This is our 2024 first-quarter commentary.  Nathaniel discussed 3 main topics: US stock market performance, and why the S&P 500 doesn’t truly reflect the overall stock market; inflation, and how it impacts your investments; and lastly, the 2024 presidential election and how it may affect your financial planning ..read more

If you are planning to have a child, or you just had one, there are some financial preparations that you may find extremely beneficial in the long run: 1. Cash Flow: Create a realistic budget and increase your emergency fund; 2. Estate Planning: Pick your guardians, create a trust, or at least complete the free estate planning templates your state provides; 3. Life Insurance: Now that you have (or are about to have) another person who depends on you, please review your insurance needs.  It's a risk management tool, not an investment! 4. Education Planning: Utilize 529 plans and other use ..read more

In this episode, Nathaniel and Tim discussed what the S&P 500 index is, its performance, and does it truly represent the overall stock market.  From January 1 to June 20, 2023, the S&P 500 increased 14.3%.  That's well above the 10-year and 20-year averages through that same time period of 3.6% and 3%, respectively.  "The markets must be doing really well this year then!", you may think.  But why are your 401(k)/retirement accounts not doing as well?  Did you know that the top 9 companies of this index (Apple, Microsoft, Amazon.com, Nvidia, Tesla, Alphabet, Met ..read more

In this episode, Tim and Nathaniel discussed private investments: what're their qualifications, why they have income/assets restrictions, and how should one view them.  A couple of research filters to go through: define your goals, understand the vehicles, consider the risk, know the management/leadership, and pay the right price.  Nathaniel made a great point: if you have a small business or part-time side business, the best private investment could actually be your own company.  You know the industry well, you understand the product/service, and you are in control of the execu ..read more

Threads is Meta’s latest social media app.  It’s a Twitter-like product with short missives you can share with followers.  It lets you post text, photos, links, and videos.  It reached 100 million subscribers in a record time: within 2 days.  In comparison: it took ChatGPT 2 months, TikTok 9 months, Instagram 30 months, cell phones 15 years, and telephones 75 years.  Tim and Nathaniel discussed from an investor’s perspective, what Twitter’s and Thread’s (really Twitter and Meta’s) pros and cons are and what the future may hold for them ..read more

For this episode, Nathaniel and Tim discussed investments within the music industry.  The earning method has changed in the past decade with streaming services.  Nathaniel used Taylor Swift as a perfect example of how top artists can change the power dynamic with corporate giants.  There are many different types of organizations in the music industry (artists, music production, recording companies, publishing companies, agencies, etc.); which ones will Nathaniel choose to invest with?  He gave his answer and reasoning ..read more

In the last episode, we discussed some frequent spending habits we’ve seen, and how we should interpret them.  For this episode, we are going to discuss budgeting.  Before we start, understand that this is going to be an emotional and hard exercise.  Ask yourself, are you really ready to make a lifestyle change if needed?  Be realistic about your expectations and numbers: if not, you are going to fail again and again, and create a negative emotion feedback.  Dan and Tim discussed delayed gratification, outliers, and the importance of understanding the value of your dol ..read more

This is part one of our spending habits discussion.  Dan and Tim listed what people call “spending red flags”: frequent small expenses like coffee and restaurants; unused subscriptions and memberships; impulse purchases; and trying to keep up with your friends.  We are not disagreeing with these points, but it’s also important to understand this: our spending is not about the objects/services that we pay for, but more about the emotions behind the purchase.  You have to ask yourself: why did I buy it, and does it bring me the maximum happiness?   ..read more

The crypto ETFs are not doing too well for the past year.  The fall of some leading players like Tierra/Luna and FTX hurt investors greatly, and the potential criminal fraud investigation is even more alarming.  And now, with the rise of ChatGPT, you can clearly see that crypto is no longer ETFs’ favorite new baby; the money is moving to the AI world.  Investors are piling into shares of graphics chip maker Nvidia, Microsoft, Google, and other stocks that they think stand to benefit from AI technology. What can we learn from the crypto fallout, and should we jump on the new AI i ..read more

For this episode, we asked ChatGPT and Google Bard: "Write a podcast outline on how will ChatGPT/Google Bard change the financial planning industry?"  Here is the second part of each chatbot's outline. Discuss potential concerns and limitations of using ChatGPT in financial planning: o Make mistakes that could lead to financial losses. o Be biased in its advice, which could lead to people making poor financial decisions.  o Not be able to understand all of the nuances of a person's financial situation, which could lead to bad advice. Overall all, we believe that AI technology is go ..read more