Author: Jim Wang

Yep. It’s possible… at least one guy has done it and the story is wild:

How to Make Millions as a Professional Whistleblower [GQ] – “A little-known provision in US law permits anyone to blow the whistle on financial fraud—and potentially take home a percentage of the funds collected. One undercover sleuth has made a wild career out of it.”

Another gem of quote – “Damning information, Overum says, is surprisingly easy to tease out of a conversation. Nobody expects to meet with a would-be whistleblower. “Their guard is down because they think I’m an investor. I’m like an undercover cop in a world where undercover cops don’t exist.”

There’s a huge hustle culture in America.

Work hard, play hard.

But it doesn’t have to be that way.

Please Don’t Do This To Yourself [Ryan Holiday] – “Remember, the main cause of injury for elite athletes is not tripping and falling. It’s not collisions. It’s overuse. Pitchers and quarterbacks throw out their arms. Basketball players blow out their knees. Others just get tired of the grinding hours and the pressure. Michael Phelps prematurely ended his swimming career for this reason—despite all the gold medals, he never wanted to get in a pool again. It’s hard to blame him. He put everything, including his own sanity and health, second to shaving seconds off his times.

We think that to be great at what you do requires complete and total dedication. That there’s no time for anything else.”

As the old adage goes, the best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second best time is today.

Well, I’m in my 40’s and if I want a proverbial tree in 20, 30, and 40 years… the time to plant it is now.

So with that in mind, here is longevity advice from a 91-year-old:

Longevity Lessons From A 91-Year-Old [Retirement Manifesto] – “I get motivated by seeing “old” people doing things that many people (often decades younger) struggle to do, and I wonder “What’s their secret?”  Is it purely genetic, or are there longevity lessons we can learn from older role models living the lives we hope to live when we reach their age?”

I find #2 particularly important- “2. Exercise Regularly:  Edward states that “exercise is one of the magic bullets”, and “jogs and works out at the gym regularly.”  He points to the benefits of exercise not only on lifespan (living longer), but on healthspan (healthy years).  He focuses on aerobic (walking, short jogs), strength (particularly core strength), and flexibility (reduces your risk of falls, and “old people die from falls at a very high rate.”)  “

OK on Friday I shared 15 ways to lose money in the stock market, today I want to share how you can ensure financial misery.

I promise this will be the last of these tongue-in-cheek “here’s how to mess things up” posts… but this one is a gem.

How to Ensure Financial Misery [Best Interest] – “One of Charlie Munger’s famous speeches is “How to Live a Life of Misery.” Rather than tell graduates how to live happily, he delivered the opposite message. Because if you avoid life’s surefire miseries, what’s left but happiness? Right!?”

Right!

There are a lot of great ways to lose money in the stock market.

But give this list of 15 a look and see if you can find a new one! 😂😂😂

15 Ways to Lose Money in the Markets [A Wealth of Common Sense] – “2. Consistently try to time the market. Think and act in extremes. Go all in when it feels like the market is in a good place. Get out of the market when things seem dicey. Keep jumping in and out until you are rich.”

I’m surprised that WallStreetBets on Reddit wasn’t mentioned – maybe in the next one!

Recently on a flight home, I was watching the HBO show Bookie. It stars Sebastian Maniscalco as a bookmaker (takes sports bets) and the degeneracy of his clientele. The show is a fun watch but it highlights how easily gambling becomes a problem (granted, all the gamblers are larger than life caricatures for the sake of entertainment).

But it also highlights one key idea – you’re really on your own out there. Especially with money.

Sure, there are all those three and four letter agencies but in the end, you’re really just on your own.

You are on your own [Abnormal Returns] – “The rise of the degenerate economy is obvious to everyone now. As Howard Lindzon writes, “The degenerate economy is definitely bleak, but it is not going away.” The bottom line is no one is coming to save you from blowing up your financial life. Not even the SEC.”

Sad but true.

An interesting thought experiment… would you want to know your date’s credit score?

What if it was simply available and you didn’t have to ask?

Hey Baby, Can I Get Your Number? And by That, I Mean Your Credit Score [The Wall Street Journal] – “Forget about looks and smarts. When it comes to finding a partner, some would-be paramours are most interested in their date’s credit score. 

Alexander Marks, a lawyer who works in public education and lives in Las Vegas, was flummoxed when potential dates on matchmaking apps messaged him to ask about his credit score at least a dozen times in recent years.”

Earlier this year, Jonathan Clements was diagnosed with cancer and the prognosis is not good (this is simply a polite understatement).

He has continued to write and share his experience and, at least through his writing, seems to be unimaginably pragmatic about it. He’s even written a practical article about how to put his financial affairs in order.

Today, he shares one that’s a bit more emotional.

Every line in this article is powerful.

On the Clock [Humble Dollar] – “While riding his bicycle, my 75-year-old father had been struck and killed by a speeding driver.

That was 2009. There were no goodbyes. Instead, seared into my memory are the photograph I was shown at the hospital, so I could identify my father’s body, and the details in his final medical report, which I never should have read.

My death will be far different. I’ve been given the time to straighten out my financial affairs, savor some last experiences, spend time with friends and family, and set HumbleDollar on a course that I hope will ensure it continues to thrive.”

Incredible.

When we had our first child, I’d take over the early morning feeding while watching episodes of Pawn Stars on Youtube.

Each episode would be around twenty minutes, which is how long it took our little guy to finish a bottle, and it was some fun mindless entertainment.

Yeah yeah, I know the negotiations and sales are pre-planned. A bit of Las Vegas kayfabe.

But I enjoyed it.

The reality of pawn shops is a bit more interesting.

The unpredictable economics of pawn shops [The Hustle] – “Take the same item to 4 different pawn shops and you might get offers that vary by hundreds of dollars. Here’s why.”

I did not realize that Costco membership sharing was such a big problem!

Costco is having its Netflix moment [Sherwood] – “A friend of mine lost their wallet yesterday, but was relatively unfazed. Credit cards, drivers’ licenses – those can be easily replaced or worked around with other touchless digital solutions. Most agonizing? His old roommate’s Costco membership card he’d been gifted was now gone – and with it, his side-door into a land of cheap food in high quantities. But lost wallet or not, that access was vanishing anyways. Just this week, his nearest Costco in Colorado installed new scanners at entry to verify that the people entering were actually members.”