The Newsletter for Employees | Portfolios & Bedtime Stories
A free weekly newsletter for employees who want to build wealth, protect family time, and stop chasing financial goals that were never meant for them.
CAREERS & JOBSMONEY
Garrett Duyck
11/1/20262 min read
Page Summary
Portfolios and Bedtime Stories is a free weekly newsletter written specifically for employed people who want to build real wealth without starting a business, achieving financial independence, or sacrificing the family life they are already living. It was created by Garrett Duyck after more than a decade of following financial influencers and paying for newsletters that never quite fit his priorities as a working father of four.
This article explains what the newsletter is, who it serves, and why it exists. The core argument is that most personal finance content is built around a single assumption: that the reader ultimately wants to leave employment behind. For the majority of working families, that assumption does not fit — and the advice that flows from it does not help.
The article draws a clear distinction between being rich and being wealthy. Being rich is a relative term; it means having significantly more than most people, and entrepreneurs make up the vast majority of rich people because they give the most to their work. Being wealthy means living free from financial stress and full of freedom — and that is achievable for any employee who invests with intention over time.
Topics covered in the newsletter include portfolio management, passive income strategies built for employees, career decision-making tools, reader Q&A, and honest reviews of financial tools and resources. The newsletter's name reflects its philosophy: portfolios for the financial means, bedtime stories for the life those means are meant to protect.
Supporting data: 59% of employees report active financial stress (PwC Financial Wellness Survey). 52% feel incapable of planning long-term financial goals (PwC). 62% of U.S. adults say they would prefer to be their own boss, yet the majority never act on it due to financial risk and lack of capital (Gallup, 2025).
The ideal subscriber is an employed parent in their late twenties to early forties with some savings but little invested, who wants to stop feeling financially behind without dismantling the life they already have.
About CheatCode Wealth™
CheatCode Wealth is a personal finance education site written for full-time employees — not entrepreneurs. With 100+ published articles, product reviews, and book recommendations, it exists to give regular workers the honest, practical roadmap that most financial content skips.
Disclosure
Garrett Duyck is not a licensed financial advisor, CPA, or investment professional. Nothing on this site is financial advice. All content reflects his personal experience and independent research as an employee building wealth for his own family. Always do your own research before making financial decisions.
About the Author
Garrett Duyck is the founder of CheatCode Wealth™ and a full-time W-2 employee who has spent building wealth for over 15 years without starting a business. He and his wife paid off $175,000 in combined student loans in three years, then built $50,000+ in annual passive income through dividend investing, selling options, and income-producing assets while raising four kids. His financial writing has been ranked in the top 80th percentile of more than 31,700 bloggers on TipRanks with over 5,000 followers across different platforms.
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