Personal Finance for Long-Term Investors - The Best Interest

Today on the podcast, we have a fascinating guest. He's a gentleman by the name of Fritz Gilbert. He runs a blog called The Retirement Manifesto. As you might guess from the name of Fritz's blog, it's all about retirement. Now, yes, Fritz covers the nuts and bolts, the numbers of retirement, but we talk even more regarding the softer side of retirement, the things that retirees ought to be thinking about when it comes to just day-to-day life that they probably aren't thinking about. If you're younger like me, this might not quite apply to you yet, but I bet it applies to your parents, your aunts and uncles, and your older mentors at work. So, it’s important we get people to think about these topics sooner. Enjoy!   Mentions: Morningstar’s The Long View Interview with Fritz: https://www.morningstar.com/podcasts/the-long-view/e8b3c47b-0e67-4c00-b146-8b1060a5d604 The Retirement Manifesto Blog: https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/blog/   More of The Best Interest: Check out the Best Interest Blog at bestinterest.blog Contact me at jesse@bestinterest.blog   The Best Interest Podcast is a personal podcast meant for educational and entertainment. It should not be taken as financial advice, and is not prescriptive of your financial situation.

What exactly does it mean to live a regret free life? Our guest today, Jordan Grumet aka Doc G, shares the observations he’s made as a hospice doctor. We get into a discussion about how money is a mirage. Many people view it as this big important thing, but in reality it’s just a construct. It helps us achieve other things, and it's those other things which are truly important, not the money itself. It can be easy to forget money is just one of many tools at your disposal in building a happy life. So, today we extrapolate what those tools might be, and how money fits in the middle of it all.   Mentions: Taking Stock: A Hospice Doctor’s Advice on Financial Independence, Building Wealth, and Living a Regret-Free Life: https://amzn.to/45e47Ol   More of Jordan: Website: https://jordangrumet.com/ Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/2CdpAR3sgltBBhDcpWRq0g   More of The Best Interest: The article I read from today: https://bestinterest.blog/where-life-happens/ Check out the Best Interest Blog at bestinterest.blog Contact me at jesse@bestinterest.blog   The Best Interest Podcast is a personal podcast meant for educational and entertainment. It should not be taken as financial advice, and is not prescriptive of your financial situation.

Today, I’m going to share the five false proxies leading people astray in their financial goals. In fact, what if I told you a recent study revealed your $1 million investment principal was more likely to quadruple than remain flat even after decades of enjoying a 4% withdrawal rate? Would you rethink your saving strategy? Would you consider passing along some of your inheritance sooner in life? With that said, how do we come close to dying with zero? Our guest today has plenty of thoughts on bolstering the longevity of our finances, and surprisingly, his number one tip has nothing to do with your money. We also discuss lump sum investments vs dollar cost averaging and if you should be worrying about pennies when you might be missing out on dollars. I hope you enjoy my conversation with the creator of Of Dollars and Data, Nick Maggiulli. Mentions: Just Keep Buying: Proven Ways to Save Money and Build Your Wealth: https://amzn.to/3DCXs43 Die With Zero: Getting All You Can from Your Money and Your Life: https://amzn.to/3DAXnhs Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity: https://amzn.to/457Yh0D   More of Nick: Blog: https://ofdollarsanddata.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholasmaggiulli   More of The Best Interest: Check out the Best Interest Blog at bestinterest.blog Contact me at jesse@bestinterest.blog   The Best Interest Podcast is a personal podcast meant for educational and entertainment. It should not be taken as financial advice, and is not prescriptive of your financial situation.

What kind of mood would you find yourself in if a tree fell onto your house? Would it ruin your day? Our guests might have something to say about that…   Joining me today are two of the most outrageously optimistic, enthusiastic experts in personal finance, Joel O'Leary and Joel Laarsgard.   I’ll often have clients come in and say, “Jesse, we really want to approach things conservatively. I mean after all, you’ve seen the news, right? We know we’re heading into a recession.” And on one hand, of course, we want to be paying attention to the economy, but what do the short term fluctuations in the news cycle really mean to us over the span of 30 years? We shouldn’t let a negative bias harm our long-term financial health.    Today we discuss if there’s truly a force behind the power of positivity and what it could mean in your financial situation. After all, one of Joel’s favorite quotes is “invest like an optimist and save like a pessimist.” So, join me in this lighthearted conversation as we break it all down.   More of Joel Laarsgard: https://5amjoel.com/   More of Joel O’Leary: https://www.howtomoney.com/   More of The Best Interest: Check out the Best Interest Blog at bestinterest.blog Contact me at jesse@bestinterest.blog   The Best Interest Podcast is a personal podcast meant for educational and entertainment. It should not be taken as financial advice, and is not prescriptive of your financial situation.

Today’s episode starts in Minnesota, during an experiment where young men were intentionally starved. They knew starvation would affect their body, but were shocked by how it affected their brains. We then travel to Johnsonburg, a small town in Pennsylvania, where an unexpected event involving deer and a newly constructed bridge made headlines.    Did you know that mammal brains, including ours, share a common trait? It's called the amygdala, a remarkable part of our brain responsible for our fight or flight response. Just like the deer that instinctively jumped off the highway bypass, we too have an impulse that urges us to take drastic action when faced with fear. In the context of investing, this impulse often leads us to panic sell our portfolios during market downturns.   But is this fear-driven response always rational, or is it short-sighted? Fear, after all, is a survival mechanism designed to prompt us into action that alleviates the feeling of fear. However, when it comes to our investments, is it more crucial to survive negative outcomes than to chase maximum returns during favorable times?   Today, Jesse explains the psychology of investing including the answer to a popular question, should you have bonds in your investment portfolio? Only when the tide goes down do we discover who’s been swimming naked. Don't let fear dictate your financial future, and instead learn why the true cost of investing is all psychological.   Mentions: Malcolm Gladwell’s podcast episode:  https://www.pushkin.fm/podcasts/revisionist-history/the-department-of-physiological-hygiene   More of The Best Interest: Check out the Best Interest Blog at bestinterest.blog Contact me at jesse@bestinterest.blog   The Best Interest Podcast is a personal podcast meant for educational and entertainment. It should not be taken as financial advice, and is not prescriptive of your financial situation.

You might’ve seen it on the nightly news or read it in the morning paper, but things got a little tense on Capitol Hill leading into Memorial Day weekend. Today we’re going to talk about the debt ceiling crisis that almost happened in the US. Luckily, politicians figured it out, or at least kicked the can down the road. So, what does that mean for your finances?   Well, hopefully nothing. But what about a couple looming questions like: What are the underlying factors that contribute to the need for the government to raise the debt ceiling repeatedly? Can the Treasury continue to take on debt? Does the recurring debt impact the long-term credibility of the government's financial decisions? How does the uncertainty surrounding the debt ceiling affect financial markets, investor confidence, and economic growth both domestically and globally?   Jesse’s here to break down what is another confusing topic sure to affect investors of all kinds, the national debt ceiling.   More of The Best Interest: Check out the Best Interest Blog at bestinterest.blog Contact me at jesse@bestinterest.blog   The Best Interest Podcast is a personal podcast meant for educational and entertainment. It should not be taken as financial advice, and is not prescriptive of your financial situation.

Investing can be stressful. We worry when our accounts are going down and grow overconfident when our accounts are going up. So how do we find a good baseline?    Surprisingly, one of the answers has to do with chess and a Chinese emperor.    Sit back and let Jesse improve your investing mindset as he explains 7 intriguing stories and facts about how the stock market works.   Mentions: *Actual Stock Market Returns* Will Change Your Investing Perspective…: https://bestinterest.blog/actual-stock-market-returns/ Aswath Damodaran: A Valuation Expert’s Take on Inflation, Stock Buybacks, ESG, and More: https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/aswath-damodaran-a-valuation-experts-take-on/id1462214964?i=1000613283867   More of The Best Interest: Check out the Best Interest Blog at bestinterest.blog Contact me at jesse@bestinterest.blog   The Best Interest Podcast is a personal podcast meant for educational and entertainment. It should not be taken as financial advice, and is not prescriptive of your financial situation.

Time is coming for us all, and according to one survey, 73% of adult children haven’t had detailed conversations with their parents about their parents’ finances. In fact, many of them don’t know how to even start the discussion.   Today, on The Best Interest Podcast, Jesse explains a few ways to bring up this conversation, gather information, and details which topics you should discuss not just with your parents, but family at large.   Communication is a huge part of personal finance and all relationships, and the mixture of finance and family is a place where communication is paramount.   Jesse also reflects on the five regrets we commonly have at the end of life, and how David Foster Wallace thinks we should approach living a meaningful life.   Mentions: GOBankingRates Survey: https://www.gobankingrates.com/saving-money/family/americans-discuss-finances-aging-parents-survey/ Bronnie’s List: https://bestinterest.blog/the-top-5-regrets-of-the-dying/ This is Water: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCbGM4mqEVw   More of The Best Interest: Check out the Best Interest Blog at bestinterest.blog Contact me at jesse@bestinterest.blog   The Best Interest Podcast is a personal podcast meant for educational and entertainment. It should not be taken as financial advice, and is not prescriptive of your financial situation.

Today, we explore the concept of FIRE, a community of individuals dedicated to the principles of achieving financial independence and early retirement.    Jesse plays devil’s advocate against FIRE, dives into the nuance of the 4% rule (a widely misunderstood concept in the FIRE community), and demonstrates how to shape financial independence to work for your personal goals.   Then, Brad Barrett, the host of the popular personal finance podcast Choose FI, joins Jesse to cover the objective numbers when it comes to achieving financial independence before traditional retirement and why pursuing financial independence may be worthwhile even if you don't reach full FIRE.    Mentions: Wade Pfau’s Updated Trinity Study: https://www.forbes.com/sites/wadepfau/2018/01/16/the-trinity-study-and-portfolio-success-rates-updated-to-2018/?sh=18e5e1946860   The Origin of the 4% Rule: https://www.fa-mag.com/news/choosing-the-highest--safe--withdrawal-rate-at-retirement-57731.html   Mr Money Mustache’s Shockingly Simple Math: https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/01/13/the-shockingly-simple-math-behind-early-retirement/   Die with Zero: https://amzn.to/3LTxmh5   FIRE Starter: A Brief Intro to Personal Finance’s Hot New Acronym: https://bestinterest.blog/fire-starter-a-brief-intro-to-personal-finances-hot-new-acronym/   You’re Probably Using the 4% Rule All Wrong: https://bestinterest.blog/the-4-percent-rule/   How to Retire Decades Early: https://bestinterest.blog/how-to-retire-decades-early/   Choose FI Podcast: https://www.choosefi.com/   More of The Best Interest: Check out the Best Interest Blog at bestinterest.blog Contact me at jesse@bestinterest.blog   The Best Interest Podcast is a personal podcast meant for educational and entertainment. It should not be taken as financial advice, and is not prescriptive of your financial situation.

Three things are certain in life: death, taxes, and a couple weekly articles from The Best Interest. Today we explore the intersection of two of the most important components of personal finances, taxes and investing and why you might save thousands of dollars off your tax bill.   Jesse tackles the topic of taxes from a few different angles: the most common mistakes in understanding taxes including tax brackets, how they work and why accepting a raise can’t decrease your take home pay, the RRTTLLU framework of assessing investments and taxes, the “real returns” of different tax-advantaged accounts, and a deep-dive lesson in capital gains taxes.   Mentions: Capital Gains Taxes 101: https://bestinterest.blog/capital-gains-taxes-101/ Roth is Better Than Traditional: https://bestinterest.blog/roth-is-better-than-traditional/ How Do Taxes Affect Stock Return?: https://bestinterest.blog/how-do-taxes-affect-stock-returns/ RRTTLLU: https://bestinterest.blog/rrttllu/ 15 Minutes Saving $120,000: https://bestinterest.blog/15-minutes-of-math/ How Do Tax Brackets Work?: https://bestinterest.blog/how-tax-brackets-work/ Reddit Investing Question: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-9EB24Y-ow0yutfVoWICM4We9p4m9b7C4JRoqKI9G_c/edit#gid=0   More of The Best Interest: Check out the Best Interest Blog at bestinterest.blog Contact me at jesse@bestinterest.blog   The Best Interest Podcast is a personal podcast meant for educational and entertainment. It should not be taken as financial advice, and is not prescriptive of your financial situation.