Good morning, my friends! Are you ready for an interesting week? In theory anyhow, months and months of election fervor should end tomorrow. Should end. In reality, I know that many folks are worried about what comes after the results are announced.
No matter. Here at Apex Money, our attention is turned inward. We’re focused on personal finance, not politics. And today, to distract you, I’ve gathered several interesting pieces. Ready? Let’s dive in.
Are we trading our happiness for modern comforts? [The Atlantic] — “One of the greatest paradoxes in American life is that while, on average, existence has gotten more comfortable over time, happiness has fallen…Empty consumerism and soulless government are the traditional two explanations for our modern alienation. These days, there is a brand-new one: tech.”
New York restaurant accidentally serves $2000 bottle of wine to couple (instead of the $18 bottle they ordered). [Decanter] — “Staff at Balthazar poured the two wines into identical decanters, but the one containing Mouton Rothschild 1989 was accidentally sent to the young couple’s table, said the New York restaurant’s owner, Keith McNally. Four Wall Street businessmen at another table had ordered the Bordeaux First Growth – the most expensive wine on the restaurant’s list at $2,000 (£1,528) – but were served the $18 Pinot, the restaurant’s cheapest.”
How a single mother created a plastic food-storage empire. [Mental Floss] — “It seemed like magic. Tupperware™ was unlike any home product she’d seen before. It was attractive, coming in pastel colors and flexible shapes, almost like art. More importantly, it was functional — no other competing product even came close. Convinced of its potential, Wise traded in her Stanley brooms in 1949 and started throwing parties to sell Tupperware™. What she didn’t intend, exactly, was to kindle a revolution.”
For today’s topic, I chose a timely topic. There’s been a lot of talk about taxes in light of tomorrow’s election. And, as always, there’s a lot of confusion about taxes. People cannot seem to grasp how tax brackets work. Here’s a simple explanation of how tax brackets actually work from the folks at Vox.
I know this isn’t going to stop my friends on Facebook from posting mis-information, but I hope it’s helpful for somebody!
I’ll see you tomorrow, my friends, as we all head to the polls.