On 401ks, Asset Allocation, and the Google Sheet that will get you Financial Freedom
Yes. All it takes is this one Google Sheet. And guess who has it? Your friend Austin.
Heyo,
I hope you all are having a wonderful week. In Jersey, it finally turned to spring; Saturday and Sunday were absolute scorchers. I played in a beach volleyball tournament on Saturday, and let me tell you, it was really frickin hot.
Anyways, welcome to 2 new members who are just joining us this week. It's great to have you aboard. If you're not subscribed to Austin's Newsletter, click the little button below. I promise I won't disappoint.
This week in stuff I did that you may or may not be interested in...
Learned a TON about 401ks (more to come)
Continued development of our self-storage model
Proposed an email marketing plan for my first potential client (woo-hoo!)
Released episode #75 - How I would make My First Million a top 10 podcast
Created a video on creating a plan for financial freedom
Wrote this tweet
On 401ks
If you've been following my newsletter, you know I have a goal of financial freedom. If you haven't read my previous posts, I highly highly highly recommend checking them out. Start here.
Anyways, a key component to financial freedom is the 401k. When it comes to 401ks and financial freedom, things get a little fuzzy... How much should I invest? What should I invest in? Should I max out my 401k?
There's lots of debate around how you should utilize your 401k given your circumstances and goals, and that's why I am writing up a comprehensive guide on 401ks; targeting to release version 1 by next weekend.
If you're interested in learning more about how you can leverage your 401k to propel yourself to financial freedom, you're in the right place. If you're not subscribed yet, the button below.
On stock portfolio asset allocation
While I’m on the topic of 401ks, I also wanted to add I completely revamped my investment portfolio this week. Previously, I was all in on VFIAX, but this week I added a bit more diversification.
After doing some research on various personal finance blogs and reading a few books, I changed my allocation to get some more exposure to small-cap, mid-cap, and international securities.
My portfolio is still 100% stocks - I’m only 23, so I can take a bit more risk on that end - but my allocation is now…
30% Large Cap - VFIAX
25% Mid Cap - VIMAX
25% Small Cap - VSMAX
20% International - VEMAX
Here are some of the resources that helped support my decision to diversify my portfolio.
On my first marketing plan
I started a marketing company; Austin Inc. Our mission is to help boutique gyms sustainably grow their client base through repeatable marketing solutions.
This week, I reached out to my friend who owns Crossfit Stealth in New Brunswick, NJ. If you're in the New Brunswick area, I highly recommend checking out Stealth. The people are amazing. The coaches are amazing. The workouts are amazing.
For context, Stealth is where I started my Crossfit journey. Ever since starting at Stealth, I've been hooked to Crossfit. It's the best workout program in the world, and there is a lot of debate about it, but I'll take that to my grave. Maybe my next post will be about why Crossfit is the best fitness program... Hmmm...
Anyways, I reached out to John and we had a conversation about how I could help his business. Long story short, I developed a marketing plan that fit his needs, and we are in the process of figuring out if it makes sense. I’ll keep you guys posted!
On personal finance
The past few days, I have spent a ton of time analyzing my personal finance strategy. What's my budget? How should I invest? What are my goals? Etc. Etc.... I've done this exercise a million times, but this time was different. This time, I developed a model that will do everything for me.
Do you need help with your personal finances? Do you want financial freedom?
Then you’re going to need this model. I’m tellin’ ya, it’s super helpful besides when you realize how much money you are paying in taxes every year. It’s a lot!
Respond to this email and I'll shoot you the model I created.
In the meantime, here is a video explaining how it works. I'm telling you, you do not want to miss out on this.
If it’s helpful, I’m thinking about making a video course explaining how to use this (y’all would obviously get it for free). Just let me know. I love talking about this kind of stuff.
On self-storage
My business partner and I met this week to discuss our strategy. It goes as follows:
Build a funnel to generate leads
Find a property
Acquire previous year's financials (3 years ideally)
Run a quick analysis to see if it makes sense
Complete a full-blown underwriting and determine if it still makes sense
Identify how we can add value to the property
Make an offer and close
Etc.
It still needs refinement, but it’s a good framework to start!
Wrapping it up
You guys are the best. Sorry, had to say it.
Like I've said in the past, I love writing this thing.
If you have any questions about anything in this newsletter, respond to this email. I respond to every single email so don't hesitate to reach out.
Have a great week y'all,
Austin