Good morning, Apexians! J.D. here with a very late installment of your favorite aggregator of money news. As a reward for your patience, I’ll publish a bonus New Year’s Eve edition tomorrow. How’s that? Anyhow, let’s dive into today’s links.
A computer fit for the Amish. [Planet Money] — “The key selling point, perhaps not surprisingly, is all the things the computer doesn’t do. Like the sign says: No Internet, no video, no music. It’s ’80s-era technology that lets you do basic word-processing, spreadsheets and accounting. It’s the kind of thing some (but not all) Amish people would find acceptable to use for work.” A very short piece, but an important one (to me). I’ve been re-evaluating my relationship with technology, so stuff like this hits home.
Love song to Costco. [Longreads] — “Pushing a cart along the massive aisles in the Orlando Costco, my father loads up boxes of oranges and blueberries that he tries to force-feed me over the next few days…In the great halls of Costco, two of our greatest fears are assuaged — that of not having enough, and that of not being enough.” This is a great piece. And it’s long.
S&P 500 data tool. [OfficialData.org] — I can’t remember where I found this tool, but I like it. You plug in a start date, an end date, and an amount, then the calculator spits out an estimate of investment returns. As a money writer, this is handy for all sorts of things. But even if you’re not a money writer, it’s worth bookmarking for future research.
Boy Scout buys $11,300 in gifts for foster children to let them know they’re loved. [The Guardian] — “A 12-year-old who sold more than $56,000 in popcorn through his Boy Scouts troop recently spent more than 20% of those earnings buying presents for children in foster care in his region of Minnesota, delivering one of the Christmas season’s most heartwarming stories.”
To wrap things up, here’s a video I think is charming. It’s a minute-long compilation of dogs boarding a “doggy day care” bus in Skagway, Alaska. I adore it.
My favorite part comes just after 45 seconds in when all of the seated dogs lean in to sniff the pup that just got on board. I don’t know why, but I think it’s charming. It seems to encapsulate everything I love about dogs. I’ve watched that short bit a dozen times now. Kim thinks I’m crazy. I just think I like dogs haha.
Okay, that’s it. As I said, I’ll be back tomorrow with a bonus edition of Apex Money. See you then.