EP 52: The Most Frustrating Game I Can't Quit

Andy VandenBerg, CFA
Founder

What's in store for you:

  1. Photo From My Life
  2. Life Thought: The Most Frustrating Game I Can't Quit
  3. Financial Thought: Are Wealth Managers Therapist?
  4. Good Sh*t: Traveling to 7 Continents with $0

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Photo From My Life:

My long-time partner, Ben, was in Savannah for 48 hours this week. We enjoyed some good "brain-jamming" and a nice margarita!

Life Thought:

The Most Frustrating Game I Can't Quit: Golf is—without a doubt—the most frustrating sport I’ve ever played. I’m still relatively new to it, but let me tell you: there’s nothing quite like hitting the best shot of your life, only to follow it up with one that makes you question your physical coordination as a human being.

I was playing with my friend Kevin last weekend and I lost 2 balls on a par-3 hole. To make matters worse, I’d gotten a par on that hole the week before. I nearly threw my pitching wedge into the lagoon. Instead, I took a deep breath, walked it off, and reminded myself of something that I'm starting to deeply appreciate.

Golf is mental health training disguised as a sport.

You can’t play well if you’re angry. You can’t recover if you’re spiraling. You can’t focus if your last mistake is still echoing in your head. It forces you to reset.

There’s a parallel here to life I didn’t expect. The same way a bad blow-up at work can bleed into the rest of the week, a single bad hole can derail the rest of your round. But it doesn’t have to. Golf teaches you how to come back. It’s frustrating, humbling, and 1% of the time, it's magical. Just like life.

The Masters is on this week. From what I've recently learned, it’s one of the most beautiful, storied tournaments in the world. The flowers are perfectly manicured. The silence before a big putt is deafening. And then, Fred Couples, a 65-year old pro-golfer, gets an eagle from over 150 yards out! The best in the world show up to The Masters looking for greatness.

Watching The Masters yesterday while fumbling my way through my own golf game was an interesting experience. Rory McIlroy chipped a ball into the water and he didn't skip a beat. He set that shot aside and started focusing on his next shot. Even the pros miss fairways and hit into sand traps. The difference is, they’ve trained their minds to reset.

I'm never going to be a great golfer. I'm still looking to shoot under 100 consistently. I need to think less about the perfect swing. More about the quiet in between. The recovery. The focus. The ability to smile after a triple bogey and keep going.

Life's rarely about the last shot. It’s about the next one.

Financial Thought:

Are Wealth Managers Therapists?: Most people think wealth managers just deal with spreadsheets, tax strategies, and investment portfolios.

That’s true — but it’s only part of the job.

The other part, the part that doesn’t show up in quarterly reports or asset allocations, is this: we often act as a family’s financial therapist.

My wife is an actual therapist. She went through years of school and clinical hours to earn that title. I, on the other hand, seem to have stumbled into it by choosing this career path.

It turns out, financial planning is rarely just about money. When you’re the outside voice sitting between two partners with different financial upbringings, values, or goals, your role becomes less about numbers and more about translation.

One person sees money as security. The other sees it as a tool for freedom. One wants to preserve. The other wants to spend. One worries. The other dreams.

And both just want answers to a few deceptively simple questions:

  • How are we doing?
  • Am I ok?
  • Can we afford this?
  • Should we be doing anything differently?

They don’t want a complex Monte Carlo simulation. They want reassurance. They want to know someone’s watching the horizon — not just today's latest move in the stock market.

That’s where the unbiased perspective becomes so valuable. I’m not their parent. I’m not their child. I’m not in the emotional tug-of-war. I’m outside of it. And that gives me clarity they can’t always access when the stakes feel personal.

Yes, we help build portfolios. But more often than not, we’re helping build bridges — between partners, generations, and the version of life they’re hoping to create.

Maybe my wife and I aren’t in such different lines of work after all.....

Good Sh*t:

Traveling to 7 Continents with $0: Traveling is the biggest bucket-list item for most people around the world. In fact, ~60% of Americans have never left the country. Traveling takes time, but there's an even bigger barrier. Traveling is expensive.

I've been fascinated by Reuben, a Dutch content creator, who is traveling to all seven continents starting with zero money. You'd think he's been living in squalor, but the best part of his adventure is that he's met the most amazing people all around the world. These people have shared their homes, cars, and anything he may need.

I've been lucky to travel and watching this series makes me realize that the money spent on travel typically provides a barrier from the "real" interactions that Reuben is experiencing.

If you're looking for a reminder that most people are inherently good—and that adventure doesn't require a million dollars —you should check out his YouTube channel here.

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Andy VandenBerg, CFA
Founder

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