Hey hey, money nerds. Have you noticed that we tend to share stories from certain sites more than others? Yeah, we’ve noticed that too. But no apologies. Quality is quality.
Our aim is to share the top money stories from around the web, no matter where they come from. And if certain sites — like A Purple Life, for instance — tend to publish more interesting articles than others sites, then we’re going to share stories from them more often.
Speaking of A Purple Life, look who’s here to start our Tuesday!
How to slay job interviews. [A Purple Life] — “Friends have told me that it’s not that easy to find a new job and that the one month of concentrated effort it’s always taken me is unusually short. During my last stint of funemployment, one friend pointed out why I might be an outlier…So I’m here to give the details on how I approach interviews in case it can help someone else shorten their job hunting time.”
Do neighborhood watch apps make us safer? [Quartz] — “While Nextdoor, Citizen, and Neighbors might make some people feel more connected with their neighborhoods by recreating closer-knit communities of the past, the apps also can perpetuate and facilitate xenophobic, racist, or classist behaviors that often came alongside that closeness.”
How to get a better deal from a real-estate agent. [The New York Times] — “Informal industry estimates suggest that agents generally spend only a few dozen hours working on each deal and doing the things that home buyers value, like showing houses, evaluating prices, negotiating with sellers and coordinating inspections. Even if the agents in the New York example worked as many as 100 hours on each of their two deals, they would have spent only a small fraction of their time directly helping their clients.”
How to get started hunting coins and currency. [Mighty Bargain Hunter] — “Some hobbies require startup costs. I’ve had friends that were into metal detecting. The better metal detectors aren’t cheap. With currency hunting, though, there don’t have to be any extra startup costs. All you need is money in the bank to withdraw. Also, even if you withdraw some bills or some coins, and end up finding nothing special, you still have all of your money…There’s no downside, only upside!”
Speaking of spare change, here’s an interesting YouTube video that shows how to spot a quick-change artist trying to scam a clerk.
Lastly, here’s something that has nothing to do with money:
Happiness is fleeting. [Longreads] — “Amongst the thousands of life lessons found throughout Peanuts, I believe there is one that stands out amongst the rest: At the end of the day, you can either be disappointed, or you can be dancing, but you cannot be disappointed while you’re dancing. So take your pick.”