passive income real estate

2025-10-12

How I Manage My Own Money as a Financial Advisor

My childhood home wasn't one of excess. We were on the free lunch program at school, and I have clear memories of huddling around a space heater on cold mornings. This was pretty normal for my neighborhood, so it never felt strange. But we were lucky—our needs were always met, and my parents often gave what little we had to spare to families who had even less. They instilled in me the importance of caring for others, a value I admire more and more as I get older.

Finance

2025-10-12

My Personal Investing Playbook After a Financial Reset

My real education in finance came from two people: my father and my first boss, David Swensen. My dad lost his parents young and had to put himself through college and medical school with very little. When some family friends passed, they told him about stocks, and he bought IBM in 1959. Even when life felt like it was taking everything from him, he held onto those shares. He still has them.

Investment

2025-10-12

My Four-Bucket Approach to Personal Investing

It’s a bit surreal to be asked how I invest my money. I grew up poor in rural Maine with my step-grandfather, and from ages 11 to 14, I was homeless, bouncing between neighbors' houses. So, at 43, being in a position to share my financial strategy is something I don’t take for granted.

Investment

2025-10-12

How Two Finance Pros Actually Invest Their Own Money

It’s one thing to give financial advice, but it’s another to live by it. The way we handle our own money is often a reflection of our earliest experiences, biggest lessons, and personal values. Here’s a look at how two financial professionals, Nina O’Neal and Debbie Freeman, manage their own investments, shaped by their unique life stories.

Investment

2025-10-11

A Trader's Take on Market Psychology and Price Action

I was listening to the financial news the other morning, and the commentators were all focused on Google. Since the start of the year, the stock had been all over the place, with frequent gaps and high volatility. The steady, organized climb it had enjoyed for years was starting to look more like the chaotic distribution phase you see after a bubble bursts.

Investment

2025-10-11

A Volatile Trading Day and When to Walk Away

It’s Friday morning, just before 7:30 A.M. EST, and I’m already watching the market. My main focus is a short position on the EUR/USD I’ve been managing since Wednesday. A big economic report, the Trade Balance number, is due at 8:30 A.M., which means things could get volatile. I’m preparing to use tight 60-second stops on any open trades to manage risk.

Side Hustle

2025-10-11

My Process for Finding and Planning a Forex Trade

Welcome to my trading room. I’m kicking off this trading diary to document my process, and I’m excited to get started. Every day in the market offers its own unique lessons, and my goal here is to explain the thinking behind my decisions to enter or exit a trade.

Side Hustle

2025-10-10

Finding Great Stocks Starts With What You Know

People often ask where I find my investment ideas, assuming they’re some rare commodity. The truth is actually the opposite. After more than twenty-five years of hunting for good investments, my challenge isn’t finding ideas—it’s sorting through them. But I remember starting out and asking the same question you might be asking now: Where do I even begin?

Investment

2025-10-10

Three Questions for Investing in Non-Tech Stocks

I’ve spent a lot of time making the case for technology stocks, so it’s a bit ironic that my whole investment journey started with HEICO, a company that’s anything but digital. It was HEICO’s combination of a low-cost advantage and a tiny slice of a massive market that really opened my eyes. It taught me to hunt for businesses with both a competitive moat and the potential for exponential growth. As it turned out, when I applied this lens to the market in the early 2000s, about 90% of the companies that fit were in tech. But that other 10% was fascinating.

Investment