Welcome Back, Future Funder!

AI replacing humans. Soaring amounts of credit card debt. Rising prices. Financial goals that seem unattainable.

We’re living in wild times. But just because the times feel impossible doesn’t mean your future as a funder is 😉 

Today, we’re sharing the 5 main keys to personal financial success in 2025/2026.

In this issue:

✅ AI-proofing your career
✅ Getting out of debt and into growth
✅ Communication with your partner

Just remember, none of this is financial advice, just our thoughts. Always do your own research!

Bon appétit! 🧑‍🍳

Presented by our partner Pacaso

Last Time the Market Was This Expensive, Investors Waited 14 Years to Break Even

In 1999, the S&P 500 peaked. Then it took 14 years to gradually recover by 2013.

Today? Goldman Sachs sounds crazy forecasting 3% returns for 2024 to 2034.

But we’re currently seeing the highest price for the S&P 500 compared to earnings since the dot-com boom.

So, maybe that’s why they’re not alone; Vanguard projects about 5%.

In fact, now just about everything seems priced near all time highs. Equities, gold, crypto, etc.

But billionaires have long diversified a slice of their portfolios with one asset class that is poised to rebound.

It’s post war and contemporary art.

Sounds crazy, but over 70,000 investors have followed suit since 2019—with Masterworks.

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24 exits later, results speak for themselves: net annualized returns like 14.6%, 17.6%, and 17.8%.*

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_{*Investing involves risk. Past performance is not indicative of future returns. Important Reg A disclosures: masterworks.com/cd.}

Please support our partners!

1. If You’re In Debt, Get Out of Debt ASAP

This is basic, but so very important. You can’t get out of debt fast enough. Every day spent in debt is a day paying interest on money that’s not yours yet instead of making interest on assets that are yours. If you want to grow your money significantly throughout your life, time is everything. And if you’re stuck in debt for a long period of time, then time is still everything: debt is costing you more and more money as the years go by. 

A simple example. Yes, it’s nice that a 30-year mortgage (or a 50-year mortgage like what’s being talked about now) lets you make lower monthly payments. But for a $400,000 home, if you take a 30-year mortgage instead of a 15-year, you’d pay $200,000 MORE in interest (at a ~6% interest rate). Isn’t that wild?

Now imagine how bad it gets with credit card debt at 20% interest or higher… not a pretty sight. Debt kills people over time, we always try to get out of it as fast as we possibly can if we find ourselves in it.

How? Do the debt snowball or avalanche method. Here’s our guide →

2. Invest as Much as You Can

If debt kills your finances over time, investing is what builds them. Unfortunately, a high-yield savings account alone won’t enable your money to grow much faster than inflation at the end of the day. Even Dave Ramsey suggests investing 15% of your income (minimum), and he doesn’t say to invest in super safe options like bonds or money market funds… he says to invest in a mix of growth, international, and aggressive mutual funds.

The “Permanent Underclass”

Now, we aren’t financial advisors, and you need to always do your own research. But here’s what we’re seeing: AI is taking over more and more jobs, and honestly, AI isn’t even good yet. It will be scary to see how good AI is in 10 years. What I’m doing right now is to invest everything I can so that if asset prices are driven up over the next decade by incredible advances in AI, I’m not left out. Because if AI becomes incredibly productive and reshapes all of society to the point where most jobs aren’t needed any more, it will be so much harder to accumulate wealth after that point than before. People are calling the ones who will get left behind the “permanent underclass.” Whether that happens or not is up for debate, but I see a massive opportunity ahead of us, and I’m personally treating it as such. Do your own research!

How? Take a look at different investing options like low-cost index funds and mutual funds, check out what standard returns have looked like over the years, and choose what assets you want to buy based on your risk tolerance.

3. Build a 8-12 Month Emergency Fund

Ok, you’ve heard the advice to save up a $1,000 emergency fund before you do anything else with your finances. But we both know that $1,000 won’t get you through rent, much less a full month. Then you’ve heard that you need a 3-6 month emergency fund. That’s better, but not if you have children.

In my opinion, once you have kids, you need to save up for an 8-12 month emergency fund. The job market is rough out there right now, so you don’t know how difficult it might be at this time to find another job if you’re laid off. You also don’t know what kinds of unexpected expenses might come up in your family during that time. It just feels prudent to save up more rather than less if you’re responsible for the lives of others.

How? Automate your emergency fund savings. Don’t leave it up to your willpower to decide to contribute each month. Here’s how making financial decisions like saving on your phone are potentially killing your finances →

4. AI-Proof Your Career (Invest In Yourself)

A lot of the AI hype feels overblown (for now). But let me tell you, I think the world isn’t ready for what comes next in the AI industry. Like the dot com bubble in 2000 vs. the state of the internet in 2010, we can’t even imagine how useful AI will be 10 years from today… or how many jobs it will replace. You know what that means?

You need to future-proof your career and make yourself as irreplaceable as possible. That could look like learning a trade, like as an electrician or maybe a plumber (we’re serious, you can make BANK in trades and have real job security). It could also look like working your way up the ladder at your current job into a management or senior role. Really anything besides a junior role will suffice. The trend is clear: companies are trying to replace junior roles with AI, and they aren’t interested in “training” their people up to become senior employees later on.

Here’s a guide to upping your income →

5. Get on the Same Page with Your Partner

Honestly, we could dedicate an entire edition to this one principle. If you and your partner are on the same page about money and your financial future, you can take on the world together. If you’re at odds with one another, it will probably feel like everything is falling apart. We suggest sitting down and looking at financial goals with your partner regularly to understand where you’re both at and to hopefully align on your goals and priorities. 

If you can approach finances as a team, things tend to go much, much better than if you’re not on the same page. If at all possible, don’t fight a losing battle and work it out together!

Bottom Line

Fortunately, there are several ways you can get ahead financially. Less fortunately, they all require hard work and time. But even though they aren’t easy, they’re simple and very achievable.

Cheers to getting 1% better each week! 🥂

👂 We’d love to hear from you

👂 What financial goals have you set for 2026?

We’d love to hear about it—and your story could help someone else do the same.
Just hit reply and share.

Thanks for reading,
—Your friends @ Future Funders 🍽️

P.S. Forward this to a friend who’s in serious need of some help in with their finances. 😁