DMD 006: What if it Really Works?
Flip the script from WHAT IF something bad can happen to WHAT IF something good and exciting can happen to you.
Issue #6
So many times we think of the WHAT IF’s in life as being mostly negative.
What if my sickness turns into something worse?
What if I don’t get that job or promotion I’m interviewing for?
What if I start a business and it fails?
What if I can’t pay rent next month?
What if I lose money from investing?
The list of WHAT IF’s are endless in an imperfect world we all live in and can often infuse us with relentless worry and anxiety.
But, WHAT IF you flip the script and change the narrative to all the good and exciting possibilities and outcomes from doing what we teach you inside of DO MONEY DIFFERENTLY?
What if I can begin to experience less financial stress?
What if DMD can teach me to invest safely and securely so my future is bright for me and my current or future family?
What if I start a side hustle that I enjoy and makes good money?
What if I become confident enough to change the way I think myself about money?
What if I could have a house with a certain kind of kitchen I have always dreamed about?
What if can create wealth that allows me to travel with friends and family?
What if I can generously give a lot of money to help people in need throughout my life because I started to DO MONEY DIFFERENTLY?
This list is also endless with positive and exciting WHAT IF’s. But, it’s up to you to choose the right mindset.
Go Get Some Small Wins
Small wins are one or two simple things to take action on that build confidence in your new financial journey such as:
Try out a credit union (CU) in your market instead of your bank. CU’s offer you multiple named savings accounts with little to no minimum balance required (unlike many traditional banks) so you can begin taking control of your money and not the other way around. Automated monthly transfers from your checking account into your new named savings accounts is a huge tenet of what we teach in DMD. And CU’s offer the same products and services as a bank.
Set up a new monthly spending plan (budget) for the upcoming month that is focused on intentional spending on things you need and value of five years or less. This will also give you a feeling of control which is always good.
Take five minutes to create your new Acorns investment account so you can begin investing spare change and setting up a weekly or monthly recurring investment. With YMU’s partnership with Acorns you can use this link to also get a sweet $40 bonus.
The markets - stocks and crypto
The S&P 500 (where most of the stocks in your ETF’s and mutual funds are located) is up 1.8% through Feb. 24, 2025. Last week stocks took a small tumble which reduced the YTD return return by nearly 2.5%.
Traders were taking some profit last week from stocks that have risen substantially in the last couple of months like Palantir (PLTR) and Carvana (CVNA).
Cava (CAVA), the Mediterranean fast casual restaurant, reports quarterly earnings this week. I’m super curious if it’s stock will stall or keep rising like Chipotle did in its early years as a stock. I ate at Cava for the first time this week in Phoenix, AZ and a thumbs up from me.
Bitcoin trades around $90,000 so it’s down about 20% from its all time high (ATH) of $109,000.
Top alt coins Ethereum, Solana, XRP and Chainlink trade at $2,506, $143, $2.32 and $15.50 respectively with the total crypto market cap at $3.05 trillion - about $900 billion from an ATH. Lot of downward pressure and volatility the last week which is crypto in a nutshell. Not for the faint of heart.
My investment portfolio (stocks and crypto)
Below, I share my personal investment accounts of stocks and crypto and any sales or buys (if any) that I make each week with you and my reasons for those decisions. I automatically invest weekly or monthly into my Roth IRA, SEP-IRA and one of my personal investment accounts. I also list what investment brokerages/companies I use.
Stock Portfolio
ROTH IRA (held with Robinhood)
I just moved my Roth IRA from T. Rowe Price to Robinhood last week because I simply like the ease of Robinhood (both desktop and app) to buy and sell stocks in my Roth. And I like the access to low cost ETF’s and the ability to quickly buy and sell stocks in this account - with no tax implications btw.
I’m deciding this week on what my ETF’s and any stocks beside HOOD will be inside my Roth as I had to liquidate (sell) my mutual fund held at T. Rowe Price because Robinhood does not offer mutual funds (only ETF’s) for investors.
SEP-IRA (held with the Acorns saving and investing app) - this is my “401(k)” because I’m self-employed
Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO)
iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF (IJH)
iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF (IJR)
iShares Core Total International Stock ETF (IXUS)
iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF (AGG)
Personal investment accounts (Acorns, Robinhood, E*Trade)
Moderately aggressive portfolio (mix of stock and bond ETFs) inside my Acorns account along with individual stocks of Tesla (TSLA), Nvidia (NVDA), Stryker (SYK), Adobe (ADBE) and Visa (V). This is another long term investment account and I do not trade in this account because it does not allow you to (which is a good thing).
MARA Holdings, VXX and Money Market (cash) inside my E*Trade account. Another long term investment account and I do not trade very often in this account.
I’m sitting on cash for now in my Robinhood personal investment account. This is an active trading account for me.
Basic tenet of investing in stocks - when you automatically invest weekly or monthly into solid growth stock ETF’s and some mutual funds you don’t have to worry about the ups and downs of the stock market. Time, based on historical evidence of the U.S. stock market, does the heavy lifting of wealth creation for you. Stocks are one of your foundational investments to winning the money game.
Over the last 150+ years the U.S. stock market has given investors nearly 10% annual ROI. Over the last 50 years, the annual ROI has been closer to 11.8%. Fantastic annual returns that compound into significant wealth creation for you.
Young Money University (owner of DMD) has an exciting partnership that gives anyone a $40 bonus just for opening up their first Acorns investment account (as long as you set up at least a $5 weekly or monthly recurring investment). I have two Acorns investment accounts (Acorns Invest -personal and Acorns Later - my SEP-IRA) so I am walking the talk. Here’s the link to get started - $40 Acorns Bonus
Crypto Portfolio
No new buys or sells of crypto this week. Still waiting patiently on how the current administration may bring transparent regulation to the crypto market and any updates on potentially creating a Bitcoin reserve.
Bitcoin (BTC)
Chainlink (LINK)
Ripple (XRP)
Ondo Finance (ONDO)
Internet Computer Protocol (ICP)
Immutable (IMX)
Render (RNDR)
Parsiq (PRQ)
Basic tenet of investing in crypto. Crypto is a high risk/high reward asymmetric investment which means you can risk a small amount of money ($500 - $1000) for the potential of higher outpaced gains than traditional investing in stocks. Taking the time to research and investigate new blockchain tech related projects/organizations that are being used for legit long term use cases and value for the world we live in.
Crypto is no different then if you invest into little known publicly traded stocks that are trading below $10 per share that you have conviction in. Knowing ahead of time, however, that you could lose your entire investment.
Final Words
We’re continuing to shape the look and feel of the DMD newsletter for you in the coming weeks and we’re excited about it.
More high impact guest interviews coming to provide you value on all things money, investing, side hustle and personal development.
Thank you for being a valuable subscriber to DMD and remember, you have what it takes do money differently and achieve a life you desire.
TODD