What are you afraid of?

Learn the acronym for FEAR that may be keeping you from pursuing a life you desire

Welcome to issue #009 of DMD.

Nearly 15 years ago I met a man named Paul who regularly attended Al-Anon meetings alongside me when I lived in Orlando, Florida. If you’re not familiar with Al-Anon, it’s an international support group that helps families and/or individuals that have been affected by another family member’s alcoholism.

During one weeknight meeting, Paul said the following that I have never forgotten and have repeated thousands of times on my financial success speaking tour.

“The acronym for FEAR is False Evidence Appearing Real”.

I never heard of fear explained this way. He went on to say that most of what we fear never happens. It’s all a bunch of false evidence! And Paul is right.

Fear robs you of joy. Fear robs you from trying to learn a new skill. From making a phone call to or meeting up with a family member or friend to say “I was wrong”. Fear robs you from believing in your dreams, from overcoming anxiety, from taking small risks in your life. The list goes on.

Fear will even rob you of attempting to do your money differently. Fear will keep you stuck. And that’s a shame.

But only if you let it.

Begin to overcome the following limiting beliefs that all represent False Evidence Appearing Real:

• You may feel you may not be smart or capable enough to become financially successful.

• You may feel you may not be focused or disciplined enough to become financially successful.

• You may feel you may not be good or deserve it enough to become financially successful.

All of these limiting beliefs above are full of fear. They have nothing to do with you learning new and simple money management and investing skills so you can experience a full and purposeful life. Just leave FEAR in the rear view mirror and remember that acronym when you begin to feel afraid about most things in your life.

Weekly Market Update

• The S&P 500 (where most of the stocks in your ETF’s and mutual funds are located) is down 4.37% as of March 31, 2025.

• The Nasdaq (which has a heavy concentration of tech related stocks) is down nearly 10% for the year.

• Stock in Focus: Tesla (TSLA). Tesla stock was down 32% in Q1 of 2025 after rising 62% in 2024.

• Bitcoin trades around $84,000 so it’s down about 21% from its all time high (ATH) of $109,000.

• Top alternative cryptocurrency coins Ethereum, Solana, XRP and Chainlink trade at $1,826, $125, $2.09 and $13.57 respectively with the total crypto market cap just under $2.9 trillion - about $1 trillion from an ATH.

Social Proof

Annika from Phoenix, Arizona:

• “I have seen the need for better financial education and improved financial literacy among my peers. Do Money Differently (DMD) provides practical tips and resources to improve how I save, spend and now invest my money. And how to grow as an individual. I have been sharing DMD with others because I care about seeing people succeed and grow to the best of their abilities.”

AJ from Boise, Idaho:

• “I thought I needed to have a good job and then I would start learning how to manage my money and begin investing. But, the DMD content made clear that I can begin changing my money habits and begin investing money now even with a little bit of money so I can take advantage of the compounding.”

Money Moves

Create and chase your WHY

To begin changing your financial behavior you first have to create a WHY for your life. WHY do you want to be financially successful? List out as many dreams you have - from little to big and don’t hesitate. Here’s a few examples of what I hear all around the country from 18-34 year olds. Is this you too?

• I do not want ongoing financial stress year after year.

• I want to have a certain kind of home and certain kind of kitchen.

• I want to provide well for my current or future family.

• I want to start a business.

• I want to be generous with my money by helping others in need.

• I want to travel on a regular basis with my family and/or friends.

• I want to help my parents retire comfortably for all they did for me.

• I want to have ample money for experiences I enjoy (concerts, sporting events, salon, etc.)

• The list goes on…

When you list all of your WHY’s it forces you to make a decision: keep managing your money like you do now or become coachable and change how you save, spend and invest your money.

Word of the Week - Compound Interest

This is the interest you earn on both your initial money and on the interest that money has already gained. Why is it important? Because it’s essentially “interest on interest” and can significantly increase your wealth over time, especially if you start investing young. Here’s a practical example: If you invest $1,000 at an annual interest rate of 5%, compounded yearly, in 20 years, you’ll have about $2,653.30 – more than double your initial investment without lifting a finger!

Side Hustle Differently - Freelance Graphic Design

A great side hustle for earning an extra $500 - $1000 per month is starting a freelance graphic design business. This is particularly feasible for individuals with a creative skillset and proficiency in design software like Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop.

Here’s how to get started:

1. Build Your Portfolio: Create a collection of your best work to showcase your design skills to potential clients. This can include projects from school, personal projects, or small jobs for friends or family.

2. Market Your Services: Utilize platforms like LinkedIn, Instagram, and a personal website to display your portfolio. Additionally, freelance marketplaces like Upwork, Freelancer, and Fiverr can connect you with clients globally.

3. Set Competitive Rates: Research the going rates for freelance design work and set your prices competitively. You might start with lower rates to attract initial clients and build your reputation.

4. Network: Reach out to small businesses, startups, and other professionals who may need design work. Networking can often lead to referrals and repeat business.

5. Manage Your Time: As a side hustle, it’s critical to balance this with any other commitments. Set specific work hours for your freelance activities to maintain consistency and meet client expectations.

This side hustle not only helps in building a substantial extra income but also enhances your portfolio and could pave the way for a full-time career in graphic design if desired.

The DMD portfolio (stocks and crypto)

I share my personal investments of stocks, crypto and my sales or buys (if any) that I make each week with my reasons for those decisions. I automatically invest weekly or monthly into my Roth IRA, SEP-IRA and one of my personal investment accounts.

Stocks

ROTH IRA (held with Robinhood)

• I own the following ETF’s: VOO (tracks 500 stocks that make up the S&P 500 index), VTI (total stock market that tracks 4,000 U.S. stocks) and VYM (tracks high dividend paying stocks).

• I own the following individual stocks as March 31, 2025: Marathon Holdings (MARA) and Robinhood (HOOD).

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.

• This week I purchased Robinhood (HOOD) and Celestica (CLS) stock in my Robinhood

Basic tenet of investing in stocks - when you automatically invest weekly or monthly into solid growth stock ETF’s and 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 your primary 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 12%. Fantastic annual returns that compound into significant wealth.

Crypto

• 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 ($1000 - $2000) 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.

Community Engagement

New Partners

I’ve been using Acorns as one of my investment accounts for years. We have helped thousands of people on our speaking tour begin investing with Acorns too. With over 10 million users and growing it’s one the best ways for new investors (young and old) to begin investing into the stock market safely and securely. The “Round Ups” feature allows you to invest spare change into a diversified portfolio of stocks and bonds in addition to setting up a weekly or monthly recurring investment to create significant wealth over time.

Click on the Acorns logo above to get started on your investment journey. You will also get a special $40 bonus as long as you set up at least a $5 or more weekly or monthly recurring investment. Automatic recurring investing is what we teach so it makes sense to set up a recurring investment and you can add more as your income grows.

Thank You!

For being a valued subscriber to DMD and choosing the path of financial rebellion to create a better life for you and others.

Please share our newsletter with others to help them begin to do money differently.

Todd