Episode 72 - Your portfolio is what you buy

Remember that old adage you are what you eat? Well the same is true for investing. Your portfolio is what you put into it.

Let’s be honest. Do we really think enough about what we eat before we eat it? If you knew all the preservatives and chemicals and other stuff you were putting into your body every time you sat down for a meal you might think twice about many if not some of your food choices.

The same can be true for investing. If you knew what was inside of the ETFs, Mutual Funds and Closed End Funds you buy, you might think twice about owning them. Just because you are looking at 2 different ETFs does not make them similar. In fact they can be more different from one another than the stocks of two individual companies might be.

Let’s take a deep dive into two ETFs. One is an indexed investment focused on growth. The other is a concentrated investment focused on income. Like with all investments we need to compare the benefits and the risks associated with each to help us decide if either or both might be right for us. To help compare the two we will look at a fishing metaphor to try and explain how the two are so different, but also have some similarity or cross over.

Investments discussed will include:

• iShares Core S&P 500 ETF Ticker: IVV

• YieldMax NVDA Option Income Strategy ETF Ticker: NVDY

Now let’s go fishing!

Episode 71 - ETFs and authorized participants and net asset values oh my.

Exchange Traded Funds or ETFs as they are commonly referred to sit in the portfolios of millions of Americans today. In recent years they have gained market share over Mutual Funds because they offer tax efficiency over Mutual Funds in the same asset categories. Do you know why that is? Also, do you really know what is going on under the hood with your favorite ETF?

In this episode we dive into ETFs and cover:

• What are ETFs?

• How do ETFs work?

• What is an authorized participant and are they good for us?

• Why are ETFs tax efficient?

Just like the old adage you are what you eat, your portfolio is what you put in it. If you have ETFs in your portfolio then you owe it to your hard earned dollars to understand what those things are, how they work and how they are different from other options.

Episode 70 - My friend Mr. Jones

In this episode JJ sets out to show you how to live your best life, only to get stuck in a tight cave and produce a recording that may well be his last.

Key takeaways include:

• Be authentic about your choices, don’t buy stuff or do things based on what others will think of you

• Be prepared, emergencies happen and having the right gear and an emergency fund are both important to survival

• Be smart, debt is a trap that can feel like the walls are closing in on you, make sure you only use it wisely if at all

None of these were the lessons that JJ set out to teach you when he crawled into that cave, but sometimes life happens. Hope you enjoy episode 70 of the Piggy Bank Chronicles! Also hope there is an episode 71. Good luck man!

Episode 69 - A pig and a poke

Where do piggy banks come from? What do corporate raiders eat for breakfast? JJ will try to answer one of those questions with the help of the internet. The other not so much.

In this episode JJ discusses the origins of the piggy bank and why savings as a great start still needs to be paired with investing to live your best life.

Next JJ dives into his unsolicited opinions about a recent exchange between Elliott Investment Management L.P. and Phillips 66. JJ offers 3 conjectures that nobody asked for. All conclusions are editorial and not fact based because what does he know. Then he ties this recent event with index investing and how it shields us from the shenanigans of individual investment firms and public companies.

Episode 68 - What's in a name

Do names have power? Do they impact how we see, connect and interact with people, places and things in our lives? In this compact but important episode JJ explores the psychology of names anchored in recent events and what it can mean for us in our daily lives.

Episode 67 - Watch this

No one expects change, but it comes anyway. When the market eventually makes a big correction, will you be ready for it? Will you know what to do. Creating a watch list of stocks, mutual funds and ETFs that you may want to buy when the market finally goes down dramatically is a good, practical step you can take to prepare. That and making sure you won't sell your assets out of fear. JJ explains the simple watch list concept and shares a couple of examples from his personal list and the reasons why he put them there.

Episode 66 - BAM 2025

When it comes to your personal finances, does everything they tell you to do just feel too complicated. What if you could do the bare booty minimum? Yeah, yeah, I know you know BAM means something else, but BBM is a stinky acronym and this is a family friendly podcast! Anyway, what if you could do the financial BAM in 2025? Would you do it? Well in this episode JJ outlines his idea for BAM in 2025. Here's hoping you find it useful in making your own financial new year's resolutions.

Episode 65 - Our favorite TV shows

It is that time of year again. For our holiday special my dear family joins me once again to list off our top 5 favorite somethings. This time it is TV shows. If you are looking for something new to watch we hope something on this list sparks your interest. We want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Please be kind to others and I look forward to visiting with you again in season 3 starting in January.

Episode 64 - Use your ult

In video gaming you have an ultimate ability or ult that makes your character special. In investing you have an ult also. In this episode JJ drives home this metaphor to help power up your investment on a regular basis.

Episode 63 - Liquidity

Today JJ riffs on liquidity, what it is and why you might or might not care about it.