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How to slow down time.

Happy Thursday, my money nerds, and welcome back to Apex Money. Today’s stories aren’t directly related to money, but applying their lessons could help you become a better, more successful person. And that, in turn, could lead to financial success. Take a look.

How to say “no”. [Robert Glazer] — “I regularly get 10+ requests for my time every week and often reach a breaking point. There are many times when I can’t and don’t want to take on anything new, so I decided to try saying no using a format inspired by Ferriss. Here’s an example of the kind of response letter I sent.”

“I learned to talk less and listen more.” [Shondaland] — “‘You might be passionate about a topic and therefore interrupt the other person because you just can’t hold it in,’ says Ximena Vengoechea, a user researcher and author of Listen Like You Mean It. But she tells me that when we interrupt someone, we miss the chance to understand the other person. While they may appreciate your enthusiasm, they could be gearing up to ask you for help.” [I’ve been actively working to improve my listening skills. It’s difficult.]

How to slow down time. [Rich in What Matters] — “Time moves as fast as you let it. And, by succumbing to society-promoted hyper living, I was letting it run on warp speed. To live intentionally, I had to slow down and let go. Decelerating the speed of your life has a slowing effect on time. But to optimize the deceleration, you also have to let go.”

That’s all I have for you today. I’ll be back tomorrow with one final installment of Apex Money before we head into the weekend…

From Dawn till Dusk: A Lifetime Condensed Into 24 Hours.

We hope we did not keep you waiting too long. Enjoy these great articles Plutus family!

Check out what we have for you this week.

From Dawn till Dusk: A Lifetime Condensed Into 24 Hours. [Mantaro Money] — “What would your life look like if it was condensed down to 24 hours? Would you be happy with how you’d spent your day so far? Do the plans you have for the rest of your day fill you with excitement or dread? Do you have any plans at all?” (Submitted by J. Money.)

ABLE Age Adjustment Act. [Saving for College] — “ABLE accounts have been around since 2014, but in late 2022 they got a facelift via the ABLE Age Adjustment Act, which passed as a part of SECURE 2.0. This new law ups the maximum age of onset of disability from 26 to 46, nearly doubling the eligible user base.” (Submitted by Tarsha.)

Plowman’s Lunch. [Humble Dollar] — “The conditions that made gardens practical and thrifty have faded. Nevertheless, each spring in my backyard, I drag the plow of the past habits of long-dead loved ones back and forth.” (Submitted by J. Money.)

What do grown children owe their parents?

Hello, money nerds, and greetings from Harstad, Norway. My arctic journey continues as my ship creeps farther north. While I’m “enjoying” winter-like weather, I’ve gathered this batch of money stories for you.

“Three ways I’m teaching my son about money. [Rich & Regular] — “Our son obviously doesn’t understand everything about money, but he’s already made the connection between saving money and delayed gratification. He knows that in our family, we value experiences over things. And he knows investing money makes his balance grow as sure as he understands healthy food choices makes his body grow.”

What do grown children owe their parents? [Fatherly] — “With more independence and fewer expectations, what we owe our parents or our children’s grandparents is now calculated in man-hours and long-term investments. Do we owe them a call? Do we owe them Thanksgiving? Do we owe them weekends? Do we owe them end of life care? Do we owe them financial support? Do we owe them grandchildren? Or do we owe them nothing?”

The high price of procrastination. [Financial Success, M.D.] — “Sometimes it is the fear of making a wrong decision, or a less than perfect decision, that stops us in our tracks. But what we don’t see at the moment is how much money or time it will cost by not acting now. Everything has a price and procrastination can often be very expensive as I am learning first hand almost daily.”

Get rich holistically. [The Escape Artist] — “Why is it so hard to build wealth and get life we want? Because mastering each of the pillars can be hard and because balancing them all is hard. The journey involves not just hard work and learning…but also self-awareness. We need self-awareness to avoid falling into common traps such as procrastination, burnout, workaholism and career blow up.”

Tomorrow, you’ll get some stories from our friends at the Plutus Foundation. I’ll be back on Thursday with more stuff for you.

The housing market lottery.

Happy Monday, my friends. Welcome to another week of Apex Money. My name is J.D. Roth, and I’ll be your host for the next few days.

Actually, I’ll be your host in abstentia. I’m prepping this week’s installments on Memorial Day — before I fly out for my arctic cruise. Today, if all has gone according to plan, I should be Tromsø, Norway, where I’m scheduled to switch from the first cruise to the second. (I’m doing back to back cruises on the same boat — 23 days on the Norwegian Star.)

In a way, travel is a gamble. Things go wrong. Part of being a good traveler is learning to go with the flow when things happen. Speaking of which, all three of today’s stories are about gambling…

The last gamble of Tokyo Joe. [Chicago magazine] — “From his perch on Solano’s North Side, running Rush Street nightclubs like Faces and Bourbon Street, Ken Eto served as the Chicago Outfit’s most adept minority relations specialist — a gambling czar of the highest caliber, able to extract millions of dollars over the years from Chicago’s Puerto Rican, Black, and Chinese American communities.”

“I placed my first wager when I was ten. I’ve gambled more than $1 million since.” [Maclean’s] — “I loved the waiting that came with gambling: those final, dramatic moments of uncertainty, when a last-minute field goal or three-point shot could alter the result of the game. The feeling of anticipation— that’s where I got the high. And when I had several bets going on at once, it felt like my brain was on fire, the ultimate stimulation.”

The housing market lottery. [A Wealth of Common Sense] — “Financial success comes from some combination of hard work, discipline, patience and luck. That last piece is usually the biggest wild card…The 2010s and 2020s for the housing markets will lead to similar good or bad luck depending on your timing.”

Okay. That’s it for today. I’ll be back tomorrow with more great stuff. See you then!

Microspending is kinda good for you

Our first post is from my friend Chris Browning, host of the great podcast Popcorn Finance and This is Awkward. He tackles the utter B.S. personal finance advice, for Men’s Health no less, that you should cut out your daily coffee or avocado toast…

The ‘Avocado Toast’ Effect of Spending Is Totally Overblown [Men’s Health] – “It’s an old personal-finance cliché that if you want to save for anything, the first things you should cut out are coffee, restaurant meals, and subscriptions. In short: small joys. This comes from the idea that money is basically math—if I make X, I will save Y, and then I will be all set. So let’s do the math and unpack all this nonsense.” Love this.

The sinister side of Work Ethic [Rad Reads] – “The owners were not prioritizing productivity. Instead, they were prioritizing leisure. To my younger self, that was blasphemous. But today – deeply ensconced in midlife – I find myself wondering: is there a sinister side of work ethic?” Not going to lie, this one got me. It’s taken me years to unlearn those lessons instilled in me throughout my school-age years… but it’s a lesson well worth learning.

This last one for the weekend is a fun little read about Tangier Island in Virginia. Nothing about money, just a fun little story.

Tangier Island, Virginia – a Forgotten Community Founded by Cornish Fishermen [The Cornish Bird] – “It is a remote, isolated community, cut off from the mainland for centuries. The islanders have developed their own culture and way of living, yet bizarrely this unlikely place is also deeply connected to Cornwall. The inhabitants of Tangier Island are said to talk with a strange American-Cornish accent and the St Piran’s cross even graces their island’s flag. So, how did this unusual connection come about?”

Have a great weekend!

Picking Winners

When I got into investing, it was during the dot com boom. I would pick stocks and some would be winners and others would be losers.

I didn’t know much about stocks but you couldn’t have convinced 20-year-old me of that fact!

Even today, I still don’t know much about stocks but I’ve come to grips with it. I don’t know a lot about a lot of things and that’s alright by me.

Fortunately, with stocks, you don’t have to know much. Just buy an index fund.

So when NVIDIA’s stock popped the other day, I felt zero FOMO because it’s in the S&P 500. I may not have owned shares directly… but I had shares.

I don’t pick stocks (with the exception of some dividend companies because it scratches that itch), the S&P is enough for me!

The Stock Market Will Pick the Winners For You [A Wealth of Common Sense] – “So what’s my strategy? I prefer to let the indexes pick the winners for me. Sure, that’s boring and it’s not going to get me rich overnight but I have time.”

Dying with Millions [The Best Interest] – “You should spend money. You should enjoy the fruit of your labors. Trust the math, trust the portfolio, and enjoy your life.”

The 11 Best Finance Films to Watch This Weekend [ETF Trends] – “Summer is about to begin. Why not take a break from working in the world of finance by immersing yourself in the eleven best finance films of all time? That’s right; there’s no need to ever stop thinking about work, even when you are relaxing. While we’re still in an era where people are writing movies instead of AI, these 11 classic films capture the drama, humor, and emotional resonance of finance and investing.”

Money Where Art Thou?

Wednesday could not come fast enough. The Plutus Team searched high and low and found these great articles for you. ENJOY!!!

Check out what we have for you this week.

The Best Low-Cost Vacation Hack Available. [Financial Success M.D] — “I have owned, traded, and vacationed using my timeshare for more than 30 years and love it. I own a single week of timeshare in New Orleans and have yet to stay in the unit I own. My happy experience is contrary to what is found on social media. There is a reason for that. Most complainers never learned how to buy and use a timeshare correctly, so they don’t actually know how great and inexpensive owning and using one can be. For the right people, timeshare hacking will save a fortune in travel expense.” (Submitted by Tarsha.)

Money Where Art Thou? [Happily Disengaged] — “Each morning when I wake up to go to work to earn money, I tell myself how lucky I am to have a job. To have a nice warm bed to get up from. A family I get the privilege to support. Even if I’m tired of going to work to make money, doesn’t mean I’m tired of receiving money and putting it to work for me. Because in the end, if I’m doing it right, my money will someday end up working for me, instead of me working for it.” (Submitted by J. Money.)

Career Advice for Kids. [Bluetree Savings] — “I’m not a careers expert but I heard a great little story which I shared with my daughters and it led to an interesting discussion about mindset when thinking about careers. I hope you share this with your kids and see what reaction you get.” (Submitted by Tarsha.)

Wise Words

Sam Zell was a billionaire businessman who passed away last month. As of earlier this year, Forbes estimated his net worth to be $5.3 billion.

He made most of his money in real estate, getting a start in college managing apartments and selling that business to go bigger. It’s an impressive story if you have to time to dig in.

Today’s first article shares a few wise words from the man himself:

Wise Words from Sam Zell [Novel Investor] – “By the time [Sam] Zell graduated from law school, he managed about 4,000 apartments and owned over 100 more. After graduation, he sold the management business to Bob Lurie and headed to Chicago to play in a bigger market. Three years later, Lurie partnered with Zell in Chicago. They would go on to build one of the largest real estate portfolios in the country.”

How To Be Resilient: 5 Steps To Success When Life Gets Hard [Barking Up The Wrong Tree] – “But if you’re willing to make an effort, there are scientific insights that can help. In fact, for people rated at the lowest levels of resilience, studies show a 125% increase in three months by just doing five things. What are those things? Well, that’s why we’re here…”

Top 50 productivity hacks chosen by internet and you [50 Hacks] – This one is great, people suggest the best hacks and then everyone else upvotes … so only the best of the best rise to the top.

30 reasons to fall in love with index funds

Well well well, if it isn’t Monday yet again!

Right now, J.D. is on a cruise ship floating along the high seas and I’m (Jim) resting comfortably, without any need for seasickness medication, in my house. 😂

I hope J.D.’s “do nothing” trip is going well but the Apex train rolls on with a few gems (I hope!) for you today:

I love index funds! So does Paul Merriman!

30 reasons to fall in love with index funds [Paul Merriman] – “Despite all the money and effort Wall Street spends trying to promote actively-managed funds, very few of them outshine one of the simplest investment vehicles: The index fund. Once you get past the hype, hope and hoopla of hot stocks and superstar managers, you find that the “lowly” index fund is the true king of the performance hill. I’ll give you a whole bunch of reasons you should make index funds your go-to investment vehicle. In no particular order, here are 10 to start with…”

Art always fell into the murky “stuff uber-wealthy people do” and I always marvel when there’s a scandal involving art (or wine!) because the folks who perpetrate them are often so very good at it. It’s the old idea that thieves work so hard that they’d probably make a killing if they were legit… but we know part of the fun is in the illicit nature.

How 25 Dubious Basquiats Created a Massive Museum Scandal—And Exposed Some Dark Art Truths [Vanity Fair] – “A blockbuster show of “lost” works by the late, and much-marketed, Jean-Michel Basquiat at the Orlando Museum of Art was meant to compete with Disney and SeaWorld. Then the feds came knocking and a small-time auctioneer confessed to knocking them off, leaving their owners in a continuing scramble to prove their authenticity. As the investigation continues, the whole affair has shone an uncomfortable light on the art world’s unceasing need for spectacle.”

With this last post, we stick with the investing theme and learn – Become a Passive Investing Ninja – the Definitive Guide to Slashing ETF Costs and Taxes [Banker on Wheels] – This is a three part guide that is really “chunky” but good, it goes into a lot of detail on how to look at ETFs.

See you tomorrow!

The booming market for luxury goods.

Happy Friday, folks. While you’re reading these stories about money, my cruise ship is in port at Edinburgh, Scotland — one of my favorite cities! Here’s what I’ve gathered for you today.

The reason luxury goods are booming. [Vox] — “The explosion of luxury resale and rental platforms might not have directly fed the sales of luxury brands, but they engaged a new generation of consumers — it’s an easy entry point into the world of its aesthetics and sensibilities.” [I’ll admit: I too have been buying more premium brands. But I have a very clear reason for doing so: I’m tired of paying for crap. I want quality. I’m in a position to afford it, so I buy it. Truthfully? This decision has made my life better.]

Once a fringe theory, “greedflation” gets its due. [Axios] — “The idea that profits drove our current bout of inflation surfaced in the last few years among progressive economists and lawmakers but was waved away by more mainstream types as a ‘conspiracy theory’. That changed earlier this year.”

The ugly truth behind “we buy ugly houses”. [ProPublica] — “A ProPublica investigation — based on court documents, property records, company training materials and interviews with 48 former franchise owners and dozens of homeowners who have sold to its franchises — found HomeVestors franchisees that used deception and targeted the elderly, infirm and those so close to poverty that they feared homelessness would be a consequence of selling.”

To close things out today, here’s something completely unrelated to money. Here’s Titus Burgess belting out “Poor Unfortunate Souls” from The Little Mermaid. It’s fantastic!

Man, that is so much fun!

You know what else is fun? The weekend! And you’re heading into it. Enjoy. We’ll see you next week.