Issue # 25 - Download my budget template & Canada vs Venezuela in the Copa America Quarter Final!

Read time: 3 minutes

Hola a todos! I arrived to Venezuela a couple days ago and wow how exciting it is to be back.

As I’m short on time with all the ongoings and family here, today’s journal will be short.

Also of note is the coincidental meeting of Canada vs Venezuela in the Quarterfinals of the Copa America this evening (I believe at 5pm PST).

I know this is huge for Canada to make it this far but it is undeniably much more important for La Vino Tinto (as they call their team) as the whole country unites together in the face of so many obstacles in its history and is a great metaphor for the people that Venezuela can indeed overcome adversity.

As I’m likely the ONLY one in this country cheering for Canada, hopefully y'all tune in and show support for the maple leaf today.

Vámonos Canada!

PS a short video of my arrival to Valencia - I had not seen my girls for 7 days and the greeting is one for the history books.

1. Personal Finance

Budgeting is a dirty word.

Only because most of us have never done it.

We go through life without a plan and sometimes find ourselves completely lost. Without money, in debt, in fear, and feeling like you are drowning. It's happened to me before.

But those dark times need not control your narrative. And for that reason I truly believe in a budget.

It’s funny because when I was young I was encouraged by my parents to do this. But of course I did what most adolescents do and didn’t pay much attention to the advice.

The worst and yet best thing that happened to me was falling into debt in my 20s. Fresh with a new $20,000 line of credit, of course I used it to buy a small cap stock I thought would go to the moon. It didn’t; it went to zero.

The pressure of such a loss motivated me more than ever to sit down and plan the way out. So I once and for all figured out my budget, climbed out and never looked back.

You can too.

I don’t harbour many regrets, but if there are any, letting myself get into that situation is up there in the top. I should have listened earlier and budgeted from an age of 14 when I started working.

But the lesson I learned was invaluable and thankfully it happened early in my career with a lot of time to recoup.

Download my budget template here.

2. Stock Markets

Some of you may have seen this before, but it’s worth showing again:

3. Real Estate

Real Estate Investing Pros and Cons:

Pros:

• Real estate offers tangible assets, providing a sense of security.
• Leveraging real estate can significantly amplify returns on equity compared to stock investments.
• Tax benefits can be derived from depreciation.
• Control over rents can lead to increased income.
• Equity can be extracted for further investments as property values appreciate.

Cons:

• Real estate is illiquid, making it challenging to quickly convert assets to cash.
• Property management can be time-consuming and requires vigilance.
• Negotiating leases and maintaining property value can be labor-intensive.
• Capital investments are necessary to preserve property value over time.

So while Twitter Real Estate influencers make it sound like a no-brainer, it's not quite as easy as it looks. 

This is why a company like Narland exists...a professional organization with various teams in place to manage everything from market research, acquisitions and dispositions, accounting, property management and asset management.

1 Quote

"Ser venezolano, no es cualquier vaina"

- Diccionario Venezolano

"to be venezuelan isn't any ordinary thing"

I learn all my Venezuelan slang from this fine instagram channel.

A Question

Who here has been to Venezuela? 

-----

If you enjoyed this issue, please forward this email to your friends to subscribe. 

Thank you

Eddie Gudewill, CFA
 

Investing Course

If you want to learn everything you need to know to be a great investor, consider my self guided ETF investing course. 

Customer review:

"Hey Eddie - your course is precisely what I have been missing and has been so helpful in giving me more confidence to invest myself" - 30 year old MBA student.

What you get

✓ 2 hours video content

✓ Take at your own pace

✓ Training by a real portfolio manager

✓ Excel templates i.e. budget, retirement calculator, rebalancing spreadsheet, and more

✓ Unlimited lifetime access, and all future updates at no cost

✓ 100% money back guarantee. If you don't like it, let me know and I'll give you your money back.

I'm trying to make you a millionaire - not sell you some junk.

You will transform from being unclear and apprehensive, to a capable and confident investor.

Learn more here