THE FATHER BLOG

How does one take the emotion out of some investing when it’s YOUR money involved? Let me share….

Your retirement investments, the kids college funds, etc….I would certainly label those as ones you should be emotionally invested in. But what if you are already comfortable with those and where they sit and some dividends come in and you have a few hundred bucks to play with within your portfolio?

This is the emotionless part. Say I have $500 to play with and these are my options: go to the casino, buy some lottery tickets, or invest in a small stock that has potential.

Your best odds may actually be going to the casino and throwing that $500 down on black or red at the Roulette Wheel. Win and have the power to walk away with a $1000. However, lose and it’s bye-bye $500. That’s why it’s called gambling.

Lottery tickets: $500 can buy a lot of lottery tickets. Maybe you get some $5, $10, or even a $50 winner. Odds of you coming out ahead with more than your initial $500 investment is probably slim at best.

Invest in a small stock that has potential: even with some due diligence, you could still fail here. But if you set up an exit strategy, things could work out either way. Say you buy $500 worth of stock that’s trading at 20 cents. You buy 2500 shares. All the sudden there is some catalyst and the stock goes up to 25 cents. Not a huge jump but you just made $125 profit. Sell and get out and be happy. On the other side, if the stock goes down and you sell at a loss, you can declare the losses on your taxes (tax harvesting) which is easy enough because it’s already part of your tax forms from your brokerage account. You can technically declare gambling losses as well but have fun dealing with those forms from the IRS.

Just more things to think about on a Wednesday regarding what you’re doing with your money.

We need banks. Don’t get me wrong. But do we need to keep all of our money in banks and “save”? Absolutely not.

I always talk about investing but today is the math behind losing value, not money.

If you are barely getting a 1% return on your money in a savings account, but inflation rates hold steady at 3.5%…you will make money but technically lose value.

For example: you put $10,000 in the bank and after a year, that grows to $10,100. So you made $100.

However, inflation and cost of living rose by 3.5%….which means what cost you $10,000 now costs you $10,350.

So essentially, you made $100 but lost $250 in purchasing power because of inflation.

Yes, that is a simple way to explain it but saving is not enough. You should consider investing in something that at the very least outpaces inflation rates. That’s just simple math!!

Yes, apparently that is a thing. I’m surprised I never knew about it, but my first interest has always been National Parks. There are so many state parks that it’s hard to keep track. But as Emily and I were searching for some decent hiking within a reasonable driving distance, we stumbled across Letchworth State Park in NY.

Emily likes to hike all the time, but especially right before heading back to college as a “mental reset” before all the hard work starts. So we are headed to the Grand Canyon…of the East:

The Grand Canyon of the East is Letchworth State Park in New York, renowned for its dramatic gorge, waterfalls, and scenic trails.

Letchworth State Park, often called the “Grand Canyon of the East,” spans over 14,000 acres along the Genesee River in western New York, near Rochester and Buffalo. The park features a deep gorge carved by the Genesee River, with cliffs rising up to 600 feet, creating a landscape reminiscent of the Grand Canyon in Arizona. The park is divided into three main areas: the Upper, Middle, and Lower Falls, each offering unique vistas and natural beauty

One of the best trails is the Gorge Trail: Letchworth State Park Gorge Trail, New York – 1,101 Reviews, Map | AllTrails

We will see how we feel that day if we want to do the full 14+ miles or not. It’s an IN and OUT trail so we can go for as long as we want. Though it’s been a very long time since I’ve been to the actual Grand Canyon, I can’t wait to tell you all about the experience and how it lives up.