Two Money Lessons I Wish I Learned Sooner...

Thank you All for the feedback on last week's newsletter. I was suprised to hear back from so many of you who wanted to hear more about money lessons! So, here it is!

Nobody taught us how to handle money… they, more likely, handed us debt and wished us luck.

Most of us grow up without ever learning how money actually works. So today, I’m sharing two investing lessons I wish I learned years earlier, the kind no one explains in school, but everyone pays for later.

Why it matters:

If you’re like most people, you learned how to write a paper, take a test, and show up to work… but not how investing works, how to grow money, or how to avoid costly mistakes.

I felt this personally.

At my undergrad graduation from Rutgers Business School, they handed us a pamphlet called “Life After College Explained,” a 100-page crash course on 401ks, investing, buying a home… as I walked out the door. (True story)

It felt like: Good luck, kid. You’re on your own.

Here are the two lessons that would’ve changed a lot, if I’d known them earlier:

Money Lesson #1: Time in the market > Timing the market

Waiting for the “perfect time” to invest is the fastest way to never start.

Even small amounts invested consistently can build serious wealth. Your biggest advantage isn’t luck, it’s time.

Best time to invest?

20 years ago.

Second best time? Today.

(This is a Chinese proverb for something else completely, right?... I stand by it anyway)

Money Lesson #2: You don’t need permission to invest

I used to think I needed an expert to manage my money.

Turns out, I just needed education.

What worked for me was learning from books instead of signing up with an advisor, investing in broad-market index funds (like the S&P 500), keeping fees low, and choosing simplicity over complication.

If you are looking into an advisor, here are two questions at least worth asking:

1) What are your management fees? It is flat or a percentage?

2) What are the expense ratios for the funds being invested? (i.e. 0.5% sounds like nothing but it's huge)

Low fees alone can make the difference.

A real stat: Vanguard’s Total Stock Market Index Fund (VTSAX) will outperform 82% to 99% of actively managed funds over periods of 15 to 30 years, after accounting for fees.

Want to go deeper?

If you want to learn more, these two books changed how I think about investing forever:

• The Little Book of Common Sense Investing — Jack Bogle

• The Simple Path to Wealth — J.L. Collins

Final thought:

If this was helpful (or even confusing), reply and tell me.

Would you want more emails like this?

I’d genuinely love your feedback.

Have a great weekend!