Jedi Economics
by SGL Financial
Our 2 Cents – Episode #211
Jedi Economics
Welcome back to another episode of Our 2 Cents! In this episode, Steve and Gabriel dig into frozen pizza sales, the gold-buying trend, and financial wisdom from Yoda. The Force is strong with this one — don’t miss it! Tune in now using a link below!
- The Pepperoni (or Your Favorite Flavor) Pizza Index:
- Everyone loves pizza, but not soaring prices. Discover why a rise in frozen pizza sales could be a subtle sign of economic slowdown.
- Explore the projected trends for frozen pizza sales in 2025 and what they might reveal about consumer behavior.
- Gold Rush:
- Gold fever is catching on, but is it a smart move or just shiny hype? The Lewits dig into the reality behind the glitter.
- Yoda-isms:
- Yoda said it best. His timeless wisdom isn’t just for Jedi, it applies to your wallet too.
- Learn how classic Yoda quotes become powerful financial lessons.
- REAL ID Mass Hysteria:
- While fear has many rushing to get a REAL ID before the deadline, we’re here to explain how to keep calm and avoid the panic to get you back to travel relaxation
Request Your Free Consultation Today
847.499.3330
Podcast Transcript
Announcer: You are listening to Our 2 Cents with the team from SGL Financial, building wealth for life. Steve Lewit is the President of SGL Financial, and Gabriel Lewit is the CEO. They’re here to discuss all the latest in financial news, trends, strategies, and more.
Gabriel Lewit: Well, welcome back everybody to Our 2 Cents. We are back after, you can blame Steve, a week off because he was not in town, and I couldn’t do 2 Cents with 1 cent, just me.
Steve Lewit: I’m sure everybody feels sorry for me spending a week in California, although it was business and some pleasure.
Gabriel Lewit: Yeah. Uh-huh. Was it sunny California? You always say it’s not sunny when you go out there anymore.
Steve Lewit: The last time I was in California, it was seven days of clouds, and this time it was half-and-half, so it was good.
Gabriel Lewit: Good.
Steve Lewit: It was nice. Very nice.
Gabriel Lewit: All right, well we’re glad to have you back.
Steve Lewit: Although why anyone wants to live in California with the traffic, the place is a parking lot. It’s literally a parking lot.
Gabriel Lewit: Okay, well why’d you go out there then?
Steve Lewit: It was business. I had to go.
Gabriel Lewit: Okay. Well, we have a great show lined up for you today, everybody. Thanks for tuning in. We love having you with us. Please, of course, share the show with friends and family. There’s so much going on right now in the economy, in the market, in the world.
Steve Lewit: In the world.
Gabriel Lewit: Okay, and we’re going to do our best to unpack some of that here for you today. And some of it’s going to be financially related, others will be semi-financially related.
Steve Lewit: And practical.
Gabriel Lewit: Yes, but we’re going to start off with something you may not have heard before called the Pepperoni Pizza Index.
Steve Lewit: Yes. This is very important.
Gabriel Lewit: It is in fact.
Steve Lewit: Yes. Especially if you like pepperoni pizzas like I do.
Gabriel Lewit: Well, so what is the Pepperoni Pizza Index? Well, I’m going to start off by positioning this a little bit. You may have heard that just yesterday, and we’re going to talk more about this probably on the next episode, there was a quarter of negative GDP growth, the first quarter of 2025.
Steve Lewit: Yes.
Gabriel Lewit: The GDP growth was down.
Steve Lewit: Yes.
Gabriel Lewit: Okay. And you’re the economist, Steve, what happens if there’s two down quarters in a row?
Steve Lewit: Well, that would be defined as a recession.
Gabriel Lewit: Yes, okay. And we’ll talk a little bit about this. There’s a recession concern floating around right now in the U.S. economy. Now what does that have to do with pepperoni pizzas?
Steve Lewit: Yeah. Imagine food correlated to recession.
Gabriel Lewit: Okay, right. So, if you’ve been craving a frozen pizza lately, the article here that gave us this lovely idea says you’re not alone. It says maybe it’s because the weather’s warmer, maybe you’re jonesing for a lazy day treat, or maybe it’s because the stock market’s down and tariffs are throwing things into turmoil.
Steve Lewit: So, what do people do when they’re depressed?
Gabriel Lewit: Well, when people are worried about their money, they may choose to spend less, and one of the culprits of that is instead of getting your $30 or $40 Friday pizza night, you choose to go to the store and buy your five or $10 frozen pizza.
Steve Lewit: Open the freezer door and there are all these pizzas. And guess what people pick?
Gabriel Lewit: They’re cheap.
Steve Lewit: Pepperoni pizzas.
Gabriel Lewit: I think that’s just the alliteration that sounds good. The Pepperoni Price Index. And that just reminds me, I was doing tongue twisters with my daughter the other day and there’s some really good ones.
Steve Lewit: Oh.
Gabriel Lewit: Yeah.
Steve Lewit: We’ll have to have a tongue twister contest.
Gabriel Lewit: But the Pepperoni Price Index kind of reminds me of that. So what do people do? They’re trying to save money, they still want to have their Friday night pizza night, so they go and they buy their pepperoni or other pizza from the frozen section and they save about 20, 25 bucks. And you don’t have to tip the driver.
Steve Lewit: That’s right. You don’t have to wait for delivery.
Gabriel Lewit: You don’t have to wait. All right.
Steve Lewit: You don’t have to send it back when they get it wrong.
Gabriel Lewit: Now, here’s what’s interesting, this happens, historically, anytime there’s been a downturn in the economy. You may not have known this. So basically in 2009, in the midst of the great recession, frozen food sales grew by 3.1%. And when the pandemic hit, frozen pizza sales spiked by nearly $1 billion from the year before and then reaching nearly 6.6 billion in revenue in 2020. And now, in 2025, the global frozen pizza market is projected to reach $20.97 billion. Up four or five billion… No, three billion from 2022.
Steve Lewit: You know what’s interesting is I spent a lot of time and money getting a graduate degree in economics, and this is so simple.
Gabriel Lewit: Did they teach you this?
Steve Lewit: They never taught me this. It’s like, “Look at pizzas, Steve.”
Gabriel Lewit: Yeah.
Steve Lewit: No.
Gabriel Lewit: Yeah. So, Michael Ryan, the owner of… I guess a shout-out, because he’s in the article here, the owner of Tree Tavern Pizza, a frozen pizza company that operates out of New Jersey, said that during the pandemic, his sales went through the roof.
Steve Lewit: Wow.
Gabriel Lewit: Okay.
Steve Lewit: Is it a public company? I want to buy stock.
Gabriel Lewit: Yeah. So that’s really all I wanted to say about that, but it makes sense, right? If people out there are starting to worry about a recession. And I’ve been asked by a client, which I thought was a very accurate or a good question, is, “Gabe, does the news talking about there might be a pandemic so much…” Actually, sorry, not a pandemic, “A recession, actually create the recession because they’re just putting it out into everybody’s minds so much?”
Steve Lewit: It could, definitely.
Gabriel Lewit: And I was like, “You know, that’s a really interesting question.”
Steve Lewit: People could say to themselves, “I better not spend any money.”
Gabriel Lewit: There’s a recession, but where did they get that from?
Steve Lewit: From somebody else.
Gabriel Lewit: From the news saying, “There’s going to be a recession.” So that’s an interesting factoid there that I have no data on other than I do think there might be some truth to that statement.
Steve Lewit: So will we add the pepperoni pizza… What is it? The pepperoni pizza-
Gabriel Lewit: The Pepperoni Pizza Price Index. That’s why I like it. It’s alliteration.
Steve Lewit: To our monthly bulletins?
Gabriel Lewit: I don’t think so.
Steve Lewit: No, I don’t think so either.
Gabriel Lewit: But yes, if you catch yourself jonesing for a slice, maybe you can save a couple bucks.
Steve Lewit: What I’d like to know is what’s the best frozen pepperoni pizza out there?
Gabriel Lewit: Well, you’re going to have to one of your taste tests.
Steve Lewit: Don’t bring that to me.
Gabriel Lewit: We still haven’t done the beef jerky one yet.
Steve Lewit: Well, okay. I think the pepperoni pizza would be more interesting than beef jerky.
Gabriel Lewit: That would be a lot of fun. I’d love to go to the store and buy 10 different types.
Steve Lewit: Gabby, you have an assignment. Gabby has an assignment.
Gabriel Lewit: I’m not sure where we would bake them in the office, is the problem. Next up on the list. Hopefully that was interesting for everybody. And again, I’m going to talk a little bit more probably next week about this recession data that’s out there, right? This concern about the supply chain is starting to tighten. A lot of the supply chain lags, right? So, if there’s tariffs, people had 3, 4, 5 months’ worth of supplies already in place. And now-
Steve Lewit: Plus, what they did, Gabriel, is as soon as there were tariffs, they started to overstock. So, when that runs out, then you’re going to see prices really go up.
Gabriel Lewit: That is where there’s some concern. So, we’re going to dig into that a little bit more on the next show, but let’s talk about gold. I want to switch gears to gold.
Steve Lewit: Yeah. Everybody’s asking me, “Should I buy gold?”
Gabriel Lewit: There’s a gold bug going around right now.
Steve Lewit: Definitely.
Gabriel Lewit: It is very, very popular, it’s in the news. It reminds me once that… I read a quote, I don’t know where it was from. By the time you hear something hitting the news that says, “Want to get into the gold action?”
Steve Lewit: It’s too late.
Gabriel Lewit: It’s too late to get into gold action. But people don’t tend to follow that advice. All right. So, it’s in the news because it’s done so particularly well. Let me give some breakdown for you here.
Steve Lewit: Well, for a long time, gold did not do well.
Gabriel Lewit: Well, we’re going to talk about that.
Steve Lewit: Okay.
Gabriel Lewit: Okay?
Steve Lewit: Yeah.
Gabriel Lewit: And it’s recently hit $3,406 per troy ounce.
Steve Lewit: Amazing.
Gabriel Lewit: Okay, which is up 30% this year, to the envy of, of course, stockholders, bondholders and Bitcoin holders this year. And a lot of people are saying, “Wow, I actually have had multiple clients I gave, should I get in on the gold action?” Now, here’s what’s interesting, and I’m going to ask you, which you’ll probably know the answer to, which is, how well has gold done historically? Is this a good investment from a long-term investment perspective?
Steve Lewit: No, not at all. Yes, it has. Gabriel’s… “What are you trying to tell me?” Gabriel is nodding, he’s trying to give me the answer here.
Gabriel Lewit: Well, I think what you’re trying to say is not a good short-term investment, but it can be a good long-term investment. Here’s why, because over the past 20 years, gold has actually kept up or slightly, ever so slightly, outpaced the S&P 500 over the last 20 years.
Steve Lewit: Including now.
Gabriel Lewit: Well, I’m saying including right now, yes.
Steve Lewit: Take the last 10 years off.
Gabriel Lewit: That’s why I said long term, I’m tricking… Maybe I tricked you a little bit.
Steve Lewit: Yeah, you did.
Gabriel Lewit: Okay.
Steve Lewit: Yeah, you do that.
Gabriel Lewit: I do try to trick you. It’s fun. I have a lot of fun trying to trick you on the show.
Steve Lewit: You know what? I appreciate the sign language when you ask me a question and you’re trying to give me the answer. I really appreciate that.
Gabriel Lewit: Well, let me explain. Okay, since 20 years ago, yes, the S&P and gold have been actually pretty neck and neck, but that hasn’t been the case up until just this recent spike up. Okay? So let me give you some data between the years of approximately 2013, where gold was last at its high, and the years 2020-ish, okay, I am not giving exact dates here. Gold would have been flat over that seven-to-eight-year period.
Steve Lewit: That’s right.
Gabriel Lewit: Okay. So, it had a big run-up in the late 2000s continuing up into about 2013, then it promptly fell quite a bit, okay? Almost 40%, 50% it looks like here from our charts bottoming at about the year 2016. And then finally of course, getting back to about break even in 2020.
Steve Lewit: Yes.
Gabriel Lewit: So let me just… Because we work with people every day, not just charts. If you bought gold in 2013, and then it was down three years later, 40%, 45%, would you have been happy?
Steve Lewit: I would’ve sold my gold.
Gabriel Lewit: Also, by this time the S&P is going up.
Steve Lewit: Yes.
Gabriel Lewit: Substantially.
Steve Lewit: Big time.
Gabriel Lewit: Okay. So, despite its long-term benefits, it’s a very volatile asset class, okay, prone to really long drought periods and drought periods that are not correlated with the S&P, meaning the S&P could be booming while this is busting.
Steve Lewit: Well, ask yourself, the S&P reflects earnings of businesses. There’s a ground floor, there’s fundamental numbers that work into the pricing of the S&P in each of those companies. What controls the price of gold? Is it…
Gabriel Lewit: Demand?
Steve Lewit: Well, always. But is it because gold is going to be used to produce so many things, or is it a fear-based demand, because everyone thinks, “Well, the dollar is going to go out of business, so I better have gold, because I’ll need something to transact with when there’s no dollar.”
Gabriel Lewit: Its demand is worldwide. I mean, gold is gold. Everybody in every country would use or want gold. It’s rare, right? It’s valuable. And at the end of the day, you’re right, right now, people are concerned about the U.S. economic stability. They’re worried about tariffs, and they are seeking gold as a safe haven.
Steve Lewit: For what though? In other words, what I’m saying is that they’re seeking it as a safe haven. How is it a safe haven? I mean, it has no value.
Gabriel Lewit: It’ll never lose its value. It’ll always be a valuable thing to have.
Steve Lewit: Well, how about in 2013, what was the price?
Gabriel Lewit: I don’t mean in the sense that its price is going to change. I’m going to say at the end of the day, right, gold itself is a rare commodity in this planet. It’s not sticks and stones. So from that perspective, it’s always got a value that it’ll perpetually maintain.
Steve Lewit: Like diamonds.
Gabriel Lewit: Yeah, and we’re not going to talk about Bitcoin much today, but that’s also the comparable argument to Bitcoin, which is digital gold. It’s got value worldwide. No matter where you go, Bitcoin is Bitcoin. Gold is gold. There’s not an infinite supply. There’s a very limited supply of Bitcoin. There’s a limited supply of gold. And people tend to seek out these things when there’s underlying economic instability.
Steve Lewit: That’s correct. That’s correct. And a lot of it comes from not the demand for gold because it’s gold, and I’m going to put it in an earring, or I’m going to put it in a ring.
Gabriel Lewit: I had multiple clients that have said, “Where do I go buy some bars?” And there was a thing where Costco, I think this was recently, were selling them, and people were just eating them up.
Steve Lewit: They gobbled them up. And the question is, why? What are you going to use it for?
Gabriel Lewit: If you think the world comes to an end…
Steve Lewit: And you’re going to need gold, then you have it.
Gabriel Lewit: And if somebody will want some gold, you’ve got it.
Steve Lewit: So, the question you’re posing without getting philosophical about the intrinsic value of gold is, “Should I buy it now?”
Gabriel Lewit: That’s what we’re getting to. Just wanted to give a little background into it, right?
Steve Lewit: Yeah.
Gabriel Lewit: So, here’s the risk you face right now. If you buy gold right now, keeping in mind the history I just gave to, you have to A, plan to buy it, hold it for a very short amount of time, exit out of it, capture your profit. But B, if you’re planning on holding this for a long term, then you’ve got to be ready to hold it for that long term, because I would expect that this price is going to collapse at some point like it’s historically done.
Steve Lewit: As soon as the economy balances out, as soon as all the disruption goes away-
Gabriel Lewit: Demand’s going to dry up.
Steve Lewit: Demand dries up. As soon as the tariff thing settles down and the market goes up and the dollar strengthens, gold goes down in price.
Gabriel Lewit: So, you’ve got to be aware of what you’re buying and how it works, so you don’t inadvertently get yourself into trouble. Because here’s what I envision happening, “Okay, I’m going to go rush out and buy some gold.” It’s going to go up 20% more and you’re going to be thrilled as possibly be, and then all of a sudden it’s going start creeping down. You’re not going to sell because you’re greedy and you’re hoping it goes back up. This is market timing.
Steve Lewit: Are you saying we’re greedy people?
Gabriel Lewit: All humans are greedy. But then it’s going to keep dropping and eventually it’s going to get below what you bought it for and you’re going to say, “Hmm, gosh, this is a…”
Steve Lewit: “I should have gotten out when it was higher.”
Gabriel Lewit: “I better get out now.” And you sell it for a loss, and you just lost money instead of made money. Okay?
Steve Lewit: What you’re saying is it’s a speculative investment.
Gabriel Lewit: When you have investments that have big booms and then long bust periods, the goal is to buy them during the bus periods and sell them in the boom periods. If you’re trying to peel off some products.
Steve Lewit: Which means you have to hold it for a long time.
Gabriel Lewit: Yeah. You have to be ready to hold it for a long time.
Steve Lewit: Yeah, maybe.
Gabriel Lewit: Or you buy it and sell it in the very short term here, if you’re buying today.
Steve Lewit: Yeah.
Gabriel Lewit: Okay.
Steve Lewit: Now folks, if you buy actual gold, I had a client come in and said, “I bought gold bullions,” and was telling him he had them buried in his backyard. Please do not tell anybody you have gold buried in your backyard, because someone will come and get it.
Gabriel Lewit: Now, here’s what is interesting. Should gold be in your long-term diversified portfolio? If you’ve got a portfolio with, say a 20-year time horizon, you’re 40 years old, saving up for 60, you’re 60 and you’ve got a long-term bucket that you’re leaving for legacy at 80, 85, should you own a small percentage of gold? Well, it does have what’s called non correlating properties, right? Non correlation is a really interesting topic when it comes to portfolio design. Imagine you had two things in your investments, right? One that went up 10% one year, and one that went down 10% per year. What would your net return be for that year?
Steve Lewit: Plus 10 minus 10? It sounded like zero.
Gabriel Lewit: Yes. So that’s what we would call…
Steve Lewit: You didn’t send me a signal.
Gabriel Lewit: Perfectly non-correlated. So, one’s up 10, the other’s down 10. Both are volatile in the sense that they can move up and down, then you put them together…
Steve Lewit: That’s actually negatively correlated.
Gabriel Lewit: Negatively correlated. Yeah, sorry, but you got what I was saying. But the idea is that those are both risky moving asset classes, but if they move inversely to one another, they actually equalize and neutralize your risk along the way. Meaning you have very much less volatility. I can’t speak today, much less volatility than you otherwise would have by combining two inversely correlated volatile assets.
Steve Lewit: Yes. And the point is?
Gabriel Lewit: So, if gold is inverse as it is on the charts, generally to S&P 500’s growth, then having some allocation to that in your portfolio could be a good idea for long term. From what we call a diversification perspective. As long as that’s your intention with it.
Steve Lewit: Yeah, but let me ask you a question, a little bit technical, I think. But this is, if you had a choice of buying gold or Bitcoin, what would you buy?
Gabriel Lewit: Well, you know me.
Steve Lewit: Yeah, I know you, but our clients may not know you.
Gabriel Lewit: I actually think a little allocation to gold could be interesting. And definitely anywhere… I just read a whole new article on this, actually, I’d love to talk about it on the show, about the benefits of anything between 1% to 5% allocation to Bitcoin in your portfolio. And I’ve had a number of clients start to take me up on this, which I’m really excited about. Many more that are like, “Pooh-pooh. Oh, Bitcoin…”
Steve Lewit: Yeah, too volatile. It’s terrible.
Gabriel Lewit: But actually because of that non-correlation property, because of the growth potential, but it does have very high risk. So, limiting it to 5% or less of a portfolio can actually create really unique growth benefits. And actually, in some cases, risk reduction benefits.
Steve Lewit: Well before the gold run here, I have to check the numbers. Bitcoin was the best performing asset class of all the asset classes, which people don’t realize that over… Yeah, it’s volatile like gold, but over the long run, it has really performed well.
Gabriel Lewit: Indeed.
Steve Lewit: Indeed.
Gabriel Lewit: All right, so if you’ve got questions on gold, should you have it, should you buy it, should you sell it?
Steve Lewit: Or Bitcoin?
Gabriel Lewit: Or Bitcoin? Give us a call. (847) 499- 3330, or go to our website sglfinancial.com, and click contact us.
Steve Lewit: And pepperoni pizzas.
Gabriel Lewit: And go out and buy some pepperoni pizzas.
Steve Lewit: Or have questions about them.
Gabriel Lewit: Don’t call us for that.
Steve Lewit: After we do our double-blind test.
Gabriel Lewit: Yeah. Okay. So, lots of things we could talk about, but since this one’s timely, I thought I’d just spend a minute on Sunday, May 4th is Star Wars Day. The day you’re going to receive this podcast in your email, it’s Star Wars Day.
Steve Lewit: Oh, I’m so excited.
Gabriel Lewit: And Sunday, May 4th. May the fourth be with you.
Steve Lewit: May the fourth be with you.
Gabriel Lewit: So, when you’re walking around this Sunday, if you really want to look nerdy…
Steve Lewit: You didn’t make that up.
Gabriel Lewit: No, I didn’t make this up. But if you really want to seem nerdy this Sunday, go around telling everybody, “May the fourth be with you.” See what kind of looks you get.
Steve Lewit: All right. Thank you for turning off the heater, Gabriel.
Gabriel Lewit: I was burning up.
Steve Lewit: It was getting hot in here.
Gabriel Lewit: All right, so we’re going to talk about some of Yoda’s wisdom today. I’m assuming everybody listening to this show has heard of Star Wars.
Steve Lewit: I like little Yoda.
Gabriel Lewit: So, it is of course rooted in his Jedi mindset, but some of these have a lot of applications for financial planning.
Steve Lewit: I spent hours after my first Star War movie trying to get a pencil to rise above a desk.
Gabriel Lewit: There you go.
Steve Lewit: It didn’t even move.
Gabriel Lewit: It didn’t work?
Steve Lewit: Didn’t move.
Gabriel Lewit: Okay. Well, you got to keep practicing.
Steve Lewit: Yeah, well, I’ve been thinking about it.
Gabriel Lewit: All right, you ready for Yoda-ism number one?
Steve Lewit: Yes.
Gabriel Lewit: Do or do not? There is no try.
Steve Lewit: Love it. Yes. Either do it or don’t do it. Don’t try and do it, because trying means you don’t believe.
Gabriel Lewit: Yeah. So, what does that have to do with your money?
Steve Lewit: Well, it has to do with my pencil. That’s why the pencil didn’t go up.
Gabriel Lewit: You didn’t try?
Steve Lewit: I didn’t try. I was trying.
Gabriel Lewit: You’re trying.
Steve Lewit: I was trying too hard.
Gabriel Lewit: Yeah, just do it. Come on.
Steve Lewit: I can’t wait to get back to my office.
Gabriel Lewit: I would say with investments, you really fully commit to your financial goal. “Oh, I’m trying to save.” Don’t try to save money. Save money.
Steve Lewit: Save up.
Gabriel Lewit: Put hundred dollars a month in. Put $50 a month. 500, right?
Steve Lewit: Save something.
Gabriel Lewit: I’m trying.
Steve Lewit: Yeah, no, don’t try.
Gabriel Lewit: Do or do not, right. Train yourself to let go of everything you fear to lose.
Steve Lewit: Oh, Yoda said that?
Gabriel Lewit: Yoda said this.
Steve Lewit: Yes. Can you use the Yoda voice?
Gabriel Lewit: Train yourself… I can’t do it.
Steve Lewit: Come on, Gabe. All those acting lessons and you can’t do Yoda?
Gabriel Lewit: I didn’t take any acting lessons. Train yourself to let go of everything you fear to lose. Okay?
Steve Lewit: Yeah. Well, that’s a lot of training. Okay, thank you, Yoda.
Gabriel Lewit: Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate and hate leads to suffering.
Steve Lewit: Oh, Buddha, it’s not Yoda. That’s Buddha.
Gabriel Lewit: No, this is Yoda.
Steve Lewit: I know, but that’s what Buddha said.
Gabriel Lewit: Okay.
Steve Lewit: I think.
Gabriel Lewit: When it comes to your money, fear can be the path to the dark side.
Steve Lewit: Well, it is, because fear drives you to do things emotionally.
Gabriel Lewit: Panic selling. Maybe you avoid the stock market together.
Steve Lewit: Or staying out of the market when you really should be being too safe because of fear. Fear is a great stopper.
Gabriel Lewit: It is. Okay, next one. The greatest teacher, failure is. You know how he always does things in the wrong-
Steve Lewit: Reverse.
Gabriel Lewit: Yeah. The greatest teacher, failure is.
Steve Lewit: Yeah. Okay.
Gabriel Lewit: So, when you make a financial mistake…
Steve Lewit: I don’t believe that.
Gabriel Lewit: You don’t think so?
Steve Lewit: No.
Gabriel Lewit: You disagree with the wise Yoda?
Steve Lewit: Yeah.
Gabriel Lewit: What can you possibly disagree with about that statement?
Steve Lewit: You’re not going to like this. You’re going to tell me it’s all foo foo woo woo, ridiculous stuff, but the only thing you learn from failure is failure. You don’t learn success from failure. You learn success from success.
Gabriel Lewit: I would disagree strongly with you there.
Steve Lewit: See, if I said that in my Yoda voice, you would believe me.
Gabriel Lewit: You might sound wiser, but I’d still disagree.
Steve Lewit: If I had long ears and a green face and were sitting cross-legged, you would believe me.
Gabriel Lewit: You have to learn from your mistakes and your failures in life. If you don’t, you’re doomed to repeat them again. Of course, you learn from your successes too, but you must learn from your failures.
Steve Lewit: Failures you learn you must.
Gabriel Lewit: That’s right. Good job. Good job. There you go.
Steve Lewit: Pizza of pepperoni is…
Gabriel Lewit: All right. Last one. You must unlearn what you have learned.
Steve Lewit: Yes. Okay. Yeah.
Gabriel Lewit: I actually think this is the last one.
Steve Lewit: I think that’s the best one.
Gabriel Lewit: Well, that’s why I saved it for last, right? Right now, I’ll give an example. There’s some new ETFs that we’re using more and more regularly in portfolio design that are very new. They’re called buffered ETFs. And there’s a ton of applications for them in portfolio design.
Steve Lewit: And they actually make portfolios more efficient.
Gabriel Lewit: A hundred percent, right, when used properly. And same with Bitcoin. We just talked about that. And these are new, and people have learned that, “What should I buy?” “Stocks and bonds.” Well, is Bitcoin a stock or bond? No? Is a buffered fund a stock or bond? No. So people are scared of these, right? So, to learn more, you must unlearn what you have already learned to relearn what’s new.
Steve Lewit: You got to get rid of something to get something else in.
Gabriel Lewit: Yep.
Steve Lewit: But here’s the thing, and this is why people fear the unknown. Because if you lock yourself into a system of belief, like I believe CDs are the only way to go. Once you lock yourself into that, you close off all possibility for anything else.
Gabriel Lewit: Close off you do.
Steve Lewit: Off you do close.
Gabriel Lewit: I want to go watch Star Wars real bad right now. Maybe I’ll watch the Star Wars show today. All right, we got to move on.
Steve Lewit: Hey, Sunday, we can watch it together. May the fourth.
Gabriel Lewit: Well, we could. Maybe on Sunday. You’re right. That’s a perfect day to do it on, Star Wars Day.
Steve Lewit: May the fourth be with us.
Gabriel Lewit: Exactly. Okay. We must move on. Move on we must.
Steve Lewit: Oh, please don’t.
Gabriel Lewit: Sorry.
Steve Lewit: Katie, can you…
Gabriel Lewit: I can’t help myself.
Steve Lewit: Yeah, I know this is coming. I think we’re going to have a lot of these coming. Coming is.
Gabriel Lewit: All right. So, we’ve talked about a few things. Actually, what I wanted to talk about, we’re not going to have enough time, so I’m going to save for next time. Next show folks, we’re going to talk a little bit about… I’m already give you the preview. We’re going to talk about the economies. A little bit of recession stuff. A little bit of tariff impacts on supply chains. Get ready for that. It’s very exciting.
Steve Lewit: A little more granular.
Gabriel Lewit: A little more granular. All right. Then we’re going to talk about parents paying for their kids. Okay, we’ve got a lot of data on this.
Steve Lewit: Oh my gosh.
Gabriel Lewit: Okay, parents pay… And they’re doing it in lieu and sacrificing their future retirement.
Steve Lewit: Oh my gosh, yes.
Gabriel Lewit: And also…
Steve Lewit: The numbers are incredible.
Gabriel Lewit: Yeah. It may really open your eyes here. Okay. So, we’re going to talk about that next time. So, to wrap up today, we’re going to just talk a little bit about something that has a deadline coming up here on May 7th. So, this is timely.
Steve Lewit: And everybody’s just freaking out over this.
Gabriel Lewit: It doesn’t have to do with your money, but it is important, right? Called the REAL ID.
Steve Lewit: Yes.
Gabriel Lewit: All right. So, the REAL ID is the fancy ID that has a little, I think, gold star on it, right? That’s different than the…
Steve Lewit: I don’t have mine, but I’ll tell you this. I was at the airport and there were signs all over the place. Get your REAL ID by the seventh, or you won’t be able to travel, and you won’t be able to do this. It was scary. It’s like, “Oh my God, I got to go get my ID,” but it’s not quite that scary.
Gabriel Lewit: Here’s the problem. Some people will need a REAL ID starting May 7th, but apparently everybody is panicking and thinking that everybody has to have a REAL ID by May 7th.
Steve Lewit: That’s right.
Gabriel Lewit: And the DMV lines, which are normally already around the block, are doubly around the block.
Steve Lewit: Yeah, you can’t get an appointment.
Gabriel Lewit: All right. So, we thought we would just shed a little bit of light here on this. It’s now on the Illinois, specifically on the Illinois website. There’s a big flashing banner saying you don’t have to get this immediately. It’s not for everybody. So, here’s what you do or don’t need a REAL ID for. You ready?
Steve Lewit: Ready.
Gabriel Lewit: REAL ID is optional. You do not need a REAL ID. And by the way, I think it’s a terrible name for it, because if I have an ID, is it real?
Steve Lewit: No.
Gabriel Lewit: Or is it fake, right?
Steve Lewit: It’s fake. No, it’s not real anymore.
Gabriel Lewit: It’s just a terrible name. How about ID Plus or something like that?
Steve Lewit: Real it is not.
Gabriel Lewit: Terrible. But they’re calling it REAL ID, so we got to go with that, right? You do not need one to drive. Your old ID will serve you just fine. You do not need one to vote. Your old ID does not need to be a new REAL ID.
Steve Lewit: I thought you did. Okay.
Gabriel Lewit: This is straight off of the Illinois website, so if they’re wrong, blame them. Okay. You do not need one to identify yourself for general identification purposes, whatever that means.
Steve Lewit: Like the police come over to you and say, “Do you have your ID with you?”
Gabriel Lewit: I don’t have my REAL ID.
Steve Lewit: I don’t have my REAL ID.
Gabriel Lewit: Oh my God. Oh my God. You’re still you.
Steve Lewit: Yeah, right.
Gabriel Lewit: Enter a state building or federal building that does not require an ID to enter. Okay, well that doesn’t matter. That’s right on their website, folks. I’m reading it right in front of you.
Steve Lewit: I don’t need an ID to get in, but I can get in because I don’t have it. Okay.
Gabriel Lewit: Okay. Yeah.
Steve Lewit: Yeah, I get it.
Gabriel Lewit: Receive state or federal services. Okay?
Steve Lewit: Yep.
Gabriel Lewit: All right. So, what do you need a REAL ID for?
Steve Lewit: If I get on a plane.
Gabriel Lewit: Yeah, if you board a commercial… Well, there’s going to be an asterisk to that too, right? But if you board a commercial aircraft as a mode of transportation, you need a REAL ID, or maybe you don’t, because you can also just use your valid U.S. passport.
Steve Lewit: That’s correct. Yep.
Gabriel Lewit: All right. So, people are panicking. “I got to get an ID. I won’t be able to fly. I won’t be able to fly.”
Steve Lewit: Unfortunately, a lot of people don’t have a passport.
Gabriel Lewit: Well, that’s true as well, right? But yes, if you have a passport, you do not need to rush to get a REAL ID by May 7th.
Steve Lewit: But you have to carry your passport with you.
Gabriel Lewit: And if you’re frequently visiting a military base or secure federal facility, you should have your REAL ID or valid U.S. passport.
Steve Lewit: Yeah.
Gabriel Lewit: Okay.
Steve Lewit: So, the only time you need it is if you’re flying commercial, and you’re going to visit a military base.
Gabriel Lewit: Or secure government institution.
Steve Lewit: A secure government building of some kind.
Gabriel Lewit: That does require an ID, because the ones that you don’t require an ID, you don’t have to provide an ID.
Steve Lewit: So, if it doesn’t require an ID, you should not worry.
Gabriel Lewit: ID you do not need.
Steve Lewit: The ID. Right. The guy at the door is going to say, “Do you have an ID with you?” And you’re going to say, “No.” And he said, “That’s fine. That’s okay.”
Gabriel Lewit: I think it’s way to just confuse people more.
Steve Lewit: I just want to see if you have an ID.
Gabriel Lewit: All right. So yeah, hopefully that helps, right? If you plan to rush off to the DMV this Sunday, maybe you don’t have to now. You can stay and watch Star Wars movies instead.
Steve Lewit: Join us for the fourth.
Gabriel Lewit: And to wrap up our show, give you a couple phone numbers and websites here. (847 499-3331. If we can help you in any way. Sorry 3330.
Steve Lewit: Oh my gosh.
Gabriel Lewit: You can always call me, but you can call the office too, or info@sglfinancial.com. And then my sign-off for today, of course, has to be, may the fourth be with you.
Steve Lewit: May the fourth be with you, and everyone, well be on the fourth.
Gabriel Lewit: Have a wonderful day. Wonderful day you must have.
Steve Lewit: A wonderful day you must.
Gabriel Lewit: Okay. Bye now. Talk to you on the next show.
Steve Lewit: Bye everybody. Bye.
Announcer: Thanks for listening to Our 2 Cents with Steve and Gabriel Lewit. For any questions about your finances, give SGL a call at (847) 499-3330 or visit us on the web at sglfinancial.com and be sure to subscribe to join us on next week’s episode.
Prerecorded Voice: Investment Advisory Services are offered through SGL Financial, LLC, an SEC Registered Investment Adviser. Insurance and other financial products are offered separately through individually licensed and appointed agents.
