Simon Saves

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Simon Saves I help young adults turn small money into real wealth.

$50/month will transform your life. No fluff, just simple strategy! Follow to stop being broke.

Momentum fund performance since mid August. XSMO is small cap.XMMO is mid cap. SPMO is large cap.And just an FYI, FMTM w...
10/14/2026

Momentum fund performance since mid August.

XSMO is small cap.

XMMO is mid cap.

SPMO is large cap.

And just an FYI, FMTM was lagging SPMO by 3% just a few weeks ago.

If you haven’t created watchlists in your brokerage app, they’re a very valuable tool!

Pick your poison!Which do you like and why?
10/06/2026

Pick your poison!

Which do you like and why?

Cyber security ETF?!Be on the lookout for an in depth dive into this one in the next day or two!
10/06/2026

Cyber security ETF?!

Be on the lookout for an in depth dive into this one in the next day or two!

I am geared toward the beginning investor, but there’s something for everyone here at Simon Saves.Here is some content f...
09/30/2026

I am geared toward the beginning investor, but there’s something for everyone here at Simon Saves.

Here is some content from the past 6 weeks.

If you find any of this helpful, hit the follow button! There’s much more to come.

Photo cred to Dividendology
09/30/2026

Photo cred to Dividendology

Dang! Missed the boat on a nice work runner. 🙂This car sold in under an hour. 142,000 miles. Upper 20’s MPG… this would ...
09/29/2026

Dang! Missed the boat on a nice work runner. 🙂

This car sold in under an hour.

142,000 miles. Upper 20’s MPG… this would be been perfect for me, and I likely would have been able to drive this car for $1,000 per year figuring repairs AND depreciation.

Here’s an important factor to the situation, though. I don’t NEED a work runner right now.

But I’m looking anyway.

I might not even buy something within the next year.

This next part doesn’t just go for vehicles, it’s any purchase:

You don’t make money when you sell something, you make it when you BUY. So you need to be patient and find the right deal.

I owned a ‘97 Silverado for four years. I put 40,000 miles on it and sold it for $700 less than I paid for it.

How?!?

I gave the guy $3,800 for a truck that was certainly worth over $5,000. Then 4 years later sold it for $3,100 with 222,000 miles on it.

If I bought this Grand Prix and drove it for 3 years, even if I sold it to the junkyard for $300 I still only have lost $1,150 in depreciation for 3 years of driving.

And I’d run it with liability insurance only and save even more.

Or I could pay for full coverage on a $20,000 vehicle and sell it 3 years later for $10,000.

Although it doesn’t FEEL like I spent that money, I did.

Depreciation is a wealth killer.

They key to getting a great deal is to keep desperation out of the situation. Don’t wait until you NEED a vehicle.

Shop around and be patient. When the right deal presents itself, you’ll know.

Driving a dependable older vehicle is one of the biggest wealth building hacks…

The polished version is here!QQQ is a super popular ETF and for very good reason. It gives you exposure to the Nasdaq-10...
09/29/2026

The polished version is here!

QQQ is a super popular ETF and for very good reason. It gives you exposure to the Nasdaq-100 Index, which essentially is 100 of the fastest growing non financial companies listed on the Nasdaq.

It is a tech heavy fund so buying QQQ means you’ll be riding the roller coaster a bit, but its performance can’t be denied.

It’s trailing returns are:

YTD - 17.00%
1 year - 26.35%
3 year - 24.51%
5 year - 14.23%
10 year - 20.78%

It is prone to taking a dive during market corrections and crashes, so keep that in mind if you’re thinking about buying it.

In 2022, the S&P500 funds lost around 18%. QQQ lost 32.58% that year.

Granted, when the market is hot… this fund is a MONSTER. Some of the exceptional years were:

2023 - 54.85%
2020 - 48.62%
2019 - 38.96%
2013 - 36.63%
2009 - 54.70%

In my opinion it’s a bit of a wild ride for a core holding, but it’s an excellent option for anyone looking for a growth tilt!

As always, past performance does not guarantee future results! This content is for educational purposes only.

If you found it helpful, hit the Follow button!

My coworker said “I’ve been getting a 9% return. I’m happy with that.”Compared to what?For the last ten years the Total ...
09/28/2026

My coworker said “I’ve been getting a 9% return. I’m happy with that.”

Compared to what?

For the last ten years the Total Market and S&P500 index funds have been returning around 15% during a massive bull run.

This is why it’s important to have a benchmark. If you don’t have a benchmark, how do you know how your investments are doing?

Is a 9% return good?

That depends on the scenario.

If I started investing in 2000 and endured the dot com crash and global crisis, 9% is a solid return.

If I got a 9% return during a historic bull run that returned 15%… its VERY poor.

We often see people on both ends of the spectrum. Some buy single stocks or thematic ETFs looking for crazy gains and wind up losing their ass.

Others are so concerned with losing money that they consistently miss out on gains.

Aim for the middle ground. A balanced and diversified portfolio with a solid core holding.

Some of the content I have planned for the near future is penciling out the figures for core holdings with sector tilts.

If you want to meet or slightly beat the market, make sure to hit the follow button, you won’t want to miss this content.

Gross!This is a filter from our RO system. Our water is very hard so I change it every 6 months. Yes… it goes from PURE ...
09/27/2026

Gross!

This is a filter from our RO system. Our water is very hard so I change it every 6 months. Yes… it goes from PURE WHITE to orange and nasty in 6 months time.

So this is my friendly reminder to the homeowners out there.

KEEP UP ON ROUTINE MAINTENANCE.

- RO system and furnace filters
- When is the last time you cleaned your dryer vent? (Fires can happen)
- Flush your water heater
- Test and replace your smoke detectors and batteries!! Your life may depend on this one.
- Clean your gutters. Water backing up can cause mold and rot under your shingles especially in northern states when ice dams can happen.
- verify sump pump operation. Nothing lasts forever and you don’t need flood damage
- check attic insulation and check for moisture/leaks
- get chimneys and flues inspected/cleaned
- replace old caulking

Caulking doesn’t last forever. You don’t want water problems! I worked in the trades and have seen this first hand.

Sometimes a little money spent prevents ALOT of money spent!

I hate target date funds.If you’re new here and don’t know why, this graphic explains it perfectly.In general, TDFs are ...
09/27/2026

I hate target date funds.

If you’re new here and don’t know why, this graphic explains it perfectly.

In general, TDFs are high in international holdings (30% is not uncommon) and they also hold bonds. The bond holdings increase over time.

I did some research a few weeks back and EVERY Target Date Fund I looked at held bonds. Even funds that target a retirement date 35-40 years from now still held 7% bonds.

I chose FFFEX for comparison because I saw it being recommended to someone.

Let’s apply some common sense here. If we’re holding a healthy dose of bonds, shouldn’t we have legitimate downside protection?

The protection looks minimal to me 👀

So the way it appears is… we give up a substantial amount of gains (because bonds do mean less downside AND less up side) for a very modest amount of protection on the bad years.

Due to the amount of international in the fund, FFFEX actually had MORE negative years than Vanguard’s Total Market Fund VTI.

I mean… look at the difference! Over a 24 year period of ACTUAL backdated returns, VTI’s gains were more than DOUBLE.

If your TDF is held in a company 401(k) you’re likely paying a 1% advisor fee on top.

What that means is you would have paid them over $20,000 in fees, and also lost over $20,000 in compounding.

VTI is able to be purchased by anyone with a free app like Fidelity, Charles Schwab or Vanguard. It is a buy now and hold forever type fund. No buying and selling, no timing the market.

So for those that hold Target Date Funds, especially if you are younger than 50… you better do the math. You could be like me and lose several hundreds of thousands of dollars because of them…

🤢🤮

Once the finance bug hit me and I realized what they were costing me, I turned and ran as fast as I could. I thought “my money is with an advisor, I’m good to go!”

NOPE. Not the case. And my experience is not uncommon. If you have a target date fund you’re probably in the same boat.

As always, this is not investment advice it is for educational purposes only.

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Alexandria, MN

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