Thoughts On Money [TOM]

This week's blogpost - https://bahnsen.co/45WjDzp

In sports, a fair-weather fan is a term for fans who only show up when their teams perform well. We also have a term for fans that rotate their allegiance based on which team is winning and, in vogue, a bandwagon fan

While you have to respect those whose fanhood runs deeper than the current performance of their beloved team, born out of loyalty to one's family heritage or hometown, however, your investment strategy must have deeper intellectual roots, and your commitment to that strategy can’t be “fair weather,” and it can’t be “bandwagon.”

Links mentioned in this episode:

This week's blogpost - https://bahnsen.co/3BX4Fve

The financial planning industry is obsessed with talking about (1) you not outliving your nest egg and (2) the proper planning on bequeathing your wealth.

Yet, there is very little discussion about how one would enjoy their legacy during their lifetime.

Today, we will discuss the reality of future financial leftovers and the importance of planning for those leftovers now. We will talk about the process of breaking your financial plan, setting dream goals, and much more.

Links mentioned in this episode:

This week's blogpost - https://bahnsen.co/3MILA6a

From my vantage point, a lot of investors are sitting on their hands right now.  There seems to be a hesitation to buy real estate, stocks, and any other risk assets. 

Everyone is in a sit-and-wait posture. 

I believe much of this is driven by fear, a fear that can be paralyzing for many.  Yet, your financial goals do not sit-and-wait. They are dependent on prudent financial decisions and actions. 

Please join me as we unpack this further in today’s Thoughts On Money. 

Links mentioned in this episode:

This week's blogpost - https://bahnsen.co/3Vy7trq

Please join me today for a few fun stories. You will learn about the number one rule in our house growing up and how I absolutely butchered the catering order for my son's 1st birthday.

As I typically do, these stories will bring us back to financial planning. I will explain why accurately estimating your expenses may be the most important component of your financial plan. Additionally, I will walk you through some practical steps for how you can keep a pulse on your actual spending.

All of this and much more in today’s Thoughts On Money…

Links mentioned in this episode:

This week's blogpost - https://bahnsen.co/3oDKHlx

I’m not sure if this is a cultural phenomenon or just how we are wired as humans, but I see so many people agonize and dwell on the minors while ignoring the majors.

You can’t stop thinking about that nick on your new car, your teenage daughter can’t stop looking at that pimple in the mirror, your husband can’t stop complaining about that slightly crooked outlet in your home.

We tend to obsess over the small (the minor) while failing to focus or even recognize the whole (the major).

We even have an idiom in the English language to express this: missing the forest for the trees.

And we bring this very paradigm to our finances. I see it all the time. Investors get tunnel vision on an investment or a planning item that has very little impact on their whole portfolio or plan. The energy, the emotions, and the time that gets committed to these obsessions are never commensurate with the attribution or impact.

Links mentioned in this episode:

This week's blogpost -

This may seem silly, but I do believe it’s important for you to be aware of who you are, how you operate, and what type of financial environment suits you best. Sure, we could poke fun at smaller plate sizes or coloring books during lesson time, but we also have to realize that our success will depend on these types of strategies and approaches that help protect us from our most common financial obstacles.

For me, the art of earmarking is such a key component of my own financial plan. I’d actually argue that it’s often these types of concepts or habits that yield the most meaningful results. Sure, you are most interested in the complex tax strategies or the intellectually stimulating investment approaches, but in the end, it’s the simple blocking and tackling that differentiate financial success from the struggle.

Give it a try. Make a list of what’s important to you - retirement, medical, charity, education, financial freedom, etc. Prioritize this list and see if you can begin to earmark and allocate your portfolio and income to match your priorities.

Let me know how it goes…

Links mentioned in this episode:

This week's blogpost - https://bahnsen.co/415sGen

One of the most difficult things for me when I quit competing as a cyclist was staying motivated to exercise.

I quit competing when I was 20 and continued to work at a fitness center for the next five years, yet I had so much trouble finding the motivation to work out.

There really should’ve been no excuses – I had a free gym membership, and I could’ve worked out before work, during lunch, after work, or really any time – the gym was open 24 hours. No excuses, yet I wasn’t inspired to stick to a workout regimen.

It took hindsight to realize that (1) I always hated exercise and (2) I always loved winning my cycling competitions. That’s the thing, my desire to win outweighed my despise for exercise. When cycling was out of the picture, I just never could stick with working out.

I tried all sorts of things – organized classes, fitness challenges, personal goals, personal trainers, and everything else you could imagine.

There was a good life lesson here – strong desires and goals can fuel discipline and endurance. Just the way competitive cycling impacted my exercise routine.

Do you know what reminds me a lot of exercise? Saving. It’s good for you and yields great benefits in the long run, but it takes sacrifice, and the results in the short run can be hard to notice. To be a good saver, you first need to establish a clear goal that will fuel that discipline and endurance I mentioned earlier.

Links mentioned in this episode:

This week's blogpost - https://bahnsen.co/3nOuUA2

Today we will revisit an article I wrote back in February of 2020, which seems like forever ago.  

There is such a benefit to reflect on how we were thinking back then and how things played out over the next two years.  

Links mentioned in this episode:

This week's blogpost - https://bahnsen.co/3luKIY5

Growing up, I had a lot of pets; my family loved animals.

We had cats, we had dogs. We had snakes, we had lizards. We had turtles, we had rabbits. At one point, I think we may have had a chinchilla.

When I was in kindergarten, we had a whippet, a dog breed that looked almost like a miniature greyhound. His name was Whip. Real clever, right?

In high school, my mom ended up adopting/rescuing a chihuahua. This was around the same time as those Taco Bell commercials where the little chihuahua would say, “Yo quiero, Taco Bell,” so the timing was perfect – that little pup was a cultural icon. Thinking it wasn’t wise for this little guy to be alone (the justification of all pet owners who are seeking to grow their flock), we ended up adopting another chihuahua. Then the shelter needed homes for some of his other k9 siblings, and all of the sudden, we had four chihuahuas. That’s right, FOUR chihuahuas – ay caramba!

My mom loved those four little mini dogs. They were feisty and full of energy. I remember when people would come to the door, they’d jump back in fear as they were startled by the rumbling barks, and then when they caught a glimpse at the profile of those 5-inch monsters making all that noise, they’d laugh. Little dogs, all bark, no bite.

In honor of my late great furry little family members, I thought we could talk about chihuahua markets today. Now, hopefully, you aren’t getting a visual of some pet store where you can buy little dogs – this is not what I mean by chihuahua markets. I specifically mean those markets with all bark and no bite. Where the headlines and the anxious chatters (the barks) make your spine shiver, but the actual market prices end up right where they left off (no bite).

Links mentioned in this episode:

This week's blogpost - https://bahnsen.co/42mZeRZ

I was at a tension point with what I wanted to discuss here on Thoughts On Money today; I was really feeling torn.  The newsfeed this week has been absolutely flooded with analysis, opinion, and speculation on the demise of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB).  What you don’t need is another opinion or perspective on what happened.

Links mentioned in this episode: