Ep. 1949: Money by the Decades

From your 20s to your 60s, the priorities change—but the basic job doesn’t. Don and Tom walk through emergency savings, Roth IRAs, 401(k) matches, rebalancing, retirement planning, Social Security, Medicare, and estate planning, decade by decade.Then Mary calls with a smart Roth-conversion puzzle. They weigh whose IRA to convert, how much to move without wasting a low tax bracket, the age-59½ penalty, and why a household’s accounts should be managed as one portfolio—even when the spouses have very different tolerances for risk.Finally: whether retirees still need emergency cash, how much umbrella insurance is enough, when a family office begins to make sense, and three near-identical retirement portfolios from a listener in Wagner, South Dakota—whose hometown briefly steals the show.00:25 Tom’s brassy choice01:36 Financial priorities, decade by decade02:58 Start early with a Roth IRA04:02 Your 30s: emergency cash and the 401(k) match06:02 Your 40s: fixed obligations and retirement planning09:13 Your 50s: risk, HSAs, and getting on track10:45 Your 60s: Social Security, Medicare, and estate planning14:48 Roth conversions and household asset allocation24:12 Emergency funds in retirement27:01 Umbrella coverage and family offices30:16 Three retirement portfolios from WagnerQuestions? Comments? Click!