Stock Expert: Becoming Rich Is Simple, But You Won’t Do It!

Renting versus owning a home is the biggest financial decision most people make in their life.

Unrecoverable costs of owning a home include property taxes, maintenance costs, and emergency costs.

Ben Felix's financial advice is based on academic research.

There is research suggesting that it is suboptimal for young people to save aggressively.

Academic research shows that the more people look at their investments, the less risk they take and the lower returns they earn.

Ben Felix approached finance like an engineer after being disappointed by the product-selling approach in financial services.

Historically, there has been a mechanical relationship between formal education or trade education and lifetime earnings.

The process for setting good financial goals involves listing goals, doubling the list to elicit more meaningful goals, and categorizing them using the PERMA model.

Not taking investment risks, particularly by not participating enough in the stock market, is a huge financial mistake with a large implicit cost.

The historical and expected long-run return on stocks is approximately 7%.

In Canada, gains on a primary residence are tax-free.

Missing tax planning opportunities, such as optimally using government-provided accounts like RRSPs, TFSAs (Canada), Roth/Traditional IRAs, and 401ks (US), is a financial mistake.

Who one marries is a critical financial decision because academic research identifies "tightwads" (dislike spending) and "spendthrifts" (like spending) who often marry each other, leading to marital conflict over money.

Underinsuring catastrophic risks, such as not having sufficient life insurance or disability insurance, is a financial mistake, especially for those not financially independent.

A controversial paper found that a 100% equity portfolio with a one-third domestic and two-thirds international stock allocation is optimal for retirement consumption utility and bequest utility.

Central banks in most developed countries target a low but stable rate of inflation, meaning money sitting in cash will decrease in purchasing power over time.

An article from October 10, 1847, described a gloomy moment in history with deep apprehension, political uncertainty in France, social and economic struggle in England, industrial chaos in the US, and Russia hanging like a storm cloud over Europe.

I've done $10,000 which is what we have here.