Last month, J.P. Morgan released its first ever Global Family Office Report summarizing how some of the wealthiest households on Earth manage their money. One of their most notable findings was that the average family office allocation to alternatives was 46%. This sizable allocation to alternatives, which includes private equity, hedge funds, and real estate, among others, raises an important question for retail investors: Do you really need alternatives to get rich? While it can be tempting to copy the asset allocation of the ultra-wealthy, it's also crucial to understand when their investme ..read more

With the U.S. Presidential election set for a rematch in November, many investors are wondering how the U.S. stock market might perform in the months that follow. While predicting the future is never easy, using history as a guide can be useful for understanding how markets might react to a Biden or Trump victory. To this end, I have written this blog post which will cover: How U.S. stocks perform after a Presidential election Whether markets seem to favor Biden or Trump How Biden and Trump's policies might impact your finances Every four years we hear that "this might be the most important ..read more

With the rise of AI, the growing U.S. debt, and the looming possibility of WWIII, there's been some discussion about how to invest in case society collapses. Though these conversations tend to be overly dramatic, most of the theories around how to allocate your money for the end of the world are misguided. As I tweeted a few weeks ago: One of the worst arguments I've seen is that you should own gold or Bitcoin in case of societal collapse. I can promise you that both will be worthless in this scenario. Internet money and a shiny rock only have value in a functioning civilization, not the apoca ..read more

I've paid over $350,000 of rent in my life. That averages out to $2,500 a month since mid 2012. And, with near record interest rates and elevated home prices, I may end up paying another $350,000 in rent before I ever buy a house. I am a part of what you might call the Forever Renter class. This is a cohort of people in their mid-20s to late-30s who are either unwilling or unable to buy a home under current market conditions. Unfortunately, those conditions aren't moving in the right direction either. As Redfin recently reported, "The median U.S. home-sale price hit a record $383,725 during th ..read more

Last week, Bloomberg published an article on how the rich avoid paying New York income taxes while still owning a home in the city/state. The key to their tax avoidance strategy is spending less than 184 days in New York within a given calendar year. The 184 day limit is what determines whether an individual is considered a New York residence, and, thus, must pay New York income taxes. But what counts as "spending a day" in New York? Basically any time you are in the state and not traveling to go somewhere else. So, if you drive from New Jersey to the JFK airport and fly out of state, this doe ..read more

Recently, the Economist published an article on the economics of American lotteries. In it they found that, if Amercia's lotteries were a single company, they "would be the ninth-most profitable in the country." Unfortunately, the bulk of these profits come from some of the poorest people in the United States. As the article states: In the poorest 1% of zip codes that have lottery retailers, the average American adult spends around $600 a year, or nearly 5% of their income, on tickets. That compares with just $150, or 0.15%, for those in the richest 1% of zip codes. In other words, the poorest ..read more

A little over two years ago, I published Just Keep Buying: Proven ways to save money and build your wealth. Back then, it looked like my timing couldn't have been worse. The S&P 500 was 8% off its highs and sentiment was deteriorating by the day. When the market reached its lows in October 2022, U.S. stocks were down nearly 25% and all of my haters made sure to remind me of it. They said things like: "I've just kept buying and gotten poorer following this book's advice." "Of course he published a book called 'Just Keep Buying' after a 10 year bull market." "Now do Japan." The last comment ..read more

One of the biggest problems people have when it comes to money is figuring out what to do with it and when. Should you save up an emergency fund or pay off your debt first? Should you max out your 401(k) or invest more into your taxable brokerage account? Is it better to pay off your home early or invest your excess savings in stocks? While there is no right answer to these questions, having a financial philosophy to rely upon when thinking about them is essential. This is what we will discuss in this post—where you should put your money, or what some have called the "financial order of o ..read more

Let me tell you a story about two of my friends, Adam and Benjamin (not their real names).  Adam grew up under some difficult circumstances. His parents filed for bankruptcy when he was just five years old and divorced shortly thereafter. In the years that followed, Adam's life was a bit turbulent. He would bounce around between different schools and different condominiums where he lived with his mother, sister, and whoever his mother was dating at the time. Though his living situation at home wasn't unbearable, there wasn't much money to go around. His lowest point was living in a cockro ..read more

Buying a home is often considered the biggest financial decision people make in their lives. As a result, it makes sense as to ask yourself whether buying is the right choice when compared with renting. Unfortunately, this decision can easily get bogged down with the many assumptions and costs that go into renting vs. buying a home. This post aims to fix this by simplifying the decision process to focus on the few key variables that will make a difference in the long run. By the end of this article, you'll have a clearer understanding of which factors to consider when answering the question ..read more