I recently recorded a podcast with Renegade Investors. This is my personal strategy to retirement, which is a spin-off from the FIRE movement that leverages growth converted to DGI in order to retire young and live off dividends.

Fastly (FSLY) launched their highly-anticipated IPO this morning.  Shares are up over 50% with 1.5 hours of trading left in the day.  If you have not heard of FSLY, check out their website: www.fastly.com

This is a high flyer, high risk stock.  It's an edge cloud platform with tremendous growth potential.  Give it's 50% run today, you may want to wait for a dip and dollar cost average in.

Trump says if Fed cuts interest rates, US will win trade war: 'It would be game over, we win!'

​Is this the right answer? It would pump more money into the U.S. economy and hedge some of the trade war risk. Trump said Monday night regarding China, “we will know in 3–4 weeks” and he mentioned that he felt things would work out. Many people feel that President Trump is flexing muscle to get what he wants, both with China and the Fed. 
At 8:51 AM ET, the implied Dow open was +84 points. Stocks are down approximately 5% in the past week.

I hope you had a great week. I love Saturday mornings, as they give me time to reflect and let my brain rest from the market a bit. I just made some Mickey Mouse pancakes for my daughters, and we’re going to a birthday party this afternoon. Kids make you reflect. I was just thinking about how a few decisions, which I thought were small at the time, impacted my life in a tremendous way.

The first decision that comes to mind was deciding to play football and attend college. I had planned on joining the Navy, but my high school coach insisted I was “college All-American talent”. “Yeah right, coach, whatever!” He believed in me more then I believed in myself at the young age of 17. Don’t get me wrong, the military is awesome, and I respect the men and women that work so hard and sacrifice for our country. With that said, going to college was the best decision I ever made. Not necessarily because of the education, although that was a huge bonus. I met my best friends and my wife in college. My beautiful daughters that I just cooked breakfast for...they may not exist without this decision. I also had a great football career at college as well. We won a championship; I was a four-time First Team All-Conference, a two-time All-American, and I was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2017. All of this from one small decision, a decision that was influenced by a coach who believed in me.

This makes me think about how important coaches and mentors are. Most people have these influencers in their lives at a young age, but once they grow up and get into the real world, they typically no longer have these people in their lives. Sure, you have your parents and family, but often times they don’t have the experiences you truly need to excel. It’s easy to get into the daily grind of work and just focus on short term. Do you plan for your future? Do you write down goals and hold yourself accountable? Do you have a mentor or a coach that helps you plan your financial future? Do you have a mentor that helps you meet your potential with your career? These people are more important than you may realize. It can be challenging to find mentors for many people. The internet has truly changed that. I’m not suggesting you should take advice from anyone and everyone on the web. In fact, most of the advice you hear is likely bad. Take your time. Do your homework, and find groups and mentors that you can trust and that mesh well with your philosophies. It took me years, but I have found very useful groups and mentors through Facebook, LinkedIn, and various websites. It has changed my life, and it has helped me build my wealth.

I hope you have a great weekend. Hopefully my Saturday side notes spark a fire! You can achieve your goals. You can make your dreams come true! Remember though, every person who is successful had help. Find people who will make you better. Learn and grow. Read books. Take classes. Do what you need to do to make it happen. Life is short....how will you spend your time. How will you be remembered?

No deal was made with China last night, and Trump raised existing Chinese tariffs from 10% to 25% shortly after midnight today. As expected, futures are pointing lower from this news; however, the implied open 30 minutes before opening bell indicates only a 110 point loss on the Dow. Many are still clinging to hope that something will happen today, while others are still confident a deal will happen in the near future.  

At 4:43 AM, Trump tweeted:
"Talks with China continue in a very congenial manner - there is absolutely no need to rush - as Tariffs are NOW being paid to the United States by China of 25% on 250 Billion Dollars worth of goods & products. These massive payments go directly to the Treasury of the U.S...."

​As mentioned yesterday, some buying opportunities should exist in the next couple of days,. With that said, chartists are now signaling warning signs, so use caution.  I've heard predictions that we may go back to 2600 on the S&P 500...even lower. If you decide to buy, I recommend using a dollar-cost average. Good luck out there! Have a great weekend!

Dow futures are down over 220 points this morning, approximately 30 minutes before opening bell. Trump said China "broke the deal" at a rally on Wednesday evening.  Many investors are worried that the United States and China will not be able to reach an agreement or deal before the tariffs go into effect today at midnight.  Today is most definitely a pivotal day...most believe we have between 2-10% upside versus 5-15% downside.  

Have some cash ready, and be looking to add between now and next week Tuesday, May 14th.