVGE at Schwab

18:32 S&P 500 concentration risk and the “Magnificent Seven”

21:33 Jason (Sammamish): VTI vs VT debate and long-term market data

28:41 Debbie (Camano Island): portfolio risk concerns at age 73

31:20 Risk tolerance vs risk capacity in retirement

33:16 Vanguard target-date funds as a simple retirement solution

36:01 Lighter close with creative fundraising and holiday humor