Links for August 2021

Free books from financial educator Paul Merriman and his co-author Richard Buck: http://paulmerriman.com/freebooks/
    Note that this now includes their latest from 2020, We're Talking Millions: 12 Simple Ways to Supercharge Your Retirement. Generous indeed! And I should take the opportunity to plug my interview with Mr. Merriman.

A candid assessment of owning real-estate vs. index funds, from an investor in Singapore: https://www.firepathlion.com/buy-property-to-rent-out-or-invest-in-index-funds/

Apparently, the market's last 3 years have been crazier than we realized: https://www.mindfullyinvesting.com/three-years-of-investing-insanity/

Learn from this mistake: https://www.mouthymoney.co.uk/saving/how-my-father-lost-his-life-savings-by-making-one-fatal-investment-mistake/

Abigail Disney pulls back the curtain on how the ultra-wealthy think: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/06/abigail-disney-rich-protect-dynastic-wealth-propublica-tax/619212/

A 10-year performance record is still basically random: https://www.evidenceinvestor.com/a-ten-year-record-is-random-noise/

A great review of historical data on stocks vs. bonds: https://www.mindfullyinvesting.com/articles/6-what-to-invest-in/6-1-historical-returns-and-risks/

"Endless desire is one of the pitfalls of human nature, and one of the first things you need to cure if you want to get ahead more quickly."
-Mr. Money Mustache, in the Foreword to the revised and updated 2018 edition of Vicki Robin and Joe Dominguez's classic Your Money Or Your Life

Links for September 2020

Link roundup September 2020

Are we still in a recession from COVID?
https://earlyretirementnow.com/2020/08/25/the-shortest-recession-ever-my-thoughts-on-the-state-of-the-economy/

A timely topic:
https://debtfreeguys.com/racism-and-personal-finance/

What's the difference between being 'rich' and being 'wealthy?'
https://www.personalfinanceforbeginners.com/rich-vs-wealthy/

Best current laptop deals, especially for students and bloggers:
    ASUS Vivobook F512DA; $515 on Amazon (reg. $679 for this version)
    

ASUS Vivobook F512DA, a great laptop for students and bloggers

    Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14-inch; $450 on Amazon 

Lenovo IdeaPad 3, a great laptop for students and bloggers

Here's a very good question, with no easy or universal answer:
https://retirementresearcher.com/how-much-should-we-depend-on-the-stock-market/

I've planned to make a post on this myself. Drat! I've been scooped!
https://www.inspiretofire.com/hedonic-treadmill/

An outstanding explanation of why the historic CAPE ratio is not necessarily a good guide for the future:
https://thereformedbroker.com/2014/01/12/leaving-cape-town/

Jose and Tatiana from CrucialWealth were featured on MarketWatch:
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/this-couple-is-one-year-away-from-having-enough-money-to-retire-early-heres-what-they-did-2019-04-01

An outstanding series from LivingAFI:
Pt. 1 https://livingafi.com/2014/05/09/drawdown-part-1-the-basics/
Pt. 2 https://livingafi.com/2014/05/12/drawdown-part-2-simulation/
Pt. 3 https://livingafi.com/2014/05/18/drawdown-part-3-strategy/
Pt. 4 https://livingafi.com/2014/05/28/drawdown-part-4-examples/
Pt. 5 https://livingafi.com/2014/06/03/drawdown-part-5-validation/

Somebody who worked for Lehman Brothers was smart enough to start saving at 23, and saving by choice worked out well for him during economic downswings.
     Did you get a later start than he did? He says, 'that's fine, just start now, and choose to live with an austere budget.' Good advice:
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/have-nothing-saved-for-retirement-follow-the-austerity-solution-2019-03-29?mod=article_inline

What should you be afraid of in retirement? Wade Pfau spells it out:
https://retirementresearcher.com/inflation-deflation-confiscation-devastation-the-four-horsemen-of-risk/

Worried about required minimum distributions (RMDs)?
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/these-rmds-are-driving-me-crazy-what-are-my-options-2019-03-27?mod=article_inline

Links for your financial health, August 2017

Links for your financial health, August 2017

There's no substitute for personal responsibility and fair laws (not to mention equitable enforcement of those laws). Their absence may lead to the downfall of the United States: http://howigrowmywealth.com/made-america-wealthy/
     -Don't think the U.S. is fiscally doomed? Illinois might already be.

http://d3qi0qp55mx5f5.cloudfront.net/www/i/homepage/spotlight/urban-chicago-spotlight.jpg?mtime=1473347326

Excellent advice for college students: http://www.themillenniaires.com/managing-the-colossal-costs-of-college/

Excellent financial advice for college students (and non-college-students, for that matter): https://kjhfinancialservices.wordpress.com/2017/07/18/starting-college-financial-tips/

Would less work make us more productive? https://crew.co/blog/why-you-shouldnt-work-set-hours/

Links Jan 2015

As always, I want to bring you great content. However, between my classwork, research (this is critically important to make degree progress!), and preparing and refining lessons for the class I'm teaching, work on posts for the blog have been slow. But never fear--several projects are simmering on the burner, just waiting for me to crank up the heat!

I may be neck-deep in schoolwork, but there are many writers out there, and they bring plenty of important information! Here are a few articles that caught my attention recently:

• A hidden advantage of reaching financial independence:
  http://www.madfientist.com/power-quitting/
  
  We've all dreamed of sticking it to our employer when things aren't going well! It's very empowering to be in a position that your employer needs you more than you need them...

• Don't worry about going broke if you try early retirement; Mr. Money Mustache makes the case that it's not really that risky:
  http://www.financialsamurai.com/early-retirement-its-not-as-risky-as-you-might-think/ 
  
  Some say Mr. Money Mustache isn't really "retired" since he's still doing stuff that earns money. I think the point is that he could lie in bed for the next three decades without lifting a finger, and he'd still be in good financial shape. The concept of "retirement" being where old people sit around nursing homes and wait for death is...frankly, it's not worth working for. So if he's happy being busy, good for him! And if his carpentry and/or blogging makes him money...well, that kind of hustle is why the Mustachian family is in the financial position they're in!

• Paradoxically, some high earners are broke! A high income doesn't guarantee that you'll be wealthy or happy; I've noted before that there is no level of income that you can't outspend! The dangers of lifestyle inflation are real, folks: http://www.financialsamurai.com/scraping-by-on-500000-a-year-high-income-earners-struggling/

• Just because your parents are advising you to do something (or not to do it) doesn't mean it's sound advice:
  http://centsai.com/are-your-parents-advising-you-on-finance/

• A primer on retirement:
  http://www.learnvest.com/knowledge-center/retirement-101-everything-you-need-to-know/
• Your money lessons shouldn't begin after you graduate:
  http://www.consumerfinance.gov/blog/the-teenage-years-are-for-practicing-money-decisions-in-a-safe-space/
  
  Also see this: http://www.consumerfinance.gov/blog/when-your-child-learns-self-control-it-helps-their-financial-future-too/

Is Playing the Lottery Just Cheap Entertainment?

In a brief bit of research into playing the lottery, I saw numerous comments to the effect of, "It's only a couple dollars, and it's cheap entertainment--I dream about what I'd do with the money if I won the jackpot. It may even start a conversation with family members about what they'd do!"

from a pretty good Psychology Today article here: 

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/affluence-intelligence/201203/lottery-itis

This left me incredulous and little ticked off, though it took me a moment to understand why. Soon enough, I figured out why that is one of the stupidest justifications I've ever heard!

Here's my explanation...You ready? Here goes:

How Investing Can Make You Rich

Wish you could see the power of money? Wonder how the rich make their money work harder than they do?

Ever felt overwhelmed by some decision, and just picked an option so you didn't have to think about it anymore?  It can be easy to get lost in numbers. And when your head is swimming, you won't make the best decisions! 

It helps to see this kind of junk displayed in a graph. As hard as it can be to imagine how compound interest works, graphs like this can make it easy to understand!

Around the web 2/28/2015

Not all lottery winners are financially irresponsible. Take this woman in Ireland, for example, who is investing her lottery winnings into her hometown (and charities), to provide opportunity for others:
http://www.celebritynetworth.com/articles/entertainment-articles/unemployed-woman-wins-46-million-lottery-jackpot-gives-2-million-away/

Antoine Walker, however, had to learn his lesson the hard way. He now advocates the importance of saying "no." Walker plans to spread this message in his forthcoming book and documentary about his personal financial struggles. (This book and documentary will probably make him another windfall! It seems that he's learned his lesson, though--perhaps he'll hang on to his money this time around!)
http://www.celebritynetworth.com/articles/entertainment-articles/antoine-walker-blew-110-million/


Think Bill Gates is the richest person ever? Think again! Time for a history lesson:
http://www.celebritynetworth.com/articles/entertainment-articles/deeper-look-life-mansa-musa-richest-human-ever-lived/

This is why I prefer Android over iOS...and, really, why I don't recommend buying Apple products: http://www.techtimes.com/articles/35889/20150227/googles-sundar-pichai-calls-out-apple-irresponsible-charge-much.htm
To be clear, I think Apple makes quality products. I also think they charge too much for their quality products, and--like the famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright--don't trust their customers enough.

Excellent advice on how to build a Warren Buffett-like portfolio that puts your money to work for you: http://www.dividendmantra.com/2014/10/create-your-own-miniature-berkshire-hathaway/

And, if you've ever wondered what $1 trillion would look like in $100 bills (US), there's a rendering here: http://www.celebritynetworth.com/articles/entertainment-articles/1-trillion-dollars-look-like/

Guest Post: Setting Goals Like the Wealthy at Canadian Budget Binder

My latest series of three posts is currently under development--check for it next week! (UPDATE: Done! You can find the post on value-priced laptops here, the post on premium laptops here, and there are two tech guides to help you make sense of the jargon: a quick guide here and a detailed guide here).

 In the meantime, please check out my guest post on "Setting Goals Like the Wealthy" over at Canadian Budget Binder (http://canadianbudgetbinder.com/2014/12/22/setting-goals-like-wealthy/)

I hope you all enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it :)

Thanks to Mr. CBB for the opportunity for this guest post! Canadian Budget Binder is filled with helpful tips--be sure to check back there every so often!

Froogal Consumption

Froogal Consumption

As promised in my previous article on Why Being Cheap Costs More, I expound here on how to shop frugally. Whereas conspicuous consumption focuses on image and flash, Froogal consumption focuses on getting the maximum value for a quality product.

Value, rather than price, is a critical concept here!

What Billionaires Know

What Billionaires Know

Since I spend so much time talking about The Millionaire Mindset, it's only appropriate that I discuss what wealthy people understand about finances—and about life!

Image from a blog post at arlinghaus.typepad.com