Apex Money Posts

Howdy, Apexians, and welcome to another wild week. I know things in the world at large are still crazy. But so too are things in my personal life. While I continue to provide care for my sick cousin, my mother too has resumed her trips to the E.R.

Translation: While I’m snagging a few moments here on Sunday afternoon to share some recent articles, my posting this schedule this week may be…chaotic. I’ll do my best, though.

Let’s start by looking at some cool stuff I’ve had open in my browser for a couple of weeks now…

Eleven rules for buying an e-bike. [Ryan’s Blog] — “E-bikes are a big reason I’ve been able to go 11 years car-free. Owning [sixty] bikes has also allowed me to understand the differences between them, and I’ve advised hundreds on their own ebike purchase…Here are 11 rules for buying an ebike.”

Why gravel gardens are better than they sound. [The New York Times, so possible paywall] — “The don’t-need-to-do list for gravel gardens is not just about reduced weeding and watering duties. These are gardens that don’t require mulching or fertilizing either, and their edges are already defined, so they needn’t be cut each spring the way you would with a conventional bed adjacent to lawn.”

The professor who beat roulette. [The Hustle] — “He noticed that at the end of each night, casinos would replace cards and dice with fresh sets — but the expensive roulette wheels went untouched and often stayed in service for decades before being replaced. Like any other machine, these wheels acquired wear and tear. Jarecki began to suspect that tiny defects — chips, dents, scratches, unlevel surfaces — might cause certain wheels to land on certain numbers more frequently than randomocity prescribed.”

Let’s wrap things up on this Monday with a six-minute video from BBC Reel that explores why it’s almost impossible to lose things in Japan.

I understand 100% that all cultures have drawbacks, and Japan is no exception. But I find this particular aspect of their society so, so refreshing.

Okay, that’s it for today. Maybe we should play a game where we place bets on how many days I’m able to publish this week. I’m aiming for five. Will I manage to hit that target? 😉

I don’t know if I’ve ever had a calling.

I remember going into interviews and getting asked “why do you want this job?” and my honest answer (in my head) was “Because it pays well.”

I always gave the “correct” answer which is “I like working in teams on tough problems” or “I like working hard and seeing it translate into progress” or some other BS line. The interviewer always nodded at how correct the answer was and we moved on. There was never a sense that I felt like the work was my life’s mission or a calling of any kind.

I don’t have a calling, is that okay? [The Woke Salaryman] – “Callings are very desirable things, but the tricky bit is whether it pays for you to do it, whether you’re able to do your calling as your full-time, primary work. They may pay well, or not pay very well (or at all).”

It wasn’t until I was older that I realized that I don’t have a “calling” when it comes to my work. There are things I enjoy, things that I’m good at, and things that pay well. I try to match them but it’s not always the case.

My calling is really about my family and that’s good enough for me. I don’t necessarily need a “work” calling. 🙂

What to Do During a Recession: A Timeless Strategy [Darius Foroux] – “Since the probability of a recession this year is getting higher, I’d rather expect it. That helps me to do well when it happens. And if it doesn’t happen, I will still do well. Preparing for a recession is a no-lose situation.”

The Snitch [The Atavist Magazine] – “In Scott Kimball, the FBI thought it had found a high-value informant who could help solve big cases. What it got instead was lies, betrayal, and murder.” Ooohhh…. the ultimate trio!

The son of a diamond factory worker in Gujarat founded a $11 billion crypto startup called Polygon.

This is the story of Jaynti Kanani👇👇 pic.twitter.com/PV4UWFNPDH

— Shreyans Singh (@shreyans512) March 7, 2022

Have a great weekend!

I want to present the first article without introduction or explanation other than the teaser and that you should read it through to the end.

Lessons Learned from the Bar [Wealth Found Me] – “Let me tell you the story of three important people who did happen to leave a lasting impression on me. These three people came to my favorite bar over the course of 60 days. This establishment only seems to move forward with time and more expensive with every new height. In this dim-lit room, you can find antiques and memories of every era, spanning from the Great Depression to the major shock the pandemic left.”

We simply endure her while she’s here. That line got me and one that will stick with me for a while. Good advice.

Avoiding Retirement Regrets [Can I Retire Yet?] – “As I read The Power of Regret, I couldn’t help but think about my own regrets and how they have motivated my decisions. I also repeatedly thought about conversations and correspondence I’ve had with readers of the blog, and how regrets seem to drive their actions.”

Last one is super short but good:

365 participation awards 🏅 [5AM Joel] – “Be persistent, no matter the results. Shoot for 365 participation awards each year. Gold medals will arrive as a result.”

I was saddened to learn that All Star Money, one of several great personal finance content curating sites, is closing up shop on Friday. If you didn’t know them, check out the archives because there’s a lot of good content they’ve picked out over the years and they’ve help me discover blogs I otherwise wouldn’t have.

The thing about projects like these is that they’re not financially lucrative. We’ve had offers to sponsor days and promote content but we’ve always passed on it. J.D. and I treat this as a fun hobby that we do because we enjoy it. Monetizing it isn’t on the roadmap… in fact, we don’t really have a roadmap because you don’t usually have roadmaps for hobbies, you just kind of wing it and enjoy it. 🙂

To that end, here are some of today’s posts – enjoy!

Why Relaxation Is Important for Busy People (and How to Find the Time) [Len Penzo] – “Relaxation can help improve your mood, reduce stress levels, and boost your productivity. With that in mind, let’s discuss why relaxation is so important for busy people and how you can find the time to relax despite your hectic schedule.” In time of stress, it’s easy to think that just putting your head down and pushing through it is the way…

How To Deal With Workplace Harassment And Leave A Toxic Job [Her First $100K] – “If you have been Googling “is my job toxic?” and taking BuzzFeed-esque quizzes to try and validate your concerns, this post is for you. We have collected our team’s best practices for identifying when a job is toxic, how to respond in the face of workplace harassment, and how to professionally navigate the next steps so that it does not impact your career.” It’s not always obvious what’s toxic and what isn’t, especially if the culture has been shifting.

How Relationship Satisfaction Changes Across Your Lifetime [Greater Good Magazine] – “It turns out there are a few other important factors that may influence how you feel about your relationship: how old you are and how long you’ve been together. In fact, in a new paper, researchers mapped out the relationship satisfaction of more than 165,000 people around the world—and they saw distinct up-and-down patterns as couples moved through life.”

I’m in my early forties and so I was just a kid the last time inflation was like it is today. The 1970s and 1980s experienced quite a bit of inflation but it’s not something you really feel when you’re a kid. I had a middle class upbringing and my parents were frugal but the word “inflation” never came up. We saved money simply because that’s what we did, not because things were getting more expensive.

Compared with the numerous crises of the last 25 years, things being a little bit more expensive seems somewhat… pedestrian. We’ve had the dot com boom and bust, the financial crisis, the housing crisis, numerous conflicts and wars, the Covid pandemic… 7.9% inflation seems manageable?

We’ll see.

Living Through History [Irrelevant Investor] – “These are extraordinary times. The consumer price index increased by 7.9% over the last 12 months, which is the highest year-over-year increase since 1982. It’s a weird feeling, to know that you’re living through history. One day we’re gonna talk about this the same way that our parents talk about the 1970s. Inflation shows absolutely no signs of slowing down. Price increases are broad-based and expanding.”

I’ve only eaten in a couple places that have been awarded Michelin stars and they’ve all been pretty amazing experiences.

I’m common as muck and spent £150 in a Michelin star restaurant to see if it was worth it [Birmingham Live] – “But being that I have a new years resolution to be more intrepid and a desire to truly appreciate everything that Birmingham has to offer, I decided to give Michelin dining a go. Could it ever really be worth the expenditure? I thought, rather I find out than you go and be £150 down and disappointed. So I called.” It was a pleasure to read how much she enjoyed it.

The Enormous Scale of America’s Food Waste [Visual Capitalist] – “Every year, 30% to 40% of food produced in the U.S. is either lost or wasted. This waste occurs throughout the entire supply chain, though the majority of it occurs in downstream channels like households and retailers. Overall, 80 billion pounds of food is wasted each year, representing 242 pounds of food per person.” WOW. Also, this is telling – “80% of Americans discard edible food because they misunderstand the expiration labels.”

Does My Son Know You? [The Ringer] – There’s no quote I can pull from this article that does it justice, just read it. Really puts things in perspective.

Gimme 20! How just 20 minutes a day to yourself could transform your life [The Guardian] – “When you’re overloaded with work/parenting/caring/domestic admin/stuff to faff around with on your phone, it’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that every second is accounted for. But recently, I have finally acknowledged the (slightly embarrassingly obvious) fact that life’s to-do list will never be complete; that spending time doing whatever you want will help you get everything else done; that it’s not selfish, but actually practical. And it has been a gamechanger. This isn’t about aspiring to be a CEO type, who rises at 4am to restore their inbox to zero and get a bouffant blow-dry. It’s about taking 20 minutes to reclaim your humanity.”

A lot of eye-opening stats in this thread:

In 1994, Jeff Bezos famously spotted a stat that made him leave his high-paying PE job to start Amazon:

💡 The Internet was growing 2300% per year.

What are the generation-defining stats of today?

I'll post a few to kick things off…

— Steph Smith (@stephsmithio) March 8, 2022

It’s Friday, my friends, and this is Apex Money. We’re your source for the highest-quality articles about personal finance (and other stuff). Let’s see what I’ve rounded up for you today…

How to live with your regrets. [BBC Worklife] — “Regret’s fundamental role in our cognition may explain why so many people experience it so frequently. Pink points to one study, from 1984, that examined the conversations of undergraduate and married couples. Within these recordings, regret was the second most discussed emotion after love. The finding fits with one of Pink’s own questionnaires, which asked how often people experience regret. Around 20% of the respondents claimed to feel the emotion all the time’.” Count me as part of that 20% who feels regret all of the time. It sucks.

How to bleed your employer dry before quitting. [Bitches Get Riches] — “If you’re planning to quit voluntarily…you can be strategic. […] And in doing so, you can extract a ton of value back from your employer and/or your government before you go. I’m down to just one month at my job, and I’m systematically going through this list. It will save me thousands of dollars. It will also prevent a lot of logistical headaches for my future self.” This list is less about bleeding your employer dry and more about taking advantage of the benefits you’re owed as an employee. However you look at it, it’s good advice.

To take you into the weekend, here’s an hour-long video describing how one man became a professional anime voice actor in Japan.

I’ll confess. I haven’t watched the entire video yet. But I’ve enjoyed what I’ve seen, and I plan to watch the rest when I have more free time. (I have little free time lately.)

Okay, that’s everything for this week. Jim will be back on Monday to share more great articles about money (and more). Until then, take care!

Good morning, money nerds, and welcome to another edition of Apex Money. I have three great articles for you today (and one great video). Let’s get to it.

“How we signed up for health insurance through the ACA.” [Frugalwoods] — “Unless your situation miraculously mirrors mine here in rural Vermont, you’re not going to be able to follow my exact steps. You’re going to have to do your own research in your state for your own circumstances. But all is not lost! There’s a lot we can learn together about how the ACA operates at the federal level. So let’s go on an ACA journey together!” I too recently signed up for health insurance via the ACA. But I haven’t had enough experience with it yet to write about the process.

How to pay off debt fast. [The Money Principle] — “Paying off your debt can be an empowering experience but it is not a walk in the park. A successful debt freedom journey is like a track in the mountain – your head must be right, you must be prepared, know the route and walk that walk. This post covers all important points about paying off debt fast and becoming debt-free, but it is not likely to be enough.” L-o-n-g but excellent article.

The seven habits that lead to happiness in old age. [The Atlantic] — “The best way to maximize your chances of happiness in your 70s is to pursue all seven of these goals with fervor, sort of like balancing your 401(k). But if you can choose only one to pour your heart into, let it be the last. According to the Harvard study, the single most important trait of happy-well elders is healthy relationships.”

Finally, here’s a fun video from 1973. It’s little Stevie Wonder performing “Superstition” live on Sesame Street. Great song. Great performance.

I always liked Stevie Wonder as a kid, but it’s not until I reached my fifties that I’ve learned to truly appreciate him. The man is funky as hell. Great musician.

Okay, that’s all I have for you today. I’ll be back tomorrow to see you into the weekend…

Howdy, Apexians. Sorry for the lull at the start of this week. As some of you know, my priority lately has been to spend quality time with my cousin as he enters the final stages of his battle with cancer. Collecting fun links about money seems foolish when I could be hanging out with him instead.

That said, here I am with a free Wednesday and no obligations. Sounds like a perfect time to catch up on some reading…and to share the best of that reading with you folks. Let’s dive in…

The responsibility of hope. [Emily Guy Birken] — “We may have a lot of reasons to feel hopeless, and far be it from me to keep anyone from making dark jokes when they feel powerless. But we are not powerless. We can always hope. It’s not juvenile or naïve to hope. It’s the responsible thing to do, because it is the only way we can effect any change.”

The case for (always) staying invested. [J.P. Morgan Wealth Management via reader Michael Laurence] — “Diversification, time in the market and a steady head can help investors achieve their long-term financial goals by avoiding the pitfalls of emotionally driven, badly timed mistakes. When times get tough in markets and make you feel nervous, remember the lessons from tried-and-true investing principles.”

A world shaped by supply. [PDF report from Blackrock] — “Limits on supply have driven the surge in inflation over the past year: a profound change from the decades-long dominance of demand drivers. This fundamentally changes how we should think about the macro environment and the market implications. The key to understanding the muted response of central banks to inflation is not the timeframe but its cause: supply. Much of the 2021 debate overlooked this.” This is a long and heady paper, but it’s very much worth reading.

To wrap things up today, here’s a nerdy but fun 12-minute video that attempts to answer the question: Where does the tone come from in an electric guitar?

Okay, that’s it for today. Because I know I’m headed up to Portland tomorrow to spend more time with my cousin, I’ll take some time this afternoon to draft two more Apex installments for you. That means you can look forward to more tomorrow. See you then!

What’s the Point of a Donor-Advised Fund? [Oblivious Investor] – “There are three main reasons why you might benefit from using a donor-advised fund:

You get the tax deduction now, without yet needing to figure out how much you want to give to which charities.
They provide anonymity, if desired.
They make it easier to donate securities (e.g., shares of mutual funds or stocks).”

The Greatest Privilege We Never Talk About: Beauty [Saeid Fard on Medium] – “The benefits of being attractive are exorbitant. Beauty might be the single greatest physical advantage you can have in life*. And yet compared to other other privileges that may arise from race, gender, or sexuality, we don’t talk much about it.” Reminds me of that SNL skit with Tom Brady. 🙂

And to round out the week – here’s a profile of someone I’ve been a fan of for ages – J. Kenji López-Alt. I first discovered him through all of his research at Serious Eats and now I find myself watching his videos on Youtube.

The Scientific Methods of J. Kenji López-Alt (and this one in GQ, I watched the video where he made the noodles he’s eating in that shot)

The thing that I find most remarkable, and this is such a small little thing, is that he uses a lighter to light his gas cooktop (and given by the open of the 1st article, something everyone notices!). I’ve never watch a video where he’s talked about it but I find it fascinating. In a world where it’s easy to talk about the latest gadget or appliance or new technology, his stuff is very much simple yet functional focused.

Have a great weekend!