Why the Best Advice May Be to 'Just Keep Buying'

April delivers the strongest seasonal tailwind for U.S. equities, yet the first quarter earnings cycle approaches with analysts braced for disappointment. FactSet reports that Wall Street expects S&P 500 earnings to rise only 4.7 percent from the year ago quarter. Should the final figure match that estimate, the index will post its slowest profit growth since the fourth quarter of 2020, when earnings climbed 3.8 percent. Management teams habitually publish conservative guidance - exceed the lowered bar when results arrive. Investors wait to see whether the tactic succeeds again, yet the era of effortless earnings beats has ended, at least for now.

Congress designated April as National Financial Literacy Month. The newsroom treats every month as Financial Literacy Month. More than twenty million readers, listeners along with viewers open the site, social feeds, newsletters, or podcast feeds each month to study money and investing. Millions more lack access to clear instruction in schools, libraries, or neighborhoods. The editorial staff resolved to reach them. A new set of guides addresses current market conditions. Core lessons appear in Spanish-language translations. Short videos demonstrate each step for viewers who prefer motion to text. The refreshed financial literacy hub houses checklists, calculators in addition to conversation starters that a reader may forward to relatives, students, or co workers.

Nick Maggiulli serves as chief operating officer of Ritholtz Wealth Management, a New York registered investment adviser. He launched the personal finance site Of Dollars but also Data in 2017 and posts weekly data driven essays. His first book, Just Keep Buying - Proven Ways to Save Money besides Build Your Wealth, appeared in 2022. The Wall Street Journal, CNBC, Money next to the Los Angeles Times have quoted or profiled him.

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A single approachable voice that teaches the essentials of wealth accumulation across a lifetime would fill a genuine need. Thousands of bloggers, coaches, course sellers already promise such guidance. Many deliver material too dense for beginners. Others offer slogans too thin for readers who crave detail. Personal finance remains personal, yet durable principles apply to nearly every balance sheet. No secret formula guarantees riches, yet tested rules raise the odds of long term success.

Nick Maggiulli returns to the podcast to discuss the rules he codified in print.

Nick:

“Thanks, Caleb. Good to be back.”

Caleb:

“I finished the book in two sittings. The chapters on saving stand alone. The chapters on investing stand alone. Together they form a manual. What pushed you to bind years of blog posts between covers?”

Nick:

“I had written for four years and told myself I would never write a book. The pandemic changed the plan. I sat in a Manhattan apartment in December 2020. I assumed the first wave had ended. I assumed the summer surge had ended. When cases spiked again I realized the virus would linger. I decided to use the lockdown productively. I already owned a large body of material. I reorganized the posts, filled gaps along with produced a reference that a reader could hand to a nephew or a parent.”

Caleb:

“I wish someone had pressed the book into my hands when I turned twenty two. The title telegraphs the core message - keep purchasing assets at regular intervals. Early in the text you introduce your grandfather. You mentioned him during your last visit - he wagered on horses - on baccarat - on anything offered inside a casino. Walk us through the family history.”

Nick:

“He placed his first bet on a horse race in 1952. By the 1980s he spent weekends in Atlantic City. He played baccarat, craps in addition to blackjack; he returned home cheerful, sang at church on Sunday - cashed his Social Security check and drove back to the tables. The cycle repeated every month. He died with no assets. The memory motivates me to teach habits that prevent that outcome.”

Caleb:

“You use the story as a springboard into the first decision every wage earner faces - send surplus income to a savings account or to an investment account. State the case for saving early.”

Nick:

“Two arguments favor early saving. The first rests on arithmetic. A dollar invested at age twenty five compounds for forty years. The same dollar invested at age forty five compounds for twenty years. The longer runway produces a larger terminal value.

“The second argument rests on behavior. Half of a saver's lifetime wealth accumulates during the first decade of contributions. The second half accumulates during the remaining three decades. Front-loading the effort reduces pressure later.”