How I Invest My Own Money in 2025

Please take a moment to complete this brief survey so I can learn more about YOU and what it is YOU want from this show! I promise, it will take no longer than 97 seconds, and it will help me continue to make the show better for you. There’s a strange YouTube genre called “What’s in My Bag?” where people pull out chapstick like it’s a state secret. This episode is basically that…except the bag is my financial life. And instead of chapstick, it’s index funds and money markets. Not sexy. Not even the flavored kind. Just the plain, unscented stick you find in your coat pocket three years later — still somehow usable. So, what’s in my financial bag? Today I’m walking you through my actual accounts: Roth IRA, taxable brokerage, SEP IRA, and yes, the glorified piggy bank that is my money market fund. I’ll explain what’s in each, why it’s there, and how I think about these buckets so you can use the same framework as a mirror for your own setup. Along the way, I’ll share how I went from aspiring Peter Lynch to preferring mental bandwidth. Why I sometimes hoard cash like a squirrel on Adderall. And why even the smug “just buy the S&P 500 and chill” crowd (myself included) still falls into the trap of trying to outsmart the market — usually by tilting toward “the next big thing” in the most boring way imaginable. Here’s what we cover: Roth IRA: My tax-free sandbox. 100% growth funds. If there’s ever a place to take swings, it’s here. Taxable brokerage: My liquid nest. Efficient, simple, with a healthy pile of cash-like funds as a psychological shock collar reminding me to actually live life. SEP IRA: My tax-bracket tamer. Boring, tax-deferred, locked away for “future Tyler.” (Poor guy.) The irony of tilts: How even with all this simplicity, I still fall into the trap of trying to beat the market with the market. The goal isn’t just to get rich. The goal is to make your portfolio so boring you forget it exists — because you’re too busy living the life it was supposed to buy you in the first place. Hope you all enjoy the show and it offers you something to think about this week!