Steven

And what I want to do with that, the reason I keep it so boring is the variable that I want to maximize for is endurance, as we spoke about earlier. So if my finances are so simple, then I can spend all of my mental energy, all of the strategy is how can I make sure that I can just keep this going for as long as I possibly can.

So an index fund is a collection of hundreds, if not thousands, of businesses. So when you buy an index fund, you're owning a little bit of Apple, Amazon, Google, Facebook, all of them. Every public company that's available, you're owning a tiny slice of them. One way to think about it is when you buy an index fund, you're owning a little slice of American capitalism.

So an index fund is a collection of hundreds, if not thousands, of businesses. So when you buy an index fund, you're owning a little bit of Apple, Amazon, Google, Facebook, all of them. Every public company that's available, you're owning a tiny slice of them. One way to think about it is when you buy an index fund, you're owning a little slice of American capitalism.

There's lots of them. I mean, there's tons of them that are equally good. So this is not to say that one is necessarily better than the other.

There's lots of them. I mean, there's tons of them that are equally good. So this is not to say that one is necessarily better than the other.

Most of what I buy is called the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index. The ticker is VTI. Not a recommendation for others, but it's the broadest index. It basically owns every stock that's available to buy in the world. And it does it at a very, very low fee. And so I'm not making any bet on AI. I'm not making any bet on this industry or that company.

Most of what I buy is called the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index. The ticker is VTI. Not a recommendation for others, but it's the broadest index. It basically owns every stock that's available to buy in the world. And it does it at a very, very low fee. And so I'm not making any bet on AI. I'm not making any bet on this industry or that company.

You're owning a little bit of slice of American business.

You're owning a little bit of slice of American business.

If you look at a good historical comparison to what it would be, which is like the S&P 500, if you go back, you can go back 100 years. There's a guy from Yale University named Robert Schiller who has data going back to the 1880s on US stocks. And basically what it shows is over time, on average, which that phrase is doing some heavy lifting here, but on average... eight to 10% per year.

If you look at a good historical comparison to what it would be, which is like the S&P 500, if you go back, you can go back 100 years. There's a guy from Yale University named Robert Schiller who has data going back to the 1880s on US stocks. And basically what it shows is over time, on average, which that phrase is doing some heavy lifting here, but on average... eight to 10% per year.

And why that is like, there's a big asterisk there is you almost never earn eight or 10% in any given year. You're much more likely to be up 30% or down 15%. And it averages out to eight or 10% per year, but it's always chaos in any individual year.

And why that is like, there's a big asterisk there is you almost never earn eight or 10% in any given year. You're much more likely to be up 30% or down 15%. And it averages out to eight or 10% per year, but it's always chaos in any individual year.

Well, there's a lot of technology in that index fund. That's the highest weight because those are the biggest companies in America, Amazon, Google, and whatnot. But there's also a tremendous amount of value that can be created by a company like Procter & Gamble selling toothpaste and deodorant.

Well, there's a lot of technology in that index fund. That's the highest weight because those are the biggest companies in America, Amazon, Google, and whatnot. But there's also a tremendous amount of value that can be created by a company like Procter & Gamble selling toothpaste and deodorant.

And there can actually be more value in those kind of companies than technology because I would bet good money that in 30 years, people will still be using Old Spice deodorant. I would not bet good money that in 30 years, Google is going to be the dominant way that people find information.

And there can actually be more value in those kind of companies than technology because I would bet good money that in 30 years, people will still be using Old Spice deodorant. I would not bet good money that in 30 years, Google is going to be the dominant way that people find information.

And so companies that sell the same product for a long period of time, have endurance and longevity, like can actually create a ton of value for their investors.

And so companies that sell the same product for a long period of time, have endurance and longevity, like can actually create a ton of value for their investors.

I mean, it's one of the biggest social problems, and it's so much bigger than housing and so much bigger than money. I think you can tie everything from homelessness to heroin to suicide to the fact that we in America and a lot of areas around the world have not built enough homes in the last 50 years.