THINGS THAT ARE PREDICTABLE ABOUT PERSONAL FINANCE

1)The stock market will go up and the stock market will go down. Every year there are rallies and every year there are declines. It is the cost of being in the stock market. Accept it as fact.

2)Stock Market indexes are a zero sum game . Poker is an example of a zero-sum game since the sum of the amounts won by some players equals the combined losses of the others. Since the value of an index includes all gains and losses, it is, by definition, a zero sum game. Every outperformance in the market implies an underperformance or loss in the market somewhere else. At any time, half of invested assets must outperform the average market return and the other half must underperform it. Once costs & fees are subtracted, though, it becomes increasingly difficult to beat the average market return.

3)You can have a bad low-cost portfolio AND you can have a good low cost portfolio, but you cannot have a good high cost portfolio.

4)Index funds do so well because their fees are so low. That is the reason over the long term ( 20 years or more) they finish in the top 95% of funds over actively managed funds.

5) People will sell when the stock market is high and sell when it is low. IT IS THE WORST TIME. DON'T DO IT.

6)More money will make you happier, or money will solve all of your problems. USUALLY MORE MONEY MEANS MORE PROBLEMS.

Link to Bogleheads University. Do yourself a favor and watch these 10 short videos.

https://boglecenter.net/bogleheads-university/

Link to 2 part Episode about Jack Bogle and index funds.

Episode 113

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-113-follow-the-michael-jordan-of-investing/id1523622122?i=1000492240303

Episode 114

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-114-follow-the-michael-jordan-of-investing/id1523622122?i=1000493091225