Hey everyone! Currently on my dad’s boat with 9 other Gudewills. Commemorating the death of my Grandad 31 years ago, July 4th, 1994. Anyone that knows the four curly headed old boys, you can just imagine the banter.

Have a great weekend.

Eddie

Personal Finance

Everyone wants to retire early. Here’s how you do it faster:

1. rob bank

2. bet on red

3. ponzi scheme

Lol.

Don’t do those. Instead, here is a real list of things to do to shave 10+ years off your career.

1. Start investing as soon as you earn money. Every day/week/month you delay costs you way more than you think.

2. When you buy a home, switch to bi-weekly or weekly mortgage payments instead of monthly. You’ll pay it off years sooner and save hundreds of thousands in interest.

3. Use all the tax shelters available to you. FHSA if you're buying a home, TFSA always (most important there is in my opinion!!), and RRSPs especially when there's employer matching.

4. Keep only one month’s expenses in your chequing account. Anything more just sits there getting eaten by inflation. Wealth Simple is transforming traditional banking… they pay me 2.5% interest on my chequing account balance.

5. Hold six months expenses in a high-interest savings ETF (ie HISA). Not in a traditional bank savings account that pays you pennies.

6. Stop buying useless crap. Every additional Peloton bike adds time to your rat race.

7. When you’re young, invest in stocks. Broad, low-cost ETFs (IVV, XSP, VFV, XUS - al the same, just different brands, pick one and go). Don’t bother with bonds, hedge funds, or fancy products.

8. Don’t time the market. Don’t pick individual stocks. You might think you are smarter than everyone else. Everyone else thinks that too.

9. Real estate can add lot’s of value, but it’s not essential. It’s not passive either. Fold it in only if you’re willing to treat it like a business. Remember, don’t buy real estate just to buy real estate. There has to be a story. Like my friend who bought a property to live in that has 4 rental suites. That’s a real story.

10. Automate your investments . Less friction means fewer dumb decisions.

11. Track your net worth every month. You will learn a lot and as things in your life change (they always do), you can course correct.

12. As your income rises, keep your expenses the same. Lifestyle creep is a killer.

13. Cook at home, you’ll save 75% on food. Not to mention avoiding the ridiculous 20% tip prompts!

14. Don’t buy a brand new car. They depreciate 30% in the first three years. Instead, Buy a 3-5 year old used car. Your friends don’t care what you drive, and if they do, they’re not your friends.

15. Audit your subscriptions periodically. Don’t let the trillion dollar marketing machines pull the wool over your eyes.

16. Say no more often. You don’t have to go to every wedding.

17. Marry the right person. Someone that truly supports you in your endeavours.

18. Negotiate your salary every few years. If you are good and they say no, that’s your signal to leave. Companies are NOT families.

19. Be patient, compound interest takes time. Aesop’s fable is legendary for a reason.

20. Invest in skills that make you money. Writing, sales, finance…anything that makes you valuable.

In summary: Be a Lion. Don’t be a Gazelle.

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Stock Markets

1982 - Worst recession in 40 years, debt crisis

1983 - Market hits record - "market too high"

1984 - Record US Federal deficits

1985 - Economic Growth Slows

1986 - Dow nears 2000 - "Market too high"

1987 - The Crash - Black Monday

1988 - Fear of Recession

1989 - Junk Bond Collapse

1990 - Gulf war, worst market decline in 16 yrs

1991 - Recession - "Market too high"

1992 - Elections, market flat

1993 - Businesses continue restructuring

1994 - Interest rates are going up

1995 - The market is too high

1996 - Fear of inflation

1997 - Irrational Exuberance

1998 - Asian Crisis

1999 - Y2K. Lol - the world did not end I guess

2000 - Tech crash

2001 - World Trade Terror

2002 - Corporate Fraud

2003 - Iraq invasion

2004 - US massive trade & budget deficits

2005 - Record oil & gas prices

2006 - Housing bubble bursts

2007 - Sub-prime mortgage crisis

2008 - Banking & credit crisis

2009 - Recession - "Credit Crunch"

2010 - Sovereign debt crisis

2011 - Eurozone crisis

2012 - US fiscal cliff

2013 - Federal Reserve to "taper"

2014 - Oil prices plunge

2015 - Chinese stock market sell-off

2016 - TRUMP

2017 - Stocks at Record highs. BITCOIN

2018 - Trade wars, rising interest rates

2019 - Can't even remember

2020 - COVID World IS Going to End

2021 - Third Wave Fear

2022 - War, Inflation, FTX

2023 - Bank Collapse, Inflation, High Rates

2024 - TRUMP

2025 - Tariffs

2026E - Something pretty Gnarly for sure.

Meanwhile, S&P500 sitting comfortably at all time highs.

Infer what you will.

1 Quote

“Slow and steady wins the race”

Aesop’s fable

A Question

Any more points to add to the list in section one?

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