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Markets rallied, First $10K and designer brands

it's never what it seems....

Happy Sunday,

Angelo here!

WE FINALLY GOT MONETIZED ON YOUTUBE BABY šŸŽ‰

After a long, hard year, I finally got a video to pop and gain almost 60K views + 4,000 watch time hours to unlock that monetization status!

Still a long way to go with my YouTube journey, but I am just glad to be here!

Alright, enough about me patting myself on the back (thank you guys tho fr)

Let’s break everything down. Today’s edition:

- Market’s longest winning streak since 2004
- Why your first $10K is more important than $1M
- Why designer brands burn their clothes

Read time: 4 min 20 seconds

šŸ“‰ Market Recap

The markets stayed on šŸ”„ this week.

The S&P 500 notched a 9-day winning streak (the longest since 2004) and officially erased all the losses from the ā€œliberation dayā€ sell-off.

  • S&P 500: +4.6%

  • Nasdaq-100: +6.7%

S&P 500 last week

Sooooooo what’s driving the rally?

  • āœ… Jobs: 177,000 new jobs added in April (beat expectations)

  • āœ… Trade: Signs of easing U.S.–China tensions

  • āœ… Big Tech: Strong earnings across the board

Here’s a quick breakdown:

  • šŸ’Ŗ Meta: Crushed earnings, up big on ad revenue + AI optimism

  • šŸ’Ŗ Microsoft: Beat estimates, continued cloud strength (Azure growth šŸ”„)

  • šŸ’Ŗ Google: Solid quarter with growth in search + cloud

  • šŸ¤” Apple: Beat expectations but…

    • Stock dropped 4% after weak China sales, a $900M tariff hit, and AI delays

However, they did announce a massive $100B buyback + dividend boost, which is cool, I guess….

But in my opinion, Apple is going to have to really start innovating again if it wants to keep its crown.

One thing flying under the radar? GDP just shrank.

  • Q1 GDP fell by 0.3% (first contraction in 2 years)

  • Why that matters:

    • 1 quarter of decline = 🚩 yellow flag

    • 2 in a row = šŸ“‰ official recession

On the bright side: Consumers are still spending (up 0.7%), holding the economy steady, for now.

In bittersweet news, Warren Buffett announces his retirement

It’s official: Greg Abel has been named Warren Buffett’s successor at Berkshire Hathaway.

Buffett, 94, is stepping back after building one of the greatest investing track records of all time:

  • šŸ“ˆ Turned a struggling textile company into a $900B+ empire

  • šŸ’° Delivered 20%+ annual returns for over 50 years

  • šŸ† Held legendary investments like Coca-Cola, Apple, American Express, and Geico

  • šŸ“š Became a global symbol of long-term, patient investing

Buffett’s philosophy was simple but powerful:

ā€œBe fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful.ā€

Jersey in the rafters, what an absolute legend šŸ‘‘.

If you haven’t read his legendary letters to shareholders, now’s a good time.

šŸ’° Wealth Tip of the Week

One of the best tips I ever got? šŸ‘‡

ā

Forget the million….focus on your first $10K.

I didn’t get it at first… but trust me, once you hit it, you’ll understand.

Here’s why:

1. It’s a mental unlock.

Before $10K, money feels out of reach.

After $10K? $50K, $100K… they actually start to feel possible.

You prove to yourself that you can do it.

That new sense of autonomy and self-efficacy makes all the difference and will expedite your journey 10x.

It’s a common phenomenon in psychology that has been studied and tested time after time.

The same applies to wealth creation

2. It creates momentum.

Your first $10K? Takes the longest.

But after that, compounding starts working for you.

Example:

  • Saving $1K/year at 10% return = ~8 years to reach $10K

  • The next $10K? Only 4.7 years

  • Then 3.3 years… then 2.2 years

Your money builds on itself—each $10K gets faster.

The same logic goes to your first 100K and first 1M šŸ‘€

3. It’s your safety net.

Most emergencies can be handled with $10K.

A blown transmission, a surprise medical bill, or job loss won’t wreck you.

Stats show nearly 44% of Americans can’t cover a $1,000 emergency.

Having $10K? That puts you in the top tier of financial preparedness.

Plus, that buffer gives you peace of mind—and frees up your energy to focus on making moves.

šŸ’” Bottom line:

Your first $10K is the hardest… but once you hit it?

It’s game over. You’re officially in the wealth-building club.

🧵 Thread of the Week

I have designer clothes with a passion.

First of all they are all made in the same factory in China for 1000x less than what they sell them for.

Second, their ā€œvalueā€ is 100% fabricated by psychological strategies, marketing tricks, campaigns, and blackhat tactics like this to make their brand seem more ā€œpremiumā€.

This thread goes deep into one of the many practices they do: They burn their clothes.

They would rather destroy their inventory and lose that money than ever donate or have their clothes end up in Marshalls.

From a business standpoint, I get it.

From a regular dude who has seen too many people struggle to put clothes on their back, this just seems like an utter waste.

What do you think?

See y’all next week 🫔

- Angelo Castillo


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