The Clark Howard Podcast

Episode: "Ask An Advisor With Wes Moss"

Date: February 24, 2026
Host: Clark Howard
Guest Advisor: Wes Moss

Episode Overview

In this episode, Clark Howard welcomes financial advisor Wes Moss to answer selected listener questions and explore topics including inflation’s real-life impact, early retirement feasibility, effective strategies for gifting savings to young adults, portfolio management in retirement, handling windfall income, and estate planning with trusts. The show blends practical money advice, relatable personal stories (including a vivid "Steak Night Sticker Shock" analogy), and evidence-based answers grounded in economic history and personal finance fundamentals.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Inflation, the Cost of Steak, and Protecting Purchasing Power

[01:22–08:56]

• Wes Moss’s “Steak Night Sticker Shock” Story:
  • Shares a personal story about his son’s birthday steak dinner and the surprising cost of beef.
  • “It was as expensive as I’ve ever remembered. It was a sticker shock moment.”
  • Beef prices have risen 65% since before COVID ($7.50/lb → $12.50/lb for steak; $3.50 → $7/lb for ground beef).
• Inflation and Investing:
  • Connects the rising cost of everyday goods—like steak—to the importance of investing, not just saving.
  • “If you want to keep up... there’s very few things that allow us to continue to do that over long periods of time than investing.” ([07:12])
  • Visualizes cash not invested as “wilting dollars,” losing purchasing power over time.
• Supply and Demand Dynamics:
  • Explains the reduction in U.S. cattle herds (130M in the 70s, now 83M) amid higher demand and population.
  • Notes ranchers are processing cattle instead of growing herds, likely perpetuating high beef prices.
  • Best value for steak: Costco.

2. Early Retirement Feasibility & FIRE Movement

[08:56–12:50]

• Listener Q: Couple in their 20s Aiming to Retire in Their 40s
  • Detailed scenario: $60k each in income, rental income, maxed HSA/Roth IRAs, significant home equity.
• Wes Moss’s Insights:
  • Early retirement is rare but possible with high savings and discipline—“the very people that are able to retire early” are likely “1 in 100, 1 in 50 people.”
  • Main challenge: Funding 50+ years of retirement is “not overly realistic if you want to have children.”
  • Sacrifice is necessary: Early retirement means “huge sacrifice to get there and then continued sacrifice for the rest of your life. That’s why... it’s not overly realistic if you want to have children.”

3. Helping a Young Adult Nephew: Roth IRA or Custodial Account?

[12:50–16:08]

• Listener Q: Aunt wants to help 22-year-old nephew (recently orphaned) with $35k in savings.
• Wes Moss’s Recommendation:
  • If money is a gift “for him but not yet his,” avoid putting it directly into a Roth IRA (would give him access).
  • Suggests investing in a brokerage account in her name, letting the money grow until he’s more mature—“you’re really doing him a favor by just investing the money, knowing it's earmarked for him, and wait seven, eight years to say, hey, I had 35 for you, and now I have 70 or 80 because it’s doubled over time.” ([15:09])
  • Also recommends a “parent match” strategy: encourage saving in a Roth with matching contributions.
• Clark Howard adds:
  • This matching method helps teach good money habits—“He could watch that grow. So that might help teach him without exposing the rest of the money.” ([15:46])

4. Retirement Planning Tools (Path by Wealthfront) & What to Watch Out For

[16:08–19:42]

• Listener Q: Are free online planning tools (like Wealthfront’s Path) reliable?
• Wes Moss’s Advice:
  • “Any planning is better than no planning at all.”
  • Cautions that optimistic default rates of return (like 8–9%) can make projections look “bombastically large.”
  • Users should adjust assumptions conservatively, such as lowering growth rates, or specifying higher income targets to ensure realism.

5. Stock Market All-Time Highs: History, Nerves, and Data

[22:35–28:50]

• Wes Moss on Investing at Market Highs:
  • Addresses the anxiety many investors feel about all-time highs and fears of imminent correction.
  • Key insight: “All time highs are a feature of the market. They’re not a bug, they’re a feature of investing.” ([22:42])
  • Data: After a market high, 12-month forward returns average ~12.7% (Fidelity study, 1950–2024), often slightly outperforming average returns outside of record highs.
  • “Corrections are relatively infrequent once the market’s hitting an all-time high... a lot of things have to be going right in order to get to an all-time high.” ([27:10])
  • Investor sentiment and earnings growth underlie sustained market highs.
  • “If earnings continue to march forward and grow, then it is very likely that stocks can continue to do the same.” ([28:11])

6. Optimal Portfolio for Low Withdrawal Retirees: How Much “Dry Powder” Money?

[28:50–30:47]

• Listener Q: “Is there ever a case for 100% equity in retirement, if withdrawals are very low?”
• Wes Moss’s Rule:
  • “Dry powder” (safe, liquid funds) should be calculated as 3x your annual withdrawal needs—not as a fixed percentage.
  • Example: If withdrawals = 2% per year, the “dry powder” might be just 5–10% of the portfolio, not 30–40%.
  • “From the numbers you’re giving me here, Kirk, I think 30 to 40% in dry powder seems way, way, way too high.” ([29:41])

7. Windfalls, Tax Management, and Planning for Lumpy Income

[30:47–34:22]

• Listener Q: Attorney couple expecting a big contingent-fee windfall—advice on withholding, saving, and investing appropriately?
• Wes Moss’s Framework:
  • For those with lumpy (irregular) income, maintain at least 1–2 years’ living expenses in accessible accounts (high-yield savings/money market).
  • Use retirement accounts strategically, e.g., 401k + profit sharing plan (up to ~$72,000 pre-tax), especially in high-income years.
  • Ensure compliance with “safe harbor” IRS rule: 110% of last year’s taxes paid in to avoid penalties.
  • Remainder beyond reserves can be invested in a taxable brokerage account.

8. Estate Planning: When to Use a Corporate/Commercial Trustee

[34:22–37:12]

• Listener Q: At what wealth level is it appropriate to consider a commercial (corporate) trustee?
• Wes Moss’s Guidance:
  • Corporate trustees are mainly for legacies needing long-term stewardship (e.g., trusts paying heirs income for decades).
  • “Most trust companies want at least a million dollar minimum.”
  • Use case: If you want to have your assets managed and distributed per your wishes for 50–100 years, a corporate trustee “becomes the gatekeeper of your wishes.”
  • For immediate inheritance (no restrictions), heirs can manage funds directly without need for a trust company.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On sticker shock and inflation:
  “It was as expensive as I’ve ever remembered. It was a sticker shock moment. Do you see how much this is? This is a big treat.”
  —Wes Moss ([03:35])

• Why invest?
  “If you want to keep up... there’s very few things that allow us to continue to do that over long periods of time than investing.”
  —Wes Moss ([07:12])

• On early retirement and the FIRE movement:
  “Any sort of family and size really complicates being able to totally stop working in your 40s... You’ve gotta now retire and that money has to last for half a century.”
  —Wes Moss ([11:49])

• Teaching a young adult good habits:
  “You’re really doing him a favor by just investing the money, knowing it's earmarked for him, and wait seven, eight years to say, hey, I had 35 for you, and now I have 70 or 80 because it's doubled over time.”
  —Wes Moss ([15:09])

• Market highs are normal, not alarming:
  “All time highs are a feature of the market. They’re not a bug, they’re a feature of investing.”
  —Wes Moss ([22:42])

• Portfolio withdrawal rule:
  “The dry powder calculation is not a percentage. It actually starts with a dollar amount… If you have a $750,000 portfolio, that's only 5%.”
  —Wes Moss ([29:31])

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [01:22] – Introduction and "Steak Night Sticker Shock"
• [08:56] – Listener Q&A: Retiring in 20 Years (FIRE)
• [12:50] – Listener Q&A: Gifting Savings to a Young Adult
• [16:20] – Listener Q&A: Using Wealthfront’s Path Retirement Tool
• [22:35] – Stock Market All-Time Highs: Should We Be Worried?
• [28:50] – Listener Q&A: Portfolio Allocation for Very Low Withdrawals
• [30:47] – Listener Q&A: Managing Irregular Windfall Income
• [34:22] – Listener Q&A: Corporate/Commercial Trustees for Estates
• [37:12] – Closing remarks

Episode Tone & Approach

• Friendly, relatable, practical.
• Wes Moss frequently uses vivid anecdotes and analogies (e.g., steak as "food dollars") to demystify economics.
• Advice is data-driven but acknowledges emotional and behavioral realities (like nerves around market highs or the challenges of intergenerational financial gifts).
• Listeners are encouraged to run their own numbers, plan conservatively, and “never stop asking questions.”

For more advice, resources, or to submit your own question, visit www.clark.com/askclark.