Lessons Learned & Money Moves

Today's Newsletter:

• My Latest

• My Money Journey

• Lessons Learned & Money Moves

• A Money Question

My Latest

Niche content alert! My latest is a video diving into spending for professional athletes.

If you are an athlete or parent of an athlete, it is a must watch.

For everyone else, the frameworks are timeless and worth understanding.

You can check it out below ⬇️⬇️⬇️

My Money Journey

To eat an elephant, you do it one bite at a time.

That same analogy is how I have always thought about money and personal finance.

There will always be more to learn, understand, and optimize.

Yet just like any task, I try to take it one bite at a time.

15 years ago, that was understanding credit and debit cards.

Today it is understanding how to help our clients navigate complex tax situations or unique cash flow challenges.

Yet the fact remains, I am still learning.

If you have been following along for any period you know how much I value real-life learning.

Sure a textbook is great, but the best lessons come from seeing it happen in real life not on a spreadsheet.

So in today’s newsletter, I discuss two lessons I learned this year and a few money moves I made.

Let’s dive in…

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Lessons Learned

I want to start with two lessons because many of these are timeless and apply whether you are just starting on your financial journey or decades in.

1) Follow History Not Your Gut

The S&P 500 started the year at 4,742. In that time, we continued to have a war between Ukraine and Russia, significant interest rate changes, and watched a Presidential election play out.

Said another way, there have been a lot of reasons for skepticism in the economy.

Yet here is how this played out in the market (and hopefully your investment portfolio).

At the beginning of the year, the biggest Wall Street institutions had these year-end price targets on the S&P 500.

***A price target is what they are predicting that investment will be at in the future.

• J.P. Morgan 4,200

• Deutsch Bank 5,500

• Goldman Sachs 5,600

As I write this the S&P 500 is over 6,000.

So, in short, the smartest people in the room were wrong.

Yet that isn’t the lesson, this is:

This entire year, I have felt uneasy about the economy and the market. Many smart people I interact with have constantly cautioned about a big drop or a market pullback or flat out said the economy is headed for a contraction.

Again, these are sophisticated people telling me this.

Yet here we are heading into November with the S&P 500 up more than 20%.

You see the lesson here is to be a good investor you should always follow history, not your gut.

The smartest people in the room were wrong this year, and most will likely be wrong next year (predictions are a losing game).

So instead of following someone’s gut, here is a better guide:

Consider your investing time horizon. Then consider how often the market is positive over that time horizon.

Then consider those odds (see above) and ask yourself, “Should I follow history or my gut?”

I don’t know about you, but I am following the data (and history).

2) For Every Home Run There are Countless Strikeouts

This year I have talked to individuals who:

•  Nearly 5x their money on one stock

•  Made 20x on a real estate investment

•  Invested in Bitcoin when it was below a dollar

Sounds great right, well I have also talked to individuals who:

• Lost 99% of their investment in one stock

• Lost more than 50% on a “safe” real estate investment

• Bought Crypto at the top and sold at the bottom of the market

You see the consumer is at a huge disadvantage in home run investing.

Consider how often your neighbor, co-worker, or family member is quick to tell you about the “great investment” they made.

If you haven’t heard of one yet, have no fear we are just starting the Holiday season (plenty of time for cocktail banter).

Now consider how many times that same person has told you about all the strikeouts they have had trying to hit that home run.

Ya…rarely.

No one talks about this stuff in public, but I see it as we help guide clients to make smart money moves.

The lesson here is FOMO is real.

So remember, that with every home run you see there are countless strikeouts you do not see.

It doesn’t mean you can’t (or shouldn’t) swing for the fences from time to time, just do it with the proper expectations.

Strikeouts will happen far more than home runs (even though cocktail conversations might say otherwise).

Money Moves

Let’s start with the blocking and tackling ~ this year I have:

•  Maxed on my 401(k) – I went traditional over Roth this year due to some long-term tax planning

• Made a backdoor Roth IRA contribution – A yearly ritual for me

•  Maxed out my HSA – For a deep dive on this read here

Now for a few more strategic moves I have made:

One that gives me energy is a donation my wife and I made to our kid’s school. The personal side is great but here is the finance side behind that.

A few years ago ~ I bought stock in a tech company that has since exploded. I used appreciated stock, gave it to my Donor Advised Fund, and then donated that money to my kid’s school.

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We added some additional insurance to our financial plan this year.

One part was tactical for our business as we added key man policies and one part was more personal. My wife and I added an additional term life insurance policy for peace of mind.

The need wasn’t huge but the value trade (for me) made a lot of sense.

***Remember finance is personal and the spreadsheet doesn’t always have to have the final say.

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Lastly, my wife and I purchased a new home this year which led to selling some investments. I focused on ensuring all the sales would be taxed at long-term capital gains rates while also ensuring our total portfolio stayed in line with our long-term goals.

This meant understanding specific tax lots, their gain/loss profile, and the holding period.

***Remember my friends your investments are fuel for your life.

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My goal with this newsletter has been to help you get smarter with your money.

Yet, I think it is important to remember ~ I eat my own cooking.

The things I talk about I do.

Until next time!

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A Money Question

What money move gave you the most energy this year?

If you are anything like me it is probably one that is deeply personal to you.

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3 Ways I Can Help You

💰 Schedule an introductory call with Moment. We help athletes, entrepreneurs, and key employees build and protect wealth.

📹 Check out my YouTube channel. A safe place to get smarter with your money.

📷 Interact with me on Instagram. Where I provide bite-sized daily content to level up your money game.

Moment Private Wealth, LLC is a Registered Investment Advisor, located in the State of Missouri. Moment Private Wealth provides investment advisory and related services for clients nationally. Moment Private Wealth will maintain all applicable registrations and licenses as required by the various states in which Moment Private Wealth conducts business, as applicable. Moment Private Wealth renders individualized responses to persons in a particular state only after complying with all regulatory requirements, or under an applicable state exemption or exclusion. Nothing in this content is intended to be, and you should not consider anything in this content to be, investment, accounting, tax, or legal advice.