From "stay away from stocks" to building Dad Finance.

Where I started

Growing up, the stock market was a no-go zone. The message at home was simple: keep your money in cash, cash equivalents, or real estate. Anything else was for gamblers, or for rich folks who could afford to lose. I didn't question it for a long time. That's just what investing meant to me.

Discovering the retirement match

After I started working, I came across the retirement match for the first time. Contribute X percent, employer matches it up to a limit. Doubling my money instantly felt like the obvious move, so I signed up.

Then I noticed the next thing. I could actually choose how that money was invested, including in the stock market. The old programming kicked in and I got nervous. So I started slow, mostly in bonds and cash equivalents, and watched what happened.

ETFs, 60/40, and getting humbled in 2022

Over time I learned what index ETFs actually are. How they're built, what they cost, why broad-market exposure tends to beat stock-picking for most people. That moved me into a 60/40 stock/bond portfolio. It felt like a sensible middle ground.

Then I got a little too confident. I started picking individual stocks and lost some money in the 2022 crash. Nothing catastrophic, but enough to remind me why the broad-market ETF lesson exists in the first place. I went back to it.

What I'm exploring now

With the foundation in place, I've been curious about the more aggressive corners of the market. Rules-based rotation strategies using leveraged ETFs. Covered-call funds. Thematic plays. Alternatives like crypto and gold. The TQQQ-BIL strategy tracker on this site is one slice of that exploration. It's a way to study how a leveraged-ETF rotation would have held up across a decade of real market data, instead of guessing.

Why this site exists

I'm also an AI enthusiast, and I enjoy thinking and talking about personal finance. At some point I realized I could combine the two. What would it look like, I wondered, to document my financial journey while learning to use AI tools to build, write, and analyze along the way?

Dad Finance is my first attempt at answering that. Tools, backtests, personal-finance notes, and the occasional aside about whatever I'm learning. All of it built with AI tools and checked by hand — me.

One important note

Everything published here is educational, not advice. I'm not a registered advisor. I'm not affiliated with any brokerage. I'm not getting paid to recommend specific funds. The strategies I explore on this site, including leveraged-ETF rotations, can lose money. Sometimes a lot of it. If a page ever contains affiliate links, they'll be clearly marked.

Thanks for being here

Thanks for taking the time to read this. I hope there's something here worth your time. If you ever want to compare notes, suggest a strategy to backtest, or just say hi, the door is open.