Merchant cash advances promise quick relief for a business in trouble—but the convenience can hide brutal costs and daily withdrawals that make a cash-flow crisis worse. Don and Tom explain why a local bank, an SBA loan, SCORE counseling, or even a hard look at whether the business should continue may be safer than easy money.

Then a Rhode Island caller asks how to place stocks and bonds across Roth, taxable, and traditional retirement accounts without losing control of overall risk. The answer: treat every account as one portfolio, put tax-inefficient bonds where they fit best, and rebalance primarily inside the IRA when possible.

Finally, they compare a broad Schwab small-cap index with Avantis’s value tilt, explain what a PCRA actually is inside a 401(k), and consider the protections and backdoor-Roth advantages of leaving retirement money in the plan.

1:25 The easy-money trap
2:05 How merchant cash advances work
4:47 Safer sources of business capital
9:43 When to stop funding a struggling business
16:09 Asset location across Roth, IRA, and taxable accounts
24:18 SCHA versus AVUV for small caps
27:34 What a PCRA account really is

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A provocative academic study says retirees should hold 100% stocks—an all-gas, no-brakes strategy that looks great in a spreadsheet. Don and Tom explain why higher expected returns alone ignore sequence risk, the emotional reality of a 50% drawdown, and the practical value of bonds when retirement withdrawals begin.

Then a listener asks about an employer-backed indexed universal split-dollar life insurance plan promising tax-free growth and distributions. The pitch sets off every alarm: complicated loans, questionable salary treatment, enormous commissions, and tax rules that demand independent legal review.

Finally, they separate Dave Ramsey’s useful debt and savings advice from his investment recommendations. High-cost active funds, optimistic return assumptions, and an 8% withdrawal rate meet 200,000 Monte Carlo simulations—and the numbers are not kind.

00:49 New ideas, old investing truths
03:04 The all-stock retirement argument
12:39 A split-dollar insurance pitch raises red flags
20:18 Where Dave Ramsey’s investing advice falls short
24:14 Testing an 8% withdrawal rate

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Three famous companies in three different industries can still add up to a total loss. Don and Tom revisit Rule 17 from Financial Physics: diversification means much more than owning a handful of familiar stocks. From Enron and WorldCom to hometown favorites, they explain why confidence in a company is no substitute for spreading your investment risk.

They also distinguish investments from the firms that hold them, then tackle listener questions about micro-cap funds, building an emergency reserve before retirement, and converting eligible Vanguard mutual funds to ETFs. The common thread: keep the portfolio understandable, watch the risks you’re actually taking, and know which taxes a conversion postpones rather than erases.

00:42 Rule 17 and the eggs-in-one-basket problem
02:39 When individual stocks go to zero
07:46 Diversifying across asset classes
08:53 Investing beyond the U.S.
10:34 Funds, custodians, and investor protections
15:49 Should you add micro-cap funds?
18:56 Emergency savings before retirement
23:02 Converting Vanguard mutual funds to ETFs

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