Chaz Ruffin Finance

If you’re new to investing and need a quick cheat sheet here you go. These are a few of the best funds from some of the top fund providers: S&P 500: $VOO (Vanguard) $FXAIX (Fidelity) $IVV (IShares) Total US Market: $VTI (Vanguard) $FZROX (Fidelity) $ITOT (IShares) Total International Market: $VXUS (Vanguard) $FZILX (Fidelity) $IXUS (IShares) US Small Cap: $VIOV (Vanguard) $FISVX (Fidelity) $IJS (IShares) REITs: $VNQ (Vanguard) $FREL (Fidelity) $IYR (IShares) Bonds: $BND (Vanguard) $FBND (Fidelity) $IUSB (IShares)

If all of your portfolio is in S&P 500 or NASDAQ 100 funds you might not be as diversified as you think. The top 10 holdings make up 34% of the S&P 500 and 50% of the NASDAQ 100. Here are a few of my favorite ETFs to help diversify a portfolio: Small Caps) $AVUV $DFSV $VIOV $AVDV (International) $AVEE (Emerging Markets) International) $VXUS $AVDE $DFAX $AVNV $AVES Global) $VT $DFAW $AVGE $AVGV

It’s been a good week to be a small cap investor. This is a prime example of why I diversify.

When you’re starting out, investing regularly is more important than the dollar amount you’re investing. Once you start investing it becomes addicting watching your portfolio grow and you’ll find ways to invest more and more money over time. When I was in college I did Instacart deliveries on the weekends. It wasn’t flashy, but it allowed me to start investing as a broke college student. But most importantly it helped me build the muscle memory of investing on a consistent basis, regardless of the amount.

Does anyone else ever wonder if they know some of the people behind these anonymous accounts in real life? Like you could be engaging with one of your coworkers and have no idea… That’s one reason why I try to keep all my interactions respectful even if we disagree on a topic.

You can enjoy Netflix, eating out, video games, going out with friends, etc and still be successful. Moderation>>>Eradication Life is all about balance. You don’t need to be a robot to achieve success.

On X, “1,000,000 isn’t a lot of money.” Yet only 8% of Americans are millionaires. “100k isn’t a lot of money.” Yet 82% of Americans make less than $100k. 57% of Americans have less than $10k in savings and 12% have no savings at all. Our money might not have the same purchasing power as it did 10 or 20 years ago, but $100k and especially $1M is life changing money for most people.

It’s unnecessary to hold a dividend fund like $SCHD and a growth fund like $SCHG in addition to funds like $VOO. $SCHD is essentially a large cap value fund, $SCHG is a large cap growth fund, and $VOO is a large cap blend fund. Combining all three together is a roundabout way of recreating $VOO. For example, a portfolio of 50% $VOO, 25% $SCHD, and 25% $SCHG has a 0.99 correlation with $VOO with nearly identical returns.

What you see on social media is not the norm. It’s okay if you aren’t a millionaire by 30. It’s okay to work a 9-5 instead of owning your own business. It’s okay to not have your life completely figured out by the time you’re in your 30s. If you’re striving to be better than you were yesterday then you’re doing great. Run your own race.

My favorite financial rules of thumb: 1. Don’t let student loan debt exceed your expected first year salary. 2. Keep 1-5% of your home value in a sinking fund. This fund is for the inevitable home repair/maintenance costs that come with home ownership. 3. When financing a car use the 20/3/8 rule -20% down -Pay it off within 3 years -Don’t let monthly cost exceed 8% of income 4. Don’t let housing costs exceed 30% of your income. For homeowners this includes your mortgage payment, PMI, property taxes, homeowners insurance, etc… 5. Your monthly car payment should be less than your monthly investments. 6. Have at least a 3-6 month emergency fund 7. Aim to invest at least 20-25% of your income. 8. Avoid high interest debt (5-6%+) 9. Live below your means, not within your means. 10. Beware of lifestyle creep What would you add?

If your retirement plan hinges on your portfolio generating 12% annual returns then chances are you’re going to end up under saving for retirement. Historically the S&P 500 has returned 7% when adjusted for inflation, while global stocks have returned 5%. A good rule of thumb is to use 5/2/1 when running future projections. 5% real return for stocks 2% real return for bonds 1% real return for t-bills If you want to be aggressive use a 7% CAGR for stocks, but using 10-12% is setting yourself up for failure.

Many people including myself tried their hand at trading when they first started “investing”. I remember thinking that I was a trading genius after making a lot of money on my first few trades. Turns out I am not lol… Knowing what I know now if I could go back I would just invest in broad market ETFs like $VTI, $VXUS, and $VT. I would’ve saved myself a lot of time, money, and stress by just owning the market.