The Piggy Bank Chronicles

Episode 79 - Sticks and stones We have all been called names. When people call you names related to saving and investing it might say more about them than it does about you. In an episode that is both therapy for the host and informative for the guests JJ tries to unpack better behavior through name calling. Are you cheap, or are you thoughtful? Here are 3 checks you can make to figure it out. Are...

Episode 78 - Vino and Dinero Does drinking wine make you a better investor? Probably not. But if you ask your good questions ahead of time then you might get some candid answers. In this offbeat  episode JJ talks to 3 family members who are charging through the first decade of their careers and investing journeys to answer some really great questions on saving, investing and living their best life...

Episode 77 - Investment Showdown #3 We are back with another investment showdown. This time we are comparing two random investments chosen by ChatGPT. Avantis U.S. Equity ETF (AVUS) Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF (RSP) Buckle up for some strong if barely useful opinions, some amateur analysis of investments that are new to your humble host, and his final conclusion of if or when you might bu...

Episode 76 - Yes and no Boundaries are an important part of living your best life. Are you saying yes and no at the right times? In this episode JJ dives into some key takeaways inspired by the best selling book Boundaries by Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend. Observations include core concepts of: Responsibility - What are you responsible for (yes) and not responsible for (no) Communication -...

Episode 75 - I will gladly repay you on Tuesday In this is the long overdue episode on bonds we will explore: What are bonds? What causes bonds to go up and down? Who sells bonds? Should we all have bonds? Get ready for some more goofy acting and stories as JJ with the help of his niece Cady tries to make learning about bonds both entertaining and educational. Here’s hoping he gets at least one of...

Episode 74 - No such thing as a free lunch. None of us work for free. Given that, we should not expect our financial advisors to either. If you are getting help investing your money and you think you are paying low or no fees, then your advisor may be profiting from you in another way that is not as obvious. In this episode we cover 3 major themes of fees that financial professionals receive inclu...

Episode 73 - Are the robots our friends? Morning Star has released their 2025 Robo-Advisor report and we were excited to dig in and find out what if anything has changed in 2 years. The discussion includes: The state of robo advisors in 2025 Who are the leaders per the semi-annual Morning Star 2025 Robo-Advisor Report and which if any are different from 2023? Does this still represent a  good opti...

Episode 72 - Your portfolio is what you buy Remember that old adage you are what you eat? Well the same is true for investing. Your portfolio is what you put into it. Let’s be honest. Do we really think enough about what we eat before we eat it? If you knew all the preservatives and chemicals and other stuff you were putting into your body every time you sat down for a meal you might think twice a...

Episode 71 - ETFs and authorized participants and net asset values oh my. Exchange Traded Funds or ETFs as they are commonly referred to sit in the portfolios of millions of Americans today. In recent years they have gained market share over Mutual Funds because they offer tax efficiency over Mutual Funds in the same asset categories. Do you know why that is? Also, do you really know what is going...

Episode 70 - My friend Mr. Jones In this episode JJ sets out to show you how to live your best life, only to get stuck in a tight cave and produce a recording that may well be his last. Key takeaways include: Be authentic about your choices, don’t buy stuff or do things based on what others will think of you Be prepared, emergencies happen and having the right gear and an emergency fund are both i...

Episode 69 - A pig and a poke Where do piggy banks come from? What do corporate raiders eat for breakfast? JJ will try to answer one of those questions with the help of the internet. The other not so much. In this episode JJ discusses the origins of the piggy bank and why savings as a great start still needs to be paired with investing to live your best life. Next JJ dives into his unsolicited opi...

Episode 68 - What's in a name Do names have power? Do they impact how we see, connect and interact with people, places and things in our lives? In this compact but important episode JJ explores the psychology of names anchored in recent events and what it can mean for us in our daily lives.

Episode 67 - Watch this No one expects change, but it comes anyway. When the market eventually makes a big correction, will you be ready for it? Will you know what to do. Creating a watch list of stocks, mutual funds and ETFs that you may want to buy when the market finally goes down dramatically is a good, practical step you can take to prepare. That and making sure you won't sell your assets...

Episode 66 - BAM 2025 When it comes to your personal finances, does everything they tell you to do just feel too complicated. What if you could do the bare booty minimum? Yeah, yeah, I know you know BAM means something else, but BBM is a stinky acronym and this is a family friendly podcast! Anyway, what if you could do the financial BAM in 2025? Would you do it? Well in this episode JJ outlines hi...

Episode 65 - Our favorite TV shows It is that time of year again. For our holiday special my dear family joins me once again to list off our top 5 favorite somethings. This time it is TV shows. If you are looking for something new to watch we hope something on this list sparks your interest. We want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Please be kind to others and I look f...

Episode 64 - Use your ult In video gaming you have an ultimate ability or ult that makes your character special. In investing you have an ult also. In this episode JJ drives home this metaphor to help power up your investment on a regular basis.

Episode 63 - Liquidity Today JJ riffs on liquidity, what it is and why you might or might not care about it.

Episode 62 - The princess and the ogre A fairy tale about ownership to help you frame your thinking on wealth and financial freedom.

Episode 61 - Intentional success JJ discuss how some of the riches men in American history achieved success through careful and consistent control over their personal and professional spending and how you can too.

Episode 60 - The bots are coming AI is already very present in our lives. In this episode JJ introduces you to the concept of AI generated social content and provides some examples of how easy it is to create content with little or no effort. There's a worth while message about saving and investing for your financial freedom and about investing in your personal skills as part of the journey to get...

Episode 59 - Visualize (welcome to the crazy) Do you think about how purchases will fit into your life and your financial health on a regular basis? If not you should. JJ pulls back the covers and talks about 2 upcoming purchases, the process he goes through in his head before he makes them. JJ may be crazy (we haven't had him tested yet), but his simple 2 step process for making purchases will be...

Episode 58 - Agency A candid discussion of agency and how if can change the course of your life.

Episode 57 - The game you are playing - part 2 In this episode JJ concludes his exploration of the game you are playing by looking at how to perform a Discounted Cash Flow Analysis on a sample real world company and how we should think about that company in the macro sense as it tries to do business in a big and fast evolving world.

Episode 56 - The game you are playing - part 1 What is game theory and how does it apply to life and investing? JJ explores his thoughts on game theory, complex systems and how we can think about the consequences of our actions for short term vs long term game. We are setting the state for a way to think about individual equity investing in part 2.

Episode 55 - Good work In this episode JJ talks about some advice (from someone smarter than him) on happiness in life and how you might think about applying that to your career as well.