Alchanati Campbell & Associates
There are many ways to live a life. The first, live every day like it’s your last. The second, live with a long-term horizon with planning and delayed gratification; believing you’ll live to 120. The third, plan and work hard now to enjoy in your mid-life. The fourth, plan for tomorrow, live for today. The fifth, work hard and plan not for you, but for your kids and their kids; creating a legacy. The sixth, a hybrid of those listed above or something not listed at all. As you can see, there is no right way to live as long as your living is producing positive results. Nobody knows when their final day will be. You don’t want to live in fear. You don’t want to be reckless in shortening your life. You don’t want to hold off on pleasures, avoiding the possibility that you may not be able to experience what you want in the future. You don’t want to not plan for the future, causing you to outlive your money or not being able to support yourself with security and well-being. You don’t want to be a hyper-consumer, falling weak to self-gratification at every moment that you get. So, what “do” you do? Financially, you are disciplined. You plan, save, budget, invest, prepare for retirement, spend when it’s necessary, indulge sparingly and responsibly, delay gratification, educate yourself on financial literacy... Socially, build strong lasting relationships. Have a circle of competence, find love, keep in contact with people you value, be vulnerable in building personal relationships, don’t fall for social pressures or influences, trust your inner voice and be confident in yourself, do what makes you uncomfortable... Personally, find meaning or a purpose, focus on your strengths and specialties, work on improving yourself, do what’s best for you, work hard, be true to yourself... Besides that, I have no idea.
The Market. Starting to save toward college costs can help limit how much a student will have to borrow. One way to save is putting funds into a 529 education savings plan, a tax-advantaged way to save toward education expenses (withdrawals are exempt from federal and state income taxes if you use the funds for qualified expenses). The biggest benefit of 401(k)s isn’t the tax advantage, it’s the forced savings nature. It turns out that you remember things better when they are unfinished. “China does not want a trade war, but it is not afraid of one and it will fight one if necessary.” Trump will no longer claim India as a developing nation, which will eliminate the exception that allows the country to export products to the US duty-free. 98% of US financial advisors are using social media for business and/or personal use. Every day, there are more than 1 million new caused by curable sexually transmitted infections among people aged 15-49 years. Poker and Hedge Funds. There is a correlation between skill in poker and skill in hedge fund management. Hedge fund managers who have won at least one poker tournament significantly outperform managers who have no wins. Skilled poker players are better at hedge fund management. Fund managers experience an economically significant increase in net inflows after winning in a poker tournament. A Two-Front War. That’s where the U.S might be heading in regard to trade. We all know about the persisting trade issues between the U.S. and China. Now, the U.S. is picking a fight with Mexico. President Donald Trump announced tariffs of 5% on all Mexican imports unless Mexico takes drastic measures to stop the flow of Central American migrants illegally entering the United States through Mexico’s northern border. These tariffs would go into effect on June 10th and have the potential to slowly increase to 25%. You might be wondering: didn’t the United States just reach a new trade agreement with Mexico and Canada? Isn’t this the whole purpose of a trade agreement? While you might be correct, Donald Trump doesn’t seem to care much because, in his words, “they need us”. Slowing Economic Growth. Slower population growth and slower labor force participation will constrain the supply of labor in the US. What happens to the US economy will determine whether there is a notable global connection or not. The private sector added just 27,000 jobs in May-the fewest since the economic expansion began. Nonfarm payrolls rose 75,000, missed estimations of 175,000. A financial crisis is caused by too much borrowing and then a wave of defaults and liquidations. Procrastination. Procrastination is not a time-management problem, it’s an emotion-management problem. If we know our emotions, we can deal with them as opposed to avoiding them and the tasks that provoke these emotions. Procrastination is a voluntary delay of an intended act despite the knowledge that this delay may harm us. People with anxiety often do everything they can to avoid the perceived external threat and shut off, leading to depression. Putting off these aversive tasks saves us from the unpleasant emotions associated with it (boredom, frustration, fear, anxiety). Don’t tell yourself “what’s wrong with you? Pull yourself together!” The lack of self-compassion might be exactly what’s causing your procrastination in the first place. Research suggests that taking a softer, more compassionate view of our own behaviors may be the key to breaking out of this self-perpetuating spiral. Focus on the right tasks at the right time. Write down any tasks or ideas that pop into your mind quickly so you can get them out of your mind. Book Summary. “The Millionaire Next Door” by Thomas J. Stanley. One of the reasons that millionaires are economically successful is that they think differently. The large majority of the rich live well below their means. The journey to wealth is much more satisfying than the destination. Many people who live in expensive homes and drive luxury cars do not actually have much wealth. Wealth is what you accumulate, not what you spend. Wealth is more often the result of a lifestyle of hard work, perseverance, planning, and self-discipline. Building wealth takes discipline, sacrifice, and hard work. The wealthy believe that financial independence is more important than displaying high social status. We do not define wealthy, affluent, or rich in terms of material possessions. Frugal, frugal, frugal. It is easier to purchase products that denote superiority than to be actually superior in economic achievement. All too often young people are indoctrinated with the belief that those who have money spend lavishly and if you don’t show it, you don’t have it. If one lives below one’s means, one doesn’t have to be concerned with the possibility of being forced to reduce one’s standard of living. What is risk? Having one source of income. |
AuthorWHAT'S UP FRIDAY? is a weekly newsletter that will give you a summary of "What's up?" on Wall Street, in the US and around the World written by The Alchanati Campbell and Associates Team. What makes us unique is we focus on long-term knowledge; knowledge that will still be useful to you 10 years from now. Archives
July 2020
Categories |