Personal Finance for Long-Term Investors - The Best Interest

Truth be told, personal finance is simple. There’s only a small number of foundational rules and a sprinkle of middle school math involved.    But our natural human short-comings make personal finance difficult to enact. So, how can we overcome the biases and behaviors that prevent us from successfully achieving our financial goals?    Jesse simplifies personal finance into three basic rules: spend less than you earn, save or invest the difference, and create safety nets. It’s great to have a foundation, however, we all know the devil’s in the details, so Jesse shares analogies regarding The Leaning Tower of Pisa, a former NFL player who grew up in poverty, and Warren Buffet to illustrate the nuance of his three rules.   Mentions: “The Easiest Money That Investors Ignore” https://bestinterest.blog/easiest-money-investors-ignore/ “Isn’t Personal Finance Pretty Simple?!” https://bestinterest.blog/simple/ “The Golden Rule of Personal Finance” https://bestinterest.blog/golden-rule/   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.  

While the idea of living in a meritocracy is desirable, as it rewards those who do better, is it prevalent in today’s society?    With 25% of American households making less than $30,000 a year, do billionaires really offer 200,000 times the merit than them? At what age do we start to blame the poor kid, a victim of bad luck his entire life, for his poor circumstances? Is anyone really self-made? Or does everything unfold by mere chance?   I invite Sam Dogen, The Financial Samurai, to discuss the role merit plays in the real world and how you can position yourself to achieve success.   Mentions: Jeff Bezos and the Meritocracy Kings: https://bestinterest.blog/meritocracy/ Learn About The Financial Samurai: https://www.financialsamurai.com/about/ How to Survive the War on Merit: https://www.financialsamurai.com/how-to-survive-the-war-on-merit/ Buy This, Not That on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3Wz1G3L   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.

2022 was a unique year for investors. Let’s compare last year’s bond and stock performances with historical trends to paint a bigger picture. Looking ahead to 2023 and beyond, there are reasons to be optimistic.    Next, underneath all the snow, there’s a cold lesson that came from the unexpected events of the Buffalo blizzard. Hear Jesse’s firsthand account and the important lesson learned.    And finally, Jesse shares 9 scientific tips to help you achieve your New Year's Resolutions, especially financial resolutions.   Mentions:   https://bestinterest.blog/2022-is-a-uniquely-bad-investing-year/   https://bestinterest.blog/making-2022-feel-much-better/   https://bestinterest.blog/9-scientific-facts-to-improve-your-finances/ https://fs.blog/everything-you-need-to-know-about-habits-the-science-of-habit-formation-and-change/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wcs2PFz5q6g&feature=emb_title   https://bestinterest.blog/buffalo-blizzard/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghYUuzhxDfs&feature=emb_title 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.

Big thanks to Justin Peters, from The Struggle is Real podcast, for allowing me to share this episode. A few months ago, Justin and I sat down to discuss helping young adults with their personal finances. We had a great conversation, which I want to share with you in its entirety!    If you’re curious to learn more, check out Justin’s Show Notes below:   If you’re paying attention to your portfolio right now, you know the stock market has been on a nosedive, and if you’re anything like me, this market drop has you feeling discouraged.   I continue doing all the right things. I maxed out my IRA, I’m dollar cost averaging through my 401K, and even investing my net earnings in my brokerage account.   All of this yet I’m still seeing my net worth go backwards. I’m beginning to question if investing my money is still the right thing to do.   Well luckily my friend Jesse Cramer is here to talk me off the ledge. It could be investing for your future or changing your career path to align with your passion. Jesse reminded me that the right choice doesn't always create short-term success but over the long-run, it will.   Aside from being my personal therapist, Jesse has had a ton of success in creating his personal finance blog, The Best Interest. His writing has also been featured in CNBC, MSN, the Motley Fool, Yahoo Finance, and more.   Jesse started The Best Interest blog in 2018 when he was working as an engineer but over the last year, realizing how much passion he had for personal finance, he made a career pivot and now works for a wealth management firm.   If you are considering changing careers to align more with your passion, this will be a great episode to listen to. Jesse shares his thought process behind his decision even though it meant taking a pay cut (for now).   We get into a lot of money conversation as well including the financial order of operations, investing in the market vs investing in yourself, and a useful thought process called the success to stress ratio. From my “lost and confused” to my senior investors, this episode has something for everyone.   Key Takeaways: - How Jesse went from being lost with finances to a personal finance blogger - Why Jesse took a pay cut to switch careers - Why making the right choice now will lead to success in the long-run even if in the short-term it doesn’t pay off - Using the financial order of operation to get started investing - Should I invest or pay off debt first? What about investing in a business? - How to get started budgeting - Success to stress ratio - What Dave Ramsey got right about credit cards (absolute rules) - Merging money with your significant other   Mentions: Joel O’Leary on TSIR (Apple Podcasts or Spotify) Darren Chait on TSIR (Apple Podcasts or Spotify)   More of Justin & The Struggle is Real: Show Notes: https://justinpeters.co/thestruggleisreal/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justinleepeters/   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.

FTX has been dominating the news. But what’s a simple explanation of what happened? Jesse explains the sudden rise and fall of the FTX and its founder, Sam Bankman-Fried.   Jesse shares a tough honeymoon delay as a reminder: it’s important to build in margin for unexpected events, because some things are out of our control.   Social media is addictive by design. It wastes time, manipulates peoples’ views, emotions, and behavior. And that’s why quitting social media is in Jesse’s best interest.   Mentions: 6 Investing Lessons from Our Honeymoon's Terrible Start Why I'm Quitting Social Media   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.

On this episode of the podcast, we discuss the hidden dangers of "analysis paralysis" in personal finance. And we discuss the "omission vs. commission" problem in investing. Does "doing nothing" absolve you of financial responsibility? 

On this episode, we talk about rogue waves, rogue markets, and paying off debt.  We also answer 4 cool listener questions, covering: - credit cards - how to invest $100K - if current economic conditions are affecting my investing thoughts - and my first foray into investing

This episode features thoughts on Kanye West, and detailed answers to two terrific reader/listener questions.    A few links:  Original Kanye article: https://bestinterest.blog/kanye-broker-than-me/ ChroniFi podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/acting-in-your-own-best-interest-interview-with-jesse/id1597816029?i=1000579101148 BiggerPockets podcast:  https://podcasts.apple.com/tr/podcast/the-almost-guaranteed-way-to-31x-your-investments/id1330225136?i=1000579159475

In this episode, we talk about: - the college loan forgiveness program - "gardening" vs. "dining out," and how it applies to financial planning - a blog reader asking if they made a BIG investing mistake? 

The podcast is back! This episode covers... - a quick (hopeful) plan for the future of the pod - discussing "The Perfect Investor," and why they're a mythical character - and a favor: send me your questions!