Howdy, folks, and welcome back to Apex Money. It’s almost time to head into the weekend! Before you do, here are some money stories I’ve gathered for you.
Why frugality is the root of riches. [Darius Foroux] — “The truth is you don’t have to live on these extremes. You can live a balanced, frugal, and still rich life. Cicero believed that to live a fulfilling life, we must cultivate virtues such as honesty, compassion, and courage. He saw philosophy as a means to attaining wisdom and leading a good life.”
“31 lessons I’ve learned about money.” [Ryan Holiday] — “To the Stoics, the solution to these timeless problems—the way to be better with money, to improve your relationship with money, to not fall for every smooth talker, Marcus Aurelius said—is the same: get smarter. Become better educated on the topic of money.”
How some people get away with doing nothing at work. [Emily Stewart] — “Reporting for this story, I spoke with multiple people who are essentially funemployed, or at least one meaning of it, who sit around at work all day with very little to do. What was most surprising was that many did not exactly love the situation and felt somewhat conflicted.”
The problem with the 4% rule (and why you can retire even sooner). [Mad Fientist] — “I’ve always had a problem with the 4% rule for early retirement. It’s not because it’s bad or wrong. It’s because it’s not for early retirement. My biggest issue is that it doesn’t account for the flexibility of most early-retirees.”
This weekend is the climax of my arctic cruise. On Sunday, the ship will reach Longyearbyen, Norway, the world’s northernmost settlement with a population greater than 1000 people. How far north? 78°13′N 15°38′E — 817 miles from the North Pole. After that, we begin wending our way south to Iceland.
Jim will be back with you next week. I’ll return in ten days with more of my own money magic. See you then.