Market Performance: March 22, 2024.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped on Friday, but clinched its best week of the year after back-to-back record-setting sessions. The Dow dipped 305.47 points, or 0.77%, to close at 39,475.90.

The S&P 500 inched lower by 0.14% to end at 5,234.18. The Nasdaq Composite added 0.16% and closed at 16,428.82 for another record. All three major averages notched healthy gains this week, with the S&P 500 rising about 2.3%.

The Dow was up just shy of 2% for its best week since December. The Nasdaq is the outperformer of the three, jumping nearly 2.9%.

FedEx rose more than 7% after posting adjusted earnings that beat analyst estimates, while Nike sank 6.9% on disappointing guidance and slowing China sales. Lululemon slid 15.8% on weak guidance and slowing growth in North America, posting its worst day since March 2020.

Kevin O’Leary delivers his top tips for building businesses, pinching pennies as costs soar

Kevin O'Leary delivers blunt-force business and personal finance advice on an upcoming episode of the digital game show "Rent Free" with Ankur Jain, CEO and founder of Bilt Rewards.

"Mr. Wonderful" told his top tips for entrepreneurs seeking to woo investors with their business ideas, and for everyday Americans trying to maximize each dollar in an era of high inflation.

O'Leary's advice for entrepreneurs

Describe your business succinctly and powerfully. Investors are bombarded daily with requests for their mindshare and money. Their time is valuable — and their patience for ill-defined concepts is short.

"Be able to articulate your opportunity in 90 seconds or less," O'Leary said, praising Jain for summarizing one business concept in just 10 seconds.

Prove you have the skills to turn a concept into cash.

"The truth is that great ideas are a dime a dozen," the investor said. "Execution skills are very rare. You have to combine both of those to work together"

Know your numbers — no excuses.

O'Leary lists key metrics that all entrepreneurs need to know about their business idea before bringing it to savvy investors. "How big is the market? How fast is it growing? How many competitors are there? What’s the break-even analysis? What’s the cost of customer acquisition?"

O'Leary believes a brilliant idea and the execution skills to match deserve only damnation without solid answers to all these bottom-line questions. "If you don’t know your numbers and you get the first two [tips] right, you deserve to burn in hell in perpetuity and I will personally put you there," the investor said.

Eliminate wealth-killing credit card debt.

Credit cards are a major financial burden that destroy opportunities to grow wealth for millions of people. "Pay off their credit cards immediately, that's what they should do," said O'Leary of his top suggestion for struggling Americans.

Stop making needless and impulse purchases.

Most Americans have homes and closets cluttered with items they don't need and don't use — representing a needless drain on financial resources that's easy to fix. "People don't need a lot of the crap they buy. Why do you have 40 pairs of shoes? You only wear two. Why are there 16 jeans here when you only wear four?" O'Leary said with increasing exasperation.

Reward yourself for success.

Instead of lavishing yourself with trophy purchases on a whim, O'Leary suggests using them as a carrot to gift upon yourself in the future for making sound financial decisions today.

Save Over $600 With the Penny Challenge

What Is the Penny Challenge?

To play the penny challenge, you must save a small amount of money each day for a year. On the first day, put aside one penny. On the second day, add two cents to your growing treasure trove. Each day, you should add an additional penny to your daily contribution. That means you’ll stash away three cents on the third day, four cents on the fourth, five cents on the fifth and so on.

Building a savings habit doesn’t have to be hard. The penny challenge makes saving fun and simple. You can use the penny challenge to meet your own savings goals or teach your child or another younger family member the importance of saving early and consistently.

Monthly Contributions

The penny challenge works because of the small incremental changes involved. Just about anyone can afford to save a penny or two. After a while, the amount snowballs into a real chunk of change. By then you’ve hopefully acclimated to the new habit. But, what if you’re busy? Or forgetful? Skipping a day can prove a real psychological setback. That’s not to mention pennies just aren’t that common anymore. When was the last time you held one in your hand?

Where Does the Money Go?

Wherever you want it. The beauty of the penny challenge is that there’s no special setup. You don’t have to download an app or open a new bank account. You can set aside the money in your piggy bank or under your mattress. You could also deposit it directly into your savings account, or invest it in stocks, bonds, CDs or cryptocurrency. A considerable advantage to depositing it into an interest-yielding account is that it will grow beyond your contributions.

Alternative Investing