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| Titre | Date | Durée | |
|---|---|---|---|
| AAR69 - Behind the Curtain - How Money Actually Moves | 29 Sep 2026 | 00:51:56 | |
Most of us don’t handle money directly anymore—we rely on platforms, banks, brokerages, and middlemen. In this episode, Evan and Andrew break down how those businesses actually make money off you, where the hidden costs live, and the practical moves you can use to “stack the deck” back in your favor. From credit card interest and swipe fees, to investing expense ratios, to overdraft traps, to mortgage math and real estate agent incentives—this is a plain-English walkthrough of the stuff nobody explains until it’s too late.
What You Will Learn
Credit cards make money mainly from interest, transaction (swipe) fees, and sometimes annual fees—and they’re designed to make spending feel painless.
In investing, “small” fees (expense ratios, advisor fees, trading friction) can become massive over time because they compound against you.
Banks profit by using your deposits to earn returns while paying you little—plus they rake in fees like overdraft and minimum balance penalties.
Mortgages are interest-front-loaded, so moving too soon can mean you paid mostly interest and built little equity.
Real estate agents are often incentivized to close fast and at higher prices, so you should consider asking for single-party representation or even flat-fee/hourly structures.
Timestamps
0:00 — Credit cards = short-term loans (and why rates are so high)
1:35 — Where card companies profit: interest, swipe fees, annual fees
3:05 — The real “win”: never carry a balance + avoid annual fees
4:25 — Why frictionless spending (tap/phone pay) makes you spend more
6:10 — Annual-fee cards: why the math usually doesn’t work
8:55 — Stock market basics: ownership, raising capital, buybacks, stock comp
13:10 — If commissions are “free,” how do brokers make money now?
17:10 — Practical defense #2: don’t day trade (you’re fighting the machine)
18:00 — Practical defense #3: don’t overpay for advice in wealth-building years
19:20 — Fees stack: advisor fees + fund fees + taxes can crush returns
20:15 — Banks: how they profit from your deposits (and why it matters)
25:10 — Why switching checking accounts is a pain (and banks know it)
28:10 — Mortgage optimization: credit score, shopping rates, extra principal
32:40 — Flat-fee/hourly agents: why it can align incentives better
Resources Mentioned
The Value Spotlight Newsletter: https://einvestingforbeginners.com/value-spotlight-newsletter/
Free monthly budgeting spreadsheet: https://einvestingforbeginners.com/budget/
Email Evan: evan@einvestingforbeginners.com
Have questions or want your story featured? Email the show at newsletter@einvestingforbeginners.com or comment below. Your feedback shapes the podcast!
Remember, financial freedom is built one smart move at a time. Keep it simple, keep it steady, and at any rate, we’ll see you next time.
Timestamps are generated by artificial intelligence, and are not 100% accurate depending on the platform used for listening.
Today’s show is sponsored by:
Download Cash App Today: https://click.cash.app/ui6m/0th4z72y #CashAppPod As a Cash App partner, I may earn a commission when you sign up for a Cash App account. Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App’s bank partner(s). Bitcoin services provided by Block, Inc. For additional information, see the Bitcoin disclosures.
Shopify: Stop waiting for permission to build something. Your next revenue stream starts for free at shopify.com/beginners
Upgrade your wardrobe with Quince to get high-quality, luxury essentials at a fraction of the cost by visiting https://quince.com/beginners
Turn your passion into profit, connect directly with eager buyers, and grow your business by hosting live, interactive auctions at https://whatnot.com/sell
Supercharge your productivity and automate your daily tasks by building custom AI agents in your all-in-one workspace at https://notion.com/investing
Interested in how your company sponsor the show? Reach us at equity@einvestingforbeginners.com
SUBSCRIBE TO THE SHOW Apple | Spotify | YouTube | Amazon | Tunein
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| Cummins (CMI): Record Quarter, Falling Stock — What Wall Street Sees | 28 Sep 2026 | 00:44:42 | |
Cummins just printed a monster quarter—record revenue, raised guidance, and strong-looking headline numbers—yet the stock has been sliding hard. In this episode, Stephen and Andrew walk through why that disconnect happens and how to avoid the “headline trap” where a good quarter gets mistaken for a good stock. The big theme: stop reacting to the press release and start underwriting the business like a lender would—dig into what’s actually driving results and what could break.
They cover Cummins’ segment mix (and why profits can matter more than revenue), what to look for in margins when costs are rising, and how to think about cyclicality without overreacting to once-in-a-generation macro events. The episode wraps with a practical checklist mindset: look for one-time boosts (acquisitions, refunds, accounting noise), sanity-check cash flow, and remember that the learning curve never ends—your job is to catch mistakes early and course-correct.
What You Will Learn
How to separate a great quarter from a great stock
How to use segment revenue vs segment profitability to see what’s really driving results
What margin trends (gross + operating) can tell you about cost pressure vs pricing power
How to evaluate cyclicality using operating margin history (without overfitting one bad year)
A simple framework for spotting one-time boosts that can “fake” strength
Timestamps
00:00 Why Cummins is interesting: record quarter, stock still falling
01:30 The core question: what does Wall Street see that the headlines don’t?
02:15 First step: start with the earnings call + identify the real driver (data centers/power)
04:31 “Destination Zero” + why Cummins is more than “just engines”
05:33 Andrew’s approach: segment revenue vs segment profitability (and why it matters)
07:15 Transformation stories: legacy stability + fast-growing segment upside
10:46 Explaining price drops: using bear cases/analyst reports as clues, not gospel
13:00 Costs rising vs revenue rising: what “good” looks like through margins
17:17 Moat discussion: brand power, supplier presence, and quality as a competitive edge
32:31 Avoiding the trap: acquisitions + one-time items + cash flow as your “metal detector”
Resources Mentioned
The Value Spotlight Newsletter: https://einvestingforbeginners.com/value-spotlight-newsletter/
Have questions or want your story featured? Email the show at newsletter@einvestingforbeginners.com or comment below. Your feedback shapes the podcast!
Remember, invest with a margin of safety—emphasis on the safety. Have a great week, and we’ll talk to you next time.
Timestamps are generated by artificial intelligence, and are not 100% accurate depending on the platform used for listening.
Today’s show is sponsored by:
Download Cash App Today: https://click.cash.app/ui6m/0th4z72y #CashAppPod As a Cash App partner, I may earn a commission when you sign up for a Cash App account. Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App’s bank partner(s). Bitcoin services provided by Block, Inc. For additional information, see the Bitcoin disclosures.
Shopify: Stop waiting for permission to build something. Your next revenue stream starts for free at shopify.com/beginners
Turn your passion into profit, connect directly with eager buyers, and grow your business by hosting live, interactive auctions at https://whatnot.com/sell
Supercharge your productivity and automate your daily tasks by building custom AI agents in your all-in-one workspace at https://notion.com/investing
The Perfect Jean makes insanely comfortable, great-fitting jeans you can wear all day—check them out at theperfectjean.nyc.
Function Health helps you get ahead of your health with comprehensive lab testing and clear, actionable insights—learn more at functionhealth.com.
Interested in how your company sponsor the show? Reach us at equity@einvestingforbeginners.com
SUBSCRIBE TO THE SHOW Apple | Spotify | YouTube | Amazon | Tunein
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| Path to Confidence: Why the Best Investors Rarely Swing | 24 Sep 2026 | 00:55:12 | |
Every day, mainstream financial media demands that you swing at the latest hot stock, IPO, or macroeconomic tech trend. But the greatest investors in history succeed not by swinging at every pitch, but by ruthlessly defining their "Circle of Competence" and ignoring the rest. In this episode, Stephen and Andrew break down how to map out your unique investing edge, overcome the psychological trap of FOMO, and use the "Scuttlebutt" method to safely expand your knowledge without incinerating your capital.
What You Will Learn
The Ted Williams Rule: Why batting .406 in the stock market requires you to map out your exact "grid squares" of knowledge and let the Wall Street meatballs go by.
The Hubris Trap: How deep industry knowledge can trick smart professionals (like surgeons or engineers) into making arrogant, portfolio-killing mistakes.
Philip Fisher’s "Scuttlebutt" Method: How to investigate a company's true moat by interrogating its competitors, suppliers, and customers.
The Anatomy of FOMO: Why missing out on a cultural trend (like GameStop or SpaceX) is mathematically safer than playing a game you don’t understand.
How to Safely Expand Your Edge: Why studying a gas station (Casey's) naturally leads you to evaluate the pizza industry (Domino's)—and how adjacency safely builds your circle.
Timestamps
00:01:57 — Defining the "Circle of Competence" and why stock picking requires qualitative focus.
00:08:50 — Thomas J. Watson Sr. and why staying "smart in spots" beats being a jack-of-all-trades.
00:11:31 — The spice trade, McCormick, and why mature industries eventually stagnate.
00:14:25 — The Hubris Trap: Why industry experts often make the most arrogant investing mistakes.
00:20:42 — Philip Fisher’s "Scuttlebutt" method for investigating competitive advantages.
00:24:01 — FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) and the Ted Williams strike zone methodology.
00:30:20 — The struggle of saying "no" to good companies and establishing 24-hour cooling-off rules.
00:41:06 — How to map your Circle of Competence using the "Three Rings" visual framework.
00:46:40 — Safely expanding your circle through industry adjacencies.
Resources Mentioned
The Value Spotlight Newsletter: https://einvestingforbeginners.com/value-spotlight-newsletter/
Have questions or want your story featured? Email the show at newsletter@einvestingforbeginners.com or comment below. Your feedback shapes the podcast!
Remember, invest with a margin of safety—emphasis on the safety. Have a great week, and we’ll talk to you next time.
Timestamps are generated by artificial intelligence, and are not 100% accurate depending on the platform used for listening.
Today’s show is sponsored by:
Download Cash App Today: https://click.cash.app/ui6m/0th4z72y #CashAppPod As a Cash App partner, I may earn a commission when you sign up for a Cash App account. Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App’s bank partner(s). Bitcoin services provided by Block, Inc. For additional information, see the Bitcoin disclosures.
Shopify: Stop waiting for permission to build something. Your next revenue stream starts for free at shopify.com/beginners
Turn your passion into profit, connect directly with eager buyers, and grow your business by hosting live, interactive auctions at https://whatnot.com/sell
Supercharge your productivity and automate your daily tasks by building custom AI agents in your all-in-one workspace at https://notion.com/investing
The Perfect Jean makes insanely comfortable, great-fitting jeans you can wear all day—check them out at theperfectjean.nyc.
Function Health helps you get ahead of your health with comprehensive lab testing and clear, actionable insights—learn more at functionhealth.com.
Interested in how your company sponsor the show? Reach us at equity@einvestingforbeginners.com
SUBSCRIBE TO THE SHOW Apple | Spotify | YouTube | Amazon | Tunein
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| AAR68 - Correcting for Financial Mistakes | 22 Sep 2026 | 00:47:25 | |
Nobody is perfect, and that applies to your budget, too. In this episode of At Any Rate, Evan and Andrew open up about their recent financial slip-ups—from overspending on dining out to completely forgetting about annual expenses like car insurance and birthdays.
Instead of dwelling on the guilt of busting a budget, the guys break down how to properly correct these mistakes without entering a toxic cycle of financial restriction. Plus, they share their favorite everyday "hacks" to save cash and catch up, including the hidden markup trap of food delivery apps, using simple cashback setups, and the psychological trick of over-budgeting.
What You Will Learn
Couples Finance: How to manage joint finances and split bills proportionally without acting as your partner's financial "nanny."
The Catch-Up Trap: Why trying to aggressively cut spending after a minor budget mistake can actually trigger a toxic binge-spending cycle.
The Delivery App Illusion: The massive hidden food markups on Uber Eats and Grubhub, and why ordering ahead on native apps saves you thousands a year.
Passive Sinking Funds: How to use basic store credit cards (like Target or Amazon) to generate guilt-free spending money without complex travel hacking.
Over-Budgeting: The psychological benefit of overestimating variable expenses like gas to create a built-in end-of-month reward.
The 3-to-6 Month Rule: A simple framework to determine if you should cut back to pay for a mistake, or if you need to pull from emergency savings.
Timestamps
02:51 – Main Episode Start: Bouncing Back from Financial Mistakes
05:00 – Evan’s Mistake: Overspending on dining out & adjusting the budget
08:39 – Couples Finance: How to handle joint budgets with separate accounts
16:08 – Andrew’s Mistake: Forgetting annual expenses (holidays & car insurance)
21:54 – Why trying to "catch up" on a busted budget creates a toxic money cycle
26:50 – Hack 1: The Uber Eats & Grubhub hidden markup trap
32:23 – Hack 2: Using simple cashback credit cards as a passive sinking fund
39:00 – Hack 3: Over-budgeting variable expenses for end-of-month rewards
40:40 – Hack 4: Replacing expensive habits with free, healthy challenges
43:30 – The 3-to-6 Month Rule: Knowing when to cut back vs. when to use savings
Resources Mentioned
The Value Spotlight Newsletter: https://einvestingforbeginners.com/value-spotlight-newsletter/
Free monthly budgeting spreadsheet: https://einvestingforbeginners.com/budget/
Email Evan: evan@einvestingforbeginners.com
Have questions or want your story featured? Email the show at newsletter@einvestingforbeginners.com or comment below. Your feedback shapes the podcast!
Remember, financial freedom is built one smart move at a time. Keep it simple, keep it steady, and at any rate, we’ll see you next time.
Timestamps are generated by artificial intelligence, and are not 100% accurate depending on the platform used for listening.
Today’s show is sponsored by:
Download the Plynk app today to start building your investing confidence. https://plynkinvest.app.link/IFBpodcast
Download Cash App Today: https://click.cash.app/ui6m/0th4z72y #CashAppPod As a Cash App partner, I may earn a commission when you sign up for a Cash App account. Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App’s bank partner(s). Bitcoin services provided by Block, Inc. For additional information, see the Bitcoin disclosures.
Shopify: Stop waiting for permission to build something. Your next revenue stream starts for free at shopify.com/beginners
Upgrade your wardrobe with Quince to get high-quality, luxury essentials at a fraction of the cost by visiting https://quince.com/beginners
Turn your passion into profit, connect directly with eager buyers, and grow your business by hosting live, interactive auctions at https://whatnot.com/sell
Supercharge your productivity and automate your daily tasks by building custom AI agents in your all-in-one workspace at https://notion.com/investing
Interested in how your company sponsor the show? Reach us at equity@einvestingforbeginners.com
SUBSCRIBE TO THE SHOW Apple | Spotify | YouTube | Amazon | Tunein
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| What Is a Holding Company, And Should You Invest in One? | 21 Sep 2026 | 00:42:52 | |
You might think buying shares of Google means you are investing in a search engine, but you are actually buying into a decentralized corporate shell designed to isolate risk and absorb massive losses. While operating companies like Apple focus on core products, empires like Alphabet and Berkshire Hathaway use corporate structure as a financial weapon. In this episode, Stephen and Andrew look under the hood of the holding company model to determine if decentralization is the ultimate margin of safety, or a fast track to inefficient "di-worsification."
What You Will Learn
The Alphabet Illusion: Why buying Google actually means investing in a decentralized risk-management engine.
Ring-Fencing Failure: How holding companies legally isolate bankrupt subsidiaries—and the debt loophole that still managed to destroy Silicon Valley Bank.
The Meta Money Pit: How giant holding companies use massive subsidiary losses (like Reality Labs or Waymo) as a structural tax advantage to offset core profits.
Divestitures vs. IPOs: Why spinning off a subsidiary like Mobileye rewards parent companies differently than giving direct shares to investors.
The Conglomerate Discount: Why Wall Street historically punishes bloated empires, and why General Electric (GE) had to unbundle its businesses to survive.
Timestamps
00:01:46 — Defining the Holding Company: Alphabet and Berkshire vs. Apple and Uber.
00:03:55 — The Coca-Cola anomaly: Why an independent bottler historically outperformed the iconic parent brand.
00:06:40 — Centralization vs. Decentralization: Why holding company CEOs let subsidiaries operate autonomously.
00:08:50 — Ring-fencing risk: What actually happens to the parent stock if a subsidiary goes bankrupt?
00:12:44 — The Tax Shield: How Alphabet absorbs Waymo's operating losses to offset Google's massive profits.
00:14:48 — The Cash Flow Vacuum: How parent companies extract money from their subsidiaries.
00:19:28 — Offloading assets: The critical mechanical difference between an IPO (Mobileye) and a Divestiture (Danaher).
00:25:33 — The 1970s Conglomerate Boom, "di-worsification," and GE's forced unbundling.
00:28:07 — Evaluating Meta's Reality Labs: Is it a calculated tax shield or a structural cancer?
00:32:30 — Bonus lesson: What is "Circle Financing" and why Jensen Huang's recent NVIDIA investments don't fit the definition.
Resources Mentioned
The Value Spotlight Newsletter: https://einvestingforbeginners.com/value-spotlight-newsletter/
Have questions or want your story featured? Email the show at newsletter@einvestingforbeginners.com or comment below. Your feedback shapes the podcast!
Remember, invest with a margin of safety—emphasis on the safety. Have a great week, and we’ll talk to you next time.
Timestamps are generated by artificial intelligence, and are not 100% accurate depending on the platform used for listening.
Today’s show is sponsored by:
Download Cash App Today: https://click.cash.app/ui6m/0th4z72y #CashAppPod As a Cash App partner, I may earn a commission when you sign up for a Cash App account. Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App’s bank partner(s). Bitcoin services provided by Block, Inc. For additional information, see the Bitcoin disclosures.
Shopify: Stop waiting for permission to build something. Your next revenue stream starts for free at shopify.com/beginners
Turn your passion into profit, connect directly with eager buyers, and grow your business by hosting live, interactive auctions at https://whatnot.com/sell
Supercharge your productivity and automate your daily tasks by building custom AI agents in your all-in-one workspace at https://notion.com/investing
The Perfect Jean makes insanely comfortable, great-fitting jeans you can wear all day—check them out at theperfectjean.nyc.
Function Health helps you get ahead of your health with comprehensive lab testing and clear, actionable insights—learn more at functionhealth.com.
Interested in how your company sponsor the show? Reach us at equity@einvestingforbeginners.com
SUBSCRIBE TO THE SHOW Apple | Spotify | YouTube | Amazon | Tunein
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| Path to Confidence: The 3-Step Safety Net Every Investor Needs | 17 Sep 2026 | 00:52:36 | |
Beginner investors want to skip straight to the exciting part—picking stocks, chasing crypto gains, and dreaming of 100% returns. But diving into the market without a rock-solid financial foundation underneath you is a guaranteed recipe for panic-selling at the worst possible moment. In Part 2 of the "Path to Confidence" series, Andrew Sather sits down with Evan Raidt (At Any Rate) to break down why liquidity risk destroys unhedged portfolios, how to automate your cash flow to eliminate willpower, and why finding the financial "middle ground" beats both extreme austerity and YOLO reckless spending.
What You Will Learn
The Hidden Risk of Liquidity Lockup: Why investing money you might need in the short term forces you to liquidate assets at a loss during emergency market dips.
The Honest Budget Reality Check: How categorizing expenses into strict Needs, Wants, and Savings (plus-or-minus $100) exposes silent cash drains before you buy a single share.
Removing Willpower via Automation: Why setting up recurring transfers into S&P 500 index funds ($VOO$) and high-yield savings accounts guarantees compounding progress without daily discipline.
The 3-to-4 Month Catch-Up Rule: How to handle unexpected financial setbacks without blowing up your long-term investment strategy or falling into a burnout-inducing lifestyle change.
Escaping the Social Media Extremes: Why sustainable wealth creation happens in the middle ground between rinky-dink frugality and reckless lifestyle inflation.
Timestamps
00:01:23 — Why Financial Foundations Come First: Understanding liquidity risk and investment lockup
00:04:12 — The Mentorship Effect: How watching realistic financial progress beats hype-driven advice
00:09:10 — Step 1: The Honest Budget: Setting up Needs, Wants, and Savings without perfectionism
00:13:48 — Needs vs. Wants in Practice: Drawing the line between necessities (rent, childcare) and discretionary spends
00:20:47 — Overcoming the Getting-Started Speedbump: Shifting focus from short-term friction to long-term freedom
00:27:38 — Automating Your Wealth: Eliminating willpower by auto-depositing into savings and index funds ($VOO$)
00:32:42 — Why S&P 500 Indexing Works: Long-term historical resilience vs. short-term market noise
00:35:50 — Navigating Setbacks: Emergency funds, managing cash flow drains, and the 3-4 month catch-up window
00:46:40 — The Financial Middle Ground: Why steady compounding beats extreme FIRE frugality and YOLO spending
Resources Mentioned
The Value Spotlight Newsletter: https://einvestingforbeginners.com/value-spotlight-newsletter/
Have questions or want your story featured? Email the show at newsletter@einvestingforbeginners.com or comment below. Your feedback shapes the podcast!
Remember, invest with a margin of safety—emphasis on the safety. Have a great week, and we’ll talk to you next time.
Timestamps are generated by artificial intelligence, and are not 100% accurate depending on the platform used for listening.
Today’s show is sponsored by:
Download Cash App Today: https://click.cash.app/ui6m/0th4z72y #CashAppPod As a Cash App partner, I may earn a commission when you sign up for a Cash App account. Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App’s bank partner(s). Bitcoin services provided by Block, Inc. For additional information, see the Bitcoin disclosures.
Shopify: Stop waiting for permission to build something. Your next revenue stream starts for free at shopify.com/beginners
Turn your passion into profit, connect directly with eager buyers, and grow your business by hosting live, interactive auctions at https://whatnot.com/sell
Supercharge your productivity and automate your daily tasks by building custom AI agents in your all-in-one workspace at https://notion.com/investing
The Perfect Jean makes insanely comfortable, great-fitting jeans you can wear all day—check them out at theperfectjean.nyc.
Function Health helps you get ahead of your health with comprehensive lab testing and clear, actionable insights—learn more at functionhealth.com.
Interested in how your company sponsor the show? Reach us at equity@einvestingforbeginners.com
SUBSCRIBE TO THE SHOW Apple | Spotify | YouTube | Amazon | Tunein
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| AAR67 - Our Ratio Rulebook - Solid Financial Starting Points | 15 Sep 2026 | 00:56:26 | |
Are you spending too much on your car? Is your rent making you "house poor"? In this episode of At Any Rate, Evan and Andrew ditch the vague financial advice and dive into the exact ratios and percentages you should be aiming for to secure your financial future.
From breaking down the classic 50/30/20 budgeting rule (and why it must be calculated on your net income) to establishing hard limits for vehicle expenses, housing costs, and "fun money," the guys provide a blueprint for evaluating your spending. Plus, they explore how to handle windfalls and the right way to size "risky" investments in your portfolio.
What You Will Learn
The 50/30/20 Rule: How to properly categorize your needs, wants, and savings without feeling restricted.
The 15% Vehicle Limit: Why you must include gas, insurance, and maintenance when calculating your car affordability.
The 30% Housing Limit: The financial superpower of buying a "starter home" instead of stretching for a dream home immediately.
Net vs. Gross Savings: Why you shouldn't include your employer 401(k) match when calculating your personal 20% savings rate.
The 50/50 Windfall Rule: A guilt-free system for splitting bonuses and tax refunds between treating yourself and building wealth.
Portfolio Risk Management: Why it's okay to own highly volatile stocks—as long as you size them correctly.
Timestamps
02:04 – Andrew’s favorite investing metric: Calculating Expected Returns
05:42 – The 50/30/20 Budgeting Rule: Needs, Wants, and Savings
07:32 – What to do if your "Needs" exceed 50% of your income
11:18 – The 15% Rule for Vehicle Expenses (Including gas and insurance)
19:20 – Housing Ratios (30%) & The compounding power of starter homes
28:15 – Credit Card Debt Ratio: Why the only acceptable target is 0%
31:08 – Retirement Savings: How much of your savings bucket should be locked away?
38:23 – Calculating your savings rate on Net vs. Gross income
40:07 – Portfolio Risk: Defining "risky" investments and sizing them correctly
48:26 – The 50/50 Windfall Rule: How to handle bonuses and tax refunds without guilt
Resources Mentioned
The Value Spotlight Newsletter: https://einvestingforbeginners.com/value-spotlight-newsletter/
Free monthly budgeting spreadsheet: https://einvestingforbeginners.com/budget/
Email Evan: evan@einvestingforbeginners.com
Have questions or want your story featured? Email the show at newsletter@einvestingforbeginners.com or comment below. Your feedback shapes the podcast!
Remember, financial freedom is built one smart move at a time. Keep it simple, keep it steady, and at any rate, we’ll see you next time.
Timestamps are generated by artificial intelligence, and are not 100% accurate depending on the platform used for listening.
Today’s show is sponsored by:
Download the Plynk app today to start building your investing confidence. https://plynkinvest.app.link/IFBpodcast
Download Cash App Today: https://click.cash.app/ui6m/0th4z72y #CashAppPod As a Cash App partner, I may earn a commission when you sign up for a Cash App account. Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App’s bank partner(s). Bitcoin services provided by Block, Inc. For additional information, see the Bitcoin disclosures.
Shopify: Stop waiting for permission to build something. Your next revenue stream starts for free at shopify.com/beginners
Upgrade your wardrobe with Quince to get high-quality, luxury essentials at a fraction of the cost by visiting https://quince.com/beginners
Turn your passion into profit, connect directly with eager buyers, and grow your business by hosting live, interactive auctions at https://whatnot.com/sell
Supercharge your productivity and automate your daily tasks by building custom AI agents in your all-in-one workspace at https://notion.com/investing
Interested in how your company sponsor the show? Reach us at equity@einvestingforbeginners.com
SUBSCRIBE TO THE SHOW Apple | Spotify | YouTube | Amazon | Tunein
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| Ian Cassel’s Rules for Profitable Small-Cap Investing | 14 Sep 2026 | 00:58:07 | |
Most retail investors assume the biggest market gains belong to high-flying mega-cap tech stocks, but historical data reveals a completely different reality: 87% of all 10x stocks over the past decade started as microcaps. However, blindly chasing small-company story stocks is the fastest way to incinerate capital. In this episode, Andrew Sather sits down with microcap veteran and author Ian Cassel (Stock Picker, Intelligent Fanatics) to uncover how retail investors can exploit institutional blind spots, evaluate management as a primary moat, and execute disciplined exit strategies in microcap equities.
What You Will Learn
The 18% Profitability Filter: Why 82% of microcap stocks are unprofitable traps—and how focusing on the profitable minority eliminates 95% of blow-up risk.
Management as the Moat: Why traditional competitive moats don't exist in $50M companies, making repeated winning CEOs and skin-in-the-game teams the ultimate catalyst.
The Illiquidity Premium: How institutional size constraints create a structural advantage for retail investors trading illiquid $10k/day volume stocks.
Why You Can't "Coffee Can" Microcaps: Why the average winning microcap trade lasts 16–18 months and requires active maintenance due diligence rather than passive buy-and-hold.
The 49% Hit Rate Reality: What Lee Freeman-Shore’s study of top hedge fund managers proves about stock-picking accuracy vs. execution and position sizing.
Timestamps
00:01:00 — Introduction: Welcoming Ian Cassel, author of Stock Picker and founder of Microcap Club
00:02:26 — Investor Life Cycles: How early wins, losses, and environment shape risk temperament
00:05:16 — The $20k to $120k to $8k Rollercoaster: Ian’s dot-com boom and bust during high school and college
00:11:00 — Story Stocks vs. Fundamentals: Why starting with narrative stocks creates high risk tolerance
00:12:35 — The XM Satellite Radio Case Study: How a $1.78 microcap turnaround generated a 10x recovery
00:18:38 — Management is the Moat: Evaluating repeated winners, capital allocators, and pedigreed teams
00:25:15 — Why Quality Small Businesses Go Public: Valuations, capital efficiency, and global microcap markets
00:30:25 — The Reality of Microcap Holding Periods: Why short shelf-lives demand active selling discipline
00:33:25 — Developing the "Spidey Sense": Recognizing management body language and thesis decay
00:40:00 — The Illiquidity Premium Data: Roger Ibbotson’s Yale study on microcap outperformance
00:48:25 — The Art of Execution: Why top investors win with a 49% hit rate through position sizing
Resources Mentioned
The Value Spotlight Newsletter: https://einvestingforbeginners.com/value-spotlight-newsletter/
Have questions or want your story featured? Email the show at newsletter@einvestingforbeginners.com or comment below. Your feedback shapes the podcast!
Remember, invest with a margin of safety—emphasis on the safety. Have a great week, and we’ll talk to you next time.
Timestamps are generated by artificial intelligence, and are not 100% accurate depending on the platform used for listening.
Today’s show is sponsored by:
Download Cash App Today: https://click.cash.app/ui6m/0th4z72y #CashAppPod As a Cash App partner, I may earn a commission when you sign up for a Cash App account. Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App’s bank partner(s). Bitcoin services provided by Block, Inc. For additional information, see the Bitcoin disclosures.
Shopify: Stop waiting for permission to build something. Your next revenue stream starts for free at shopify.com/beginners
Turn your passion into profit, connect directly with eager buyers, and grow your business by hosting live, interactive auctions at https://whatnot.com/sell
Supercharge your productivity and automate your daily tasks by building custom AI agents in your all-in-one workspace at https://notion.com/investing
The Perfect Jean makes insanely comfortable, great-fitting jeans you can wear all day—check them out at theperfectjean.nyc.
Function Health helps you get ahead of your health with comprehensive lab testing and clear, actionable insights—learn more at functionhealth.com.
Interested in how your company sponsor the show? Reach us at equity@einvestingforbeginners.com
SUBSCRIBE TO THE SHOW Apple | Spotify | YouTube | Amazon | Tunein
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| Path to Confidence: Stop Chasing the Market and Pick Your Lane | 10 Sep 2026 | 01:06:57 | |
In Part 1 of the "Path to Confidence" series, Stephen Morris and Andrew Sather tackle a critical lesson for beginner investors: you must know what game you are playing to avoid gambling away your money. The hosts break down key investor archetypes—from hands-off 401(k) "set-it-and-forget-it" investors to broad-market index/ETF purists—exploring the pros, cons, and tax strategies behind each path.
Moving beyond passive strategies, Stephen and Andrew analyze the realities of physical real estate versus REITs, alongside the mental grit required to succeed as an individual stock picker. The episode wraps up with a concrete action step: identify your investor archetype, write it down, and use it to confidently filter out any financial media noise that doesn't fit your personal game plan.
What You Will Learn
How to identify your specific investor archetype so you stop playing the wrong financial game and focus on your strengths.
The key pros, cons, and tax strategies of 401(k)s, Roth IRAs, and low-cost index ETFs.
The truth about real estate investing, comparing the heavy debt and hands-on labor of physical property to the passive simplicity of REITs.
The mental grit required for stock picking, and why long-term fundamental investing beats high-stress day trading every time.
A simple, 1-step action item to filter out distracting financial media noise and stay completely confident in your strategy.
Timestamps
02:15 – Introducing the "Path to Confidence" Series
03:30 – Archetype 1: The 401(k) "Set It & Forget It" Investor
04:30 – Pros & Cons of Employer-Sponsored 401(k) Plans
07:15 – Strategy Breakdown: 401(k) Match vs. Roth IRA
09:20 – Archetype 2: The Index Fund & ETF Purist
11:20 – Why ETFs Are the Safest Learning Ground for Beginners
12:55 – Archetype 3: Real Estate (Is Your Primary Home an Investment?)
15:10 – The Reality of Physical Real Estate: Leverage, Labor & Debt Risks
19:37 – REITs: The Truly Passive Alternative to Property Management
29:13 – Archetype 4: The Stock Picker Mindset & Mental Toughness
49:50 – Archetype 5: Trader vs. Investor (Day Trading Risks vs. Compounding)
58:10 – The Action Step: Your Sticky Note Assignment & Filtering Media Noise
Resources Mentioned
The Value Spotlight Newsletter: https://einvestingforbeginners.com/value-spotlight-newsletter/
Have questions or want your story featured? Email the show at newsletter@einvestingforbeginners.com or comment below. Your feedback shapes the podcast!
Remember, invest with a margin of safety—emphasis on the safety. Have a great week, and we’ll talk to you next time.
Timestamps are generated by artificial intelligence, and are not 100% accurate depending on the platform used for listening.
Today’s show is sponsored by:
Download Cash App Today: https://click.cash.app/ui6m/0th4z72y #CashAppPod As a Cash App partner, I may earn a commission when you sign up for a Cash App account. Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App’s bank partner(s). Bitcoin services provided by Block, Inc. For additional information, see the Bitcoin disclosures.
Shopify: Stop waiting for permission to build something. Your next revenue stream starts for free at shopify.com/beginners
Turn your passion into profit, connect directly with eager buyers, and grow your business by hosting live, interactive auctions at https://whatnot.com/sell
Supercharge your productivity and automate your daily tasks by building custom AI agents in your all-in-one workspace at https://notion.com/investing
The Perfect Jean makes insanely comfortable, great-fitting jeans you can wear all day—check them out at theperfectjean.nyc.
Function Health helps you get ahead of your health with comprehensive lab testing and clear, actionable insights—learn more at functionhealth.com.
Interested in how your company sponsor the show? Reach us at equity@einvestingforbeginners.com
SUBSCRIBE TO THE SHOW Apple | Spotify | YouTube | Amazon | Tunein
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| AAR66 - Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? | 08 Sep 2026 | 01:00:11 | |
In this special game-show episode of At Any Rate, Evan puts Andrew in the hot seat for a 15-question financial trivia challenge. From guessing 2026 401(k) contribution limits and average new car prices to exposing credit card score myths and gym membership waste, the guys test how well real-world finance metrics match consumer intuition.
Whether you're playing along in the car or looking to sanity-check your own budget, this episode combines surprising macroeconomic statistics with practical behavioral advice on managing debt, bonuses, and grocery budgets.
What You Will Learn
U.S. Credit Score Reality: Why the average American credit score (740) is significantly higher than most consumers assume.
Bear Market Horizons: Why the average bear market lasts only 9.6 months and how "recency bias" tricks investors into staying on the sidelines.
Credit Card Debt Myths: Why 48% of Americans carry a monthly balance—and why carrying debt does not improve your credit score.
The Cost of Driving: How new car prices ($49,000) have pushed average loan terms to a staggering 69 months.
The 60/40 Bonus Rule: How to enjoy workplace bonuses without blowing your long-term savings goals.
Stock Market Non-Participation: Why 38% of Americans hold zero stock investments and how to overcome financial paralysis.
Timestamps
0:00 – Game Show Intro & Rules: Who Wants to Be a Financial Millionaire?
3:42 – Tier 1: Average Credit Scores & 401(k) Contribution Limits ($24,500)
8:27 – New Car Price Realities ($49,000) & Average Credit Card Debt ($7,000)
12:55 – Bear Market Historical Length (9.6 Months) vs. Recency Bias
17:35 – Housing Market Leverage: Total Real Estate Value vs. U.S. GDP (4x)
19:11 – Tier 2: Emergency Savings Deficits (30% with $0 in Savings)
27:32 – Gym Membership Waste (67% Unused) & Wedding Costs ($34,200)
31:32 – Credit Card Myths: Why Carrying a Balance Does NOT Improve Credit
34:42 – Tier 3: New Car Loan Terms (69 Months) & Median U.S. Bonuses ($1,700)
40:47 – How to Manage Bonuses: The 60/40 Spending & Savings Rule
43:00 – Monthly Gas Costs ($200) vs. EV Charging Efficiency ($45/mo)
44:35 – Average Grocery Bills ($400/mo) & Luxury Grocery Markups
46:37 – Moneyball Question: Stock Market Non-Participation (38%) & Crypto/Gambling Traps
51:47 – Overcoming Financial Hopelessness: Building Habits & Incremental Progress
55:35 – Final Score
Resources Mentioned
The Value Spotlight Newsletter: https://einvestingforbeginners.com/value-spotlight-newsletter/
Free monthly budgeting spreadsheet: https://einvestingforbeginners.com/budget/
Email Evan: evan@einvestingforbeginners.com
Have questions or want your story featured? Email the show at newsletter@einvestingforbeginners.com or comment below. Your feedback shapes the podcast!
Remember, financial freedom is built one smart move at a time. Keep it simple, keep it steady, and at any rate, we’ll see you next time.
Timestamps are generated by artificial intelligence, and are not 100% accurate depending on the platform used for listening.
Today’s show is sponsored by:
Download the Plynk app today to start building your investing confidence. https://plynkinvest.app.link/IFBpodcast
Download Cash App Today: https://click.cash.app/ui6m/0th4z72y #CashAppPod As a Cash App partner, I may earn a commission when you sign up for a Cash App account. Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App’s bank partner(s). Bitcoin services provided by Block, Inc. For additional information, see the Bitcoin disclosures.
Shopify: Stop waiting for permission to build something. Your next revenue stream starts for free at shopify.com/beginners
Upgrade your wardrobe with Quince to get high-quality, luxury essentials at a fraction of the cost by visiting https://quince.com/beginners
Turn your passion into profit, connect directly with eager buyers, and grow your business by hosting live, interactive auctions at https://whatnot.com/sell
Supercharge your productivity and automate your daily tasks by building custom AI agents in your all-in-one workspace at https://notion.com/investing
Interested in how your company sponsor the show? Reach us at equity@einvestingforbeginners.com
SUBSCRIBE TO THE SHOW Apple | Spotify | YouTube | Amazon | Tunein
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| The First Metric Every Investor Must Check Before Buying | 07 Sep 2026 | 00:48:08 | |
When analyzing a stock for the first time, retail investors often get blinded by stock price charts, flashy marketing, or news headlines. But if you want to know whether a business is actually compounding value, you have to look at the top line: Revenue Growth. In this episode, Stephen and Andrew break down the fundamental starting point for analyzing any stock, why top-line growth drives long-term earnings per share (EPS), and how to use base rates to spot unrealistic hypergrowth traps before they wreck your portfolio.
What You Will Learn
The Revenue-to-Price Pipeline: Why McKinsey and Peter Lynch studies prove that revenue growth is the ultimate driver of long-term stock returns.
EPS vs. Stock Price: Why a $20 stock can actually be significantly more expensive than a $500 stock.
The Limit of Cost Cutting: Why companies cannot cost-cut their way to compounding returns—and why profit margins hit a hard ceiling.
The Skewed Data Trap: How single-year anomalies, cyclical spikes, and M&A activity ruin 3- and 5-year screener averages.
The 4%–6% Base Rate Baseline: Michael Mauboussin’s research on real-world corporate growth rates and why expecting 20%+ annual growth forever is a mathematical delusion.
Timestamps
00:00:00 — The Fundamental Starting Point: Why top-line revenue growth is step #1 for stock analysis
00:00:45 — EPS vs. Stock Price: Dissecting valuation so you don't confuse share price with company value
00:04:47 — Revenue Growth vs. Cost Cutting: The mathematical limit of profit margins
00:07:50 — Percentages Over Headline Dollars: Evaluating small caps vs. mega-caps objectively
00:09:32 — The Skewed Data Trap: How one-time events and M&A distort multi-year growth metrics
00:11:57 — Michael Mauboussin Base Rates: Why 4%–6% revenue growth is the true economic baseline
00:14:52 — Valuation Meets Growth: P/E ratios as "duct tape" and revenue growth as "WD-40"
00:20:17 — The Hypergrowth Trap: Why 30%+ annual growth almost always reverts to the mean
00:25:17 — The 7%–15% Sweet Spot: Identifying sustainable compounders without taking extreme risk
00:29:57 — Value Re-Rating & Dividends: How mature businesses like Coca-Cola compound wealth quietly
00:36:42 — Practical Stock Screening: How to set up multiple screens to catch ideas without falling for traps
Resources Mentioned
The Value Spotlight Newsletter: https://einvestingforbeginners.com/value-spotlight-newsletter/
Have questions or want your story featured? Email the show at newsletter@einvestingforbeginners.com or comment below. Your feedback shapes the podcast!
Remember, invest with a margin of safety—emphasis on the safety. Have a great week, and we’ll talk to you next time.
Timestamps are generated by artificial intelligence, and are not 100% accurate depending on the platform used for listening.
Today’s show is sponsored by:
Download Cash App Today: https://click.cash.app/ui6m/0th4z72y #CashAppPod As a Cash App partner, I may earn a commission when you sign up for a Cash App account. Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App’s bank partner(s). Bitcoin services provided by Block, Inc. For additional information, see the Bitcoin disclosures.
Shopify: Stop waiting for permission to build something. Your next revenue stream starts for free at shopify.com/beginners
Turn your passion into profit, connect directly with eager buyers, and grow your business by hosting live, interactive auctions at https://whatnot.com/sell
Supercharge your productivity and automate your daily tasks by building custom AI agents in your all-in-one workspace at https://notion.com/investing
The Perfect Jean makes insanely comfortable, great-fitting jeans you can wear all day—check them out at theperfectjean.nyc.
Function Health helps you get ahead of your health with comprehensive lab testing and clear, actionable insights—learn more at functionhealth.com.
Interested in how your company sponsor the show? Reach us at equity@einvestingforbeginners.com
SUBSCRIBE TO THE SHOW Apple | Spotify | YouTube | Amazon | Tunein
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| Is NVIDIA’s High-Margin Machine Sustainable? | 03 Sep 2026 | 00:51:27 | |
NVIDIA is currently pulling off something unprecedented in financial history: posting startup-like revenue growth (+126% in 2024 and +114% in 2025) while sitting at a massive $4 trillion valuation. Mainstream media treats this hyper-growth as an unstoppable tech miracle, but history shows that every infrastructure CapEx boom eventually faces physical and economic boundaries. In this episode, Stephen and Andrew look under NVIDIA's hood to examine whether its fabless business model and CUDA software lock-in justify its valuation, or if Big Tech is caught in a classic, 19th-century-style CapEx bubble.
What You Will Learn
The Fabless Margin Advantage: How NVIDIA commands software-like profit margins by outsourcing heavy semiconductor manufacturing to TSMC.
The 1873 Railroad Parallel: What the 19th-century infrastructure boom teaches us about today's $800 billion Big Tech AI CapEx race.
CUDA’s Unbreakable Moat: How proprietary software ecosystem lock-in keeps hyperscalers dependent on NVIDIA GPUs instead of switching to AMD.
The Memory Oligopoly Bottleneck: How Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron squeeze hardware buyers and drive up data center costs across the tech sector.
Broadcom vs. Qualcomm: Why two similar chipmakers diverged by 10x in market cap over a decade, and what it reveals about semiconductor stock picking.
Timestamps
00:00:00 — NVIDIA’s Startup Growth at Scale: Auditing +126% revenue growth on a $4T valuation
00:02:12 — Forward P/E vs. Trailing P/E: What Wall Street is pricing into NVIDIA’s next 4 quarters
00:05:42 — CPU vs. GPU Revolution: How parallel computing allowed NVIDIA to dethrone Intel
00:08:06 — The Fabless Model: Why chip design yields software-like margins without factory overhead
00:12:32 — The Zero-Marginal-Cost Trap: Anthropic and OpenAI’s explosive revenue run-rates
00:14:12 — The Memory Oligopoly: How Micron, SK Hynix, and Samsung exercise extreme pricing power
00:15:54 — Single Points of Failure: NVIDIA’s total supply-chain reliance on TSMC and ASML
00:19:20 — Historical CapEx Cycles: Comparing today's Big Tech AI spend to the 1873 Railroad Bubble
00:25:40 — AI ROI Reality Check: Agentic coding, enterprise adoption, and "AI slop" quality risks
00:41:06 — Analyzing NVIDIA as a Beginner: Untempered enthusiasm vs. demanding a margin of safety
00:44:50 — Broadcom vs. Qualcomm: How two semiconductor peers diverged by 10x in ten years
Resources Mentioned
The Value Spotlight Newsletter: https://einvestingforbeginners.com/value-spotlight-newsletter/
Have questions or want your story featured? Email the show at newsletter@einvestingforbeginners.com or comment below. Your feedback shapes the podcast!
Remember, invest with a margin of safety—emphasis on the safety. Have a great week, and we’ll talk to you next time.
Timestamps are generated by artificial intelligence, and are not 100% accurate depending on the platform used for listening.
Today’s show is sponsored by:
Download Cash App Today: https://click.cash.app/ui6m/0th4z72y #CashAppPod As a Cash App partner, I may earn a commission when you sign up for a Cash App account. Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App’s bank partner(s). Bitcoin services provided by Block, Inc. For additional information, see the Bitcoin disclosures.
Shopify: Stop waiting for permission to build something. Your next revenue stream starts for free at shopify.com/beginners
Turn your passion into profit, connect directly with eager buyers, and grow your business by hosting live, interactive auctions at https://whatnot.com/sell
Supercharge your productivity and automate your daily tasks by building custom AI agents in your all-in-one workspace at https://notion.com/investing
The Perfect Jean makes insanely comfortable, great-fitting jeans you can wear all day—check them out at theperfectjean.nyc.
Function Health helps you get ahead of your health with comprehensive lab testing and clear, actionable insights—learn more at functionhealth.com.
Interested in how your company sponsor the show? Reach us at equity@einvestingforbeginners.com
SUBSCRIBE TO THE SHOW Apple | Spotify | YouTube | Amazon | Tunein
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| AAR65 - Where Are People Wasting Money? | 01 Sep 2026 | 00:54:19 | |
Are you accidentally throwing money down the drain without realizing it? In this episode of At Any Rate, Evan and Andrew break down five sneaky financial missteps that cause people to waste cash—from point-of-sale financing traps to unneeded consumer upgrades and stagnant checking accounts.
Instead of shaming bad spending habits, the guys share honest personal realizations (including Evan’s eye-opening look at phone installment plans) and provide simple, actionable systems like sinking funds and "output-based purchasing" to keep your finances on track without sacrificing the things you love.
What You Will Learn
The Buy Now, Pay Later Trap: Why financing small purchases like concert tickets, couches, and plane tickets wrecks your long-term cash flow.
Sinking Funds vs. Debt: How setting aside dedicated cash pools lets you spend guilt-free on furniture, trips, and holidays.
Misstep 2: Unneeded Upgrades: How to evaluate upgrades using "output-based purchasing" to stop overspending on new iPhones, flights, and car packages.
Stagnant Cash Loss: The true opportunity cost of keeping your emergency fund in a default checking account versus a High-Yield Savings Account (HYSA).
Thoughtful Gifting vs. Overspending: How to express care without going into debt on holiday gifts or expensive jewelry.
Hobby Management: Why stepping up through entry-level equipment (from coffee grinders to guitars) brings more joy and value than buying top-of-the-line gear upfront.
Timestamps
0:00 – Identifying Silent Wealth Killers
1:52 – Misstep 1: Financing Small Purchases (BNPL, Concerts & Couches)
5:29 – Using Sinking Funds to Stop Debt Spirals
8:49 – Misstep 2: Upgrades You Don't Need (iPhones, Flights & Car Packages)
13:24 – Output-Based Purchasing: How to Justify Lifestyle Upgrades
21:19 – Misstep 3: Piling Cash in Stagnant Accounts
25:54 – The Power of HYSAs for Down Payments & Emergency Cash
28:27 – Misstep 4: Overspending on Gifts (Thoughtfulness vs. Price Tags)
33:03 – Handling Budget Mistakes & Planning for Holiday Spending
37:59 – Misstep 5: The Expense of Hobbies (Guitars, PCs, and $3,500 Coffee Setups)
48:34 – The Coffee Grinder Lesson: Why You Shouldn't Buy Top-of-the-Line Immediately
Resources Mentioned
The Value Spotlight Newsletter: https://einvestingforbeginners.com/value-spotlight-newsletter/
Free monthly budgeting spreadsheet: https://einvestingforbeginners.com/budget/
Email Evan: evan@einvestingforbeginners.com
Have questions or want your story featured? Email the show at newsletter@einvestingforbeginners.com or comment below. Your feedback shapes the podcast!
Remember, financial freedom is built one smart move at a time. Keep it simple, keep it steady, and at any rate, we’ll see you next time.
Timestamps are generated by artificial intelligence, and are not 100% accurate depending on the platform used for listening.
Today’s show is sponsored by:
Download Cash App Today: https://click.cash.app/ui6m/0th4z72y #CashAppPod As a Cash App partner, I may earn a commission when you sign up for a Cash App account. Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App’s bank partner(s). Bitcoin services provided by Block, Inc. For additional information, see the Bitcoin disclosures.
Shopify: Stop waiting for permission to build something. Your next revenue stream starts for free at shopify.com/beginners
Upgrade your wardrobe with Quince to get high-quality, luxury essentials at a fraction of the cost by visiting https://quince.com/beginners
Turn your passion into profit, connect directly with eager buyers, and grow your business by hosting live, interactive auctions at https://whatnot.com/sell
Supercharge your productivity and automate your daily tasks by building custom AI agents in your all-in-one workspace at https://notion.com/investing
Interested in how your company sponsor the show? Reach us at equity@einvestingforbeginners.com
SUBSCRIBE TO THE SHOW Apple | Spotify | YouTube | Amazon | Tunein
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| How to Get 9% Returns with Half the Market Volatility | 31 Aug 2026 | 00:39:46 | |
Mainstream financial media tells investors that the only way to build long-term wealth is to throw 100% of their money into index funds and hold on for dear life. But when the market crashes and portfolios get cut in half, human psychology kicks in, and retail investors almost always panic-sell at the exact wrong time. In this episode, Stephen sits down with contrarian market veteran Jared Dillian to dissect the psychological flaws of traditional indexing and break down the "Awesome Portfolio"—a stress-free, 5-asset allocation strategy designed to deliver near-market returns with a fraction of the drawdowns.
What You Will Learn
The Indexing Trap: Why holding an S&P 500 index fund exposes your entire net worth to crippling 50% drawdowns (and why most humans can't handle it).
The Finnish IQ Study: How military data from Finland proves that "smarter" investors outperform the market simply through disciplined market timing and risk control.
The "Giffen Good" Paradox: Why investors irrationally hate cheap assets (like 5% yielding bonds) but blindly pile into expensive, over-hyped tech stocks.
The 20% Cash Rule: Why holding cash isn't just a safety net—it’s ultimate liquidity for buying distressed assets and capitalizing on rare life opportunities.
Why Crypto Kills Compounding: Why keeping volatile assets like Bitcoin out of your core portfolio protects your Sharpe ratio and prevents emotional checking.
Timestamps
00:01:21 The evolution of market mechanics: From trading fractions on the open-outcry floor to AI algorithms.
00:03:50 Comparing the current AI boom to the 2000 Dot-com bubble (and why today's tech stocks are fundamentally different).
00:04:49 The Bond Market Disconnect: Why investors are ignoring risk-free 5% yields.
00:10:24 The Finnish IQ Study: What administrative data teaches us about market timing and cognitive discipline.
00:12:18 Jared’s Lehman Brothers backstory and surviving a 50% net-worth wipeout in 2008.
00:14:40 Deconstructing the "Awesome Portfolio": VTI, BND, IAU, TBIL, and VNQ.
00:16:34 Why Bitcoin and cryptocurrency are excluded to preserve portfolio peace of mind.
00:19:32 The 3 reasons you must hold cash: Volatility smoothing, 5% yields, and pure optionality.
00:24:15 Breaking the Boglehead Orthodoxy: Why the "all-stocks, all the time" strategy is a behavioral trap.
00:32:08 Debunking extreme personal finance: Why The Millionaire Next Door and Rich Dad Poor Dad give dangerous advice.
Resources Mentioned
The Value Spotlight Newsletter: https://einvestingforbeginners.com/value-spotlight-newsletter/
Have questions or want your story featured? Email the show at newsletter@einvestingforbeginners.com or comment below. Your feedback shapes the podcast!
Remember, invest with a margin of safety—emphasis on the safety. Have a great week, and we’ll talk to you next time.
Timestamps are generated by artificial intelligence, and are not 100% accurate depending on the platform used for listening.
Today’s show is sponsored by:
Download Cash App Today: https://click.cash.app/ui6m/0th4z72y #CashAppPod As a Cash App partner, I may earn a commission when you sign up for a Cash App account. Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App’s bank partner(s). Bitcoin services provided by Block, Inc. For additional information, see the Bitcoin disclosures.
Shopify: Stop waiting for permission to build something. Your next revenue stream starts for free at shopify.com/beginners
Turn your passion into profit, connect directly with eager buyers, and grow your business by hosting live, interactive auctions at https://whatnot.com/sell
Supercharge your productivity and automate your daily tasks by building custom AI agents in your all-in-one workspace at https://notion.com/investing
The Perfect Jean makes insanely comfortable, great-fitting jeans you can wear all day—check them out at theperfectjean.nyc.
Function Health helps you get ahead of your health with comprehensive lab testing and clear, actionable insights—learn more at functionhealth.com.
Interested in how your company sponsor the show? Reach us at equity@einvestingforbeginners.com
SUBSCRIBE TO THE SHOW Apple | Spotify | YouTube | Amazon | Tunein
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| Dissecting Capital One, Netflix, and Wall Street's Favorite Metrics | 27 Aug 2026 | 00:49:47 | |
It’s tempting to fire up a stock screener, sort by top-line revenue growth, and assume you’ve just uncovered a goldmine of breakout stocks. But when a legacy credit card company suddenly posts triple-digit growth, it’s rarely an economic miracle—it’s an accounting illusion. In this episode, we run a live revenue breakout screen to show exactly how Wall Street numbers lie, why corporate acquisitions distort financial data, and how to protect your capital from manufactured hype.
What You Will Learn
Why record revenue is a trap: How Capital One’s sudden 102% growth rate exposes the danger of using unadjusted, raw stock screeners.
The M&A growth illusion: Why buying a competitor (like the Discover acquisition) temporarily breaks year-over-year financial comparisons and tricks retail investors.
The Forward P/E warning sign: Why Netflix looks cheap based on past earnings but expensive when you factor in Wall Street's expectation of shrinking margins.
The "Dictator CEO" red flag: How to use proxy statements to spot concentrated voting power and shareholder lawsuits, using AppLovin as the prime example.
Ignoring the macro noise: Why trying to time market tops using bank stocks (Morgan Stanley, BlackRock) is a losing game for long-term investors.
Timestamps
00:01:59 The Revenue Breakout Screen: Filtering for 1-year growth beating 3- and 5-year averages
00:05:08 The Capital One (COF) Illusion: Why a 102% growth rate isn't what it seems
00:08:15 Bank Stocks and Macro Narratives: Can we predict the economy using Citigroup or Bank of America?
00:18:40 Unpacking Capital One’s acquisition of Discover and how buyouts skew financial metrics
00:24:42 The AppLovin (APP) dilemma: High growth vs. extreme executive control and shareholder lawsuits
00:35:35 Netflix (NFLX) and Valuation: Using Forward P/E to predict shrinking profit margins
00:37:00 Founder Departures: Why a CEO stepping down isn't always a reason to panic
00:43:00 Morgan Stanley & BlackRock: Do booming investment banks signal a market top?
00:48:10 Tuning out the media: Why long-term investors must ignore macroeconomic fear-mongering
Resources Mentioned
The Value Spotlight Newsletter: https://einvestingforbeginners.com/value-spotlight-newsletter/
Have questions or want your story featured? Email the show at newsletter@einvestingforbeginners.com or comment below. Your feedback shapes the podcast!
Remember, invest with a margin of safety—emphasis on the safety. Have a great week, and we’ll talk to you next time.
Timestamps are generated by artificial intelligence, and are not 100% accurate depending on the platform used for listening.
Today’s show is sponsored by:
Download Cash App Today: https://click.cash.app/ui6m/0th4z72y #CashAppPod As a Cash App partner, I may earn a commission when you sign up for a Cash App account. Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App’s bank partner(s). Bitcoin services provided by Block, Inc. For additional information, see the Bitcoin disclosures.
Shopify: Stop waiting for permission to build something. Your next revenue stream starts for free at shopify.com/beginners
Turn your passion into profit, connect directly with eager buyers, and grow your business by hosting live, interactive auctions at https://whatnot.com/sell
Supercharge your productivity and automate your daily tasks by building custom AI agents in your all-in-one workspace at https://notion.com/investing
The Perfect Jean makes insanely comfortable, great-fitting jeans you can wear all day—check them out at theperfectjean.nyc.
Function Health helps you get ahead of your health with comprehensive lab testing and clear, actionable insights—learn more at functionhealth.com.
Interested in how your company sponsor the show? Reach us at equity@einvestingforbeginners.com
SUBSCRIBE TO THE SHOW Apple | Spotify | YouTube | Amazon | Tunein
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| AAR64 - The Personal Finance Time Machine | 25 Aug 2026 | 01:00:20 | |
What advice would you give your 22-year-old self if you found a DeLorean in your driveway? In this episode of At Any Rate, Evan and Andrew look back at their early 20s to unpack what actually matters when transitioning from school into the real world.
From managing the overwhelming urge to hit every financial milestone at once, to unlocking the true power of compound interest and dismantling the exhausting trend of "over-optimizing" every area of life, the guys share honest reflections on money, career expectations, and building habits that actually last.
What You Will Learn
Overcoming Milestone Anxiety: Why rushing to buy a house, pay off all debt, and max out accounts simultaneously leads to early burnout.
The "Sunday Reset" & Habit Design: How intentionally setting smaller, manageable goals builds long-term consistency over short-term intensity.
Demystifying Stock Market Hype: Why building wealth doesn't require a master's degree in math or chasing viral social media trends.
The Power of Compound Interest: Why visual charts and compound calculators are the ultimate tools for early-20s financial motivation.
Reframing Retirement: How investing in a Roth IRA or 401(k) at age 22 builds the exact mindset required to generate active wealth.
Un-Optimizing Life: Why constant social media optimization ruins the enjoyment of fitness, hobbies, and personal finance.
Timestamps
0:00 – Advice to Our 22-Year-Old Selves
4:38 – Personal Finance: Overcoming Early-20s Impatience & The Milestones Trap
11:32 – Managing Burnout: The Sunday Reset & Setting Realistic Financial "Whys"
18:53 – Investing: Demystifying Stock Picking & Visualizing Compound Growth
22:15 – Core Reading List: The Millionaire Next Door, Psychology of Money, Atomic Habits
29:15 – Retirement: Reframing 401(k)s, Roth IRAs & Funding Your "Future Self"
35:48 – Habit Consistency: Using a "Margin of Safety" to Prevent Burnout
40:37 – Career: Managing Salary Expectations & The Compounding Value of Work Ethic
45:44 – What We Wouldn't Listen To: Over-Optimization Fatigue & "Eating Humble Pie"
Resources Mentioned
The Value Spotlight Newsletter: https://einvestingforbeginners.com/value-spotlight-newsletter/
Free monthly budgeting spreadsheet: https://einvestingforbeginners.com/budget/
Email Evan: evan@einvestingforbeginners.com
Have questions or want your story featured? Email the show at newsletter@einvestingforbeginners.com or comment below. Your feedback shapes the podcast!
Remember, financial freedom is built one smart move at a time. Keep it simple, keep it steady, and at any rate, we’ll see you next time.
Timestamps are generated by artificial intelligence, and are not 100% accurate depending on the platform used for listening.
Today’s show is sponsored by:
Download Cash App Today: https://click.cash.app/ui6m/0th4z72y #CashAppPod As a Cash App partner, I may earn a commission when you sign up for a Cash App account. Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App’s bank partner(s). Bitcoin services provided by Block, Inc. For additional information, see the Bitcoin disclosures.
Shopify: Stop waiting for permission to build something. Your next revenue stream starts for free at shopify.com/beginners
Upgrade your wardrobe with Quince to get high-quality, luxury essentials at a fraction of the cost by visiting https://quince.com/beginners
Turn your passion into profit, connect directly with eager buyers, and grow your business by hosting live, interactive auctions at https://whatnot.com/sell
Supercharge your productivity and automate your daily tasks by building custom AI agents in your all-in-one workspace at https://notion.com/investing
Interested in how your company sponsor the show? Reach us at equity@einvestingforbeginners.com
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| AI, Space, and Defense: Separating Hype from True Moats | 24 Aug 2026 | 01:08:05 | |
Wall Street loves a good sci-fi narrative. Between artificial intelligence, private space exploration, and next-generation defense tech, it is incredibly easy to get swept up in the stories these companies sell. But stories don’t pay dividends, and media hype doesn't fund capital expenditures. In this episode, Andrew and Stephen put the market's most futuristic sectors to the test, tier-ranking individual stocks based on fundamental safety, capital efficiency, and realistic valuations rather than promises of a utopian future.
What You Will Learn
The AI "Too Hard" Pile: Why highly anticipated IPOs like OpenAI and Anthropic are currently uninvestable traps for value seekers.
The $1.4 Trillion SpaceX Dilemma: Why possessing an absolute monopoly in space still doesn't justify a blind, hype-driven IPO purchase.
Why General Dynamics dominates the battlefield: The hidden technological innovations (like multi-tier targeting and anti-friendly-fire HUDs) that cement GD as a government necessity.
The Danger of Private Military Contractors (PMCs): Why Palantir (PLTR) was completely disqualified from the defense contractor rankings.
The ROIC Defense Test: Why Lockheed Martin’s pure capital efficiency completely outclasses acquisition-heavy competitors like RTX and L3Harris.
Timestamps
00:00:00 Tier ranking the market's most hyped sectors
00:05:01 AI Rankings: Semiconductors vs. Hyperscalers (TSMC, ASML, Big Tech)
00:15:24 The Google Debate: Why GOOGL offers the ultimate margin of safety in AI
00:24:48 The Billionaire's Secret: Saying "no" to hype and avoiding IPO traps
00:33:41 The Space Sector: Why defense giants offer a safer route than pure-play space stocks
00:38:15 SpaceX's Moat: Evaluating Elon Musk's ambitious $100B revenue run-rate goal
00:47:20 Defense Sector Rankings: Disqualifying Palantir and putting Boeing in the "too hard" pile
00:54:20 Capital Efficiency: Breaking down ROIC across the major defense contractors
00:58:05 Final Rankings: General Dynamics vs. Northrop Grumman vs. Lockheed Martin
Resources Mentioned
The Value Spotlight Newsletter: https://einvestingforbeginners.com/value-spotlight-newsletter/
Have questions or want your story featured? Email the show at newsletter@einvestingforbeginners.com or comment below. Your feedback shapes the podcast!
Remember, invest with a margin of safety—emphasis on the safety. Have a great week, and we’ll talk to you next time.
Timestamps are generated by artificial intelligence, and are not 100% accurate depending on the platform used for listening.
Today’s show is sponsored by:
Download Cash App Today: https://click.cash.app/ui6m/0th4z72y #CashAppPod As a Cash App partner, I may earn a commission when you sign up for a Cash App account. Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App’s bank partner(s). Bitcoin services provided by Block, Inc. For additional information, see the Bitcoin disclosures.
Shopify: Stop waiting for permission to build something. Your next revenue stream starts for free at shopify.com/beginners
Turn your passion into profit, connect directly with eager buyers, and grow your business by hosting live, interactive auctions at https://whatnot.com/sell
Supercharge your productivity and automate your daily tasks by building custom AI agents in your all-in-one workspace at https://notion.com/investing
The Perfect Jean makes insanely comfortable, great-fitting jeans you can wear all day—check them out at theperfectjean.nyc.
Function Health helps you get ahead of your health with comprehensive lab testing and clear, actionable insights—learn more at functionhealth.com.
Interested in how your company sponsor the show? Reach us at equity@einvestingforbeginners.com
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Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| The Psychology of Position Sizing | 20 Aug 2026 | 00:42:47 | |
Every investor lives with two competing internal voices: the hyper-optimist who wants to go all-in on an exciting growth story, and the hyper-skeptic who gets paralyzed by uncertainty or cut positions at the first sign of discomfort. Managing these emotional extremes isn't just about discipline—it requires a practical, repeatable framework to audit your portfolio without letting fear or greed make the call. In this episode, Stephen and Andrew break down how to take your emotional temperature, navigate the trap of portfolio indifference, and build systematic guardrails before market volatility makes the decision for you.
What You Will Learn
The "24-Hour Rule" for new ideas: Why forcing a mandatory cooling-off period stops shiny object syndrome from ruining your capital allocation.
Fantasizing vs. Real-World Probability: How to spot the exact moment you start reverse-engineering excuses to sell proven winners for an unproven stock.
The Danger of Portfolio Indifference: Why being completely emotionless can blind you to compounding multi-bagger potential (and make you cut winners too early).
The "Coffee Can Portfolio" Paradox: How doing absolutely nothing frequently outperforms active portfolio management and market timing.
Building a Proactive Monthly Audit: Why writing down a simple pros-and-cons framework eliminates reactive, panic-driven trades.
Timestamps
00:00:00 Managing the two emotional extremes of investing: Over-hyped vs. Hesitant
00:05:36 The "24-Hour Rule": Stopping shiny object syndrome before buying
00:06:45 Recognizing internal red flags: Portfolio fantasizing and premature trimming
00:11:05 Managing stagnant holdings: The Crocs (CROX) & HeyDude acquisition case study
00:15:03 The power of inversion: Finding counter-arguments for stuck or flat positions
00:22:30 The "Coffee Can Portfolio" concept: Why inaction beats active churning
00:26:00 Building a proactive monthly audit checklist to eliminate reactive trades
00:29:40 The hidden risk of total indifference: How cold logic can cut a 100-bagger short
00:37:30 De-pumping hype: Filtering social media excitement vs. fundamental growth
00:40:35 The power of writing it down: Recording thesis notes to audit emotional decisions
Resources Mentioned
The Value Spotlight Newsletter: https://einvestingforbeginners.com/value-spotlight-newsletter/
Have questions or want your story featured? Email the show at newsletter@einvestingforbeginners.com or comment below. Your feedback shapes the podcast!
Remember, invest with a margin of safety—emphasis on the safety. Have a great week, and we’ll talk to you next time.
Timestamps are generated by artificial intelligence, and are not 100% accurate depending on the platform used for listening.
Today’s show is sponsored by:
Download Cash App Today: https://click.cash.app/ui6m/0th4z72y #CashAppPod As a Cash App partner, I may earn a commission when you sign up for a Cash App account. Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App’s bank partner(s). Bitcoin services provided by Block, Inc. For additional information, see the Bitcoin disclosures.
Shopify: Stop waiting for permission to build something. Your next revenue stream starts for free at shopify.com/beginners
Turn your passion into profit, connect directly with eager buyers, and grow your business by hosting live, interactive auctions at https://whatnot.com/sell
Supercharge your productivity and automate your daily tasks by building custom AI agents in your all-in-one workspace at https://notion.com/investing
The Perfect Jean makes insanely comfortable, great-fitting jeans you can wear all day—check them out at theperfectjean.nyc.
Function Health helps you get ahead of your health with comprehensive lab testing and clear, actionable insights—learn more at functionhealth.com.
Interested in how your company sponsor the show? Reach us at equity@einvestingforbeginners.com
SUBSCRIBE TO THE SHOW Apple | Spotify | YouTube | Amazon | Tunein
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| AAR63 - The Bottom Hits - What Most People Miss in Their Finances | 18 Aug 2026 | 00:55:59 | |
We all know the "top hits" of personal finance, but what about the silent wealth killers? In this episode of At Any Rate, Evan and Andrew break down six common financial traps that are incredibly easy to fall into, regardless of your income.
From the dangers of letting your budget rot and relying on sheer willpower, to the sneaky reality of lifestyle creep and the false economy of "buying cheap," the guys unpack the behavioral blind spots holding you back. Plus, Evan shares a recent auto-pay scare that proves why you can never fully take your eyes off your checking account.
What You Will Learn
Budget Stagnation: Why your internal "rule of thumb" for prices is probably lying to you due to inflation, and why you need to adjust your budget 1-2 times a year.
The Stagnant Money Trap: Why keeping all your cash in a single checking account is not only costing you interest, but actively encouraging you to overspend.
The 60/40 Raise Rule: A simple framework for enjoying a salary bump without falling victim to lifestyle creep.
Beating Decision Fatigue: Why relying on financial willpower is a losing game, and how to automate your savings out of sight.
The Sinking Fund Solution: How to use dedicated savings buckets (like SoFi Vaults) to cover unexpected credit card spikes without draining your checking account.
Frugal vs. Frivolous: Why spending up for quality is often cheaper in the long run than buying bargain-bin items that break.
Timestamps
0:00 – The Concept of "Bottom Hits"
3:23 – Trap 1: Not Adjusting Over Time (Why mental budgets fail against inflation)
10:04 – How Andrew manages shifting budgets as a self-employed business owner
12:59 – Trap 2: Keeping Money Stagnant in One Place (The checking account trap)
15:55 – Using HYSAs and "Vaults" to protect your money from yourself
21:43 – Trap 3: Not Paying Enough Attention (Evan's IRS auto-pay scare)
26:18 – How sinking funds can save you from credit card statement shock
32:44 – Trap 4: Earn More, Spend More (Combating Lifestyle Creep)
35:58 – Evan's 60/40 Rule for raises, bonuses, and found money
38:40 – Trap 5: Relying on Willpower (Decision fatigue and self-sabotage)
44:06 – The Cash Envelope System vs. Digital Automation
48:30 – Trap 6: Buying Cheap to Save Money (The false economy of cheap goods)
Resources Mentioned
The Value Spotlight Newsletter: https://einvestingforbeginners.com/value-spotlight-newsletter/
Free monthly budgeting spreadsheet: https://einvestingforbeginners.com/budget/
Email Evan: evan@einvestingforbeginners.com
Have questions or want your story featured? Email the show at newsletter@einvestingforbeginners.com or comment below. Your feedback shapes the podcast!
Remember, financial freedom is built one smart move at a time. Keep it simple, keep it steady, and at any rate, we’ll see you next time.
Timestamps are generated by artificial intelligence, and are not 100% accurate depending on the platform used for listening.
Today’s show is sponsored by:
Download the Plynk app today to start building your investing confidence. https://plynkinvest.app.link/IFBpodcast
Download Cash App Today: https://click.cash.app/ui6m/0th4z72y #CashAppPod As a Cash App partner, I may earn a commission when you sign up for a Cash App account. Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App’s bank partner(s). Bitcoin services provided by Block, Inc. For additional information, see the Bitcoin disclosures.
Shopify: Stop waiting for permission to build something. Your next revenue stream starts for free at shopify.com/beginners
Upgrade your wardrobe with Quince to get high-quality, luxury essentials at a fraction of the cost by visiting https://quince.com/beginners
Turn your passion into profit, connect directly with eager buyers, and grow your business by hosting live, interactive auctions at https://whatnot.com/sell
Supercharge your productivity and automate your daily tasks by building custom AI agents in your all-in-one workspace at https://notion.com/investing
Interested in how your company sponsor the show? Reach us at equity@einvestingforbeginners.com
SUBSCRIBE TO THE SHOW Apple | Spotify | YouTube | Amazon | Tunein
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| The Earnings Illusion: How Working Capital Exposes Cash-Burning Companies | 17 Aug 2026 | 00:49:43 | |
A company can post record net income on paper while silently draining its checking account to zero. Mainstream financial media fixates on Wall Street's favorite metric—Earnings Per Share (EPS)—but the true operational health of a business lies in its day-to-day cash flow engine. In this episode, Stephen and Andrew break down the mechanics of Changes in Working Capital to expose how inventory bloat, uncollected revenue, and stretched supplier payments can turn an apparent growth story into a dangerous value trap.
What You Will Learn
Why record earnings can be a lie: How accrual accounting allows cash-starved companies to look highly profitable on paper.
The $10.5 billion OpenAI paper trail: What Microsoft’s explosive Accounts Receivable growth reveals about customer concentration and credit risk.
Why Nike almost choked on its own success: How rapid sales expansion can trap millions in inventory and suffocate operating cash flow.
The Chipotle cash hack: How industry giants turn Accounts Payable into interest-free growth capital.
The 3-step Working Capital Checklist: How to instantly audit a company’s operational efficiency in under five minutes.
Timestamps
00:00:00 Why net income lies and cash flow tells the truth
00:00:43 What is Working Capital? The 30,000-foot checking account analogy
00:03:18 Bucket 1: Accounts Receivable (AR) & customer default risks
00:04:31 Case Study: Microsoft vs. OpenAI ($4B to $10.5B AR explosion)
00:07:22 Case Study: Caterpillar (CAT) & multi-year project revenue recognition
00:11:52 Bucket 2: Inventory bloat & the Target / Walmart post-COVID crash
00:16:12 Understanding the "Breathe In, Breathe Out" working capital cycle
00:20:28 Bucket 3: Accounts Payable (AP) & Chipotle’s supplier power dynamics
00:24:57 Vendor financing: How market leaders get suppliers to fund their expansion
00:29:58 Case Study: Phil Knight’s Shoe Dog & how fast growth can bankrupt a brand
00:30:36 Hidden Gems: How McKesson and Costco generate negative working capital
00:35:12 Warning Signs: How to spot cash burn masked by aggressive growth stories
00:40:38 The 3-Step Investor Checklist: Normalizing Free Cash Flow over 3–10 years
Resources Mentioned
The Value Spotlight Newsletter: https://einvestingforbeginners.com/value-spotlight-newsletter/
Have questions or want your story featured? Email the show at newsletter@einvestingforbeginners.com or comment below. Your feedback shapes the podcast!
Remember, invest with a margin of safety—emphasis on the safety. Have a great week, and we’ll talk to you next time.
Timestamps are generated by artificial intelligence, and are not 100% accurate depending on the platform used for listening.
Today’s show is sponsored by:
Download Cash App Today: https://click.cash.app/ui6m/0th4z72y #CashAppPod As a Cash App partner, I may earn a commission when you sign up for a Cash App account. Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App’s bank partner(s). Bitcoin services provided by Block, Inc. For additional information, see the Bitcoin disclosures.
Shopify: Stop waiting for permission to build something. Your next revenue stream starts for free at shopify.com/beginners
Turn your passion into profit, connect directly with eager buyers, and grow your business by hosting live, interactive auctions at https://whatnot.com/sell
Supercharge your productivity and automate your daily tasks by building custom AI agents in your all-in-one workspace at https://notion.com/investing
The Perfect Jean makes insanely comfortable, great-fitting jeans you can wear all day—check them out at theperfectjean.nyc.
Function Health helps you get ahead of your health with comprehensive lab testing and clear, actionable insights—learn more at functionhealth.com.
Interested in how your company sponsor the show? Reach us at equity@einvestingforbeginners.com
SUBSCRIBE TO THE SHOW Apple | Spotify | YouTube | Amazon | Tunein
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| Accidental Indexing: Why Owning Too Many Stocks Destroys Returns | 13 Aug 2026 | 00:43:36 | |
Most retail investors spend endless hours hunting for the next breakout stock, only to ruin their returns by spreading their capital across dozens of minor positions. Buying too many stocks creates an "accidental index fund," while placing tiny bets on multi-bagger winners renders those gains completely meaningless to your net worth. In this episode, Stephen and Andrew break down the mechanics of position sizing, the danger of chasing speculative moonshots early in your investing journey, and how to construct a focused 10-to-15 stock portfolio built for long-term wealth.
What You Will Learn
The Accidental Index Fund Trap: Why owning 30+ stocks silently dilutes your best stock-picking edge down to benchmark market returns.
The Math Behind Position Sizing: How a 25-stock portfolio caps your portfolio's upside—even when one of your picks doubles.
Risk-Aversion for Beginners: Why new investors with smaller portfolios should focus on conservative compounders before taking high-risk swings.
Evaluating the "Patent Cliff": How analyzing business mechanics (like Zoetis' generic drug competition) reveals when to build or trim position sizes.
Concentration vs. Over-Diversification: How structuring a core portfolio of 10 to 15 high-conviction holdings balances safety with life-changing outperformance.
Timestamps
00:01:14 Introduction: The psychological trap of buying "just a few more shares"
00:02:40 The "Costco Regret": Why tiny position sizes make big winners inconsequential
00:06:00 Caterpillar (CAT) Case Study: Balancing conservative moats with innovation upside
00:11:50 Speculative Tech vs. Capital Preservation: The "Beta Technologies" case study
00:15:15 Why beginners should remain risk-averse until reaching critical portfolio scale
00:20:20 Portfolio Construction: Transitioning from lump-sum allocation to 10–15 core holdings
00:25:05 Managing bad news: How to handle temporary headlines vs. structural thesis breaks
00:28:45 The Math of Over-Diversification: Why 25+ stock portfolios cap your wealth creation
00:32:00 Zoetis (ZTS) Case Study: Navigating patent cliffs and loading up on quality dips
Resources Mentioned
The Value Spotlight Newsletter: https://einvestingforbeginners.com/value-spotlight-newsletter/
Have questions or want your story featured? Email the show at newsletter@einvestingforbeginners.com or comment below. Your feedback shapes the podcast!
Remember, invest with a margin of safety—emphasis on the safety. Have a great week, and we’ll talk to you next time.
Timestamps are generated by artificial intelligence, and are not 100% accurate depending on the platform used for listening.
Today’s show is sponsored by:
Download Cash App Today: https://click.cash.app/ui6m/0th4z72y #CashAppPod As a Cash App partner, I may earn a commission when you sign up for a Cash App account. Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App’s bank partner(s). Bitcoin services provided by Block, Inc. For additional information, see the Bitcoin disclosures.
Shopify: Stop waiting for permission to build something. Your next revenue stream starts for free at shopify.com/beginners
Turn your passion into profit, connect directly with eager buyers, and grow your business by hosting live, interactive auctions at https://whatnot.com/sell
Supercharge your productivity and automate your daily tasks by building custom AI agents in your all-in-one workspace at https://notion.com/investing
The Perfect Jean makes insanely comfortable, great-fitting jeans you can wear all day—check them out at theperfectjean.nyc.
Function Health helps you get ahead of your health with comprehensive lab testing and clear, actionable insights—learn more at functionhealth.com.
Interested in how your company sponsor the show? Reach us at equity@einvestingforbeginners.com
SUBSCRIBE TO THE SHOW Apple | Spotify | YouTube | Amazon | Tunein
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| AAR62 - Homeownership Progress Update | 11 Aug 2026 | 00:45:48 | |
It has officially been one year since Evan and his wife purchased their first home at 27 years old. In this solo episode of At Any Rate, Evan takes a transparent look at how the finances, lifestyle changes, and hidden expenses have actually played out over the past 12 months.
From navigating Florida's home insurance landscape and new-build tax perks to dealing with $2,200 shower door quotes and managing property tax reassessments, this episode breaks down what went according to plan, what came out cheaper than expected, and what unexpected mental loads every homeowner should prepare for.
What You Will Learn
The 55/45 Housing Rule: Why your fixed mortgage payment is only roughly half of your actual monthly housing outlay.
The Unimproved Land Tax Perk: How buying a new build creates a temporary tax grace period—and how to use a High-Yield Savings Account (HYSA) to prepare for the reassessment lump sum.
New Build vs. Existing Home Insurance: Why modern hurricane codes, double-pane windows, and attic insulation can save you thousands on annual insurance and utility bills.
The 11-Month Warranty Inspection: The essential step every new-construction owner must take before their builder warranty expires.
Managing Upgrade Price Volatility: How to budget for unpredictable contractor quotes, from lanai screening to garage floor epoxy.
Avoiding the "House Poor" Trap: Why line-item spreadsheet budgeting is a mandatory tool for tracking variable overhead stack.
Timestamps
0:00 – Year Homeownership Update
1:04 – Reflections on First-Time Homeownership at 27 & The Purpose of Building Wealth
3:29 – Location, Square Footage & The Lifestyle Value of Personal Space
7:52 – First-Year Home Upgrades: Lanai Screening, Epoxy Floors & EV Charger Setup
11:30 – The 11-Month Builder Warranty Inspection: Catching Issues Before Expiration
14:12 – The Purchasing Process & Working with Lenders vs. Sales Agents
17:56 – Mortgage Reality: Fixed Payments vs. Variable Monthly Expenses
19:28 – The "Unimproved Land" Tax Effect & Receiving an Escrow Refund
20:48 – Home Insurance in Florida: Code Upgrades, Wind Mitigation & Flood Insurance
24:29 – Energy & Utility Efficiency: double-pane Windows & Insulation Savings
25:45 – The Shift from Renting to Managing Multiple Expense Line Items
28:34 – Mental Load & Tracking Moving Parts to Avoid Becoming "House Poor"
32:04 – Home Upgrade Volatility: $2,200 Shower Doors vs. $1,200 Screened Lanais
33:44 – Emotional Overhead: Hurricane Preparedness & Lack of Historical Lot Data
37:04 – Florida Property Tax Reassessments: Homestead Exemption & The HYSA Strategy
Resources Mentioned
The Value Spotlight Newsletter: https://einvestingforbeginners.com/value-spotlight-newsletter/
Free monthly budgeting spreadsheet: https://einvestingforbeginners.com/budget/
Email Evan: evan@einvestingforbeginners.com
Have questions or want your story featured? Email the show at newsletter@einvestingforbeginners.com or comment below. Your feedback shapes the podcast!
Remember, financial freedom is built one smart move at a time. Keep it simple, keep it steady, and at any rate, we’ll see you next time.
Timestamps are generated by artificial intelligence, and are not 100% accurate depending on the platform used for listening.
Today’s show is sponsored by:
Download the Plynk app today to start building your investing confidence. https://plynkinvest.app.link/IFBpodcast
Download Cash App Today: https://click.cash.app/ui6m/0th4z72y #CashAppPod As a Cash App partner, I may earn a commission when you sign up for a Cash App account. Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App’s bank partner(s). Bitcoin services provided by Block, Inc. For additional information, see the Bitcoin disclosures.
Shopify: Stop waiting for permission to build something. Your next revenue stream starts for free at shopify.com/beginners
Upgrade your wardrobe with Quince to get high-quality, luxury essentials at a fraction of the cost by visiting https://quince.com/beginners
Turn your passion into profit, connect directly with eager buyers, and grow your business by hosting live, interactive auctions at https://whatnot.com/sell
Supercharge your productivity and automate your daily tasks by building custom AI agents in your all-in-one workspace at https://notion.com/investing
Interested in how your company sponsor the show? Reach us at equity@einvestingforbeginners.com
SUBSCRIBE TO THE SHOW Apple | Spotify | YouTube | Amazon | Tunein
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| Why Your Brain is Sabotaging Your Portfolio | 10 Aug 2026 | 00:57:01 | |
The stock market isn't just a platform for building wealth; it is a real-time stress test of human psychology. When headlines scream panic and portfolios bleed red, our innate cognitive biases trigger emotional reflexes that push us toward destructive mistakes like compulsive trading and holding onto losers. In this episode, Stephen and Andrew break down the mental traps that destroy returns and provide the systematic guardrails needed to protect your capital from yourself.
What You Will Learn
The Salience Bias Trap: Why reacting to the loudest financial headlines (like the hyped SpaceX IPO) almost always leads to poor capital allocation.
Breaking the Action Bias: How the urge to "do something" out of boredom turns long-term investing into a destructive game of Whack-a-Mole.
Defeating Confirmation Bias via Inversion: Why successful investors actively seek out three reasons their thesis is wrong instead of looking for validating echoes.
Escaping the Sunk Cost Fallacy: Why a stock doesn't care what you paid for it, and how evaluating alternative opportunity costs frees up trapped capital.
Curing Recency Bias by Zooming Out: How analyzing industry-wide generational cycles prevents knee-jerk reactions to last quarter's earnings reports.
Timestamps
00:00 Introduction: The psychological stress test of market volatility
00:41 Identifying personal biases: Andrew’s "Anchoring" vs. Stephen’s "Action" bias
05:29 Salience Bias: Ignoring loud media headlines and social media algorithm noise
14:57 Anchoring Bias: Why reverse-engineering a thesis destroys returns
21:28 Action Bias: The danger of "running in place" and trading out of boredom
27:42 Confirmation Bias: Using inversion and the "3 reasons you're wrong" rule
32:58 Sunk Cost Fallacy: Evaluating opportunity cost and building an exit thesis
43:10 Recency Bias: Zooming out 50–100 years to understand long-term cycles
Resources Mentioned
The Value Spotlight Newsletter: https://einvestingforbeginners.com/value-spotlight-newsletter/
Have questions or want your story featured? Email the show at newsletter@einvestingforbeginners.com or comment below. Your feedback shapes the podcast!
Remember, invest with a margin of safety—emphasis on the safety. Have a great week, and we’ll talk to you next time.
Timestamps are generated by artificial intelligence, and are not 100% accurate depending on the platform used for listening.
Today’s show is sponsored by:
Download Cash App Today: https://click.cash.app/ui6m/0th4z72y #CashAppPod As a Cash App partner, I may earn a commission when you sign up for a Cash App account. Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App’s bank partner(s). Bitcoin services provided by Block, Inc. For additional information, see the Bitcoin disclosures.
Shopify: Stop waiting for permission to build something. Your next revenue stream starts for free at shopify.com/beginners
Turn your passion into profit, connect directly with eager buyers, and grow your business by hosting live, interactive auctions at https://whatnot.com/sell
Supercharge your productivity and automate your daily tasks by building custom AI agents in your all-in-one workspace at https://notion.com/investing
The Perfect Jean makes insanely comfortable, great-fitting jeans you can wear all day—check them out at theperfectjean.nyc.
Function Health helps you get ahead of your health with comprehensive lab testing and clear, actionable insights—learn more at functionhealth.com.
Interested in how your company sponsor the show? Reach us at equity@einvestingforbeginners.com
SUBSCRIBE TO THE SHOW Apple | Spotify | YouTube | Amazon | Tunein
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| The AI CAPEX Illusion with Thomas Chua | 06 Aug 2026 | 00:51:31 | |
Tech giants are dropping hundreds of billions on AI infrastructure, but the market is punishing some players and rewarding others for the exact same strategy. In this episode, Thomas Chua from Steady Compounding reveals why the true story of AI demand is hidden in the footnotes of balance sheets, and how everyday investors can separate genuine compounders from capital-destroying hype.
What You Will Learn
The $700 billion footnote: Why Alphabet’s hidden long-term contractual agreements for data center power are a far stronger indicator of AI demand than standard CAPEX.
The "Construction in Progress" margin illusion: How hyperscalers are temporarily protecting their profit margins by delaying depreciation on unpowered, unfinished data centers.
Why Neoclouds are a ticking time bomb: The massive debt risk facing newer, AI-specific cloud providers if compute demand falters, compared to the safety nets of established giants like Microsoft and Amazon.
The Nike cautionary tale: How management blunders and a blind pivot to direct-to-consumer sales severely damaged one of the market's most reliable compounding moats.
Writing your own "pre-mortem": Why documenting your investment thesis before you buy is the only way to avoid narrative-chasing during a 40% stock drawdown (like Netflix experienced in 2022).
Timestamps
00:54 Alphabet's $700 billion power commitment footnote
03:15 Construction in Progress (CIP) and the temporary margin inflation trick
06:45 What is driving real compute demand beyond OpenAI and Anthropic?
10:45 Hyperscaler CAPEX: Why Wall Street misjudged Meta vs. Microsoft and Amazon
17:35 Neoclouds vs. Big Tech: The dangerous leverage gap in AI infrastructure
20:35 TSMC’s capital allocation discipline and customer pricing power
22:00 The "Lunch Break Investor" framework for busy 9-to-5 professionals
24:45 Navigating 40% stock drawdowns: Speed bumps vs. secular declines (Netflix case study)
30:50 Why management quality is #1: The Nike direct-to-consumer distribution blunder
35:20 Detecting accounting fraud: Operating cash flow vs. net income & interest coverage
38:00 How to read financial statements without getting overwhelmed
Resources Mentioned
The Value Spotlight Newsletter: https://einvestingforbeginners.com/value-spotlight-newsletter/
Have questions or want your story featured? Email the show at newsletter@einvestingforbeginners.com or comment below. Your feedback shapes the podcast!
Remember, invest with a margin of safety—emphasis on the safety. Have a great week, and we’ll talk to you next time.
Timestamps are generated by artificial intelligence, and are not 100% accurate depending on the platform used for listening.
Today’s show is sponsored by:
Download Cash App Today: https://click.cash.app/ui6m/0th4z72y #CashAppPod As a Cash App partner, I may earn a commission when you sign up for a Cash App account. Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App’s bank partner(s). Bitcoin services provided by Block, Inc. For additional information, see the Bitcoin disclosures.
Shopify: Stop waiting for permission to build something. Your next revenue stream starts for free at shopify.com/beginners
Turn your passion into profit, connect directly with eager buyers, and grow your business by hosting live, interactive auctions at https://whatnot.com/sell
Supercharge your productivity and automate your daily tasks by building custom AI agents in your all-in-one workspace at https://notion.com/investing
The Perfect Jean makes insanely comfortable, great-fitting jeans you can wear all day—check them out at theperfectjean.nyc.
Function Health helps you get ahead of your health with comprehensive lab testing and clear, actionable insights—learn more at functionhealth.com.
Interested in how your company sponsor the show? Reach us at equity@einvestingforbeginners.com
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Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| AAR61 - Drafting Our Finances | 04 Aug 2026 | 00:59:43 | |
In this episode of At Any Rate, Evan and Andrew run a high-stakes "Fantasy Financial Draft." Alternating picks back and forth, they compete to build the ultimate personal finance strategy across six key categories: safe investments, compounding assets, inheritance accounts, side hustles, home ROI upgrades, and common money rules.
From comparing index funds to LeBron James and individual stocks to Joel Embiid, to breaking down the tax magic of the "step-up in basis" rule, the guys debate high-upside financial moves against steady, reliable strategy—and let you, the listener, vote on who built the better team.
What You Will Learn
Safe Cash Management: The difference between High-Yield Savings Accounts (HYSAs) and Treasury bonds, including FDIC limits ($250k) vs. sovereign U.S. government risk.
Compounding Strategy: Why individual stock picking holds an uncapped upside ceiling, while broad-market index funds (like VOO) deliver effortless statistical victory for most investors.
Inheritance & Tax Advantage: How the "step-up in basis" tax rule can make inheriting taxable brokerage assets surprisingly powerful compared to tax-advantaged retirement accounts.
Active vs. Scalable Side Income: Trading time for cash with freelancing versus compounding equity and rents with real estate.
Home Upgrade ROI: The "5-Year Rule" for solar panel returns versus quick curb-appeal landscaping for home value staging.
Debunking Money Myths: Why blanket statements like "never carry debt" and "credit cards are evil" overlook crucial financial tools when managed with discipline.
Timestamps
0:48 – Welcome to At Any Rate: Setting the Rules for the Financial Draft
4:11 – Topic 1: Best Safe Investment (High-Yield Savings Accounts vs. Treasury Bonds)
8:02 – How Treasury Bonds Work & Navigating FDIC Limits ($250k)
12:12 – Topic 2: Best Compounding Investment (Individual Stocks vs. Index Funds)
15:46 – Why Index Funds (VOO) Beat Most Stock Pickers
17:41 – The NBA Metaphor: Joel Embiid Upside vs. LeBron James Consistency
19:34 – Topic 3: Best Account for Inheritance (Roth IRA vs. Taxable Brokerage)
22:45 – Explaining the "Step-Up in Basis" Tax Rule for Inherited Stocks
26:50 – Topic 4: Best Side Income Idea (Freelancing vs. Rental Properties)
32:15 – Topic 5: Best Home Upgrade for ROI (Solar Panels vs. Landscaping)
34:43 – The Curb Appeal Strategy & Home Staging Psychology
39:08 – Topic 6: Most Overrated Money Advice ("Never Carry Debt" vs. "Credit Cards Are Evil")
43:00 – How to Responsibly Automate Credit Card Cash Back into Investments
50:26 – Draft Recap: Evan's Steady Synergy Team vs. Andrew's High-Talent Roster
54:40 – Final Thoughts & Voting for the Winner
Resources Mentioned
The Value Spotlight Newsletter: https://einvestingforbeginners.com/value-spotlight-newsletter/
Free monthly budgeting spreadsheet: https://einvestingforbeginners.com/budget/
Email Evan: evan@einvestingforbeginners.com
Have questions or want your story featured? Email the show at newsletter@einvestingforbeginners.com or comment below. Your feedback shapes the podcast!
Remember, financial freedom is built one smart move at a time. Keep it simple, keep it steady, and at any rate, we’ll see you next time.
Timestamps are generated by artificial intelligence, and are not 100% accurate depending on the platform used for listening.
Today’s show is sponsored by:
Download the Plynk app today to start building your investing confidence. https://plynkinvest.app.link/IFBpodcast
Download Cash App Today: https://click.cash.app/ui6m/0th4z72y #CashAppPod As a Cash App partner, I may earn a commission when you sign up for a Cash App account. Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App’s bank partner(s). Bitcoin services provided by Block, Inc. For additional information, see the Bitcoin disclosures.
Shopify: Stop waiting for permission to build something. Your next revenue stream starts for free at shopify.com/beginners
Upgrade your wardrobe with Quince to get high-quality, luxury essentials at a fraction of the cost by visiting https://quince.com/beginners
Turn your passion into profit, connect directly with eager buyers, and grow your business by hosting live, interactive auctions at https://whatnot.com/sell
Supercharge your productivity and automate your daily tasks by building custom AI agents in your all-in-one workspace at https://notion.com/investing
Interested in how your company sponsor the show? Reach us at equity@einvestingforbeginners.com
SUBSCRIBE TO THE SHOW Apple | Spotify | YouTube | Amazon | Tunein
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| Birdseye View ASTS: Moonshot Potential vs. Financial Reality | 03 Aug 2026 | 00:47:36 | |
In this episode, Stephen and Andrew take a bird’s-eye view of AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) to separate the revolutionary promise of direct-to-cell satellite broadband from the cold, hard financial realities hiding in its SEC filings. While the technology aims to solve global cellular dead zones, a look under the hood reveals massive cash burn, crushing debt maturities, and significant operational delays.
What You Will Learn
Why direct-to-cell tech is a potential game-changer: How ASTS plans to eliminate cell towers and bring 4G/5G broadband directly to unmodified smartphones.
The hidden risk in "politician speak": How vague management phrasing like "expected," "intended," and "planned" masks serious operational delays and cost overruns.
Why revenue growth doesn't equal profit: The glaring discrepancy between ASTS's minor top-line revenue and its massive operating cash burn.
The zero-pricing-power trap: How profit-sharing models with telecom giants (AT&T, Verizon, Vodafone) leave speculative tech companies at the mercy of their partners.
Industries facing total disruption: Why cell tower REITs, satellite hardware manufacturers, and legacy telecom carriers could be rendered obsolete if space broadband succeeds.
Timestamps
00:51 What is AST SpaceMobile (ASTS)? The mechanics of direct-to-cell 5G broadband
05:55 Analyzing the financials: $70.9M revenue vs. $358.6M operating loss
08:35 The debt breakdown: Convertible notes, dilution risks, and bankruptcy traps
13:25 Operational delays: Block 1 testing and the missing Block 2 launch timeline
16:50 Zero pricing power: Why Mobile Network Operator (MNO) profit-sharing is a risk
20:25 Evaluating the moat: S-band spectrum, Starlink competition, and the 3–5 year window
26:45 Industry disruption: The threat to cell tower REITs (AMT, CCI, SBAC) and legacy telecom
31:40 The red flags in management's language and undisclosed satellite CapEx
Resources Mentioned
The Value Spotlight Newsletter: https://einvestingforbeginners.com/value-spotlight-newsletter/
Have questions or want your story featured? Email the show at newsletter@einvestingforbeginners.com or comment below. Your feedback shapes the podcast!
Remember, invest with a margin of safety—emphasis on the safety. Have a great week, and we’ll talk to you next time.
Timestamps are generated by artificial intelligence, and are not 100% accurate depending on the platform used for listening.
Today’s show is sponsored by:
Download Cash App Today: https://click.cash.app/ui6m/0th4z72y #CashAppPod As a Cash App partner, I may earn a commission when you sign up for a Cash App account. Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App’s bank partner(s). Bitcoin services provided by Block, Inc. For additional information, see the Bitcoin disclosures.
Shopify: Stop waiting for permission to build something. Your next revenue stream starts for free at shopify.com/beginners
Turn your passion into profit, connect directly with eager buyers, and grow your business by hosting live, interactive auctions at https://whatnot.com/sell
Supercharge your productivity and automate your daily tasks by building custom AI agents in your all-in-one workspace at https://notion.com/investing
The Perfect Jean makes insanely comfortable, great-fitting jeans you can wear all day—check them out at theperfectjean.nyc.
Function Health helps you get ahead of your health with comprehensive lab testing and clear, actionable insights—learn more at functionhealth.com.
Interested in how your company sponsor the show? Reach us at equity@einvestingforbeginners.com
SUBSCRIBE TO THE SHOW Apple | Spotify | YouTube | Amazon | Tunein
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| Why 100-Baggers Cause Bad Decisions and How to Stay Grounded | 30 Jul 2026 | 00:49:08 | |
The temptation of hitting a 100x return in the stock market often drives investors straight into emotional traps, leading to reckless greed or paralyzing fear. In this episode, Stephen and Andrew dive into the psychology of money, breaking down the true economics behind massive winners, how to manage emotional swings, and why building a disciplined, repeatable process is the only way to safeguard your portfolio over the long term.
What You Will Learn
Why the 100-bagger dream is a trap: How chasing huge wins distorts your decision-making and leads to panic selling or holding onto garbage.
The hidden 3-part math behind 100x stocks: Why massive revenue growth isn't enough without valuation multiple expansion and widening profit margins.
How to eliminate emotional trading: Simple guardrails—like forced 24-hour waiting periods and monthly decision schedules—to stop self-sabotage.
Overcoming the Dunning-Kruger effect: Recognizing beginner’s arrogance before the market humbles your portfolio.
The After-Action Review (AAR) framework: How military-style post-mortems and AI tools can refine your investment thesis and keep you grounded.
Timestamps
00:00 The psychological traps of chasing and managing 100-bagger stocks
02:30 The reality of "100-baggers" and avoiding social media hype
05:00 The three engines of a 100x stock: Valuation, Growth, and Margin Expansion
09:30 Managing big wins: Panic selling vs. systematic profit-taking
14:00 Building psychological buffers (24-hour rules & monthly execution cycles)
21:00 The danger of arrogance: The Dunning-Kruger effect in investing
25:30 Implementing an After-Action Review (AAR) and re-reading old research
31:00 Overcoming a lack of confidence and taking the first step
Resources Mentioned
The Value Spotlight Newsletter: https://einvestingforbeginners.com/value-spotlight-newsletter/
Have questions or want your story featured? Email the show at newsletter@einvestingforbeginners.com or comment below. Your feedback shapes the podcast!
Remember, invest with a margin of safety—emphasis on the safety. Have a great week, and we’ll talk to you next time.
Timestamps are generated by artificial intelligence, and are not 100% accurate depending on the platform used for listening.
Today’s show is sponsored by:
Download the Plynk app today to start building your investing confidence. https://plynkinvest.app.link/IFBpodcast
Download Cash App Today: https://click.cash.app/ui6m/0th4z72y #CashAppPod As a Cash App partner, I may earn a commission when you sign up for a Cash App account. Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App’s bank partner(s). Bitcoin services provided by Block, Inc. For additional information, see the Bitcoin disclosures.
Shopify: Stop waiting for permission to build something. Your next revenue stream starts for free at shopify.com/beginners
Turn your passion into profit, connect directly with eager buyers, and grow your business by hosting live, interactive auctions at https://whatnot.com/sell
Supercharge your productivity and automate your daily tasks by building custom AI agents in your all-in-one workspace at https://notion.com/investing
The Perfect Jean makes insanely comfortable, great-fitting jeans you can wear all day—check them out at theperfectjean.nyc.
Function Health helps you get ahead of your health with comprehensive lab testing and clear, actionable insights—learn more at functionhealth.com.
Interested in how your company sponsor the show? Reach us at equity@einvestingforbeginners.com
SUBSCRIBE TO THE SHOW Apple | Spotify | YouTube | Amazon | Tunein
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| AAR60 - Money Debates 2 - Early Mortgage Payoff? Emergency Fund vs. HELOC | 28 Jul 2026 | 00:46:40 | |
This episode is a follow-up to the recent “Money Debates” episode. Evan and Andrew run the format back with new topics: they present both sides of common financial arguments, then share what they personally agree with—sometimes changing their minds mid-discussion.
They debate whether a HELOC (home equity line of credit) can replace a traditional emergency fund, whether paying off a mortgage early is smart or mostly emotional, whether a windfall should be invested as a lump sum or dollar-cost averaged over time, and whether credit card debt should be attacked directly or transferred to lower-interest options first. The recurring theme: math matters, but behavior and personality matter too—the “best” move depends on what you’ll actually follow through on.
What You Will Learn
HELOCs aren’t a replacement for an emergency fund for small emergencies, but can be a realistic tool for large home costs when cash savings aren’t feasible.
HELOC risks: variable rates, fees, and the danger of over-leveraging your home equity. Use a margin of safety.
Mortgage payoff is partly math, partly psychology: paying extra can be a guaranteed return and peace of mind, but investing elsewhere may win mathematically.
Lump sum vs DCA: lump sum usually wins statistically for broad-market investing, but DCA can reduce emotional whiplash—especially for very large amounts or stock picking.
Credit card debt: transferring balances can save real money if you still pay aggressively and don’t re-run the balance back up. For some people, “simpler” beats “optimal.”
Timestamps
0:00 Money Debates Part 2 — format + what’s on the table
1:10 Topic 1: Emergency fund vs HELOC for home emergencies (definitions + framing)
3:00 HELOC downsides: variable rates, fees, and risking your home equity
5:10 When a HELOC can make sense (big-ticket repairs like roofs)
7:10 HELOC vs pulling from retirement: which is the lesser evil?
9:00 The “renovation raises home value” argument—and why it can backfire
11:40 Topic 2: Pay off your mortgage early vs invest instead
13:10 The lender calculator trap: “savings” vs opportunity cost
15:10 Accessibility: home equity vs taxable investing
16:40 Pro-payoff case: peace of mind, lower expenses, guaranteed return
19:20 The real answer: personality + interest rate (Evan shares his stance)
21:20 Topic 3: Lump sum vs dollar-cost averaging (DCA) after a windfall
22:40 Lump sum argument: time in the market > timing the market
24:10 DCA argument: reduce regret + average cost basis over time
26:10 Where they land: amount matters (10k vs 1–2M) + stock picking vs index
28:40 Topic 4: Pay off credit card debt vs transfer it (0% cards / personal loans)
30:10 Transfer argument: save hundreds/thousands in interest if you still pay it down
32:10 Behavior argument: transfers can “feel like progress” and reduce urgency
34:10 The practical middle ground: transfer if disciplined; otherwise automate payoff
Resources Mentioned
The Value Spotlight Newsletter: https://einvestingforbeginners.com/value-spotlight-newsletter/
Free monthly budgeting spreadsheet: https://einvestingforbeginners.com/budget/
Email Evan: evan@einvestingforbeginners.com
Have questions or want your story featured? Email the show at newsletter@einvestingforbeginners.com or comment below. Your feedback shapes the podcast!
Remember, financial freedom is built one smart move at a time. Keep it simple, keep it steady, and at any rate, we’ll see you next time.
Timestamps are generated by artificial intelligence, and are not 100% accurate depending on the platform used for listening.
Today’s show is sponsored by:
Download the Plynk app today to start building your investing confidence. https://plynkinvest.app.link/IFBpodcast
Download Cash App Today: https://click.cash.app/ui6m/0th4z72y #CashAppPod As a Cash App partner, I may earn a commission when you sign up for a Cash App account. Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App’s bank partner(s). Bitcoin services provided by Block, Inc. For additional information, see the Bitcoin disclosures.
Shopify: Stop waiting for permission to build something. Your next revenue stream starts for free at shopify.com/beginners
Upgrade your wardrobe with Quince to get high-quality, luxury essentials at a fraction of the cost by visiting https://quince.com/beginners
Turn your passion into profit, connect directly with eager buyers, and grow your business by hosting live, interactive auctions at https://whatnot.com/sell
Supercharge your productivity and automate your daily tasks by building custom AI agents in your all-in-one workspace at https://notion.com/investing
Interested in how your company sponsor the show? Reach us at equity@einvestingforbeginners.com
SUBSCRIBE TO THE SHOW Apple | Spotify | YouTube | Amazon | Tunein
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| The Stoplight System with Tykr founder Sean Tepper | 27 Jul 2026 | 00:43:54 | |
In this episode, Andrew interviews Sean Tepper, founder and CEO of Tykr (T-Y-K-R), an investing education and stock analysis platform built for everyday investors who want a clear, repeatable process. Sean shares how he went from running a service business to building a value-investing system inspired by Phil Town—then turning it into software with a simple “stoplight” rating: green (on sale), gray (watch), red (overpriced).
They break down what drives Tykr’s ratings, why Sean avoids technical analysis, and how Tykr uses a combination of financial statement trends and margin of safety to score stocks. You’ll also hear his framework for evaluating companies beyond the numbers (the 4Ms: Math, Meaning, Moat, Management), why controlling emotions is the hardest part of investing, and how to think about building a focused portfolio without over-diversifying.
What You Will Learn
How Tykr’s green/gray/red stoplight system works
The two big inputs behind the rating: financial statement trend score
Why Sean ignores technical analysis
The 4M framework for evaluating a stock beyond the numbers
How “stockpiling” helps investors fight panic and use downturns as buying opportunities
Timestamps
00:00 Meet Sean Tepper (Tykr founder)
00:34 Sean’s origin story: service business → investing → building a scalable system
02:18 Why he ditched influencers/noise and went math-first
03:16 The stoplight system: green/gray/red
05:31 Fundamentals vs technicals
06:53 Why value investing wins long-term
10:03 What makes a stock “green”
15:25 Who Tykr is for and why brokers leave beginners stuck at “now what?”
17:37 Biggest investor mistake: emotions vs. “stockpiling” during downturns
22:07 AI and the 4Ms framework
Resources Mentioned
The Value Spotlight Newsletter: https://einvestingforbeginners.com/value-spotlight-newsletter/
Have questions or want your story featured? Email the show at newsletter@einvestingforbeginners.com or comment below. Your feedback shapes the podcast!
Remember, invest with a margin of safety—emphasis on the safety. Have a great week, and we’ll talk to you next time.
Timestamps are generated by artificial intelligence, and are not 100% accurate depending on the platform used for listening.
Today’s show is sponsored by:
Download the Plynk app today to start building your investing confidence. https://plynkinvest.app.link/IFBpodcast
Download Cash App Today: https://click.cash.app/ui6m/0th4z72y #CashAppPod As a Cash App partner, I may earn a commission when you sign up for a Cash App account. Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App’s bank partner(s). Bitcoin services provided by Block, Inc. For additional information, see the Bitcoin disclosures.
Shopify: Stop waiting for permission to build something. Your next revenue stream starts for free at shopify.com/beginners
Turn your passion into profit, connect directly with eager buyers, and grow your business by hosting live, interactive auctions at https://whatnot.com/sell
Supercharge your productivity and automate your daily tasks by building custom AI agents in your all-in-one workspace at https://notion.com/investing
The Perfect Jean makes insanely comfortable, great-fitting jeans you can wear all day—check them out at theperfectjean.nyc.
Function Health helps you get ahead of your health with comprehensive lab testing and clear, actionable insights—learn more at functionhealth.com.
Interested in how your company sponsor the show? Reach us at equity@einvestingforbeginners.com
SUBSCRIBE TO THE SHOW Apple | Spotify | YouTube | Amazon | Tunein
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| Stop Overthinking Stock Screeners | 23 Jul 2026 | 00:58:38 | |
Stock screeners can feel intimidating, but they’re really just a fast way to generate starting points—not “buy” signals. In this episode, Stephen and Andrew build a simple screener in Fiscal.ai (growth, ROIC, balance sheet strength, valuation, and anti-dilution rules), then run it live and walk through what shows up.
You’ll hear how they quickly pressure-test businesses like Yelp, LendingTree, Brinker (Chili’s), Yeti, Zoetis, and CarGurus—using basic questions around moats, management quality, cyclicality, and what the financials are actually saying. The big takeaway: keep an open mind, be willing to be wrong, and use the screener to spark curiosity—then do the real research.
What You Will Learn
How to build a “good enough” stock screener without overcomplicating it
Why a screener is a starting point, not an investing answer
The key metrics Andrew screens for (growth, ROIC, leverage, valuation, dilution signals)
How to do a fast first-pass business check
How to think about “cheap” stocks correctly
Timestamps
00:00 What this “live screener” episode is (no prep, show the process)
00:49 How Andrew built the screener and what it’s screening for
00:56 Fiscal.ai and the screener rules (growth, SBC <10%, negative financing cash flow, valuation, leverage, ROIC)
02:36 Run the screener: 43 names + how they’ll pick what to review
02:45 Yelp (YELP): quick overview + “Yelp Assistant” + 90% gross margins
03:46 Yelp moat question: “are people still using Yelp?” + Google/Maps competition
08:18 LendingTree (TREE): not a lender—lead gen marketplace + why research matters
11:20 LendingTree: what happened post-2019 (legal disputes, losses, data breach)
18:06 Brinker (EAT): Chili’s surprise growth + “cheap” means valuation, not share price
22:23 Brinker: same-store sales as the key KPI + why 25% comps is shocking
Resources Mentioned
The Value Spotlight Newsletter: https://einvestingforbeginners.com/value-spotlight-newsletter/
Have questions or want your story featured? Email the show at newsletter@einvestingforbeginners.com or comment below. Your feedback shapes the podcast!
Remember, invest with a margin of safety—emphasis on the safety. Have a great week, and we’ll talk to you next time.
Timestamps are generated by artificial intelligence, and are not 100% accurate depending on the platform used for listening.
Today’s show is sponsored by:
Download the Plynk app today to start building your investing confidence. https://plynkinvest.app.link/IFBpodcast
Download Cash App Today: https://click.cash.app/ui6m/0th4z72y #CashAppPod As a Cash App partner, I may earn a commission when you sign up for a Cash App account. Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App’s bank partner(s). Bitcoin services provided by Block, Inc. For additional information, see the Bitcoin disclosures.
Shopify: Stop waiting for permission to build something. Your next revenue stream starts for free at shopify.com/beginners
Turn your passion into profit, connect directly with eager buyers, and grow your business by hosting live, interactive auctions at https://whatnot.com/sell
Supercharge your productivity and automate your daily tasks by building custom AI agents in your all-in-one workspace at https://notion.com/investing
The Perfect Jean makes insanely comfortable, great-fitting jeans you can wear all day—check them out at theperfectjean.nyc.
Function Health helps you get ahead of your health with comprehensive lab testing and clear, actionable insights—learn more at functionhealth.com.
Interested in how your company sponsor the show? Reach us at equity@einvestingforbeginners.com
SUBSCRIBE TO THE SHOW Apple | Spotify | YouTube | Amazon | Tunein
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| AAR59 - We Grade Each Other's Financial Decisions | 21 Jul 2026 | 01:13:43 | |
In this episode, Evan and Andrew try a fun (and slightly dangerous) format: they each bring real financial decisions from their past, give context, then let the other person interrogate the decision and assign a letter grade. The point isn’t to shame anyone—it’s to show how context changes the “right” answer in personal finance.
They cover Evan’s Tesla purchase, Andrew’s past truck purchase, Evan’s “coffee gear” hobby spending, Andrew’s use of credit cards to float business expenses during a revenue decline, emergency fund sizing, and a final quick win: Andrew buying a MacBook Air on a Prime Day deal.
What You Will Learn
A “bad” decision can become reasonable once you add context
For car buying, the payment-to-income ratio matters more than the raw monthly payment.
Spending on hobbies isn’t automatically irresponsible if you’re avoiding high-interest debt and still funding the important stuff
Business credit cards can become a slow trap when revenue declines gradually
Emergency funds are personal
Timestamps
0:00 The “be judgy” grading format explained (A–F)
2:15 Evan’s decision #1: buying a new Tesla Model 3 (2023) — context + numbers
3:45 Breaking down the real cost
5:05 Interest rate, loan term, and paying it down early with bonuses
6:25 Was it emotional or a good value?
9:25 Why some cars hold value better than others
10:50 Maintenance reality check
12:05 The big test
14:45 Verdict
16:55 Andrew’s decision #1: buying a used truck (2015/2016) after moving
18:30 Payment-to-income
21:10 The emotional driver
24:10 Final grade for the truck decision
26:10 Evan’s decision #2: $3,500 in coffee gear + $50–$60/month beans
28:00 Maintenance + upgrade path + the “no debt” rule
29:55 Verdict
31:20 Andrew’s decision #2: using credit cards to cover business expenses during decline
33:10 The slippery slope
35:10 Why gradual revenue drops delay hard decisions
37:00 Cutting costs in order: software → payroll/income → even retirement funds
39:10 The emotional weight of a business and why “just get another job” isn’t that simple
41:00 Grade
43:40 Evan’s decision #3: shrinking emergency fund from ~10 months to ~5.5–6 months
46:00 Why “too much cash” can feel wasteful
47:10 Verdict: enough is enough
48:50 Andrew’s final decision: Prime Day MacBook Air purchase (deal logic + reality check)
Resources Mentioned
The Value Spotlight Newsletter: https://einvestingforbeginners.com/value-spotlight-newsletter/
Free monthly budgeting spreadsheet: https://einvestingforbeginners.com/budget/
Email Evan: evan@einvestingforbeginners.com
Have questions or want your story featured? Email the show at newsletter@einvestingforbeginners.com or comment below. Your feedback shapes the podcast!
Remember, financial freedom is built one smart move at a time. Keep it simple, keep it steady, and at any rate, we’ll see you next time.
Timestamps are generated by artificial intelligence, and are not 100% accurate depending on the platform used for listening.
Today’s show is sponsored by:
Download the Plynk app today to start building your investing confidence. https://plynkinvest.app.link/IFBpodcast
Download Cash App Today: https://click.cash.app/ui6m/0th4z72y #CashAppPod As a Cash App partner, I may earn a commission when you sign up for a Cash App account. Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App’s bank partner(s). Bitcoin services provided by Block, Inc. For additional information, see the Bitcoin disclosures.
Shopify: Stop waiting for permission to build something. Your next revenue stream starts for free at shopify.com/beginners
Upgrade your wardrobe with Quince to get high-quality, luxury essentials at a fraction of the cost by visiting https://quince.com/beginners
Turn your passion into profit, connect directly with eager buyers, and grow your business by hosting live, interactive auctions at https://whatnot.com/sell
Supercharge your productivity and automate your daily tasks by building custom AI agents in your all-in-one workspace at https://notion.com/investing
Interested in how your company sponsor the show? Reach us at equity@einvestingforbeginners.com
SUBSCRIBE TO THE SHOW Apple | Spotify | YouTube | Amazon | Tunein
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| Q&A: How Do I Value Banks & Insurance 101 | 20 Jul 2026 | 00:54:30 | |
Most businesses can be evaluated with a simple trio—revenue growth, margins, and free cash flow. But banks and insurance companies are a different animal: their “inventory” are loans, their raw material is risk, and their profits can look incredible right before things break. In this episode, Andrew answers a Value Spotlight member question (Nate) and walks through how to value banks and insurers in a way that doesn’t get you fooled by noisy earnings.
You’ll learn why these businesses are balance-sheet driven, why cash flow statements can be misleading, and what frameworks actually help—like book value per share (BVPS), return on equity (ROE), bank reserve requirements, insurance float, and the combined ratio. Along the way, Andrew shares practical ways to think about risk, moats, and “too-hard pile” boundaries so you don’t lower your standards just to force an investment.
What You Will Learn
Why banks/insurers are balance-sheet businesses
How to use BVPS × long-term ROE as a sanity-check for profitability and valuation
What to look for in a bank’s loan book and capital ratios to gauge risk-taking
How insurance float works and why underwriting quality (combined ratio) matters
The big long-term risks
Timestamps
00:00 Why banks/insurance are a different monster
02:49 Listener question from Nate (valuing banks/insurers)
04:45 Why these are intimidating: balance sheet focus + cash flow statement gets weird
08:27 Are banks/insurers good historical investments?)
12:33 “This bank is cheap” — skeptic checklist
14:03 How to judge bank risk: loan book, Tier 1 capital, defaults, disclosure quality
20:02 What’s a bank’s moat? switching costs, deposit base, scale, CEO quality, fintech angle
24:19 Valuation basics: BVPS, ROE, why P/E is often useless, and long-term averaging
36:12 Insurance 101: P&C vs life, float, combined ratio, investment risk + black swans
Resources Mentioned
The Value Spotlight Newsletter: https://einvestingforbeginners.com/value-spotlight-newsletter/
Have questions or want your story featured? Email the show at newsletter@einvestingforbeginners.com or comment below. Your feedback shapes the podcast!
Remember, invest with a margin of safety—emphasis on the safety. Have a great week, and we’ll talk to you next time.
Timestamps are generated by artificial intelligence, and are not 100% accurate depending on the platform used for listening.
Today’s show is sponsored by:
Download the Plynk app today to start building your investing confidence. https://plynkinvest.app.link/IFBpodcast
Download Cash App Today: https://click.cash.app/ui6m/0th4z72y #CashAppPod As a Cash App partner, I may earn a commission when you sign up for a Cash App account. Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App’s bank partner(s). Bitcoin services provided by Block, Inc. For additional information, see the Bitcoin disclosures.
Shopify: Stop waiting for permission to build something. Your next revenue stream starts for free at shopify.com/beginners
Turn your passion into profit, connect directly with eager buyers, and grow your business by hosting live, interactive auctions at https://whatnot.com/sell
Supercharge your productivity and automate your daily tasks by building custom AI agents in your all-in-one workspace at https://notion.com/investing
The Perfect Jean makes insanely comfortable, great-fitting jeans you can wear all day—check them out at theperfectjean.nyc.
Function Health helps you get ahead of your health with comprehensive lab testing and clear, actionable insights—learn more at functionhealth.com.
Interested in how your company sponsor the show? Reach us at equity@einvestingforbeginners.com
SUBSCRIBE TO THE SHOW Apple | Spotify | YouTube | Amazon | Tunein
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| Does T. Rowe Price’s 1950 Growth Stock Checklist Still Work Today? | 16 Jul 2026 | 00:50:45 | |
What’s harder than finding a “great company”? Figuring out whether you’re buying a great company or just the great memory of one. In this episode, Stephen and Andrew hop into a time machine and pressure-test T. Rowe Price’s 1950 Barron’s checklist for picking growth stocks—then ask what still holds up, what breaks, and what’s surprisingly timeless.
They walk through eight factors (management, R&D, competition, financial strength, ROIC, margins, regulation risk, and employee dynamics) and translate each one into modern investor language—using real-world examples like Apple, Amazon, Netflix, Coke/Pepsi, and even the gaming industry’s microtransaction “race to the bottom.”
What You Will Learn
How T. Rowe Price defined a “growth stock” in 1950—and why it’s more practical than today’s hype definition
What “management quality and employee goodwill” looks like in real life
How to think about R&D and innovation beyond buzzwords
Why “cutthroat competition” often turns into a race to the bottom—and how to spot it early
Where regulation can quietly cap returns
Timestamps
00:00 Setting the stage: the 1950 Barron’s article and why it’s worth revisiting
04:31 Growth stock definition from the article and why it’s so “eloquent”
08:59 Checklist #1: management quality, employee goodwill, insider ownership
12:50 Social trends and employee sentiment
18:53 Checklist #2: intelligent research—new products/markets and staying ahead
24:55 Checklist #3: cutthroat competition, microtransactions, CAC, race to the bottom
31:41 Checklist #4: strong finances—debt metrics and surviving adversity
34:01 Checklist #5–6: ROIC and profit margins—what still works vs. what’s dated
40:23 Checklist #7–8: regulation risk and employee pay/flexibility
Resources Mentioned
The Value Spotlight Newsletter: https://einvestingforbeginners.com/value-spotlight-newsletter/
Have questions or want your story featured? Email the show at newsletter@einvestingforbeginners.com or comment below. Your feedback shapes the podcast!
Remember, invest with a margin of safety—emphasis on the safety. Have a great week, and we’ll talk to you next time.
Timestamps are generated by artificial intelligence, and are not 100% accurate depending on the platform used for listening.
Today’s show is sponsored by:
Download the Plynk app today to start building your investing confidence. https://plynkinvest.app.link/IFBpodcast
Download Cash App Today: https://click.cash.app/ui6m/0th4z72y #CashAppPod As a Cash App partner, I may earn a commission when you sign up for a Cash App account. Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App’s bank partner(s). Bitcoin services provided by Block, Inc. For additional information, see the Bitcoin disclosures.
Shopify: Stop waiting for permission to build something. Your next revenue stream starts for free at shopify.com/beginners
Turn your passion into profit, connect directly with eager buyers, and grow your business by hosting live, interactive auctions at https://whatnot.com/sell
Supercharge your productivity and automate your daily tasks by building custom AI agents in your all-in-one workspace at https://notion.com/investing
The Perfect Jean makes insanely comfortable, great-fitting jeans you can wear all day—check them out at theperfectjean.nyc.
Function Health helps you get ahead of your health with comprehensive lab testing and clear, actionable insights—learn more at functionhealth.com.
Interested in how your company sponsor the show? Reach us at equity@einvestingforbeginners.com
SUBSCRIBE TO THE SHOW Apple | Spotify | YouTube | Amazon | Tunein
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| AAR58 - Money Debates - Snowball vs. Avalanche and Other Fights | 14 Jul 2026 | 01:00:16 | |
Evan and Andrew try a new format: common personal finance disagreements, argued from both sides—then they reveal where they actually land. They cover debt payoff strategy, whether leasing a car can ever make sense, the lifestyle tradeoffs of investing, and the classic housing question.
Along the way, they keep it real: most money decisions aren’t just math—they’re behavior, stress, time, and lifestyle. The episode ends with a teaser that they’ve got more debate topics queued up for a Part 2, and they want listeners to add to the list.
What You Will Learn
Why snowball debt payoff can work better for many people, even if it’s not mathematically perfect
Why avalanche is the cleanest math answer when high-interest debt is involved
When leasing can be a reasonable lifestyle choice
The real benefit of ETFs
Why stock picking is hard because of positive skew
Why buying a home can create stability, control & long-term leverage, but renting can protect you from maintenance risk, insurance gaps, mobility costs
Timestamps
00:00 – Debate 1: Snowball vs Avalanche debt payoff
09:11 – Middle-ground take
11:10 – Reality check
14:41 – Debate 2: Buying vs leasing a vehicle
26:23 – Debate 3: Individual stocks vs ETFs/funds
27:15 – Why beating the market is hard + positive skew explanation
35:47 – ETF case: diversification, automation, time/stress savings (VOO example)
42:38 – Debate 4: Buy vs rent (housing)
43:14 – Buying case: stability/control + equity + “springboard” effect
49:02 – Renting case: maintenance risk + insurance gaps + flexibility
52:40 – Renting isn’t “free of costs”—they’re baked into rent
Resources Mentioned
The Value Spotlight Newsletter: https://einvestingforbeginners.com/value-spotlight-newsletter/
Free monthly budgeting spreadsheet: https://einvestingforbeginners.com/budget/
Email Evan: evan@einvestingforbeginners.com
Have questions or want your story featured? Email the show at newsletter@einvestingforbeginners.com or comment below. Your feedback shapes the podcast!
Remember, financial freedom is built one smart move at a time. Keep it simple, keep it steady, and at any rate, we’ll see you next time.
Timestamps are generated by artificial intelligence, and are not 100% accurate depending on the platform used for listening.
Today’s show is sponsored by:
Download the Plynk app today to start building your investing confidence. https://plynkinvest.app.link/IFBpodcast
Download Cash App Today: https://click.cash.app/ui6m/0th4z72y #CashAppPod As a Cash App partner, I may earn a commission when you sign up for a Cash App account. Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App’s bank partner(s). Bitcoin services provided by Block, Inc. For additional information, see the Bitcoin disclosures.
Shopify: Stop waiting for permission to build something. Your next revenue stream starts for free at shopify.com/beginners
Upgrade your wardrobe with Quince to get high-quality, luxury essentials at a fraction of the cost by visiting https://quince.com/beginners
Turn your passion into profit, connect directly with eager buyers, and grow your business by hosting live, interactive auctions at https://whatnot.com/sell
Supercharge your productivity and automate your daily tasks by building custom AI agents in your all-in-one workspace at https://notion.com/investing
Interested in how your company sponsor the show? Reach us at equity@einvestingforbeginners.com
SUBSCRIBE TO THE SHOW Apple | Spotify | YouTube | Amazon | Tunein
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| 6 Warning Signs a Company Is Quietly Dying (Part 2) | 13 Jul 2026 | 00:48:43 | |
In Part 2 of the Business Autopsy series, Stephen and Andrew keep building the framework for spotting companies that are quietly breaking down before the stock becomes a disaster. This episode focuses on the “sneaky” risks that often don’t show up in headlines until it’s too late—especially debt, dilution, and the slow creep toward irrelevance.
They walk through real examples like Toys R Us (over-leveraged and unable to invest to compete), Krispy Kreme (a shift from capital-light to capital-heavy funded with debt), and Blockbuster/Bed Bath & Beyond as case studies in disruption. The episode closes with a practical recap checklist you can apply to your own holdings—plus a realistic take on black swan events and how to manage risks you can’t fully predict.
What You Will Learn
Why debt + dilution can quietly destroy shareholder returns even if the business “looks fine”
How over-leverage can prevent a company from adapting (Toys R Us + e-commerce pressure)
What to watch for when a company pivots from capital-light to capital-intensive (Krispy Kreme)
How “irrelevance” happens in real time—and how consumer behavior can be an investing edge
How to think about black swans, and why reading footnotes/obligations matters more than people admit
Timestamps
00:00 — Continuing the business autopsy framework
02:10 — Symptom: Debt & dilution
03:32 — Debt risk in real life
05:19 — Toys R Us: over-leveraged, can’t invest to compete with Walmart/e-commerce
08:05 — Moats and discounting pressure
12:22 — Krispy Kreme: franchise model U-turn (capital-light → capital-heavy)
17:21 — Symptom: Irrelevance and why it’s hard to see in the moment
20:15 — “Know what you buy”: Peter Lynch and using products/consumer behavior as an edge
25:07 — Bed Bath & Beyond & “death of the mall”
31:10 — Bonus Symptom: Black swans
Resources Mentioned
The Value Spotlight Newsletter: https://einvestingforbeginners.com/value-spotlight-newsletter/
Have questions or want your story featured? Email the show at newsletter@einvestingforbeginners.com or comment below. Your feedback shapes the podcast!
Remember, invest with a margin of safety—emphasis on the safety. Have a great week, and we’ll talk to you next time.
Timestamps are generated by artificial intelligence, and are not 100% accurate depending on the platform used for listening.
Today’s show is sponsored by:
Download the Plynk app today to start building your investing confidence. https://plynkinvest.app.link/IFBpodcast
Download Cash App Today: https://click.cash.app/ui6m/0th4z72y #CashAppPod As a Cash App partner, I may earn a commission when you sign up for a Cash App account. Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App’s bank partner(s). Bitcoin services provided by Block, Inc. For additional information, see the Bitcoin disclosures.
Shopify: Stop waiting for permission to build something. Your next revenue stream starts for free at shopify.com/beginners
Turn your passion into profit, connect directly with eager buyers, and grow your business by hosting live, interactive auctions at https://whatnot.com/sell
Supercharge your productivity and automate your daily tasks by building custom AI agents in your all-in-one workspace at https://notion.com/investing
The Perfect Jean makes insanely comfortable, great-fitting jeans you can wear all day—check them out at theperfectjean.nyc.
Function Health helps you get ahead of your health with comprehensive lab testing and clear, actionable insights—learn more at functionhealth.com.
Interested in how your company sponsor the show? Reach us at equity@einvestingforbeginners.com
SUBSCRIBE TO THE SHOW Apple | Spotify | YouTube | Amazon | Tunein
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| 6 Warning Signs a Company Is Quietly Dying (Part 1) | 09 Jul 2026 | 00:47:24 | |
Most investors think the biggest risk is buying the “wrong” company. But a sneakier risk is buying a company that used to be great—and not realizing the story has changed until the stock is down 70%. In this episode, Andrew and Stephen kick off a “business autopsy” series: how to recognize early warning signs that a company is quietly sliding into decline.
You’ll learn why “stocks don’t die—companies die,” how investor psychology (denial, halo effect, survivorship bias) keeps people trapped, and why management behavior and customer experience often deteriorate before the numbers fully collapse. This is Part 1 of the series, covering the first major symptoms and real-world examples like Sears, Borders, Circuit City, Kodak, and Enron.
What You Will Learn
How to separate stock price movement from business deterioration
Why denial and “halo effect” can keep investors holding losers too long
What “incentive rot” looks like when management starts engineering optics over fundamentals
How customer pain can create a business death spiral
Why margin compression & “politician speak” in earnings calls can be an early red flag
Timestamps
00:00 — Philosophy idea: “History doesn’t repeat—humans repeat,” and why that matters for investing
01:50 — Key frame: stocks don’t decline, companies decline (stock price is the aftermath)
04:31 — Defining a “great company”: story, moat, growth runway, and why competition is always coming
06:20 — Moat as defense/offense
08:44 — Symptom #1: Denial
13:16 — Sears decline mechanics
20:00 — How to tell “temporary trouble” vs real decline
23:44 — Symptom #2: Incentive Rot
31:10 — Symptom #3: Customer pain (service/inventory spiral)
Resources Mentioned
The Value Spotlight Newsletter: https://einvestingforbeginners.com/value-spotlight-newsletter/
Have questions or want your story featured? Email the show at newsletter@einvestingforbeginners.com or comment below. Your feedback shapes the podcast!
Remember, invest with a margin of safety—emphasis on the safety. Have a great week, and we’ll talk to you next time.
Timestamps are generated by artificial intelligence, and are not 100% accurate depending on the platform used for listening.
Today’s show is sponsored by:
Download the Plynk app today to start building your investing confidence. https://plynkinvest.app.link/IFBpodcast
Download Cash App Today: https://click.cash.app/ui6m/0th4z72y #CashAppPod As a Cash App partner, I may earn a commission when you sign up for a Cash App account. Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App’s bank partner(s). Bitcoin services provided by Block, Inc. For additional information, see the Bitcoin disclosures.
Shopify: Stop waiting for permission to build something. Your next revenue stream starts for free at shopify.com/beginners
Turn your passion into profit, connect directly with eager buyers, and grow your business by hosting live, interactive auctions at https://whatnot.com/sell
Supercharge your productivity and automate your daily tasks by building custom AI agents in your all-in-one workspace at https://notion.com/investing
The Perfect Jean makes insanely comfortable, great-fitting jeans you can wear all day—check them out at theperfectjean.nyc.
Function Health helps you get ahead of your health with comprehensive lab testing and clear, actionable insights—learn more at functionhealth.com.
Interested in how your company sponsor the show? Reach us at equity@einvestingforbeginners.com
SUBSCRIBE TO THE SHOW Apple | Spotify | YouTube | Amazon | Tunein
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| AAR57 - What Does Your Perfect Day Cost? | 07 Jul 2026 | 00:53:30 | |
Money is pointless if it doesn’t help you live a better life. In this episode, Evan is joined by Andrew Sather to talk about what most people are really chasing when they chase money: peace and control. They start with a simple question—“What does your perfect day 5 years from now look like?”—and unpack what those answers reveal about what matters.
From there, they get practical: how to build more peace through fewer financial surprises, how to build control through visibility and systems, why “optimizing net worth” can mess with your head, and how fear-driven decisions (saving or spending) can quietly derail progress. The big takeaway: control your actions, not the outcome.
What You Will Learn
Why most “perfect day” answers boil down to peace and control
How to define spending as life improvement, not “wasting money”
Why visibility (knowing where money goes) creates real control
Why tying net worth to self-worth is dangerous
The biggest needle-movers that wreck peace
Timestamps
02:35 – The “perfect day 5 years from now” question
05:10 – The pattern Evan noticed
07:09 – How to actually build peace and control financially
09:19 – Peace = fewer negative surprises, predictable “waves”
11:02 – Boring basics + long-term payoff of effort
15:07 – Decouple finances from time; spending as life improvement
17:26 – Visibility changing decisions
24:08 – Motivation & discipline
29:03 – Saver vs spender dynamic
30:14 – Fear-based money decisions
35:06 – Problem with optimizing net worth as the goal
38:05 – “Net worth vs self-worth”
41:15 – Control your actions, not outcomes
41:44 – How people lose control
45:40 – Big needle movers
Resources Mentioned
The Value Spotlight Newsletter: https://einvestingforbeginners.com/value-spotlight-newsletter/
Free monthly budgeting spreadsheet: https://einvestingforbeginners.com/budget/
Email Evan: evan@einvestingforbeginners.com
Have questions or want your story featured? Email the show at newsletter@einvestingforbeginners.com or comment below. Your feedback shapes the podcast!
Remember, financial freedom is built one smart move at a time. Keep it simple, keep it steady, and at any rate, we’ll see you next time.
Timestamps are generated by artificial intelligence, and are not 100% accurate depending on the platform used for listening.
Today’s show is sponsored by:
Download the Plynk app today to start building your investing confidence. https://plynkinvest.app.link/IFBpodcast
Download Cash App Today: https://click.cash.app/ui6m/0th4z72y #CashAppPod As a Cash App partner, I may earn a commission when you sign up for a Cash App account. Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App’s bank partner(s). Bitcoin services provided by Block, Inc. For additional information, see the Bitcoin disclosures.
Shopify: Stop waiting for permission to build something. Your next revenue stream starts for free at shopify.com/beginners
Upgrade your wardrobe with Quince to get high-quality, luxury essentials at a fraction of the cost by visiting https://quince.com/beginners
Turn your passion into profit, connect directly with eager buyers, and grow your business by hosting live, interactive auctions at https://whatnot.com/sell
Supercharge your productivity and automate your daily tasks by building custom AI agents in your all-in-one workspace at https://notion.com/investing
Interested in how your company sponsor the show? Reach us at equity@einvestingforbeginners.com
SUBSCRIBE TO THE SHOW Apple | Spotify | YouTube | Amazon | Tunein
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| Margin of Safety Planning: How to Prepare for the Risks You Don’t See Coming | 06 Jul 2026 | 00:52:01 | |
Charlie Munger said if you can’t stay calm through a 50% market decline, you’re not fit to be a shareholder—and that’s the point of this episode. Stephen and Andrew break down a simple truth most investors miss: risk isn’t just price movement. Volatility is expected. The real danger is the stuff that causes permanent damage—liquidity crunches, too much debt, concentration blowups, inflation eroding purchasing power, and life events that wreck your timeline.
They walk through the major risk categories with practical examples and beginner-friendly metrics (like quick ratio, current ratio, and debt-to-equity). The big takeaway: you don’t need to predict the future—you need a plan that can survive it. Build margin of safety into your investing process so the inevitable hits don’t take you out.
What You Will Learn
Why volatility is “temporary pain,” not the definition of real risk
How to think about liquidity risk (and what to check in financial statements)
The simplest ways beginners can sanity-check credit/debt risk
Why concentration risk can build wealth or destroy it fast
What reinvestment risk means for retirees using CDs/bonds
How inflation, horizon risk, and longevity risk change your plan over time
Timestamps
00:00 — Why last episode’s “tech rot” headlines aren’t real risk
01:50 — Volatility: “temporary paine
02:57 — “No free lunch on Wall Street”
06:30 — Liquidity risk: what it is
08:14 — Andrew’s checklist: quick ratio/current ratio + credit revolvers/commercial paper
10:25 — Concentration risk
13:22 — Practical diversification: 15–20 stock target + realistic timeframe to build it
20:45 — Credit risk: debt-to-equity + net debt/EBITDA + why defaults can zero you out
26:31 — Reinvestment risk + inflation + horizon/longevity risk: planning for the stuff you can’t control
Resources Mentioned
The Value Spotlight Newsletter: https://einvestingforbeginners.com/value-spotlight-newsletter/
Have questions or want your story featured? Email the show at newsletter@einvestingforbeginners.com or comment below. Your feedback shapes the podcast!
Remember, invest with a margin of safety—emphasis on the safety. Have a great week, and we’ll talk to you next time.
Timestamps are generated by artificial intelligence, and are not 100% accurate depending on the platform used for listening.
Today’s show is sponsored by:
Download the Plynk app today to start building your investing confidence. https://plynkinvest.app.link/IFBpodcast
Download Cash App Today: https://click.cash.app/ui6m/0th4z72y #CashAppPod As a Cash App partner, I may earn a commission when you sign up for a Cash App account. Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App’s bank partner(s). Bitcoin services provided by Block, Inc. For additional information, see the Bitcoin disclosures.
Shopify: Stop waiting for permission to build something. Your next revenue stream starts for free at shopify.com/beginners
Turn your passion into profit, connect directly with eager buyers, and grow your business by hosting live, interactive auctions at https://whatnot.com/sell
Supercharge your productivity and automate your daily tasks by building custom AI agents in your all-in-one workspace at https://notion.com/investing
The Perfect Jean makes insanely comfortable, great-fitting jeans you can wear all day—check them out at theperfectjean.nyc.
Function Health helps you get ahead of your health with comprehensive lab testing and clear, actionable insights—learn more at functionhealth.com.
Interested in how your company sponsor the show? Reach us at equity@einvestingforbeginners.com
SUBSCRIBE TO THE SHOW Apple | Spotify | YouTube | Amazon | Tunein
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| Tech Stocks Are Down—Is It “Tech Rot” or Just Noise? | 02 Jul 2026 | 00:47:50 | |
Tech stocks dip and suddenly the media declares the bubble popped—“AI is over,” rates are killing growth, and data centers cost too much. Stephen and Andrew cut through the headlines and explain what’s actually going on: why broad labels like “tech rot” are mostly clickbait, and how small drawdowns get spun into a crisis narrative that can scare newer investors out of the market.
Then they get practical. You’ll learn why growth stocks react harder to interest rates, what it means when a stock is “priced to perfection,” and why volatility isn’t automatically “bad”—it’s often just the tuition you pay for playing the game. They also hit the SaaS/software selloff and how to think about rebounds without blindly chasing “cheap” charts.
What You Will Learn
How to separate media noise from real fundamentals
Why growth stocks are more sensitive to rates and discounting future cash flows
What “priced to perfection” means
How narratives can cascade into “spirals of doom”
A cleaner way to think about volatility
Timestamps
00:00 — “TechRot” headlines and doom narrative setup
05:19 — “40B to a trillion” AI numbers: why sloppy stats are a red flag
08:10 — Manufactured hype + IPO cycles
10:49 — The real question: AI ROI—does it ever show up?
12:06 — Where AI is useful vs. where it still breaks
16:05 — MAG7 snapshot & why “down” doesn’t automatically mean “broken”
18:01 — Downstream AI names volatility
22:09 — AMD vs. NVIDIA: valuation, PE, and why “priced to perfection” hurts
40:45 — SaaS wrap: case-by-case rebounds, Salesforce history, disruption playbooks
Resources Mentioned
The Value Spotlight Newsletter: https://einvestingforbeginners.com/value-spotlight-newsletter/
Have questions or want your story featured? Email the show at newsletter@einvestingforbeginners.com or comment below. Your feedback shapes the podcast!
Remember, invest with a margin of safety—emphasis on the safety. Have a great week, and we’ll talk to you next time.
Timestamps are generated by artificial intelligence, and are not 100% accurate depending on the platform used for listening.
Today’s show is sponsored by:
Download the Plynk app today to start building your investing confidence. https://plynkinvest.app.link/IFBpodcast
Download Cash App Today: https://click.cash.app/ui6m/0th4z72y #CashAppPod As a Cash App partner, I may earn a commission when you sign up for a Cash App account. Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App’s bank partner(s). Bitcoin services provided by Block, Inc. For additional information, see the Bitcoin disclosures.
Shopify: Stop waiting for permission to build something. Your next revenue stream starts for free at shopify.com/beginners
Turn your passion into profit, connect directly with eager buyers, and grow your business by hosting live, interactive auctions at https://whatnot.com/sell
Supercharge your productivity and automate your daily tasks by building custom AI agents in your all-in-one workspace at https://notion.com/investing
The Perfect Jean makes insanely comfortable, great-fitting jeans you can wear all day—check them out at theperfectjean.nyc.
Function Health helps you get ahead of your health with comprehensive lab testing and clear, actionable insights—learn more at functionhealth.com.
Interested in how your company sponsor the show? Reach us at equity@einvestingforbeginners.com
SUBSCRIBE TO THE SHOW Apple | Spotify | YouTube | Amazon | Tunein
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| AAR56 - Engineering POV on Building Margin Into Personal Finance | 30 Jun 2026 | 00:43:15 | |
Most personal finance advice gets treated like a checklist: hit the emergency fund number, hit the savings rate, and you “pass.” In this episode, Evan explains why that mindset breaks in the real world—and why you should build margin into your finances the same way engineers build margin into parts, systems, and analysis.
You’ll learn how small decisions “stack up,” how to set ranges instead of perfect targets, how to think about emergency funds as “load cases,” why banks approve you for way more house than you can safely afford, and why too much margin can also cost you money over time.
What You Will Learn
Why personal finance isn’t pass/fail
How “stack-up” (small choices compounding) quietly wrecks budgets
How to size an emergency fund based on your risk
Why banks approve mortgages with basically zero margin
The downside of over-margining
Timestamps
00:00 – Why margin matters in engineering and money
03:15 – “Stack-up”: small financial choices add up
05:13 – Pass/fail money rules vs real-life ranges
06:55 – How to set a savings “tolerance”
08:22 – Margin applied to expenses
09:43 – Emergency funds as “load cases”
11:03 – Why strict emergency fund rules don’t fit everyone
14:12 – Redundancy: side income + backup systems
17:32 – Banks approving unsafe mortgages
23:19 – Yield points: why “barely safe” isn’t safe
25:34 – Variable debt as a crack
30:18 – “Factor in ignorance” when you’re young
33:42 – Margin must be recalibrated as life changes
Resources Mentioned
The Value Spotlight Newsletter: https://einvestingforbeginners.com/value-spotlight-newsletter/
Free monthly budgeting spreadsheet: https://einvestingforbeginners.com/budget/
Email Evan: evan@einvestingforbeginners.com
Have questions or want your story featured? Email the show at newsletter@einvestingforbeginners.com or comment below. Your feedback shapes the podcast!
Remember, financial freedom is built one smart move at a time. Keep it simple, keep it steady, and at any rate, we’ll see you next time.
Timestamps are generated by artificial intelligence, and are not 100% accurate depending on the platform used for listening.
Today’s show is sponsored by:
Download the Plynk app today to start building your investing confidence. https://plynkinvest.app.link/IFBpodcast
Download Cash App Today: https://click.cash.app/ui6m/0th4z72y #CashAppPod As a Cash App partner, I may earn a commission when you sign up for a Cash App account. Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App’s bank partner(s). Bitcoin services provided by Block, Inc. For additional information, see the Bitcoin disclosures.
Shopify: Stop waiting for permission to build something. Your next revenue stream starts for free at shopify.com/beginners
Upgrade your wardrobe with Quince to get high-quality, luxury essentials at a fraction of the cost by visiting https://quince.com/beginners
Turn your passion into profit, connect directly with eager buyers, and grow your business by hosting live, interactive auctions at https://whatnot.com/sell
Supercharge your productivity and automate your daily tasks by building custom AI agents in your all-in-one workspace at https://notion.com/investing
Interested in how your company sponsor the show? Reach us at equity@einvestingforbeginners.com
SUBSCRIBE TO THE SHOW Apple | Spotify | YouTube | Amazon | Tunein
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| What the Shiller P/E (CAPE) Can and Can’t Tell You | 29 Jun 2026 | 00:47:55 | |
A listener named Chris emailed in with a question a lot of investors are quietly thinking: if the CAPE ratio is around 40 and forecasts say future stock returns could be low, why keep investing at all—especially when CDs, T-bills, and high-yield savings accounts are paying 4–5%? In this episode, Andrew and Stephen break down what CAPE (the Shiller P/E) actually measures, why it’s elevated, and how to use it as a long-term expectations tool without turning it into a market-timing panic button.
They also dig into the psychology behind investing when valuations feel “stretched,” why behavior matters more than being perfectly “right,” and how to think about risk if the market really does drop hard. The bottom line: CAPE can inform your expectations, but it can’t predict the future—and it shouldn’t stop you from building a consistent, long-term investing plan.
What You Will Learn
What CAPE (Shiller P/E) is and why it’s different from a normal P/E ratio
Why a high CAPE can imply lower long-term returns without being a timing signal
How market “top-heaviness” (mega-caps) can distort what CAPE seems to say
How to think about investing behavior when you’re anxious or tempted to react
A practical framework for deciding where your “next dollar” should go (based on time horizon + comfort)
Timestamps
00:00 CAPE near 40, forecasts low returns, so why invest?
01:07 What CAPE is and why it’s a tool, not a crystal ball
02:35 CAPE basics: smoothing earnings over time
03:16 “Does it still make sense to invest?”
05:05 CAPE vs inflation analogy
08:25 CAPE is not for market timing
09:10 “Thermometer, not a calendar”
10:15 Why CAPE is top-heavy: mega-caps tilt the ratio
12:00 What’s driving CAPE higher: big tech valuations + “new” profit growth
22:25 Where does your next dollar go? Steps, psychology, time horizon, and staying consistent
Resources Mentioned
The Value Spotlight Newsletter: https://einvestingforbeginners.com/value-spotlight-newsletter/
Have questions or want your story featured? Email the show at newsletter@einvestingforbeginners.com or comment below. Your feedback shapes the podcast!
Remember, invest with a margin of safety—emphasis on the safety. Have a great week, and we’ll talk to you next time.
Timestamps are generated by artificial intelligence, and are not 100% accurate depending on the platform used for listening.
Today’s show is sponsored by:
Download the Plynk app today to start building your investing confidence. https://plynkinvest.app.link/IFBpodcast
Download Cash App Today: https://click.cash.app/ui6m/0th4z72y #CashAppPod As a Cash App partner, I may earn a commission when you sign up for a Cash App account. Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App’s bank partner(s). Bitcoin services provided by Block, Inc. For additional information, see the Bitcoin disclosures.
Shopify: Stop waiting for permission to build something. Your next revenue stream starts for free at shopify.com/beginners
Turn your passion into profit, connect directly with eager buyers, and grow your business by hosting live, interactive auctions at https://whatnot.com/sell
Supercharge your productivity and automate your daily tasks by building custom AI agents in your all-in-one workspace at https://notion.com/investing
The Perfect Jean makes insanely comfortable, great-fitting jeans you can wear all day—check them out at theperfectjean.nyc.
Function Health helps you get ahead of your health with comprehensive lab testing and clear, actionable insights—learn more at functionhealth.com.
Interested in how your company sponsor the show? Reach us at equity@einvestingforbeginners.com
SUBSCRIBE TO THE SHOW Apple | Spotify | YouTube | Amazon | Tunein
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| How to Read a 10-K in 20 Minutes (The Beginner Speedrun Checklist) | 25 Jun 2026 | 00:47:52 | |
Most investors download a 10-K, scroll for a few minutes, and quit—because it feels like 100 pages of legal pain. In this episode, Andrew and Stephen break down a practical “speedrun” approach to get real value from a 10-K in about 20 minutes, without pretending you need to read every paragraph.
They walk through the key sections that matter most for beginners plus a simple checklist to make sure you actually extracted what you needed. The goal isn’t perfection; it’s building a repeatable process that gets easier every time you do it.
What You Will Learn
What a 10-K is and why it exists (and how it protects investors)
The 4–5 sections that give you the most signal with the least time
How to skim smarter, what to look for, what to ignore, and why CTRL-F matters
What to look for in MD&A so you can spot “politician talk” and vague explanations
A simple 1–5 scorecard to test whether a company is inside your circle of competence
Timestamps
00:00 The “20-minute 10-K speedrun” goal
00:45 Don’t read a 10-K front-to-back: treat it like a reference book
04:35 Skimming tip: look for numbers inside paragraphs (signal hiding in text)
05:25 What a 10-K is (SEC requirement + why disclosures matter)
07:40 Section 1: Business overview — can you explain the company simply?
11:10 Section 2: Risk factors — find what’s unique (not boilerplate)
17:35 Section 3: MD&A — look for clear drivers vs. “politician answers”
23:05 Section 4: Financials — debt, margins, and verifying the story
32:45 Section 5: Dilution + debt notes — stock-based comp, share issuance, maturities
39:45 The 5-point checklist/scorecard: moat, margins, balance sheet, dilution, cash flow quality
Resources Mentioned
The Value Spotlight Newsletter: https://einvestingforbeginners.com/value-spotlight-newsletter/
Have questions or want your story featured? Email the show at newsletter@einvestingforbeginners.com or comment below. Your feedback shapes the podcast!
Remember, invest with a margin of safety—emphasis on the safety. Have a great week, and we’ll talk to you next time.
Timestamps are generated by artificial intelligence, and are not 100% accurate depending on the platform used for listening.
Today’s show is sponsored by:
Download the Plynk app today to start building your investing confidence. https://plynkinvest.app.link/IFBpodcast
Download Cash App Today: https://click.cash.app/ui6m/0th4z72y #CashAppPod As a Cash App partner, I may earn a commission when you sign up for a Cash App account. Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App’s bank partner(s). Bitcoin services provided by Block, Inc. For additional information, see the Bitcoin disclosures.
Shopify: Stop waiting for permission to build something. Your next revenue stream starts for free at shopify.com/beginners
Turn your passion into profit, connect directly with eager buyers, and grow your business by hosting live, interactive auctions at https://whatnot.com/sell
Supercharge your productivity and automate your daily tasks by building custom AI agents in your all-in-one workspace at https://notion.com/investing
The Perfect Jean makes insanely comfortable, great-fitting jeans you can wear all day—check them out at theperfectjean.nyc.
Function Health helps you get ahead of your health with comprehensive lab testing and clear, actionable insights—learn more at functionhealth.com.
Interested in how your company sponsor the show? Reach us at equity@einvestingforbeginners.com
SUBSCRIBE TO THE SHOW Apple | Spotify | YouTube | Amazon | Tunein
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| AAR55 - 5 Years in Engineering: 5 Things I Learned About Building Wealth | 23 Jun 2026 | 00:34:50 | |
In this solo episode, Evan reflects on five years working in engineering (quality → design) and shares the biggest money lessons he’s learned along the way. This isn’t a highlight reel or a sob story—it’s an honest breakdown of what actually changed his financial trajectory, what mistakes he made early, and what he’d do differently if he could start over.
You’ll hear why a steady paycheck can create a false sense of security, how lifestyle creep sneaks in quietly, and why earning more doesn’t automatically build wealth. Evan also shares the moves that mattered most (budgeting, automation, emergency funds, and using tax-advantaged accounts) and the mindset shifts he’d tell his younger self to adopt—so you can build real financial security without guilt, stress, or perfectionism.
What You Will Learn
The difference between false security and true security
Why lifestyle creep is “invisible” at first—and how to catch it early
Why earning money isn’t the same as building wealth
The highest-impact moves
The mindset shift Evan would tell his younger self
Timestamps
00:00 – Background: engineering career path
04:05 – Early financial goals & evolving “why”
08:40 – Lesson 1: false security vs true security
10:30 – How to build true security
13:00 – Lesson 2: lifestyle creep is invisible at first
17:30 – Lesson 3: earning ≠ building
20:53 – Lesson 4: make the moves that matter; skip the ones that don’t
22:40 – Avoid: guilt for spending, ignoring finances, “job will handle it,” buying cheap
28:30 – Lesson 5: what he’d tell his younger self (30 minutes beats worrying)
Resources Mentioned
The Value Spotlight Newsletter: https://einvestingforbeginners.com/value-spotlight-newsletter/
Free monthly budgeting spreadsheet: https://einvestingforbeginners.com/budget/
Email Evan: evan@einvestingforbeginners.com
Have questions or want your story featured? Email the show at newsletter@einvestingforbeginners.com or comment below. Your feedback shapes the podcast!
Remember, financial freedom is built one smart move at a time. Keep it simple, keep it steady, and at any rate, we’ll see you next time.
Timestamps are generated by artificial intelligence, and are not 100% accurate depending on the platform used for listening.
Today’s show is sponsored by:
Download the Plynk app today to start building your investing confidence. https://plynkinvest.app.link/IFBpodcast
Download Cash App Today: https://click.cash.app/ui6m/0th4z72y #CashAppPod As a Cash App partner, I may earn a commission when you sign up for a Cash App account. Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App’s bank partner(s). Bitcoin services provided by Block, Inc. For additional information, see the Bitcoin disclosures.
Go to SHOPIFY.COM/beginners to start selling with Shopify today. https://www.shopify.com/beginners
Upgrade your wardrobe with Quince to get high-quality, luxury essentials at a fraction of the cost by visiting https://quince.com/beginners
Turn your passion into profit, connect directly with eager buyers, and grow your business by hosting live, interactive auctions at https://whatnot.com/sell
Supercharge your productivity and automate your daily tasks by building custom AI agents in your all-in-one workspace at https://notion.com/investing
Interested in how your company sponsor the show? Reach us at equity@einvestingforbeginners.com
SUBSCRIBE TO THE SHOW Apple | Spotify | YouTube | Amazon | Tunein
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| Why A Negative P/E Happens and What to Use Instead | 22 Jun 2026 | 00:40:13 | |
Ever pulled up a stock and noticed the P/E is negative—then immediately wondered if the company is “cheap” or just a disaster? In this episode, Stephen and Andrew break down exactly why a P/E ratio “breaks” when earnings go negative, what that actually tells you (and what it doesn’t), and why a negative P/E should be treated as a big red flag—but not an automatic walk-away.
They cover the three most common reasons you’ll see a negative P/E (real operating losses, one-time accounting noise, and heavy reinvestment/hypergrowth), then walk through practical alternatives you can use to evaluate unprofitable companies without guessing—like price-to-sales, margins, free cash flow, and longer time horizons. The core message: don’t let a single surface-level metric make your decision for you—zoom out, understand the story, and validate it with the right numbers.
What You Will Learn
Why a negative P/E always means negative earnings
The difference between trailing vs. forward P/E and why forward estimates can be “squishy”
The 3 common causes of negative P/E
What to use instead
How to avoid getting hypnotized by a company “story”
Timestamps
00:00 — Negative P/E confusion and the goal of the episode
01:56 — What P/E actually is and why negative P/E = negative earnings (always)
03:12 — Trailing vs. forward P/E: what changes and why estimates are “squishy”
04:11 — Why P/E is flexible (Ferrari example) and why context matters
06:04 — Cause #1: real operating losses (broken model vs. bad cycle vs. early-stage burn)
07:03 — Cause #2: one-time charges/accounting noise (Crocs/HeyDude impairment) + profit vs FCF disconnect
11:52 — Legal settlements and other “noise” that can distort earnings and risk
14:52 — Cause #3: heavy reinvestment/hypergrowth + “losses can be strategic, but risky”
21:27 — What to use instead: long horizon, price-to-sales, margins, operating profit, free cash flow
33:48 — Avoiding story traps
Resources Mentioned
The Value Spotlight Newsletter: https://einvestingforbeginners.com/value-spotlight-newsletter/
Have questions or want your story featured? Email the show at newsletter@einvestingforbeginners.com or comment below. Your feedback shapes the podcast!
Remember, invest with a margin of safety—emphasis on the safety. Have a great week, and we’ll talk to you next time.
Timestamps are generated by artificial intelligence, and are not 100% accurate depending on the platform used for listening.
Today’s show is sponsored by:
Download the Plynk app today to start building your investing confidence. https://plynkinvest.app.link/IFBpodcast
Download Cash App Today: https://click.cash.app/ui6m/0th4z72y #CashAppPod As a Cash App partner, I may earn a commission when you sign up for a Cash App account. Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App’s bank partner(s). Bitcoin services provided by Block, Inc. For additional information, see the Bitcoin disclosures.
Go to SHOPIFY.COM/beginners to start selling with Shopify today. https://www.shopify.com/beginners
Turn your passion into profit, connect directly with eager buyers, and grow your business by hosting live, interactive auctions at https://whatnot.com/sell
Supercharge your productivity and automate your daily tasks by building custom AI agents in your all-in-one workspace at https://notion.com/investing
The Perfect Jean makes insanely comfortable, great-fitting jeans you can wear all day—check them out at theperfectjean.nyc.
Function Health helps you get ahead of your health with comprehensive lab testing and clear, actionable insights—learn more at functionhealth.com.
Interested in how your company sponsor the show? Reach us at equity@einvestingforbeginners.com
SUBSCRIBE TO THE SHOW Apple | Spotify | YouTube | Amazon | Tunein
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| Personal Finance First: The Step-by-Step Plan Before You Start Investing | 18 Jun 2026 | 01:07:18 | |
Most people advise to jump straight into investing—but that’s backwards. In this episode, Stephen is joined by Evan Raidt (host of At Any Rate) to lay out a simple, phase-based roadmap for building a stable financial foundation before you start making investing moves. Think of it like building a house: if the foundation isn’t solid, everything you build on top of it is at risk.
They walk through the basics—budgeting, emergency funds, debt management, and avoiding lifestyle creep—then outline clear phases for both younger listeners (new grads) and “late starters” who are trying to catch up in middle age. The big takeaway: you don’t need perfection, you need consistency—and you need to be willing to actually look at your finances without fear.
What You Will Learn
The “foundation first” order of operations: budget → emergency fund → debt → investing
Why investing won’t make you stable—and why stability is what makes investing work
How to avoid lifestyle creep when your income jumps after graduation
What “messy but trending up” looks like in real-life finances
How to catch up if you’re starting later: stop the bleeding, pay off debt, invest boring
Timestamps
00:00 — Building a stable financial “foundation”
02:36 — What “basic personal finance” actually means
06:56 — Lifestyle creep: why the first real paycheck can quietly wreck you
08:27 — Key rule: you don’t invest to get stable—you get stable so you can invest
10:06 — Phase 0: know your “must-pay” monthly expenses, set up accounts, automate smartly
18:28 — Phase 1: $1,000 emergency fund, get the 401(k) match, and remove financial roadblocks
25:05 — Phase 2: kill high-interest debt + build emergency fund to 3 months + learn investment account basics
28:03 — Phase 3 & 4: start automatic investing (10–15%) + increase contributions as income rises (fight lifestyle creep)
42:47 — “Enjoy my 20s” debate: the real cost of delaying investing & building a solid life isn’t “boring”
48:17 — Late starters: stop the bleeding, get intentional, pay down debt, invest boring, and optimize protection
Resources Mentioned
The Value Spotlight Newsletter: https://einvestingforbeginners.com/value-spotlight-newsletter/
Have questions or want your story featured? Email the show at newsletter@einvestingforbeginners.com or comment below. Your feedback shapes the podcast!
Remember, invest with a margin of safety—emphasis on the safety. Have a great week, and we’ll talk to you next time.
Timestamps are generated by artificial intelligence, and are not 100% accurate depending on the platform used for listening.
Today’s show is sponsored by:
Download the Plynk app today to start building your investing confidence. https://plynkinvest.app.link/IFBpodcast
Download Cash App Today: https://click.cash.app/ui6m/0th4z72y #CashAppPod As a Cash App partner, I may earn a commission when you sign up for a Cash App account. Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App’s bank partner(s). Bitcoin services provided by Block, Inc. For additional information, see the Bitcoin disclosures.
Go to SHOPIFY.COM/beginners to start selling with Shopify today. https://www.shopify.com/beginners
Turn your passion into profit, connect directly with eager buyers, and grow your business by hosting live, interactive auctions at https://whatnot.com/sell
Supercharge your productivity and automate your daily tasks by building custom AI agents in your all-in-one workspace at https://notion.com/investing
The Perfect Jean makes insanely comfortable, great-fitting jeans you can wear all day—check them out at theperfectjean.nyc.
Function Health helps you get ahead of your health with comprehensive lab testing and clear, actionable insights—learn more at functionhealth.com.
Interested in how your company sponsor the show? Reach us at equity@einvestingforbeginners.com
SUBSCRIBE TO THE SHOW Apple | Spotify | YouTube | Amazon | Tunein
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| AAR54 - AI and Your Finances: Tool or Risk | 16 Jun 2026 | 00:48:54 | |
AI is everywhere—and now it’s creeping into personal finance in a big way. In this episode, Evan is joined by Stephen Morris to talk about what AI could mean for your money, especially as tools like ChatGPT move toward linking directly to financial accounts through services like Plaid.
They break down the real risks: privacy and security, “black box” decision-making, hallucinations that sound confident, and the bigger issue—most people don’t know how to prompt AI, so it ends up telling them what they want to hear. The takeaway isn’t “fear AI,” it’s “use it like a tool”: get ideas, double-check math, explore options, but don’t outsource your financial decisions to a chatbot.
What You Will Learn
Why linking AI to your bank/brokerage could be a bigger risk than people realize
How AI “people-pleasing” can lead to bad money decisions
The difference between using AI as a tool vs. letting it make decisions
Practical safety rules: avoid sensitive docs, use MFA, don’t blindly trust outputs
Smart ways to use AI for finance
Timestamps
00:00 – Why this matters: AI’s financial impact is coming either way
03:20 – ChatGPT linking to accounts via Plaid & “black box” concern
05:30 – Types of AI (ANI/AGI/ASI) & what current models can/can’t do
06:40 – Biggest risk: AI replaces the skill (budgeting, thinking, learning)
08:35 – People don’t know how to use AI → it tells you what you want to hear
13:18 – Conflict of interest: chatbots want you to stay and feel good
14:30 – Real risks: data leakage, lack of regulation, hallucinations
17:10 – Use AI daily, but don’t let it decide
24:35 – Safe uses
33:05 – Safety guidelines
36:56 – “Your info is already out there”
41:45 – Using AI for investing research
45:00 – AI as an intern, not a decision-maker
Resources Mentioned
The Value Spotlight Newsletter: https://einvestingforbeginners.com/value-spotlight-newsletter/
Free monthly budgeting spreadsheet: https://einvestingforbeginners.com/budget/
Email Evan: evan@einvestingforbeginners.com
Have questions or want your story featured? Email the show at newsletter@einvestingforbeginners.com or comment below. Your feedback shapes the podcast!
Remember, financial freedom is built one smart move at a time. Keep it simple, keep it steady, and at any rate, we’ll see you next time.
Timestamps are generated by artificial intelligence, and are not 100% accurate depending on the platform used for listening.
Today’s show is sponsored by:
Download the Plynk app today to start building your investing confidence. https://plynkinvest.app.link/IFBpodcast
Download Cash App Today: https://click.cash.app/ui6m/0th4z72y #CashAppPod As a Cash App partner, I may earn a commission when you sign up for a Cash App account. Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App’s bank partner(s). Bitcoin services provided by Block, Inc. For additional information, see the Bitcoin disclosures.
Go to SHOPIFY.COM/beginners to start selling with Shopify today. https://www.shopify.com/beginners
Upgrade your wardrobe with Quince to get high-quality, luxury essentials at a fraction of the cost by visiting https://quince.com/beginners
Turn your passion into profit, connect directly with eager buyers, and grow your business by hosting live, interactive auctions at https://whatnot.com/sell
Supercharge your productivity and automate your daily tasks by building custom AI agents in your all-in-one workspace at https://notion.com/investing
Interested in how your company sponsor the show? Reach us at equity@einvestingforbeginners.com
SUBSCRIBE TO THE SHOW Apple | Spotify | YouTube | Amazon | Tunein
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| Present Value vs. Terminal Value: The Real Difference Between “Value” and “Growth” | 15 Jun 2026 | 01:10:15 | |
“Value vs. growth” gets treated like two different religions—but the math doesn’t agree. In this episode, Andrew is joined by Daniel Mahncke and Sean O’Malley to break down intrinsic value into two core components: present value (cash flows you can reasonably forecast) and terminal value (everything beyond your explicit forecast period).
They make it tangible with two case studies: Universal Music Group as a “bond-like” business with predictable cash flows, and MercadoLibre as a long-runway compounder where more of the outcome depends on assumptions, competition, and execution. You’ll also hear how they think about earnings yield, margin of safety, and position sizing when the downside risk isn’t the same across businesses.
What You Will Learn
The difference between present value and terminal value in intrinsic value
Why Buffett says growth and value are “joined at the hip”
How to use earnings yield (inverse of P/E) to think more clearly about “expensive” stocks
Why predictable businesses can trade cheaper than they “should”
How uncertainty changes position sizing and downside risk management
Timestamps
00:00 – Intro to Daniel Mahncke & Sean O’Malley
01:26 – Starting with Security Analysis
04:39 – Valuing stocks via present value vs. terminal value
05:14 – What a stock is worth: future cash flows + discounting (time value of money)
06:02 – Why “value vs. growth” is mostly identity, not math
09:23 – Multiples made tangible: earnings yield and margin of safety logic
11:11 – Case study #1: Universal Music Group
19:38 – Why UMG may lack “optionality”
24:15 – Case study #2: MercadoLibre runway, margin expansion, and why it’s riskier
46:11 – Portfolio management: conviction, co-managing decisions, and the “too-hard pile”
Resources Mentioned
The Value Spotlight Newsletter: https://einvestingforbeginners.com/value-spotlight-newsletter/
Have questions or want your story featured? Email the show at newsletter@einvestingforbeginners.com or comment below. Your feedback shapes the podcast!
Remember, invest with a margin of safety—emphasis on the safety. Have a great week, and we’ll talk to you next time.
Timestamps are generated by artificial intelligence, and are not 100% accurate depending on the platform used for listening.
Today’s show is sponsored by:
Download the Plynk app today to start building your investing confidence. https://plynkinvest.app.link/IFBpodcast
Download Cash App Today: https://click.cash.app/ui6m/0th4z72y #CashAppPod As a Cash App partner, I may earn a commission when you sign up for a Cash App account. Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App’s bank partner(s). Bitcoin services provided by Block, Inc. For additional information, see the Bitcoin disclosures.
Go to SHOPIFY.COM/beginners to start selling with Shopify today. https://www.shopify.com/beginners
Turn your passion into profit, connect directly with eager buyers, and grow your business by hosting live, interactive auctions at https://whatnot.com/sell
Supercharge your productivity and automate your daily tasks by building custom AI agents in your all-in-one workspace at https://notion.com/investing
The Perfect Jean makes insanely comfortable, great-fitting jeans you can wear all day—check them out at theperfectjean.nyc.
Function Health helps you get ahead of your health with comprehensive lab testing and clear, actionable insights—learn more at functionhealth.com.
Interested in how your company sponsor the show? Reach us at equity@einvestingforbeginners.com
SUBSCRIBE TO THE SHOW Apple | Spotify | YouTube | Amazon | Tunein
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| Not All Dividends Are Equal: Dividend Kings, Aristocrats, and Red Flags | 11 Jun 2026 | 00:37:17 | |
Not all dividends are created equal. In this episode, Andrew and Stephen break down two popular “quality filters” dividend investors use—Dividend Aristocrats and Dividend Kings —and why a long streak can be a useful starting point for stock ideas, not a guarantee of safety.
They also dig into what a dividend streak can signal about a business, plus the red flags that can turn a “safe yield” into a trap—like unsustainable payout ratios, too much debt, and REIT-style dilution that gives you “your own pie back.” Finally, Andrew walks through a practical dividend checklist using Sherwin-Williams as a live example.
What You Will Learn
The difference between Dividend Aristocrats and Dividend Kings
Why a high dividend yield can be a warning sign, not a gift
The key metrics to sanity-check dividend safety
How dilution can “fake” dividend returns
A simple way to think about expected returns using dividend + buybacks + growth
Timestamps
00:00 – Dividend Aristocrats vs. Dividend Kings
01:18 – The “corny” names that are actually useful filters
02:53 – “You don’t accidentally pay a dividend 25 years in a row”
04:56 – What a long dividend streak can signal
07:06 – Why capital efficiency (ROIC/ROE) matters for long-term dividends
11:39 – The big risk: kings/aristocrats can be in a business’s late innings
13:29 – Dividend safety checks: growth, debt, ROIC vs competitors, payout ratio
14:18 – REIT red flag: issuing shares to fund dividends (“robbing Peter to pay Paul”)
16:10 – Why high yield can be a giant red flag (stock price tied to yield)
18:16 – Andrew’s quick dividend checklist on Sherwin-Williams + hurdle rate framing
Resources Mentioned
The Value Spotlight Newsletter: https://einvestingforbeginners.com/value-spotlight-newsletter/
Have questions or want your story featured? Email the show at newsletter@einvestingforbeginners.com or comment below. Your feedback shapes the podcast!
Remember, invest with a margin of safety—emphasis on the safety. Have a great week, and we’ll talk to you next time.
Timestamps are generated by artificial intelligence, and are not 100% accurate depending on the platform used for listening.
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The Perfect Jean makes insanely comfortable, great-fitting jeans you can wear all day—check them out at theperfectjean.nyc.
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| AAR53-Stop Ballparking It: A Real Plan for Saving Toward a Goal | 09 Jun 2026 | 00:35:46 | |
In this episode, Evan walks through a real-time example of saving toward a short-to-medium term goal: buying a motorcycle (plus safety gear) ahead of a future motorcycle trip with his best friend. Instead of vague “just save more” advice, he breaks down the exact mindset and planning process he’s using—built for goals under ~2 years where you need clarity, not hype. You’ll hear what to avoid , then a step-by-step framework so you can actually hit the target.
What You Will Learn
The biggest mistakes people make saving for a medium-term purchase
How to set a goal amount with padding
Where to pull money from without touching your “most powerful” savings
Why a high-yield savings account is usually the best home for 1–2 year goals
How to calculate your timeline
Timestamps
00:00 – What this goal is
02:35 – Why this framework is for goals under ~2 years
07:00 – What to avoid
09:20 – Why “slush funds” can sabotage big purchases
10:50 – Don’t just save cash / don’t rely on credit cards
12:40 – Step 1: set the goal amount
15:55 – Step 2: use your budget (AAR03) & automate it
18:00 – Step 3: where to pull from
26:55 – Step 4: where to keep it
31:05 – Step 5: timeline math + compound interest calculator
Resources Mentioned
The Value Spotlight Newsletter: https://einvestingforbeginners.com/value-spotlight-newsletter/
Free monthly budgeting spreadsheet: https://einvestingforbeginners.com/budget/
Email Evan: evan@einvestingforbeginners.com
Have questions or want your story featured? Email the show at newsletter@einvestingforbeginners.com or comment below. Your feedback shapes the podcast!
Remember, financial freedom is built one smart move at a time. Keep it simple, keep it steady, and at any rate, we’ll see you next time.
Timestamps are generated by artificial intelligence, and are not 100% accurate depending on the platform used for listening.
Today’s show is sponsored by:
Download the Plynk app today to start building your investing confidence. https://plynkinvest.app.link/IFBpodcast
Go to SHOPIFY.COM/beginners to start selling with Shopify today. https://www.shopify.com/beginners
Upgrade your wardrobe with Quince to get high-quality, luxury essentials at a fraction of the cost by visiting https://quince.com/beginners
Turn your passion into profit, connect directly with eager buyers, and grow your business by hosting live, interactive auctions at https://whatnot.com/sell
Supercharge your productivity and automate your daily tasks by building custom AI agents in your all-in-one workspace at https://notion.com/investing
Interested in how your company sponsor the show? Reach us at equity@einvestingforbeginners.com
SUBSCRIBE TO THE SHOW Apple | Spotify | YouTube | Amazon | Tunein
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| The Truth About Market Timing, Crashes, and Long-Term Investing with Ben Carlson | 08 Jun 2026 | 00:49:31 | |
What’s the secret to investing? According to Ben Carlson (CFA, Ritholtz Wealth Management), the “secret” is that there isn’t one—building wealth is mostly about time, consistency, and letting compounding do the heavy lifting. In this conversation, Ben breaks down why the lottery-ticket approach and constant market timing are usually a losing game, even for smart people.
We also dig into how the stock market and the economy don’t always move together, why macro data is hard to use in real time, and what history can teach us about surviving the worst-case scenarios (like the Great Depression). Ben shares a practical way to think about diversification, how to avoid extremes (including the Japan bubble example), and why having rules—an investing “policy statement”—can keep your emotions from wrecking your results.
What You Will Learn
Why the “secret to investing” is there is no secret—and why that’s good news
The hidden trap of market timing: you have to be right twice
Why the stock market and the economy can diverge
What the Great Depression and Japan’s bubble teach about time horizon & diversification
How rules and automation can protect you from emotional decisions
Timestamps
00:14 — Ben Carlson, Ritholtz Wealth Management & his book Risk and Reward
00:57 — “What’s the secret to investing?”
02:26 — Market timing temptation
04:01 — “Worst market timer” story: investing at peaks and still compounding over time
05:03 — Cash as a “gateway drug” & the psychological toll of timing
07:15 — The Great Depression: the worst crash and what long-term returns still show
10:10 — Why studying market history matters
14:36 — Stock market vs economy
23:16 — Japan’s bubble & what it teaches about extremes and global diversification
38:15 — Rules, automation, and an “investment policy statement” to manage emotions
Resources Mentioned
The Value Spotlight Newsletter: https://einvestingforbeginners.com/value-spotlight-newsletter/
Have questions or want your story featured? Email the show at newsletter@einvestingforbeginners.com or comment below. Your feedback shapes the podcast!
Remember, invest with a margin of safety—emphasis on the safety. Have a great week, and we’ll talk to you next time.
Timestamps are generated by artificial intelligence, and are not 100% accurate depending on the platform used for listening.
Today’s show is sponsored by:
Download the Plynk app today to start building your investing confidence. https://plynkinvest.app.link/plynkifb2026
Go to SHOPIFY.COM/beginners to start selling with Shopify today. https://www.shopify.com/beginners
Upgrade your wardrobe with Quince to get high-quality, luxury essentials at a fraction of the cost by visiting https://quince.com/beginners
Turn your passion into profit, connect directly with eager buyers, and grow your business by hosting live, interactive auctions at https://whatnot.com/sell
Supercharge your productivity and automate your daily tasks by building custom AI agents in your all-in-one workspace at https://notion.com/investing
The Perfect Jean makes insanely comfortable, great-fitting jeans you can wear all day—check them out at theperfectjean.nyc.
Function Health helps you get ahead of your health with comprehensive lab testing and clear, actionable insights—learn more at functionhealth.com.
Interested in how your company sponsor the show? Reach us at equity@einvestingforbeginners.com
SUBSCRIBE TO THE SHOW Apple | Spotify | YouTube | Amazon | Tunein
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
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