Exploring alternative investments, focus, and standards

Welcome to the Intentional Dollar weekly newsletter — great work taking this small step to move your money forward. I’m Logan, a Certified Financial Planner™, and I’m excited you’re here!

What’s inside?

• One tool to experiment with

• Two quotes from others

• Three questions to dig deeper

• Four lines of poetry for the point

_{One tool to experiment with:}

Alternative Investments:

When we think of alternative investments, things like real estate, private equity, hedge funds, cryptocurrency, and other “non-stock/bond” investments fill our mind.

These investments, while differing from the norm, share similar components. Namely, when you trade value (your dollars), you get value with the potential to grow (in the form of an asset).

The purchased asset is tangible, and for the most part, easy to understand.

We are used to thinking of investments in this light. Our minds are filtered under these conditions — when thinking about investments, look for opportunities in fields x, y, or z.

When you’re focused on those fields, you can’t see outside of the box. This is imperative because investing comes in many facets; facets that extend beyond the scope of a traditional investment as we know it.

These “other” alternative investments are missed because they require tracing consequences — second order thinking.

Second order thinking is relatively easy with standard investments: if I purchase x fund, I will make (hopefully) or lose money. And then if I do this over time, or hold the fund, I can retire early.

It’s the “and then what” that gets you to the second order.

So what constitutes an “other” alternative investment? Remove your standard financial filter and think through a non-financial action that could connect to higher return financial consequences.

Here are some examples:

• purchase a book —> book is an investment in knowledge that could show something new to apply to career/life

• buy a gym membership —> exercising makes you feel better and then you perform better at work, operate with clear thinking, and make better financial decisions because of a non-financial investment

• invest time in meeting people —> new connections can enrich your life and open new opportunities

• go for a walk —> clear your mind so you can focus on higher-order tasks

The hidden advantage to these alternative investments is the disproportionate value they could provide relative to their cost. You could quite literally spend less than $5 on a book that might alter the trajectory of your life forever.

Less than $5. And going for a walk is free — but how do you quantify what it might give you?

There are investment opportunities surrounding you at this very moment. What are they? Push yourself to think through the second and third order effects — play the long game.

_{Two quotes on focus:}

If you focus on your finances, you will improve them. If you neglect to focus on your finances, they will degrade you.

_{Three questions on standards:}

1. What standards have I set for myself? And others?

2. Why did I create these standards?

3. How might I engineer better standards?

Which question stuck with you? Questions like these are spotlights for the mind. Reply to this email and let me know which one shined light on a previously dark cave.

_{Four lines of poetry for the point:}

Contact Me:

Content ideas, questions? Reply to this email or reach out to me at [email protected]