As we grow our wealth and approach retirement, our finances tend to get more complicated and messy. We have more credit cards, bank accounts, investment accounts, and more holdings inside our investment accounts. One day we wake up, our finances are scattered, and we start to think about who’s going to deal with it if…
Most of us aren’t looking for extravagant wealth. We want sustainable and long-lasting wealth that provides financial security for our families and enough money to fund our desired lifestyle. That kind of wealth is more attainable than most people think. But there are no shortcuts. By consistently following a tried and true strategy over many…
Retirement investing is all about discipline. Pick a strategy that’s optimized for maximum returns and lowest cost, then deploy it, and let time compound your wealth. Many DIY investors choose a passive, low-cost index investing strategy — using mutual funds or ETFs from Fidelity, Vanguard, iShares, and Schwab, and allocating funds to stocks and bonds…
I started investing in dividend-paying blue chip stocks in 1995 when my uncle gave me a share of Chevron stock. He told me that if I keep buying more shares and reinvesting the dividends into additional shares, I’d eventually have a lot of shares paying me a lot of money. With some imagination and an…
When my Father-in-Law asks a timely question about passive index fund investing, it surely means many of you have the same question. And it’s regarding a unique scenario unfolding due to the upcoming SpaceX IPO on Friday, June 12th. It is the largest IPO in history, and it’s going to impact your retirement portfolio. How…
One thing I’ve learned from 30 years of investing and DIY money management is that there is always another way — and often the other way is more “optimized” than the current way. I put optimized in quotes because the opinion of what is better or perfect is based on history, not a crystal ball….
I follow an X/Twitter account that regularly posts the following chart, updating it frequently. The chart compares the Nasdaq’s performance — between Netscape’s 1994 release and the year 2000 (dot-com bubble peak) — with its performance since ChatGPT’s launch (red) in late November 2022. Netscape’s release in December of 1994 marked the beginning of the…
My Uncle gave me my first share of stock for my birthday in May of 1995. That one share of Chevron set me on a path to learning to invest most effectively — by doing it myself. All the books, blog posts, videos, courses, and talking heads are no substitute for brunt work and bruises….
Have you heard advertisements about creating lifetime income for a secure retirement? I’m always skeptical about annuities because they are so confusing, even for those of us who pay attention. It turns out that the term “lifetime income” is a marketing phrase intended to demystify annuities by highlighting their primary benefit. Unfortunately, a PR campaign…
Thanks to everyone who responded to the recent book giveaway. Your encouragement and kind words were uplifting. The responses gave me lots of topics to focus on in 2025. I received 104 responses. Congrats to the winners. Also, a few weeks back, I asked for your help in getting me over the 1,000 subscriber mark…
Though opinions vary on individual stocks vs. index funds, my own investments reflect a blend of both, from dividend and growth stocks to index funds, ETFs, and managed mutual funds. My uncle gave me one share of Chevron for my 20th birthday in 1995, and I built an individual stock portfolio from there. A retirement…
The minus your age rule of thumb is a simple math formula used in personal finance to help DIY investors and advisors determine a suitable stock-to-bond ratio for an investment portfolio. I’ve always referred to this as the 130 minus your age rule of thumb on this website, but that only tells part of the…
I’ve been investing on the M1 Finance platform since 2017. I was attracted by the intuitive way investors can design their ideal portfolio first and then fund it over time. This method differs from the traditional way of investing excess cash flow — buying individual holdings every month or so. With M1 Finance, any time…
TD Bank interviewed me on this topic. Check out the interview on YouTube or below. I’m 48. It’s been 28 years since I invested in my first stock. Twenty-eight years from now, I’ll be 76, about the same age as my parents. My parents recently fired their financial advisor and asked me to assist in…
The Bitcoin ETFs have gotten a lot of media attention recently. After years of contemplation, the SEC finally approved several “spot” Bitcoin ETFs (exchange-traded funds) for trading on stock exchanges. They include the following: Here’s a more detailed look at Bitcoin ETF fees. ETFs make it as easy as stocks to own and trade assets…
This article explores reasons to own ETFs vs mutual funds. Between stocks, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and alternative assets, we now have countless ways to invest our money more than ever. Though more options are better overall, the choices can be overwhelming. About 7,400 mutual funds and 3,000 ETFs are listed in the U.S.,…
Doing taxes is never fun. But each year, I find that our income has become more diversified than the previous. We now earn more than 7 streams of income — not counting my salary. A salary is great if you don’t mind full-time work. But it can become an unhealthy addiction. You can break the…
I’ve maintained a long-term buy-and-hold investing strategy since about 1995. The month-to-month details have changed quite a lot over the years, but the basic principles are mostly the same: This blog began as a chronicle of my monthly investment selections when I started writing back in 2013. A few years back, I stopped monthly and…
Over the winter, I had a large maple tree cut down in my backyard to make room for a shed. The cleanup required several multi-hour sessions of chopping and stacking firewood. Podcasts helped to pass the time. I’ve listened to the Rule Breaker Investing podcast for a few years, but not as often since the…
Over the past 12 months, I’ve added a few municipal bond ETFs (exchange-traded funds) to my taxable investment portfolio. I’ve done this to diversify my dividend income and reduce taxes in non-retirement accounts. These investments are easy to buy, have low volatility and risk, and provide monthly dividend income. I use the monthly tax-exempt income…
The U.S. government is borrowing $1.9 trillion to provide pandemic relief and stimulate the economy. A big chunk of that will be direct payments to Americans. Long story short, many Americans will get more than a thousand dollars deposited to their bank accounts or mailed in the coming weeks. As of St. Patrick’s Day, the…