Money is a tool to buy freedom. But acquiring money requires sacrificing freedom. Balancing current sacrifice against future reward is vital.

Done poorly, and you won’t see enough of the people you love.

It’s that simple. And that sobering.

One of the top regrets of the dying is, “I wish I’d stayed in touch more.” Nobody regrets not budgeting or a missed stock pick. They don’t measure regret in dollars.

But they do regret not having the freedom to be with the people they love. They measure regret in time.

Time is ticking. Money isn’t the end. But it’s the means that can help you reclaim the clock.

Sure, you own index funds.

But 99% of passive portfolios have a "shade of gray" that's more active than we realize. Most of us are unaware of that active undercurrent.

It's a risky misconception.

For example: is your all-world index fund the same kind of "passive" as my NASDAQ 100 high-tech index fund?

I say no.

Yet, plenty of "passive investors" feel having all their eggs in the NASDAQ 100 (or S&P 500, etc) is perfectly fine. After all, "it's an index fund."

This episode dives into the "shades of gray" in passive investing and how they affect our portfolios and benchmarks.

​Bigger Doesn't Mean Better​

Pre-retirees might see it via "one more year" syndrome.

Retirees have a hard time spending down their assets, for fear their portfolio will no longer go up.

Sometimes I think, "Do I want to stop at 60 clients? Or grow, grow, GROW my firm to something bigger?!"

Ryan Holiday says it starts with, "The discipline to figure out what you actually want your life to look like."

Followed by, "The discipline to not go past the mark you aimed for."