Welcome to Planning Made Simple, where Paul Durso takes the stress out of important decisions. With a blend of wisdom and wit, Paul delivers insightful, easy-to-understand advice on everything you didn’t know you needed to know about the important aspects of life. Tune in weekly for conversations that are equal parts entertaining and educational, helping you navigate a complex world full of decisions—and maybe a laugh or two along the way!
Dividend ETFs vs. Dividend Stocks: Which Is Better?
Dividend ETFs may seem like the easy way to generate passive income—but does a high yield tell the whole story?
In this episode of Planning Made Simple, the team compares dividend ETFs with individual dividend stocks, examining income, portfolio growth, reinvestment, diversification, and control. They explain how an investment yielding 5% could ultimately produce more income than one yielding 8% when dividend growth and capital appreciation are included.
You’ll also hear a real-world example of a high-yield dividend ETF that remained nearly flat while individual dividend stocks in the same portfolio experienced significant growth. Plus, the team discusses how reinvesting dividends during a market decline can help investors accumulate more shares and potentially accelerate long-term compounding.
If you’re choosing between dividend ETFs and individual stocks, look beyond the advertised yield. Consider the investment’s total return, dividend growth, underlying holdings, and whether it supports your personal income goals.
Subscribe to Planning Made Simple for more straightforward conversations about dividend investing, retirement planning, and building lasting financial freedom.
www.planningmadesimple.com
www.insightfolios.com
8 Oct 2026
How Interest Rates Can Make You Rich—or Poor—as a Dividend Investor
When CDs and money-market accounts offer attractive interest rates, why accept the volatility of dividend stocks? A guaranteed return can appear safer—but focusing only on today’s yield may cause investors to overlook long-term income growth, share-price appreciation, and the power of reinvesting dividends at lower prices.
In this episode of Planning Made Simple, the team compares CDs, money-market accounts, and dividend-paying stocks. They explain the important difference between an interest rate and a dividend payment, why a company’s dividend history matters, and how market declines can create a powerful “recoil effect” for long-term investors.
You’ll also learn why chasing a temporary interest rate could leave you sitting on the sidelines during an important market recovery, when holding cash may make sense, and why even patience can become dangerous when a dividend company’s fundamentals begin to deteriorate.
The real question isn’t simply, “Which investment has the highest yield today?” It’s whether you’re planning for right now—or building wealth and income for the future.
Subscribe to Planning Made Simple for practical conversations about dividend investing, retirement planning, and creating a financial strategy built around your goals.
1 Oct 2026
The Lost Decade: 10 YEARS. NO GROWTH.
What happens to your retirement plan when the stock market goes nowhere for an entire decade?
From 2000 through 2009, investors endured the dot-com crash, three consecutive negative years and the financial crisis. For retirees who depended on selling investments for income, this “Lost Decade” exposed a major problem: average returns don’t tell you when those returns will arrive.
In this episode of Planning Made Simple, the team examines sequence-of-returns risk, the danger of selling during a downturn and how dividend income, rental income and other dependable income sources may help retirees avoid liquidating their principal at the worst possible time.
The real question isn’t simply how large your nest egg is. It’s whether your retirement income can continue covering your needs when the market stops cooperating.
Subscribe for straightforward conversations about retirement planning, dividend investing and building a dependable financial future.
www.plannningmadesimple.com
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
77,608
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
4.0 / 5
4 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
3 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 57 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
71
Social presence
0
YouTube
76
Engagement
32
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Guest appearances
Books guests
Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.
Questions about Planning Made Simple
Who hosts Planning Made Simple?
Kyle Morgan and Paul Durso host the show. Published by Planning Made Simple, created by Paul Durso.
How often do new episodes come out?
The show publishes daily, based on its RSS feed.
Does Planning Made Simple take guests?
Yes. Guests have been identified in episode analyses.
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