What's in store for you:

1. Photo From My Life
2. Financial Thought: Cash
3. Life Thought: Living in the Moment
4. Good Sh*t: Earpods

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Photo From My Life:

Financial Thought:

Cash: Let me start out by saying: Cash isn’t sexy. However, working with clients and prospects over the last 6 months, I’ve noticed that even people with strong income and solid investment portfolios often have one surprisingly messy part of their financial life. Their cash.

It usually shows up in one of two ways:

1. Too much cash just sitting in checking, earning nothing.
2. Too little cash in checking, which creates a frantic cycle of last-minute transfers just to pay the bills.

Here’s the 3-part framework I use with clients:

1. Assign your cash to clear roles. Cash has three jobs:
   1. Spending Cash: This is the money that keeps life moving. Mortgage, childcare, payroll, quarterly taxes.
   2. Safety Cash: Your runway in case life goes sideways. The right amount depends on how stable your income is, what your fixed costs look like, and how quickly you could dial things back. Side note: I could write a whole newsletter about how to determine your safety cash number.
   3. Goal Cash: Money you know you’ll need soon for taxes, a down payment, tuition, a renovation, or a business opportunity.
2. Build a system to manage the different types of cash. I like this simple system:
   1. Checking Cash: Your checking account should hold your spending cash, plus a cushion so you're not constantly moving cash between accounts.
   2. Investment Cash: This holds your safety cash and goal cash. This cash will be invested in safe, liquid vehicles to earn yield!
3. Maximize AFTER-TAX yield on your investment cash. This is the piece most people ignore.High earners often chase the highest headline yield, without factoring in taxes. But what matters is how much you keep after tax. The right investment choice will depend on your income, tax rate, and where you live. Some common options for investment cash:
   1. Fully taxable money market funds of high-yield savings account (easy, simple default)
   2. Treasury money market funds or treasury bonds (often state-tax advantaged)
   3. Muni money market funds (federally tax-free, and sometimes state too)

The goal here isn’t to squeeze every basis point. It’s to design a cash system that keeps life easy, reduces stress, and helps you stop leaving money on the table.

Life Thought:

Living in the Moment: One of the most powerful things about kids is how aggressively they drag you into the moment. I can be standing outside on a beautiful day and still be mentally 6 months ahead, making a list, running scenarios, worrying about something that has not happened yet.

My (nearly) 3 year old does not think past the present. If he finds a stick, it is not just a stick. It is the best stick in the history of sticks. If we see a garbage truck, it is not a garbage truck. It is the event of the week. Everything he does is the most exciting thing, and he is all in. No hedging. No multitasking. No mental calendar invite running in the background.

And honestly, I'm jealous.

Because my default setting is planning. I love thinking ahead. I love building systems. I love solving future problems before they show up at the door. That tendency has helped me in a lot of ways, but it comes with a cost. When you live in the future, you miss the present, even if the present is objectively great. You can be sitting at dinner with your family and still be mentally drafting an email you will send tomorrow.

Kids are a forcing function. If you are distracted, they feel it. If you are present, they reward you with their full presence too.

I am trying to take the hint. I do not want Henry to grow up with a Dad who was always physically there but mentally elsewhere. More importantly, I do not want to live a life where I only enjoy things once they are in the rear view mirror.

Good Sh*t:

Good Ole Fashioned Earpods: I live and die by my over-ear Bose headphones. But, I’ve officially retired the Bose headphones for work calls. They were great until I caught my reflection one day and realized I looked like a 2007 DJ. I’ve since switched to the classic wired earpods. No, not airpods. I'm talking about the ones Apple is trying to quietly pretend don’t exist anymore.

And let me tell you, they just work. No Bluetooth pairing issues. No battery life to manage. I plug them in, hop on a Zoom, and sound perfectly fine. Best of all, I no longer look like I’m preparing for liftoff.

If you’re someone constantly on video calls, give the humble wired earpods another shot. Sometimes the simplest tech is still the best.

Disclaimer: VDB Wealth is a registered investment adviser. Information presented is for educational purposes only and does not intend to make an offer or solicitation for the sale or purchase of any specific securities, investments, or investment strategies. Investments involve risk and unless otherwise stated, are not guaranteed. Past performance is not indicative of future performance.

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