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How do you achieve financial independence?

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Believe you can, and pair that belief with a plan.

The equation to achieve financial independence, is simpler than you might think.

Investing and time are a powerful combination.

– The Missing Second Semester

It takes discipline and saving a few bucks each day. 

Compound interest is an unbelievable concept.

You have to see it, to believe it! Troutwood’s stock market calculator is one place, to “see it.”

Once you understand compound interest, your financial goal(s) becomes not just believable, but achievable, and you have taken an important towards financial independence.

Make this 👇 fact, YOUR financial reality.

Consistently invest, in a diversified long-term portfolio, beginning at an early age. Make it automatic, like brushing your teeth!

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But it’s not that easy . . .

“I want to open a Roth IRA, but I keep been hearing about a potential recession and was wondering if I’ll just lose all my money?”

A student of mine at the University of Pittsburgh asked this 👆 question. It’s a valid fear, and one I hear frequently, across different audiences.

Which makes the first step, the most difficult.

There is a great deal of media, social, and mainstream finance and investing content, that emphasizes:

  • Timing the stock market
  • Picking “the right” individual stocks
  • The next recession
  • Get rich quick schemes.

Forming a long-term investing perspective will help you avoid financial traps and stay on track with your financial plan.

Tune out the noise.

Own the companies that comprise the “stock market” – all of them – for a long time.

The cumulative returns of the stock market as measured by the S&P 500 from 1950 – 2022 is 228,508.39%. That’s a BIG number, that includes EVERY recession over that 72-year period.

I don’t know what’s going to happen, next week, next month or next year. I do have a great deal of confidence in long term investing.

Own your financial future.

Investing and time are a powerful combination.
– The Missing Second Semester

Gene Natali<br>
Gene Natali

Gene is Co-founder and CEO of Troutwood, a software company founded out of the Carnegie Mellon University Swartz Center.  He is a Chartered Financial Analyst, board member of CFA Society Pittsburgh, Executive in Residence at the Black School of Business|Penn State Behrend and a part-time lecturer at the University of Pittsburgh, where he has taught Personal Finance since 2015.

Prior to founding Troutwood, Gene spent 17-years personally working with some of the largest and most sophisticated institutional investors and retirement plans in America.  He is an award-winning author (The Missing Semester), has spoken in over 1000 unique high school and college classrooms, and regularly keynotes investment and education conferences across the country. 

Gene holds an MBA with a concentration in finance from Carnegie Mellon University and a bachelor’s degree with a concentration in economics from Allegheny College. 

📖 The Missing semester
📖The Missing Second Semester
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3 FINANCIAL RESOLUTIONS TO STICK WITH IN 2023

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Set goals that are realistic, repeatable and achievable

By mid-January, how many New Year’s resolutions have been pushed aside as “unachievable?” As you navigate your financial journey, consider these three financial resolutions as guideposts to help you enter 2024 even stronger.

Set and implement a “savings goal”

Investing and Time are a powerful combination.

– The Missing Second Semester

The more you invest, and the longer you do it for, the happier you are likely to be with the outcome.

Not sure where to start? You aren’t alone! The MOST common question we receive from Troutwood App beta testers is: “How do I set a goal?” A proprietary adequacy measure helps answer this question.

Pay off variable rate debt

Interest rates have risen sharply over the past year. This has had an outsized impact on borrowers with variable rate, or floating debt. If that’s you, your monthly borrowing costs have likely increased – in some cases meaningfully.

When interest rates rise, the amount you owe on variable rate debt also rises.

Places you might see variable rate debt include:

(a) Private student loans, which can have fixed or variable interest rates.

(b) Mortgages can have fixed or variable interest rates. In the case of home loans, a variable rate loan is called an “adjustable rate mortgage, or ARM.

(c) Outstanding credit card debt generally sees APR increases when interest rates rise. Because this increase comes on top of already VERY high interest rates, the impact can be especially painful.

Create your first financial plan

Increase the odds of successfully implementing resolutions #1 and #2 with a financial plan that outlines the small steps necessary to achieve the big ones.

You can do it!

Own your financial future

Gene Natali
Gene Natali

Gene is Co-founder and CEO of Troutwood, a software company founded out of the Carnegie Mellon University Swartz Center.  He is a Chartered Financial Analyst, board member of CFA Society Pittsburgh, Executive in Residence at the Black School of Business|Penn State Behrend and a part-time lecturer at the University of Pittsburgh, where he has taught Personal Finance since 2015.

Prior to founding Troutwood, Gene spent 17-years personally working with some of the largest and most sophisticated institutional investors and retirement plans in America.  He is an award-winning author (The Missing Semester), has spoken in over 1000 unique high school and college classrooms, and regularly keynotes investment and education conferences across the country. 

Gene holds an MBA with a concentration in finance from Carnegie Mellon University and a bachelor’s degree with a concentration in economics from Allegheny College. 

The Missing semester
The Missing second semester
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Disclosure: All investments have the potential for loss. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

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