Apex Money Posts

Good morning, money nerds, and welcome to another edition of Apex Money. That’s right: Jim and I are back with another collection of excellent articles from around the web.

I particularly enjoyed today’s stack of stuff. All four of these pieces is great. So good, in fact, that I didn’t include my typical “bonus” non-money story at the end of the post. I want you to dive into these stories, not get distracted by funny animals.

Why you should quit the news. [Mark Manson] — “The news doesn’t show that the vast majority of people are good. They will help if they can. They care even if they’re confused about how to care or why. The news doesn’t teach you that most people won’t hurt you and even if they do, you will recover and be fine and be stronger than before. But most of all, the news doesn’t teach you that moral outrage, while strangely satisfying, gives people a sense of accomplishing something without actually accomplishing anything.” Yes, yes, 1000x yes.

Wealth is what you don’t spend. [Collaborative Fund] — “Financial wellbeing can’t be measured by merely looking at how much you earn. The gap between what you earn and how much you avoid offsetting those earnings is the figure that matters most.”

Why deep work matters in early retirement. [The Frugal Engineers] — “When you leave your day job in the dust and open up an extra 40-60 hours per week of time for yourself, it’s incredibly easy to slip into a state of sloth. I’m not talking about taking a vacation to decompress – I’m referring to the tendency for activities to expand to fill the time we give them…The value of deep work should not be ignored even if it’s not billable, paid work.”

The rise of dogvorce. [GQ magazine] — “As more couples opt out of or delay the traditional markers of relationship maturity (marriage, babies), many of them seem to be compensating by adopting dogs instead. When unmarried couples decide to split, however, without the formality of an official legal process to divide up the assets, figuring out who gets to walk away with the pets in tow can be especially dicey.” This article is surprisingly good.

That’s it for today! I’ll be back tomorrow with more top money stories from around the web.

Hello, Apexians! It’s Monday, and we have money stories for you. Are you ready to dive into some of the best personal-finance articles from around the web? I am!

A midwife in the North Country. [The New Yorker] — “Sunday Smith is likely the only certified nurse-midwife offering out-of-hospital births in a hundred-mile radius. Her services are in high demand, yet she has trouble making ends meet.” This is a l-o-n-g article (and it may be behind a paywall for you) but it’s fascinating. It touches on many different aspects of personal finance. Well worth reading, if you have the time.

Five lessons from the “witch” of Wall Street. [Morningstar] — “During the Gilded Age of the late 19th century, a woman named Hetty Green was one of the most powerful financiers in the world. She made the vast majority of her $100 million fortune ($2.3 billion in today’s dollars) herself, investing in railroad stocks and bonds, government bonds, and mining stocks. She also provided loans to cash-strapped businesses and bailed out the city of New York on several occasions…Here are five lessons we can learn from Hetty Green about investing and life.”

The aggregation of marginal gains. [Josh Overmyer] — “The guys on the ChooseFI podcast talk about it all the time, how life doesn’t just suddenly become wonderful overnight. Each and every small change or improvement we make adds up and compounds over a lifetime. And because of the power of the Aggregation of Marginal Gains, Brad posts a prompt every Friday morning asking ‘What was the ONE THING you did this week to make your life easier, happier, wealthier, more efficient, etc?’ I’ve gone back to almost every week in 2019 to gather what I posted on each of the Friday Facebook prompts from Brad. Here’s a look back.”

It’s time to let go of commuter culture. [Jalopnik] — “Cities across the world are re-examining the role of the automobile. More specifically, and especially among American cities, they’re trying to get more people to commute like Leo. This is happening because, in many cases, policymakers have realized that they cannot continue to grow by adding more people who use cars as their sole transportation method, to say nothing of mitigating the never-ending gridlock and poor air quality that exists today.”

To wrap things up this Monday, here’s a very important non-financial article from Audobon: When is a bird a “birb”? — “Birb is a slightly daffy word from the same school of internet absurdity that gave us LOLCats and Doge. Yet unlike these online gags, or memes, birb functions as a category rather than a stock character. It is roughly akin to ‘doggo’ or ‘snek’, yet all dogs and snakes are contained within those words; birb remains amorphous.”

Jim and I are here to help you with all of life’s important matters. 😉

As a society, I think we have a romantic view of reinvention.

We are enamored by stories of reinvention, almost as much as we love a good “rags to riches” story, because it shows us that we capable of changing ourselves if we truly wanted to.

But most reinventions are not sexy stories with catchy headlines. They’re borne out of necessity. They’re painful. They’re arduous processes by which people redefine who they are on their terms rather than what they think they should be.

Reinvention happens in a lot of different ways.

Today, I want to take that idea and see where it takes us, starting with a very honest, open, and vulnerable post from Melanie:

The Power of Reinvention: How Boxing Changed My Life [Melanie Lockert on Medium] – This article is not a personal finance one but it’s written by a personal finance blogger I’ve known for years. Melanie Lockert’s money blog is called Dear Debt and this Medium post is about how boxing changed her life after a series of big changes in her life. “The learning curve was steep and intimidating but also exciting. When you’re starting at 0 getting to 10 feels so good. Then 20. Then 30. Progress proved to be addictive and the antidote for my low self-esteem. Slowly but surely I was gaining a newfound confidence.”

I love learning new things, like a skill or sport, because of how quickly you can get from terrible to competent. Running up that learning curve is a lot of fun and can tell you a lot about yourself. I’ve never tried boxing but it sounds like it did a lot of great things for Melanie.

Next, I want to look towards reinventing our concepts around income:

Here’s an interesting interview discussion about universal basic income with Annie Lowrey. She is a contributing editor for The Atlantic magazine, a former economics writer for the New York Times, and author of the new book “Give People Money: How a Universal Basic Income Would End Poverty, Revolutionize Work, and Remake the World.”

Regardless of what you think about UBI, this interview can help give you a better understanding of it (and potential implementations):

‘Give People Money’? A long-read Q&A with Annie Lowrey on the case for a Universal Basic Income [American Enterprise Institute] – “Cutting every citizen a monthly check, regardless of whether they work, is no longer as radical an idea as it once seemed. Some form of government-ensured universal basic income — or UBI, as it is more commonly known — is now embraced by some libertarians, futurists, and (of course) socialists. But that’s not to say UBI has grown uncontroversial. It has, however, grown more politically feasible, as the Overton window continues to widen.”

Much like paying off all student loans, I understand there’s an inherent level of “unfairness” (less so with UBI if everyone gets it) but I think we should look at how it benefits society as a whole rather than who is getting what. I see these solutions as similar to what Malcolm Gladwell wrote about in Million Dollar Murray. Give it a read and you’ll see what I mean.

This last one has nothing to do with reinvention and will be fun for anyone who enjoys a good bagel. Or beigel. 🙂

How New York’s Bagel Union Fought — and Beat — a Mafia Takeover [Grub Street] – “In a thriving industry that by the mid-1960s was pumping out more than 2 million bagels per week to a market only just beginning to reach beyond New York City, they could afford it. With their industry grossing some $20 million per year, these men purchased homes on Long Island, drove fancy cars, and sent their children to prestigious colleges. It was a copacetic ecosystem, working out favorably for all involved.

Naturally, the Mafia wanted in.”

Know someone who might enjoy one of these stories? Please share this with them by forwarding this!

Today’s Apex comes courtesy of Bill Dwight, founder and Chief Dad at FamZoo.com. If you want your kid to carry a debit card loaded with more than just money, check out FamZoo. They’re the folks with a funny name who invented the FinLit card for kids and teens.

First things first when it comes to kids and money: Why do parents need to teach kids about money anyway?

Can’t parents rely on schools?

Don’t parents need to be experts themselves to do a good job?

Can’t parents just wait until the kids figure it out on their own?

Nope.

Nope.

Nope.

John Lanza lays out the case eloquently in his post:

Why Is Financial Literacy Important and What Every Parent Needs to Know About It | Hint — Starting Early Matters [The Money Mammals]

John systematically covers all my favorite bases on why parents must embrace the responsibility for building their children’s financial literacy and how to get started.

Oh, and don’t miss the key little bonus nugget buried in here: “Many parents have also found that during the process of teaching their own children, they learn a lot about themselves and make adjustments to how they manage their own money.”

That’s right – it’s a two-fer people!

Work on your kid’s habits, and you clean up your own. It’s certainly worked for me.

***

OK, so maybe your kids are only 5 and 7. Is that too early?

Patrick Coleman points out why it isn’t in this clever little piece that had me chuckling and nodding my head the whole way through:

I Teach My Kids the Value of Money Using the Family Bank Account. It Works. [Fatherly]

It’s a family tale filled with tears, fart-dollar conversion math 🤔, and ultimately, sweet success!

“They were operating under the impression that I could just punch the buttons and Paw Patrol would show up on the television free of charge. This was not the case and I was struggling to understand how to talk to them about the value proposition.”

Kids need to know that all those invisible family freebies aren’t really free. How can you impress upon your kids the value of a dollar without crushing their little souls? Patrick describes how to share some real numbers from your real bank account with your kiddos. It’s the financial equivalent of Scared Straight! for little munchkins, but without the scary convicts. (OK, that’s a Boomer reference – look it up! 😬)

***

“Sorry, too late!” you say. “I already have jaded teens.”

Excellent – read on. (No teens yet? Trust me, time flies, so pay attention anyway.)

I’m gonna close with my all time favorite parental money hack.

I learned it 10 years ago from finance author Dan Kadlek who dubbed it “The Family 401(k).”

Ann Carrns gives an updated rundown on the genius money maneuver in this New York Times article:

Retirement Planning in High School? It’s Never Too Early, Experts Say [The New York Times]

Wait! Don’t let the boring title scare you away.

This tip is pure gold.  I did it for all 5 of my kids when they were in high school. And, now that 4 of them are in their 20s and almost 30s (gasp – tempus fugit indeed!), they’re thanking me big time.

“Fidelity calculated that someone contributing the maximum amount annually at age 15 would have more than $2.4 million at age 65, assuming an annual return rate of 7 percent.”

Free matching from parents and relatives, annual dollar cost averaging, low cost index funds compounding over decades, tax free growth from the teen years forward – what’s not to like here? I smell a little F-I-R-E smoldering!

Jump on the Family 401(k) hack now, and someday you too can hear those magical words that every parent craves: “Gee, Mom/Dad, you’re not such a moron after all!”

Thanks Bill!

I have a confession – we don’t budget. I’ve actually never budgeted in the strictest sense.

When I first started working, I kept track of my spending. I eventually graduated from a spreadsheet to Mint. But after a while, I stopped. I started paying myself first and my spending worked itself out because I was an inherently frugal person. I spent money in places that made me happy but I had a well-tuned internal compass that kept me in line even if I didn’t keep close track of it. Plus, saving first made sure I always took care of the important stuff.

I didn’t know I wasn’t “budgeting.” I thought I was!

Turns out I never budgeted ever in my entire life. 🙂

Budgets Don’t Work for Everyone—Try This System Instead [Bitches Get Riches] – “I also know people who make budgets, fail at them, and enter a cycle of constant self-loathing and financial stress that ultimately harms them more than it helps. Some of us chafe against the rigidity of a budget, others thrive within its strict boundaries. So budgeting ain’t for everyone. But that doesn’t mean you’re excused from managing your money altogether. Even without a budget, it’s still useful to have a system for keeping an eye on your money.”

Speaking of tracking…

Being Good with Money is More Than Simply Spending Less – Insights from Tracking 3 Years of Spending [Cash for Tacos] – “2017 was a year of transformation formation for me. I was newly single and ready to take on the world.

It was also the year I became motivated to improve my finances and started my journey to financial independence. With this newly-formed vision in sight, I started to cut back on my spending.

And slowly but surely my spending decreased, which gave me more money to commit to new priorities.”

I love this graphic from Visual Capitalist:

How to have a true hobby, not a side hustle [Vox] – “… making time for non-essential activities is, in fact, essential. Challenging leisure activities — such as hobbies — improve mental and physical wellbeing, foster learning, and build communities. Oh — and it’s fun! Here are five ways to find, and keep, a fulfilling hobby.”

Downtime is good.

You don’t have to fill your leisure time with productivity!

Now go out and have some fun!

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, side hustles have become very popular in the last few years.

Earning a little extra income from a hustle not associated with your main job is liberating.

It’s also fun to read about “innovative” side hustles because it can get your own creative juices flowing. Today I want to share a few surprisingly lucrative side hustles you may never have thought about.

Teacher Makes $30,000 Charging E-Scooters To Pay Off Debt [Winning to Wealth] – This is a podcast where a teacher from Atlanta shares how he made $30,000 last year charging e-scooters.

Side Hustle #78: Being a TV / Film Extra! [$200+/day] [Budgets Are Sexy] – “To be honest, anybody can be a TV extra. You don’t need any formal acting experience. In fact, you don’t even need to look like a supermodel or know Steven Spielberg or David Cronenberg to succeed. You just need to know how to market yourself as a brand/product with diverse headshots and looks.” I once met a retired engineer who came to Northrop Grumman to give a brief talk. In chatting with him, I learned that one of his side hobbies was being an extra in movies. He was one of the extras in Wedding Crashers!

How You Can Make Money From Hosting an Airbnb Experience [Studenomics] – “I recently launched a coffee crawl as an official experience on the Airbnb platform. Tourists (and anyone in general) can sign up to do my coffee tour to drink coffee with me at unique shops in my community. I’m going to show you how you can make money with Airbnb Experiences by setting up your own activity/thing to do on the Airbnb app. I want you to have the best Airbnb experience so that you bring money in. This is the best income source that you’ve likely never heard of yet…”

(and check out this more recent followup about different Airbnb experiences that Martin has seen)

Public Domain Publishing: $100,000 Selling Classic Books on Amazon [Side Hustle Nation] – “Looking for a part-time side hustle where you get can your inventory for free and there are almost no startup costs?

This week, I’m excited to introduce the side hustle of public domain publishing. […] Since 2013, Aaron Kerr has pocketed over $110k in royalties through this very part-time side hustle. You can see all his public domain projects over at TimelessReads.com.” Not bad!

Lastly but not leastly, did you hear about how Carlos Ghosn snuck out of Japan? He was the former CEO of Nissan who escaped Tokyo, where he was facing criminal charges that could’ve put him in prison for a long time. Here’s the story about how he got out of Japan and to Lebanon.

Enjoy!

You know what they say about mo’ money, mo’ problems – right?

I loved the song but never agreed with the premise. And neither does Miranda Marquit in today’s featured post:

More Money, More Choices [Miranda Marquit] – “We hear a lot about how our choices impact our money. But we don’t often talk about how more money can actually mean more options.” Sometimes more options are bad (analysis paralysis), but in many cases, more options are a good thing.

Of course, I have to embed this:

Look at those puffy shiny jackets! So 90’s!

10 Pieces of Career Advice for Young Professionals [Keeping Up With the Bulls] – ” In your new workplace, you’ll transition to the most junior person in the room and learning to adjust to the new culture. It’s tough, but with the right moves you can get quickly back on track to being recognized as knowledgeable and a leader within the team.” Sensible advice for anyone just starting a new job. I’d add that if you’re young, take more career risks than you are comfortable taking. Despite what you think, you have very little to lose at this point in your career. It’s harder to take risks when you have a family and a mortgage.

Finally, if you’re looking to refresh your resume, you can’t beat this guide:

Applying for a Job? This is Exactly How to Write a Winning Resume [College Info Geek] – “I can’t promise you that I can make writing a resume fun, but I can show you how to do it as painlessly as possible. More importantly, I can show you how to write the resume that will cut through the stack of hundreds (or thousands) and get you that job, internship, or other opportunity you want.” It’s very detailed and very good.

Happy Monday!

Today’s Apex comes courtesy of Elle Martinez of Couple Money. If you want to learn how to become better at money as a couple, check out Elle’s blog and her podcast!

Personal finance is a funny thing. On one hand, it’s pretty objective when you look at it purely through the numbers.

However, that’s not how most of us approach it. Even the most ‘detached’ person, has an opinion or personal preference with how they spend that money.

It’s a layer of complication that has to be acknowledge and embraced if you want to not just be savvy with your finances but actually enjoy it.

And when you’re in a relationship, it can get even more complicated. You have another person’s approach and goals to consider.

Whether you’re a parent, spouse, or taking care of your parents, that mix of love and money can be stressful.

It can also be an opportunity to come together.

Working together as a couple on your finances can be a powerful way to not just improve your net worth, but a way to connect and team up on designing a memorable and meaningful life that you both love.

Becoming a caretaker for your parents can allow you to give your mom and/or dad an opportunity to live their lives with dignity and on their terms within your current circumstances.

Talking with your kids about the family finances can start conversations about what’s on the minds and in their hearts.

A key part of working as a team with your loved ones is identifying what matters (or doesn’t) to you.

It sounds simple, but the reality of putting into practice can be tough and include a lot of conversation and reflection.

This week I wanted to share a few key articles I read that I think will help make this a good year financially and give you some ideas on how to make the most out of 2020.

Why I Stopped Pursuing FIRE and Early Retirement for a Happier Life Today [Marriage, Kids, and Money] – “Lisa has realized, through her FIOR (Financial Independence, Optional Retirement) journey, that it’s all about finding what is right or you and your family.”

Why we’re selling our rental property [Rich and Regular] – “Today, our time is more valuable than it was in 2014, which forced us to re-evaluate the role this property served in our lives.”

How to Communicate Better With Your Children in the New Year [The New York Times] – “Be a sportscaster. Make a glitter jar. Get a pet. Whether or not you rely on strategies like these, the central advice is to listen more.”

5 Signs Your Parents Need Help with Their Finances [Cameron Huddleston] – “Certainly, you don’t want to see your parents put themselves into financial dire straits or become victims of financial fraud. But these scenarios could easily become reality if you don’t recognize the signs that your parents need help with their finances.”

How to plan your goals and actually achieve them [Jessi Fearon] – “While you’re going through this process remember that you can’t be all things to all people nor do you have unlimited availability. You will have to tell some folks “no” and you will have to decide what is important enough to say “yes” to.”

Of course, these are just my favorites. I’d love to hear from you – what are some of your favorite love and money stories out there?

Today’s Apex won’t have a theme, it’s just a collection of posts I thought would make you think a little bit.

The last one is meant to make you think more than a little bit.

Let’s just jump into it:

The booming stock market shows America is diseased [The Week] – “The first thing to know about stocks is that a huge fraction of the population owns no stock at all, and only the rich own them in significant quantities. A Gallup poll found that 55 percent of people own any stock — a majority, but most of them own only small amounts. If we break the population into 10 groups (or deciles) based on how much stock they own, as Matt Bruenig does with the Survey of Consumer Finances of 2013, we find that the top decile accounts for 86.8 percent of all stocks. The next decile owns 9.5 percent, the third 2.8 percent, and the rest little or nothing.” I did not know the top 10% accounts for 86.8% ownership of all stocks. Wow.

7 Unexpected Habits Of A Frugal Millionaire [Debt-Free Doctor] – “When you hear about someone being a millionaire, you typically don’t picture them as being frugal. The phrase, “Frugal millionaire” is not something that typically goes together such as a peanut butter and jelly sandwich does.

But, if you’ve read books such as “The Millionaire Next Door” and Chris Hogan’s new book, “Everyday Millionaires,” you’d have a different outlook on how millionaires actually live.”

Who doesn’t like free?

11 Things You Are Paying For That You Can Get For FREE! [Budgets Made Easy] – College courses, sample products, books, furniture, shoes, and more. “I scoured the web to give you tips on how to get free stuff — no junk – only quality goods and services that you would gladly pay good money to receive.”

The last one I want to leave you with is actually a commencement speech by John C. Bogle (founder of Vanguard). He gave this speech to the MBA graduates of the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University in May 2007 and it’s been reproduced on James Clear’s site.

“Enough” by John C. Bogle [JamesClear.com] – “Here’s how I recall the wonderful story that sets the theme for my remarks today: At a party given by a billionaire on Shelter Island, the late Kurt Vonnegut informs his pal, the author Joseph Heller, that their host, a hedge fund manager, had made more money in a single day than Heller had earned from his wildly popular novel Catch 22 over its whole history. Heller responds, “Yes, but I have something he will never have . . . Enough.””

It’s worth taking note of.

Being aware of your emotions can be a very challenging thing.

Emotions are like a pot of water. When you start getting hot, you might feel it but it doesn’t quite register. Eventually, it gets hotter and hotter and hotter until the water starts boiling and bubbling. But when you’re in that pre-boil state, a lot of things can happen that wouldn’t otherwise happen. It’s important to try to become more aware of when things get to the point of hot but not yet boiling.

None of the posts today will help you with that. That’s about getting more in tune with yourself, perhaps some meditation.

But the posts today will (try to) help you understand how your behavior might change as a result of how you feel inside:

To Curb Emotional Spending, You Need to Understand It [Brave Saver] – “It was Christmas Day. I’d spent the afternoon napping, nursing a cold, and had emerged to find our front room as I’d left it: with wrapping paper, gifts and candy scattered about. I looked around at the mess and feeling decidedly sullen. What was the point, some voice in my head said. I’d spent hours and hundreds of dollars trying to make this day special. And it probably had been. But from my point of view, I’d spent it in bed, too tired and grumpy to even enjoy anything under the tree.”

There’s quite a bit about managing money that has to do with your emotions and your awareness of your emotions. It’s easy to fall into traps of any kind, money or otherwise, when you aren’t paying attention.

Societal Pressure & Personal Finance [Simple Money Man] – “Recently I was at a conference in the city and between sessions, I decided to go for a walk outside. The conference was in a very trendy hotel in a nice part of the city. Parked outside of the hotel were very nice cars and SUVs. They were luxury vehicles and appeared clean and sleek. Instantly I thought to myself, it would feel so good driving one of these. And a moment later, I thought there is no way I’m selling my current vehicle to add onto my loan balance and acquiring one of these.

But then another thought entered my mind. I do need to get my tires replaced anyway. What if I get my tires replaced and as part of that process replaces my factory wheels with a new set of nice aftermarket rims. So while half-listening to the next training session, I started googling deals on tire and rim packages. Less than 10 minutes into my search, I thought to myself that, the only people that will enjoy its appearance are others, not me. I will be INSIDE the car so I’ll really only appreciate it when I enter and exit the car. And so my brain could not rationalize spending half a grand on rims. Furthermore, it is a cosmetic expense on top of a rapidly depreciating asset.”

It’s really really hard to go down a path like this and reel yourself back in. It’s even harder to do it twice!

Finally, I really like this story about the Golden Rule:

The Power of Being Nice [Trip of a Lifestyle] – “Sometimes being nice brings unexpected results. Not only does kindness make the other person feel better, but it can also lead to camaraderie and friendship. […] Niceness can pay off in more ways than one. It can brighten the day of a fellow human, and it may just benefit you (and I’m not just talking about karma).”

Niceness has unlimited upside.

Lastly, I want to leave you with this fun gem:

How the CIA, FBI, and Secret Service Come Up With Their Code Names [MEL Magazine] – “Rawhide, Tumbler, Mogul, Lancer… Smurfette? What’s the secret behind the coolest (and weirdest) White House code names?”

If you could come up with a short codename, what would it be?