Money Is NOT Math

Blog Layout

October 24, 2022

Money Is NOT Math

Written by

Jeff Huston

My business coach recently told me that “confidence is the most important capability a person can develop.”

I don’t disagree. Yet…we are living in very turbulent times. So, here’s the question I want to address in this month’s letter: “How can a person experience a greater level of confidence in their financial life?”

Before we talk solutions, we must first discuss things that erode confidence and security surrounding money. I see traditional financial planning as a big part of the problem, because it leads people to the incorrect conclusion that “Money is Math.”

Money is NOT math! Let me illustrate…

Suppose you had six oranges in your kitchen, and it’s a really nice day. So, you decide to take your six oranges out to the backyard picnic table. You proceed to eat one of the oranges, but then you hear someone at the front door. You leave the remaining oranges on the table and head back into the house. So, you had 6 oranges and you ate one … how many oranges do you have left?

It's not a trick question…you have 5…right? Six minus one equals five. That’s the math of it. But remember, we are talking about money and money is not math. So, if the oranges are money, the correct answer is: Zero!

Here’s why. While you were away, the neighborhood kid stole two of them, a squirrel carried one away, and the other two rotted. As a result, you don’t actually have any oranges left.

In this example, the neighborhood kid stealing is like the government taking taxes. The squirrel represents new innovations being created and old products wearing out. The oranges that rotted represent the effects of inflation on your money.

Again, my point is that money is not math. That being said, traditional financial planners continually lead the unsuspecting public to that conclusion. This ultimately undermines the confidence people experience in their financial lives. The common theory is that if a future target is known, you can simply reverse engineer the problem to get the desired result. Sounds simple, right?

Frankly, there are problems to this approach of financial decision making. These problems play out every day and have contributed to people finding themselves way behind in their wealth-building journey. By the way, the solution has nothing to do with asset allocation!

The marketing tactics that financial institutions regularly use show the long-term attractive results of staying invested. However, the fine print in disclosures state there are no guarantees. As this scenario plays out, it’s like walking backwards enjoying the beautiful landscape behind you, but not seeing the cliff that you are heading towards. All this leads us back to the place where our money-confidence is drained, due to all the uncertainty surrounding it.

Relying on sound economic truths is a better and more sound approach to building confidence in your financial future. Here are a few solid baseline principles I suggest considering:

· Protect first. It’s been said the best offense is a good defense. An important step in planning your financial future is to ensure adequate protections in all the important areas. In many cases, there are products available that can cost-effectively bundle protections.

· Minimize taxes. Taxes are your biggest lifetime expense. It’s a BIG DEAL! Yet, many people take a casual approach to paying taxes. I say that life either happens by design or by default. You decide. You can be reactive in tax preparing or proactive in tax planning.

· Reduce risk. The right question to ask before making any investment is: “What backs the investment?” When Wall Street works (on paper), it feels good and seems easy. But, when it doesn’t work, it can fall apart quickly! As long as our debt-fueled system exists, hard assets are arguably the best tool to help you sleep soundly at night.

Final thoughts:

At 3D Money, we have confidence in an investment portfolio that is grounded in real estate. We aren’t saying there won’t be downward pressure on everything, including real estate, when the economic storm clouds roll around. That being said, real estate is … well … REAL … and in most cases it’s essential. When other businesses fail, there’s nothing left. The equity disappears when good will is gone. I know I sound like a broken record, but the right real estate, in the right market, managed by the right team, is about as good as it gets for building resilient wealth in tumultuous times.

Could you use a “financial tune up?” We can help point you in the right direction. Give us a call or shoot us an email. We’d love to have a conversation with you.

Thank you for your continued partnership,

Jeff Huston and the 3D Money Team

invest@3dmoney.com

320-905-3306

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The Global Economic Shift

By Jeff Huston • July 25, 2023

The Global Economic Shift

Will There Be A Banking Crisis?

By Jeff Huston • June 12, 2023

Fall of 2020, the Covid Pandemic was raging, the economy was shut down, inflation was 2%, interest rates were near zero, and the Federal Reserve was printing massive amounts of money. While the Central Bank printing presses were running full steam, I heard two economists make statements that seemed impossible to believe at the time, because the world was at a standstill. Chetan Ahya, Managing Director and Chief Asia Economist at Morgan Stanley said: “The driving forces of inflation are already aligned, and a regime shift is underway.” Paul Tutor Jones, Hedge Fund Manager said: “We are witnessing the great monetary inflation…an unprecedented expansion of every form of money unlike anything the developed world has ever seen.” As we now know, our current economic reality is quite different from what it was just 2 ½ years ago. Interest rates have risen significantly, inflation remains stubbornly high, and banks are tightening credit and hording deposits because they have massive unrealized losses in their bond portfolios. There are now legitimate concerns about the stability of the banking system. About the only thing that remains constant is the ridiculous childish gridlock that continues in Washington. I wish they would stop playing politics and start doing their job of governing. But I digress… I was recently piloting my plane from Dallas back to Minnesota. As I began my decent, I flew into the smoke that had migrated down from the Canadian wildfires. My visibility went to near zero. It reminded me of today’s investment environment and outlook. Visibility is currently quite low. Therefore, it is more important than ever before to have a sound, long-term strategy with a clear focus. Risk management needs to be a key priority. This is a good time for investors to do a fundamental review of how they are positioned, and determine what needs to change now to optimize investment results in coming years. Making sound investments has always been based on anticipating how the world might evolve. While no one has a crystal ball on making bullet proof long-term predictions, I believe many of today’s key trends and themes can be utilized to make smart investment decisions. So, while there are a lot of uncertainties in the short-term, I believe investors should remain almost fully invested with high allocations in real assets. This is your downside protection against inflation, a falling dollar, and an unstable financial system. The most important advice we can give you at this point is to set your priorities right. That means, first and foremost, having a very safe and secure place to store your wealth. This is relevant because we have been receiving increased questions concerning our current 6% rate. I recently had an investor ask me if I thought our rate should be higher since there are short term CD’s floating around offering rates that seem too good to be true. My response was that you must ask the question, “Why would a bank be willing to pay…say…5% for deposits whe n they are making loans at 7%?” That spread is not enough for their business model to work. So, why would they do that? The only answer I can think of is that they need more deposits to shore up their depleted capital. All this reminds me of Mark Twain’s quote when he said, “The return of my money is more important than the return on my money.” What to own, has really become one of the most critical questions in wealth and risk management. The recent banking crisis shows that investors simply can’t assume banks are safe anymore. There are great benefits and opportunities to be found when investing in cash flowing real assets. This doesn’t just offer more diversification, but it greatly enhances wealth protection as well. Additionally, we find that our clients use the monthly cash flow for all kinds of wonderful things, enhancing their lives and the lives of those they care about. If you’d like to speak with someone about securing your investments, we would love to connect with you! Gratefully, Jeff Huston and the 3D Money Team invest@3dmoney.com 320-905-3306

Chasing The Wind

By Jeff Huston • May 25, 2023

I’m mad at myself! I let myself get sucked into the endless news cycle again. I’ve never considered myself a news junky, but there have been times when I’ve been more “connected” than others. A few years ago, I made the decision to cancel all my news subscriptions except one. Since then, I have only been reading the Wall Street Journal. No nightly news, no magazines or other newspapers, no talk shows, no social media. I did that, because all the other news sources caused me to do what King Solomon referred to as “chasing of the wind” in the book of Ecclesiastes. It consumed my thinking and wasted way too much of my time. “Generations come and generations go, but the earth never changes. The sun rises and the sun sets, then hurries around to rise again. The wind blows south, and then turns north. Around and around it goes, blowing in circles. Rivers run into the sea, but the sea is never full. Then the water returns again to the rivers and flows out again to the sea. Everything is w earisome beyond description. No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we are not content.” Ecclesiastes 1:4-8 NLT Reread that last verse, the one in bold print. Isn’t that an amazing summary of the 24-hour news cycle? No matter how much we hear, we are not content! For the past several years, I’ve been true to my self-imposed limits and guardrails in this area. However, a couple months ago, I cracked the door open. I’d go on YouTube periodically to catch up on the latest happenings in the news cycle. As I did that, I got caught in their spiderweb. They kept me clicking for more and more content…wasting more and more of my time. Thankfully, I recognized the error of my ways and quickly put a hard stop to it. It can be such a trap for me! Maybe it is for you too? In the book titled “Your Attention Your Property,” the author addresses “thinking about your thinking.” He says that we can step back and not only see what our attention is focused on, but we can experience how we are fully conscious and present with the particular experience we are having. We can do this at any given time , we just need to make a habit of actually doing it. We must learn to focus our attention, so that we can gain the ability to think about things. For me, the endless news cycle causes an emotional reaction to physical things, to other people, and to other people’s thoughts. When I’m in “the cycle,” I’m not thinking clearly about my own thoughts. I’m 100% focused on someone else’s thinking. When that happens, I end up thinking negatively. However, when I take back control of my thinking, I’m able to align my ways with God’s ways. My thoughts become aligned with God’s thoughts. It’s a beautiful thing. Proverbs 4:23 says, “Above all else, guard your heart because it determines the direction of your life.” So, how do we guard our hearts? There are multiple ways I guard my heart, but one of them comes down to always making my contribution bigger than my reward. I want to spend my life being a value creator, not a value extractor. It’s why I love capitalism. The way I see it, there are two kinds of people in the world. Those that embrace, promote, and believe in Capitalism and those that hate it! For me, Capitalism has been the growth process that has multiplied my uniqueness as a businessperson and as a God follower. The people that want to lead us toward socialism don’t know what they are talking about! Capitalism is about Value Creation. Socialism is about Value Extraction. In 1800, the French economist Jean-Baptiste Say coined the word “entrepreneur.” He said, “The entrepreneur shifts economic resources out of an area of lower and into an area of higher productivity and greater yield.” I love that. It perfectly summarizes our value proposition at 3D Money. Since 2010, we have been doing jus t that. Looking for opportunities to shift resources (people and assets) from a lower level of productivity to a higher and greater yield. Our investment focus on opportunities creating housing, jobs, and food, positions us for an ever-expanding future of value creation for our investors, our team members, and our customers. Once again, we want to thank you for your continued trust and confidence. Sincerely, Jeff Huston and the 3D Mo ney Team invest@3dmoney.com 320-905-3306 P.S. About a year ago, we offered you a PDF copy of the book “Your Attention Your Property.” If you didn’t get one but would like a copy, please send a request to info@3dmoney.com We are happy to email you one (as a thank you gift from us).