Episode 33: Brian Feroldi on Financial Wellness and Demystifying the Stock Market

Despite the 280-character limit, Brian Feroldi has found a way to utilize Twitter as a profound tool for sharing insight into financial health and taking a money mindset. Whether on social media, YouTube, or The Motley Fool, Brian is dedicated to discussing personal finance and investing in plain language that everyone can understand.

Brian Feroldi is a financial educator and writer focused on demystifying the stock market and promoting financial wellness. In addition to being featured on The Motley Fool, Brian recently published Why Does the Stock Market Go Up? in April 2022.

In this episode, Brian shares his conservative personal finance approach and how it enables his aggressive investment strategy, which includes his 3% rule and how his investments reveal what their positions should be in his portfolio. Brian discusses understanding the basics of the stock market and endorses index funds, dollar-cost averaging, and portfolio diversification. He also provides insight into the labor involved in trading individual stocks and their role in his investment portfolio. Later in the episode, Brian and Eric discuss educating your children about finance and the approaches that have worked in their households.

• (2:19) – Who is Brian Feroldi?
• (4:57) – The college years
• (7:36) – Resisting lifestyle creep
• (9:44) – Not all debt is equal
• (12:00) – Buy now, pay later
• (16:34) – Index funds
• (20:00) – Dollar-cost averaging
• (21:02) – Human nature vs. the market
• (24:46) – Understanding share price fluctuations
• (27:41) – The future is unpredictable
• (31:27) – Enjoying the process of investing
• (32:46) – The Motley Fool and David Gardner
• (35:05) – Portfolio diversification
• (39:25) – Going above 3%
• (41:31) – Boston and wonton soup
• (43:41) – A natural-born saver
• (46:20) – Teaching children about personal finance