(Read time: 4 minutes)
Good morning y’all,
Quick note: I’m revamping my referral program.
Two changes coming:
1 referral – access to my reading list & notes (30+ finance and 100+ business, psychology, and more)
3 referrals – I’ll send you one of my favorite books
Without further ado, your Tuesday newsletter.
Read This
The best articles I’ve read recently.
The stock market is not the economy (Fortunes and Frictions)
The 1 Necessary Ingredient for Achieving Financial Independence (Financial Samurai)
What can the Brooklyn Nets teach you about investing? (Contessa Capital)
Government shutdowns and stock performance (Michael Batnick)
Ford copies Tesla and drops EV prices (NYT)
Not That
Headlines spotted in the wild that are bullshit to be ignored.
The Best Stocks to Invest $1,000 in Right Now
How Much Income Can You Make Investing $10K in Warren Buffet’s Top 5 Dividend Stocks?
Tips (from Nick Maggiulli)
Excited to share another awesome interview with an expert in the personal finance space.
Nick Maggiulli is the COO of Ritholtz Wealth Management, writer of the personal finance blog Of Dollars and Data, and author of Just Keep Buying: Proven Ways to Save Money and Build Your Wealth.
Here are my two favorite questions from the interview:
Cole: If you could give your 25-year-old self one piece of advice about managing money, what would it be?
Nick: Focus on growing your income, not your investments.
Cole: What do most individual investors get wrong about investing?
Nick: Most individual investors probably spend too much time trying to over-optimize their investments. Most of these little things won’t matter in the long run. For example, questions like, “should I invest monthly or bi-weekly?” or “What’s the best day of the week to invest?” don’t move the needle. You know what does? Raising your income and saving more money. This is especially true for younger investors.
Q&A
Reader: You use Wealthfront for high-yield savings right? What’s the APY and are there fees? Also for high yield is there less liquidity than a typical savings account? Not sure why they’d offer higher returns otherwise.
Cole: Correct! I use Wealthfront for my high-yield savings account. There are no fees.
The interest rate varies with the Federal Reserve interest rates but is currently 3.8%.
You can take money out of this account as you please (up to 6 times per month). A high-yield savings account differs from a certificate of deposit, which locks your money in place.
High-yield savings accounts offer better interest than traditional banks by passing along more of their earnings to you.
For example, Wells Fargo pays you practically nothing for savings accounts but charges you interest for borrowing money. When the Federal Reserve increases interest rates, they generally don’t increase your savings account APY.
High-yield savings accounts pass along a larger portion of their earnings, likely to try and allure customers to bank with them.
You can learn more about how Wealthfront does this by reading the article below.
Together with Rocket Money
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Manage my subscriptions
Help me lower my bills
Track my spending across all accounts
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Track my net worth
They do it all.
The other day I forgot to make a credit card payment on a random card and got hit with a late fee.
Rocket Money alerted me, provided a script to use with the card issuer, and I got the late fee waived. $30 just like that.
You can use the app for free or choose how much to pay per month for their premium subscription. Yes, you could choose $1/month.
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Extras
I gave a workshop on finances and psychology to college undergrads last night. The biggest questions they had? What’s a 401(k)? What’s a CD? These are very bright scientists and engineers and and yet the very basics of saving and investment have NEVER been addressed.
— Sarah Newcomb (@finance_therapy)
Jan 27, 2023
Many people are highly intelligent but don’t know shit about money.
There is no shame in admitting that you don’t know what a 401K or a certificate of deposit is.
If you weren’t taught these things, it’s not your fault. But it is now your responsibility to learn.
By reading this (and the resources I share), you’re on the right track.
If you haven’t already, check out the Junto Instagram or come say hello on Twitter.
Cheers,
Cole
PS: Avoid this common investing mistake.
Disclaimer: This newsletter is strictly informational. It is not investment advice, tax advice, financial advice, or a solicitation to buy/sell any assets. Please do your own research. You’re an adult and you’re responsible for your own decisions. This newsletter may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links (at no cost to you).