Full Show: Should You Convert a Traditional IRA to a Roth IRA? and Bank Fee Clark Rage

Great show 👍

Love the new calculator! the tool for pension, inheritance, etc. is very helpful and fun to play around with. Thank you!

Thanks Clark & Team!

No way would I cosign that loan for the 5th wheel, surprised Clark didn't advise against it.

What about pro rata rule

If someone can build up perhaps $1000 in a checking account and treat it as a zero balance he or she is well protected from overdraft fees.

Are credit cards still considering penalizing holders for paying on time

At 78 it's too late to convert to Roth. I wouldn't live long enough to make up for the big spike in taxable income!

Clark, I have been on auto pilot paying my bills since September 1974. I love my credit unions, PENFED (been a member since 1973), and Navy Federal (2010). I don't use debt cards. Thanks!

The lady who called about her nondeductible traditional IRA account should look into converting the IRA contribution total to a Roth IRA account. A down market is an ideal time to do this. She does need to be informed about the various 5-year rules for such converted money, which are linked to her age and the date her FIRST Roth in her life was opened, and when she expects to need access to the Roth funds.

Wills can be changed. Why not have the cosigner be included on the title for the 5th wheel? Ideally titled to receive full ownership if grandma passes away, and required to sign off on title transfer if sold. That would prevent the asset from being transferred to someone else while the caller is responsible for the loan. CYA

if thinking of opening a ROTH IRA or any investment account , id choose Fidelity over Vanguard ... Fidelity has the same index funds as Vanguard and theyre cheaper , plus they have great customer service , website , and mobile app ... Vanguard is bad in all three areas , especially customer service ... ive spent several ENTIRE lunch breaks on hold waiting for Vanguard to help and finally hung up because i had to go back to work ... moved everything we had to Fidelity and never regretted it ... they always answer quickly and are friendly and helpful

- It is not a good idea to nilly willy convert all of a 401k to a Roth, as Clark enthusiastic sound bite seems to imply. I’m no expert but, it seems that leaving a few hundred thousand, give or take, of non taxable investments, like municipal bonds, in a taxable, is a good idea for ideal diversification placement and for deductible uses. Also, not all at once but convert in chunks each year. Finally, be sure this new income from conversion does not raise your taxes. One way to limit is wait until you are no longer working but before SS at 68-70 and RMDs post 70. This low income valley (has other names too) can save you thousands and even hundreds of thousands for some.
- Please use “earned income” (job) whenever you say to add money to a Roth. Otherwise, people will blow it and add from non earned income. That extra begotten money goes in a brokerage account, savings, CD, etc or ABLE for qualified disabled.
- I got ripped off by a CU on my mortgage. A lot of the staff come from banks.
- Don’t forget to mention it was the GOP who changed the law recently to let banks rip us off with big fees! A gift to greedy bankers from the current majority.
- If you have a good on time payment record, but miss one, call the credit card company, tell them you have sent it, and ask them for a credit back for the fee and interest. I have never been denied as I ALWAYS pay on time. If a CC co. or the industry should ever stop being nice, I am ready to cancel!

Is it me or did the first segment totally miss on the “how to” on the Roth conversion. Instead it appeared to be a segment on why a Roth was better than a traditional IRA. Might have to submit this to Clark stinks. 😂

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We have a reasonable amount in traditional and Roth retirement accounts that we probably won't be using. This will eventually go to our two kids. Since this is free money to them, we're going to let them worry about the tax consequences over a 10-year period. 😉

So, people can't keep track of their spending or can't make a minimum payment on time for their credit cards and somehow it is the bank's fault? Yeah, the fees may be excessive, but maybe a smart person would learn something when charged the fee? Hate the banks if you will, however, don't ignore who made the transaction to begin with. YMMV.

Not everyone can covert a traditional 401k to a Roth 401k. The TSP doesn’t allow it right now. It may in the future.

Love most of your advice but your timing stinks in this episode. First you talk about bank fees for overdrafts and to check you balance before you purchase to make sure you have the money to cover the charge. Then the very next topic is setting up automatic payments to avoid late fees. Who is making sure there is enough money to cove the automatic payment???? I get what are trying to accomplish but laughing at the timing of each topic

My recommendation is to manually review the bill and then pay in full each month pero still set autopay to minimum payment in case something comes up and one forgets.

I like reviewing the bill manually in case there is error or fraud on the account l, however if i forget, at least the minimum gets paid to avoid late fees and credit report dings.

Clark is correct that ROTH (and HSA) accounts are at the top of the investing food chain for working class folks. But the gub'mint's implementation of a VAT could seriously degrade their value. Even President Trump's new "Fair Tax Plan" has at its core a proposal to replace the income tax with revenue from tariffs, which would nullify having done Roth conversions. I'd like to hear Clark address this, please.

Don't forget you can still add to your 2025 ROTH in the beginning of 2026......

"Lead based deodorant". Lol. It is cheap and unhealthy as heck, but very effective.

Since Car Insurance has “different rates in various states” & locations & Insurance rates change yearly — try searching online for “NerdWallet’s” Insurance (or other things too) reviews & recommendations & ratings —- ALONG with “JD Powers Award” winners .. [and of course Consumer Report if you use that] .. I used to use AMICA (past winner for years) & recently switched over to AAA Insurance here in OC CA.... Also I decided I wanted to PAY a full years worth of Insurance w/AAA (Ireceived a discount doing that) AND was able to use my REWARDS card to get rewards points (I paid card off immediately) .. they allow this for the first time you sign-up with them to use the rewards card.. & they have more discounts .. AAA might be more expensive for others in a different state… as everyone has different rates in different states. 😊

Clark Sneaky stinky becuase he pays several bots like staff who writes "love clark" " great show " etc. see comments below just few example Grayfox , charlessommers and 2 others always same comments daily.

Thank you Team Clark.

I dispute your claim on Roth vs Traditional. It’s important to look at the math at both ends. You’re taking a significant hit on the front end in a Roth, paying your highest tax bracket rate on that contribution, versus a paying a lower effective tax rate in retirement, while also likely withdrawing less in retirement, also helping hold that effective rate down. And that withdrawal in retirement gets a standard deduction, further driving that tax rate down. The real question is what do you expect the tax rates to be in retirement. If you believe taxes are going to be massively increased, yes, Roth will help, but for most people the likely best approach is some Roth, mostly traditional. Remember kids, whether you pay 20% today or 20% tomorrow, you walk away with the same 80%.

Wills can change and family dynamics. How about getting some kind of promissory note that could be used against the estate if necessary?

Clark Team, y'all need to get rid of the spam comments, please. They'rve been posted for hours.

Leaving out the fact that it was Trump that got rid of the limits on bank fees... It is so ridiculous when republicans claim to look out for working people.

Clark exhibiting is Trump Derangement Syndrome again... "Don't buy the Dip because no one Knows where the bottom is" LOL Like anyone ever "knows" where the bottom is... LOL Clark had no problem in 2022 when the Dow was down twice as much under Biden... That was just the normal ebb and flow of the market. Too Funny !

On debit card fees for over drafts: it is the account owner's responsibility to know if they have enough $$ to cover their purchase. It's not a trap.

That retirement calculator is bonkers. There's no way we are going to pull out as much as it says we can. Used 6% growth and the default of 2.5% inflation. Love to know the details on how it works.

If you’re old like me (66.5 years), Roth doesn’t make sense.

You should develop a Roth conversation benefits vs. not benefits

Don't do this! They always forget about Health insurance subsidies. We retired early and have saved over 200k in healthcare alone. Then they will hit you with fees to manage and help you 😂. Rmd for 1 million is less than 50k a year! My 401k doubles every 7-8 years while y'all are playing games and losing money 😂😂

It's terrible we get taxed as a senior. The highest cost to aging is one health catastrophe and that wipes out your money. Medicare premium costs are higher also IF because you have more money. We are basically self pay. It is a great if you get super i'll- but some of us are healthy. So it stinks having to pay more for the possibility of getting ill .

Love your show!❤️❤️❤️

Sorry to burst your bubble but there is zero additional benefit to convert in a down market. In fact you can make the opposite argument. First of all if you convert $100k you pay exactly the same amount of tax and have the exact same amount in your Roth. The only thing that changes in a down market is you have less in your deferred account which occurs whether you convert or not. Second the reason to convert is you will pay a lower tax rate today vs later if you defer. When the market drops 20% the impact on future RMDs is to make them less thus converting saves less tax not more. Third your argument that the Roth takes advantage of the recovery, while accurate does not make it better than a deferred account which would also benefit and since it starts with a higher balance it grows by more so if tax rates are the same you end up in the same place after tax. Final item to prove my point. Let’s say you do the math and determine a conversion would be beneficial. After the market drops 20% and you recalculate, you may still benefit from a conversion or perhaps you would now be better deferring since the balance is lower. However it never goes the other way meaning if you determine deferring is better you don’t need to recalculate after a decline since 100% of the time deferring will still be the better choice.

I would never use a debit card. With a credit card I have at least 30 days to pay (more if I time large purchases at the start of the billing period) get points and have no risk.

Definitely talk to your FA and your accountant before ever making changes like this