Big and Beautiful?

Don and Tom dive into the new “big, beautiful” tax bill with humor and skepticism, covering changes to Social Security taxation, tips and overtime exemptions, expanded SALT deductions, and the controversial $1,000 baby bonus. They also tackle listener questions on Roth vs. IRA asset protection, portfolio rebalancing confusion, and lazy robo-advisory allocations. Bonus: helium speculation, trade school love, and a jab at politicians who pander.

0:04 Intro: “Dearly beloved…” it’s tax time

1:10 Overview of the “Big Beautiful Bill” and $4T impact

1:25 Tips and OT tax exemptions starting in 2025

2:09 Social Security tax break: $6K per person if under income limits

3:28 Standard deduction and new child tax credits

4:13 $1,000 newborn savings account—free government money

5:17 SALT deduction expanded to $40K for four years

6:44 Property and sales tax deductions clarified

7:48 Guilt over tax breaks? Try a Roth gift for the grandkids

8:27 The “kid account” vs. 529 plans vs. UGMA

10:58 Trade school > AI: real jobs that can’t be outsourced

12:42 Don rants on political pandering in the bill

13:47 Listener Q1: 401(k) rollover and asset protection in Washington

16:17 IRA protections state-by-state

16:52 Listener Q2: Does rebalancing mean switching investments?

18:34 Rebalancing means returning to plan, not chasing trends

20:04 Show plug: Owen Wilson’s helium speculation on “Stick”

21:28 Listener Q3: Is this Vanguard robo-portfolio too lazy?

22:47 Why it’s impossible to rebalance between Roth and IRA accounts

23:58 Listener Q4: What’s really inside DFAW? Core 1 vs. Core 2

27:26 Core 2 = more small/value tilt; DFAW ≈ AVGE

28:26 Expense ratio difference between DFAW and AVGE is negligible
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