The Lazy Person's Guide to Building Wealth (Part 2): Investing for Beginners / August 30, 2023 by Paco de Leon

Welcome to part 2 of “The Lazy Person’s Guide to Building Wealth.” If you missed part 1, get caught up here. If you’ve ever been curious about investing in the stock market but are honestly puzzled about how to get started, this guide is for you. If you question whether investing in the stock market is a realm reserved only for Wall Street moguls or the already rich, this guide is also for you. By the end of it, you’ll have everything you need to know to start investing.

Most Common Investing Struggles (and How to Avoid Them) / November 1, 2021 by Paco de Leon

Hey reader, just a little heads up that I am not an investment advisor, and the following article is not investment advice.

Before I took my first investment course in college, I had a lot of assumptions about investing. Many of them were wrong. I thought you had to know a lot about individual stocks and companies. I believed it was much more complicated than it turned out to be. And I expected it to be so much more exciting.

Investing is kind of like film and television. The result might be sexy and shiny and cool. But if you’ve ever been on set, you know that the process of filming is usually pretty dull compared to the result. There may be some excitement, but the great majority of the time gets spent waiting around - a lot like investing!

However, lately, investing seems to have changed -- from the Gamestop chaos to the Dodge coin drama, to the general market run-up over the last two years, investing feels exciting. Ask anyone who has seen their investment balances go up over the last couple of years.

Financial Paradoxes / May 4, 2021 by Paco de Leon

Paradoxes are fancy literary devices that can teach us lessons through the use of logical contradictions. Examining them allows us to practice our ability to hold opposing ideas in our minds at the same time.

Your Cash Is Losing It's Value. This Is What You Can Do About It / September 18, 2019 by Paco de Leon

How many times have you thrown a penny away? Like you saw a penny on your desk, or you got it as a change, and instead of putting it in your pocket to use later, you throw it in the actual garbage? I'm not trying to judge you; I'm just trying to illustrate how the penny has lost its value over time.

In 1909, you could buy a copy of the New York Tribune for one cent. And in 1932, you could travel a mile in Southern Railway System. And I'm sure you might have heard a grandparent speak of buying candy at a local five-and-dime for a penny.

How does a penny go from getting you an entire newspaper to being so annoying that you'd rather throw them away than carry them around?

When money becomes less valuable, it's usually due to inflation.

Four Investing Myths You Need To Stop Believing / September 11, 2019 by Paco de Leon

I know, I know. You think investing is not for you. Trust me when I tell you, I know how you feel. As someone who has been in the finance world - like actually in it - it’s easy to feel like you don’t belong there.

But it’s kind of our responsibility to work through that so we can actively participate. We have to know how something works before we can make any judgement about it. And we have to understand it before we try to change it. So, if you want to make a difference or if you just want to get rich, you have to pony up and grab a seat at the table. Even if you think you can’t afford to play, the truth is you can’t afford to not learn how to play.

If you’re someone who has gotten close to investing, but never follows through, tried to learn, but has given up, it’s probably because you are letting these four common investing myths hold you back.