In this 10 part video series, Jim Collins shares his advice about investing in the stock market. He’s been investing for over 40 years and financially independent for 25.
Today’s topic: Does the stock market always go up?
Category Archives: Investing
There’s a MAJOR stock market crash coming! – Stock Series Ep. 1 w/ Jim Collins
In this 10 part video series, Jim Collins shares his advice about investing in the stock market. He’s been investing for over 40 years and financially independent for 25.
Today’s topic: Why you should expect several major stock market crashes in your lifetime and that’s OK 🙂
Book Review: The Simple Path to Wealth by Jim Collins
We’re excited to announce?that our friend Jim Collins has just published a book based on his wildly successful “Stock Series” articles. ?We received?a preview copy of the book a few weeks ago and Jim?asked us if we could write a “blurb”?for promotional material. ?We replied:
“Jim Collins has the gift of making boring financial concepts funny and interesting. He makes complicated subjects simple and easy to understand. The Simple Path to Wealth is the first book I recommend to people curious about financial independence.”
And we mean every word of it. There’s a reason why Lauren and I decided to drive 2500 miles to interview Jim back in 2014. It’s because the writing style on his blog made investing in the stock market seem more accessible for the average person. That’s not an easy task.
Many of you email us asking for investment advice and 8 times out of 10 we direct you to Jim’s blog. ?”The Simple Path to Wealth” is now our go-to recommendation for people interested in investing and financial independence as it’s an expanded and polished version of his blog.
But there’s a reason why we trust Jim’s opinion before anyone else’s.
He was doing this stuff before it was cool.
He achieved financial independence before the internet was even around!?He didn’t have books, blogs, and videos as a blueprint. He just wanted “F-you money” so he could live life on his own terms and figured it out.
As an investor of over 40 years and financially independent for 25, I think we have a lot to learn from him. I hope you agree 🙂
Here is a link to the series of videos we filmed with him:
https://goo.gl/7maKWd
And here’s a link where you can buy the book (amazon affiliate):
https://amzn.to/1UUjMJa
Should You Invest in Your Crappy 401(k) Plan?
We don’t have very much experience with 401k’s, but Lauren’s work just set one up. I was amazed how horrible our options were. Most funds had a front end load of 5% and the manager wanted 1% of our wealth per year for his “advice.”
Unfortunately, despite the lack of options 401(k)’s are usually worth it. Between a company match and tax advantages you’ll probably recover a lot of those fees. It’s just a shame we have to pick the lesser of two evils.
Links:
Should You Avoid Your Company’s 401k (Jim Collins) – https://goo.gl/SOiCRI
How to Campaign for a Better Plan – https://goo.gl/JnJZF7
Funds Can’t Beat the Market – https://goo.gl/QdplTr
Jack Bogle on Fees – https://goo.gl/FVz03k
Should the Government Force People to Save for Retirement?
The United Kingdom is phasing in a new law that requires business owners to automatically enroll their employees in a retirement plan. Do you think there should be something similar in the United States?
In this video we discuss the pros and cons of auto-enrollment, the longevity of social security, and the psychological barriers of investing in the stock market.
Further Reading:
Why Saving Money is So Hard – https://goo.gl/ImK4cD
Small Business Stats – https://goo.gl/tWidzy
NPR Article – https://goo.gl/50j91a
Bankrate Survey – https://goo.gl/OM9yf8
Investing for Teenagers
We were thrilled with all of the questions we got from teenagers wanting to invest in the stock market after our last video. Instead of answering everyone individually, we decided to make a video about it!
In the video we discuss how we would invest in the stock market if we were under 18. Keep in mind, we’re not qualified to give you this kind of advice. We just remember being young and confused. All we wanted was someone to spell out ONE WAY of investing, just to show how it works.
UPDATE: You need what’s called a “custodial account” at vanguard if you’re under 18. You have to call them to set it up.
More Info: https://personal.vanguard.com/us/insights/article/teen-roth-072014
Why Don’t They Teach This in School – https://goo.gl/wrDl29
12% Returns – https://goo.gl/y1XZJf
Vanguard – www.vanguard.com
Further Reading – https://jlcollinsnh.com/stock-series/
The Mythical 12% Return
Dave Ramsey says you can expect a 12% return from the stock market. Naysayers say you can expect zero and the economy is about to collapse. We say….it’s probably somewhere in the middle.
This is a follow-up to our unintentionally controversial video last week about the power of compound interest.
Why Don’t They Teach This in School? – https://goo.gl/kAYaEM
IndexView – https://thume.ca/indexView/
Mr. Money Mustache 7% – https://goo.gl/fz18DG
Simple Dollar 7% – https://goo.gl/xyvTuf
Why Don’t They Teach This in School?!?
This morning we realized we’ve never shared the most important thing we’ve ever learned about money. I was 17 when I first heard about compound interest from Dave Ramsey and it’s the reason we care about personal finance today.
In the video we explain why it’s so important for young people to learn about the magic (and danger) of compound interest. Even 5 or 10 years can mean a difference of millions of dollars.
Please share this story with anyone who you think might need to hear it 🙂
Dave Ramsey Article: https://goo.gl/00EKYf
Financial Rules Meant to Be Broken
Sometimes common financial wisdom isn’t so wise. Occasionally, rules of thumb are meant to be broken. In this video we discuss the personal finance rules that we break.
Most of the time, the money advice you’ll hear on TV and magazines is so bad you’ll end up in debt because debt is normal for most Americans. We think just because it’s normal doesn’t make it OK.
If you follow the golden rule, spend less than you earn, you have a much better argument for breaking traditional advice.
Investing for Beginners
We don’t talk about investing for the first time enough. We take for granted that investing in the stock market has become second nature to us. There is also a lot of bad information out there on YouTube.
So, we decided to make a quick overview of the basics of investing. Instead of explaining everything all in one video, we describe how we invest in the stock market and have links below so you can read more about each step:
Can Everyone Retire A Millionaire? https://goo.gl/xmJbno
The 4% Rule – https://goo.gl/4kW3zS
Pay Yourself First – https://goo.gl/Q5AyrD
Automate Your Finances – https://goo.gl/unc3Zc
Why We Chose IRA – https://goo.gl/JF27H3
IRA vs. Roth IRA vs. 401k – https://goo.gl/qD5yBh
Why Vanguard – https://goo.gl/ZoSp6a
Why Index Funds – https://goo.gl/GO1Sy6
Why Index Funds, Again – https://goo.gl/kj0i3E
The Stock Market Always Goes Up – https://goo.gl/1TJWtP