Apex Money Posts

Happy Friday, folks. It’s J.D. here with one last installment of Apex Money before we head into the weekend.

It’s been over six months now since I’ve written regularly at Get Rich Slowly, my personal-finance blog. I don’t really miss it. I miss interacting with folks, but I don’t miss the work. I’ve entered another phase of my life. I don’t know what that phase is, but it’s not writing about money. Maybe for a little while, this phase of life is simply about idleness.

This week, I’ve had several conversations with folks about the virtues of doing nothing.

“Doing nothing” seems wrong to me. It goes against everything I’ve been taught. It goes against my inner nature. Sure, I’ve shirked a lot of responsibility in my life, no doubt. I don’t deny it. But I’ve always felt guilty for doing so. It’s never been something I’ve embraced. Now, though, I’m beginning to wonder if I ought not give myself permission to loaf.

As I dive into this soul-searching, I’m guided in part by what little Buddhist thought I’ve been exposed to. I like the idea of just being and not judging myself for what that happens to bring. Just exist. Be present in the moment. Enjoy the world around me and the people I’m with. Live.

Too, I’ve been thinking a lot about my own mortality. I’m 54 now. That’s five years older than my father was when he died. It’s twenty years younger than my mother was when she died. The reality is that I don’t have decades left to me. I have maybe two. What’s the point of spending that time doing things I don’t want to do and worrying about what other people think. I want to do what I want to do, you know?

Part of this means spending some of my money now. In the world of personal finance, we talk a lot about saving and investing. A lot of what we read and write condemns spending, especially if the spending is on luxuries. We’re made to feel bad for using the money we’ve earned to improve our lives. Well, I think that’s bullshit. I worked hard for what I have, and if I want to use some of it to buy, say, a pair of $300 shoes, then I’m going to buy a pair of $300 shoes. There’s nothing wrong with that. The trouble comes if I’m trying to buy a pair of $300 shoes with money I don’t have.

Anyhow, these are the things I’m thinking about.

I know this isn’t a typical installment of Apex Money. So far, I haven’t given you any links. And, in fact, I’m only going to give you one link today…and it’s to an article published in 1932.

“In praise of idleness.” [Bertrand Russell in Harper’s Magazine] — “It will be said that while a little leisure is pleasant, men would not know how to fill their days if they had only four hours’ work out of the twenty-four. In so far as this is true in the modern world it is a condemnation of our civilization; it would not have been true at any earlier period. There was formerly a capacity for light-heartedness and play which has been to some extent inhibited by the cult of efficiency. The modern man thinks that everything ought to be done for the sake of something else, and never for its own sake.”

That’s it. That’s your only article for today, and it’s ninety years old. But it’s an excellent, through-provoking piece from a Nobel Prize winning philosopher. You should go read it. It’ll be fifteen minutes well spent. I promise. Even if you don’t agree with it, you’ll get something out of it…

Before I go, here’s a non-financial video that has me giddy. It’s the official trailer for Dune Part Two.

I’ve been a Dune fan for a long, long time and the first film is a personal fave (though, to be fair, I didn’t like it on first viewing). So, I’m eagerly awaiting the second part’s arrival in theaters on November 3.

Okay, that’s all I have for you this week. I’ll be back in ten days with more great stuff. See you then!

Today is Thursday. This is Apex Money. I’m J.D. Roth. And you are one of our loyal readers. Welcome! Let’s look at what sorts of money stories I’ve collected for you today…

How to use A.I. to do practical stuff. [One Useful Thing] — “We live in an era of practical AI, but many people haven’t yet experienced it, or, if they have, they might have wondered what the big deal is. Thus, this guide. It is a modified version of one I put out for my students earlier in the year, but a lot has changed. It is an overview of ways to get AI to do practical things.”

The journey of a humble tire reveals why prices are still so high. [ProPublica] — “The lowly tire shop, it turns out, may be one of the best places to examine the post-pandemic recovery and its uncertain future. Tires have been buffeted by nearly every force driving inflation since the pandemic began — from border shutdowns that prevented migrant workers overseas from reaching rubber plantations to the war in Ukraine’s toll on an obscure but essential ingredient in tires called carbon black. Americans depend on tires to get to work, to get groceries — essentially to live, in much of the country. But unlike food and gas, tires aren’t something people typically budget for.” [Long but interesting.]

Make sure you know what you’re retiring to. [Tawcan] — “Regardless of whether you are close to your retirement or not, it is vital to know yourself and understand what you want to do when you’re retired. Spend some time thinking about your plans in retirement, it will be better than not having any plans and just winging it.”

I’ll be honest. I’ve been a huge proponent of “purpose” for a long time now. In fact, it’s been the core of my message as I write about money. Right now, though, I’m in a place where I feel like I don’t have a purpose. Or that my purpose is changing. That it might actually be fine to live without a purpose.

I’m still chewing this over, and I don’t know where I’ll eventually land. For now, I’ll continue to encourage folks to find a purpose because I know having one was helpful for me, and I know that it’s helpful for others. But the older I get, the more comfortable I am in saying that it’s okay to not have some central goal that guides your life.

How’s that for deep?!

Okay, that’s all for today. I’ll be back with more tomorrow…

Happy Wednesday Plutus Family! We are so excited to share this week’s content with you. Please enjoy!

Check out what we have for you this week.

19 Business Ideas Free for the Taking! [Side Hustle Nation] — “Today, we’re doing another round of business idea giveaways with serial entrepreneur Steve Chou. Steve built not one but two 7-figure businesses — and started both as side hustles.” (Submitted by J. Money.)

Lightyear Could Just Be the Best App for Investing. [Money Side Up] — “This isn’t like a trading app either, so you don’t have to worry about jargon! Instead, this is one of the best apps for buying ETFs. These are exchange traded funds – which means you can buy into hundreds or thousands of stocks in just a few easy clicks. This means it’s not overwhelming like other investing apps.” (Submitted by Tarsha.)

From Skeptic to “Ah hah!”: A Review of The Show ‘How to Get Rich’ with Ramit Sethi.  [Financial Mechanic] — “A rich life might bring to mind limos, lavish parties, and jumping off yachts, but that’s not necessarily your rich life. Owning a house might be what you consider something a ‘successful adult’ does, but what is someone else’s rich life might not match your vision. Each person has to go a little deeper than other peoples’ expectations of a Rich Life.” (Submitted by J. Money.)

Today is Tuesday, my friends, and you’re at Apex Money. Here are the juicy money links we’ve collected for you today:

The best deal in the world right now. [Raptitude] — “Why don’t people pay the quite-reasonable price for the best medicine in existence? Having been someone who has both paid in full, refused to pay, and paid inconsistently, I think most of the resistance boils down perceiving the cost as higher than it really is, and the rewards as smaller than they really are.”

How to craft a harmonious life. [Psyche] — “Neither work nor leisure time must satisfy all your psychological needs. Instead, each role in life you have (eg, experienced foreman, loving husband, caring son, dedicated Red Cross volunteer and avid chess player) plays an important part in an orchestra. Coordination of these different roles, and satisfaction of needs via active engagement in these roles, results in what we call ‘life domain harmony’ – the symphony of your life.” [A long article, but one filled with excellent practical advice.]

Rising text-message scams are draining U.S. bank accounts. [The Guardian] — “Text scams can be even harder to avoid than those that come via phone call or email, consumer advocates say, because it’s a communication style with more urgency and one we’re more inclined to trust, since typically people only use texts to communicate with someone they know well.”

Lastly, here’s a link that’s not like anything I usually share. I’m not sure where I saw this, but it doesn’t matter. Here’s an online Car Mechanics video course. It costs $25 for lifetime access.

I’m not a car guy. In fact, I recognize that I’m woefully ignorant when it comes to cars. I bought this course to help fill in some gaps. (By the way, I get no compensation for sending you to this.) It probably helps that the car they tear down and rebuild is a Mazda Miata, which is the same car I own. But still, at $25 I think this could be interesting for a lot of people…

Good Monday morning, Apexians, and welcome to the month of May! Today, I’ve collected four stories about how some folks are getting paid big bucks to do nothing. Sound crazy? It does to me too. Yet it’s been happening for years, and it seems to be happening more often.

“I’ve been employed in tech for years, but I’ve almost never worked.” [Emmanuel Maggiori] — “What is happening right now in tech may be one of the greatest market inefficiencies — or even deceptions — in history. I am writing this article because I think outsiders deserve to know what’s really going on in the field.” This doesn’t surprise me at all. I have a close friend who works a tech job for a large non-tech corporation. He works maybe two or three hours a week, and that’s mostly sitting in on meetings. Nobody else understands what his job is supposed to do, so he’s left to his own devices. He does almost no work.

The biggest new moneymaking scheme for Hollywood stars? Doing nothing. [The Guardian, so possible soft barrier] — “How hard do you have to work to earn $60m in just three years? The answer, for Phoebe Waller-Bridge, at least, is not very hard at all. In 2019 the Emmy-winning creator of the hit TV show Fleabag signed a $20m-a-year deal with Amazon Studios…Waller-Bridge has collected $60m from Amazon over the last few years without ever making a new show.”

‘Overemployed’ hustlers exploit ChatGPT to take on even more full-time jobs. [Vice] — “Over the last few months, the exploding popularity of ChatGPT and similar products has led to growing concerns about AI’s potential effects on the international job market—specifically, the percentage of jobs that could be automated away, replaced by a well-oiled army of chatbots. But for a small cohort of fast-thinking and occasionally devious go-getters, AI technology has turned into an opportunity not to be feared but exploited, with their employers apparently none the wiser.” Related: The always-fascinating /r/overemployed subreddit, where member share how they work multiple jobs at once.

“I delivered a presentation completely generated by ChatGPT in a master’s program and got the full mark.” [/r/ChatGPT on Reddit] — “For everyone in higher education, I genuinely wish you the best of luck. I’m almost positive certain countermeasures will be deployed to contain this beast and I’m glad this is my final semester in higher education and kinda got there early to take full advantage of this. It’s going to be a nightmare discerning real human work from AI-generated content, and I’m sure everyone is going to suffer equally this abrupt advance in technology.”

O, brave new world that has such people in it…

Status and the Illusion of Progress [More to That] – “If a nation as a whole is getting wealthier but its citizens are getting angrier, is that progress? If global life expectancy is increasing but more people are suicidally depressed, is that progress? A rationalist will answer, “Interesting point, but take a look at this data instead!” Whereas someone that understands the limitations of reason will say, “Maybe we’re thinking of progress incorrectly in the first place.”” Good food for thought as we work our way into the weekend and reflect.

Pineapple street musings [Contessa Capital Advisors] – “The “social proximity effect” describes the tendency to make connections with people who are around us regularly (eg, in our social network). This often coincides with our propensity to copy the money behaviors of our friends and acquaintances (hence the well-known phrase “keeping up with the Jones’s”), and the “social comparison theory”, which involves comparing our socio-economic status, possessions, and lifestyle to the people we spend time with.” You are the average of the five people around you, right?

The Optimal Amount of Hassle [Morgan Housel on Collabfund] – “The thing people miss is that there are bad things that become bigger problems when you try to eliminate them. I think the most successful people recognize when a certain amount of acceptance beats purity.” It’s kind of the other side of the Region Beta Paradox, except you are aware of it and knowingly settle in the beta.

Enjoy the weekend!

I very rarely follow much of the financial news these days beyond reading a few emails, just too many things to get worried about!

When you are investing for the long term, being aware of the big news stories is great but don’t let it impact your behavior. I learned during Covid that the news was negatively impacting me and made a conscious effort to reduce how much I was consuming. It definitely improved my mental health!

Why Economic Uncertainty Doesn’t Matter [Mile High Finance Guy] – “While recessions are terrifying to someone too caught up in the moment or with a limited understanding of the economic cycle, they are temporary. If you fail to realize that this downturn and uncertainty will pass and give way to a future with renewed prosperity, you will surely panic too!”

The Road Trip – What Almost Everyone Gets Wrong On the Journey to FI [Money Flamingo] – “Today I invite you to do a little thought experiment with me. It reveals what most people get wrong on the path to FI. It will also tell you a lot about your own journey to Financial Independence.” A good discussion of the pitfalls of focusing on the wrong things in your FI journey (tip of the cap to Womens Personal Finance for finding this one!).

How “saving” money leads to debt [Thursday Evening Money] – “One of my early finding when building christmas club was understanding how people use and translate the word “savings” when referring to money. I talked with a dozen people who live paycheck to paycheck and asked them, would you consider yourself a good saver? Almost all say yes. And then, I’d follow up asking, why do you consider yourself a good saver? And here’s some answers that I got.”

Hey Plutus Family! Wednesday could not come fast enough. We are so excited to share this week’s content with you. Please enjoy!

Check out what we have for you this week.

13+ Beginner Investing Tips (for Success & Peace of Mind). [The Money Principle] — “Here, I’ll share the principles for successful investing and peace of mind that every beginner investor must know. These investing tips are not technical but specific enough to entice you to act.” (Submitted by Tarsha.)

The Road Trip – What Almost Everyone Gets Wrong on the Journey to FI. [Money Flamingo] — “If you want to solve the FI equation for enjoyment and success (that is about more than just numbers), you need to consider different “ingredients”. You also need to question some of the basic assumptions we make about Financial Independence.” (Submitted by J. Money.)

10 Harsh Money Lessons That You Never Learned in School. [Studenomics] — ” I’ve seen a variation of this message on social media over the years. Personal finance is one of those topics that we have to figure out on our own as we go through life, and it can be highly frustrating. This is why I wanted to look at what you likely weren’t taught about money as a high school or college student that you should know.” (Submitted by Tarsha.)

Last week, I asked a somewhat polarizing question on Twitter:

What are the benefits of paying a financial advisor a 1% fee on AUM? (trying to play devil's advocate)

— Jim Wang (@WalletHacks) April 21, 2023

There were some good answers. A lot of them focused on how much 1% would cost over decades (a LOT) but a few brought up excellent points.

The two I wanted to highlight were from Chad and Rick Ferri:

I'd actually think of it like this.

How many more folks would be better off if they paid the 1% to have the money managed. (Assuming advisor isn't garbage)

I'd guess more would be ahead making 7% instead of holding cash or worse.

Not for me just to clarify haha

— Chad | Money Matters (@Chadmoneymatter) April 21, 2023

Two points:

First, there are often benefits to paying for financial advice.

Second, a 1% assets under management (AUM) fee isn’t for advice, it’s for portfolio management, and in today’s day and age, that’s about 0.75% too high.

— Rick Ferri, CFA (@Rick_Ferri) April 22, 2023

The Rick Ferri tweet prompted a discussion that included a few financial advisors and I invite you dig into the money psychology behind those tweets and make your own decision.

The thread also surfaced this Whitepaper from Vanguard – Putting a value on your value: Quantifying Advisor’s Alpha. In “investing terms,” alpha is shorthand for value add. When you work with someone, like a financial advisor, what do they offer above and beyond what you can do? Oftentimes, we think of this as higher returns. But the paper offers up a framework to provide value in “relationship-oriented services,” rather than trying to beat the market. Interesting to see this coming from a firm known for low cost funds (but recently ventured into advisory services).

When your neighbors become your overlords [Vox] – “There are few things more delicious than a homeowners association horror story. All over the internet, you can find tales of people getting fined for parking their vehicles in their own driveways or having a potted tomato plant on their back porches or leaving a bottle of Gatorade out for one day. In Tennessee, a man returned from vacation to discover his car was missing; he thought it had been stolen, but in reality, his HOA had towed it because it had a flat tire. A Maryland HOA fined a homeowner $40,000 because the fence she built was 8 inches too long. A Missouri HOA threatened a family with jail time because they’d put up a play set that was — gasp! — purple.”

I’m glad we’re not in an HOA!

When I look back on my “career arc,” I never could’ve predicted where it would take me.

I accepted my first job in 2003 because it was the only offer I had. It was to work for a defense contractor for a pretty good salary. The job was fine, not particularly inspiring, and what appealed the most was the fact that they hired a hundred-plus new graduates each year and a “leadership development program.” It turned out to be a great decision.

Looking back, a few of my friends still work at the company and have risen the ranks to become leaders in the company. It’s pretty awesome to see.

What’s less awesome to see is that they have a ton of travel, often being away from home for several days during the week, and it isn’t something I’d love to do. I’m not sure I’d be able to do it… but what’s the alternative? Sometimes that’s what the job calls for. Tough decisions to be made for sure, but our first article can help… maybe. 😅

How to Leave a Career You Don’t Genuinely Love [Retire Before Dad] – “Common advice from life coaches and career gurus is to build a career you love so much you don’t want to retire. I appreciate this advice and wish I’d followed it more in my 20s and early 30s. But genuinely loving what you do is a rare privilege. Most people don’t love their jobs, let alone their careers. Early on, we might like our jobs or tolerate them enough to use the income to qualify for a 30-year mortgage and get comfortable in a certain lifestyle. But then we’re trapped because we need the same income level or more to service the debt and maintain the way of life. Lifestyle inflation kicks in — income grows; spending follows. It’s gradual confinement.”

AI is taking the jobs of Kenyans who write essays for U.S. college students [Rest of World] – “For the past nine years, Collins, a 27-year-old freelance writer, has been making money by writing assignments for students in the U.S. — over 8,500 miles away from Nanyuki in central Kenya, where he lives. He is part of the “contract cheating” industry, known locally as simply “academic writing.” Collins writes college essays on topics including psychology, sociology, and economics. Occasionally, he is even granted direct access to college portals, allowing him to submit tests and assignments, participate in group discussions, and talk to professors using students’ identities. In 2022, he made between $900 and $1,200 a month from this work. Lately, however, his earnings have dropped to $500–$800 a month. Collins links this to the meteoric rise of ChatGPT and other generative artificial intelligence tools.”

IRS Pledges More Audits of Wealthy, Better Customer Service [U.S. News 7 World Report] – “The Inflation Reduction Act Strategic Operating Plan, released April 5, 2023, lays out the details of what to expect from the IRS. It plans to step up two major actions: audits of individuals and businesses with incomes of $400,000 and above, and new and improved customer service for all.”