#BLUFFbooks Podcast

 #BLUFFbooks 📚 — “Trillions” (p. 2021) by Robin Wigglesworth:Subtitle: "How a Band of Wall Street Renegades Invented the Index Fund and Changed Finance Forever"Big Ideas Below: ⬇️ 💡1. Tell Me What You Quant… (Bill Sharpe, Wells Fargo & the origin of index investing for institutional clients). 🧮 📈 🏦 💡2. Bogle Me This… (Jack Bogle, Jack Brennan, and low fee retail index investing for average joe) ⚓️👷🏼‍♂️📈 💡3. Along Came a SPDR… (Nathan Most, the American Exchange, the Toronto exchange, and the birth of the ETF). 🕷️🇨🇦📦📈 💡4. Getting it Dunn (Patricia Dunn, WFIA, BGI, and iShares making a diverse and vibrant market for ETFs). 🌎📦📦📈

 #BLUFFbooks 📚 — "A Financial Declaration of Financial Independence" (p. 2008) by Josh Gilliam, CKA Subtitle: "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Holiness" Big Ideas Below: ⬇️💡1. I Volunteer as Tribute! (We let shopping malls extort us worse than the British ever did). 💳👑 What is the "crown" of popular culture? 💡2. Chasing the Dragon (We crave ever-greater quantity/variety of stuff to achieve ephemeral happiness). 🐲💉. We cannot defy natural law indefinitely by trying to substitute physical stuff for spiritual meaning) 🎣💕 💡3. "Yes Officer, My Virtue Signal Is Broken" (Beware of greenwashing and slacktivism). 👮‍♂️☮  Many people try to use “spiritual credibility” to project competency and build trust to win business. […] It’s not as important for an advisor to tell you he or she is a Christian as it is for he or she to demonstrate Christian principles. 💡4. FIRE = Just a New Idol? — Exchanging spiritual dependency on job income for spiritual dependency on investment income. ‍👦 Do we really give out of disciplinee, let alone faith?

 #BLUFFbooks 📚 — “Financially Irresponsible" (p. 2019) by Rahkim Sabree, AFCBig Ideas Below: ⬇️ 💡1. You Are What You Think (The cancer of a victim mindset). 💡2. “A Powerful Jedi You Seek, Hmm?”(Finding and paying wise mentors) 💡3. Paycheck to Paycheck? (Beware of lifestyle creep). 💡4. Your Credit = Your “Baseball Card” (Work on your financial batting average!) 💡5. Preserving The Kingdom (Funding Your Retirement & Educating The Next Generation).

#BLUFFbooks 📚 — “Nudge: The Final Edition:” (p. 2021) by Richard Thaler & Cass SunsteinSubtitle: "Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, & Happiness." Big Ideas Below: ⬇️ 💡1. Homo Economicus?: Humans are not purely rational creatures - we're all highly influenced by our (very uncertain) personal environments.💡2.  Think Fast! - We rely on cognitive heuristics to react to sudden danger & conserve mental energy. But such biases can produce very flawed decisions.💡3. Choice Architecture: "We make the room, and the room makes us." There's no such thing as an "influence- neutral" environment.💡4. Libertarian Paternalism: Requiring folks to use their reflective, higher-level thinking skills to consciously "opt in" if they really want the "unhealthy" option. 

 #BLUFFbooks 📚 — “The Art of the Sabbatical:” (p. 2024) by Cady North, CFP & MBASubtitle: "A Money and Mindset Guide for Your Next Work Break."   💡Big Ideas Below: ⬇️ 🧠 1) Sabbath Rest: An ancient idea for a timeless human need.  🧠  2) Your are not your job: resetting boundaries & reevaluating goals.  🧠  3) Packing Your Bags & Burning The Boats: Preparing - and committing- to your sabattical.  🧠  4) Failure to (Re) Launch? - Coming back right when the time is right. 

 #BLUFFbooks 📚 — “A Random Walk Down Wall Street” (p. 1973, 4th edition in 2016) by Burton Malkiel, PhDSubtitle: "The Time-Tested Strategy for Personal Investing.”   💡Big Ideas Below: ⬇️🧠1) "Castles in the Air" -- Do we rely on fundamental analysis or technical analysis (AKA "charting") in order to pick stocks?  The famous "Keynesian beauty contest" thought experiment has some interesting implications.🧠2) Can’t Beat The Market — The efficient market hypothesis (EMH) says that the price of any publicly traded asset will rapidly adjust to reflect all currently available knowledge concerning it. But beware, while bubbles (i.e. housing circa 2008) do eventually pop - the market might stay irrational far longer than you can remain solvent!🧠3) Buy & hold — Your biggest enemy when investing…is the man in mirror. Its' often better to automate monthly contributions to mutual funds that reflect major indices like the S&P 500.🧠 4) “No Pain, No…” — A spoonful of risk is good (necessary even) for your investment portfolio to grow. Modern Portfolio Theory (MPT) though says you should try to buy securities with inversely correlated returns.

 #BLUFFbooks 📚 — "Misbehaving" by Richard Thaler, PhD (p. 2015)Subtitle: "The Making of Behavioral Economics" 📊🤑 💡Big Ideas Below: ⬇️🧠 1. Humans vs. Econs (Normal people usually don’t make the most rational choice).🧠 2. Sunk Costs (Even academics doggedly cling to the things & theories they’ve invested in).🧠 3. What a Ripoff!! (Fairness, Utility Value & Transaction Value)🧠 4. A Matter of Principal (Narrow Framing, Hindsight Bias, & the Principal-Agent Problem).🧠 5. Tilting the Pool Table (Thaler & Nudging)

#BLUFFbooks 📚 — "The Index Card" by Helaine Olen & Harold Pollack  (p. 2016)Subtitle:  Why Personal Finance Doesn't Have to Be Complicated 💡Big Ideas Below: ⬇️📇 1. Avoid Unforced Errors - Just do the basics (401k match, index investing, not shopping, etc). 📇 2. Life Comes At You Fast - Don't kid yourself, you or any member of your household can become old or disabled. 📇 3. Beware of Products You Don't Understand - A fiduciary advisor will educate you, not pressure you.📇 4. Safety Nets Still Give Ropeburn - We should all be grateful for social security, food stamps, & medicare. But they're meant to be a last resort.  

#BLUFFbooks 📚 —  "The Financial Empowerment Handbook" by David Gatchell (p. 2013)💡Big Ideas Below: ⬇️Subtitle: “The Comprehensive Guide to Financial Literacy and Personal Prosperity." Big Ideas:  💡1. Nobody Can Care About Your Education (more than you do).💡2.  Borrow = Sorrow? (Navigating the minefield of personal credit).💡3.  Shop Before You Drop (Your cash on a major purchase).💡4.  A Failure to Plan (is a plan to fail!). 💡5. Be a Savvy Job Hunter (Like the Mandalorian!)

#BLUFFbooks 📚 —  "The Currency of Time" by David W. Adams, CPA & CFP (p. 2019) 💡Big Ideas Below: ⬇️Subtitle: “A Three Bucket Approach To Live Now And Retire While You Work." Big Ideas:  💡1. “Born a Man, Died a Doctor”: Are You Ready for Life After your Job Title?  💡2.  Fill the Buckets (& Avoid Kicking Them): The Three – Make that Four - Bucket Strategy💡3.  Investing in Gridlock: Let your assets run is while Capitol Hill’s at a Standstill💡4.  Three Strikes You’re IN: Hitting The Trifecta of Vulnerability, Authenticity, & Connection 💡5. Let Your “No” by “No”…: "Keeping it Simple, Stupid" (KISS) vs. The Poison of People-Pleasing

#BLUFFbooks 📚 — "The ExitPreneur's Playbook" By Joe Valley (2021), 💡Big Ideas Below: ⬇️Subtitle: “How to Sell Your Online Business for Top Dollar by Reverse Engineering Your Pathway to Success."Big Ideas:  💡1. Begin with the End in Mind (don’t “maroon” yourself with no exit strategy)💡2. The “Killer Pillars” of ExitPreneurship (risk, growth, transferability, & documentation)💡3.  Thy Numbers…They Stinketh! (Beware sloppy/nonstandard accounting practices).💡4. Beware of “Bait-&-Switch” (Due diligence will catch last-minute stunts to overstate your firm’s value. 💡5. If You Want to Go Far…Go Together! (get expert help - DIY is usually more pricey!)

#BLUFFbooks 📚 — "The Missing Billionaires" By Victor Haghani & James White (2023), 💡Big Ideas Below: ⬇️Subtitle: “A Guide to Better Financial Decisions" Big Ideas💡1. Kelly & The Certainty of Uncertainty (Trust the Math - Don’t Bet The Farm!)💡2. . Flirtin’ With Merton (Risk-sizing & Declining Marginal Utility)💡3.  Mr. Darcy’s Annuity (True Wealth = Sustainable Annual Cash Flow?)💡4. Paris Hilton’s Index Funds? (Explaining the Lack of Index-Investing Heiresses)

#BLUFFbooks 📚 — “The Psychology of Money” by Morgan Housel (p. 2020) 💡Big Ideas Below: ⬇️Subtitle: “Timeless Lessons on Wealth, Greed, & Happiness”💡1. We’re Not Robots (Does your investing strategy/worldview take human feelings into account? Financial PTSD is real)💡2. Fortune is Fickle (You can do everything right & still fail — build margin of error into your plans).💡3. Comparison is the Thief of Joy (stop moving the goalposts when it comes to your lifestyle; Don’t gamble what you have & need just to appease your ego).💡4. The Tails Wagging History (statistical outliers drive change. About 7 companies in S&P 500 drive most ROI. Kaizen = tiny marginal improvements that add up over time)💡5. Tyrannizing Your Current &/or Future Self (balancing immediate & delayed gratification. Controlling your time is the greatest freedom & pays the highest life satisfaction ROI). 

#BLUFFbooks 📚  “How To Become Rich” by Felix Dennis (2006) 💡Big Ideas Below ⬇️  💡1. “My Precious…” (Zealously guard your independence & veto power -- but don't go to far!)  💡2. “Welcome to the Jungle” (Venture Capital Dolphins & Mexican Standoffs among Shareholders)  💡3. “A [Micromanaged] Pot Never Boils”(Swallow Pride, Nurture Talent, & Empower Deputies)  💡4. “A Fool & His Cash Flow…” (You can’t get a loan for a coop if you cook the golden geese!)  💡5. “Trust Yourself When All Men Doubt You…” (Knowing how/when to push though pain)

#BLUFFbooks 📚 “The Financial Advisor Field Guide” by Robert Cucchiaro, CFP (pub. 2022).>>>>Big Ideas Below:1) Run a Tight Ship (good systems = promises kept). 2) Learning Begets Earning (you're selling confident expertise!)3) Mission First (your values = your compass!)4) Leverage Strengths & Passions (Know your niche!)

📚 "Sammy's Big Dream" by Sam X. Renick (2018) 💡Big Ideas Below ⬇️ 💡1. Starting Young (a la Berenstain Bears & Marc Brown’s “Arthur” books) 💡2. What’s Your First Memory of Money? (Childhood wealth inequality among peers) 💡 3. Parental Economics (how much money do mom & dad give you? What preconditions do they set?) 💡4. Coping with Doubters (like Garbanzo) 💡5. Being Generous (its your money!) 

#BLUFFbooks 📚"The Total Makeover” "The Total Money Mak” by Dave Ramsey (p. 2003)Big Ideas Below: ⬇️ 💡1. YOU are responsible for financial situation (a mindset of victimhood is worse than useless).    💡 2. Self-justification is a dangerous game ("procrastinators unite! ... tomorrow")  💡 3. Tackle the big expenses first (your luxury sedan is likely causing more harm than your daily latte is).   💡 4. Better to be approximately right (than precisely wrong -- the biggest possible mistake is doing nothing!)  💡 5. Do your own research (your heroes often have feet of clay). 

#BLUFFbooks 📚 "Geopolitical Alpha" by Marko Papic (2020) 💡Big Ideas Below ⬇️Subtitle: "An Investment Framework for Predicting the Future." -----💡1. A Leader's Preferences Are Optional. (But Her Constraints are Mandatory!)💡2. What’s The Net Assessment? (When Facing Uncertainty, Start by Ruling Out the Absurd.)💡3. I’m Their Leader, So I Must Follow Them. (Ignore the Median Voter at your peril.)💡4. Simplifying the News is Necessary (But Oversimplifying Is Dangerous!)💡5. Invasion of the Namedroppers (Beware the Hubris of Influencers, Wannabes, Has-Beens.) 

 #BLUFFbooks 📚 "How to Avoid Trouble with the IRS" by Kristine Stevenson (2022) 💡Big Ideas Below ⬇️Subtitle: "10 Best Tax Tips for the Self-Employed, Gig Worker, & Indie Contractor" 💡1. Don’t Spend Uncle Sam’s Money! (Set aside $ to pay your taxes)💡2. Don’t Cross The Streams (Don’t Comingle Personal & Business Funds)💡3. No Such Thing as “Off The Books” (Protect Your Paper Trail!)💡4. DIY Tax Filing = More Expensive? (You Wouldn’t Take Out Your Own Appendix!)💡5. He’s Making a List… (File Your Taxes & Ensure the IRS Accepts!) 

#BLUFFbooks 📚The Richest Man [Person] in Babylon, by George S. Clason (p. 1926), Edited/Revised by Clifton & Kaleb Corbin (2022)💡Big Ideas Below ⬇️_____💡1. Modernize ≠ Bowdlerize 📜📲 (Literature must adapt or die 🦖🦕…but how do you keep a book’s “soul” 🫥 from getting lost in translation?) ——💡2. The Borrower is WHAT to the Lender??⛓️😢 (Confronting slavery with tact💔)——💡3. Many, Many, Shekel…🤑🥊(Financial karma is PAINFUL, but mentorship is precious) 

#BLUFFbooks 📚 “The Golden Quest” 🗺 Written ✍ by David Delisle, Illustrated 🎨by Travis Hanson (p. 2021) Subtitle: Your Journey to a Rich Life 💕 💪 🧠💡Big Ideas (Aside from the 4 Primary Lessons in the Book – No Spoilers!): 💡1. One Good Referral Begets Another 🤝 👨‍🏫2. Raising "Free-Range" Children 🏃‍♂️ 🧗‍♂️ 🚸3. Generational Vs. Situational Wealth 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦>🎰 

📘 #BLUFFbooks : “The Bogle Effect: How John Bogle & Vanguard Turned Wall Street Inside Out & Saved Investors Trillions” by Eric Balchunas (p. 2022)>>>Big💡IDEAS Below ⬇️——1. Who’s Your Daddy? 👴 🧗‍♀️ 🐕 📣2. Costs Matter! 🗑️ 🪙 ⛽️ 💦 🪣 🐜3. By The People… 👵 👷 🧑‍🏫 👮‍♂️ 👨‍🚒 👨‍⚖️ 👩‍🎨 —4. Don’t Just Do Something — Stand There!! 🦥 💂 🤖 😴—*This show is for general educational purposes only. This is not business or financial advice, & is not tailored to anyone’s unique personal situation. All investing involves risk, including potential loss of principle***