This week, Josh & Austin are talking about Cryptomania—that is, the hype around cryptocurrency around the world! You’ve heard of the big ones, specifically Bitcoin, and how they have grown in popularity in recent years, but you may not fully understand what they’re all about. That’s okay, most really don’t! But that’s what the Invested Dads are here for! They’re going to help you understand what exactly what cryptocurrency is, how it’s created, what blockchain technology is, laws surrounding it, and how you can invest in this craze! Listen now to become a crypto expert (well… compared to your friends at least)!

Main Talking Points

What is Blockchain Technology? [1:36]

What Exactly is Cryptocurrency? [4:14]

Options in Cryptocurrency [8:20]

Cryptocurrency Abroad [10:43]

Mining Bitcoins (Hint: They Don’t Come Out of the Ground) [12:33]

Your Dad Joke of the Week! [16:10]

How Should Your Advisor View Investing in Cryptocurrency? [17:43]

Regulation and Security Risks of Cryptocurrency [19:12]

How Can You Invest in the Cryptocurrency Trend? [21:12]

Get Your Free Gift and Help Us Grow! [25:18]

 

Links & Resources

What is Blockchain Technology? (Blockgeeks)

Most Important Cryptocurrencies Other than Bitcoin (Investopedia)

Cryptocurrency (Wikipedia)

A Complete Guide to Cryptocurrencies Around the World (CNBC)

 

Social Media

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

YouTube

 

Full Transcript

Intro:
Welcome to the Invested Dads podcast, simplifying financial topics so that you can take action and make your financial situation better. Helping you to understand the current world of financial planning and investments, here are your hosts, Josh Robb and Austin Wilson.

Austin Wilson:
My dad beard is getting pretty long. It’s getting a little burly. It might get caught on my microphone shield.

Josh Robb:
I was going to shave this morning, then I thought, “It’s supposed to snow tomorrow.”

Austin Wilson:
Keep it on for the warmth.

Josh Robb:
I need my scarf. I need my face scarf.

Austin Wilson:
I’ve been trying to keep your microphone turned because it’s all janky.

Josh Robb:
I know, I keep trying to turn it.

Austin Wilson:
No, you need to turn it into that way.

Josh Robb:
But I look this way when I talk.

Austin Wilson:
Well, just keep your (Loud noises by Austin).

Josh Robb:
You do that equalizer thing. It works out.

Austin Wilson:
All right. Hey, Hey. Hey. Welcome back to the Invested Dads podcast. Thanks for listening. Today, we are going to get cryptic. Well, I mean crypto, I guess. No actually we’re going to keep things pretty simple, but we are going to be talking about blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies. So this was another listener requested episode topic. So remember, anytime you have a question or a topic idea, feel free to email it to hello at theinvesteddads.com.

Austin Wilson:
All right, Josh, are you ready?

Josh Robb:
Yeah. Actually one time, I Bitcoin and it actually hurt my tooth.

Austin Wilson:
Did you have to go to the dentist after that?

Josh Robb:
Yep. I made an appointment, and my appointment was at tooth hurty.

Austin Wilson:
Yeah. Okay.

Josh Robb:
That’s my good joke. No, but I have heard a lot about blockchain, and Bitcoin, and the cryptocurrency in general.

Austin Wilson:
Crypto craze?

[1:36] – What is Blockchain Technology?

Josh Robb:
The crypto craze that went on when we saw some fun movement early on in the market. But let’s just start with the basics. What’s blockchain? They all kind of use the same or the similar blockchain technology.

Austin Wilson:
Right. The technology that kind of encompasses crypto in general is called blockchain technology. And first of all, I’m going to preface this whole discussion with the fact that we, Josh and I, or at least me, am not a blockchain technology or cryptocurrency expert in any way. But, we have done some research, and obviously we’re in the industry where we get to see this stuff happen in news about this all the time. So pretty much a blockchain is a timestamp series of records of data that’s managed by a bunch of computers that aren’t really owned by any one entity. So these blocks of data, they’re secured and bound to each other using cryptographic principles.

So kind of like the principles of cryptography, where you’re communicating very securely and stuff like that. So the blocks are then stored on a digital ledger, and visible to anyone. And a Bitcoin is widely viewed as the first cryptocurrency in 2009 when it came out. And since then there’ve been more than 6,000 different alternatives created according to Wikipedia, which there’s a link in the show notes there. So kind of going from, crypto builds on the technology that is blockchain. So.

Josh Robb:
All right. You know who is a expert of blockchain?

Austin Wilson:
Who’s that?

Josh Robb:
Flavor Flav. Oh wait, no, that’s clock chain. Nevermind. Nevermind. Sorry, missed that one.

Austin Wilson:
I think we need to get you a clock chain to wear during recording.

Josh Robb:
So how does that work though, describe to me what this blockchain- I mean, you said it, but walk me through it.

Austin Wilson:
Yeah, at a pretty high level. So there was a great graphic on an article from blockgeeks.com, a website that actually is about blockchain and crypto. There’s a great graphic, and the author we’ll link to that also in the show notes where you can kind of see how this looks. But overall, someone requests a transaction and then the transaction is broadcast to a person-to-person network, which is really made up a bunch of computers known as nodes. And then that person to person network of nodes validates the transaction, and the user status using some known algorithms that are really public and really easy for those people who know what they’re doing to understand. And then once verified, the transaction is combined with other transactions to create a new block of data for the ledger. So that’s the block part. And then the new block is added to the existing blockchain in a way that’s permanent and unalterable and visible for everyone. And that’s the chain part. So that block of data gets connected to other blocks of data, and it becomes a blockchain. And then after that the transaction is completed.

Josh Robb:
All right, so that’s cryptocurrency.

Austin Wilson:
That’s blockchain.

[4:14] – What Exactly is Cryptocurrency?

Josh Robb:
Yeah. Okay, so then what’s cryptocurrency then? So how does that fit into this chaining of information?

Austin Wilson:
Exactly. Yeah. So cryptocurrency is essentially a completely digital asset that was designed to be used as a medium exchange, similar to physical currency. There is emphasis that these “currencies,” and I just made an air quote. Yeah, I made air quotes, and I don’t think on a podcast you can really see air quotes, but I call them “currencies” with air quotes. They’re not really created or issued by a central bank or government, and therefore viewed as decentralized. So the key points that incorporate crypto with blockchain is that each transaction then is visible and unalterable once it’s created.

And each crypto transaction would therefore be an additional block in the chain. So I will also note that crypto wasn’t actually designed to be an investment vehicle, but the demand over the last decade has really pushed up prices. So yeah, that’s kind of where we see this boom, that really isn’t even so much happening in 2020 right now, although Bitcoin has been doing really well, but we saw that really happen at the end of 2018 I think it was. No, 2017.

Josh Robb:
Okay. So in theory, if I wanted to create my own digital currency-

Austin Wilson:
Joshcoin.

Josh Robb:
Yep. And I said, “Okay, I have a group of people that all agree that they will use that as an exchange. We just have to agree upon kind of a starting ratio.” So if I say “I have a dollar of US currency, how many Joshcoins can this $1 be worth?” And as long as we all agree on it, that could be used as a digital exchange using this type of technology where we each have a ledger, and each transaction is recorded.

Austin Wilson:

Going to keep it in a Google sheet.

Josh Robb:
In a Google document. Right? But that’s the concept, right? Just as long as everybody agrees on the same exchange rate, that’s really what makes this work.

Austin Wilson:
Well, it’s really about agreeing on the same exchange rate, and then there’s a supply and demand that there’s only a finite amount of these cryptocurrencies out there. And then essentially, the supply and demand is going to drive the value of things.

Josh Robb:
But originally it was designed-

Austin Wilson:
It was designed to transact-

Josh Robb:
… because it was an investment vehicle.

Austin Wilson:
You and me… Exactly.

Josh Robb:
It was like we agree on the price, but then as more people got interested, there was fewer Bitcoins and more people, so the price went up. The supply and demand. But originally, it was just if it’s just a couple of people transacting, it would be a static price just exchanging for what it was worth.

Austin Wilson:
I’m sure people saw the opportunity when they’re like, “Hey, I have this medium of exchange,” but I talked about this with my friends and they seem pretty jacked up about it, so I wonder if I could introduce them to it. And they are like, “Hey, let’s talk to my friend about it.” And then prices get ratcheted up.

Josh Robb:
And the people start holding that instead of using it to exchange thinking it’ll go up in value. And that’s where the investment side started showing up.

Austin Wilson:
Yeah. Stop buying pizza with Bitcoin. Wasn’t that the story?

Josh Robb:
Yeah. There was a wall street journal article a couple of years ago on that. Guy I think lived on Bitcoin or digital currency for a month. And I’m sure he’s regretting it now.

Austin Wilson:
That was some expensive pizza.

Josh Robb:
Yes. So here’s some things, just thinking about a cryptocurrency in general. Some people see this as a safe haven, so they look at this and say, “Okay, it’s disconnected from equities. It’s not a stock, it’s not tied to a company. It’s independent. It’s not even tied to the central bank.” So if governments or equities are having issues, a digital currency could be a safe haven because it’s unaffiliated with it.

And then prices are derived from supply and demand. So when you see that, it kind of is the concept that, like I just mentioned, that if there’s more demand for a Bitcoin, then that price will go up. But if the demand wanes, the price goes down. And so there’s that ebb and flow now. And it’s kind of like a precious metal type of idea because it’s limited in quantity. Whereas a stock, there’s a value tied to the company. That company increases their ability to make money, the stock price in the long run goes up. Whereas this is more like an unlimited currency. Gold, you mine it out of the ground. There’s only so much gold in the world. So there’s a value tied to that product.

Central banks, they can print money. So the US government, they create the currency here. Whereas Bitcoin is, well, we’ll get to it. It’s mined, but it’s limited in how much can come out. There’s a stop point to it. So options are becoming… So an option. Austin, what’s that?

[8:20] – Options in Cryptocurrency

Austin Wilson:
So it can be used in various different ways. First of all, you can trade options, which you’re not actually buying the underlying security. You’re buying the right to buy or sell the underlying security. So you can trade those themselves, or you can use them to hedge out risk really. So options are being available for cryptocurrency right now. So you can go buy options on Bitcoin. And I guess you could use that two different ways. First of all, you could use that to actually invest in the option instead of buying the actual underlying security. And I would anticipate that the options, if the underlying security is extremely volatile, the options are probably even more so volatile. But you can also use that then to hedge out your risk. So if you actually own the security, you can buy the opposite position you hold in the security in the option, and then kind of protect yourself from some of that volatility.

Josh Robb:
So you thought cryptocurrency was confusing. Now with options, it just multiplied.

Austin Wilson:
It’s like super money.

Josh Robb:
So the goal is to make maybe a little more available to people?

Austin Wilson:
Yeah.

Josh Robb:
An option may be easier to trade than actually mining or purchasing because you need a digital wallet, you need all that stuff to hold these Bitcoins.

Austin Wilson:
I think it also kind of adds… The whole crypto industry is trying to legitimize themselves. And because of all the regulation issues that we’ll talk about later, it’s not viewed as extremely safe and extremely kind of on top of the table yet. And I think that it’ll get there eventually, but it’s just not quite there yet. And I think that having some of these other financial options such as-

Josh Robb:
Like the ETF.

Austin Wilson:
Yeah. So you can get options, you can also get ETFs, but typically those ETFs are actually only available abroad, and I believe, according to 2020, it’s illegal for US citizens to invest in those crypto ETFs abroad. So very weird.

Josh Robb:
So just our US regulations, or at least for now saying “We’re not comfortable with it.”

Austin Wilson:
I don’t think that our regulators view crypto right now as regulated really at all. Which means it’s not safe for the consumer.

Josh Robb:
Thought I had it, I can’t remember the ticker, but I know a couple of companies actually changed their name of their company to sound like a digital currency. And they saw their price jump, and they had nothing to do with digital currency. But they changed their name to sound similar and they saw this price jump. And I remember reading an article about that and thinking, “That’s ridiculous.” And they actually got in trouble for it because they were just manipulating their price for no reason.

[10:43] – Cryptocurrency Around the World

Josh Robb:
But then here’s another thought too, so people in other countries, and this is kind of early on, we saw this where because of the transaction type of Bitcoin, it’s harder to trace. It’s anonymous, in a sense. It’s hard to know who the owners are. A lot of people in countries where maybe the government has more control or is limiting, China is an example, they were seeing this as a way to get their money out of China and invest outside of that country. Because China is very controlling about their citizens and how they invest, and they want it all in the Yen. And so this was a way for them to use the Yen, buy the Bitcoin, and then sell it for US dollars or something else.

And they got some of their money out. And then eventually China stopped that. They said “No more.” And so that caused a big disruption in the digital currency and Bitcoin especially. But you saw that people were taking advantage of this technology, saying, “Hey, this is the way we can get around our government who were not comfortable with what they’re doing.”

Austin Wilson:
And I think it’s also been used in different areas that have experienced some crazy inflation in short periods of time. And I’m specifically thinking of, I think that is Argen-

Josh Robb:
Venezuela?

Austin Wilson:
Yeah, it was Venezuela in 2019. They actually got a government sponsored or whatever, cryptocurrency-

Josh Robb:
Yeah, they start their own.

Austin Wilson:
… To kind of offset the craziness that they actually had in their real currency, which is insane. But I think that there’s a lot of… I think of some countries in Africa or whatever, where they’ve had just crazy at rapid inflation over a short period of time. And this would be something where people could have then theoretically gone out and got some cryptocurrency to kind of protect themselves against the rapid inflation that they were experiencing in their own domestic currency. So yeah, not a simple thing necessarily, but I think that there have been some uses for it, whether they were designed for that or not, that they’ve been used for.

[12:33] – Mining Bitcoins (Hint: They Don’t Come Out of the Ground)

Josh Robb:
Yep. And so I found out people actually mine Bitcoins, which makes a lot more sense because I was having this conversation with a guy, and he was saying “These Bitcoins are mined.” And I said, “Yeah, they’re yours.” But he meant they’re mined. So out of the ground? So is there a hole somewhere? What’s going on here? What’s mined?

Austin Wilson:
Yeah, it’s actually in Iran, that’s one of those big uranium holes that they have got, that’s actually full of Bitcoin. No, I’m kidding.

Josh Robb:
So how does this work? So it’s digital. So what does mining mean though? What are they doing?

Austin Wilson:
So if you think of it, this is another comparison to precious metals, but it’s in a totally different way. So precious metals literally physically need mined, right? You have to go dig a hole, find this stuff in the ground, and there you go. Well, cryptocurrency are, and we’re specifically talking right now about Bitcoin. These other cryptocurrencies can be made in different ways. And how that’s done is very, very different. But specifically, Bitcoin being the most popular, it takes a massive amount of processing power from computers to generate a really complex code to validate each transaction that Bitcoin is being used for.

So to keep the network open source so that anyone can kind of come and go, and join, and be participating in that, and free from centralization from like a government, individuals are then incentivized to hook up their massively powerful computers up to the network. And then the network uses their computing power to process all of these transactions. So the more powerful your computer is, the more work it can do in kind of deciphering and writing these transactions, then you’ll be compensated. And when you’re compensated, you’re compensated in the form of new cryptocurrency. So that’s the mining process.

So Josh has a super powerful computer, and he hooks it up to the network to help process this stuff. And because he’s using his computer power to do that, he’s on the network, they reward him with cryptocurrency. And that’s a way that the algorithm itself is set up to control the supply. It’s very, very, very, very difficult and takes a lot of power to create a new Bitcoin. But that’s how that works.

Josh Robb:
So it’s exponential. Right? So early on, Bitcoin, it didn’t take much. Right?

Austin Wilson:
Right, it’s getting harder and harder. Right.

Josh Robb:
Because the blockchain is short. So it wasn’t as long and hard to, but as it goes, it’s kind of an exponential. Each new mining process to get those Bitcoins is a longer, more time-consuming process.

Austin Wilson:
Right. And it takes, like I said, insane computer power. And it’s really actually driven up the prices of the graphics cards that are required for these computers to be able to perform this level of work for the networks over the past handful of years. And people like when a new high-level card comes out, crypto miners often just buy them completely out of stock when they first hit the market and no one can even have access to them. Even though they may have been designed for a crazy gaming platform or something like that. I will also note it takes a ton of electricity and massive cooling efforts to keep these computers cool from working so hard all the time.

Josh Robb:
Yeah, I know. I’m a sweater. I know that it takes a lot of effort to keep things cool. So.

Austin Wilson:
That’s why you’re wearing a sweater vest-

Josh Robb:
That’s why I’m wearing a sweater vest right now.

Austin Wilson:
… You got the best of both worlds.

Josh Robb:
And I do remember seeing articles about college students hooking up and using… They’re thinking, “Well, I’m not paying for electricity. I’m going to hook up some computers into my dorm and just generate a bunch of electrical bill for the campus and I’ll take the rewards of these new Bitcoins.”

Austin Wilson:
I’m sure they cracked down on that pretty quick.

Josh Robb:
Yep.

Austin Wilson:
So Josh, speaking of your sweater vest you’re wearing right now, which looks amazing.

Josh Robb:
Well, you got a sweater on there, too.

[16:10] – Your Dad Joke of the Week!

Austin Wilson:
Hey, it’s cold here in Ohio. So on that note, it is time to bring you that dad joke of the week. But this week, we’re going to give Josh a rapid-fire bunch, smorgasbord we’ll even say, of dad jokes. Are you ready?

Josh Robb:
Plethora.

Austin Wilson:
This is a plethora. This is going to be some good stuff. So first dad joke, Josh, why should you not get in a fight with a pepper?

Josh Robb:
Why not?

Austin Wilson:
You should not get in a fight with a pepper because it will get jalapeno face.

Josh Robb:
Nice.

Austin Wilson:
Also, some good ones here.

Josh Robb:
He’s got a list, he’s ready to go.

Austin Wilson:
I know. My wife actually sent me these and it’s really fitting. She’s helping out. That’s great. So after you die, what part of your body is the last to stop working?

Josh Robb:
Oh, I don’t know. Which part?

Austin Wilson:
Your pupils, because they die late.

Josh Robb:
Dilate.

Austin Wilson:
Also just wanted to make a note that stealing someone’s coffee, it’s called mugging. And the other day I held a door open for a clown. It was a nice jester.

Josh Robb:
Nice jester.

Austin Wilson:
Pasteurize is also known as too far to see.

Josh Robb:
There you go.

Austin Wilson:
No matter how much you push the envelope, it’ll still be a stationary.

Josh Robb:
I like that one. That’s good.

Austin Wilson:
Energizer bunny arrested, charged?

Josh Robb:
With battery.

Austin Wilson:
And finally, I put my grandma on speed dial. I call that Instagram.

Josh Robb:
Instagram.

Austin Wilson:
Classic.

Josh Robb:
Love it.

Austin Wilson:
So that is the dad joke of the week.

Josh Robb:
Dad jokes.

Austin Wilson:
Or we’re going to say dead jokes of the week. That was quite a rapid fire.

[17:43] – How Does Your Advisor View Investing in Cryptocurrency?

Austin Wilson:
So Josh, I guess what everyone’s probably wondering, is how does your advisor view investing in cryptocurrency? Or should I say, how should your advisor view investing in crypto?

Josh Robb:
Yeah. And so everybody’s different. And every advisor is different in how they view things. But as a fiduciary, my obligation is to always give a recommendation or advice that’s in the best interest of the client. So to do that, I have to know their goals, I have to know what their objectives are, and know their risk tolerance as well. And so you have to know all those things to know if something like a cryptocurrency would fit in there. In general, I tend to advise against investing in directly in cryptocurrencies just because of the level of risk.

It’s so new, it’s so volatile, but if there’s someone who is interested in it, it really comes down to the idea is “Okay, if you have some money and it all went away, are you okay? Does that drastically affect your financial goals? Does that affect your lack of sleep at night? Are you staying up at night because you lost that money?” But the answer is “No,” then that’s fine. If you want to test something out or try it, there’s nothing wrong with that, but understand that that’s a small piece and hopefully is independent of your other goals.

Austin Wilson:
So it’s a lot like gambling?

Josh Robb:
It really is. I mean in a sense, this Bitcoin could be zero, it could be a million, who knows? But that’s the thing. There’s so much unknown there.

Austin Wilson:
So it’s all about risk tolerance. And you would suggest maybe not making that the cornerstone of your finance?

Josh Robb:
Definitely, yes, definitely.

[19:12] – Regulation and Security Risks of Cryptocurrency

Austin Wilson:
So I would note that regulation and security are some of the major risks for the cryptocurrency market in general. So in total, global regulators, depending on the country, view Bitcoin as legal tender, but there is no global regulator for the time being. But I will note that because we’re doing this in the US, the US does not actually view most crypto as legal tender, but does not outlaw it. While China says that it’s actually completely illegal. So a couple of different views there and different twists there.

I will also note that G20 has taken a cautious note on this, and its financial stability board doesn’t really think that crypto poses a risk to global stability. I think I read something that all of the outstanding cryptocurrency in the world accounts for less than 1% of the total stock market in the world or something like that. So it’s relatively small. So even though it swings insane amounts, it’s not going to make a-

Josh Robb:
It’s a percentage.

Austin Wilson:
Is a percentage into things. The international monetary fund, so the IMF, also called for more cooperation between countries, stating risks around money laundering and financing terrorism as some worrisome some things.

Josh Robb:
Yeah. So the idea there is it’s so easy to be anonymous in there, that people who have some ill intent could use that as a way of getting around regulations and stuff. And so that’s something they’re worried about is if there is so much anonymous usage, who is that and why are they so worried about being known? Now, in some countries it makes sense. Like China, Chinese people don’t want the governor knowing everything about them, because the government in the past hasn’t always had their best interest in mind. And so there’s some kind of give and take there of who and what regulates these things.

Austin Wilson:
Yeah, exactly. Also, the lack of regulation and oversight really and global viewpoint being inconsistent, only exaggerates that volatility and uncertainty due to the added security risks and stuff that we just don’t know about right now. So I think that those are some other reasons that it really hasn’t gained that mainstream traction, at least here in the US. And it probably won’t for a while yet, because of those things.

[21:12] – How Can You Invest in the Cryptocurrency Trend?

Austin Wilson:
So I like to answer the question when we talk about these themes, how could you invest in this trend? And first of all, always want to say that listeners should always discuss types of investments and how they fit into their overall picture with their advisor. I also will note that I am in no way, shape, or form, and I will go take that with me forever, saying that you should go invest in cryptocurrency, because that’s not what I’m saying. That’s not what Josh is saying.

But some opportunities that could offer exposure to this theme could be companies that are seeking to utilize blockchain technology that kind of enhance their overall additional business they’ve already got. It’s not necessarily what they’re all about. So those could be things like JP Morgan, talking about using blockchain technology for speed and security of financial transactions, or other banks are kind of working in this technology as well over time.

Another one that we talked about in our 20 bold predictions for 2020 was Facebook. So Facebook is working to develop kind of their own cryptocurrency, but also utilizing blockchain technology for peer to peer transaction, stuff like that. And that was called Libra. So I think that is a more safe way to get some exposure to blockchain or crypto there specifically… Because you’re kind of getting crypto, or at least you know you’re getting a company that’s working on a project like that, but they also have a super stable growing business behind it that’s going to support it regardless of what happens with that project.

I think talking about the computer side of things and the power requirements that these computers have, chip companies like Intel, AMD, Nvidia. Those are things that definitely have some demand built up around crypto miners, and those are companies that people utilize for the building of this technology. And then obviously there are actual cryptocurrencies and options, and not ETFs in the US, but ETFs if you’re abroad, and those crypto currencies, the big ones, are like Bitcoin, Etherium, Ripple, Litecoin. But I will say even one more time, that’s not a recommendation to go out and buy cryptocurrency. Those are just real ones that are out there. And there’s a list of some of these cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin, because Bitcoin’s the one we all know about, in a helpful Investopedia article that we’ll throw in the show notes as well.

Josh Robb:
All right, so we’ve talked through this. We kind of given our opinions on that technology as well as the actual currencies. Austin, do you own any? Are you invested?

Austin Wilson:
Yeah, I’m all in. Not. I’m all in not being in cryptocurrency, kind of. I mean, I do right now feel that it’s far too speculative and risky. I can’t completely comprehend them 100%. I have a high-level grasp on what’s on, but I know there are still security risks and regulation risks. That being said, I really believe the blockchain technology in general is going to be huge for the speed and insecurity and transparency of transactions, specifically with financials. And to go with these aspects, I like companies that have some exposure to this, and I think they have major upside. And a couple that I already pointed out already, companies like Facebook and JP Morgan, those are ones that I actually like a lot. What about you, Josh?

Josh Robb:
I’m not at all, but it’s always interesting to me and I’ve looked at it, but the concept is there’s so much unknown there. Is it worth risking some money to be in that? And at this point I’m not. But on the other side, my son keeps asking me about V-Bucks. I don’t know if that’s one of your digital currencies you’re talking about-

Austin Wilson:
I don’t know if that made the list.

Josh Robb:
… But Fornite’s got some V-bucks you can get.

Austin Wilson:
Some V-bucks. That’s funny. So that sounds like a crazy thing, when people spend real money to get up upgrades and perks on video games, aside from the actual initial purchase, obviously. I just think that’s kind of funny, but it’s a very, very huge multibillion-dollar business around the world. But hey, I think we should probably do an entire episode on video games sometimes, because in 2020 at the end of the year, I think around Christmas time, the new PlayStation and Xbox consoles are going to come out. So that could be a catalyst for some good discussion and some potential investment opportunities. So maybe in preparation for that we should act like college kids and stay up all night, playing Halo and drinking Mountain Dew in preparation.

Josh Robb:
What do you mean? I shouldn’t still be doing that since I’m out of college?

Austin Wilson:
Oh. Yes. You and you and your wife hanging out playing Halo and drinking Mountain Dew all night.

[25:18] – Get Your Free Gift and Help Us Grow!

Josh Robb:
So as always, make sure you check out our website, theinvesteddads.com. We’ve got that free gift for you, 8 Timeless Principles of Investing, just eight overarching themes to keep you on track. Check it out, it’s free on our website.

Austin Wilson:
And yeah, to help us grow this podcast, we’d really appreciate your support. We’d like to help a lot more people and continue to grow. So we need your help. Number one, what you can do is subscribe, which if you’re listening to this, you probably are. And we would thank you for that. That’s a really huge help for us. Number two, you can leave us a review on Apple podcasts. We really appreciate that. That would help us get our name out and help us to help out a lot more people over time. Number three, email us any ideas you have or questions you have to hello at theinvesteddads.com. And number four, a special request is if you really found this interesting, just go ahead and click that share button on your podcast player and share this episode with any friends or family member that you feel would find this interesting as well.

Josh Robb:
Yep, and in case you missed it, check out our recent episode where we talked about streaming services and our thoughts on that.

Austin Wilson:
Exactly. Well thanks for being here today. We appreciate your time.

Josh Robb:
Talk to you later.

Austin Wilson:
Bye.

Outro:
Thank you for listening to The Invested Dads Podcast. This episode has ended, but your journey towards a better financial future doesn’t have to. Head over to theinvesteddads.com to access all the links and resources mentioned in today’s show. If you enjoyed this episode and we had a positive impact on your life, leave us a review. Click subscribe, and don’t miss the next episode.

Josh Robb and Austin Wilson work for Hixon Zuercher Capital Management. All opinions expressed by Josh, Austin, or any podcast guests are solely their own opinions and do not reflect the opinions of Hixon Zuercher Capital Management. This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon for investment decisions. Clients of Hixon Zuercher Capital Management may maintain positions in the securities discussed in this podcast. There is no guarantee that the statements, opinions, or forecast provided herein will prove to be correct. Past performance may not be indicative of future results. Indices are not available for direct investment. Any investor who attempts to mimic the performance of an index would incur fees and expenses which would reduce returns. Securities investing involves risk, including the potential for loss of principle. There is no assurance that any investment plan or strategy will be successful.