Welcome to Friday, my friends, and welcome to another day of Apex Money. Today, I’ve got four interesting articles for you all…
How to avoide lifestyle inflation — and when to embrace it. [Bitches Get Riches] — “If all of this sounds suspiciously like lifestyle inflation, that’s because it is! And yet I feel no guilt over inflating my lifestyle from time to time when my income significantly increases. This is generally considered a cardinal sin of personal finance. It’s right up there with buying lattes or taking the name of Dave Ramsey in vain. So let’s unpack that.”
This advice for becoming a better golfer can also help you become a better investor. [Elm Wealth] — “Scott’s insistence on taking uncertainty into account in making good decisions applies equally to golf and investing. We cannot reach good decisions by focusing on the base-case return of an investment. Instead, we need to weigh up all possible investment outcomes, the cost or benefit of each one to us, and the probability of each.” [I like this article a lot.]
Does money buy happiness? [Female in Finance] — “I lived in a beautiful building in the heart of Lake Oswego, Oregon with floor to ceiling windows. And I would lay in bed, and just watch all of the people outside. They were laughing, holding hands, playing with friends, eating ice cream, and walking their dogs. I wanted connection so desperately. I would have done ANYTHING to walk around the block, say hi to a stranger, order a chai latte, walk my dog, grab tacos with a friend. The money didn’t matter. It didn’t make me happy.”
Many Americans are overpaying for their car loans. [Consumer Reports] — “CR’s investigation found that interest rates charged can be stratospheric; in some cases APRs stretch beyond 25 percent. But our analysis also reveals that consumers who are financially similar and have comparable credit scores can be charged wildly divergent interest rates. Even people with high credit scores can be charged exorbitantly. What’s going on?” [This happened to me. I have excellent credit — a score over 800 — and I was given a loan with an exorbitant interest rate. My fault for not pushing back harder, I know. In the end, I just paid it off in a few months, but interesting to know it’s an issue for others too.]
That’s it for this week, Apexians. Jim will be back on Monday with more great stuff. And I’ll see you in ten days — from Cincinnati! 🙂