My brother has a knack for making and saving money. At just 28 years old, he’s managed to build up a sizable net worth. With his current pace, I suspect he can probably be financially independent by his mid-30s.
What makes his net worth growth really astounding is that it pretty much happened by accident. While he’s always been good at making and saving money, my brother has never been so good at actually knowing what to do with that money. For a long time, he put his money in a regular savings account. When he finally did start investing, his strategy was to walk into a random financial institution, give his money to some financial guy, and ask him to invest it for him. As you can probably guess, that money didn’t end up in the best spots. The financial guy invested his money into expensive, actively traded mutual funds which really didn’t make much sense.
Over the past few years, I’ve worked on educating my brother about the fundamentals of investing. Buy and hold. Time in the market. Keep costs low. These are all investing fundamentals that will get him to where he needs to be. He’s now put his investments in a much better place than they were a few years ago.
But every once in a while, my brother will ask me a question about some hot new stock or the latest cryptocurrency or about some other weird investment that he heard about from a friend. I think there’s a reason that these types of out-of-the-ordinary investments appeal to him. My brother actually has a lot of people around him that have hit it big investing in ways I don’t recommend. I like to think of it as “fancy investing” – basically, investing in stuff that is out of the mainstream or investing in extremely risky ways.
One friend of his turned a few hundred thousand dollars into over a million dollars by putting it all into Facebook stock many years ago. Another friend of his is sitting pretty in a million-dollar house that his mom gave him and is now living off the money he made from investing in individual stocks. He has other friends with big positions in cryptocurrencies as well.
Every time my brother brings up some new hot stock or a weird new investment vehicle, I remind him that investing doesn’t have to be fancy. There’s a temptation to keep up with the Joneses in many aspects of our lives. And when it comes to investing, there’s a temptation to keep up with the Joneses there as well.
But as I keep telling him – the great thing about investing is that you don’t have to keep up with the Joneses. You can ignore the people around you and go at your own pace instead.
When It Comes To Investing, Ignore The Joneses
It’s hard to avoid the appeal of fancy investing when you’re surrounded by so many investing success stories. Do any Google search and you’ll find hundreds of articles about people that have made it big investing in the latest meme stock or cryptocurrency. Some people have become millionaires overnight by investing in something weird.
That’s not to say that betting it all on one thing is inherently wrong. Most people who make it really big have done so by betting big on one thing. Starting a business, getting an education – these are all big bets you’re making on yourself. But these bets are a little bit different. You have more control of them compared to betting on a random stock or cryptocurrency.
I often remind people that a lot of the success stories they see come from people in a completely different financial position than they might be. For example, my brother’s friend who made over a million dollars investing in Facebook stock is living a very comfortable life now. But when you dig deeper, it turns out he didn’t have anything to worry about at all. His incredibly wealthy parents gave him the money to do whatever he wanted with. We know about his success, but if he had failed, it wouldn’t have even mattered to him.
When you see success like this, investing in passively managed index funds seems so boring. Not everyone has to earn the money that they invested though. When it’s your money, you need to make sure you invest it correctly.
Stick To The Fundamentals – It’ll Get You Where You Need To Go
My brother is already leagues ahead of most people his age. Keeping his investments boring will be enough for him to get to the promised land. He doesn’t need a 10x stock or a big return on a cryptocurrency to make it.
That’s why I’ve been pushing him to stick to the fundamentals – keep things low-cost, invest consistently, and do it for the long term. Putting all of his money into a total stock market index fund, for example, should be enough to get him to where he wants to be.
Investing in crazy things looks cool. It’s easy to see people making tons of money from some weird investment and feel like you’re missing out or are stupid for not doing it too.
But don’t let that knock you off your path. Stick to the fundamentals and let that money grow. You don’t need to keep up with the Joneses. Let them invest in whatever crazy way they want. You and I can stick to our boring old fundamentals.
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More Recommended Ebike/Scooters
Check out these other ebikes and scooters I've reviewed:
- Urban Arrow Ebike – Last year, I made one of the largest purchases I’ve ever made – I bought a $9,000 electric cargo bike from Urban Arrow. In my Urban Arrow review, I will discuss what it is and why I decided to buy this bike, as well as discuss how impactful a bike like this can be on your journey to financial independence.
- Troxus Explorer Step-Thru Ebike – The Troxus Explorer Step-Thru is a fat-tire ebike that I’ve had the pleasure of riding for a while now. It has amazing power, great looks, and awesome range. If you’re looking for a great fat-tire ebike that offers a lot for the price, the Troxus Explorer Step-Thru is definitely one for you to consider. Check out my Troxus Explorer Step-Thru Review.
- Hovsco HovBeta Ebike – The HovBeta is a folding ebike with great specs and a lot of interesting features, and importantly, it’s sold at a good price point. I’ve had a blast commuting with it and using it to do deliveries with DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. Check out my Hovsco HovBeta Ebike Review.
- Vanpowers Manidae Ebike – The Vanpowers Manidae is a fat tire ebike that I’ve been riding as my primary winter commuting bike and have also been using it to do food delivery with apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. After clocking in a decent number of miles with this ebike, I wanted to write a post sharing what my experience with the Vanpowers Manidae ebike has been like. Check out my Vanpowers Manidae Review.
- Sohamo S3 Step-Thru Folding EBike Review – A Great Value Folding Ebike – The Sohamo S3 Step-Thru Folding Ebike is an entry-level folding ebike that offers a lot of value for the price point. I’ve been riding the Sohamo S3 for a while now, putting the bike through its paces, and I have to say, this bike has exceeded all of my expectations. Check out my Sohamo Review.
- KBO Flip Ebike – The KBO Flip is an excellent bike. I’ve had a great time riding it and think it’s a versatile bike that can be used for a lot of purposes and can fit a variety of lifestyles. It’s worked out great for me as a general commuter bike and as a food delivery bike. Check out my KBO Flip Review.
- Hiboy P7 Commuter Ebike – The Hiboy P7 is an excellent electric commuter bike that’s offered at an affordable price point. The range and speed of this bike are both very good, so you won’t have any trouble getting anywhere you need to go with it. As a food delivery vehicle, this is also good – with how much range it offers, you’ll be able to work all day on a single charge. Check out my Hiboy P7 Commuter Electric Bike Review.
- Himiway Escape Ebike – The Himiway Escape is an interesting bike for anyone looking for a moped-style ebike. If you’re a gig economy worker, the Himiway Escape is particularly interesting and it’s possible to think of it as an investment, especially if you can opt to do deliveries with the Himiway versus using a car. It’s not cheap, but you can definitely make your money back when you compare the mileage you’ll put on your car versus using an ebike. Check out my Himiway Escape Bike Review.
- Espin Sport Ebike – The Espin Sport is a good ebike for someone who is looking for an ebike that feels and rides more like a regular bike. There are many ebikes that are really only bikes in name. In reality, they’re basically electric mopeds. The Espin Sport, by contrast, is a bike you could probably ride without the battery and you’d feel like you’re just riding a regular bike. Check out my Espin Sport Review.
- Varla Eagle One Scooter – The Varla Eagle One is an excellent scooter that can make sense for a lot of people. It can work as a primary mode of transportation. You can use it to work on gig economy apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. And it can also be a recreational vehicle if you’d prefer to use it for that. Check out my Varla Eagle One Review.
- Varla Falcon Scooter – The Varla Falcon is an excellent scooter that offers a good amount of power at a lower price point compared to more powerful scooters. It’s not exactly an entry-level scooter, nor is it a high-powered scooter. I think it fits somewhere in-between those two categories – an intermediate scooter if I had to give it a category. Check out my Varla Falcon Review.
- Hiboy S2 Scooter – The Hiboy S2 is an excellent entry-level commuter scooter that's perfect for someone looking to save some money in transportation costs and improve their commute. Check out my Hiboy S2 Review.
- Hiboy S2R Scooter – The Hiboy S2R is one of the more interesting electric scooters I’ve been able to test out. It’s not a high-powered scooter, but for an everyday transport option, it’s very useful, especially given some of the unique features that it has. Indeed, for the price, the Hiboy S2R might be the best value scooter I’ve used. Check out my Hiboy S2R Review.
- Fucare H3 Scooter – The Fucare H3 is a fun scooter and I’ve enjoyed testing it out. For a daily commuter or quick trips or errands, the Fucare H3 is probably the scooter I’ll use. It’s portable and easy to maneuver, so it’s just easier to take on the road when I need it. Check out my Fucare H3 Scooter Review.
More Recommended Investing App Bonuses
For additional investing app bonuses, be sure to check out the ones below:
- M1 Finance ($100) – This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $100 for opening an account. Check out my M1 Finance Referral Bonus – Step-By-Step Guide.
- SoFi Invest ($25) – SoFi Invest is an easy brokerage account bonus that you can earn with just a few minutes of work. Use my SoFi Invest referral link, fund your SoFi Invest brokerage account with just $10 and you’ll get $25 of free stock. I also have a step-by-step guide for the SoFi Invest referral bonus.
- Webull (20 free stock shares) – Webull's current promotion gives you 20 free shares valued between $3-$3,000 each if you open an account using my referral link. Here’s a guide I wrote about how to earn your free shares using Webull.
- Moomoo (15 free stocks) – Moomoo is a free investing app currently offering 2 different referral bonuses if you open an account using a referral link. Read my Moomoo referral bonus guide for more information.
- Robinhood (1 free stock) – Robinhood gives you a free stock valued between $2.50-$225 if you open an account using my referral link.
- Public (1 free stock) - Public gives you a free stock valued between $3-$70 if you open an account using my referral link.
More Recommended Bank Account Bonuses
If you’re looking for more easy bank bonuses, check out the below options. These bonuses are all easy to earn and have no fees or minimum balance requirements to worry about.
- Upgrade ($200) – Upgrade is a free checking account that’s currently offering a $200 referral bonus if you open an account and complete a direct deposit. These bonus terms are easy to meet, so it’s well worth doing this bonus as soon as you can. Here’s a post I wrote with more details: Upgrade $200 Referral Bonus – Step By Step Directions.
- Ally Bank ($100) – Of all the banks out there, Ally is, without a doubt, my favorite. At the moment, Ally is offering $100 to customers who open an eligible Ally account and meet the requirements. Here are the step-by-step directions to earn your Ally Bank referral bonus.
- Fairwinds Credit Union ($175) – Fairwinds Credit Union is offering a referral bonus for users that sign up using a referral link. Fairwinds has no fees or minimum balance, so this is a particularly easy bonus to earn. Since this is a smaller credit union, my gut instinct tells me this offer won’t be around long, so if you’re in a position to meet the bonus requirements, grab this bonus before it’s gone. Here is my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Fairwinds Credit Union bonus.
- Chime ($100) - Chime is a free bank account that offers a referral bonus if you use a referral link and complete a direct deposit of $200 or more. In practice, any ACH transfer into this account triggers the bonus. This bonus is easy to earn and posts instantly, so you’ll know if you met the requirements as soon as you move money into the account. I wrote a step-by-step guide on how to earn your Chime referral bonus that I recommend you check out.
- US Bank Business ($900) – This is a fairly easy bank bonus to earn, since there are no direct deposit requirements. In addition, you can open the Silver Business Checking account, which comes with no monthly fees. Check out how to earn this big bonus here.
- GO2Bank ($50) - GO2Bank is an easy bank bonus that I recommend people take advantage of if they have an easy way of meeting the direct deposit requirement. I like that it’s easy to open the account and that the bonus pays out quickly. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to earn your GO2Bank $50 referral bonus.
- Current ($50) – Current is a free fintech bank that’s offering new users a $50 referral bonus after signing up for an account using a referral link. Current is an easy bonus to earn and also gives you access to three savings accounts that pay you 4% interest on up to $2,000. That means you can put away up to $6,000 earning 4% interest. That’s very good and makes Current an account I recommend to everyone. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Current Bank bonus.
- Novo Bank ($40) - Novo bank is a free business checking account that’s currently offering a $40 bonus if you open a Novo business checking account using a referral link. In addition to being a good bank bonus, Novo is also a good business checking account. It has no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements and operates a good app and website. Indeed, it’s the business checking account I currently use for this blog. Check out my post on how to easily open a Novo account.
- Varo ($25) – Varo is a free fintech banking app similar to Chime or Current. It’s currently offering a $25 bonus to new users that open a new Varo account with a referral link. The bonus for this bank is very easy to meet, all you need to do is spend $20 within 30 days of opening your Varo account. Check out my step-by-step guide to learn how to earn this bonus.
Kevin is an attorney and the blogger behind Financial Panther, a blog about personal finance, travel hacking, and side hustling using the gig economy. He paid off $87,000 worth of student loans in just 2.5 years by choosing not to live like a big shot lawyer.
Kevin is passionate about earning money using the gig economy and you can see all the ways he makes extra income every month in his side hustle reports.
Kevin is also big on using the latest fintech apps to improve his finances. Some of Kevin's favorite fintech apps include:
- SoFi Money. A really good checking account with absolutely no fees. You'll get a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi Money account with a referral link, and an additional $300 if you complete a direct deposit.
- 5% Savings Accounts. I'm currently getting 5.24% interest on my savings through a company called Raisin. Opening a Raisin account takes minutes to complete, it's free, and all of your funds are FDIC-insured. I explain how it works, why I'm now using it to store my emergency fund and any other cash savings I have, and why I recommend everyone check it out in this review.
- US Bank Business. US Bank is currently offering new business customers a $900 signup bonus after opening a new account and meeting certain requirements.
- M1 Finance. This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $100 for opening an account.
- Empower. One of best free apps you can use to monitor your portfolio and track your net worth. This is one of the apps I use to track my financial accounts.
Feel free to send Kevin a message here.
Sometimes you can “run through the raindrops” for a long time, but it usually ends badly. I’ve seen market guys or day traders that craved “just another 100K” to kickstart an investment binge. Some who even spiraled into alcoholism and premature death. Other guys simply wish they “had their 500K back”. I’ve always said that what happened to the people that got burned by Bernie Madoff, could never happen to us (me & my wife), with our diversification. However, the more I learn, the more I realize how much we’re exposed to risk. (and I’m talking about individual stock picking) People always talk about their winners, and rarely their losers. Good advice for someone that really wants to “try on” an investment idea, is to simply limit the total amount invested, with just a few shares, and place a stop loss order, right away. Otherwise, just head to Vegas.
You mentioned your Bro isn’t familiar with the concept of financial independence. That would be my first step to piquing his interest in index funds. Of course get rich quick appeals to someone who is surrounded by success stories, however, he is lacking the reality of all those who have also lost big. Sounds like your brother has a chance to get to where his friends are if he could only drown out their whispers! Index funds may not be sexy but they are stable and as close to a sure thing as the market can predict. Great job trying to rein him in!! 🙂
Agreed! We don’t care how we do — we care how we do relative to others. It drives us nutty when someone we know got lucky big and we didn’t. Your brother sounds like he’s on a great path. His desire for this homerun might strike him out. -JT
For every Fancy Investing success story, there’s gotta be at least 100 failures. I feel that if you’re gonna take a flier on something, you better be prepared to lose it all.
We do a little bit of Fancy Investing in a couple of stocks, mainly lithium. But we’re investing a minuscule portion of our portfolio. What allowed us to retire was the boring index fund investing we did through IRAs, Employer Savings plans, and a regular taxable brokerage account.
If you guys did it that way, then I know that’s the way to go!
ah, what a great article, I need to send this along to a few friends! I have had several friends who will get interested when I tell them I like to invest. They instantly ask which stocks I’m invested in (Apple??? Tesla??? Snapchat???), anticipating that I have some secret that I am working off of. When I tell them I’m investing in all stocks a la index funds… their faces drop and they are clearly disappointed in my boring investing style. Fine by me! I’ll be boring for the rest of my life as my husband and I work towards FIRE!
I mean, technically, if you’re doing index investing, then you are invested in Apple, Tesla, and maybe Snapchat. An honest answer might be, yep, I invest in all of them!
Good stuff. I’ve tried my hand a both . . . even my best years in ‘fancy investing’ didn’t match my returns from boring investing . . . one of life’s great mysteries! 😉
It’s like the harder we try to invest fancy, the worse we do. I think there was a study from Fidelity that showed the highest returns on brokerage accounts they had with them were from people who had died and people who forgot they had accounts with Fidelity. An interesting thing to think about.
Good thing your brother has you to keep him in line! A great write up and one that should be shared with all people that get caught up investing with active fund managers.
I got sucked into the active fund manager trap in my early twenties. I put $289/month into a permanent life insurance policy. Over five years, I contributed, or I guess paid, over $17k into this policy. I finally decided to cash it out – only netting about $12k, which I used to start my taxable account!
Man, insurance stuff is something I need to start looking at because I’m definitely underinsured. Luckily, I’ve managed to avoid the insurance salespeople, but did have them calling me up when I was in biglaw. I just kept telling them I wasn’t interested, but mainly because I didn’t even understand what they wanted.
Every time the market bull gets long in the tooth the number of people that think they are investing gurus goes through the roof. They usually disappear with the next crash. The trick is not to fall pray to the sirens song of recency bias.
I’m pretty sure everyone made money in the last 7 years. If that facebook or amazon stock went tumbling down, I’d doubt any of us would have heard from those investing gurus – not too many people are going to go out and say, yeah, I lost half-a-million putting it all on Facebook.
Preach, Panther!! It reminds me of many martial arts techniques. It’s GREAT to know all the fancy tricks, but brilliance in the basics leads to success. What was the Bruce Lee quote? I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.”
Similar to investing. My index funds charge .15 – .2. A recent active investor proposed charging .35 AND 20% incentive fee “when there is a profit.”
I like the steady defense and offense of low cost. Boring is effective.
I like that Bruce Lee quote, haha. And right on, boring works. We won’t be able to brag about it, but it’ll get the job done for us.
They’re fundamentals because they’ve been proven by time to work, eh? Can you beat the evidence of time? Low cost is the way to go.
Fundamentals are so boring though. How am I supposed to brag about how I’m a stock market wizard?
Yes, I look at fancy investing as gambling in a casino. Fancy investors/gamblers may hit it big but then they may also lose it big. The worst part is that they wouldn’t quite understand why they won or lost money because it was a gamble in the first place and not really an investment. There is nothing to learn with this type of investing.
Like you, I also stick with fundamental based investing; that’s the only way I feel comfortable investing because I understand what I’m doing and have a better chance in being successful long-term than just rolling the dice.
Really not that much different than a casino. If you hit it big, awesome, but gosh it was risky to do that.