Summer Spending Done Right

Monthly Money Man on June 5, 2026

Part 1 of a 4-Part Summer Series

Last summer I rappelled down a waterfall in the Costa Rican jungle with my boys. The flight there cost us about $30 a person.

I’ll explain that in a future article — because points travel is a whole conversation worth having. But I mention it because people around here ask me some version of the same question every spring: “So, what do you have planned this summer?”

I’ve built a bit of a reputation as the dad who always has a plan. What most people don’t know is that I built this system about fifteen years ago, when the Summit was a camping trip two hours from home and the budget was tight. The system didn’t change as our finances improved — it just had more to work with.

That same summer we hit Costa Rica, we also grabbed some kayaks with a few friends and spent an afternoon floating a local river. At one point, a beaver swam right up alongside our kayaks. The kids still talk about it. That trip cost almost nothing.

And one evening, we took my mom to the free airshow at the local airport and watched jets light up the sky.

Three very different experiences. One summer. One budget. One system.

Today I want to walk you through it — because whether your summer spending budget is $500 or $5,000, the same approach works.

What Most Finance Experts Get Wrong About Summer

Spending money on experiences doesn’t get a lot of love in the personal finance world. Some experts treat it like a guilty pleasure — something you do after you’ve checked all the responsible boxes.

I disagree. Respectfully, but firmly.

We’ve spent the last six months building your foundation together — safety nets, debt strategy, investing basics. That work matters. But so does this question: what is the point of climbing if you never stop to enjoy the view?

Your kids are growing up. Life is short. You’ve worked hard, and summer is one of the few stretches of the year where the whole family has space to breathe together.

Planned, intentional summer spending on experiences isn’t a detour from the climb. It’s part of it.

The Three Layers of an Epic Summer

I take whatever summer budget we have and sort it into three layers. Every year, same system.

Layer 1: The Summit

This is your one big bucket list experience for the summer. The thing you’ll talk about for years.

It doesn’t have to be international — it just has to feel epic to your family. A national park road trip. A week at a lake cabin. A camping adventure somewhere you’ve never been. One per summer. Give it the budget it deserves, and if you can, book it early. Prices are almost always cheaper in January than in June.

Layer 2: The Day Hikes

These are your medium-range experiences — memorable without being extravagant.

A kayak trip down a local river. A weekend at a waterpark. A baseball game. A day trip somewhere new. These fill the calendar between the Summit and everyday life. Aim for two or three depending on your budget, and don’t underestimate them. Some of our best memories have come from a $40 afternoon on the water.

Layer 3: The Boredom Busters

This is where the magic actually happens — and it’s the layer most families skip.

Boredom Busters are the low-cost, high-creativity activities that fill in all the gaps. A free airshow. A neighborhood game of flashlight tag after dark. A new set of pickleball paddles. A backyard movie night. Fireworks at the park with grandma.

These aren’t filler. They’re the connective tissue of a great summer. When there’s nothing big on the calendar and the kids are starting to melt into the couch, you pull from the list — and suddenly the day has a plan.

The families who have an epic summer aren’t always the ones with the biggest budget. They’re the ones who never run out of ideas.

Your Assignment Before Next Friday

Here’s what I want you to do this week.

Set your summer budget. Sit down and figure out what you realistically have available for summer fun. Not what you wish you had — what’s actually there. If the number is $1,000, that’s a solid Layer 2 experience and a full Boredom Buster list. That can be a genuinely great summer.

If money is tight this year, lean hard into Layer 3. Free festivals, library programs, state park trails, an airshow, a river walk. Summer doesn’t have a minimum spend requirement — but it does reward a plan.

Then make your three lists. Dream a little. What would your Summit look like this year? What are a couple of Day Hike ideas your family would love? And start a running Boredom Buster list you can pull from all summer long.

Don’t overthink it. This is supposed to be fun.

Next week we’re getting into vacation planning — how memberships, timing, and a little strategy can make a real trip more affordable than you think. It’s one of my favorite topics, and I think it’ll change how you look at summer expenses going forward.

You’ve done the hard work this spring. Now let’s make sure you actually enjoy the climb.

See you at the top.

How Much Should You Invest Each Month?

Monthly Money Man on May 22, 2026

There’s a question I heard more times than I can count sitting across from people at their kitchen tables.

“Okay, I get it. I need to invest. But how much?”

It’s the right question — and it deserves a real answer, not a vague ‘it depends.’ If you’re wondering how much to invest each month, let’s skip the financial theory and go straight to the recipe.

Step One: Grab Your Company Match First

If your employer offers a 401(k) or 403(b) match, this is your first move — full stop.

Here’s why: a match is an instant, guaranteed return on your money. If your company matches 50% of your contributions up to 6% of your salary, contributing that full 6% means you’re actually putting away 9%. That extra 3% costs you nothing. It’s part of your compensation — and if you don’t claim it, you’re leaving your own money on the table.

Before you think about anything else, find out:

  • Does your employer offer a match?
  • What percentage do you need to contribute to get the full match?

Then contribute at least that amount. That’s your floor, not your ceiling.

Step Two: Pause Here If You Have High-Interest Debt

Now here’s where a lot of people get tripped up — and where I want to be direct with you.

If you’re carrying high-interest debt — credit cards above 10%, personal loans in that range — you should grab your company match first, and then redirect extra dollars toward that debt before investing more.

Why? Because a 20% interest rate on a credit card will eat your investment gains alive. There’s no index fund on earth that reliably beats paying off a 22% APR. Getting the match still makes sense — that’s guaranteed return. But stacking more into a 401(k) while high-interest debt is compounding against you is climbing with a heavy pack when you could set it down.

Once that high-interest debt is gone, those same dollars become your next investment dollars. The path clears fast.

Step Three: Add a Roth IRA to the Mix

Once you’ve captured your full employer match and any high-interest debt is handled, the next step is opening a Roth IRA.

For 2026, you can contribute up to $7,500 per year — or about $625 a month. If that number feels out of reach right now, start smaller. Even $50 or $100 a month gets the account open and the habit started. You can always increase it later.

A Roth IRA gives your money room to grow tax-free, and it sits outside your employer — so it travels with you no matter where life takes you.

Step Four: How Much to Invest Long Term — Work Toward 15%

Here’s the number most financial professionals point to as a long-term target: 15% of your gross income going toward retirement.

Let’s see how it actually adds up. Say you earn $70,000 a year. Your target is roughly $875 a month toward retirement.

Start with your 401(k) contribution to capture the full match. Using our earlier example — you contribute 6% ($350/month), your employer adds 3% ($175/month) — that’s $525 a month already working for you, and $175 of it didn’t cost you anything.

Now open a Roth IRA and work toward maxing it. The 2026 limit is $7,500 a year — about $625 a month. Contributing even $350 a month to your Roth puts you right at that $875 target without ever increasing your 401(k) contribution beyond the match. Max it out, and you’ve actually exceeded 15%.

Grab the match. Max the Roth. You’re essentially at 15% — and you did it in two moves.

You don’t have to get there overnight. Start your Roth with whatever you can — $50, $100, $200 — and increase it as income grows. The direction matters more than the speed.

One more thing worth knowing: if you have access to an HSA through a high-deductible health plan, that tool deserves its own conversation — and its own article.

Your Investment Recipe

If you’re looking for a single reference to bookmark, here it is:

  1. Contribute enough to your 401(k) to get the full employer match. Always.
  2. If you have high-interest debt (above ~10%), tackle that next. The match is still worth it; extra investing can wait.
  3. Open and fund a Roth IRA. Start with what you can. Build from there.
  4. Increase your total retirement contributions over time until you reach 15% of your income.

That’s it. That’s the recipe.

You don’t need a spreadsheet. You don’t need to optimize every dollar before you start. You just need to know which step you’re on — and take it.

This Month’s Action

Pull up your most recent pay stub or log into your HR portal. Find out what percentage you’re currently contributing to your 401(k) — and whether you’re capturing the full employer match.

If you’re not — increase it this month. One small adjustment today is worth more than a perfect plan you start next year.

See you at the top.

This article is for educational purposes only and does not constitute personalized financial advice. Please consult a qualified financial professional for guidance specific to your situation.

Mutual Funds vs. ETFs vs. Individual Stocks: What You Need to Know

Monthly Money Man on May 8, 2026

You’ve decided to invest. You’ve opened an account. You’re ready to buy your first fund. Then you see the options: mutual funds, ETFs, index funds, actively managed funds, sector funds. Your brain short-circuits.

The good news? You don’t need to understand all of them. You just need to understand enough to make a confident choice and move forward. That’s what this article is for.

Here’s the honest truth about mutual funds vs ETFs: for most beginners, the difference matters far less than you think. What matters is that you pick one, understand it enough to feel comfortable, and start investing.

What Is a Mutual Fund?

A mutual fund is simply a basket of investments managed by a professional. You put your money in. The fund manager buys stocks, bonds, or a mix of both. Your money grows along with everything in that basket.

Think of it like joining an investment club. You’re pooling money with thousands of other investors. A professional is making the day-to-day buying and selling decisions. You just own a piece of the whole thing.

Mutual funds come in two flavors: actively managed, where someone is trying to beat the market, and passively managed, where it’s simply tracking an index like the S&P 500.

The actively managed ones charge higher fees because someone’s doing the work. The passive ones are cheap because there’s less work involved. For beginners, the passive ones make more sense — and we’ve already talked about why index funds beat active managers most of the time.

What Is an ETF?

An ETF is essentially a mutual fund’s younger sibling with a different structure. ETF stands for Exchange-Traded Fund. The key difference? You can buy and sell it like a stock during the trading day. A mutual fund only trades once per day at the end of the day.

For 99 percent of beginners, that difference doesn’t matter. You’re not day trading. You’re buying and holding for 20 years.

Otherwise, ETFs work exactly like mutual funds. They hold a basket of investments. They can be actively managed or passively managed. They can track an index or try to beat the market. The structure is just slightly different on the back end.

Mutual Funds vs. ETFs: The Real Difference

Here’s where most articles confuse you with jargon. Let me keep it simple.

Mutual funds: Trade once per day, often have minimums to invest, slightly higher fees on average, good if you want simplicity and don’t care about intraday trading.

ETFs: Trade all day long like stocks, no minimums — you can buy one share, slightly lower fees on average, good if you like flexibility and want to buy small amounts.

For a beginner investing one hundred dollars per month automatically, neither of these differences matter. Pick one. Move on.

If you’re using a target date fund, you’re probably getting ETFs these days anyway. The industry has shifted that direction because the fees are lower and the flexibility is better.

What About Individual Stocks?

Here’s where I’m going to be direct with you: if you’re a beginner, individual stocks are not your move right now.

I know it’s tempting. You see someone on social media pick a stock and it doubles. You think, “Why am I buying a fund when I could just pick winners?”

Because picking winners is hard. Really hard. Even professionals with teams of analysts and billions of dollars to research stocks underperform index funds over time. The odds are against you.

Individual stocks are for investors who have already built a foundation with index funds, mutual funds, or ETFs. They understand how markets work. They have money they can afford to lose. They’re not investing their rent money.

Start with mutual funds or ETFs tracking an index. Build confidence. Build wealth. In a few years, if you want to pick individual stocks, you’ll have the foundation to do it responsibly.

So Which One Should You Actually Choose?

Here’s the permission you need: it doesn’t matter that much.

If you’re buying an S&P 500 index fund, whether it’s a mutual fund or an ETF is almost irrelevant. You’re getting essentially the same thing. The fees are similar. The performance will be nearly identical.

What matters is that you pick one and start. Don’t let the choice between mutual funds and ETFs paralyze you. That’s analysis paralysis wearing a different hat.

Most beginner investors do just fine with either. Many 401(k) plans offer mutual funds. Many brokerage accounts make ETFs easier to buy. Use whatever your account offers and move forward.

The Bottom Line

Mutual funds and ETFs are both legitimate ways to invest. For a beginner choosing between the two, either one is fine. ETFs have gotten cheaper and more popular in recent years, which is why you’ll see them recommended more often. But a mutual fund tracking an index works just as well.

Individual stocks? That’s a conversation for next year when you’ve built your foundation and understand how markets actually work.

For now, pick a mutual fund or ETF. Start investing. Build the habit. The vehicle matters far less than the consistency.

See you at the top.

[Call to Action] Ready to buy? Open your brokerage account and search for either an S&P 500 mutual fund or an S&P 500 ETF. They’ll give you similar results. Pick whichever feels easier and start with your first contribution today.


Disclaimer:This article is for educational purposes only and does not constitute personalized investment advice. Always consider your own financial situation or consult a qualified financial professional before making investment decisions.

Index Funds for Beginners: Why Simple Wins

Monthly Money Man on May 1, 2026

You’ve done the work. You’ve built your safety net. You’ve cleared the high-interest debt. You’ve opened an account. Now comes the question that stops most people cold: what do I actually invest in? If you’re new to index funds, the answer is simpler than you think.

This is where investing gets real, and this is also where most people overthink it into analysis paralysis.

Here’s the truth I wish someone had told me years ago: an index fund is a complete investing strategy. Not a starting point you eventually graduate from. Not a beginner move. A legitimate, data-backed approach that outperforms most professional investors over time.

If you want simplicity, it’s enough. If you never want to add complexity, it’s enough. If you just want to start and stay consistent, it’s enough. Index funds are enough.

The Trap of Choice

When you open a brokerage account for the first time, you’re staring at thousands of investment options. Stocks. Bonds. Mutual funds. Exchange-traded funds. Target date funds. Sector funds. International funds. Your brain screams: I have to pick the right one.

You don’t.

In fact, the more you try to pick the “right” one, the more likely you are to pick the wrong one. This isn’t pessimism — it’s math. Studies consistently show that individual investors underperform the market by trying to do exactly what you’re tempted to do right now: pick the best investment.

The average investor thinks they’re smarter than they are. The average fund manager thinks they’re smarter than they are. Both end up losing to a simple index fund that does one thing: mirrors the market.

Index Funds for Beginners: What You Need to Know

An index fund is the lazy investor’s secret weapon. It’s a fund that holds all the stocks in a particular index — like the S&P 500, which is simply the 500 largest companies in the United States.

You buy one fund. You own pieces of 500 companies. You’re diversified instantly. You don’t have to pick winners. You don’t have to time the market. You just own the market.

The math is simple: if the S&P 500 goes up 8 percent, your fund goes up 8 percent. If it goes down 5 percent, your fund goes down 5 percent. There’s no secret sauce. There’s no genius fund manager trying to beat the market. It just follows the market.

And somehow, that’s enough to beat 80 percent of professional investors over time.

Target Date Funds: The Even Simpler Option

If you want one decision and zero maintenance, there’s an even simpler path: target date funds.

Here’s how they work. You pick the year you think you’ll retire — say, 2055. You buy the fund with that year in the name. Then you never touch it again.

The fund automatically adjusts itself. When you’re young, it’s mostly stocks because you have time to ride out the ups and downs. As you get closer to retirement, it gradually shifts to more bonds and safer investments. It’s like having an autopilot for your entire investing strategy.

You make one decision. The fund makes thousands of micro-decisions for you over 30 years.

Is it perfect? No. Often, it has more fees than index funds. But perfect is the enemy of done. And done — with a target date fund — beats most people’s attempts at perfection with individual stocks.

The Case for Simplicity

Here’s what I’ve learned after years of watching people invest: the person who buys one simple S&P 500 index fund and never looks at it again will almost always beat the person who spends hours researching the “best” tech stocks or rotating between sectors. Index funds for beginners and experienced investors alike consistently outperform actively managed funds over time.

Why? Because simplicity compounds. It’s boring. It doesn’t feel like you’re doing anything smart. But boring wins.

You’re not trying to get rich quick. You’re trying to get rich slow. You’re trying to build wealth while you sleep, while you’re raising your kids, while you’re living your life. An index fund does that. A target date fund does that as well.

Where to Actually Buy Them

You don’t need to overthink this part either. Open an account at Fidelity, Schwab, or Vanguard — they all offer the same index funds, the same target date funds, and essentially identical fees.

Search for “S&P 500 index fund” or “total market index fund” and you’ll find it immediately. Some of the most widely held options include VOO and SPY for the S&P 500, or VTI if you prefer a total market fund that goes beyond the 500 largest companies. The expense ratio — the fee you pay — will be less than 0.1 percent. That means for every ten thousand dollars invested, you pay less than ten dollars a year.

Compare that to an actively managed mutual fund charging 1 percent, and you’re saving ninety dollars per thousand dollars invested — every single year. That’s real money that stays in your account and compounds for you instead.

Index Funds for Beginners: The Permission You’ve Been Waiting For

Most people new to index funds are waiting for permission to invest simply. They think there’s a secret, a trick, a level of complexity they’re missing.

There isn’t.

Buy an index fund. Buy a target date fund. Set up automatic contributions. Check it once a year. That’s the whole strategy — and it works.

You don’t need to be smart. You don’t need to pick winners. You don’t need to time the market. You just need to start, and then you need to stay consistent.

On May 1st — National Investing Day — that’s exactly what thousands of people are doing for the first time. They’re opening accounts. They’re buying their first index fund. They’re not overthinking it. They’re just starting.

You can too.

See you at the top.

[Call to Action] Ready to actually start? Pick an index fund or a target date fund aligned with your retirement year. Set up automatic monthly contributions. Then close the app and don’t look at it for a year. You’ve got this.

This article is for educational purposes only and does not constitute personalized investment advice. Always consider your own financial situation or consult a qualified financial professional before making investment decisions.

Your Kids Are Growing Up. Is Their Money?

Monthly Money Man on April 24, 2026

There’s a photo on my phone I keep coming back to. My oldest, maybe three years old, grinning at the camera with ice cream on his chin sitting next to my nephew and not a care in the world. I look at it now and think: where did the time go?

If you’re a parent, you know the feeling. The days can drag, but the years sprint. And somewhere in the middle of school activities and the chaos we call life  and “Dad, will you play with me?” — time has a way of slipping past without you noticing.

Here’s what I’ve learned after years of helping friends and families manage their money: the clock ticking in the corner of your living room is also ticking in their portfolio. And one of the most powerful tools for fixing that — a Roth IRA for teenagers — is one almost nobody is using.Your kids are going to grow up whether their money is ready or not. The only question is whether you gave their money the same head start you’re trying to give them in other areas of their life.

A Quick Word About Time

If you caught last week’s article on compounding, you already know the secret: time is the most powerful ingredient in building wealth, and it’s the one thing you can’t buy more of. The earlier money goes to work, the less of it you need to get somewhere meaningful.

Which brings me to something most parents have never considered — and once you hear it, you won’t be able to unhear it.

Your teenager might have access to one of the best wealth-building tools in existence-a Roth IRA for teenagers and almost nobody is using it.

The Roth IRA for Teenagers Your Family Could Open This Year

Most people think of a Roth IRA as a retirement account for adults with careers. But here’s what the fine print actually says: any person with earned income can contribute to a Roth IRA. That includes your 15-year-old — as long as they have wages from a W-2 job or documented self-employment income like babysitting, tutoring, or lawn mowing reported on a tax return.

Here’s why that matters so much. A Roth IRA grows tax-free. Your child contributes after-tax dollars now — and never pays taxes on the growth. Ever. When they withdraw in retirement, it’s all theirs.

Now layer on the compounding math. A teenager who puts $1,000 into a Roth IRA at age 16 and earns a modest 7% average annual return will have — without ever adding another dollar — over $50,000 by retirement. That’s the runway no adult account can replicate. We simply don’t have it anymore.

The contribution limit is $7,500 per year in 2026, but it can’t exceed what your child actually earned. So if they make $2,000 this summer, they can contribute up to $2,000. And here’s a move a lot of parents make quietly: you can gift them the money to contribute, as long as the contribution doesn’t exceed their earned income. They did the work. You fund the future. Everyone wins.

One note: if your teen’s income is from informal work — babysitting, odd jobs, neighborhood gigs — make sure it’s being reported properly. When in doubt, a quick conversation with a CPA can save a headache later.

What About a 529?

A 529 plan is the other heavy hitter worth knowing about. It’s specifically designed for education expenses — think college tuition, room and board, even K-12 in some cases. Your contributions grow tax-free, and withdrawals are tax-free when used for qualified education costs. Many states even offer a tax deduction for contributing. It’s a powerful tool, and it deserves its own full article — which is coming. For now, just know it exists, it’s worth exploring if college is on your horizon, and it pairs beautifully with a Roth as part of a bigger picture for your child’s future.

Start Before the Next Photo

You’re going to take another picture this weekend, or next week, or at the next birthday party. And someday you’ll scroll back to it and feel that same bittersweet rush — when did that happen?

Before then, do one thing. Find out if your teenager has any earned income this year. If they do, look into opening a custodial Roth IRA-thats the version designed for minors-before the next contribution deadline. It doesn’t have to be perfect. It just has to start.

Summer job season is right around the corner. We’ll be talking about that in July — and when we do, you’ll already know exactly what to do with the money your kid brings home.

See you at the top.

[Call to Action] Does your teen have a summer job lined up? A Roth IRA could be the best thing that comes out of it. Start by looking into a custodial Roth IRA at any major brokerage — Fidelity, Schwab, and Vanguard all offer them with no minimums to open.

Time in the Market, Not Timing the Market

Monthly Money Man on April 17, 2026

One of the biggest mistakes I saw people make wasn’t about what they invested in. It was about when they started.

They’d wait for the “right time.” Wait for the market to drop. Wait until they understood everything. Wait until they had more money saved up.

And while they waited, years passed. And those years cost them more than any market timing strategy ever could have made them.

The Math That Changes Everything

Let me show you two people. Same income. Same investing goals. Different start dates.

Person A starts investing at age 22. Puts away $300 a month for 10 years, then stops completely at age 32. Never adds another dollar.

Person B waits until age 32 to start. Invests $300 a month for 30 years straight until retirement at 62.

Who ends up with more money at 62?

Person A: $1,072,000
Person B: $678,000

Person A invested for 10 years. Person B invested for 30 years. Person A put in $36,000 total. Person B put in $108,000 total.

Person A still wins. By nearly $400,000.

That’s the power of time in the market. (Assuming 10% average annual returns, which is the historical average for the S&P 500.)

Why This Happens: Compound Interest

Albert Einstein supposedly called compound interest “the eighth wonder of the world.” Whether he actually said it or not, the principle is real.

Your money doesn’t just grow. It grows on the growth. And then it grows on that growth. And then it grows on that growth.

The longer your money sits in the market, the more times it compounds. Early years are worth more than later years because they have more time to multiply.

That $300 Person A invested at age 22? It had 40 years to compound. The $300 Person B invested at age 32? Only 30 years.

Ten years doesn’t sound like much. But over decades, it’s the difference between over a million dollars and $678,000.

Time In the Market vs Timing the Market

Here’s what people try to do: wait for the market to drop, then invest when it’s “cheap.”

The problem? Nobody knows when that’s going to be.

I watched people sit on cash in 2013 waiting for a correction. The market kept climbing. They finally bought in 2015 after missing two years of gains.

I watched people panic-sell in March 2020 when COVID hit. The market recovered in months. They missed it.

I watched people wait for the “right moment” for years. The right moment never came. Or it came and they didn’t recognize it.

The data backs this up: A study by Charles Schwab compared different investing strategies over time. They looked at someone who invested at the absolute perfect time every year (the market bottom), someone who invested at the worst time every year (the market peak), and someone who just invested consistently regardless of timing.

The difference in returns after 20 years? Almost nothing.

The person who timed it perfectly beat the person who just invested consistently by less than 1% annually. But the person who waited on the sidelines trying to time it? They lost decades of growth.

Completion Not Perfection

I used to tell clients: completion not perfection. You don’t need to understand everything before you begin. You don’t need a PhD in finance. You don’t need to read every investing book ever written.

You need to understand enough to not make catastrophic mistakes, then start.

Here’s “enough”:

  • Know which account to use (we covered this last week)
  • Know what to buy (we’re covering this in two weeks – spoiler: index funds)
  • Know you’re investing for decades, not days
  • Know you’ll keep adding money regularly

That’s it. Start with that. You’ll learn the rest as you go.

The “But What If…” Questions

“What if the market crashes right after I invest?”

It might. It probably will at some point. Doesn’t matter. You’re not pulling the money out for 30 years. It’ll recover. It always has.

“What if I’m buying at the peak?”

Maybe you are. Or maybe this “peak” will look like a valley ten years from now. Nobody knows. That’s why you invest consistently over time instead of trying to nail the perfect entry point.

“What if I wait and invest more later?”

You just saw the math. Person B invested 3 times more than Person A and still ended up with almost $400,000 less. Waiting costs you more than you think.

The Best Time Was Yesterday

There’s an old saying: “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is today.”

Same goes for investing.

If you’re in your early 20s and reading this, you have the most valuable asset in investing: time. Use it.

If you’re 35, 45, or 55 and reading this, you’ve lost some time. You can’t get it back. But you still have years ahead of you. Don’t waste those too.

Here’s what I learned over the years: completion not perfection. Starting with good enough beats waiting for perfect every single time.

The biggest mistake isn’t starting at 32 instead of 22. The biggest mistake is being 42 and wishing you’d started at 32.

Your Action Step This Week

If you already have your investment accounts open: Make your first contribution this week. Even if it’s just $50. Get the account funded and pick what to invest in (we’ll cover what to buy in a couple weeks).

If you don’t have accounts yet: Go back and read last week’s article. Open a Roth IRA. It takes 15 minutes.

Don’t wait for perfect. Perfect doesn’t exist. Start now. Let time do the heavy lifting.

See you at the top.

Are You Ready to Start Investing?

Monthly Money Man on April 3, 2026

One of the most common questions I got as a financial advisor: “Should I start investing?”

My answer was always the same: “Show me your foundation first.”

I’d sit across from people who’d read about tax-free growth and compound interest. They were fired up and ready to open a Roth IRA or start buying index funds. But when I asked about their foundation—emergency fund, employer match, high-interest debt—the pattern was almost always the same.

No emergency fund. Leaving employer match on the table. Carrying credit card debt at 20%+.

They weren’t ready to invest yet. Not because they were doing something wrong, but because the foundation wasn’t there. And without the foundation, investing is just building on sand.

The Foundation Comes First

Before you put a single dollar into the market, you need three things in place:

First: Safety Net #1
 One month of expenses sitting in a savings account. Not invested. Cash.

This is your buffer against life. Car breaks down? Water heater dies? Unexpected medical bill? You handle it without going into debt or selling investments at the worst possible time.

Without this, the first emergency forces you to either take on high-interest debt or liquidate your investments—probably when the market is down.

Second: Employer match (if you have one)
 If your employer offers a 401k match of 50% or more, contribute enough to get the full match. That’s free money with an immediate guaranteed return you can’t get anywhere else.

This is the only exception to “build your cash reserve first.” Get the match, then finish building your emergency fund.

Third: High-interest debt under control
 Anything above 10% gets paid down before you start investing beyond the employer match.

Here’s why: if you’re paying 20% on credit card debt while trying to earn 8% in the market, you’re going backwards. You can’t invest your way out of high-interest debt. The math doesn’t work.

Why the Order Matters

I’ve seen people do this backwards. They start investing while sitting on $15,000 in credit card debt at 22% interest.

They feel like they’re “getting ahead” because they’re investing. But they’re actually losing ground every single month. The interest on their debt is growing faster than their investments.

Or they invest without an emergency fund, then something breaks, and they have to sell their investments to cover it. Now they’ve locked in losses and reset their investment timeline.

The foundation isn’t optional. It’s what makes investing actually work.

When You’re Actually Ready

You’re ready to start investing when you can check all three boxes:

✓ One month of expenses in cash
✓ Getting your full employer match (if available)
✓ No debt above 10% interest

If you can’t check all three, you’re not ready yet. And that’s okay.

Build the foundation first. It’s not as exciting as watching your investment account grow, but it’s what makes the growth sustainable.

What “Not Ready” Looks Like

If you’re not ready to invest yet, here’s what you should be doing instead:

Focus on Safety Net #1. Every dollar you were thinking about investing goes into your savings account until you hit one month of expenses. Use the pay yourself first system we talked about in March.

Get your employer match. Even if you’re still building your emergency fund, contribute enough to get that free money. Don’t leave it on the table.

Attack high-interest debt. If you’re carrying balances above 10%, that’s your investment right now. Paying down 20% debt is a guaranteed 20% return.

This isn’t glamorous. It doesn’t have the appeal of “I’m an investor now.” But it’s what actually works.

The Reality Check

Most people want to skip straight to investing because that’s where the exciting stuff happens. Compound interest, tax-free growth, building wealth—I get it.

But investing without the foundation is like trying to summit a mountain without the right gear. You might make it partway up. But the first storm hits and you’re in trouble.

The foundation is your gear. Build it first. Then climb.

Your Action Step This Week

Pull out a piece of paper and write down:

  1. Do I have one month of expenses in savings? Yes or no.
  2. Am I getting my full employer match? Yes, no, or N/A.
  3. Is all my debt below 10% interest? Yes or no.

If you got three yeses (or two yeses and an N/A), you’re ready. Next week, we start talking about where to actually invest and why time in the market beats timing.

If you got any nos, you’re not ready yet. And that’s fine. You know what to work on first.

See you at the top.