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How to stay cool without blasting the A.C.

You guys, it’s h-o-t. Seriously. I’m melting.

On Saturday, Portland set an all-time record high temperature of 42 degrees (which is 108 to those of you still using fahrenheit). Today, which is Sunday, we’re expected to hit 44 or 45 (110 to 112). And today today (which is Monday, when you’re reading this), we’re again supposed to see temps of around 44.

All this might be fine if Kim and I had air conditioning. But we don’t. At the house we just sold, I installed a massive A/C system suitable for a home twice the size. But this rental has no A/C. It’s like an oven. It’s 12:43 as I write this and the outside temp just hit 40 (104f). Inside, it’s a humid 30 (86f).

Kim and I are going to cool off by heading to the movie theater (In the Heights). But first, I’m going to gather some money links for y’all. Let’s start with a story about how to stay cool when the weather is hot.

Five ways to stay cool without blasting the A.C. [Popular Science] — “If you’re ecologically minded, you can look into installing renewable power for your house or buying energy from renewable sources. But whether you care about the environment or just hate the giant bill at the end of the month, one easy fix is to use less air conditioning.”

What fee-only financial advice really means (and why it matters). [Kiplinger] — “When you hire a fee-only fiduciary investment adviser to manage your investments, develop a financial plan, or both, you alone are paying a financial professional who is legally and professionally committed to acting solely in your best interests — otherwise known as the fiduciary standard. They don’t get paid by investment or insurance companies to sell their products.”

The perfect number of hours to work every day? Five. [Wired] — “For those employers that are able to contemplate new ways of working, the pandemic has created the space to start thinking about how best to do that. At the same time, it has forced those who had already embraced radical change to rethink their strategies.”

How what we eat has changed over the years. [Flowing Data] — “The United States Department of Agriculture keeps track of food availability for over 200 items, which can be used to estimate food consumption at the national level. They have data for 1970 through 2019, so we can for example, see how much beef Americans consume per year on average and how that has changed over four decades.”

Speaking of eating: It’s time for us to head out to find some A/C. We’re going to splurge on sushi before we watch our movie. I’m eager to let the cool air wash over me…