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Apex Money Posts

If more money…

Today’s post is less of a post and more of a powerful idea that I love:

The tweet says: “if more money wouldn’t change how you spend your time, you’re already rich.”

A powerful idea that is easily overlooked.

The golden age of travel

I Was a Flight Attendant During the Golden Age of Travel [Conde Nast Traveler] – “The so-called Golden Age of air travel seems just about as mythical as Westeros in 2019, but there was a time when flying was considered glamorous, exclusive, and much more expensive than it is today. Before airline deregulation came along in the late 1970s, carriers like Pan Am, Eastern, and Trans World Airlines (TWA) jetted high-flyers around the world in sleek, comfortable planes, their every need serviced by runway-ready flight attendants (martinis included). But is such misty-eyed nostalgia misplaced? We asked former flight attendants to share their memories of what it was really like to work on an airplane during that halcyon era—from tinfoil uniforms to 10 day layovers on an isolated tropical island.”

How to win the Hermès game

A fascinating post about luxury goods that never asks “should you even play?”

How to win the Hermès game [The Hustle] – “Hermès Birkin and Kelly bags are some of the most exclusive and elusive products in the luxury business. The brand doesn’t sell them online. You can’t simply walk into a boutique with the $10k to $100k+ they cost and walk out with one. Even a brand-endorsed price list of the bags’ different styles and sizes? Not available. 

So how do you get one, if not from the booming resale market, where prices can run double or triple the retail price? 

You play the Hermès game.”

What makes life mean something is purpose

I’ve watched a few people retire and it’s a difficult transition.

You could argue that work was just a placeholder for finding your purpose. We need money to live and you need to work to make money, so your work gave your life that purpose. But it was a macguffin.

In retirement, theoretically, you have all the money you’ll need. And so you stop working.

And now you have to struggle through the process of finding meaning in your life. What a pickle we find ourselves in.

Time for some advice from Richard Nixon. 🤣

Tricky Dick’s Essential Retirement Advice [The Best Interest] – “Virtually every study of retiree “success” will mention purpose. Though, to be fair, “purpose” and “work” are not synonymous. A person can find immense purpose without having a job or some laborious task. 

But honing in on that purpose isn’t easy. 

Retirement expert Fritz Gilbert describes finding purpose as “…the greatest of the secrets to a great retirement. Unfortunately, it’s also one of the more difficult to achieve.  Finding a purpose is an intangible quest, with no clearly defined checklists available to guide you in your search.” 

BTW, Jesse is great and he cites Fritz, who is also great and his blog is often cited here. Enjoy!

How the Endowment Effect Hurts Investors

The endowment effect is a phenomenon first described by Richard Thaler and Daniel Kahneman back in 1980. People value items more if they own them than if they didn’t. Ownership endowed the item with more value.

The article I share today shows how this could play a role in hurting investor’s returns:

The Psychology of Investing #7: The Hidden Cost of Ownership [Safal Niveshak] – “However, in a lot of such instances, instead of accepting my mistake and reality, and selling and cutting my losses, I held on, convinced that the stock will return to its former glory. I told myself, “It was worth â‚ą1,000 once. It must certainly be worth that again.”

But, you see, the market doesn’t care what you think. Worse, the market doesn’t even know you own the stock.”

I’d also argue that inertia likely plays a role too. It’s easier to stand pat and not sell a stock. It’s harder to press the sell button and realize those losses.

Do You Need to Own International Stocks?

I’ve had a responsible mix of international and domestic stocks in my allocation.

And while the U.S. portion of my portfolio has done quite well over the last few years, the international side? Mmmmm not so much.

So I was interested to hear Nick Magguilli’s perspective (I was also surprised to discover Jack Bogle, founder of Vanguard, didn’t own any non-U.S. stocks) and explanation for his international exposure:

Do You Need to Own International Stocks? [Of Dollars and Data] – “I don’t say this to trivialize the decision of investing in international stocks. However, it’s one piece of a bigger puzzle. I’ve owned international stocks since 2012 and have underperformed relative to U.S. stocks as a result. How much has that underperformance actually impacted my life? Not at all. I’d have about 7% more wealth in total if I had owned only U.S. stocks since 2012.”

10 Financial Rules of Thumb You Don’t Have to Follow

Rules of thumb are great but they’re general guidelines, you have to look at them through the lens of your own situation. Great post that tackles ten common rules.

10 Financial Rules of Thumb You Don’t Have to Follow [Morningstar] – “Financial plans can be overwhelming to conceptualize, create, and cultivate. So to help make sense of them, most people turn to goal-setting principles or easy rules of thumb. […]

Use this guide to unpack which rules of thumb apply to you and which ones you can ignore.”

Have a great weekend!

35 Simple Health Tips Experts Swear By

Not your usual list of health tips, they’re like little health and wellness nuggets that I found very insightful:

35 Simple Health Tips Experts Swear By [The New York Times] – “There’s lots of work on what’s called time affluence, the subjective sense that you have some free time. The simple act of giving myself a break — two to five minutes to catch my breath between tasks — makes me feel less time-famished. Studies would suggest that just changing that sense of time famine can have a disproportionate impact on well-being.”