Welcome to Wednesday, money nerds. As always, we’ve collected a few of our favorite money stories from around the web. Take a look!
“I’m a freelancer who was owed $5000 by late-paying companies. Here’s what happened when I tried to hold them accountable.” [Wudan Yan, Journalist] — “Paying contractors on time feels like the bare minimum that any publication can do if they value the work that their freelancers do for them. Watching editors who tout themselves as people who advocate for freelancers and not help them get paid on time really makes me wonder how much they actually care. But this lack of accountability also exists because freelancers typically don’t speak up about late fees.” [I’ve been working with a couple of big companies lately who are very, very shitty about honoring their contracts.]
The science of making positive habits stick. [Behavioral Scientist] — “Many people actually confuse habit and self-control. The majority of people in my surveys say that in order to start a new habit you have to exert self-control, and that’s just not true…People who score high on self-control don’t achieve successes in life by exerting control. They are not practicing self-denial by white-knuckling through life. Instead, they know how to form habits that meet their goals.”
The power of silence. [The Belle Curve] — “I’m going to attempt to – once again – limit my screen time and increase my ‘think time’. Moderation in everything is a personal mantra of mine. Finding that balance in all areas of life is a challenge. I’m here to fully experience life and all the things on Earth I can do, experience, and learn. Discipline is a vital component to making sure I don’t waste much of my precious time in this life. I hope to eliminate the noise and tap in to reality.” [I’m currently reading Cal Newport’s Deep Work. This article aligns nicely with that book.]
Lastly, here’s a twelve-minute video about how to eat for $10 a week.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAYJLyYTsls
I like this. You see, I spend a lot on food. I’ve written much in the past about my stuggle to keep food costs low. I don’t do a good job unless I’m traveling. (My food costs and habits are much better on the road, for some reason.) Stories like this make me think I could do a lot better at being frugal.