When it comes to navigating the twists and turns of stock market investing, do you choose poorly? Or wisely? Experience suggests most of us are bad investors, although you may not hear this from speaking with friends and family. Sadly, the compounding effect of poor investment decisions can add up to a lot of money lost and time wasted.

On Invested Poorly: Sad Tales of FInancial Fails, host Jeff Harrell offers unique perspective and energy as he guides you through common pitfalls that trap everyday investors. You’ll hear real-life investing stories sure to make you laugh, cry, think, and learn. These “don’t let this happen to you” lessons teach you to recognize, and eliminate, the bad behavioral tendencies most investors have—so you can become the hero of your own investment story.

You might be surprised (or you might not!) when you realize just how attainable financial independence (FI) can be if you invest simply and “ignore the noise.”

ABOUT YOUR HOST: Jeff Harrell spent over two decades as a financial advisor, portfolio manager, and public speaker. He left his financial services career for a more flexible, less stressful, location independent (LI) lifestyle, and now enjoys educating family, friends—and everyday investors—on how to invest their money wisely.

Podcast produced by Ted Cragg of QuickEditPodcasts.com
Music Credit: Dream Cave / Adventure Awaits / courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com

Have you ever thought of investing in the stock market as though it were like a great action movie? Host Jeff Harrell unveils their similarities (and a key difference!) and sets the stage for this seasonal podcast about how to simplify your investment strategy to help you reach financial independence.

Jeff, with over 20 years of experience as a former portfolio manager and financial advisor, briefly highlights the concept of financial independence, or FI, and what it offers to those seeking it. Listen to find out how embracing FI changed his life and consider whether or not you might want to pursue this path.

Avoiding investment mistakes is one of the keys to attaining financial independence. You’ll hear what trait Jeff thinks might be the most important trait any successful investor can possess. What trait do you think it is?

Jeff goes over reasons why investing in the stock market can be intimidating, but also offers hope about how everyday investors can overcome common investment pitfalls to make better investment decisions.

Podcast produced by Ted Cragg of QuickEditPodcasts.com
Music Credit: Dream Cave / Adventure Awaits / courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com

Will the next presidential election be the “most important election ever”? You might think so when following popular media outlets where every four years we have the “most important election ever!”

Recognizing how this may be true in some ways—since elections, especially presidential elections, are a big deal—host Jeff Harrell reveals that when it comes to investing…it’s just another year. Failure to recognize this could be very costly if you let your emotions get the better of you.

Jeff describes two (of many!) real-life examples of politically-motivated investment decisions and how they ended up not working out for those investors. And if you’ve ever wondered whether the stock market performs better under a Democratic or a Republican administration, tune in because the facts may surprise you.

(Season 1 Episode 1)

Resource Mentioned in Episode:

• Chart, “How Much Impact Does the President Have on Stocks”
  
  

Podcast produced by Ted Cragg of QuickEditPodcasts.com
Music Credit: Dream Cave / Adventure Awaits / courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com

A day has hardly gone by without someone in the media predicting doom and gloom for the stock market. Buying in to this feeling has the potential not only to be devastating to your financial well-being, but also to your sanity.

Jeff Harrell tells a true tale about a “doomsday prepper” who perpetually rooted for the stock market to fail because he started investing in a way to try and profit from a down market.

How do you think it usually works out if you’re always betting against the stock market?

(Season 1 Episode 2)

Podcast produced by Ted Cragg of QuickEditPodcasts.com
Music Credit: Dream Cave / Adventure Awaits / courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com

Saving is where the path to financial independence (FI) begins, but if “saving” is all you ever do with your money, then your path might be longer than necessary. Implementing the next step—investing—accelerates your journey.

Failure to understand from the outset about the inevitable ups and downs along a path to FI could cost you dearly in terms of extra years wasted unnecessarily.

Jeff Harrell shares a story about someone who decided to save their way to FI. When the story ends, hopefully you can answer this question: “Am I a saver or an investor?"

(Season 1 Episode 3)

Other Episode Referenced:

• Stocks Are Risky…False Fact! (S1 E4)
  
  

Podcast produced by Ted Cragg of QuickEditPodcasts.com
Music Credit: Dream Cave / Adventure Awaits / courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com

We’ve all heard the term, “beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” When it comes to the stock market, I’d simply change “beauty” to “risk” in this expression. How you define risk plays a huge role in your perception of stock market investing. A look at one set of data points may change all of that.

Jeff Harrell breaks down the fascinating results of a research report that analyzed stock market returns over various time periods, leading to a discussion about how risky the stock market is…or is not.

Investing involves risk, including the loss of principal—as all investment firm marketing pieces must disclose—but you should also understand that when it comes to financial markets, risk and volatility don’t mean exactly the same thing.

After hearing this episode, think about whether or not you agree with Jeff that one of the riskiest financial things you can do in your lifetime is to NOT invest in the stock market.

(Season 1 Episode 4)

Resource Mentioned in Episode:

• Data illustration showing positive versus negative stock market returns over various time periods - see Show Notes on our website
  
  

Other Episode Referenced:

• Saver or Investor…Which One Are You? (S1 E3)
  
  

Podcast produced by Ted Cragg of QuickEditPodcasts.com
Music Credit: Dream Cave / Adventure Awaits / courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com

Perception is often not reality. Everyday investors would do well to keep this in mind while reviewing their investment accounts. Unfortunately, many investors’ lack of understanding about performance has cost them dearly over the years.

Gaining a better understanding of this will better equip you to compare your results to relevant benchmarks, thereby improving your ability to evaluate your returns.

With a short math lesson, Jeff Harrell teaches you how to calculate investment performance. Tune in to this mini masterclass to get a better grasp on the differences between a personal rate of return and a time-weighted rate of return.

(Season 1 Episode 5)

Podcast produced by Ted Cragg of QuickEditPodcasts.com
Music Credit: Dream Cave / Adventure Awaits / courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com

Even though everyone knows past performance is no guarantee of future results, the allure of buying what you wished you’d owned tempts us all. This episode will help drive this point home further with examples of why heeding this advice is so important to successful investing.

Jeff Harrell also shares what three types of investment returns most people typically want to achieve and how most investors hold completely unrealistic expectations. He exposes the types of shady tactics some investment firms might use to prey on investors who are enamored with performance in the recent past.

You’re likely to come away from this episode with a realization that the question, “How did that stock do last year?” probably isn’t as helpful as you thought it was.

(Season 1 Episode 6)

Podcast produced by Ted Cragg of QuickEditPodcasts.com
Music Credit: Dream Cave / Adventure Awaits / courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com