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.comMusic 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.comMusic 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.comMusic 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.comMusic 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.comMusic 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 episode Show Notes on our websiteOther Episode Referenced:  Saver or Investor…Which One Are You? (S1 E3)Podcast produced by Ted Cragg of QuickEditPodcasts.comMusic 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.comMusic 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.comMusic Credit: Dream Cave / Adventure Awaits / courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com

Timing the stock market is something we’re all told not to do, yet all of us are guilty of it at some point. This episode may have the “smoking gun” illustration to help you avoid this poor decision going forward. Jeff Harrell explains two hypothetical (and impossible) scenarios of the luckiest and unluckiest investors in history—the former buying into the stock market at the very bottom every year and the latter buying in at the very top. How wide do you think the gap is between their portfolio values after a 35-year time horizon? He adds a third (and more realistic) scenario of an investor dollar cost averaging into the market monthly, instead of annually, and compares their portfolio to those of the world’s luckiest and unluckiest investors. Don’t answer the following question until you’ve heard this episode: “Is now a good time to invest in the stock market?” (Season 1 Episode 7)Resource Mentioned in Episode: Data illustration of hypothetical stock market timing scenarios - see episode Show Notes on our websiteOther Episodes Referenced: Saver or Investor…Which One Are You? (S1 E3)Stocks are Risky…False Fact!  (S1 E4)Podcast produced by Ted Cragg of QuickEditPodcasts.comMusic Credit: Dream Cave / Adventure Awaits / courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com

Are you sure you understand the "Cost Basis" and “Gain/Loss” columns on your investment statements? Cost basis and gain/loss calculations are two commonly misunderstood investment terms. Learn what these calculations actually represent. Jeff Harrell uses several examples to illustrate how cost basis can be misleading and breaks down this technical concept to help you get a better handle on understanding your investment performance.  What most investors want to know is:  how do I determine the performance of a security I’ve invested in, or maybe even the overall performance of my accounts? Jeff provides resources that investors can use to obtain the information you are really looking for when referencing cost basis or that “gain/loss” number. (Season 1 Episode 8) Resources Mentioned in Episode:Vanguard article, “Cost basis doesn't equal performance”Morningstar.com – Type any symbol in their website's search box to find the security and then click on the tab for "Performance" (mutual funds, ETFs) or "Trailing Returns" (stocks). It will take you to a page on Morningstar’s website that shows you all relevant trailing returns and, even better, compares them to relevant benchmarks so you can evaluate the performance.Other Episodes Referenced: Stocks are Risky…False Fact! (S1 E4) My Investments Are Doing Awesome (Or Terrible)…How Do You Know? (S1 E5)Podcast produced by Ted Cragg of QuickEditPodcasts.comMusic Credit: Dream Cave / Adventure Awaits / courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com

Perception is often extremely different than reality. Financial news channels may be the posterchild for this. A deep understanding of global economics, business management, politics, financial accounting, etc., still isn’t enough to make you able to truly predict the future. Jeff Harrell presents the evidence to support this, with shocking data from a research report available on Standard & Poor’s website. It’s another sobering look at what the data actually says about financial experts’ ability to beat the market. You’ll start to think twice about how the financial advice presented in popular media outlets should, or shouldn’t, impact your investment decision making. (Season 1 Episode 9)Resource Mentioned in Episode:SPIVA® research from Standard & Poor’sPodcast produced by Ted Cragg of QuickEditPodcasts.comMusic Credit: Dream Cave / Adventure Awaits / courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com

Nothing is more important than trust when it comes to financial advice. Unfortunately, the complicated nature of investing results in everyday investors having a difficult time identifying misleading tactics. Jeff Harrell shares two true stories—that infuriate him to this day—about deceptive information he discovered on real client investment reports. Do you fully understand how to interpret your returns in your performance reports? Jeff also outlines what you should be getting from your financial advisor, in the form of investment reports illustrating your returns compared with proper benchmarks. (Season 1 Episode 10)Other Episodes Referenced: Past Investment Performance Matters…Does it Really? (S1 E6)Stock Market Experts on TV Are So Smart…But Can They See the Future? (S1 E9)Podcast produced by Ted Cragg of QuickEditPodcasts.comMusic Credit: Dream Cave / Adventure Awaits / courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com

Investing headlines are designed to get you to click. The more extreme the claim, the more likely we are to do what we all know we shouldn’t. What could happen to you when you push that button? Jeff Harrell tells a story about what one investor experienced after “taking the bait” and clicking on a doomsday investing headline. A second story in this episode illustrates one of several creative schemes unscrupulous scammers use to prey on investors’ emotions—for their profit and your loss. As you surely know, most of us are strongly motivated to act based on feelings of fear or greed. Buyer beware that swindlers in the financial arena are well aware of this too, using a variety of crooked tactics to exploit others for their gain. The investing stories in this episode will make you want to do a better job of controlling your emotions when it comes to making investment decisions. (Season 1 Episode 11)Other Episode Referenced:  Investment Stories Are Like Social Media…Breeding Grounds for FOMO (S1 E12)Podcast produced by Ted Cragg of QuickEditPodcasts.comMusic Credit: Dream Cave / Adventure Awaits / courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com

Every investor at some point will experience FOMO (fear of missing out). Friends, family, and “experts” influence our investment decisions due to this feeling of FOMO which is rooted in our feelings of fear or greed. Arm yourself with stories of failure and actual data points to help keep you from succumbing to this common investor trap. Jeff Harrell recalls one of his favorite investor FOMO examples that many listeners might remember, the GameStop saga of 2020, and reminds us how so many investors got caught up in the hype…to their financial detriment. Jeff also cites statistics from a financial economics report that compared the investment performance of stocks to one-month Treasury bills. The findings are astonishing! This episode will leave you wanting to ask yourself, honestly, “How confident am I that I can select one of the really big winners in the stock market?” (Season 1 Episode 12) Resource Mentioned in Episode:Journal of Financial Economics paper, “Do Stocks Outperform Treasury Bills?”Podcast produced by Ted Cragg of QuickEditPodcasts.comMusic Credit: Dream Cave / Adventure Awaits / courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com

Season 1 is now over, and Jeff Harrell reflects on what he hopes you’ve gained from the series. He highlights each of the investing lessons covered in the first season’s 12 episodes, which were designed to help you make wiser investment decisions for a smoother path to financial independence (FI).Remember:  Focus on the long-term, control your emotions, simplify your investments, and always... "ignore the noise."Jeff also previews what is ahead with three investing topics he plans to focus on in Season 2, as well as shares more about the ways you can stay connected to the show.(Season 1 Episode 13)Podcast produced by Ted Cragg of QuickEditPodcasts.comMusic Credit: Dream Cave / Adventure Awaits / courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com