Dads Daughters and Dollars

Why You Want Volatility What is VOLATILITY? The speed or degree of change in prices is called volatility. Turns out you want volatility. Why?.Volatility is what you want because volatility leads to returns. 3 Reasons 1)To make money in the financial markets, there must be price movement. Fortunately, the stock market obliges everyday because price movement is a constant in the markets. If the mark...

 A QUICK LESSON FROM ⁠ W ⁠ ARREN BUFFETT If the Dow Jones Industrial Average, at 33,057 as of this date in early November 2023, compounds at 1.47% annually, what will its value be on Dec. of 2099? The end of the century - 76 years from now.  That would take the Dow to 100,000. What if the Dow compounds at 4.6% annually? That would bring the Dow to 1,000,000 by the end of the century. 1,000,000. No...

THINGS THAT ARE PREDICTABLE ABOUT PERSONAL FINANCE  1)The stock market will go up and the stock market will go down. Every year there are rallies and every year there are declines. It is the cost of being in the stock market. Accept it as fact. 2)Stock Market indexes are a zero sum game . Poker is an example of a zero-sum game since the sum of the amounts won by some players equals the combined lo...

Little Known Social Security Facts 1. Social Security pays benefits to children. Social Security pays benefits to unmarried children whose parents are deceased, disabled, or retired.  An unmarried child can get benefits if they are: • Younger than age 18. • Between ages 18 and 19 and a full-time student at an elementary or secondary school (grade 12 or below). • Age 18 or older with a disability t...

A Life File is a place for all your important records. I got the idea when I read an article 20 years ago about what you should do if your wallet is stolen. That article said you should make a photocopy of everything in your wallet at least once a year.  It’s a great idea. If you misplace your wallet or it is stolen, could anyone really know exactly what was in there? Which credit cards were stole...

A "Backdoor Roth IRA" is not an account, it is a strategy used by high-income earners who can't contribute to a Roth IRA because their income is too high. Let’s quickly describe the difference BETWEEN a Roth IRA and a regular IRA. A Roth IRA is a tax free retirement account where you make a contribution to your Roth IRA account after you’ve already paid tax on it. So let’s say you ge...

In this episode we discuss why you should stay the course when it comes to the stock market. 2022 was one of the worst years ever for financial markets . The S&P 500 was down 18%. We are hard-wired to assume big losses will be followed by additional losses , just like we assume big gains will be followed by additional gains. Neither of those are necessarily so because the stock market is so em...

We welcome Katelyn back from the 2023 Women's World Cup in New Zealand. In this episode we compare lump-sum investing vs dollar cost averaging. Let's first define both. Dollar-cost averaging is continuously investing the same amount of money in a security over time, regardless of fluctuating prices.                  Lump sum investing is investing the full amount all at once. Example- You...

A Regular CD A certificate of deposit, or CD, is a type of savings account offered by banks and credit unions. You generally agree to keep your money in the CD without taking a withdrawal for a specified length of time. In general, in the past, the longer time frame of the CD, the more interest you would make.   5 year CD's would pay more than 1 year and 2 year CD's in general. Things have...

In this episode we talk about a recent great article I read from Clark Howard about making your digital accounts accessible should you have an accident or die. Here is the link https://clark.com/family-lifestyle/wills-funerals/online-accounts-accessible-when-you-die/?utm_source=Clark.com&utm_campaign=4d5b36bff3-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2023_08_06_06_49&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-4d5b36bff3-%5B...

True or False-To open an IRA you need to have earned income. False. One exception to the rule - A spousal IRA lets couples save for retirement even if only one spouse works and has earned income. History The IRA became law in !974 under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. The IRA initially allowed workers to save for retirement and take a tax-deduction for their contribution. But there wa...

BEFORE YOU GO ON YOUR TRIP -PUT IN YOUR PHONE-The closest State Dept phone number of your destination. ALSO PUT IN YOUR PHONE  The U.S. Department of State's Office of Overseas Citizens Services (888) 407-4747 (or from overseas +1 202-501-4444) can assist U.S. citizens who are temporarily destitute abroad. -THINGS TO BRING-Bring a color photocopy of the picture page of your passport overseas....

BEFORE I LEFT ON VACATION 1)I Made sure our passports were current. I always put a reminder in my calendar 9 months before it expires to update it.  2)I called and checked which credit cards had no foreign transaction fees.  I put travel notices on the credit cards without foreign transaction fees and only used those cards. Everything else stayed home.  Link to no foreign transaction fee credit ca...

BEFORE I LEFT ON VACATION 1)I Made sure our passports were current. I always put a reminder in my calendar 9 months before it expires to update it.  2)I called and checked which credit cards had no foreign transaction fees.  I put travel notices on the credit cards without foreign transaction fees and only used those cards. Everything else stayed home.  Link to no foreign transaction fee credit ca...

We welcome back Katelyn before she heads off to New Zealand for the 2023 Women's World Cup. We also welcome our 28th country , Taiwan! In this episode we discuss whether your house is a good investment. JL Collins and various other personal finance experts say a home is not a great investment. When compared to the stock market, in general, your house will not return as much over the long term...

In this popular travel episode, we discuss the pros and cons of trying to do 8 days and 7 nights in Portugal for under $1500. Why the words "Operated By" and "Code Share" give me PTSD and how the people and city of Lisbon are incredibly nice.  Here are links to some of the hacks used during this trip.  Smart Traveler Enrollment Program- Every US citizen should use this when tra...

We discuss how to figure your net worth and where you should be at certain ages to be on track. Reviewing your Net Worth over time can help you determine where you are AND how to get where you want to be. Net Worth Calculator   https://www.harnesswealth.com/net-worth-calculator/ Net Worth By Age Calculator  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44ddtR0XDVU Article about net worth   https://www.personalc...

My Dad has always said he believes everyone can handle their finances with a little intellectual curiosity. In this Part 1, he reveals two of the people he follows and hopes they inspire you to check out their work. Take 10-15 minutes 3 times a week and educate yourself! The first is Clark Howard, the popular consumer expert and former host of the nationally syndicated show, The Clark Howard Show....

During this episode, we discuss how credit cards are a borrowing device and how paying off your balance 100% is a smart move.

In this BEST OF EPISODE, my Dad explains what inflation is, why we should expect it and why it isn't necessarily bad for your investments.

We discuss all the reasons why saving is good for your mental and physical health. There are more reasons than you may think — it even surprised me! 

In this highly requested episode, my dad breaks down the financial philosophy of J.L. Collins and why he thinks he's one of the best ever in guiding us down the path of financial independence. Fun fact: the book Collins wrote is the first and only financial book Sean has given me! Links to articles/videos referenced in this podcast: JL Collins - Talks at Google https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=...

In this popular BEST OF EPISODE we talk about how small financial decisions really make a difference. Can you really watch everything on every streaming service? Learn about the rule of 173 and 1212 and why you need to know them when making financial decisions. 

Things we talk about in this episode. Congrats to Katelyn for getting assigned the 2023 Women's World Cup in New Zealand & Australia. Why I follow Morgan Housel & why I think you should too. And a Big Thank You to my wife Deanne for co-hosting a number of episodes in Season 6.   SAVING The most valuable personal finance asset is not needing to impress anyone. Less Ego, more wealth. The...

Is your bank safe? The FDIC is a wealth of information.  What is the FDIC? The FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation) is an independent agency of the United States government that protects you against the loss of your deposits if an FDIC-insured bank or savings association fails. Right now the FDIC (As of May of 2023) covers 4677 institutions 81,065 insured branches. Link to FDIC tutorial ht...