Welcome to Wednesday, money nerds. J.D. here with a collection of interesting stories for you.
I don’t often share podcasts here because I don’t listen to podcasts. They just don’t work for me. That said, our first item today is a podcast that sounds interesting. If I were to listen to podcasts, I would listen to it. 😉
How to ask for a raise (and actually get it). [The Struggle is Real podcast] — “Negotiating a raise early in your career can lead to a 6-figure increase in your lifetime earnings. And that is just one negotiation. By developing your negotiation skills and making a habit of consistently asking for a raise throughout your career, you’re bound to outearn a peer who starts at a similar salary by a long shot.”
“One hundred things I know.” [Mari Andrew] — “In this newsletter I’m more interested in exploring what I don’t know rather than what I know, but I’ll make an exception to share a few things that have made my life richer, and could potentially make yours a bit easier.”
Feeling mortgage-rate envy? You’re not alone. [The New York Times gift article] — “American homeowners now stand on two sides of a divide. On one side are those who had the good fortune to buy or refinance between 2020 and early 2022, and now enjoy notably low monthly interest payments on their principal. On the other side: everyone else.” [Kim and I bought in August 2021. Our mortgage rate is 2.63%. With that rate, we would be insane to ever sell this house.]
How much does it cost to build a house? [Architectural Digest] — “According to the National Association of Home Builders, the sale of newly built homes is on the rise as of May 2023. Still, the home building process can be a daunting task, though with proper research and planning, owning your dream home is a possibility. In this guide from AD, we break down everything you need to know about home building costs.”
Lastly, here’s a video I enjoyed last week. It’s a sixteen-minute look at the most popular junk food from the 20th century.
I was born in 1969, so a lot of the stuff from about 1959 to 1989 is right up my alley. Why was pizza so popular when I was a kid? Because it became popular in the late 1950s. Chips Ahoy! Pop-Tarts. Pringles. Pop Rocks. Sour Patch Kids. All part of my childhood. And all things I crave as an adult haha.