Welcoem to posts!!
in the future - u will be able to do some more stuff here,,,!! like pat catgirl- i mean um yeah... for now u can only see others's posts :c
Congrats on 500k YouTube subscribers @JoeWo. Love watching your journey.
Here's a clip of me blowing his mind and making him die in Warzone after gifting his channel 50 subs 😂
youtube.com/clip/Ugkx61rVhQZBzKYgeAqwgJvAcD8FDl15C…
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This Happy Panda isn’t what you think it is.
We have 3 healthy kids. For some reason our two daughters are susceptible to random croup attacks.
The first time it happened my wife and I were terrified.
We were in a hotel and our 4 year old randomly started making what sounded like a deal barking noise in the middle of the night.
I ended up riding to the ER with her in the back of the ambulance.
Doctors prescribed a nebulizer with a steroid to inhale to help when these happen.
Last night our 2 year old had her first episode.
Luckily we had the nebulizer and knew how to handle the situation.
She’s fine now. Neither of them have asthma and neither had any symptoms when they went to sleep.
There are parents and kids dealing with far worse things than this but when your kids randomly wake up and it seems like they’re suffocating, it’s terrifying as a parent.
Sharing this to spread awareness/help other parents in similar situations.
P.S. Emery said happy Father’s Day. Took her out to get some fresh air this morning
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Damn I got out of shape and overweight quick.
Based on my height and body type I need to be 165 - 175.
If the extra 10 lbs were lean muscle that’d be okay, but it’s not.
I’ve been inactive and my diet has been poor for a few months.
No “hacks” to share just going to get back to my healthy habits and get back in shape.
1. Drinking more water and less other crap
2. Making my lunches instead of buying lunch. No snacks from the office snack area
3. Yogurt or oatmeal for breakfast most days. Eggs & bacon 1-2 times a week. Pancakes, etc on Saturday or Sunday for family breakfast.
4. We do a good job with eating healthy dinners most nights already so will continue that.
5. Working out/training 5x/week. Combination of running, rowing, and strength. Will mix in bike/swims sometimes.
6. Minimal alcohol.
7. Max 2 x cups of coffee per day, no caffeine after 10am
8. Asleep by 9-10pm so I can wake up at 5am to workout.
Easy? No. Simple. Yes.
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Got some big things in the works and will have some really exciting news soon.
But for now… we prep.
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MONEY CONFESSION
🚨🚨 We have never maxed out our 401k/TSP contributions, and it was one of the best financial decisions we ever made 🚨🚨
This is a picture of my wife and me back in 2012. We didn't know it then, but we made an unconventional financial decision that unlocked a level of freedom and flexibility just 6 years later we couldn't imagine.
We decided to only invest up to our employer match into our traditional 401ks/TSPs. At the time, the military didn't offer a match on my TSP so I didn't even contribute to it.
Her employer matched up to 3% so that's what she put into her traditional 401k.
Then we both maxed out our Roth IRAs, which was $5,000 per year for each of us.
We set a goal of investing 15% of our take-home pay every month so anything left over went directly into a non-retirement, non-tax-advantaged brokerage account.
Then we ramped our investing up to 20% and eventually 25% of our income. We were a dual-income family, with very little college loan debt, no kids, and two modest car payments.
Okay, hers was modest. I bought a $48,000 2012 Tundra Rock Warrior (that dumb decision will get its own post later).
Why did we take this approach?
1. Not maximizing traditional TSP or 401k:
We knew our income and our tax liability were the lowest they would be in our careers. I was a brand new Lieutenant, and part of my income (BAH) was tax-free already. She was a brand new nurse.
2. Maxing our Roth IRAs:
Roth IRAs are like magic, thanks to the power of compounding. By paying taxes on our income at its lowest point in 2012, we could let our investments compound for 35+ years and not pay a dime in taxes when we withdrew the money/sold investments in retirement. Likely saving hundreds of thousands of dollars or more in taxes.
3. Using a non-tax-advantaged investment account:
We were willing to give up some potential tax benefits/retirement account value to truly enjoy our money and hard work before we reached age 59.5, which is when you can withdraw capital gains on your retirement accounts penalty-free.
We viewed this as money we would spend on things in 5 - 35 years
- Down payment on houses
- Down payment on future cars
- Family vacations
- Major appliances/upgrades
- Other unplanned stuff
What I didn't know was that 6 years later, we would decide as a family that we wanted to leave Active Duty.
I can tell you that if we didn't have that non-retirement investing account with a large cushion available to us, we would not have been able to make the decision that was best for our family in 2018 for me to leave active duty.
DISCLAIMER: Just because this worked for us does not mean it will work for you. Everyone's situation is different, and you must do what works for you.
We made the "wrong" decision in terms of optimizing retirement account value and short-term tax savings, but it was 100% the right decision for how we wanted to live and enjoy our lives.
#military #money #investment
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My dad never made more than $40,000 a year. I remember wishing we had more money and being embarrassed that he drove old beat-up cars and never had more than a quarter tank of gas.
As I've made career decisions, I've found myself striving to make more money. I've convinced myself that I want to make more money so my family never has to stress about finances, I can spend more time with my kids, and make a positive impact on the world.
But what is "ENOUGH"? Is it worth sacrificing time with my kids now when they're young and missing key moments in their lives to have more time to spend with them later (when they probably won't want to spend time with me anyways)?
I don't know the answer to these questions and they're different for everyone. But I know it's something just about every parent struggles with.
The dilemma of providing for your kids and wanting to spend as much time as possible with them.
My dad passed last year from cancer and now as an adult, I'm mature enough to realize an appreciate some of the things he did while I was growing up that I definitely took for granted.
And the lesson for me in all of this is that if he had prioritized his career and making more money, I very likely wouldn't have these memories.... and things turned out just fine with the income my parents had.
1️⃣ He coached my baseball team every year from age 6 - 12
2️⃣ Drove me to every practice and came to every game from age 13 - 18
3️⃣ Sacrificed any potential possibility of "retiring early" so I could have an opportunity to continue playing baseball in college
4️⃣ Encouraged me to do hard things, let me fail, but never let me completely break
5️⃣ Supported my decision to quit playing baseball and focus on Air Force ROTC training
6️⃣ Told me he was proud of me when I decided to join the military and make that my career even though he was afraid of the potential risks
The list goes on.
My dad wasn't perfect and he had a lot of financial and health habits that showed me what not to do. But he was the best dad I could have ever asked for and the father I needed.
He was there for me anytime and all the time. That's something I'm trying to do as a father to two beautiful girls and a son who played his first season of baseball this year.
Here's a picture of us on a Saturday out at the fields doing what he loves. Practicing baseball.
Success is about more than money my friends. Remember that and enjoy the time while you have it.
Let me know if you've struggled with this and any tips you have in the comments. 👇
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Come join @danielpronk and the @StockUnlock crew talking about $META, the market, and all things investing
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Challenges with Palantir growing sales
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Saturdays are for muffins and coffee. Cherishing these memories while I’m still cool enough to hang out with her.
What are you up to this weekend?
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Is Charles Schwab $SCHW in crisis mode?
This week we. Got an update from Founder, Charles Schwab and CEO Walt Bettinger
They spent the beginning of the update discussing the historical rise in interest rates and shared how investors have reacted. Essentially, the firm has a long-history of supporting clients through economic cycles and Schwab appears to be doing just fine.
I found this bit to be very reassuring. The company received an influx of assets yet the stock price is down 35%+ since the banking crisis news…
“Our business is extremely robust. This March alone, we saw a strong influx of core net new client assets of over $53 billion, the second highest March results in our history. The diversity of our business remains a strength. For example, our trading and wealth management businesses experienced a very strong first quarter.
Earlier this week, Charles Schwab earned the highest ranking in investor satisfaction among full-service wealth management firms in the J.D. Power 2023 U.S. Investor Satisfaction Study. Ironically, challenging market environments like this one allow us to shine for our clients, to make a difference in their financial lives and help deepen lifelong relationships. With 50 years of experience, we know that both our company and our clients come through times like these stronger on the other side.
Deposit flows at Schwab Bank have remained fairly consistent during this tumultuous period. In fact, adjusting for modestly increased cash movements during the week last month following national concerns about regional bank stability, the average daily outflows were below February.
The Fed’s actions to decrease the money supply and raise interest rates will naturally increase our cost of funding and consequently have some impact on earnings. But that higher cost of funding will begin to decrease, which combined with natural growth in our business and lower expenses, we will eventually begin to enjoy growth in earnings. While the first quarter was a challenging time, for sure, reflecting negative investor sentiment, ongoing interest rate hikes, and regional banking turmoil, Schwab’s client-centric growth model remains firmly intact and is performing well. The company continues to operate from a position of strength with strong current momentum. All of which leaves us extremely confident in our current progress and long-term future.”
Subscribe to the channel to stay updated and read my full report on $SCHW here:
austin.substack.com/p/charles-schwab-in-crisis-mod…
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Building a $1 million portfolio with 100% transparency. I review tech stocks, dividend stocks, and crypto without all the Wall Street jargon.