NerdWallet’s trusted finance journalists answer real-world money questions to help you make smarter financial decisions with confidence.
Each episode dives deep into topics like budgeting, saving, investing, home buying, and credit cards, cutting through misinformation to bring you clear, actionable advice backed by thorough research.
By the end of every episode, you’ll have the latest financial insights and the tools you’ll need to manage your money wisely, build wealth, and plan for life’s milestones. And if you have questions for the Nerds, you can leave them a voicemail at 901-730-6373.
Join hosts Sean Pyles, CFP®, Elizabeth Ayoola, and other expert Nerds as they answer your biggest money questions and share strategies to help you build wealth and reach your financial goals, including:
– Investing: Advanced investment strategies, integrating ETFs and mutual funds into a diversified portfolio, tax-efficient retirement planning, understanding Roth IRA conversions, and navigating robo-advisors.
– Credit Cards: Top credit cards for travel rewards and luxury perks, balance transfer strategies, maximizing credit card points, and optimizing credit card usage to boost your credit score.
– Personal Finance: Advanced budgeting tips, building generational wealth, creating effective savings plans, managing high-income expenses, and developing a strong money growth mindset.
– Home: Smart strategies for homebuying in competitive markets, leveraging home equity loans and HELOCs, refinancing for long-term savings, first-time homebuying tips, and budgeting for major home improvements.
If you’re searching for the best personal finance podcasts or want practical knowledge to make smarter money decisions, then follow NerdWallet’s Smart Money Podcast.
You’ll love NerdWallet’s Smart Money Podcast if you like podcasts like: Planet Money, The Personal Finance Podcast, DIY Money, Afford Anything, How to Money, The Ramsey Show, Money Rehab with Nicole Lapin, NPR’s Life Kit: Money, Popcorn Finance, Money Girl,Money Guy Show, Everyone’s Talkin’ Money, So Money with Farnoosh Tarabi, The Money with Katie Show, All the Hacks with Chris Hutchins, The Stacking Benjamins Show, MoneyWatch with Jill Schlesinger, or Your Money, Your Wealth.
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NerdWallet’s trusted finance journalists answer real-world money questions to help you make smarter financial decisions with confidence.
Each episode dives deep into topics like budgeting, saving, investing, home buying, and credit cards, cutting through misinformation to bring you clear, actionable advice backed by thorough research.
By the end of every episode, you’ll have the latest financial insights and the tools you’ll need to manage your money wisely, build wealth, and plan for life’s milestones. And if you have questions for the Nerds, you can leave them a voicemail at 901-730-6373.
Join hosts Sean Pyles, CFP®, Elizabeth Ayoola, and other expert Nerds as they answer your biggest money questions and share strategies to help you build wealth and reach your financial goals, including:
– Investing: Advanced investment strategies, integrating ETFs and mutual funds into a diversified portfolio, tax-efficient retirement planning, understanding Roth IRA conversions, and navigating robo-advisors.
– Credit Cards: Top credit cards for travel rewards and luxury perks, balance transfer strategies, maximizing credit card points, and optimizing credit card usage to boost your credit score.
– Personal Finance: Advanced budgeting tips, building generational wealth, creating effective savings plans, managing high-income expenses, and developing a strong money growth mindset.
– Home: Smart strategies for homebuying in competitive markets, leveraging home equity loans and HELOCs, refinancing for long-term savings, first-time homebuying tips, and budgeting for major home improvements.
If you’re searching for the best personal finance podcasts or want practical knowledge to make smarter money decisions, then follow NerdWallet’s Smart Money Podcast.
You’ll love NerdWallet’s Smart Money Podcast if you like podcasts like: Planet Money, The Personal Finance Podcast, DIY Money, Afford Anything, How to Money, The Ramsey Show, Money Rehab with Nicole Lapin, NPR’s Life Kit: Money, Popcorn Finance, Money Girl,Money Guy Show, Everyone’s Talkin’ Money, So Money with Farnoosh Tarabi, The Money with Katie Show, All the Hacks with Chris Hutchins, The Stacking Benjamins Show, MoneyWatch with Jill Schlesinger, or Your Money, Your Wealth.
NerdWallet Compare, Inc. NMLS ID# 1617539 NMLS Consumer Access: http://www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org/
Why Refis Are Spiking and How to Optimize Your 401k Target-Date Fund for Long-Term Growth
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
28 minutes
1 month ago
Why Refis Are Spiking and How to Optimize Your 401k Target-Date Fund for Long-Term Growth
Learn when a refi saves money and how target-date funds work, including fees and when to pick a later fund year.
What exactly is a target-date fund, and when should you move your date? How do you know if now is a good time to refinance a house? Hosts Sean Pyles and Elizabeth Ayoola discuss mortgage refinancing and target-date funds to help you understand how to quantify savings on a refi and how to set (and adjust) an age-appropriate retirement glide path. To kick off the episode, NerdWallet senior news writer Anna Helhoski joins with mortgages and student loans writer Kate Wood and mortgage reporter Holden Lewis to break down why refis are spiking even without fresh Federal Reserve cuts, who’s most likely to benefit right now, and how markets (not just the Fed) drive daily mortgage rate moves. They begin with a discussion of rate-and-term vs. cash-out refinancing, with tips and tricks on calculating your breakeven point, using the ~0.75 percentage-point rule-of-thumb for potential savings, and factoring in 2% to 6% closing costs and how long you’ll stay put.
Then, investing Nerd June Sham joins Sean and Elizabeth to discuss target-date funds. They discuss how glide paths work (to vs. through retirement), when to push your target year if you’ll work longer, and how fees compare with index funds/ETFs, plus contribution frameworks (10% to 15% of income vs. the “80% replacement” rule) and why many hands-off investors value auto-rebalancing despite higher expense ratios. A listener case study (age 35, 2055 fund) highlights how to revisit your target date in the decade before retirement, how to read a fund’s glide path, and why staying invested and consistent often matters more than chasing perfect timing.
Want us to review your budget? Fill out this form — completely anonymously if you want — and we might feature your budget in a future segment! https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScK53yAufsc4v5UpghhVfxtk2MoyooHzlSIRBnRxUPl3hKBig/viewform?usp=header
In this episode, the Nerds discuss: mortgage refinance, refinance calculator, mortgage rates today, breakeven point refinance, cash-out refinance, HELOC vs cash-out, refinance closing costs, when to refinance, refinance vs home equity loan, bond market and mortgage rates, Federal Reserve and mortgage rates, target-date fund, best target-date funds, target-date fund glide path, to vs through glide path, 401k target-date fund, change target-date fund year, 2055 target-date fund, target-date fund fees, expense ratio comparison, ETF vs mutual fund, index funds S&P 500, retirement contribution 10 to 15 percent, 80 percent income replacement rule, taxable brokerage vs 401k, annuity vs staying invested, debt consolidation with home equity, credit card APR vs mortgage rate, divorce refinance requirements, stay-or-sell breakeven analysis, and refinance eligibility 2025.
To send the Nerds your money questions, call or text the Nerd hotline at 901-730-6373 or email podcast@nerdwallet.com.
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NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
NerdWallet’s trusted finance journalists answer real-world money questions to help you make smarter financial decisions with confidence.
Each episode dives deep into topics like budgeting, saving, investing, home buying, and credit cards, cutting through misinformation to bring you clear, actionable advice backed by thorough research.
By the end of every episode, you’ll have the latest financial insights and the tools you’ll need to manage your money wisely, build wealth, and plan for life’s milestones. And if you have questions for the Nerds, you can leave them a voicemail at 901-730-6373.
Join hosts Sean Pyles, CFP®, Elizabeth Ayoola, and other expert Nerds as they answer your biggest money questions and share strategies to help you build wealth and reach your financial goals, including:
– Investing: Advanced investment strategies, integrating ETFs and mutual funds into a diversified portfolio, tax-efficient retirement planning, understanding Roth IRA conversions, and navigating robo-advisors.
– Credit Cards: Top credit cards for travel rewards and luxury perks, balance transfer strategies, maximizing credit card points, and optimizing credit card usage to boost your credit score.
– Personal Finance: Advanced budgeting tips, building generational wealth, creating effective savings plans, managing high-income expenses, and developing a strong money growth mindset.
– Home: Smart strategies for homebuying in competitive markets, leveraging home equity loans and HELOCs, refinancing for long-term savings, first-time homebuying tips, and budgeting for major home improvements.
If you’re searching for the best personal finance podcasts or want practical knowledge to make smarter money decisions, then follow NerdWallet’s Smart Money Podcast.
You’ll love NerdWallet’s Smart Money Podcast if you like podcasts like: Planet Money, The Personal Finance Podcast, DIY Money, Afford Anything, How to Money, The Ramsey Show, Money Rehab with Nicole Lapin, NPR’s Life Kit: Money, Popcorn Finance, Money Girl,Money Guy Show, Everyone’s Talkin’ Money, So Money with Farnoosh Tarabi, The Money with Katie Show, All the Hacks with Chris Hutchins, The Stacking Benjamins Show, MoneyWatch with Jill Schlesinger, or Your Money, Your Wealth.
NerdWallet Compare, Inc. NMLS ID# 1617539 NMLS Consumer Access: http://www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org/
