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🐢55 & UpSides #0023: Water damage? | Marathon investing? | Resolution facts

🐢55 & UpSides #0023: Water damage? | Marathon investing? | Resolution facts

Ronnie Mac James
December 27th, 2024

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Morning 55&UpSiders & I hope you enjoyed your Christmas as much as this kid did.

Here’s what I’m covering for you today…

Curated topics affecting us & Good News stories
Today’s Poll
Quick visual breakdown on Dirty Tricks With Flood Insurance
Feature Story: Using Marathoners’ Mindset For Investing
Face The Facts (& do something about ’em)
🍩Reply to this email with “donut” for a chance to win a Dunkin Donuts gift code!
Word of the day is “Holiday Flags” - hint: it’s not something you stick in your flower bed

Curated Countdown

🕙  What It’s Like To Drive A 100 Year-Old Electric Car

🕙  What To Do When Your Income Drops Like A Rock

🕙  Ranking The Best Streaming Tv Services For 2025

🕙  Why One Man Didn’t Speak For 17 Years

🕙  Don’t Fall For A Travel Scam (See The Dead Giveaways)

🕙  Maintaining Ties With Others Is Easier Than You Think

🕙  3 Reasons Retiring In Texas Is A Good Financial Move (Note The Downsides, Though)

🕙  19 Places To Travel In 2025 For Memories That Last A Lifetime

🕙  Interview With A TV Con-Man: Scams, Magic & The Art Of Deception

🕙  1980s Biggest Movie Stars Then & Now

🎄Poll: How many Christmas trees did you have in your home this year?

Dirty Tricks Insurers Use With Flood Insurance

Deceptive practices in Flood Insurance Claims

Think those are bad? The dirty tricks get worse, according to these whistleblowers.

Feature Story

Using Marathoners’ Mindset For Investing

The problem is...

Many investors approach the market with a "sprint" mentality, wanting quick gains
Short-term thinking can lead to increased stress
Emotional reactions to market ups & downs can cause investors to buy high & sell low

5 resources that can help you

Long-distance Runners’ Mindset: Analogies to use in saving & investing
The Making of a Millionaire: Provides guidance on financial freedom & goal-setting
Changing Your Mindset: Growth vs. fixed mindset
AlphaVest: Shares investment ideas from an athlete-investor perspective
Perplexity Report: Examples for using ideas in two unrelated fields

Roadblocks

Fear of missing out on short-term gains
Market volatility triggers hasty decisions
Lack of immediate results can be discouraging
Peer pressure may push us towards a "get rich quick" mentality
Health concerns or limited time horizons might make long-term strategies seem less appealing

Upsides & ways to beat roadblocks

Reduced stress from not constantly watching market ups & downs
Runners set their sights on a visible point in the distance, like a tree, as a temporary "finish line.” Do the same with smaller investing goals for momentum
Potentially higher returns over time due to compound interest & reduced trading costs

Takeaways

Treat investing like a marathon, not a sprint
Set clear, long-term financial goals & stick to your plan
Stay disciplined & avoid emotional reactions to short-term market changes

Self-sabotage is part of this issue too, & the next section shows how to beat that…

Face The Facts (then punch ’em in the nose)

Know the facts so you can overcome or take advantage of them.

5) The "fresh start effect" associated with New Year's resolutions can motivate us & make hitting our goals more likely (Parinc)

4) People with lower self-esteem are more prone to self-sabotage due to pessimistic views of their abilities

3) 55% of people considered themselves successful in sustaining New Year resolutions after one year, according to a large-scale experiment (NIH)

2) Just one inch of water in a typical home can cause up to $25,000 of damage

1) Mark Cuban's Cost Plus Drug Company produced estimated savings across seven generic oncology drugs ranged from $228.1 million (56.1%) to $2.15 billion (92.4%) compared to current Medicare Part D prices

👊Let’s punch self-sabotage in the nose.

Ways to avoid sabotaging ourselves with our own thoughts:

Journal to identify self-sabotaging behaviors & thoughts
Take a walk, exercise, meditate, or set new goals to break negative cycles
Replace "I can't do this" with "I can try my best." Failures are nothing! Just learning
Set realistic goals & celebrate small victories to build confidence
Share experiences with trusted friends or support groups

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The upside’s always worth looking for,
Ronnie Mac James

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