In this episode of the One of a Kind Financial Show Daily (recorded August 5, 2026), Certified Financial Planning Professional Mike Milligan explains why investment planning is only one pillar of a comprehensive financial plan and introduces his three‑concentric‑circle framework for allocating every dollar. He first outlines the market backdrop for the day, highlighting key earnings (Disney, Shopify) and economic indicators (ADP private payrolls, ISM Services PMI, Uber, Unity, etc.) that could move markets, and warns of scenarios that could trigger volatility. Milligan then critiques the common misconception that a 60/40 portfolio or a single pool of assets constitutes a full financial plan, emphasizing that a true plan first defines the purpose of each dollar. He describes the three circles: (1) the CUB cash line – liquid, short‑term funds for expenses; (2) the income and stability line – assets that generate reliable income and preserve purchasing power; (3) the growth line – long‑term, higher‑volatility assets for wealth accumulation. By assigning each dollar to a specific purpose before selecting investments, the plan helps clients stay disciplined during market panics. He concludes with a reminder of the upcoming market data, a preview of the next episode’s topics, and a call‑to‑action to contact his firm, followed by standard disclosures.
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Good morning. This is the One of a Kind Financial Show Daily. I'm Mike Milligan, Certified Financial Planning Professional, host of the Ideas by Mike podcast, founder of One Oak Financial. If you're hearing this on Wednesday, August 5th, I'm, I'm still in Boston, still masterminding, still meeting with some of the best in the industry, learning as much as I can so I can come back and teach you more. Today, we're going to walk through the investment pillar of the One of a Kind Financial Plan, the pillar people think a financial plan is entirely about. And, but it's, it's the one it's actually least about. So educate, coach, plan, my mission. Never miss a moment, my motto. Let's go.
Be one of a kind with Mike's Plan.
Wednesday is when the consumer earnings roll in, roll in, and the second read on the labor market lands. Remember the narrative of this earnings season. It's how the consumer is and how AI is impacting this. And then if AI can generate revenue in the future. Well, on Wednesday, Disney reports. Consensus is $1.88 in adjusted earnings per share on about $25.4 billion in revenue with 3 things, parks and experiences margin, streaming subscriber and profitability trajectory, and any commentary about the ESPN direct-to-consumer launch. Disney has beaten earnings in each of the last 4 quarters. Analysts are very bullish and the average price target sits meaningfully above the stock trading price going in. Also on Wednesday morning, Shopify. Some labor news that's coming out is early in the morning, ADP employment for July. This is the private payroll estimate. It's not the government number, but it moves markets when it surprises meaningfully. Watch it as an early tell for the government's number on Friday. Then ISM Services PMI for July. 2/3 of the US employee economy sits inside the service sector. So this is the more important of the 2 ISM prints this week. Watch the employment subindex specifically. It has been leading the nonfarm payroll softness. We also get Uber, AppLovin, Unity, Merck, Axon, and Shopify, as I mentioned. We're going to get a read on gig economy, mobility spin, ad tech, and game reads. Just some expected narrative. Don't know if this is going to come true. This is my best estimate, my best guess since I'm recording this on Sunday ahead of the Wednesday read. I venture to beat that Disney beats. Part of that on the park side is because there's been millions and millions of people who have visited the United States for the World Cup during the second quarter. They came to watch their beloved country and then see what America has to offer. Mickey Mouse is one of those things. So I think they beat. ADP comes in softer than expected, which puts— it's going to put some pressure on rates and mildly loosens the September Fed odds. Uber posts a beat and reaffirms operating cash flow guidance. Again, World Cup effect. And then chip and AI names hold their gains. This is the everything, everything feels where everything's cool quietly day. We'll see if that holds up. Now, where it could go wild on Wednesday or some unexpected thing is let's say the ADP prints negative, an outright loss of private payrolls. Whoa, that would rip through this market and force a repricing of the Fed. Or let's say ISM Services falling below 50 for the first time since April of 2020. Remember what happened around then? COVID. And, uh, that would trigger a growth scare scenario. Let's say Disney cuts streaming guidance, and that could move the stock lower in the consumer discretionary sector also. Don't know which way the market's going to go. I don't have a crystal ball, but I'll tell you this, the One of a Kind Financial Plan helps you decide what to do long-term and not what happens with the stock market.
Be one of a kind with Mike's plan.
Today's pillar from the bestselling book, The One of a Kind Financial Plan, and what we use at One Oak Financial to build the vision and the purpose for your life and the financial plan that is custom to you, is investment planning. This pillar gets confused a lot with the entire financial plan. And I'll be honest with you, I'll tell you why. It's because your investment guy says, I'm going to build a financial plan, and then he puts 60% in stock mutual funds, 40% in bond mutual funds. It calls that a financial plan, tells you what he expects it to grow to, and then reports back on it. And then when you want distributions, he says, okay, take it from here. It's not a financial plan, folks. That's an investment manager. I've been in the business long enough to know that if I ask 10 people in the grocery store what a financial planner does, 9 of them will say pick investments. That's not the whole plan. It's not even most of the plan. It's just one pillar of the plan. It's like trying to hold up a building with one beam going straight through the middle. That doesn't work. So let me walk you through what investment planning inside of the one-of-a-kind financial plan actually is. Investment planning starts with a question most people never get to ask. The question is, what is money really for? Not how much do I need to make on it? Not what's a good stock right now? The question is, what is the specific dollar for? Because a dollar earmarked for groceries next month has to be invested completely different from a dollar earmarked for a legacy gift to a grandchild in 30 years. Same dollar, different purpose, different investments. I teach investment planning in 3 concentric circles. Circle 1, the CUB line of cash. This is the money that must be liquid and predictable. 6 to 12 months of household expenses in a savings account, a money market account, some short-duration treasuries. Investment decision. There's none. It's— there's no investment decision. It's got to be there. You need it. There is no return chasing here. This is— if we can keep pace with inflation, great. That's what we're hoping for. The money's job here is to be available without loss when life happens. Circle number 2, the income and stability line. This is the money whose job is to produce income and preserve purchasing power. Depending on the household, this can include high-quality fixed income, insurance-based income vehicles like annuities, dividend-paying equities. This is the money that funds the floor we talked about yesterday. The investment decision here is not which fund has the highest 3-year return. The investment decision is what does this money need to do for me? And can I rely on it doing that in a rough market? And then concentric circle 3, the growth line. This is the money with a longer runway, 10 years or more. Different in every household, but it's often qualified accounts, Roth accounts, equity brokerage accounts. This is the money that can absorb volatility because volatility is the price for long-term equity return. This is where the investment textbook actually applies. Notice I did not lead with the question, how much of my money should be in stocks versus bonds? That question is downstream. It's a bigger question for another day. The question is, is what is each dollar for? The classic 60/40 portfolio is a rule of thumb applied to a single pool of money. But most households do not have a single pool of money. Most households have 3 pools with 3 different jobs. The plan writes down each dollar and where the money belongs and in which circle before it asks what to hold in the circle. Here's the never miss a moment piece. The moment I do not want you to miss is the moment the market— is when the market panics. And it will. It always does in this business. You and I have watched the market drop 34% in 33 days. That happened March of 2020. We've watched the Dow crash 1,153 points— go back to last Wednesday— and then a NASDAQ correct by 2.78% the very next day. If your investment plan does not tell you in advance what job each dollar is doing, you will make emotional decisions during those markets. If your plan does tell you, you can breathe through them all. We're not chasing returns as much as we're building a one-of-a-kind financial plan. Investment planning is the pillar most people confuse with the whole darn thing. Today, you know better.
Be one of a kind with Mike's Plan.
Wednesday is Disney and consumer names in the morning. ADP, ISM Service after midday, Uber, Unity after the close. Under all of that is the question that separates a rule of thumb from a plan. What is each dollar for? Get that written down, then invest accordingly. This has been the Wednesday, August 5th version of the One of a Kind Financial Show Daily. Tomorrow we're going to go Airbnb, ConocoPhillips initial claims, and long-term care pillar of the One of a Kind Financial Plan. And I'll be in Raleigh, North Carolina. If you want to connect with me, text the word IDEAS, I-D-E-A-S, to the number 600-700, or call our office, 757-909-7151. And a member of our team will help you build a one-of-a-kind financial plan for your one-of-a-kind life. This has been the One of a Kind Financial Show Daily. I'm your host, Mike Milligan. I am an investment advisory representative with Advisory Alpha LLC. Ideas by Mike, doing business as One Oak Financial, is an unaffiliated entity of Advisory Alpha LLC. This has been for educational purposes only. Do not make investment decisions solely based off this show or, or Buy or record today. Consult a licensed financial professional before doing this.
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