#73 - I Wouldn’t Tell You I Won the Lottery

10 Silent Signs I Won The Lottery

The Powerball jackpot has surged to over $1.7 billion this week, with a one-time payout of about $770 million. In Wisconsin, winners cannot stay anonymous. Your name and city become public. But if I could stay hidden, I wouldn’t tell you I won the lottery but there would be signs.

1. I would stick to my normal routine for awhile becoming extra observant of people. I would take notes on how others talk about people behind their backs, and I would quietly note who truly needs help.

2. I would all of a sudden have a personal chef who prepares every meal of every day.

3. I would buy hundreds of acres of forest land in northern Wisconsin or Michigan and start building a bison ranch. A dream project that is both wild and grounding.

4. You would see me driving a Thor Talavera Ford Transit Camper Van frequently and spending a lot of time exploring National Parks.

5. I would bring home one or two more golden retrievers and buy early access to a Tesla Optimus robot to vacuum floors and pick up poop after them every day.

6. I would open a 24/7 gym with its own coffee shop. The TVs would play nothing but stock market news or podcasts.

7. I would start an organization that promotes youth financial literacy and host monthly guest speakers to teach about investing and personal finance.

8. You would notice me being choosier with my time, pursuing hobbies that stretch my creativity instead of filling my schedule with noise.

9. I would buy my wife a ski-in, ski-out property so she could hit the slopes whenever she felt like it.

10. I would buy more shares of the Green Bay Packers and secure season tickets.

Whenever the Powerball gets above a billion dollars I think its always fun to join in the fun and buy a ticket. But ultimately don’t be focused on obtaining financial freedom through the lottery. You can create your lottery via your retirement accounts and building up a brokerage bridge account by stacking index funds and stocks every week.

Buy the lottery ticket. Hope to win big. But make sure you are contributing what you can weekly to your investment accounts first.

And if you win it all in Saturdays drawing… I hope you continue to read this Gazette.

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Invest While You Still Can

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Market & Freedom Fund Recap

This week it was announced that U.S. labor market showed growing signs of weakness this week as private payrolls rose by only 54,000 in August, below expectations, while job openings fell and unemployment claims ticked up to 237,000, their highest level since June. These indicators signal a cooling labor environment, with employers hesitant to hire and some increasing layoffs. This might reinforce expectations that the Federal Reserve may cut interest rates later this month. Despite the softer labor data, U.S. stock markets rallied, with the S&P 500 climbing about 0.8%, the Dow Jones gaining 350 points, and the Nasdaq up 1%.

The public account held above $37k for the second week in a row and will likely pace below my $50k goal by the end of 2025. If the Fed begins cutting rates this fall, the growth-focused positions could be set up for an above-market rally to close out 2025. Even with 17 more weeks of $200 contributions, I would need a total equity return over 23% in 4 months to get to $50k. I think overall a low to mid $40k value going into 2026 would be a win at this rate.

This week I made a default buy to add 8 more $SCHB ( ▲ 0.89% ) shares as I continue to try to build up my index sized position in the portfolio.

Portfolio News:

• $PLTR ( ▲ 0.8% ) 

  • Palantir and Lear Announce Five-Year Partnership Expansion to Accelerate Automotive Technology Transformation

  • Palantir and Lumen Technologies Join Forces to Accelerate AI-Driven Telecom Transformation

• $SOFI ( ▲ 3.63% ) - Bills Quarterback MVP Josh Allen and SoFi Announce Multi-Year Partnership to Champion Financial Ambition

Freedom Fund Background: I launched the Freedom Fund in October 2022 as a public brokerage account to show that anyone—with just a bank account and Social Security number—can start investing, even with a couple hundred dollars a week. I started from $0 to make the journey real and relatable. Each week, I share transparent updates on purchases, sales, dividends, and growth on X (@GrahamSchroeder) so you can follow along in real time. The hardest part of investing is getting started—so I did, publicly, to help others do the same.