Hey Brian -

Love your podcasts!! Please keep up the good work. You give informative, solid advice, and you don't tell people what to do (unlike some finance podcasts)! Plus, you seem like a really nice guy.
Thanks for your hard work.

April

Hi Brian,

I have recently subscribed to your Podcast, and just wanted to let you know what an
excellent job you are doing. The shows are professionally done, and I enjoy the way
you present financial matters in an informed and authoritative manner, yet keeping it
casual and understandable. It just goes to show that you do not have to scream to be
heard. I also like the website as well. Thank you very much for the show.

Absolutely great info on buying a new car. Would recommend it to anyone. In fact I will email the MP3 to some of my friends. Thanks. Don

Hi Brian:
Thanks for the podcast. I'm a graduate student who is trying to find a way to begin saving money. Could you do a show on what are the first investments someone who is changing their lifestyle to become a hyper-saver? Whats the process of getting you feet wet in investing?
Sincerely,
Nate

Brian,

I am a subscriber to your podcast and I find your shows to be very informational and enjoyable to listen to. I appreciate the free information that you provide and would just like to say thanks for your time since you have stated that this is just a hobby of yours. For people like me your hobby turns out to be a free class for me. Once again thanks for your time and keep up the good work.

I think you should do a little more research on EIA's. Your numbers are completely untrue. Look at a company called Life of the Southwest. There are no fees in these annuities. So when you tell people they will lose 8% of their money to commissions, that is a lie. Yes, commissions can be up to 8%, but it doesn't come from the clients pocket. Also, yes there are withdrawal periods, but clients can take up to 10% of their money out after the 1st year each year (you forgot to mention that). Another thing about your example is that you looked the S&P 500 over a 30-year period, ending in 2003. Do you really think we will see another period of time like that of 1994-1999, when the market shot up at over 18%. There has never been a period of time like that before, and there is a good chance there won't be for a long time. Read more articles than just one.

Money-Guy.com Response: Thank you for your input, unfortunately we are not going to agree on this subject. I still stand by the fact that there is a reason that many of the big insureres are staying away from this type of product. You stated that the commissions are not paid by the client; if that is the case may I ask who is paying all of the high fees (insurance companies are not paying the commissions b/c they pass on the cost to the end consumer)? Thanks again for the comments and I would like to wish you the best of luck in your future insurance sales endeavors.

Dear Brian,

I too have a pug and would do anything to make sure my Pug, Betty Lou, is healthy and has the best medical care available. I have heard about health insurance for pets and was wondering what your thoughts are on this type of insurance? Do you feel that this insurance is a scam and a way for some charletain(s) to take advantage of people who love their pets? Betty has been gaining a little weight, so I have started to walk her more and have placed her on a very strict diet, but my fears are that she may become diabetic which would require consistent and regular veterinary care and visits which would make insurance almost necessary.

I love your podcast and look forward to a response.

Thank you!

John

Brian,

I want to thank you for taking the time and energy to make this podcast happen. I truly think that I get more excited about downloading your podcast at the beginning and middle of the month than I do checking for my direct deposits online around those same times. In my opinion, nothing is more refreshing than to hear a truthful, informative, and energetic voice that advocates financial help for the common man. When you are having a bad day and struggling with doubts of continuing this podcast, may you take comfort in knowing that you have changed the life of this Kentucky boy for the better.

I have spread the word and now at least 14 people I know have subscribed. They have thanked me, but I didn't do anything. I said if they are truly thankful then leave feedback ... positive or negative. Or take the survey.

So again, I say thank you Brian... and thank you Apple.

Most Sincerely,

Shiro

I have downloaded and listened to your pod casts. I am very impressed. (well excluding hearing the lawn crew go by LOL) We are a financial coaching organization. I believe we have some common interests that could be mutually profitable. I did not see a phone number for your organization or I would have called directly.

If our mutual prosperity holds interest to you please either give me a call at 801 750-1530 or email me with your contact information so we can take a few minutes to see if we have a match that can add to both of our bottom lines.

Thanks for the great podcast. I found you and Dave Ramsey at the same time. I enjoy your
calm, sane approach a bit more. It is July 9th. When is the next podcast coming out??!!! I cannot wait!!! Thanks again.

I just found your podcasts and have listened to a few. I do listen to a number of different podcasts while working out at the gym. Since I have more subjects that interest me than time I do skip some parts. Therefore I agree with you reordering the segments so the most important is first. I will probably listen to your entire podcast as it is well done, but if time runs short I might skip the end.

Brian,

Have you heard of Amana Trust Income (AMANX) and Amana Trust Growth (AMAGX). They both are Sharia compliant mutual funds.

I just heard about both of these funds on Marketplace Money, an American Public Media production (http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2008/03/07/meaw_money_islamic_mutual_funds/). You should check them out.

Maybe, Sharia compliant mutual funds could be a good topic discussion in future podcasts.

I am not a muslim, but I am always interested in good investments. However, I am a huge fan of the Moneyguy podcast and have been listening to your podcasts since your first show when you had interviews. Like you, I was an early adopter and caught the vision of podcasts--on demand broadcasting. I was looking for good information on personal finance and I tried your show. I have been satisfied and appreciative ever since. Thanks for such a great production!

Mr. Winter

Brian, am enjoying your podcast, thank you.
You often advise that investors should diversity in a way that includes real estate. How would you advise doing that now in a stock portfolio, as opposed to, for example, buying real estate, like your home? Are there REITs or EFT that focus on real estate that you like? Is there an easy way to invest in real estate in the U.S. and internationally for the long term?
Best Regards, Tammy Barnett, San Diego (where real estate is way down.)

Hi Brian, Thank you for the wonderful podcasts. I find them very informative and you do a great job of explaining things in a way that even I can understand. I do have a quick question for you, but it's probably not one you get very often. My question has to do with the music that plays at the end of the podcast. Could you tell me the name and artist of the song?
Thanks, Pat

Hello,

I caught one of your podcasts on mutual funds. I think you did well to present the topic given the small timeframe but I also felt that one episode was not nearly enough for anyone essentially just learning about mutual funds to walk away ready to make decisions in this area.

However, If your target audience is those with little to no understanding of investments then you overshot. Suggesting people head to Morningstar and pull up screening filters is, in my humble opinion, a mistake. Those with little experience will select the best-rated funds even if they have little to no track record. Studies have been done on Morning Star ratings suggesting that investments based on star ratings over a 20-year period would have under-performed the market. Your presentation did have a don't-be-rash tone throughout which was appreciated but sometimes someone can do a great deal of damage with only a little knowledge.

You did note, several times, that one should look for good managers and fund longevity -but you neither listed these managers nor pointed out that most mutual funds are best gauged on a 10-year timeline –not 3 or 5 years. It's been my observation that most funds begin to digress rapidly to the mean at 10-years no matter what index is used as a basis of comparison.

You did touch on the availability of index funds and I think that should have been a show in and of itself. If two-thirds to a quarter of all funds under-perform the market indexes each year why invest in anything other than an index? You failed to mention, I believe, that while some small number of funds will out-perform the market the wild majority of these won't do so consistently. Performing to the market is quite honestly a good level of return when the alternative is huge loses. Too few people, even very smart people, realize how much they'll lose in fund maintence fees over the decades. That's money that could go into another stable savings vehicle like and index, stable being relative compared to most «top-rated» funds.

I was happy to hear you mentioning Warren Buffet in this discussion as he certainly has a proven track record of success as an investor. I'm a believer in index investing. I think Burton Malkiel's book A Random Walk Down Wall Street is a must read for anyone who is going to put their money into investments. I think you owe it to your audience to revisit this topic even if it's not with a focus on index funds. People should here hard numbers. I.e. if you invested X amount of money in such and such a fund for 20 years you would have earned such and such amount and paid such and such in management fees.

Thanks for reading all of this
Landon

Hi Brian!
I enjoy your podcasts very much!!! I am a new listener, I started listening in may, and have enjoyed hearing your views on the economy and financial stratagies that can make me sucessful with money! The way you explain things is simple to understand. It is really interesting to listen to you, because I am extremely interested in becoming a certified financial planner some day. Thanks for all you do!