News of a gun in a 12-year-old’s hands isn’t often something that’s celebrated these days. But I promise you this story is one of innocence. And if you use the ideas I’m about to show you, it very well could lead to true financial liberty.
It did for me.
I’ve been a passionate sportsman for as long as I can remember. I’ve written about it, spoken about it and even lived it in the Alaskan wilderness.
Needless to say, when I finally reached that magical age when I could join Grandpa in the woods, all I wanted was a gun of my own
But I needed money.
It didn’t take long until I made a deal with my dad. You see, each night after work he’d empty his pockets, typically putting a small handful of coins on the table.
Those coins were mine. They would buy my gun.
I found an old pickle jar and kept an eagle eye on that table. Quarters were king, but even pennies had their place.
Now, decades later, I realize my old man wasn’t giving me a handout. He was teaching me a lesson.
Within a few months, the jar was full. I had my gun - a combination shotgun that could take birds or deer. I’ve got much more expensive firearms in my collection now, but that one’s still my favorite.
It taught me a lesson.
It’s a lesson that investors of every age should understand.
On Friday, Alex Green wrote about the idea of financial education in America. It’s a popular theme around here. Our nation has done a disastrous job teaching our youngest generations common-sense investing concepts.
Instead, we’ve allowed Wall Street to complicate the scene. We’ve allowed a false sense of complexity and difficulty to taint a rather simple idea.
But that’s changing... and it’s driving Wall Street nuts.
These days, my kids would go broke if they depended on the change from my pocket - I’m notorious for not carrying cash. But technology offers an alternative.
It’s a popular application called Acorns.
It does what my pickle jar did... but it does it much, much more effectively. Here’s how it works.
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Create an Acorns account, attach it to the card you use for daily expenses and the app will automatically round up every purchase you make to the nearest dollar. It then invests that “change” in a diversified portfolio that matches your risk profile.
[Editor’s Note: For more on how Acorns works, check out the Oxford Club Radio interview with CEO Walter Cruttenden here.]
It’s a simple, no-brainer investment strategy. If you’ve ever said you don’t have money to invest... you just lost your excuse.
But it’s not just Acorns that’s making it easy to make money.
If you’re a frequent reader, you know we often tout the idea of following the leader. In other words, don’t try to reinvent the investment wheel - just follow the world’s smartest investors.
That’s exactly what another popular app will help you do.
It’s called iBillionaire, and it’s a simple way to track the investments of, presumably, the world’s greatest investors... the folks worth a billion bucks or more. For a fee of 0.08% per month, you can create a portfolio that mimics the strategies used by your favorite rich guy.
Worried you don’t have the time or smarts (even though I’m certain you have both) to make smart investment decisions? Once again, you just lost an excuse. Lean on the wisdom of a billionaire or two.
And, finally, one of our favorites at The Oxford Club... Robinhood. It’s an app created by two Stanford University students who realized the trade fees charged by traditional brokers (even as low as $7 to $10) are absurdly high compared to their costs.
With the sort of spirit we applaud, the students challenged the norm. They created an app that allows investors to make trades entirely for free. Robinhood is now quite popular and has saved investors millions of dollars in trade fees.
It’s no wonder folks like Jamie Dimon at JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: NYSE:JPM) are fighting back. They’ve seen a major disruption in their industry.
In his most recent note to shareholders, the big bank CEO took a wimpy swing at these industry newcomers, hyping their supposed security risks. Meanwhile, a bit of smart sleuthing by The New York Times shows that at the same time Dimon is bashing the newfound competition, his company is working on a similar app of its own.
Our point though is not to measure the competitive landscape. Those things tend to work themselves out. Our point, instead, is to remind you there is no excuse to not pursue financial liberty.
No cash to invest? Not anymore.
Don’t trust your own smarts? Not anymore.
Sick of high fees? Nope, even that excuse is gone.
You have a couple of choices. You can use these apps to build your own financial liberty, or you can share them with younger generations (dare I say help a youngster buy his gun?). Better yet, do both.
Either way, you’re out of excuses.