The Piggy Bank Chronicles

E101 - Let the blind squirrel drive

E101 - Let the blind squirrel drive It’s hard to drive without a speedometer. It’s hard to get rich without an expense tracker. We don’t drive cars without dashboard displays. We would speed and run out of gas all the time. We don’t fly planes without dashboard displays. We would crash far too often to be good for our health. Why is it we think we can manage our personal affairs without an expense and net worth tracker? It’s the financial equivalent of driving without a dashboard and seat belt. As usual, JJ strives to make a point that even a blind squirrel should see. If you know any blind squirrels as it relates to personal finance, please share this episode with them!

E100 - Milestones

E100 - Milestones The Piggy Bank Chronicles reaches a major milestone with 100 episodes! J.J. sits down for an interview with his AI assistant to discuss the past, present, and future of the podcast. This episode is a love letter to all those who have listened these past 4 years. It is offered with sincere thanks.

E99 - Indexing, again

E99 - Indexing, again Has your humble host lost faith in index investing? JJ spends way too much time thinking about the strategy of indexing and what kinds of events would lead to under performance compared to other approaches.  In yet another rambling chat he discusses his foray into direct indexing (on paper), what smarter people than him think about indexing as a strategy, and how he manages to insert it all into his ever evolving mental model of investing. If you like buy and hold investing this discussion is for you. If you don’t, then we will win you over eventually! Investments discussed in this episode: * Dimensional International Core Equity Market ETF (DFAI) * Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund ETF Shares (VXUS) * Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US Index Fund ETF Shares (VEU)

E98 - Consequences

Episode 98 - Consequences If I do this, what happens next? So many people are really bad at thinking about consequences. Are you one of those people? We can be taught to be critical thinkers. We can also teach ourselves. Sometimes we can get there through a good boss or mentor. Other times it’s up to us. In this episode JJ explores why this matters and some tools to help you get better at being a critical thinker.

E97 - I can see for miles

Episode 97 - I can see for miles If you have been around for a minute, you are familiar with the VISION acronym that JJ uses to make sure you chart a solid course for life. But is it any good? In this episode JJ digs through the Vision acronym to see what it covers, but more importantly what it might be missing. Key investing takeaways include: * Insurance is for risk mitigation, investment is for wealth, never mix the two * Options are optional, just say no * Margin is dumb, don’t be dumb * Fees should be low, or they should be avoided What we hope to find at the end of the road is that the VISION acronym is pretty good. Fingers crossed!