Investing From The Beach: Recent Episodes
Chris Hanson
Is time freedom (FIRE) your goal? The two hosts retired early (one at 30; one at 40) each walked from a 6-figure job. They discuss THE critical ingredient to achieve financial freedom, “how to think”. Chris Hanson & Chris Lam each reached freedom by investing & trading in the stock market. This is NOT Dave Ramsey mutual funds; it’s not Kiyosaki real estate; people say it’s akin to living the Tim Ferriss lifestyle. They’re not Ivy League grads; they’re self-taught, studying nights & weekends while working in sales for the largest tech firm. Today, they can trade/invest from anywhere they happen to be, even from the beach. They’ll share what they discovered about “how to think” as well as “how to do”. Most people focus on the mechanics, the tasks, the “how to do”. The reality is that “how to do” is maybe 5% of what’s required; the other 95% is “how to think”. Most people gloss over the 95%, then get frustrated when they can’t figure out why they’re not achieving freedom.
We talk about the blatantly obvious stock opportunities that we missed when we first started….and those opportunities are still available today!
VFS VinFast is a new entrant to the EV space - the stock is a roller coaster ride. We talk about the greed that shows up when stocks are incredibly volatile
Do recent bank failures present an opportunity in the stock market? We discuss what to watch for and what to watch out for. Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, First Republic, other regional banks - are there opportunities among the survivors?
Google Layoffs, Entitlement. Lesson = Do not attach yourself to the company you work for - focus on building your skillset. You will leave your job for 1 of 4 reasons; your salary reqts; your age; your health; or you decide. Recent articles about tech sector layoffs, Google in particular; show a huge disconnect between freedom-seeking vs comfort-seeking.
People willingly buy stuff when it goes on sale, but they won't buy assets when they're on sale....either becuz they're afraid or they don't know how to recognize an opportunity.
Recession or Expansion; Inflation or Deflation; Bull or Bear; Markets move in cycles, but do the cycles truly matter? Once you can identify which direction it's heading, you simply trade in that direction...
Covid, Chinese Stock Market, Who wins with everyone having to get Covid tested? Who wins when China govt chokes an industry and crushes those firms?
Money, Power, Politics, Business. The US was in Afghanistan for 20 years…why? Follow the trail of logic and money.
Racism White Privilege Bias. Stk Mkt does NOT care how you identify, so it can not discriminate. There are zero societal barriers in your way. Gay, Straight, Black, White, Fat, Thin, Dropout, or Phd…no one in stock market knows aaaand no one cares.
crypto, stock trading, Dave Ramsey - we discuss what you might unteach kids as they go back to school
We discuss a variety of topics including “how to think” re Biden’s policies; the “why” of raising taxes; and Lam’s recent experience with the NBA’s NFT, non-fungible token.
Where should govt involvement stop…should govt be telling a business it must pay a bonus to employees?
We discuss the importance of “who” you listen to. Are you drawn to them becuz they’re in your same situation….or….is it becuz they have already achieved what you’re you are trying to do. Be wary when someone is proclaimed to be an “expert”; an expert according to “who”?
What impact will Trump or Biden have on the stock market? We discuss what to expect and watch for pre-election and post-election.
What should someone consider when trading high-flier stocks, a current example is Tesla (TSLA)?
Fans of hands-off index investing speak of earning 8 to 10% on average; they claim "Buffett says it is the way to go". yet 20 years ago, Warren Buffett guaranteed he could make 50% on a million dollars in the stock market. We talk about how it can be done.
Covid-induced market volatility has created a new breed of stock trader, enticed by seemingly easy money, and by the visual rewards of RobinHood...is this the new reality?
Warren Buffett is pro-America! Does a bear market mean go find a job? Heck No!! Opportunities are more plentiful than ever before; we talk about how Covid19 impacts debt and customers (tenants)
We recorded this on day one of the big market plunge; we discuss the "how to think"; how to recognize; and how to prepare around major news events.
Applying the "how to think" mindset around events like Kobe Bryant's death and the Corona virus outbreak; we also discuss the financial samurai going back to work
We talk about the three secrets to achieving success in the stock market, and in anything.
Education or Ignorance...which is more costly? Common to witness people who hesitate to spend $ on self-education but will gladly commit to a large 48-month car loan...and then they complain that they can never get ahead...
There's been a lot of talk lately about the new IPOs that have hit the market in the past year or so. We talk about the successful strategy that we have used with our IPO investing; we talk about which IPOs are the best to invest in, and which to avoid...both in today's environment as well as in the future.
When listening to an “expert”, you must discern if they’re telling you a fact or an opinion. It’s fine to make an investing decision on either, but do not confuse a fact with an opinion. An article on cnbc.com, from 10/1/19, titled Real Estate is Still The Best Investment You Can Make Today…”includes comments from Barbara Corcoran of the Corcoraan Group and Shark Tank; Bethenny Frankel of Skinnygirl; Grant Cordone; Peter Hernandez, Holly Parker, and Dottie Herman of Douglas Elliman; Daniel Lesniak; and Robert Hernandez. We dissect the facts and opinions while comparing r/e investing to stock market investing.
We discuss a real-life example of someone’s stock market results and how that was due to their mindset; We contrast their “thinking” to that of someone who can get distracted by outside interests.
How you handle debt impacts your FICO score; more importantly, it affects your "reputation" score with those who might later invest with you or in you.
Perhaps FIRE should stand for Focus on Investments and Reduce Expenses, allows you to retire early. We talk about the mindset that is required, along with some simple steps that are needed to reach freedom.
We talk about the unexpected challenges that you'll face in early retirement. They're easily addressable if you'll simply think about them BEFORE you walk away from your j.o.b.
We talk about what it takes to develop the work ethic required to achieve any objective.
Should you focus on the stock market or the economy? We talk about an easy way to differentiate the two, and we do it using words that everybody understands!
There’s been lots of recent talk about buying into an IPO; we talk about the impact that buying into an IPO will have on your goal of reaching time freedom.
David Goggins and Jocko Willink talk about "don't ask questions, just do it" ...we talk about the difference between being interested in something vs being committed to it; and how do you go from one to the other.
No matter what business you're involved in, "selling" is crucial...however, "selling" is crucial in day to day life, not just business - knowing "how to sell" will make you happier, lead to greater success, and make life easier.
We discuss if New York won or lost in the battle for Amazon HQ2. This is NOT a political finger-pointing exercise, but rather an example of how-to-think.
Most people do not have a money problem, they have a money management problem. We talk about an approach that has worked well for both of us
Is it easier to achieve time freedom living in the US or outside the US ?
A continuation of ep 47, this is like Dave Ramsey meets Anthony Bourdain…
To us, it sounds insane to choose to work till age 70, but that's what Suze Orman suggests. We discuss why and how you might want to do it differently.
What habits, work ethic, and mindset must you have in order to be the best investor (or anything else) that you can be
Trading the stock market can be a lucrative business without any of the hassles that small business owners face. The biggest battle will be with yourself if you want to be financially independent, retiring early; but you've gotta know how to think.
We discuss the pro/con of starting a new business, using a property management / manager business as the opportunity.
On your way to FIRE, Financial Independence Retire Early, you will run into people who say that it can't be done; they are examples of the Crab Pot theory. We discuss how to recognize that person and how to avoid it.
We discuss the pro and con of using cash or credit cards. The financial issue in Turkey has us talking about gold and silver.
Mark Twain said, “Don’t argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience.” In this episode, we discuss how to handle those situations.
We talk about what and how parents can teach their children about money, finance, and the how to think. Think about what you wish you knew 10 years ago, so why not teach that to your children when they're young so that they can walk a different path than you.
The reality: to achieve time freedom, you must first develop the mindset; however, talking about mindset does not sell books. If you wanna sell books, talk about money. Whether it’s Jim Cramer on Mad Money, or Dave Ramsey Financial Peace – they focus on the money, and sell a ton of books as a result. We’ve found a few people that “get it” – Jocko Willink, David Goggins, & Jim Wendler are three that come to mind; their focus isn’t money, instead they talk discipline. It’s crucial to recognize that while money is the first thing that people want, it is the last thing that shows up; it only shows up after everything else is in place.
With student loan debt on the rise, we talk the pro/con of whether College Is Necessary? It's cost will not give you financial peace of mind, so we touch on various ways to pay for it.
We’ve been described as half the opposite of Dave Ramsey; he says “get out of debt, then hire a money mgr, aka mutual fund”. We believe that you can learn to manage your own money. Today, we talk about how to start from zero, if you are forced into a reset. Also, via listener “Mark”, we talk the pro/con of taking a retirement annuity versus a lump sum amount.
Listeners Pliney & Jackie asked about repayment strategies for student loans and mortgages.
Listener Dennis asks about dealing with relationship dynamics when the other person doesn’t share your vision, excitement about time freedom or investing, (or Cramer or Kiyosaki). People accept it when you say that you’re going to college; yet you will get odd looks & negative feedback when you say you’re learning to achieve to time freedom.
When someone wants more money, they instantly think about how to get a raise; we talk about how to dramatically increase your wealth and income, simply by using what's available to most employees, their 401k and their spending.
We talk about debt; using a different mindset than Dave Ramsey to get out of debt and invest without mutual funds.
We interview a very successful r/e agent/investor who is contemplating his full-time workload and discuss how else to spend his time.
We talk about naked option trading; you’ll hear a LOT about this method in the midst of a bull market; and you’ll hear a LOT about naked call trading in the depths of a bear market…but you won’t hear people talk about the risk associated with such a strategy.
We discuss using Leaps (or longer term options) as a substitute for stock when selling covered calls. This can be called calendar spreads or diagonal spreads; sometimes referred to as renting stock. The idea is to control stock for less than its purchase price and sell calls against that asset.
Whether a side hustle, side gig, or full time career, there are skills that you'll want/need for time freedom; we discuss them in this episode.
We interview Ryan, a 29 yr old with some decisions/opportunities/choices in front of him; it's an intriguing discussion and a great case study tying in the topics of the past few episodes.
A health crisis will affect nearly every single person in their lifetime, either as a patient or as a part/full-time care-giver. Cancer; heart disease; stroke; dementia; etc. When, not if, but when a health crisis hits, are you financially prepared and mentally prepared. How are you going to deal with it?
When we talk "how to think", most people don't stop to consider that this also includes those times when your routine gets disrupted. Ironically, and sadly, we were recording this when, unbeknownst to us, the Las Vegas tragedy was occurring. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all those affected...
Lucius Seneca said, "If a Man knows not what harbor he seeks, any wind is the right wind" "95% how to think" starts with having a purpose for your life; Why are you pursuing time freedom? What will you do with that newly discovered free-time? If you don't have a purpose that you're working toward, then when the pursuit of time freedom gets frustrating, you'll allow yourself to get distracted. In this episode, we talk about what it takes to identify your purpose.
In this episode, we discuss our approach to Initial Public Offerings, IPO; when to avoid them and when to consider their purchase.
The most common excuse for pursuing time freedom is, ironically, "I dont have time to learn how to make my money work", which really is saying, "I dont have time to get to time freedom". In this episode, we discuss how to free-up time, so that you can pursue the goal of having nearly all the time in a day.
In this episode, we interview Kyle, a student of the stock market. He's a millennial by age, but not by his thinking/mindset. It's a great discussion about the mindset changes he's experienced in himself and what he's witnessed in others as he progresses down the path toward time freedom. Whether you're just starting out, or if you're nearly at financial freedom, you'll learn something during this interview. While his chosen vehicle to freedom is the stock market, his salary is derived from his daily real estate activities; this gives him an interesting perspective that not many people understand.
We had a very insightful talk with Kyle, a mid-20s millennial, who gets the "how to think" aspect; he is employing the 95% how to think across many facets of life, not simply trading & investing, and the results are amazing him.
We talk about the dynamics of Multi Level Marketing, MLM; we speak about the benefits and the pitfalls to a network-marketing business, while providing some items to keep in mind should you be looking at an MLM opportunity.
In this interview, we hear from Kyle; a recent college grad, about his experience with the ProfitsOnWallStreet course materials.
We talk about the difference between financial freedom, time freedom, and retirement. If it is a new career you seek, this is when you do it as you now have the freedom & time to do so. Passive income, dividends, trading, stock invest ...any of them can get you to financial freedom, but not all of them can get you to time freedom.
We explain the concept of puts and short sell stock in order to profit during down moves in the market. We delve into the psychology of what you will likely go through when doing this type of trade.
We explain the concept of covered calls (trading a call when you own the underlying stock) and then delve into the psychology of what you will likely go through when doing this type of trade. This leads us into a much longer discussion about how to think, in order to achieve the goal of, not just financial freedom, but time freedom.
This continues episode 12; we answer listener questions about learn to trade the stock market; we discuss the issues arising when friends don't share your level of financial passion; we discuss leadership vs followership; coach-ability; and examples of how-to-think. This is part 2 of a 2-part episode.
We answer listener questions related to IRA and 401k and Roth IRA and Self directed IRA, as well as a number of other topics submitted by listeners. This is part 1 of a 2-part episode.
Continuing episode 9 where we talk 401k; a fabulous method of forced savings that is available to nearly every employee and it is tax deferred. Most people will switch employers every few years, usually to get a raise or promotion. However, they overlook the other huge benefit; when they switch employers, they can now have 401(k) balance that was at their old employer moved to a self-directed IRA. With some know-how, discipline, and following some rules, the opportunities are huuuge. It seems that people will put more effort on weight loss than on their financial future. People will do unnatural things in the hopes of getting a 5% raise at work, which is a short-term win. They haven't realized that the long-term impact of getting just a couple more percent annually on their 401k will dwarf any raise they could ever get from their employer.
Continuing episode 9 where we talk 401k; a fabulous method of forced savings that is available to nearly every employee and it is tax deferred. Most people will switch employers every few years, usually to get a raise or promotion. However, they overlook the other huge benefit; when they switch employers, they can now have 401(k) balance that was at their old employer moved to a self-directed IRA. With some know-how, discipline, and following some rules, the opportunities are huuuge. People will do unnatural things in the hopes of getting a 5% raise at work, which is a short-term win. They haven't realized that the long-term impact of getting just a couple more percent annually on their 401k will dwarf any raise they could ever get from their employer.
We talk 401k; a fabulous method of forced savings that is available to nearly every employee and it is tax deferred. Most people will switch employers every few years usually to get a raise or promotion; they overlook the other benefit is that they can also now self-direct their old 401(k). With some know-how, discipline, and following some rules, the opportunities are huuuge. People will do unnatural things in the hopes of getting a 5% raise, which is a short-term win. They haven't realized that the long-term impact of getting just a couple more percent annually on their 401k will dwarf any raise they could ever get from their employer.
Part 2: We continue the Ep #7 discussion comparing investing in real estate and the stock market. It boils down to the difference between financial freedom vs time freedom. It points to the mindset difference between having your investments, along with tens of thousands of employees, working on your behalf, versus you working on your investments. Whether it is stock or real estate, you ultimately are investing in a business. The question becomes: do you want to have tens of thousands of employees working on your behalf, without ever bothering you..., or do you want to manage tens to hundreds of people who are working on your investments with you?
We compare investing in real estate and the stock market. It boils down to the difference between financial freedom vs time freedom. It points to the mindset difference between having your investments, along with tens of thousands of employees working on your behalf, versus you working on your investments. Whether it is stock or real estate, you ultimately are investing in a business. The question becomes: do you want to have tens of thousands of employees working on your behalf, without ever bothering you..., or do you want to manage tens to hundreds of people who are working on your investments with you?
From the big, overarching view, this episode deals with where to invest. It is NOT just about your dividends/rent/interest, and capital gains, but rather it is also a function of how much time you are willing/wanting to invest to manage your investment(s). Most people overlook the amount of time that is required to manage an investment, and/or how much time is required to manage the managers of your investment(s).
Everyone says they're motivated to get to Time Freedom, - most aren't being honest with themselves. After awhile, motivation goes away...discipline is what keeps you going. Discipline will result in Freedom; You need Discipline more than Motivation. In this episode, we talk about why you want to get to Time Freedom. Whether your chosen path is real estate, flipping, mult-family, stock market, trading, investing, entrepreneur, small business, MLM, it doesn't matter...you MUST know your purpose.
We talk about the "operating system" for time freedom, and compare that to the "Apps". In the pursuit of time freedom, most people get attracted by an "app" (a real estate tactic; a stock market method; an affiliate marketing program; etc). However, if they've not built the underlying operating system first, then they won't be able to tell whether a particular "app" could be useful, let alone determine if it is even appropriate for their operating system.
We talk about where you spend your time and where your money comes from. Is your time spent working for a business? Is it spent working on a business? If you invest in a business, then other people do the work. However, if you find that you are working "on" that particular business, then it is not providing you time freedom....
We learn some background info on our host and how that early training played a role for him achieving time freedom at the age of 31.
Thanks for checking out Investing From The Beach podcast! In this episode, we’ll do a brief introduction to one of the two hosts, and talk about the listeners that would be most interested in this podcast.