The Money Alchemist Podcast

Warren Buffett to Retire As CEO of Berkshire Hathaway 

When a person lives to the wise age of 94 and accumulates a networth of $168B, people tend to think he has some important things to say.  Nearly 20,000 Berkshire shareholders gathered in Omaha Nebraska on May 3rd to hear the resident Oracle speak live.  The annual tableau is something to behold.  Thankfully there’s YouTube.  

What does the 5th richest man in the world know abou...

Too low to sell, too cash poor to buy the dip.  So laments an X user over this past week as he describes his current state of financial affairs.  No one wants to be a sucker yet prudent investing requires that you subject yourself to the fickle whims of the market - all in.

It’s hard not to feel like a sucker when you buy something only to watch it go on sale the next day.  Unlike Costco, financial markets will not retroactively ma...

Fitful swings in equity and bond markets this past week have wrecked more sleepful nights than drunk neighbors on Independence Day.  What can be done? The NASDAQ hourly chart resembles an EKG reading of a fibrillating heartbeat.  Some fear this could be the heartbeat of the new American economy. 

Treasury Scott Bessent has been making the rounds on numerous media outlets with defibrillator pads at the ready.  Perhaps the cold plung...

America’s least favorite day is quickly approaching in a little over two weeks.  Millions scramble to frantically count their beans while the oppressive Eye of ‘Providence’ lords over them.  

April 15 may usher in the Spring with all its good vibes, longer days, and the smell of outdoor barbecues with freshly cut grass.  But it also marks a cumulative day of stress with the unholy combination of a strict deadline with complex accou...

The first few months of 2025 have produced mixed results for US equities.  Despite efforts to coax out the full economic potential of the U.S., domestic markets have lacked confidence.  Meanwhile, ‘safe haven’ assets such as Treasury Bonds and international stocks have broadly rallied.   

They say it’s been the worst start to a year since, well, 2022.   

With a ballooning Federal deficit and the potential for a more competitive ove...

The engagement farmers masquerading as prognosticators have been busy this month!  There’s so much doom to talk about.  It’s all so very exciting, and you need to tune in.  Ignoring the information so you don’t miss a perfectly timed nugget of information that will cost you everything. 

Even so, three months later we’ll forget the stress of today like it was our first dirty diaper.  We’ll move onto new stressors with potentially wo...

Journey > Destination.  

Does the world run on envy?  Charlie Munger, who once said, “the first rule of a happy life is low expectations”, argued that it does.  We even have the adage ‘keeping up with the Joneses’ to encapsulate this ongoing economic arms race.  

In-your-face financial flexing is difficult to ignore.  A moment of boredom followed by a screen tap and a world of obscene wealth can be streamed directly into your co...

The Palisades, Eaton, and Hughes fires have affected 59 square miles of land in Southern California.  Combined, they have consumed more than 16,000 homes and buildings and an uncounted number of automobiles.  

This natural disaster comes hot off the heels of two hurricanes that wreaked havoc in Florida and North Carolina, from which residents are still recovering.  Those who have been through the home building or remodeling process...

Why you have it and what to do about it.

 Financial stress is a response to a specific, often temporary, financial problem that can be resolved through specific action. As an example, you are about to close on a home purchase and are uncertain if loan underwriting will be completed in time.  These stressors can be quickly alleviated with the right course of action and often resolve themselves in time.

Financial anxiety involves mor...

Another year, different in how you make it. 

2025 is here and so are the renewed pressures of the ego to break through yet another motivational barrier.   The root of the word sublime stems from Latin to mean, roughly, high threshold.  The things that are most worth doing are not easy.

Sublime is a subjective word.  It’s true meaning found at that point where your aspirations meet the outset edge of your competency.  To find it, yo...

Ben and Brent wrap up 2024 with a conversation on the state of the housing market.  Prices of single family homes continue to edge higher, being up 6% year over year.  This is on top of a record increase in median single family home prices over the past decade which now totals 102% according to Freddie Mac.  

While unaffordability infects already strained budgets, forcing some households to quarantine in low rate mortgages or ren...

There was a lot to discuss with family this Thanksgiving.  The election, stocks ripping, the return of crypto mania, and, of course, the evergreen subject of ‘the culture war’.  In many households, Thanksgiving takes its shape as thoughtsgiving as outspoken opinions crowd out any notion of contentment.  

Few things can be as goading as that one relative who works in their trading fortunes into any conversation, conflating luck wi...

In this episode, Ben and Brent discuss some of the possible economic implications of the election along with common year-end best tax optimization practices.  As we approach the end of the year and the start of 2025, one thing becomes clear: change is on the horizon.  Like viewing a hurricane from the shoreline, it’s tough to gauge the strength of its winds and the endurance of the force, but we know it is coming.

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As we approach the end of the year and the season of generosity, it is appropriate to address the topic of gifting. Gifting money and assets is not as straightforward as it may seem.  Assuming you will receive a tax deduction for charitable contributions is often incorrect and can result in a reduced charitable contribution than otherwise intended.  

Also, there’s no hard and fast rule that you must give to 501(c)(3) organization...

What is your default setting when confronted with the prospect of saving more?  Do you immediately think about how you can cut expenses or do you think about different ways to increase your income?  There is a limit to how much you can reduce your expenses, especially if you have dependents.  Your ability to earn, on the other hand, is open ended.  There are realistic limits, of course, but many never reach their true income potent...

Low cost investment providers such as Vanguard have commoditized investing, pushing wealth managers to broaden their scope to deliver value.  When “S&P and chill” effectively summarizes a sensible approach to wealth building, what more is there for advisors to do?  Just as Warren Buffett’s advice “be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful” is easy in concept, difficult in application, so is optimal w...

Saving for retirement is a challenge, perhaps one of life’s greatest challenges.  It requires a sacrificial mindset that favors tomorrow over today.  This mindset can eventually calcify, becoming an ingrained personality trait.  Shifting this mindset in retirement can be an even greater challenge, but is necessary to live with an optimal quality of life. 

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About your Hosts

Ben Jones

Managing Director, National Wealth Ma...

What should you do when market volatility spikes to the downside?  We’ve heard to never run from a bear but lie down and play dead.  The same holds true in bear markets, more or less.  Ben and Brent go a few steps further on what to do.  First, they elaborate on what’s behind the August 2024 spike in volatility.  

The market may have calmed down for now, but a listen might help you prepare for the next correction.  

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Fo...

Ben and Brent sit down to discuss how wealthy families can preserve legacy through generational gifting using strategic planning.  Everyone has an estate plan, the default option usually being the worst one.  It’s important to think about what impact your money will have on people after you die.  It’s an uncomfortable reality to face, but a failure in doing so can cost you what would otherwise be a wonderful legacy. 

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