Shows / Don Sowa's MoneyTalk
Don Sowa's MoneyTalk
Weekdays7p-8p Moneytalk’s content is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as investment advice or a recommendation. Please consult your financial professional for your individual situation. Securities and advisory services offered through Commonwealth Financial Network®, Member www.FINRA.org + www.SIPC.org, a Registered Investment Adviser. Additional advisory services offered through Sowa Financial Group, Inc are separate and unrelated to Commonwealth. Sowa Financial…
Episodes
- Don Sowa's MoneyTalk
Paying Taxes in Retirement
Navigating taxes doesn’t end when your 9-to-5 does, and in retirement the rules can get increasingly complex. Donna discusses some of the tax topics that…
- Don Sowa's MoneyTalk
You Asked for It
The MoneyTalk show has been running for over three decades because of an active listener community who we are privileged to serve. On this episode, Nathan…
- Don Sowa's MoneyTalk
The Struggle to Reform Social Security
Social Security is a core component of most Americans’ retirement plans, but it may surprise you to hear that it was highly controversial when initially…
- Don Sowa's MoneyTalk
What Caused the Great Depression
If your child asked you what caused the Great Depression, you might refer to the stock market crash of 1929, but stock markets don’t crash on their own…
- Don Sowa's MoneyTalk
Budget Building
Budgeting is among the most vanilla financial topics we discuss on the show, but following a budget is an essential first step to being able to spend guilt…
- Don Sowa's MoneyTalk
When to Claim Social Security
You may hear some people say that you should wait until age 70 to claim Social Security to maximize your benefit, and while this may be the right option for…
- Don Sowa's MoneyTalk
The Urgent vs The Important
President Eisenhower famously said âWhat is important is seldom urgent, and what is urgent is seldom important, highlighting the difference between tasks…
- Don Sowa's MoneyTalk
Variable Rate Debt
Many people use a home equity line of credit for home renovations and unforeseen liquidity needs, but if you are carrying an old balance on your variable rate…
- Don Sowa's MoneyTalk
What’s Driving Your investments?
Investments can be packaged and presented in a variety of ways, and understanding your investments requires an equal understanding of the vehicles that carry…
- Don Sowa's MoneyTalk
Last Minute Tax Tips
Tis the season of paying, and as millions of Americans scramble to get their taxes filed on time, avoidable mistakes will inevitably be made. Donna and Nathan…
- Don Sowa's MoneyTalk
Annuities Within Your 401(k)
One of the contributions of the SECURE Act 2.0 is the ability to hold an annuity within your 401(k) plan, but while a product with guaranteed income may sound…
- Don Sowa's MoneyTalk
The Art and Science of Wealth Management
Since the advent of the MoneyTalk show we’ve discussed the art of portfolio management, but there is also a science behind the methods asset managers…
- Don Sowa's MoneyTalk
Front-Loading Your Retirement Spending
Some people structure their retirement plan to spend more in their early years and rein it in over time. But it's that reigning in process that tends to trip…
- Don Sowa's MoneyTalk
Proceed at Your Own Risk
Great reward typically comes with an equal measure of risk, and this is especially true when it comes to investing. Nathan discusses the various forms of…
- Don Sowa's MoneyTalk
Smart Giving
Giving is an essential part of a healthy society, and hey, if that generosity can save you a few bucks on your taxes, then all the better! Donna and Nathan…
- Don Sowa's MoneyTalk
Building Your Emergency Fund
One of the simplest and most impactful things you can do for your financial welfare is to keep an emergency fund. Donna discusses how to determine the…
- Don Sowa's MoneyTalk
The Big Three
You likely have heard of the three primary US stock indices, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P500 and the Nasdaq, but many people don't have a clear…
- Don Sowa's MoneyTalk
Rethinking the 60/40 Model
Asset managers are always looking for creative ways to introduce safety into retirement portfolios without sacrificing growth, and some argue that the…
- Don Sowa's MoneyTalk
Timing Medicare & Social Security
Medicare and Social Security are the two government entitlement programs that just about all of us will have to deal with, and when that time comes, we want…
- Don Sowa's MoneyTalk
Umbrella Insurance
It’s pretty common to insure your home and auto, but is that truly enough to leave you covered? Donna and Nathan discuss umbrella insurance, how it…
- Don Sowa's MoneyTalk
The Battle for Social Security
Social safety nets have existed in one form or another since the Middle Ages, but no government entitlement program has touched more people or enjoyed more…
- Don Sowa's MoneyTalk
The Final Approach to Retirement
That 10 year stretch of time leading up to retirement is a critical period when your strategic retirement plan gets accelerated to get you past the goal line…
- Don Sowa's MoneyTalk
Evergreen Tax Tips
Today, with less and less people using a CPA to file their taxes, mistakes are exceedingly common and can lead to delays and added costs. Donna and Nathan…
- Don Sowa's MoneyTalk
Does Your Advisor’s Age Matter?
Finding a new advisor is all about seeking compatibility, and as much as investment philosophy and personality matter, age tends to be one of the factors that…
- Don Sowa's MoneyTalk
DIY Investing Traps
Many people hire an advisor because they feel that their investments are too important to risk going it alone, but for those who choose a more self-directed…
- Don Sowa's MoneyTalk
Flaws in Retirement Simulations
One popular tool used by investors to project portfolio longevity is the Monte Carlo simulation, but good retirement planning is highly personalized, and…
- Don Sowa's MoneyTalk
The Iranian Oil Crisis
There are few periods in the 20th century that were more impactful to the global economy than the Iranian oil crisis and the revolution that followed. On this…
- Don Sowa's MoneyTalk
Active vs. Passive Management
Ever since the advent of index funds and ETFs, the industry has debated the value provided by mutual fund managers, especially with passive alternatives…
- Don Sowa's MoneyTalk
Closing in on Retirement
If you are within 10 years of retirement, you need to start planning more intentionally for the transition ahead of you, and the best place to start is…
- Don Sowa's MoneyTalk
Intro to Estate Planning
Estate planning can be complex, or as simple as naming beneficiaries on your IRA, so even if your situation seems straightforward, if you own assets, you need…
- Don Sowa's MoneyTalk
Diversifying with Commodities
People often use commodities as a portfolio diversifier or a hedge against inflation, and while this can be true for some materials, commodities vary broadly…
- Don Sowa's MoneyTalk
Why You Should Freeze Your Credit
AI has created a new frontier for identity theft and consumer fraud, and more and more people are finding unauthorized lines of credit opened in their name…
- Don Sowa's MoneyTalk
The Hardship Trap
Things happen that are out of our control, and the IRS has added new flexibility into retirement account withdrawal rules to better accommodate those…
- Don Sowa's MoneyTalk
Final Year Before Retirement
The year before retirement can bring a mix of anticipation and anxiety, but one way to harness those emotions is to focus on the action items that need your…
- Don Sowa's MoneyTalk
Creating a Social Security Plan
Social Security is one of those universal retirement topics that touches just about everyone, and as such we like to give it its proper attention here on the…
- Don Sowa's MoneyTalk
Don’t Lose Sleep Over Money
Retirement planning is a life-long endeavor, and ruminating over the financial question marks that linger in the back of our minds can weigh on us over time…
- Don Sowa's MoneyTalk
Gift Tax Misconceptions
Cash gifting to family members in need is exceedingly common in our inflated economy, but if you are planning on offering monetary gifts to your loved ones, it…
- Don Sowa's MoneyTalk
How Much Can I Afford to Withdraw?
You may have heard of the 4% Rule, which suggests 4% as the maximum sustainable rate of withdrawal from your retirement accounts, but over recent years the…
- Don Sowa's MoneyTalk
What Is Money?
For as long as we’ve had written history, money has held three important functions in our society: as a medium of exchange, a unit of account, and a…
- Don Sowa's MoneyTalk
A Retirement Plan for the Rest of Us
In his 2026 state of the union address, the president announced a new public retirement plan with a government match for workers without access to an employer…
- Don Sowa's MoneyTalk
Breaking Ground on Your Estate Plan
Estate Planning can sound a bit grandiose, but when broken down into its parts, it is simply a series of measures intended to protect your assets for the…
- Don Sowa's MoneyTalk
The Art and Science of Wealth Management
Since the advent of the MoneyTalk show we’ve discussed the art of portfolio management, but there is also a science behind the methods asset managers employ…
- Don Sowa's MoneyTalk
Lessons from the Next Generation
The current generation of young investors has been quick to adopt the latest innovations in financial technology, which has resulted in a higher rate of market…
- Don Sowa's MoneyTalk
Anatomy of a Financial Plan
Life is full of issues that are important, but not urgent, and one way to stop yourself from kicking the down the road is through a well-developed financial…
- Don Sowa's MoneyTalk
How to Protect Your Estate
Let’s be honest, none of us like thinking about our mortality, and unfortunately this can lead to procrastination with addressing important estate…
- Don Sowa's MoneyTalk
Final Approach to Retirement
That stretch of time leading up to retirement is a critical period when your strategic retirement plan gets accelerated to get you past the goal line, and how…
- Don Sowa's MoneyTalk
Estate Planning Failures
If you are among the millions of Americans who don’t have a will, trust, or other estate planning tool in place, your assets are left at the mercy of the laws…
- Don Sowa's MoneyTalk
A Retirement Well Spent
When it comes to retirement, how you spend your time is arguably as important as how you generate income, but seldom receives the same attention during the…
- Don Sowa's MoneyTalk
Income Tax Talk
If you receive 100% of your income from your salary, the manner in which you are taxed is relatively straightforward, but most Americans receive income from…
- Don Sowa's MoneyTalk
You’re Asking For It
Donna shares answers to questions from wealth management clients, including: How do I go about selling my precious metal items without getting swindled? How do…
- Don Sowa's MoneyTalk
Seeking Financial Compatibility
Nearly half of marriages today end in divorce, and surveys show that the leading causes for these failed unions involve differences around money. Donna and…
- Don Sowa's MoneyTalk
DIY Investor Traps
With the right instruction, you could probably fly an airplane, but you leave it to a professional because the cost of making a mistake is too high. Many feel…
- Don Sowa's MoneyTalk
Redzone Retirement Planning
When you are one year out from retirement, you know that it’s time to get your ducks in a row, the question is: which ducks and in what order? Donna and…
- Don Sowa's MoneyTalk
Breaking Ground on Your Estate Plan
Estate Planning can sound a bit grandiose, but when broken down into its parts, it is simply a series of measures intended to protect your assets for the…
- Don Sowa's MoneyTalk
The 3 Goals of a Roth Conversion
People often have confusion around about how and when a Roth conversion should be used, which is why there is clear methodology professionals use to help make…
- Don Sowa's MoneyTalk
Different Taxes for Different Income
If you receive 100% of your income from your salary, the manner in which you are taxed is relatively straightforward, but a growing number of Americans today…
- Don Sowa's MoneyTalk
How to Retire Happy
When we plan for retirement, we tend to spend the majority of our time thinking about money, but research shows that there is much more to a happy retirement…
- Don Sowa's MoneyTalk
Striking a Balance with Financial Support
In today’s inflated economy, it’s rare to find a financially independent young adult, but supporting your children without healthy boundaries is a…
- Don Sowa's MoneyTalk
Annuities: The Cost of Guaranteed Income
The annuity was designed to provide a stream of lifetime income in exchange for a lump sum payment, and they have since evolved to provide varying levels of…
- Don Sowa's MoneyTalk
The Zero Tax Population
After the tax breaks built into the One Big Beautiful Bill, it is estimated that 42% of Americans will pay zero income tax, and if you were wondering how that…