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Experiencing the Impact of the Financial Wall
No one prepares for the financial wall. It’s not just one of them but a set of micro thresholds that can have a positive or negative impact on your psyche. Like failures, there is always a cost for success. And today, we made +$75,000 on a day in the market. My hands were shaking… To be clear, it wasn’t a violent shake. It’s a slight, unsteady awareness that you might have gone too far. Or more accurately, further than you ever imagined. I mentioned this to the ladies on our financial podcast, “The Financial Griot.” I think we are mutation. Some deviant strand of what you should be. It might…
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How We Spent $1,000,000 in 6.5 Years: A Detailed Breakdown
Wow, we spent over $1 million. I’m just as shocked as you are. Most of my ideas come from spur-of-the-moment questions. Besides, it’s not like we spend it all at once. The expense total (represented by our cash outflows) runs from January 1, 2019, through June 8, 2026. In a technical sense, the total gross expenses tally all the transactions that hit our accounts. That’s still a lot over that timeframe, but it’s a bit refreshing to see. I don’t think most people run their numbers to see what’s really happening in their finances. For context, the median U.S. household spent an estimated $1.5 million in total expenditures from 1995…
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Here’s the Complete Guide to Keeping Personal Finance Simple
A lot of people on social media say that they never learned financial literacy in K-12. While I tend to disagree since Arithmetic, Algebra 1 and 2, Reading Comprehension, and Economics are covered, there is no excuse not to learn today. 💰 To solve things, check out this Personal Finance for Dummies guide. The goal is to simplify what you need to do up front so you don’t confuse yourself along the way. Turns out most people don’t need more income; they need a cash flow management system that tells every dollar where to go. Yes, making more money would be nice too. However, if you can’t manage $10,000, you won’t be able…
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How to Build Wealth: Reviewing Our Nearly $1.4 Million in Investments
While we aren’t quite there yet, my wife and I took a step back to review our investment portfolio performance over the last 12 months. It was intriguing to see the progress. While the day-to-day news cycled through inflation fears, tariffs, market pullbacks, and even a Middle Eastern conflict, we stayed invested. It was a crash course in discipline, risk tolerance, and sometimes buying the dip while it kept dipping. In the end, our investment portfolio grew from $948,927.51 (April 1, 2025) to $1,398,505.46 (April 9, 2026). That’s a cash value increase of +$449,577.95 or +47.38%. That number is phenomenal, and the growth is solid. Being honest, too much growth…
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A Study Found that Thriving U.S. Families Need to Make $150K a Year. Where Do You Fall?
The recent study, Measuring the True Cost of Economic Security, conducted by the Urban Institute, found that a well-off household needs to make at least $150,000 annually. The news hit social media like an expected tidal wave. This economic security threshold reminds us that the cost of living in the U.S. has ramped up dramatically. As the U.S. loses its political standing, along with the global increase in middle-class standards, the future is more expensive. U.S. households are already feeling the squeeze. Many of whom are surviving on less than $80,000 per year. Based on 2024–2025 Census Bureau data, median household income varies significantly by race. Asian (-led) households earn the highest…
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All’s Fair in Love, Tariffs, Stagflation and War
All is Fair in Love, Trump, Tariff Wars, Stagflation, and Nvidia earnings. Since we can't predict the future best thing to do now is to inflation-proof your net worth. Beyond that, hold tight.
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How to Stay on Track to Reach Early Retirement
Not sure how the rest will manage working for an extra 25 years, we are out on early retirement in 6 years. At least that's the goal. Will we reach $5 million? Maybe or maybe not, at least we have a goal versus no goal at all.
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The U.S. Kicked Off the New Year with $1 Trillion in Gains!
Coming off of a rough 2022, a stellar 2023-2024, and a rocky 2025. 2026 should be challenging.
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You Now Need $100,000 Salary to Become Millionaire in 2025
More People Should Build Wealth. It's Easier than You Think. Most Millennials Can and Should Consider Becoming Millionaires. It starts with $100k.
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How to Revise Your Financial Game Plan Post Multi-Millionaire Status
The only thing that changes in a good financial plan is perpetual change. In August 2023, my household hit a net worth of $1,000,000. We were officially millionaires in an era when we were told it was impossible for people like us. My wife, in her infinite wisdom, said, “We aren’t millionaires until we both have a million.” While that didn’t mathematically make sense in any realm of accounting, I figured it might be best to push for the $2 million target. On July 19, 2025, my wife and I reached our latest milestone of $1,900,000 in net worth. We are now just $100,000 away from $2 million. While my…
