success

CREATE A BRIGHT FINANCIAL FUTURE BY SAVING A MINIMUM OF 20% OF EVERYTHING YOU EARN!

Posted on by Joseph M. Brennan Jr.

I always tell people (especially young people) to get into the practice of automatically saving a minimum of 20% of everything they earn. The 20%+ automatic savings is important because it forces financial discipline – resulting in a greater ability to accumulate financial wealth and achieve financial freedom much sooner than would be experienced otherwise.

Let me provide some examples to demonstrate how investing will help you. Let’s assume you live in Mississippi, and your annual wages are $44,966 (this is the lowest average annual wage in the U.S. for 2025 and is used just as an example to show that even lower wages can grow wealth over time). A 20% savings rate would be $749 per month. Using an investment calculator such as https://www.calculator.net/investment-calculator.html shows that if you invested your money using the long-term average annual gain in the S&P500 Index of 10% per year (including dividends), then you would have:

a. $1.5M in about 42 years if you saved $187 per month (5%).

b. $1.5M in about 35.5 years if you saved $375 per month (10%).

c. $1.5M in about 29 years if you saved $749 per month (20%).

d. $1.5M in about 25 years if you saved $1,124 per month (30%).

Most investors would do much better than the above due to the fact your annual income is likely to exceed that of the Mississippi average at some point, and you will probably continue increasing the amount you save as your annual income increases. So, be sure to do this for yourself if you can.

Here is some additional finance and investing related information which might be helpful to some of you:

  1. HOW TO CREATE A BRIGHTER FINANCIAL FUTURE FOR YEARS AND DECADES TO COME: https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/how-to-create-a-brighter-financial-future-for-years-and-de cades-to-come/
  2. HOW TO INVEST WELL AND CREATE A BRIGHTER FUTURE WITH MINIMAL EFFORT: https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/how-to-invest-well-and-create-a-brighter-future-with-minimal-effort/
  3. MY “INVEST LIKE A PRO IN 10 MINUTES A DAY” SERIES OF BOOKS: https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/published-books-and-life-coaching-services/
  4. THE STOCK MARKET ACTIVITES I ENGAGE IN: https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/stock-market-activities/

I hope this information will be helpful to you and I wish you much success in creating a brighter financial future for yourself, your loved ones, and those who follow!

#selfimprovement #selfhelp #selfdevelopment #success #finance #stocks #investing #stockmarket #bonds #bondmarket

ANOTHER 1ST EXECUTION OF MARKET-BASED BUY STRATEGY FOR 2025

Posted on by Joseph M. Brennan Jr.

For those who wanted to follow along, this will be another first execution of my refined, structured Market-Based Buying Strategy for investing well with minimal effort: https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/a-structured-market-based-buying-strategy-for-investing-well-with-minimal-effort/.

If you are a High Risk (HR) investor, this post is for you – investors of all other risk categories can wait and do nothing if you want. If you aren’t sure what your investment risk category is, scroll down to the bottom of this post.

HR Investors: The S&P 500 index has dropped about 3% from its all-time high (a 3-5% drop in the S&P 500 index generally happens about three times a year on average) – so if it remains at its present level or drops a little more (~639.50 for the SPY ETF or ~6415 for the S&P 500 index would represent about a 5% drop), you might consider buying 33% or more (depending on your investment style and preference) of your overall investment account into one of the major market index Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) (or you can split that across multiple major market indexes if you prefer). I anticipate there will be a more substantial decline in the overall S&P 500 index, but I could be wrong – and the longer and the deeper the drop you wait for, the greater the likelihood you will miss the rebound. So, HR investors might want to prepare to go ahead and buy – other investors might be more inclined to take their chances by waiting for a deeper drop. It’s your financial future so do what you think is best for you.

I currently track eight major market index ETFs: S&P 500 index (e.g., SPY ETF), an equal-weighted version of the S&P 500 Index (e.g., RSP ETF), the Total Stock Market index (e.g., VTI ETF), the Vanguard Value Index Fund ETF Shares (VTV – value stocks of large companies), the Nasdaq (e.g., QQQ ETF), a Mid-Cap Stock Index ETF (e.g., IJH ETF), Russell 2000 index (e.g., IWM ETF), and the EFA ETF (or something similar). The first seven are major U.S. based indexes, while the last one tracks international stocks of developed countries outside the U.S. and Canada.

Of the above major market index ETFs, the most attractive right now appears to be: IJH, EFA, and IWM based on my analysis – they are all pretty close right now so you can pick either one of these ETFs or split your investment across these if that is your preference. None of these indexes/ETFs are without risk, however. For example, in a slowing economy, the IWM (or SPSM which is the one I like since it only includes the profitable small businesses contained in the Russell 2000 index) tends to drop the fastest and the deepest but usually rebounds sharply at some point (the SPSM is even more attractive than the IWM right now based on my analyses). So, if you are very concerned about a potential slowing economy, then you might want to choose a different index to invest in or split your investment across different indexes. The IJH ETF has not been historically quite as risky as the IWM in a slowing economy, and the EFA (or IEFA which is the one I like since the fees are lower) has currency exchange risk since it is not US-based, can be impacted by the current administration’s trade policy, and this index ETF has tended to lag the U.S. market indexes in recent years (2025 has been a notable exception, however) – the dollar has continued to fall this year and if that continues then some of the risks might be avoided for the EFA ETF.

Feel free to start buying in one or more of the aforementioned major market index ETFs if you are a HR investor and the S&P 500 remains close to where it closed this past Friday or drops a little more below that level. You can use the specific major market indexes above or use a different one that is suits you. Just ensure the fees are at least as low as the ones identified above when buying.

Another thing to keep in mind is that, historically speaking, October through December is usually some of the better months to invest in the stock market in terms of overall gains. It does not always happen, but it does for much of the time. In stark contrast, August and September are usually the worst months to invest as stocks tend to fall in those months, but they didn’t this year – so perhaps the historical trend will not hold up this year for October through December either. We’ll have to wait and see. As an investor, I tend to play the odds not the exceptions – but you can experience some financial pain when the exceptions happen.

You can learn about all of my investing techniques via my “Invest Like a Pro in 10 Minutes a Day!” series of 4 books where you can learn the “end to end” process to investing: https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/published-books-and-life-coaching-services/.

Also, you can read all about my stock market activities here: https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/stock-market-activities

I wish you much investing success for 2025 (and beyond!).

selfimprovement #selfhelp #selfdevelopment #success #finance #stocks #investing #stockmarket #bonds #bondmarket

==== INVESTMENT RISK CATEGORIES ====

Important Note: When adding up what you have across your investment accounts, I recommend making the following adjustment for pre-tax type investment accounts (e.g., 401Ks and IRAs without the word “Roth” attached): reduce the total amount by 24% for a conservative overall estimate. We have to pay taxes when withdrawing from these kinds of accounts so this will help to account for that. Feel free to use a different percentage reduction depending on what tax bracket you believe you will fall into when withdrawing money from these accounts.

HIGH-RISK INVESTOR (your investment goal is 4+ times what you presently have in total across your investment accounts – after making adjustments in accordance with the note above). For example, if your investment goal is $2M and you presently have $500k or less in total across your investment accounts then you would be a high-risk investor.

MEDIUM-RISK INVESTOR (your investment goal is roughly 2-4 times what you presently have in total across your investment accounts – after making adjustments in accordance with the note above). For example, if your investment goal is $2M and you presently have $500k-$1M in total across your investment accounts then you would be a medium-risk investor.

LOW-RISK INVESTOR (your investment goal is no more than 2 times what you presently have in total across your investment accounts – after making adjustments in accordance with the note above). For example, if your investment goal is $2M and you presently have $1M or more in total across your investment accounts then you would be a low-risk investor.

HAPPINESS TIP: DEFEAT ANXIETY EARLY ON

Posted on by Joseph M. Brennan Jr.

I used to have a lot of anxiety. The one thing that really helped me was coming to the realization that 99% of the things we worry about never happen, and the 1% that do, we deal with much better than we expect or help comes from places we did not anticipate.

One important thing about anxiety is you want to try to deal with it while it is in the thinking stages by choosing more positive thoughts, using meditation techniques, or using some other positive/relaxation-based approaches. Once anxiety gets into your body, it will stay with you until you do rigorous physical exercise to get rid of it. So, don’t ruin your entire days by holding on to anxiety. Take steps to get rid of it – the sooner the better.

Here are three things which might be helpful for dealing with anxiety:

1. https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/happiness-tip-focus-on-what-you-want-instead-of-what-you-dont/,

2. https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/happiness-success-tip-instead-of-finding-ways-to-live-with-stress-and-negativity-change-the-thoughts-and-behaviors-which-lead-to-it/, and

3. https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/how-to-defeat-any-distress-without-dope-drinks-drugs-debt-or-doctors/

This and other happiness and self-improvement related tips are provided throughout my self-help-oriented books and posts: 

PUBLISHED BOOKS: https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/published-books-and-life-coaching-services/

CREATING GREATER HAPPINESS-ORIENTED POSTS: https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/category/personal-improvement-development-and-growth-related-posts/

CREATING A BRIGHTER FINANCIAL FUTURE-ORIENTED POSTS: https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/category/financial-planning-management-and-investing-related-posts/

#selfimprovement #selfhelp #selfdevelopment #intention #fulfillment #success #inspiration #happiness #mindfulness #peace

ALWAYS USE QUIET PERIODS OF THE STOCK MARKET TO REFINE TECHNIQUES AND PREPARE TO CAPITALIZE ON OPPORTUNITIES

Posted on by Joseph M. Brennan Jr.

Whenever I don’t have much going on in the stock market I use this as an opportunity to refine my overall techniques. For example, I just added VTI to the list of major stock market indexes I regularly track. The VTI is the total stock market index – sometimes it slightly outperforms the S&P 500 Index (the S&P 500 is about 80% of the total stock market), and other times the opposite happens. Both of these indexes suffer from concentration risk where the top 10 (or so) large cap stocks dominate – some investors/economists are greatly concerned about the concentration risk while others believe it’s appropriate since that is where most of the earnings growth is.

To help address the concentration risk of the S&P 500 and VTI, I am going to also add VTV (value stocks of large companies) and RSP (an equal weighted version of the S&P 500 Index) to my list of major stock market indexes I regularly track.

It’s always a productive use of time during quieter periods in the stock market to prepare for the next big move. Once a substantial decline happens – whenever that happens – I’ll be well-prepared to capitalize on it. I’ve updated my buy (https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/a-structured-market-based-buying-strategy-for-investing-well-with-minimal-effort/) and sell (https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/a-structured-market-based-selling-strategy-for-investing-well-with-minimal-effort/) strategies to reflect the above changes.

You can learn about all of my investing techniques via my “Invest Like a Pro in 10 Minutes a Day!” series of 4 books where you can learn the “end to end” process to investing. So, use any downtime you might have to your advantage by gaining this knowledge and learning these skills and techniques (https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/published-books-and…/).

Also, you can read all about my stock market activities here: https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/stock-market-activities.

I wish you much success in creating a brighter financial future for yourself, your loved ones, and those who follow!

#selfimprovement #selfhelp #selfdevelopment #success #finance #stocks #investing #stockmarket #bonds #bondmarket

HERE IT COMES AGAIN: 1ST EXECUTION OF MARKET-BASED BUY STRATEGY POTENTIALLY COMING SOON

Posted on by Joseph M. Brennan Jr.

The stock market has fallen about 2.5% from its most recent high. So, there might be another opportunity to buy into the stock market in the near future. Those of you who executed my Market-Based Buying Strategy for investing well with minimal effort back in the spring did very well for themselves (the overall stock market gained about 28% from its springtime low): https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/a-structured-market-based-buying-strategy-for-investing-well-with-minimal-effort/.

Higher risk investors might want to consider buying into the stock market after about a 5-10% decline from all-time highs. Medium risk and lower risk investors might want to wait and see if there’s a more substantial pullback. Just keep in mind that the lengthier drop you wait for, the more likely it is you’ll miss a substantial rebound.

For general awareness purposes, a 3-5% drop in the S&P 500 index (SPX) generally happens about three times a year, a 10% drop generally happens about once every two years, and a 20%+ drop generally happens once every five years on average. So far in 2025, the SPX has had nearly a 20% drop (or two 10% drops depending on how you count them since, back in spring, the first ~10% drop was followed by a nearly two-week period of gains before falling an additional ~10%). It’s also not clear whether it makes sense to count that previous drop since this was largely self-imposed by the ongoing and wildly fluctuating tariff and trade policy.

Right now, I’m anticipating at least a 7.5% drop in the SPX at some point in the near future but I could be wrong. Here are some of the reasons why I anticipate a drop of this magnitude (or greater):

1. August and September tend to be the worst months of the year for the stock market overall.

2. Inflation is starting to pick up again due to the ongoing tariff and trade war. This is likely to continue.

3. The overall economy appears to be weakening due to the ongoing tariff and trade war. This is likely to continue.

4. The combination of items 2 and 3 above is a recipe for a stagflationary economy (low or declining growth combined with higher inflation). The overall stock market tends to do poorly in stagflationary economic environments.

5. Many investors are highly leveraged right now (using margin debt in addition to all of their cash holdings to buy into the stock market – meaning they are much more than fully invested). This means any downturns are likely to be amplified – at least until much of the margin debt is cleared.

6. The quality of economic data appears to be deteriorating – reducing its overall effectiveness and predictive capabilities, and resulting in sharp revisions to previous months or continued uncertainties as the economic data plays catch-up with reality. This may not be as concerning for “good” economic data, but for “bad” economic data this means the economy could “sleepwalk” into a sharp downturn or recession, and large inflationary pressures could be experienced in the real economy long before getting reported – causing even greater inflationary pressures due to countermeasures being delayed and having to play catch-up. The overall atock market tends to not be very forgiving when it comes to negative surprises, and stock market declines frequently happen as a result.

7. Earnings season is largely over until mid-to-late October – so, there’s not much on the earnings front to help prop up the overall stock market in the near term.

8. Several overall stock market indicators indicate extreme highs or frothiness – see item 2 in the following link: https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/a-structured-market-based-selling-strategy-for-investing-well-with-minimal-effort/

9. The combined effects of the above are likely to put downward pressure on the overall stock market in the near term.

So, all of the above means there might be another opportunity to buy into the stock market in the near future. Please let me know if you would like to be added to the list of people to contact when the thresholds of my Market-Based Strategy are reached so you can potentially capitalize on significant stock market declines when they happen.

If you are already fully invested, you might want to just stay the course since, as a whole, the overall stock market tends to go up over the longer term (https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/why-the-overall-stock-market-goes-up-over-the-longer-term/). Most investors do much better by buying and remaining invested in the stock market rather than being sellers except on the rarest of occasions. The primary exception to this would be for those who are lower risk investors approaching their financial goals of which taking a lower risk, more cautious approach would be warranted.

Lastly, for your planning purposes, I’ve provided the 5 different risk categories I presently use at the bottom of this post.

You can learn about all of my investing techniques via my “Invest Like a Pro in 10 Minutes a Day!” series of 4 books where you can learn the “end to end” process to investing: https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/published-books-and-life-coaching-services/.

Also, you can read all about my stock market activities here: https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/stock-market-activities

Happy investing everyone!

#selfimprovement #selfhelp #selfdevelopment #success #finance #stocks #investing #stockmarket #bonds #bondmarket

==== INVESTMENT RISK CATEGORIES ====

Important Note: When adding up what you have across your investment accounts, I recommend making the following adjustment for pre-tax type investment accounts (e.g., 401Ks and IRAs without the word “Roth” attached): reduce the total amount by 24% for a conservative overall estimate. We have to pay taxes when withdrawing from these kinds of accounts so this will help to account for that. Feel free to use a different percentage reduction depending on what tax bracket you believe you will fall into when withdrawing money from these accounts.

VERY HIGH-RISK INVESTOR (your investment goal is 8+ times what you presently have in total across your investment accounts – after making adjustments in accordance with the note above). For example, if your investment goal is $2M and you presently have $250k or less in total across your investment accounts then you would be a very high-risk investor.

HIGH-RISK INVESTOR (your investment goal is roughly 4-8 times what you presently have in total across your investment accounts – after making adjustments in accordance with the note above). For example, if your investment goal is $2M and you presently have $250k-$500k in total across your investment accounts then you would be a high-risk investor.

MEDIUM-RISK INVESTOR (your investment goal is roughly 2-4 times what you presently have in total across your investment accounts – after making adjustments in accordance with the note above). For example, if your investment goal is $2M and you presently have $500k-$1M in total across your investment accounts then you would be a medium-risk investor.

LOW-RISK INVESTOR (your investment goal is roughly 1-2 times what you presently have in total across your investment accounts – after making adjustments in accordance with the note above). For example, if your investment goal is $2M and you presently have $1M-$2M in total across your investment accounts then you would be a low-risk investor.

VERY LOW-RISK INVESTOR (what you presently have in total across your investment accounts equals or exceeds your investment goal – after making adjustments in accordance with the note above). For example, if your investment goal is $2M and you presently have $2M or more in total across your investment accounts then you would be a very low-risk investor.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T IS THE KEY FOR RELATING TO OTHERS AND BUILDING STRONG RELATIONSHIPS

Posted on by Joseph M. Brennan Jr.

Aretha Franklin got it right. R-E-S-P-E-C-T is the key for being able to relate to others and building and maintaining strong relationships in life – whether friends, family, significant others, co-workers, acquaintances, or business associates. As a life coach, I frequently get asked for help on repairing old relationships, strengthening existing ones, and creating new, rewarding relationships. And mutual R-E-S-P-E-C-T, between you and others, is the absolute key for every kind of relationship.

For example, someone I was recently helping was struggling with a past, longstanding friendship that started going badly and kept getting worse. She informed me that their conversations got to the point they were becoming toxic and energy depleting in nature, and asked if there might be any way to salvage such a friendship.

Well, it depends. The best you can do is your part for re-establishing communications which are positive and constructive in nature and see what happens. If you do this in a repeated, consistent fashion it might actually help. However, always remember that all you control is your contribution – not the result. And that’s okay no matter how things go, because at least you can feel good in knowing you did your part in trying salvage the relationship – that is, you did at least try.

A good practice to get into is monitoring the polarity of your communications with others and taking immediate action anytime these start moving into negative or disrespectful territory. There are always kind and respectful ways to communicate most everything. So, don’t share anything with others until you find a kind, respectful way to communicate it. If the offending party is someone other than yourself, then get into the practice of pausing and postponing discussions that start moving into negative or disrespectful territory – in a polite but assertive fashion. For example, you might say something like: “This conversation appears to be getting a little negative, disrespectful, and unproductive in nature. Let’s take a break and continue this discussion at another time, okay?” If you do this consistently when communications enter negative or disrespectful territory, the parties you are communicating with will eventually get the message you are not going to allow them to treat you in a disrespectful manner. And that’s a great way to establish a strong foundation for mutual R-E-S-P-E-C-T.

So, mutual R-E-S-P-E-C-T – between you and others – is the absolute key for all kinds of relationships and for being able to relate well to others. The above provided an example regarding communications. However, this also applies to actions, behaviors, intentions, and nonverbal communications. So, if anything you are doing reflects negativity or disrespect towards others, then pause and make adjustments. Likewise, if anything others are doing reflects negativity or disrespect towards you, then politely – but assertively – call them out on it, and let them know you don’t appreciate it and are not going to stand for it. If you do this consistently, the offending parties will eventually get the message you are not going to allow them to treat you in a disrespectful manner. And that’s a great way to establish a strong foundation for mutual R-E-S-P-E-C-T.

So, the bottom line is always wait until you find a kind, respectful way to communicate something to others, and get into the regular practice of pausing and postponing discussions that move into negative or disrespectful territory. If you do this, you will develop and maintain strong, rewarding relationships with people you truly value, and create a warm and wonderful life for you and those you love and appreciate. So, do this for yourself (and others) if you can.

This and other happiness and self-improvement related tips are provided throughout my self-help-oriented books and posts: 

PUBLISHED BOOKS: https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/published-books-and-life-coaching-services/

CREATING GREATER HAPPINESS-ORIENTED POSTS: https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/category/personal-improvement-development-and-growth-related-posts/

CREATING A BRIGHTER FINANCIAL FUTURE-ORIENTED POSTS: https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/category/financial-planning-management-and-investing-related-posts/

#selfimprovement #selfhelp #selfdevelopment #intention #fulfillment #success #inspiration #happiness #mindfulness #peace

STORM CLOUDS ON THE HORIZON: THE BOND MARKETS AND THE “LOW-RISK SAFE HAVEN” FACADE (PART 2: 2025)

Posted on by Joseph M. Brennan Jr.

I’ve recently been thinking about the implications of the “low-risk safe haven” bond market and bond fund investors losing a lot of money in those investments in the years to come, and the bond market (bonds and bond funds/ETFs) losing its “low-risk safe haven” status due to the presence of multiple risks to include:

1. The United States debt continues to grow and is approaching unsustainably high levels.

2. There has been a “buyers’ strike” over the past few months which is likely to continue. Fewer buyers mean bond yields rise (and bond prices fall). For example, foreign investors have greatly decreased their purchases of U.S. Treasury Bonds. Buyers’ strikes reflect a low confidence in the abilities of the U.S. government being able to service its debts resulting in a hesitancy of investors to buy bonds (government, municipal, and corporate) and bond funds/ETFs.

3. If at any time during Treasury Bond auctions (which usually happen several times a month), there are not enough buyers, then the Federal Reserve will probably need to “print money” to buy up the excess to prevent yields from spiking more than they otherwise would. “Printing money” tends to have an inflationary effect, and inflation tends to cause longer-term bond yields to rise (and bond prices to fall). Please understand that as debt grows, debt auction sizes increase – so the risk will continue to grow over time until the debt issue gets resolved (if ever).

4. Once they start experiencing substantial losses, existing bond holders are likely start selling their holdings which would make bond prices fall even further (and bond yields increase even more to entice new buyers).

5. The U.S. defaults at some point on one or more payments owed to Treasury Bond holders. The experts say this will never happen, but if it ever does bond yields will spike (and bond prices will crater).

6. The combined effects of the above risks are likely to put even greater upward pressure on bond yields (causing bond prices to fall) – creating a negative impact to the overall economy and government, corporate, and consumer finances.

In summary, the above risks are likely to result in substantial increases in bond yields (and bond price drops), higher inflation, and a deteriorating economy and government, corporate, and consumer finances due to the combination of two or more of these risks. So, as a low-risk investor, I will definitely be staying away from the Treasury Bond Market for a while (especially longer-term bonds, and particularly Bond Funds/ETFs – instead opting for cash drawing interest for my lowest risk holdings).

For those who don’t know the difference between bonds and bond funds/ETFs, here’s a brief summary:

A. Bonds pay yields on a regular basis and you get paid back the principal at the maturity date.

B. Bond Funds/ETFs have no maturity date so anything you invest is subject to losses if you sell when the prices are low.

So, you can potentially avoid losses for option A by holding the bonds until the maturity date. The primary exception would be if there is a default on those bonds and bond holders are only given a fraction of their principal back – this rarely happens but could. The only way to avoid losses for Option B is to sell when the prices are above what you initially paid – you can do the same for Option A. Many people are already invested in Option B because several “set it and forget it” retirement options such as target-date funds invest a portion of the money into Bond Funds/ETFs.

Now, I do presently own bonds that I purchased previously which mature within 3-5 years and pay a good interest rate. So, I plan to hold those until maturity unless an unforeseen event causes yields to drop (and prices to rise) substantially. However, I will not be buying any new Treasury Bonds for a while (especially longer-term bonds, and particularly Bond Funds/ETFs – instead opting for cash drawing interest for my lowest risk holdings).

I wrote a similar post about the bond market back in January 2021 and those that heeded that post avoided a 46% loss – something which is very unusual for the bond market, historically speaking, when considering its longer-term history as a low-risk, safe haven investment – these losses are more typical of a stock market decline than a bond market decline.

So, these are some of the dark clouds I’m again seeing on the horizon. Lots of things to ponder and position for – especially since the perceived, historical, low-risk investments might actually become high-risk investments in the years to come. So, as a low-risk investor, I will be staying away from the Treasury Bond Market for a while (especially, longer-term bonds – and particularly Bond Funds/ETFs) – at least until there is a substantial spike in yields.

You can learn about all of my investing techniques via my “Invest Like a Pro in 10 Minutes a Day!” series of 4 books where you can learn the “end to end” process to investing. So, use any downtime you might have to your advantage by gaining this knowledge and learning these skills and techniques (https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/published-books-and…/).

Also, you can read all about my stock market activities here: https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/stock-market-activities.

The bottom line is that the Treasury Bond Market appears to be high risk right now (especially, longer-term bonds – and particularly Bond Funds/ETFs) – which means significant losses could be experienced by bond market and bond fund investors in the years to come.

You can learn about all of my investing techniques via my “Invest Like a Pro in 10 Minutes a Day!” series of 4 books where you can learn the “end to end” process to investing and gain key investing insights and skills (https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/published-books…/).

Also, you can read all about my stock market activities here: https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/stock-market-activities/

I wish you much success in creating a brighter financial future for yourself, your loved ones, and those who follow!

#selfimprovement #selfhelp #selfdevelopment #success #finance #stocks #investing #stockmarket #bonds #bondmarket

WHY THE OVERALL STOCK MARKET GOES UP OVER THE LONGER TERM

Posted on by Joseph M. Brennan Jr.

One question I frequently get is why the overall stock market tends to go up over the longer term. Well, the simplest way for me to explain this is demand exceeds supply for much of the time – that is, the only way for the overall stock market to trend higher over time is for demand to continually outpace supply, causing share price increases. The opposite can happen from time-to-time for shorter periods of time but – over the longer-term -demand exceeds supply for much of the time.

Demand can be created by several factors including population growth, increased participation in the stock market (something that continues to grow over time with increased access, tools, knowledge, etc.), a sense of optimism towards the economy and the future, excitement generated by upward trends and the successes of others, continual innovation, earnings growth, economic growth, and other factors. So, as long as these factors and trends continue, then it is probably a good bet that the overall stock market will continue advancing over the longer-term. I frequently use various averages, indicators, and such to help determine periodic buy or sell points – you can read about some of them here: 1) for the buy side (scroll down to item 4 in the post): https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/a-structured-market-based-buying-strategy-for-investing-well-with-minimal-effort/, and 2) for the sell side (scroll down to item 2 in the post): https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/a-structured-market-based-selling-strategy-for-investing-well-with-minimal-effort/.

So, as a whole, the overall stock market tends to go up over the longer-term which means most investors will do much better by buying and remaining invested in the stock market rather than being sellers in the stock market except on the rarest of occasions. The primary exception to this would be for those who are approaching their financial goals of which taking a lower risk, more cautious approach would be warranted.

Please understand that declines in the stock market do happen on a periodic basis and some last longer than others. However, the stock market remains undefeated over the longer term and that is likely to continue.

For example, as you can see from the following post, even when stock markets go down substantially, their gains tend to far exceed their losses. This is another reason why staying invested even during stock market downturns can greatly benefit investors who tend to ride out the ups and downs: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/the-simple-math-showing-the-stock-markets-asymmetric-upside-143129927.html.

You can learn about all of my investing techniques via my “Invest Like a Pro in 10 Minutes a Day!” series of 4 books where you can learn the “end to end” process to investing. So, use any downtime you might have to your advantage by gaining this knowledge and learning these skills and techniques (https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/published-books-and…/).

Also, you can read all about my stock market activities here: https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/stock-market-activities.

#selfimprovement #selfhelp #selfdevelopment #success #finance #stocks #investing #stockmarket #bonds #bondmarket

THOSE WHO EXECUTED MY MARKET-BASED BUY STRATEGY ACHEIVED SUBSTANTIAL GAINS OVER THE PAST TWO MONTHS

Posted on by Joseph M. Brennan Jr.

The stock market is within a couple percentage points from its all-time high after a 20% gain. Those of you who executed my Market-Based Buying Strategy for investing well with minimal effort did very well for themselves: https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/a-structured-market-based-buying-strategy-for-investing-well-with-minimal-effort/.

For those who asked to be on my list, I ended up sending out 7 different executions of this strategy. You can read about those by scrolling down from here: https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/category/financial-planning-management-and-investing-related-posts/.

It will probably be a while before this strategy gets executed again because a 3-5% drop in the S&P 500 index generally happens about three times a year, a 10% drop generally happens about once every two years, and a 20%+ drop generally happens once every five years on average. However, if you would like me to add you to the list of people to contact, then let me know so you can hopefully capitalize on the stock market decline the next time. I’ve provided the 5 different risk categories I presently use at the bottom of this post.

Happy investing everyone!

#selfimprovement #selfhelp #selfdevelopment #success #finance #stocks #investing #stockmarket #bonds #bondmarket

==== INVESTMENT RISK CATEGORIES ====

Important Note: When adding up what you have across your investment accounts, I recommend making the following adjustment for pre-tax type investment accounts (e.g., 401Ks and IRAs without the word “Roth” attached): reduce the total amount by 24% for a conservative overall estimate. We have to pay taxes when withdrawing from these kinds of accounts so this will help to account for that. Feel free to use a different percentage reduction depending on what tax bracket you believe you will fall into when withdrawing money from these accounts.

VERY HIGH-RISK INVESTOR (your investment goal is 8+ times what you presently have in total across your investment accounts – after making adjustments in accordance with the note above). For example, if your investment goal is $2M and you presently have $250k or less in total across your investment accounts then you would be a very high-risk investor.

HIGH-RISK INVESTOR (your investment goal is roughly 4-8 times what you presently have in total across your investment accounts – after making adjustments in accordance with the note above). For example, if your investment goal is $2M and you presently have $250k-$500k in total across your investment accounts then you would be a high-risk investor.

MEDIUM-RISK INVESTOR (your investment goal is roughly 2-4 times what you presently have in total across your investment accounts – after making adjustments in accordance with the note above). For example, if your investment goal is $2M and you presently have $500k-$1M in total across your investment accounts then you would be a medium-risk investor.

LOW-RISK INVESTOR (your investment goal is roughly 1-2 times what you presently have in total across your investment accounts – after making adjustments in accordance with the note above). For example, if your investment goal is $2M and you presently have $1M-$2M in total across your investment accounts then you would be a low-risk investor.

VERY LOW-RISK INVESTOR (what you presently have in total across your investment accounts equals or exceeds your investment goal – after making adjustments in accordance with the note above). For example, if your investment goal is $2M and you presently have $2M or more in total across your investment accounts then you would be a very low-risk investor.

7th EXECUTION OF MARKET-BASED BUY STRATEGY

Posted on by Joseph M. Brennan Jr.

For those who wanted to follow along, the S&P 500 index as of the market close today has fallen within 1% of the threshold for the 7th execution of my refined, structured Market-Based Buying Strategy for investing well with minimal effort: https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/a-structured-market-based-buying-strategy-for-investing-well-with-minimal-effort/.

This post is for all investors whether in higher or lower risk categories (if you aren’t sure what your investment risk category is, scroll down to the bottom of this post). As of today’s close, the S&P 500 index dropped about 19% from its all-time high (a 3-5% drop in the S&P 500 index generally happens about three times a year, a 10% drop generally happens about once every two years, and a 20%+ drop generally happens once every five years on average). So, if it drops to anywhere near or below 490 for the SPY ETF or 4915 for the S&P 500 index over the next couple of days or so (whichever you prefer to track – the drop doesn’t have to be very precise – it’s only about a 1% drop from today’s closing price), you might consider buying:

a. Very High Risk (VHR) Investors might consider buying up to 100% of their overall investment account (or up to 100% of the cash available to invest) into one of the major market index Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) (or you can split that across multiple major market indexes if you prefer).

b. High Risk (HR) Investors might consider buying up to 100% of their overall investment account (or up to 100% of the cash available to invest) into one of the major market index Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) (or you can split that across multiple major market indexes if you prefer).

c. Medium Risk (MR) Investors might consider buying up to 100% of their overall investment account (or up to 100% of the cash available to invest) into one of the major market index Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) (or you can split that across multiple major market indexes if you prefer).

d. Low Risk (LR) Investors might consider buying up to 55% of their overall investment account (or up to 55% of the cash available to invest) into one of the major market index Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) (or you can split that across multiple major market indexes if you prefer).

d. Very Low Risk (VLR) Investors might consider buying up to 25% of their overall investment account (or up to 25% of the cash available to invest) into one of the major market index Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) (or you can split that across multiple major market indexes if you prefer).

The drop in the overall S&P 500 index could continue, but the longer and the deeper the drop you wait for, the greater the likelihood you’ll miss the rebound. So, you might want to get ready to buy. It’s your financial future so do what you think is best for you.

I currently track five major market index ETFs: S&P 500 index (e.g., SPY ETF), the Nasdaq (e.g., QQQ ETF), a Mid-Cap Stock Index ETF (e.g., IJH ETF), Russell 2000 index (e.g., IWM ETF), and the EFA ETF (or something similar). The first four are major US-based indexes, while the last one tracks international stocks of developed countries outside the U.S. and Canada.

Of the above five major market index ETFs, the most attractive right now appears to be: IWM based on my analysis – which tracks the Russell 2000 index (I actually prefer the SPSM which is similar to IWM but only includes the profitable small businesses contained in the Russell 2000 index). As of today’s close, the IWM dropped 28% and the calculated EIRY is the highest among the highest across the 4 U.S. index ETFs I track – at 8.17%. The IWM is not without risk, however. In a slowing economy, the IWM tends to drop the fastest and the deepest but usually rebounds sharply at some point. So, if you are very concerned about a potential slowing economy, then you might want to choose a different index to invest in or split your investment across different indexes. The next best index ETF overall is the IJH ETF. However, every index has fallen so much you can pick any major index you are comfortable with at this point if you prefer or perhaps just split your investment across multiple indexes.

Feel free to start buying in one or more of the aforementioned major market index ETFs if the S&P 500 remains close to where it closed at today or drops a little more below that level – you might even want to buy in the after-hours market today if you like. You can use the specific major market indexes above or use a different one that is suits you. Just ensure the fees are at least as low as the ones identified above when buying.

You can learn about all of my investing techniques via my “Invest Like a Pro in 10 Minutes a Day!” series of 4 books where you can learn the “end to end” process to investing: https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/published-books-and-life-coaching-services/.

Also, you can read all about my stock market activities here: https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/stock-market-activities

I wish you much investing success for 2025 (and beyond!).

selfimprovement #selfhelp #selfdevelopment #success #finance #stocks #investing #stockmarket #bonds #bondmarket

==== INVESTMENT RISK CATEGORIES ====

Important Note: When adding up what you have across your investment accounts, I recommend making the following adjustment for pre-tax type investment accounts (e.g., 401Ks and IRAs without the word “Roth” attached): reduce the total amount by 24% for a conservative overall estimate. We have to pay taxes when withdrawing from these kinds of accounts so this will help to account for that. Feel free to use a different percentage reduction depending on what tax bracket you believe you will fall into when withdrawing money from these accounts.

VERY HIGH-RISK INVESTOR (your investment goal is 8+ times what you presently have in total across your investment accounts – after making adjustments in accordance with the note above). For example, if your investment goal is $2M and you presently have $250k or less in total across your investment accounts then you would be a very high-risk investor.

HIGH-RISK INVESTOR (your investment goal is roughly 4-8 times what you presently have in total across your investment accounts – after making adjustments in accordance with the note above). For example, if your investment goal is $2M and you presently have $250k-$500k in total across your investment accounts then you would be a high-risk investor.

MEDIUM-RISK INVESTOR (your investment goal is roughly 2-4 times what you presently have in total across your investment accounts – after making adjustments in accordance with the note above). For example, if your investment goal is $2M and you presently have $500k-$1M in total across your investment accounts then you would be a medium-risk investor.

LOW-RISK INVESTOR (your investment goal is roughly 1-2 times what you presently have in total across your investment accounts – after making adjustments in accordance with the note above). For example, if your investment goal is $2M and you presently have $1M-$2M in total across your investment accounts then you would be a low-risk investor.

VERY LOW-RISK INVESTOR (what you presently have in total across your investment accounts equals or exceeds your investment goal – after making adjustments in accordance with the note above). For example, if your investment goal is $2M and you presently have $2M or more in total across your investment accounts then you would be a very low-risk investor.