Mindful Money Blog

The great companies of the US and the World are on sale. That sale may (or may not) get better. If it does get better, it won’t get that much better. There will be some point in the not-too-distant future where we look back at today – the September retest of the June low – and say, “I wish I would have invested then.”

You’ve heard me say it over and over… and over and over… and over and over again. Creating a retirement income that rises to match your rising cost of living and lasts the rest of your life, while at the same time creating a legacy that potentially lasts across generations, is possible – even for those who begin with very modest incomes. It requires three things: savings, equity ownership, and time.

We know – vividly – what has already happened. We can never know what will come next. The humble recognition of this truth should be the foundation of any long-term investment philosophy. The question is, “Given that we cannot know what comes next, how should we invest?”

I have been in financial services for over 2 decades, and there are 5 things I see (over and over) that take people away from their financial success. They are: Spend > Earn; Retire too early; Panic sell; Excited buy; No planning. We have designed two offerings to solve for these 5 mistakes.

Leading with heart & boosting the vulnerability even more: Ashanti Branch talks with Jonathan DeYoe about men dealing with fear & anxiety, vulnerability & grief on this episode of Taking Off The Mask.

These issues of “account minimums” and who has access to advice have been on my mind for years. They are the main drivers for both the book and the education courses. It was a conversation, about 6 months ago, with a business coach that helped the rest of my platform take shape.

Last week I talked about account minimums in financial services. My stated concern was that 80-85% of the US population doesn’t have access to independent, objective advice from a qualified fiduciary to answer their questions. I believe this is a problem, and I believe the problem is solvable.

Thinking About Reaching Out to Someone? Science Says Do It | Before You Fly The Nest: Advice For Kids Heading to College | An Ancient Technique Can Improve Your Attention Span | Occam’s – How Buffer Assets Might Be Able to Help Your Retirement | How Much Money Do People Need to Be Happy?

On Sarcasm | Misinformation Is Here To Stay (And That’s OK) | A Flaw in Human Judgment: How Making Decisions Isn’t As Objective As You Think | The Disastrous Record of Celebrity Crypto Endorsements | What Do You Spend Money On? Lessons From Our Clients About Spending that Brings True Joy

There is a lot of negative news out there right now. Inflation is the worst it has been in 4 decades, there may be a recession around the corner, supply chains are still problematic. When will it end? I don’t know, but I’d be careful about getting overly swept up in it.

Because our educational system teaches next to nothing practical about personal finance, there are usually two ways people come to the idea of personal financial education. Either they are in a crisis of a particular kind, or they are finally realizing that some general financial education would be helpful as they go about their regular lives.

Reading The News is the New Smoking | Why Optimists Live Longer Than The Rest Of Us | Mechanical Watch | Good Grief: Reflections on a Dreaded Emotion | The Fundamental Problem for Every Investment Adviser

Not Financial Advice. | Compounded Luck | Mentality | The Word of the Year Is: Sophistry | In Praise of Pointless Goals | Lifestyles

For J. Money's first "Budgets are Sexy" blog, he did a bit of a personal intro, and I liked the format... so, in the name of transparency, I am stealing it. My name is Jonathan DeYoe. I’ve been a "financial advisor" for 25 years. I started in sales at Dean Witter in 1996...

The best way to completely destroy any chance for lifetime investment success has historically been to sell one’s quality equity portfolios in a bear market. In Warren Buffet’s words, it is wise for investors to be “fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful.”

Optimism When All Else Fails | Beach Currents Don’t Have to Be This Deadly | The Best Parenting Advice I’ve Ever Gotten | Hiring and Neurodiversity | Keep It Going | Is Passive Investing A Blatant Lie?

Historically, it seems the primary function of financial journalism (perhaps all journalism) is to scare us out of our wits. We have been reminded of this almost hourly since the S&P 500 entered official “bear market territory” on Monday, June 13th by closing 20% below its previous all-time high set in January of 2022.

It is impossible to know where today’s 8.6% inflation will lead. If it hangs on for too long, it will begin hurting everyone’s retirement income plan. Our definitions of "money" and "wealth" hinge on successfully solving the retirement income problem.

Generating Alpha Sows the Seeds of Its Own Destruction | Going to the Gym in the Dark | How to Be Healthy in a Dopamine-Seeking Culture | The 51 Most Beautiful Places in the World | The Financial Risks of the Stories We Love

Yoda’s idea, “Difficult to see, Always in motion is the future,” turns out to be exactly right. There are too many variables at work on something so incomprehensible as “the economy” or “the market.” One small (perhaps even intentional) change in one variable (e.g. FED funds rate) unpredictably causes additional changes across other variables, which in turn, cause more changes and so on. Each change multiplies to create outcomes that are unknowable. The future… moves.