Weekly Market Review
Michael Acho
Guardian of the Wealth of the Most Productive People on Earth | Creating, Protecting and Distributing Wealth for Clients
Good afternoon,
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?Here we go again, this really really bothers me.
The U.S. Department of Defense failed its seventh consecutive audit on Friday, with the agency unable to fully account for its $824 billion budget. | Fox News
Lemme repeat that, “agency unable to fully account for its $824 billion budget.”
How is that possible? Who’s got the checkbook? Will anyone be held accountable for the missing billions? Why are they allowed to get any money at all if they can’t prove where it goes? That said, how do I get on the pentagon’s accounts payable list?
Would the IRS accept that excuse from a taxpayer? “I’m sorry, but I simply can’t account for what happened to my money. Whoops, my bad.” The hypocrisy is staggering.
Unfortunately, this is not an unusual circumstance for a government agency.? Whether fraud or theft or simply incompetence, there is much room for improvement.
“Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity. “ – Hanlon’s razor.
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Maybe this will help…
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?Generally speaking, any new government department is usually a bad idea. More bureaucrats, more headaches, more red tape, more reasons to spend more money.
But this one could be interesting. The Department of Government Efficiency, DOGE.
Promised by the new administration and to be led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, both super smart and successful guys, this could be a game changer. It’s not a stretch to suggest (speculate?) that the government has many many areas which could be made more efficient. I would also expect this new department to be met with a great deal of resistance as they try to identify and delete inefficient government shenanigans. Lots of lifetime bureaucrats won’t go easily. We’ll see.
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?Are you rich?
This article says you need $2.5 million net worth to be considered rich by most Americans.
Hmmm. Not sure if that’s accurate or not, because “rich” means different things to different people. And money doesn’t mean much if you’re not healthy.
“A healthy man wants a thousand things, a sick man wants only one.” – Confucius.
Anyway, the reason I’m asking is because many of the strategies, especially the protection strategies I’ve been espousing for most of this year were once upon a time only available if you were rich. But no more. Now, even us regular people can take advantage of those plans. It is no longer required to have millions, or even hundreds of thousands, of investable dollars to get access to those solutions. Why? Because technology and math. #mathwins. Investment companies and/or insurance companies, have actuaries that use technology and math to build portfolios with defined outcomes. You no longer need to be Mark Cuban with $5.7 billion in stock after selling his company in 1997 to put a collar in place. Ask me about that story. Us non-rich people can now do something similar.
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These people would be considered rich, but they can’t really enjoy it. Here are your highest earning dead celebrities of 2024.
I talk a lot, maybe too much, about accumulating wealth while you’re alive, but what about after you’ve passed?
How’s that for good estate planning? You’re gone, but your estate continues to bring in revenue. Helpful for your heirs, doesn’t matter so much for you.
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?Perhaps not that surprising, Spirit Airlines has filed for bankruptcy.
I learned decades ago that using Spirit, or even just attempting to use Spirit, was an unpleasant experience. So I didn’t/don’t.
Here was the Babylon Bee’s response to the news, “Spirit Airlines Announces They Will Tell You Why They Went Bankrupt For An Added Fee Of $50.”
Honestly, I just included that news specifically so I could include this joke from John Crist.
Safe for work.
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?This week’s review is last week’s highly anticipated Jake Paul v. Mike Tyson boxing match. Oh boy, where do I start? You may recall from a few weeks ago I mentioned that Dave Chappelle was in town for a show, but it was on the same night, so I was conflicted. Turns out I would have had time to see Chappelle and his opening act and then grab a nice dinner and still be on time for the Tyson/Paul main event. Here are some thoughts.
First, because of the number of viewers, there were some streaming issues. C’mon Netflix. You knew lots of people would tune in and you had almost a year to prepare. Do better.
Second, the live event started at 8pm. But there were 3 undercard fights, which isn’t unusual, and a bunch of blabber between fights so the main event didn’t even start until after midnight, which far exceeds the WMR’s recommended bedtime.
Third, the commentators and other talking heads, for the most part, weren’t great. 1 or 2 of them were tolerable, the rest, not so much. Why was Cedric the Entertainer dressed like King Jaffe Joffer?
Fourth, the undercard fights were pretty good. There was a women’s championship match, and while I’m not at all a fan of watching women fight, it was a good battle. As was the middleweight match before that.
Fifth, I watched from the cigar room with about a dozen friends and that was fun. Lots of laughs when a dozen guys are chirping at each other nonstop for five hours. No snowflakes allowed.
Sixth, the Tyson/Paul match, the main event, the reason we all tuned in and stayed up past midnight was AWFUL. TERRIBLE. A pillow fight. A snooze fest. Tyson looked old and slow, not nearly as good as he looked in his training videos over the last few months. Paul looked young and slow. He’s only been boxing professionally for 5-6 years and the inexperience shows. He’s big and strong and he can fight, but has only had 13 bouts. By comparison, Tyson has almost 60 fights and registered 44 KO’s in his career. However, all that experience couldn’t offset the 30 year age difference and Paul prevailed via a unanimous decision. Here is the best summary I saw the day after the show, “that fight could have been an email.”
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?And finally, here is your friendly reminder that my half hour virtual office hour is back this Friday. Hop on at noon and ask me anything.
Michael Acho is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
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Join Zoom Meeting
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This week’s chuckle is a nod to another boxing champion, George Foreman.
Here is 4 minutes of Lachlan Patterson reviewing the George Forman Grill. I had/have one. It’s still in my pantry I think.
Safe for work.
?LF30 – “The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses, behind the lines, in the gym, and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights.” – Muhammad Ali.
?Have a great week and stay healthy.
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Michael J. Acho, MBA, CFP? Private Wealth Advisor --------------------------------------------------- Osaic FA, Inc. 20505 West 12 Mile Road Southfield, MI? 48076 248-948-5100 direct 248-948-5101 fax 248-933-4339 cell
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