Newest running shoes

I like trying out new running shoes but always keep a few go-tos in my line up. I have been a fan of having a rotation of running shoes to workout with for about 10 years. I like to have different ones for different workouts and to just rotate through. 

Here are my current additions to the line up:

The Brooks (middle) are the Ghost 12. The Ghost line has been in my rotation for 7 years. It is my top go-to. I love them for my everyday runs and long runs. Soft with some support. Always available and hold up to the beating of daily running. These along with the Nike Pegasus are probably two shoes I have bought most often. 

The two other shoes are Sketchers. This isn't my first foray with the brand. A few years back I bought a pair for speed days and as my half marathon shoe. I ran a PR in those and was pleased with how they felt. They weren't as durable but for the price they did a great job. 

The Sketchers on the left are Go Run Max Road 4. These a super cushy and have a great grip on the bottom. The upper is nice as well. I have enjoyed the runs I have gone on in them. They feel like they will hold up pretty decent but I doubt to the 500 miles I like to get in on a shoe. You don't feel the road at all in these so if you like that feel these aren't for you. 

The other Sketchers (right) are GoMeb Speed 6. I got these becuase well Meb of course & I don't have any race/speed shoes at this time. They are light with a little cushion. Not the most comfortable, as racing shoes rarely are, and I wouldn't go on a long run in them. Since I don't do much racing or speed work these days, I have only gotten out in them twice. Too early to really tell if I like them but so far I don't dislike them.

I have another 3 or so shoes currently in rotation. These three plus the Pegasus I just got are the newest to the family. The new Pegasus I got are for my Atlanta trips to replace the recently retired Brooks I kept in Atlanta. I visit Atlanta so much I just keep a pair of running shoes & gear there. 

Cool weather in So FL :)

 The weather in south florida has finally turned to cooler temperatures. It is so brutally hot year round here. Which is great for many reasons but not for running. As mentioned in a previous post, the heat makes it miserable to be a runner here.

The cooler temperatures has been amazing for my running. It has made it fun again. I have gotten off the treadmill and back out on the roads. Running comfortably and longer. I will be taking advantage of this as long as it will last, even though it sure won't last long enough. Two month out of the year just isn't enough. Spring is generally bearable but not pleasant.

Well I am off  to enjoy some miles. 🏃🏃🏃🏃

The future of the Finance industry...... PayPal

 ***Please make sure to do your research and consult a professional. I am not a professional and content is intended to be used and must be used for informational purposes only.****

The big financial institutes have dominated for centuries. I think the new technology is testing those institutes and this can be a great thing for consumers. Look around and you can see all the daily tech we are using for our new form of banking. The two companies that have stuck out to me are PayPal (PYPL) and Square (SQ). 

Let's take a look at some of the recent trends:

Digital, Peer to peer, Online shopping, Buy now pay later or in instalments, Digital wallets, Mobile pay, Crypto, AI, Automation, Rewards, lower fee structure.

You can look around as she how technology is disrupting the industry. Here are just a few companies doing the disrupting:

PayPal, Square, Robinhood, Apple Pay (Google pay, Samsung pay. Amazon..), Acorns, Chime (?), Varo Money, AfterPAy....

As you can see there are plenty of examples. I have chosen to speak on PayPal but I also like Square. I am just more familiar with PayPal. Over the years, PayPal was primarily known as the eBay payment. That is far from true now. I first noticed a big shift once I saw PayPal as an option at Home Depot. They had been spun off from eBay by that time. Even recently. people made a big fuss when eBay announced that PayPal would not be its primary payment processor. However, it was going to still be an option. I was a little shocked people reacted that way, because by this time PayPal was already making big moves outside that eBay connection. Look at where you have shopped online in recent month and you will see how prevalent it is as a payment option.  

The reasons why I like PayPal? 

Offers peer to peer in multiple currencies, Consumer to Business payment (where it started), Business POS, PayPal Credit, Venmo (yes venmo!!), and now they are dipping into Crypto. 

They hit on most of the big trends. They are looking to continue to innovate and enter new areas. They don't hit all the notes but I like the story and they aren't tied to a bigger company (Apple Pay, Amazon..), are a public company (Robinhood, Acorns), are known (Chimes, afterpay).

I think this is an area with plenty of investment options for the long run. One very large trend is the buy now pay later type formats and for that I would say keep an eye on AfterPay. The trend is the modern online version of layaway. It is less diversified in its business offerings and is a riskier pick. Again, I also like Square (Square card, CashApp, POS, Jack Dorsey).

These would have all been great buys during the March dip. I still think there is value here in many of these Fin Tech companies that will continue to disrupt the industry. Some of these I would keep an eye on for  a future IPO or a buying opportunity. 

My 401(K)

***Please make sure to do your research and consult a professional. I am not a professional and content is intended to be used and must be used for informational purposes only.****

The company I work for offers a 401(K) as a retirement benefit for its full time employees. At the time I joined the company, they offered a matching program after one year of service and a fully vested after 4 years. Although the company has changed requirements throughout the years, that is what it was for me when I joined the company. It now offers matching almost right away and no time period for before becoming fully vested. 

The matching component is where the company matches what you put into the account up to a specific amount. Vested refers to the ownership of that amount contributed by the company completely and wholly. Meaning, the company can't claw any of that back and you fully own the entirety of the funds. 

401(K) ( FYI 403b is very similar)

Before we take a dive into how I have mine setup, let's look at what a 401(k) is. According to the IRS: A 401(k) is a feature of a qualified profit-sharing plan that allows employees to contribute a portion of their wages to individual accounts. Elective salary deferrals are excluded from the employee's taxable income (except for designated Roth deferrals). Employers can contribute to employees' accounts.

A few key components are:

1) Tax deferral- Your contribution is excluded from your taxable income bow but instead pay the tax when you withdrawl. This allows you to utilize those funds take advantage of compounding interest.

2) Retirement Plan- This plan is for your retirement years.Withdrawing the money early, before 59.5, will generally cost 10% + the income tax owed with the exception of a hardship withdrawal. There are also annual maximum contribution limits.

3) Employer can contribute- In my opinion, you should really only contribute if your company is matching because you have other vehicles available with better control to utilize. You should invest up to the amount the company is willing to match and put the rest in another retirement vehicle.

My Setup

As far as my setup, I keep it pretty simple. Your outlook should be long term and you should invest accordingly. Each plan has a set of available investment options that you can choose to put the 401K funds into. They are generally limited and is why I feel you should only put up to the match amount. I fund the account up to my company's matching amount to take maximize the benefit. The rest of the amount you want to put toward savings, utilize in another retirement vehicle such as an IRA. 

Most programs have a target date fund based on your retirement year. You can buy into that and it is rebalanced to fit the needs as the retirement year comes. In short the tend to move money out of stocks into safer investments to balance risk. I think these tend to be to safe as retirement approaches. I put my funds in a target fund 10 years out from my date to be a little more aggressive but still allow some safer investments. You should follow the same rules with general investing, if you need the money in the next 5-10 years move that portion to a safer investment, otherwise keep it in the market.  

The rest of my funds are in an index fund. I chose an index fund that mostly mirrors the S&P 500. They have funds that track various indexes and a few options for industries such as real estate. I believe in concentrating on a just a couple funds and sticking to that instead of putting money in a bunch of funds. Pick your top ones and focus on those. These funds are already generally diverse and reflect the market you are interested in. Over diversifying can be damaging by limiting your upside.

I evaluate the funds and distribution every quarter but rarely make any major changes. I have a few times moved the funds from one investment to another due to it being discontinued or a new better option being added to the program. 

When you leave your company, remember to move the funds in the account. Most companies give a period before you become liable for the expense of your account and that will diminish your returns. Plus without the match you can take advantage of other retirement plans. Make sure you don't withdraw your funds but transfer it directly to a new retirement plan to avoid paying the additional taxes. 

Remember, when it comes to investing and taking care of your income to always pay yourself first. Future you will thank you. Your future peace of mind is much more valuable than that latte or night out. Although those are important, first make sure you are setting yourself up for long term financial stability. I setup my accounts to auto deposit or transfer so I don't even see these funds each pay period. Whenever I get a raise so does my investment accounts. Start investing early, the compounding factor is real and delaying will have a big impact on the long term results. 

Summary:

-401k is a retirement program with tax deferral, early withdrawal tax, and maximum contribution limits

-Take advantage of it up to the matching amount from your company is offering, put the rest of your budgeted retirement money in another account

-keep it simple and invest in one or two funds and when you leave your company move the funds

-PAY yourself FIRST and start EARLY and consistently. 

-Your company may offer a 403(b) and is very similar and can follow the same strategy. 

DNKN- COVID buy

***Please make sure to do your research and consult a professional. I am not a professional and content is intended to be used and must be used for informational purposes only.****

Dunkin' Brands Group, Inc. is the  holding company of Dunkin and Baskin-Robbins. When I bought Dunkin Brands stock I was looking to buy something that was adapting to COVID well. I was late on the Home Depot, Amazon, clorox ,Kroger/Publix. I didn't understand Docusign, Zoom, and equipment companies. I was nervous about Netflix but covid may have given it the lift it needed. 

This is where looking at companies I was still using came in to handy. I started looking at the things I was still doing or starting to do. I noticed more streaming, more work from home (new devices/desks..), eating in, working out more, virtual meetings/communications, and to go food. 

The places that seemed to still be doing business regular if not more that I frequented were Target, Walmart, Publix, Dunkin' and Starbucks. I noticed other places were also picking up business like McDonalds, Gaming and liquor stores but I don't really patronize those places. Out of those I used Dunkin the most and actually realized I was utilizing them more. This was because their app and pricing. I took a look over their stock and noticed it hadn't yet seen the run up like many of the other companies I was looking at. 

I am one that typically favors buying best of breed in an industry, in this case it was Starbucks. I am also a believer of buying companies I am more familiar with, Dunkin. This put me in a spot to make a decision. I believed both would be great picks. However, Starbucks had moved up more at that point. The final straw that pushed me to land on Dunkin was it has seen revenue increases over the previous 3 years. It was investing in new concepts and had seen a huge dip from the mid 70s down to 40s and had plenty of run way to go.

What is the next stock to be looking at? Disney? Comcast (Universal)? If you are looking for value, take a look at stocks that would be poised to do well with a vaccine or going back to a new normal. Who is positioning themselves for success in the new landscape. Avoid companies that are struggling to adapt or may not make it out. 

Apple Inc (AAPL) 4 for 1!!!

  ***Please make sure to do your research and consult a professional. I am not a professional and content is intended to be used and must be used for informational purposes only.****

Apple Inc is an interesting ownership for me. It starts with wanting to own one of the big tech companies for years but never buying in. The "big four", or"big 5" (aka FAAMG) depending on who you talk to, are Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Microsoft (or Netflix for FAANG), and Google (Alphabet) . Although they all operate in different arenas they are all ultimately tech companies. I have always passed on the opportunity to put these stocks in my portfolio for various reason often because they were too expensive for my taste. They sell at a high PE and I was not willing to pay so much money for one stock. But in actually I should have bought as I would have made a fortune on them.

Which brings me to how I have come to own Apple shares. As a consumer, I have had a back and forth relationship with Apple and Google's Android devices. Lately I have taken more to the Google/Samsung side (I am writing this on a Samsung Chromebook). I like to stick to stocks I am a consumer of since I tend to better understand the company, customers, products, and brand.

However, in this case I went with Apple over Google stock. It goes back to the same reason why I was always hesitant to buying into these stocks and is relevant to today, perceived value in the price. Apple had a 7 for 1 stock split when the stock was at about $700. It was my chance to get in at price I could afford. Now it is back to the Mid $400's and about to have another split (4 for 1).

When a company splits its stock it is simply increasing the number of shares in a company which in effect lowers the market price per share but IT DOES NOT CHANGE THE COMPANY'S MARKET VALUE.  This is why I earlier stated perceived value.

If doing this doesn't increase the actual value of the company why do it? Why is Tesla doing a split as well? Typically this done to make a single share more affordable to smaller investors. It is also a positive sign about how the company feels about its outlook on its stock.

To me this signals another possible trend, the importance of smaller and individual investors. These two tech companies feel that making their stock available to the everyday investor maybe a telling story. As more individuals are now investing on their own due to apps like Robin Hood and zero fee trading. (that is us!!).  And yes Tesla is a tech company not a car company, it trades like tech not like car companies do but that is another post. It will be interesting to see if other high priced companies follow with splits.

Back to Apple, this may be another opportunity to get in on Apple. However, with many companies offering factional stocks you already had a chance to get it a a lower price point.  

I also feel comfortable enough understanding Apple, its products are all over the place and I interact with it as a consumer and with its consumers. Everyone seems to have an Apple product these days, I have an ipad and ipod sitting next to me. Even with Apple hardware sales being softer these days, their innovation starting to slow, government looking at tech giants, and legal issues with the app store, I think they are a buy. I believe in Cook and Apple has been able to increase its revenue in its services division along with its customer base are all positive signs. Apple also has ALOT of cash on hand (about $200 B).

I think owning stock in  FAAMG (FAANG) stocks is a good idea but I wouldn't buy all of them for diversification purposes. It is possible these stocks could be facing a bubble. 

T. Rowe Price Equity Index 500 Fund (PREIX)

 ***Please make sure to do your research and consult a professional. I am not a professional and content is intended to be used and must be used for informational purposes only.****

PREIX is my go to when I am looking to invest more to my portfolio. It is my largest single holding. It is an Index fund the is based of the S&P 500. I am a believer that the everyday person is likely best off investing in a solid index fund for a big portion (or all) of their self managed portfolio. This is especially true for those that don't have time do the research for individual stocks but want the exposure to the stock market. The indexes historically have a much higher return than any other investment type and is easier than actively managing your portfolio. Index Funds are a great option for retirement accounts (more about that later). 

You can also choose different indexes that focus on different segments. Alternatively you can also look at mutual funds or ETFs.  Mutual funds are like index funds but tend to have higher expenses. EFTs have lower fees than Mutual Funds as it isn't actively managed. 

The reason I choose PREIX over other available funds is because I  personally tend to follow the S&P 500 over many other indexes. It also tracks well-known American based businesses representing a wide range of industries (safer & diversified). Other top indexes are Russel, Dow, NYSE, Nasdaq. There are international index funds as well.

Another reason I have chosen PREIX is because it doesn't have a minimum buy in and a low expense ratio. Expense Ratios represent the main cost of owning the fund and is subtracted from each fund shareholders returns as a percentage of the investment. In general index funds have lower expense ratios since it is managed to reflect the index it is based off but they can vary from fund to fund. Some index funds require a minimum investment. Ones with higher investment requirements tend to have a lower expense ratio. Over a long period (compounding factor) this could impact your overall return. If you have the money to invest into an index fund with a lower ratio you should but this is a good fund to start with.

PREIX does have a minimum hold time before being allowed to sell without penalty. Since I plan to hold long term this isn't an issue for me but should be considered when buying.

Summary:

-PREIX is an Index fund based on the S&P 500

- Doesn't have a min investment requirement

- Expense ratio (.19%) isn't the lowest but isn't the highest

-Index funds are great low cost options to not have to actively manage your account, don't have the time to do the regular research for stocks, and provides exposure to stocks

-9.57% standardized return since inception and 13% in last 10 year (just under the actual s&p 500)