Stacking for the Future

Our Goal

At Stack Smarts, we’re all about giving you simple, no-BS tips to master budgeting, invest like a pro, and lock down your crypto wealth—helping you stack smart and absolutely crush the game!

Take control of your financial future with our Net Worth Calculator below! Get a crystal-clear snapshot of your financial health ⬇️

Disclaimer: I’m not a financial adviser, so please consult one before making any moves. Keep your personal info private

Stack Finance

Traditional vs Roth IRA

Most people mix these two up, but they’re both excellent ways to save for retirement. The one that’s right for you depends on two things: what you earn now and what you expect to earn later.

Both let you control how much you invest and where it goes. You could go with low-risk ETFs or mega-cap stocks you believe will still be thriving 30–50 years from now. Personally, I think low-risk ETFs are the smartest choice for most people — they’re diversified baskets of stocks, so you don’t have to constantly track the market. Just set up dollar-cost averaging (DCA) and watch your account grow.

So, what’s the real difference? Taxes.

Roth IRA

• Contributions are after-tax (no tax break now).

• Withdrawals after 59½ are tax-free.

• Best for young or low-income earners expecting higher taxes later.

• No required withdrawals during your lifetime.

Traditional IRA

• Contributions may lower your taxes now (deductible).

• Withdrawals after 59½ are taxed as income.

• Great if you’re in a high tax bracket now but expect lower taxes in retirement.

• Must start withdrawals by age 73.

You can open either a Traditional or Roth IRA with Fidelity and start with as little as $50/month. Pick low-cost ETFs, set up automatic contributions, and check Roth income limits. When in doubt, talk to a tax professional to figure out which is best for your situation.

If you’re looking for some solid low-risk ETFs, here are a few worth looking into.

• VTI – Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF

• VOO – Vanguard S&P 500 ETF

• BND – Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF

• VXUS – Vanguard Total International Stock ETF

• VIG – Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF

Stack Toolbox

Aave

Want your crypto to earn money without selling?

Aave, a leading decentralized finance (DeFi) platform on Ethereum and 13+ blockchains, lets you lend or borrow crypto like Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), USDC, Tether (USDT), Chainlink, and 30+ others

Connect a wallet like MetaMask, deposit crypto into liquidity pools for 2–10% APY, or borrow with collateral (e.g., $1,500 ETH for $1,000 USDC).

Aave’s non-custodial, so you control your keys, unlike custodial exchanges like Coinbase or Kraken, where hacks can out your money at risk

Check out this Youtube video which breaks down how Aave works

Stack Start

What is a blockchain?

When you hear “blockchain,” do you picture some gang from South Central LA or maybe a knock-off version of Minecraft?

When I first got into crypto, I’ll be honest—I had no clue what a blockchain was. It sounded complicated, techy, and like something only geeks would understand. But it’s actually pretty simple.

Blockchain transactions are how coins like Bitcoin and Ethereum move securely. A blockchain is like a giant public record book—only it’s digital and lives across thousands of computers instead of in a dusty old library. Every transaction gets recorded, verified, and locked into place. It was first created in 2008 by the mysterious Satoshi Nakamoto, and its design makes it nearly impossible to hack. That’s because each transaction is confirmed by a network, encrypted, and linked in a chain of “blocks” that can’t be changed without group approval.

Here’s the simplest way to picture it: imagine a small town that shares one giant notebook. Anytime money changes hands—say you give $10 to your neighbor—it’s written down for everyone to see. But before it’s added, the whole town has to agree it actually happened.

Once a page is full, it gets locked, stamped with a unique code, and added to a chain of all previous pages. You can read the history, but you can’t erase or edit anything without everyone noticing.

So yeah—no gangs, no Minecraft. Just the internet’s most trusted notebook.

Stack Assets

Backing up your wallet

We’ve talked about this before back in week two, but it’s worth repeating — securing and backing up your hot and cold wallets is non-negotiable.

When you set up a wallet, you’ll be given something called a seed phrase — 12–24 random words in a specific order. Let me say that again: specific order. Write it down exactly as shown, word for word, no typos, no shortcuts.

Your seed phrase is the master key to your crypto. If your device fails, gets stolen, or you lose it, this is the only way to recover your funds. And here’s why it really fucking matters — crypto wallets aren’t linked to your identity. There’s no “Forgot Password” button, no bank clerk to help you. If you lose your seed phrase, your crypto is gone.

Forever.

For example, when you create a wallet on MetaMask (hot/software) or Ledger (cold/hardware), it generates your seed phrase. Write it down on paper — yes, old school — and store it in a locked, fireproof safe. If your handwriting looks like a doctor’s prescription, type it later for clarity, but keep that copy offline. Never save it to your phone, computer, cloud storage, or email.

Think of it like the keys to a vault holding your life savings. If you lose the key, the vault doesn’t care who you are — it stays locked.

Protect your seed phrase like your financial future depends on it… because it does.

Stack Crypto

Ripple vs SEC: That’s a Wrap

On August 7, 2025, Ripple and the SEC dropped their appeals, ending a nearly five-year legal battle over XRP. The 2023 ruling holds: XRP sold on public exchanges isn’t a security, but institutional sales broke securities laws—costing Ripple $125 million and banning future institutional deals. XRP ripped 11–13% to around $3.30–$3.36 on the news, as the market welcomed long-awaited clarity.

Bitcoin smashed a new all-time high, breaking $123,000 and holding in the $122K–$122.3K range. Ethereum is surging too — up 10% this week and nearly 41% this month — trading at $4,700–$4,750, just 3% shy of its 2021 high, driven by the Pectra upgrade, booming DeFi, and stablecoin clarity from the GENIUS Act.

Standard Chartered now sees ETH at $7,500 by year-end and $25,000 by 2028, citing institutional demand, staking, and stablecoin growth. Their forecasts for other majors:

• BTC: $135K by Q3, up to $200K by year-end.

• XRP: $5.50 in 2025, hitting $12.50 by 2028 — a 500%+ upside.

Think it’s too late for crypto? Dead wrong. Now is your time to stack crypto.