Do you want to be a great investor? If so, then you need to learn how to connect the dots to make profitable investments nobody else can see. By investing in long-term trends, you can become a great investor. By properly allocating your assets in a risk-adjusted manner, you can also become a great investor.
One of the hardest things for an investor to do is to consistently outperform the S&P 500. Most fail, which is why the general recommendation is to invest mostly in index funds.
However, as humans, we always have hope! And it is that hope of outperforming the broader market that keeps the active money management business alive. Like the lottery, we know the odds are against us, but some of us play the game anyway.
I'm one of those delusional people who regularly has 20% or so of his capital invested in individual securities. I got lucky finding a 50 bagger back in 2000. Unfortunately, I've been hunting for my Moby Dick ever since.
A recent high-performing stock example reminded me why we should always try to connect the dots when investing. A great investor tends to see things before the average investor does. As a result, a great investor tends to also be much wealthier.
Connect The Dots To Outperform As A Great Investor
What is the one thing so many of us have gained since the pandemic began? Perhaps it's the ability to multi-task with screaming kids in the house? Or maybe it's realizing what we want to do with our one and only life?
Nope.
The one thing many of us have gained since the beginning of 2020 is weight. Here is the ideal weight chart if you're curious.
According to one poll from the American Psychological Association, about 42% of people gained more weight than they intended during the pandemic.
Of those surveyed, the average weight gain was a significant 29 pounds. Meanwhile, 10% of those surveyed said they gained more than 50 pounds!
When we're at home more often during a stressful world event, of course it's natural to eat more and exercise less.
Given the mortality rates from COVID-19 are higher for overweight people, I tried my best to lose weight. Instead, I gained at least a couple of pounds. Irrational, but also rational.
The Now Obvious Investment
It was quite apparent that by July 2020, weight gain was becoming an accelerating trend. Therefore, a great investor would have connected the dots and concluded that buying an apparel company made sense.
Of course, you couldn't just buy any apparel company. You had to buy an apparel company with a great brand, a growing online retail presence, a strong balance sheet, and mass-market appeal.
Let me introduce to you Levi Strauss & Co (LEVI). The company was founded in San Francisco on May 1, 1853. LEVI first went public in 1971 but had been private until its second IPO on March 19, 2019.
The Haas family helped fund my business school (UC Berkeley) and are big donors all around the SF Bay Area.
LEVI is up a whopping 129% in the past 12 months, compared to “only” 38% for the S&P 500 during the same period. The company recently reported strong 2Q2021 results with sales up 148% year-over-year.
As we know, 2Q2020 was a tough time as many of its stores closed due to the pandemic. Therefore, the comparison period was easier. However, the company essentially said that due to expanded waistlines, demand for its jeans and clothing was very strong.
Well damn! If I had connected the dots, I could have more than doubled my money. So sad.
The Risk: Who Needs Clothes Anymore?
A great investor also has to be careful not to be delusional as well. It's easy to say we all should have bought LEVI in the summer of 2020 when our pants were getting tighter.
However, back in the summer of 2020, who needed new clothes anymore?
Millions of people suddenly were allowed to work from home indefinitely. As a result, there was no need to buy business casual clothing from Dockers (owned by Levi's). Sweatpants and t-shirts are much more comfortable than jeans and button downs.
The upgrade cycle to larger clothing sizes wouldn't have been enough to get overall sales growing again. Instead, a savvy investor would have had to find more catalysts before buying.
How To Become A Great Investor And Connect The Dots
To properly connect the dots, a great investor needs to go through a top-down process. He has then got to methodically go through what datapoint could mean what for which investment.
1) Back in 2020, an investor would have first had to make a prediction about the overall market's direction. Check baby, check baby, 1, 2, 3!
2) Then an investor would have had to determine whether the government's support was enough. Check!
3) Then an investor would have had to analyze the overall apparel market and what millions of people staying home all day meant. Fail!
4) Finally, the investor would have had to do a deep dive into LEVI before coming up with an investment decision. Fail!
In other words, a great investor would have had to connect the dots within the dots. Further, even if the great investor had successfully bought Levi stock last summer, he would have had to resist selling until now.
In just one quarter, Levi's stock rose by 50%. The temptation to take profits would have been strong.
Connecting The Wrong Dots As A Bad Investor
Do you know what I decided to invest in instead of Levi Strauss & Co last year? Lululemon (LULU). I had held the stock for several years by mid-2020 and decided to add to my position.
My simple thesis was that comfort clothes were in and dress clothes were out. We own some overpriced Lululemon clothing in our family so were customers as well.
LULU performed well in 3Q 2020, then came crashing back down. Over the past 12 months, LULU is only up 21.52% versus 38% for the S&P 500 and 129% for LEVI. What an underperformer!
I connected the wrong dots. Investors didn't want to pay up for LULU clothing during a pandemic nor did they want to pay a 60% higher P/E multiple than Levi's stock.
In retrospect, I now realize I was in my own bubble because our finances weren't rocked in 2020.
I didn't lose a job because I didn't have a job. Financial Samurai operated as usual because it's on the internet. Finally, our passive retirement income streams stayed steady.
Due to these factors, I wasn't price sensitive to $120 yoga pants. But enough clients were to slow down sales. A great investor is aware of his or her biases when investing.
Connecting The Dots With Real Estate
As you may know, I'm bullish on the housing market and I'm a buyer of rental properties. I want to experience the double benefit of rising rents and rising property values for decades. This way, my kids won't get pissed off at me when they're older.
It's the year 2046. The kids and I are sitting around the breakfast table talking about the good old days. Over waffles, I start getting poked by my son who is asking me why I didn't buy real estate back when prices were “so cheap.”
“Dad! If you had bought more property in the early 2020s, you wouldn't have to keep grinding away on Financial Samurai today! You'd be thinner, have more hair, and not snore so much. You could also finally enjoy full retirement with mom. Heck, we wouldn't have to still live at home with you guys either!“
With the average one-bedroom apartment costing $6,500 in San Francisco 25 years from now, we had decided it was best for our kids to live with us until they found their respective life partners. Frugal for the win!
First dot to connect: My kids don't have the ability to invest beyond their custodial Roth IRAs and investment accounts today. When they are adults, they will likely wish they could rewind time and buy real estate 25 years ago. Therefore, to prevent them from thinking I was a dummy, I will buy more real estate in the 2020s.
The Second Dot To Connect With Real Estate
The 10-year bond yield is back down to below 1.2% from a high of 1.75% on March 31, 2021.
This tells us that inflation expectations are declining and mortgage rates are coming back down. The housing market should cool this summer, as it normally does every year.
However, I forecast a post-Labor Day bump in real estate demand after two months of cooling off. It seems like everybody is traveling right now and YOLOing.
Lower mortgage rates act as a tailwind for real estate prices. Therefore, I'm actively looking for real estate investment opportunities from now until September 6.
After another surge in real estate demand post Labor Day, there's going to be another two-month slowdown during the holidays and winter. At this time, I will aggressively look for more opportunities again.
I'm thinking there's a 30% chance the 10-year bond yield continues to head lower, a 50% chance the 10-year bond yield hovers around 1.3% – 1.6%, and only a 20% chance the 10-year bond yield gets back to its high of 1.75% by the end of the year.
Therefore, with an 80% chance mortgage rates will either stay the same or go lower again, I remain bullish on real estate.
If you haven't refinanced your mortgage yet, you should definitely check online and call your bank. I use Credible to see what the latest rates are. The lending platform provides no-obligation quotes in minutes. I currently have a 7/1 ARM at only 2.125%.
As you can see from the chart below, mortgage rates are heading back down. A 15-year fixed rate mortgage looks especially enticing if the fees aren't high.
The Third Dot To Connect With Real Estate
One of the best strategies I've used to make an investment decision is to compare what's going on with a public security before making a private investment in a similar space. Specifically, I'm looking for strong-performing public securities that may act as leading indicators for private investments.
One example I discussed in a previous newsletter was Airbnb's IPO on December 10, 2020. The stock IPOed at $68/share and closed up 113% to $144.71/share. At $144.71/share, Airbnb was valued at more than $100 billion.
However, Airbnb raised funds from Silver Lake and Sixth Street Partners in April 2020 at only a value of only $18 billion. In other words, Airbnb management panicked big time during the spring of 2020.
The demand for Airbnb stock in late 2020 was a clear signal to buy private hospitality commercial real estate. So I did. Real estate prices never move as quickly as stock prices. Today, we are seeing a clear resurgence in travel demand.
What's The Next Public Equity Example?
As someone who is bullish on rental properties, I own and track the performance of American Homes 4 Rent (ticker AMH).
AMH describes itself as, “an internally managed Maryland real estate investment trust, or REIT, focused on acquiring, developing, renovating, leasing, and operating attractive, single-family homes as rental properties. As of September 30, 2020, we owned 53,229 single-family properties in selected submarkets in 22 states.”
AMH stock is up 42% year to date and 49% over the past 12 months. In other words, AMH stock has only just started taking off over the past six months. The market is starting to come around to the bull market rental property thesis.
What The Dots Tell Us To Do In Real Estate
1) Continue To Hold Our Rentals
The recent performance of AMH is telling owners of single-family homes or rental properties to, at the very least, continue to hold. Rents and property values are rising.
There is no way I'm going to sell my rental properties now that we are rocketing out of the pandemic. People are flocking back to big cities as the herd usually arrives once all is clear.
On the other hand, if the latest variant again leads us to another lockdown, the demand for single-family homes will get another boost.
2) Invest In A Private REIT That Bought Earlier
For those with motivated capital, you should identify private REITs that aggressively purchased single-family rental properties in 2020 or 1H2021.
Although I still believe AMH will do well, it's relatively harder for me to put new capital to work after a 46% YTD ramp. I'd rather go back in time like Marty McFly.
For example, on April 4, 2021, The Wall Street Journal made a fuss that institutional investors were buying up single-family homes.
A bidding war broke out this winter at a new subdivision north of Houston. But the prize this time was the entire subdivision, not just a single suburban house, illustrating the rise of big investors as a potent new force in the U.S. housing market.
D.R. Horton Inc. built 124 houses in Conroe, Texas, rented them out and then put the whole community, Amber Pines at Fosters Ridge, on the block. A Who’s Who of investors and home-rental firms flocked to the December sale.
The winning $32 million bid came from an online property-investing platform, Fundrise LLC, which manages more than $1 billion on behalf of about 150,000 individuals.
Back in April 2021, you might have scoffed at Fundrise for buying the Amber Pines community for an average price of $258,064 per home.
However, with the median-priced home in America between $380,000 – $399,000 today (depends on who you ask), Fundrise's $32 million purchase is looking better by the day. DR Horton, the homebuilder that sold to Fundrise, should have held on!
There's a great saying in real estate, “the profit is made on the purchase, not on the sale.” With a lower denominator (purchase price), your percentage gains get stronger and stronger.
The Amber Pines community should provide a solid recurring yield for Fundrise investors for those looking to invest in single-family rental properties today.
In fact, a year later, Fundrise returned 24% overall for its investors in 2021. Further, Fundrise has grown to over $2.5 billion in assets under management with over 210,000 investors!
3) Find A Sponsor Who Purchased Earlier
Another investment strategy is to participate in a private real estate syndication deal where the sponsor purchased the property in 2020 or early 2021. The sponsor is then looking to syndicate some of its acquisition to other investors.
I was on a webinar last week where a sponsor did just this. It bought 100% of a Hilton hotel in the Dallas MSA in late 2020. It is now syndicating 10% of its position to investors on the real estate platform.
Participating in the deal is like jumping back in time and buying the property at December 2020 prices. Not bad given we've seen a strong recovery since then.
When someone on the webinar logically asked why a sponsor wouldn't just keep 100% of the position, the sponsor responded, “this has always been part of our business model.” For 70+ years, the sponsor has been investing and syndicating deals in the hotel space.
To find a sponsor that takes down 100% of a property first with 100% of its own money is already rare. This means it has total skin in the game. I won't fault such a sponsor for syndicating some of its ownership for diversification.
CrowdStreet does a great job in finding promising individual deals and great sponsors. CrowdStreet focuses on deals mainly in 18-hour cities where valuations are lower and growth rates are higher. I highly recommend you check them out. I've met a dozen members of management and strategy before and have listed to hours of their online webinars. They are legit.
Can't Always Get Every Investment Right
Even a great investor will connect the dots wrong at some point and lose money. That's just the nature of investing. You got to take the licks and keep on going. Keep trying to get smarter financially.
However, the hope is that over time, we are able to learn from our mistakes. The more experience we have, the more we tend to recognize investment opportunities.
One of the biggest problems I have as an investor today is the lack of time. Being a parent to young children is a full-time job. Therefore, I know I will never be a great investor, which is why the majority of my public capital is in index funds.
But for those of you who have time, I strongly suggest practicing connecting the investment dots on a daily or weekly basis. There are obvious investment signs everywhere. You just need to spend the time to find them.
Invest In Private Growth Companies
I've connected more dots with the new Innovation Fund launched by Fundrise. Companies are staying private for longer, as a result, more gains are accruing to private company investors. Finding the next Google or Apple before going public can be a life-changing investment.
The Innovation fund invests in:
- Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning
- Modern Data Infrastructure
- Development Operations (DevOps)
- Financial Technology (FinTech)
- Real Estate & Property Technology (PropTech)
Roughly 35% of the Innovation Fund is invested in artificial intelligence, which I'm extremely bullish about. In 20 years, I don't want my kids wondering why I didn't invest in AI or work in AI!
The investment minimum is also only $10. Most venture capital funds have a $250,000+ minimum.You can actually see what the Innovation Fund is holding BEFORE deciding to invest and how much. Traditional venture capital funds require capital commitment first and then hope the general partners will find great investments.
I see the fund holds companies like Databricks and Canva at reasonable valuations, as a result, I think the fund is an attractive investment. Of course, there are no guarantees.
Related posts on investing:
To Get Rich, You Must Practice Predicting The Future
Stocks Or Real Estate? Which Is A Better Investment
Readers, what are some overlooked investment opportunities right now? What investment opportunities seem obvious to you, but perhaps not to others? What could I be missing in my bullish rental property thesis? What else does a great investor do?
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(PEP) AND (SAM) are teaming up to market a new alcohol version of Mountain Dew. Not a reason we think to rush to add (SAM) to our “addiction stock” portfolio. We’re going to stick with (BUD)
(STZ) and (DEO). (SAM) just doesn’t have a very good record trying to market hard seltzer and flavored fizzy malt beverages, especially recently. Other brewers hit home runs with their fizzies and (SAM) falls flat (no pun). Then there’s the name they chose. You ready? “Hard Mountain Dew”. Come on, you guys! Our 7 year old granddaughter could do better. First, mountain dew was the original hard liquor. Still is some of the most potent ever distilled. So the prize annointed name is.a tautology. Second, the name has absolutely no pizzazz. None. Period. If you held a contest to come up with a worse.name, we doubt if you could top Hard Mountain Dew for DULL.
The (PEP) ad/marketing department has already blown the ideal name. Dew Shine. Was a clear, real sugar version of Mountain Dew soda marketed by (PEP) from 2015 to 2017 and then abandoned. It would probably have been better to risk resurrecting the Dew Shine name than going with.PEP’s present choice. So (PEP,/SAM), first fire your marketing departments. Then please, for the.love of all that’s decent, humane, and AMERICAN, change the damn name.
Our humble opinion…What do you guys think?
We like the way your mind works Dogen. We were recently bitten by the sustainability bug. The same sustainability concept which provides the investing ethos for so many of the young people today. We decided to find some companies that were trying to grow something besides cash.
One which we took a flyer on was Innovative industrial Properties, Inc. (IIPR). We’re gratified that it has come home to roost, up 24.04% since we bought it, 5.02% last Friday. IIPR is a Reit that buys and provides lease-back arrangements to regulated state licensed medical cannabis facilities. 69 properties in 18 states, 6.2 million rentable sq. ft. under management. IIPR pays a respectable 2.45% dividend yield.
We get the additional “feel good” factor that medical “Mary Jane” is helping a awful lot of people with hideous illnesses like Alzheimers, ALS, HIV/AIDS, Crohns, Epilepsy, Glaucoma, and MS.
We also have a hunch that when the tech bull market does eventually go poof, that some of these well managed Reits will still be standing.
Thanks for the article. Super interesting. To add to connecting the dots. A great investor knows how to evaluate a business. How do you evaluate a business? It starts with simple accounting. How much does the business make and how much does it spend to make that money. What’s left over is the operating. This is your starting point to know whether or not to buy a business. Divide the total operating revenue by shares and you have the operating revenue per share. Divide operations revenue by total revenue and you get the operating margin. If the operating revenue is $7 and you are paying $49 then you are paying for seven years of the that share which is a 7 multiple. This is the base way to analyzing a business. If the share price is $98 then you are paying 14 times. So how do you decide when to buy a business. Set a multiple you are willing to pay and wait. What if the price never comes along? Pick 10 different businesses and wait until they get to the multiple you want. What if it takes too long in the public markets. Go to the private market and look for businesses to buy or build your own business.
Sam,
I enjoy reading your posts as well as the thoughtful comments that follow . This isn’t really Germaine to this post but, as a tech industry exec with solid income and some equity but no pension, I’m stumped on how to exit early and maintain reasonable healthcare . How’s it done ? My two children are grown and will age out of my corporate plan soon. What are you and the FIRE community doing about healthcare as it is the leading cause of bankruptcy and I don’t want to end up as a statistic !!!
+1 on the healthcare issue- same situation as Jim. I can’t figure out the FIRE riddle (retire target is 54) without solving this piece…
Might also point out the boom in tech IPO’s. Many of the same dots should be analyzed. For example, data is proliferating and warehousing needs are naturally skyrocketing (Snowflake, Nasdaq ‘SNOW’), global threats requiring big data security and analysis are ballooning (Palantir ‘PLTR’), Biometric human data security… hey, where do you think all of humanities COVID test data is being stored (Clear Security ‘YOU’). … just a few quick examples but there’s a tech gold rush happening for those paying attention.
Sure. We pay $2,250/month for a family gold plan. It is unsubsidized because we make more than 400% of the Federal Poverty Limit.
But some FIRE people take healthcare subsidies to lower their cost.
See: https://www.financialsamurai.com/how-to-qualify-for-healthcare-subsidies-under-the-affordable-care-act-even-as-a-multi-millionaire/
Time and effort permitting, it would be great if you could update your post on subsidized marketplace Healthcare, in light of ARPA. Thanks!
Sure will get to it one day.
Sam,
Another great post, always look forward to these.
I’m wondering if you’re concerned at all about the super long term in real estate investing. I’m in my early 30s and proud to own my home and one rental unit. I’d like to get 2-3 more rental units in the next 10 years and am happy to make little income off them as I enjoy it and think it’ll be a good retirement income or inheritance for my kids one day if nothing else.
However, I look at the decline in birth rate in the US, the most populous generation rapidly aging, and we’re still building new homes–eventually there will be more homes than people who need them. Plus interest rates can’t go much lower (I know you think they’ll stay down) and if they ever go up it drives down sale prices and equity, at least temporarily.
Any concern with real estate for the 50+ year time horizon?
Best,
Micky
I received a small 6 fig inheritance in 2020. Did fine in the market but now Im back to 60% cash. Ages 51 and 57 hubs, we dont have our first home yet. [ He has had many- this will be my first[. Hub pulled pension of 6k a month. Now, have to figure out where to buy the HOME. Any thoughts? Prefer less regulation, more freedom TX, ID, Utah sort of, AZ? In SD, CA now. Thanks for the info…
“A Great Investor Connects The Dots, Let’s Discuss How”
———————–
Well, let’s look at it from another perspective:
A not-so-great investor with even below average intelligence would have gained 95%+ since March 2020 simply by investing in an index fund such as VTI.
Bingo, hence the very first paragraph of my post. However, in order to get rich, you need to outperform. Everybody is up about 100% since March 2020. Which means that nobody is really richer without being up more than 100% from the bottom.
A lot of tech stocks, for example, are up 200+ percent since the bottom or more. Everything is relative.
The question is, what will outperform over the next 12 months. I believe rental properties are going to do just that. So I invest accordingly and reap the rewards or not.
“cording Lee”
Wait, I’m confused. You said that LEVI was a good buy, but are you now saying that its traditional rival (LEE) is a better buy? Or are they both good?
Typo or not, it is an awesome coincidence…
Hah! Voice dictation typo. Should be “accordingly.”
Well, given that was the big pandemic collapse, you should probably play fair and go back to February 2020, in which case it’s a bit under 75%.
Current boom aside, I typically do considerably better than market average. I don’t try to look for the next pet rock, or super-popular phone app, or the next Netflix. I don’t look for specific products or companies at all. I look for funds that invest in areas that I think are where the future is going, and for fund managers that invest in those areas and have a long enough track record that I can see how they did in bad times, as well as good. I don’t invest in equities. I invest in where I see the future going, and I invest in fund managers.
Also, I sure don’t want to have to do all that research and follow-up to stay up with every stock every day.
If ever there was an article showing the value of index investing this is it
It is so much fun to pursue “will of the wisps” up hill and down dale but for the average investor and probably for most professionals too it’s a fools errand
As you say hope is an eternal human attribute and contributes in no small way to our success as a species but where investing is concerned it is a greater hindrance than a help
Buying the total market and leaving well alone to compound will be a winning strategy for most investors
This allows them to concentrate on areas where they do have control like the day job,saving more,reducing costs and living frugally
xxd09
PS very boring compared with gambling (in the stockmarket)
The trend in pandemic weight gain isn’t surprising. I think that’s why I zeroed in on Peloton so early in the pandemic and it had a nice run. Great solution, and it works even if you’re in a high density living space. Try doing heavy deadlifts in an apartment….nope.
I would have never guessed Levi would be a play. That’s personal bias clouding my analysis. I live in Florida and have worn long pants once since being sent to WFH a year and a half ago. Bullish on shorts and t-shirts….lol.
Regarding the Second Dot to Connect with Real Estate, I think the reason the bond yield is dropping has more to do with the increase in the bond price, driven by demand.
Today, CPI reportedly increased 5.4% YOY, so the inflation numbers are contradictory to the dropping yield. This will still keep mortgage rates low, and double keep the housing market going strong, but increases the chance of a deflationary event should the Fed decide they need to put the lid on inflation.
-A amateur
Sure, but the key question is why the increase in bond demand?
If you exclude used cars, core inflation closer to 2.7%.
Lumber prices have given up all its price gains for 2021. Things that went up huge are coming back down as supply bottlenecks improve.
Still elevated inflation. But perhaps no longer as elevated as expected.
Increase in US bond demand could be because, on a global level, the returns on Euro and Asian-Pacific bonds are so low.
It is so hard to pick a levis over a LuLu that I don’t even try. Instead I try to focus on secular trends and then pick the company’s with the best balance sheets. Cloud computing, 5G, Internet Security, Internet of Things, Internet shopping, Block chain, Crypto currencies, clean energy, and self driving cars have all been trends for years and will be trends that will continue to accelerate. What do they all have in common? Semiconductors!
As much as you love housing, I love Semiconductors!
Indeed, focusing on big trends is a great strategy. Go TSMC! And wow, Nvidia has just crushed it.
This reminds me of a scene from HBO’s silicone valley (great show by the way) where Peter “connected the dots” to buy futures, pure brilliance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUxMY77i0q4
Yes, great show and great scene. I hope they film the final season! Hilarious.
I like your thinking about connecting the dots. It reminds me of the book by Peter Lynch – One Up On Wall Street. It’s been 10+ years since I read it, but I remember the basic premise being to observe the trends in everyday life and invest in those stocks.
So for example if 10 years ago your girlfriend and all her friends began buying Lululemon, look into the company and buy the stock. I think though that you have to be really good at analyzing the underlying company, pricing on the company, etc.
Your girlfriend and all her friends may love a company’s product but the stock may be overpriced. That’s where I find myself lacking confidence and buying index funds to benefit from overall market appreciation, rather than chasing the bigger potential return of picking the correct clothing company.
Like canada goose.
Whoa that is surprising that the average weight of Americans went up because of the pandemic. Every single one of my friends’ weight went down because of the pandemic. As did I. We do not represent the average American!
I wonder if people will start releasing their pent up demand on more food so the average American’s weight will go up even higher. We shall see.
When the pandemic began, we rented a house in a rural area, initially thinking it would only last a couple of months – remember the “flatten the curve” that obviously was totally forgotten. Initially I tried to run a bit but quickly got bored and then remembered that I used to love to bicycle when I was in my teens, early 20s (I’m 60 now). Those first few rides were hard, especially since we were living up against the mountains and the most scenic routes with no people were up! I can remember the first few times, putting on a mask when I ended up riding near to other people, but that quickly went away as I read more and more about the disease. Today I confidently ride 100 kms or more per week, some days up to 100 kms. I have actually lost about 15 pounds since the pandemic began. I’m back living in the city but I still ride nearly every weekday. The pandemic has been a good excuse to actually get back in shape – I really just wish they had not told everyone to stay indoors for so long. They would have been much healthier to have been outside, exposed to fresh air, and absorbing maximum amounts of vitamin D.
Congrats! How tall and heavy are you now?
I’ve never been overweight, but I’m slowly but surely creeping up to the borderline.
I believe the 42% stat on people gaining more weight than they intended during the pandemic. I’m actually surprised it wasn’t higher than that. I definitely had my share of extra deserts to help make the lockdowns more bearable lol. Just thinking about desert makes me want to order cupcakes. hmmm
Anyway, I like your thoughts on connecting the dots. Impressive returns for Levi. I wouldn’t have guessed they would have performed that well. If I were to guess I would have picked an athletic wear company, but I did neither. I don’t allocate much time to investing, so I am very passive investor and rely on funds for most of my portfolios. I can’t remember the last time I made a bet on a single name stock. But props to those who enjoy it, do the research, and are able to connect the dots!
Bubble tea! LOL
Passive investing is great. The Return On Effort is usually the highest because you ain’t got to do anything and the market tends to go up over time.