Let’s Get Real | Week of August 26, 2025

Author

Stoy Hall, CFP®
August 26, 2025

In partnership with

Learn from this investor’s $100m mistake

In 2010, a Grammy-winning artist passed on investing $200K in an emerging real estate disruptor. That stake could be worth $100+ million today.

One year later, another real estate disruptor, Zillow, went public. This time, everyday investors had regrets, missing pre-IPO gains.

Now, a new real estate innovator, Pacaso – founded by a former Zillow exec – is disrupting a $1.3T market. And unlike the others, you can invest in Pacaso as a private company.

Pacaso’s co-ownership model has generated $1B+ in luxury home sales and service fees, earned $110M+ in gross profits to date, and received backing from the same VCs behind Uber, Venmo, and eBay. They even reserved the Nasdaq ticker PCSO.

Paid advertisement for Pacaso’s Regulation A offering. Read the offering circular at invest.pacaso.com. Reserving a ticker symbol is not a guarantee that the company will go public. Listing on the NASDAQ is subject to approvals.

Personal | School’s Back. Rhythm’s Back.

I love my boys. I also love quiet. School brings both the structure they need and the focus I need. Summer was full throttle. Training, travel, memories. Now we shift to the fall build.

How we’re setting up the season:

  • Morning cadence: backpacks staged, protein over pancakes, out the door on time.

  • Work blocks: protected calendar, deep client work, content sprints, then carpool.

  • Training stays: lifts and runs still happen, just inside a tighter schedule.

  • House rules: if it isn’t written, it isn’t real. Practice checklists live on the fridge.

Do I miss summer chaos a little? Sure. But there is a different satisfaction in consistency. The boys come home with stories. I leave the office with clarity. This is the window where daily reps compound into momentum. I’m here for it.

Current Events | Filter The Noise. Track What Touches You.

Most headlines are designed to hijack attention. If a story does not change how you spend, earn, save, or invest, it is a distraction.

What actually matters this week:

  • Your inflation, not “the” inflation. Track your basket: groceries, housing, insurance, childcare, utilities, services. Adjust the plan to reality, not to a press conference.

  • Inputs that signal the cycle. Lumber has been soft. That often points to slower building and cautious developers. Time renovations and large buys with price moves.

  • Energy and food tell you more than speeches. If fighting in Ukraine meaningfully cools, oil and grain prices will show it before the headlines do.

  • Policy drift in D.C. still bites locally. Programs and rate talk can mask pain on Main Street. Your buffer, debt rates, and automation matter more than narratives.

  • Local health is a money issue. Rising nitrate levels in some Iowa water systems mean filters, testing, and advocacy are not optional. Add it to the budget.

Rule for the week: if it does not change your next financial decision, it is not urgent.

This Week’s Drops | Watch, Listen, Ask

LGR
Running late. Thanks for the grace. In the meantime, binge the archive:

NoBS Wealth
The relaunch drops Wednesday the 3rd. First episode sets the vision and format. Tighter structure. Deeper dives. Same-day takeaways.

Your fingerprints on the plan:
Reply with the questions you actually want solved. Taxes, pricing, marketing that isn’t slimy, leadership while tired, money trauma, exit planning. Ask the real question, not the safe one.

Investment Opportunities | Find Land Deals. Market Them Smart.

Where to look

Underwrite fast

  • Access: recorded road or easement.

  • Utilities: power proximity, cell coverage, water options.

  • Zoning: confirm permitted uses with the planner in writing.

  • Terrain/soils: FEMA flood maps, prior perc tests if septic matters.

  • Comps: price per acre for similar size and use in the same county.

Sell or cash flow

Rules: close clean, record everything, start small, learn one county, scale when boring feels normal.

Soul Check In | Two Moves. One Standard.

You can be grateful and still hungry. You can love your life and still want to shape it. That tension is not a flaw. It is fuel.

Pick two moves this week.

  • One that protects your peace. Walk at sunrise. Block an hour. Turn off alerts.

  • One that advances your plan. Raise an automated transfer. Kill a useless subscription. Send the hard email. Open the account.

Keep each move small enough to finish and strong enough to feel. You do not need a miracle. You need a streak. Quiet wins stack. Results follow.

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