A classic TRM episode that starts with Tom’s ill-fated attempt to cross a flooded Snoqualmie River (spoiler: no walking on water) and turns into a timely lesson on market returns, diversification, and why comparing your portfolio to headline numbers is usually a mistake. Don and Tom unpack eye-popping 2025 performance across U.S., international, bonds, and small-cap value, warn against recency bias and overpriced active funds, and take several listener calls on Roth conversions, bad custodians, debt forgiveness taxes, and rollover mechanics. The show wraps with Don’s well-earned victory lap for Seasons Readings, now rubbing shoulders with Julie Andrews and Hugh Bonneville in Apple’s fiction charts.

0:04 Tom gets stranded by flooding after a questionable river-crossing idea

1:40 Flood damage reality check and sympathy for displaced homeowners

2:22 Market year-end context and “Dave Ramsey average” returns

3:32 Bond funds surprise with strong year-to-date performance

4:05 International and global funds crush expectations

5:46 Why your return may lag headlines: allocation, costs, and recency bias

6:20 Apples-to-apples portfolio comparisons matter

9:26 Active funds underperforming despite a strong market year

10:47 Global diversification pays off big in 2025

12:04 January prerecorded show tease and holiday logistics

13:25 Seasons Readings featured by Apple Podcasts—downloads explode

15:18 Fiction chart brag: sandwiched between Julie Andrews and Hugh Bonneville

16:25 Listener call: John Hancock IRA, forced conversions, and bad advice

19:06 Why liquidating inside an IRA is not a taxable event

20:17 Exposing high-cost, loaded funds and custodian nonsense

23:35 Listener question: Roth conversions, pensions, and IRMAA timing

26:36 Why “top tax bracket forever” is usually a myth

27:31 Listener call: debt settlement and taxable forgiveness income

30:13 When a 1099-C is a good deal anyway

31:56 Flood-era investment scams and terrible ideas

35:55 Clarifying direct rollovers vs. taking possession of funds

38:13 Roth IRAs for young earners—yes, even pizza money

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