Is it really so bad to let some things slip through the cracks?
The Art of Letting Things Slip Through The Cracks [Accidentally Retired] – “This is a reminder to me as much as anyone. You are only human. You can’t do it all. It is okay to let things slip through the cracks!”
The Munger Operating System: How to Live a Life That Really Works [Farnam Street] – “It’s such a simple idea. It’s the golden rule so to speak: You want to deliver to the world what you would buy if you were on the other end. There is no ethos, in my opinion, that is better for any lawyer or any other person to have. By and large the people who have this ethos win in life and they don’t win just money, not just honors. They win the respect, the deserved trust of the people they deal with, and there is huge pleasure in life to be obtained from getting deserved trust.”
A Few Thoughts on Spending Money [Morgan Housel on Collab Fund] – “There are two ways to use money. One is as a tool to live a better life. The other is as a yardstick of status to measure yourself against others. Many people aspire for the former but get caught up chasing the latter.”
This next piece may be titled “investment” but it’s not just where you put your money. It’s also about where you put your time. It’s a good way to think about it (it’s long but well worth it):
Deciding whether an investment is worthwhile [Jason Cohen on A Smart Bear] – “Of course you’ll never know if you made the best choice, even with hindsight. So the goal isn’t to make the “best choice,” but rather to make an excellent choice. To invest wisely, with the information you have.”
When you’re young, you don’t think about your mortality. You don’t limit yourself because life feels limitless.
As you age, this starts to change a little. For some, that change is both abrupt and quite soon. There’s a lot we can learn about ourselves and our lives if we take the time to learn from others.
You might not identify with someone who is much older than you but we’re all one diagnosis away from being someone in our first and only story for today:
This article can be difficult to read, especially if someone you know has been affected by disease, but a powerful reminder of what’s truly important in life.
We’ve made it to Friday, fellow money nerds. And as I have all week, I have a handful of stories to share with you about money (and more).
First up, here’s a detailed review of Apple’s new Vision Pro augmented-reality headset, which releases today. Like a lot of Apple fanboys, I’m fascinated by this product. But as a personal-finance dude, there’s no way I’m touching the $3500 price tag. After all, my primary use case for the device would be the same as my iPad: watching movies. Anyhow, we start today with a thorough (and balanced) Vision Pro review.
Apple Vision Pro review: magic, until it’s not. [The Verge] “It sounds amazing, and sometimes it is. But the Vision Pro also represents a series of really big tradeoffs — tradeoffs that are impossible to ignore. Some of those tradeoffs are very tangible: getting all this tech in a headset means there’s a lot of weight on your face, so Apple chose to use an external battery pack connected by a cable. But there are other, more philosophical tradeoffs as well.” [See also: video review from Marques Brownlee]
Questions to ask before moving in with your partner. [The New York Times gift article] — “Talking about money openly makes you better at talking about money. You’ll get to know each other’s abstract beliefs about money and how you want to translate them into concrete actions. Your shared vision as a couple will take on more dimension, and as you get comfortable with each other’s money habits and hangups, you’ll also be more readily able to ask and offer help to other loved ones in your lives.”
How to talk about money as a married couple. [Thomas Kopelman] — “If you ask your parents or someone of the prior generation, they’ll likely tell you that your finances should all be joint and your property becomes your partner’s and vice versa. There is merit to this option, but it may not be right for everyone. I’m going to discuss three separate methods of handling marital financing.”
Finally, in a week full of great videos, here’s an 11-minute segment from Phil Edwards on YouTube in which he explains the Stanley water-bottle craze. How did we get here?
In a way, I can relate to this. Not because of Stanley water bottles. Because of watercolor paints. And not because of artificial manufactured scarcity but actual scarcity.
You see, during the few months that I’ve been painting, I’ve learned that not all paints are the same. Some are better than others. Some are much better than others. In November, I discovered paints from A. Gallo. These paints are handmade in Italy and use a honey-based binder and pigments from across Europe (Icelandic volcanoes!).
A. Gallo is a small company that can only produce so much product. At the end of each month, the open their online store to sell whatever they’ve managed to produce. Their stock sells out in hours. Like I say, it’s similar to the Stanley water bottle craze, but not artificially created.
Can you believe it, money nerds? We’ve already completed one month of 2024. We’re on to month two! That’s right: Another month of money stories here at Apex Money. Take a look at day one…
The two ways of doing. [Raptitude] — “I don’t think anyone sustains a gym regimen, or anything similar, if they’re motivated only by the future rewards. Everybody who keeps at it past January resolution season finds something about the toil itself to embrace…It might be the reassuring sense of self-discipline. It might be that they like who they are when they’re doing it. But it’s got to be something, because embracing the reward while resenting the price just isn’t a viable way to go about something for long. You’re always in inner conflict.”
How to declutter items you thought you couldn’t. [Becoming Minimalist] — “There are some people who can get rid of everything in one weekend, but that personality-type tends to be pretty rare. For most of us, the journey takes a bit longer. There are some things that are easy to remove, others tend to be difficult — for any number of reasons…Just because something is hard to part with, doesn’t mean we should keep it.” [I don’t share a lot of minimalism pieces here because they’re too “same-y”. I like this one, though, because it touches on some things I’ve been thinking about lately myself: curation, keeping the best, etc.]
The joys of getting organized. [Zen Habits] — “This isn’t about keeping things empty, or having things organized all the time. The nature of things is entropy — every day, you’ll get new emails, tasks, messages, etc. Things will pile up. Don’t create an ideal where you have everything sorted and you have to keep it that way. It’ll just create more stress. This is about the joy of getting organized, not being organized all the time.”
To wrap things up today, here’s another great video. Like I’ve been saying, I’ve watched a bunch of great stuff lately, but I think this is the video that’s personally been most useful. It’s a nine-minute look at how to turn your smartphone into a dumbphone.
For those unfamiliar with the concept, a dumbphone (such as the Light Phone) is deliberately designed to not do fancy internet tricks. No social media, no web browsing, etc. Nothing but phoning and texting and mapping — and perhaps a few other utilities.
I’ve actually taken the leap and modded my phone so it’s very much like the one in the video. I love it. Maybe some of you will too.
Welcome to Wednesday, my peoples. J.D. here with another day of interesting stories about money (and more).
Why one millennial game up on overemployment. [Business Insider] — “Balancing his work while avoiding suspicion wasn’t easy, among the reasons William ultimately decided to leave both jobs. But despite these challenges, he said his overemployment experience was well worth it for the financial benefits. It was so worth it, he said, that he’s considering a return to one of the jobs he left.”
Why do so many people hate their jobs? [The Escape Artist] — “If you are doing a job that doesn’t feed your soul, it is vital that you don’t fritter the money away on fleeting dopamine hits (see above). If you are doing a job for the money (most of us), then it’s vital that you create a surplus and put that money to work in your compounding machine. This buys you options in the future.”
Little luxuries: The affordable treats driving consumer spending. [BBC Worklife] — “This desire for these ‘affordable luxuries’ is common in difficult economic times. Some economists refer to the phenomenon as the “lipstick index”: a small economic bump led by budget-conscious consumers seeking out relatively affordable splurges, like small cosmetics and perfumes.”
And look! It’s the third day this week that I have an excellent YouTube video to share with you. As always, it’s nothing to do with money. (Well, actually it is, but not in any useful way.) It’s a 25-minute deep dive trying to discover what’s going on inside a crater in Madagascar.
Stick with it. There’s an answer to this riddle, even though it takes a while. And that answer is very much money-related.
Okay, that’s it for Wednesday. I’ll be back tomorrow with more.
Hello, Apexians, and welcome to Tuesday. Let’s call this one two-fer Tuesday because that’s what I have for you: two stories. But I am not kidding when I say I think both stories are fantastic.
First up is the only installment (so far) of Cate Hall’s Useful Fictions newsletter: “How to be more agentic.“. This piece is all about how to get more of what you want.
Radical agency is about finding real edges: things you are willing to do that others aren’t, often because they’re annoying or unpleasant. These don’t always surface in awareness to the point one is actually choosing — often they live in a cloud of aversion that strategically obscures the tradeoff.
It would be difficult for me to overstate how valuable I think this article is. It contains some fundamental truths about how to get the most out your life and the world around you. The story is short. I urge you to read it.
Yesterday I promised that I had an entire week of great video features. It’s true. I watched some neat stuff last week, and I’m eager to share it with you.
Today’s video feature might be my favorite. It’s an hour-long audio cassette from 1980. It chronicles the cross-country “hobo” journey of young artists James Gurney (Dinotopia) and Thomas Kinkade (like you don’t know who he is) as they “ride the rails” on freight trains.
I tell you, this thing is a delight. It’s so fun. It’s a peek into the past, a glimpse of a period when this country was undergoing some marked transitions.
I promise you there are hours of entertainment if you follow those links. As I’m at the start of my own artistic journey, I’m grateful for folks like Gurney who are so open and generous with their knowledge. I’ve never read Dinotopia before, but you can bet I’m going to buy it next time I’m in a bookstore. I want to support him. Dude is a sparkling gem.
Why, hello. It’s good to see you here. I’m J.D., of course, and you are you, and this is Apex Money. All week, I’ll share some of my favorite stories about money (and more). Plus, for once, I’ve managed to find five awesome videos to share with you. Not kidding: These are all great. Ready? Let’s dive in!
The knowledge economy is over. Welcome to the allocation economy. [Chain of Thought] — “What happens when that very skill—knowing and utilizing the right knowledge at the right time—becomes something that computers can do faster and sometimes just as well as we can?…It means a transition from a knowledge economy to an allocation economy. You won’t be judged on how much you know, but instead on how well you can allocate and manage the resources to get work done.”
30 dying people explain what really matters [The Guardian] — “Anything that doesn’t make my heart sing is less important to me these days. I don’t sweat the small stuff any more. Life is too short for cleaning. The laundry pile will wait. And if I want to eat a piece of cake, I damn well do.”
How to train your budgeting brain. [Refinery29] — “At its simplest, budgeting is about being aware of what’s coming in and going out so you can make informed decisions about your money. This is what I call the budgeting brain. Activating the budgeting brain requires four stages of engagement — think of the acronym LOAD: Look, Organize, Assess, Decide.”
Lastly, here’s a bonus video that has absolutely zero to do with money.
Okay, I have four more great videos coming to you this week. Plus, lots of great stories about money (and more). Come back tomorrow for the next installment…
Some Friendly Advice [Humble Dollar] – “The social aspect of retirement is more important than many of us assume. Loneliness is not something we want to face in our later years. Some quiet time is needed, but healthy solitude is not the same as loneliness. As author Arthur C. Brooks notes, “The kind of people who don’t know how to manage social interactions (i.e. friendships) outside of work get lonelier when they retire—and that describes a lot of successful people I know.””
Which Financial Decisions Require Extra Attention and Which Don’t [The Financial Buff] – “We face all types of choices and decisions in personal finance. Which decisions should we be more careful of and which decisions can we “wing it”? This distinction is important because if you give equal attention to every decision, either you’ll get bogged down by months of research on everything or you’ll make a casual decision that sets you back a huge sum. You should prioritize your mental energy for things that really require it.”
How to enable Stolen Device Protection on your iOS device [The Verge] – “Our phones have become so intrinsic to our lives that a stolen phone can be a disaster rather than simply an inconvenience. To help prevent that, Apple has added Stolen Device Protection to its iPhones as additional protection, especially when you’re away from your familiar haunts.”
Finally, something a little wild… how about some rocks?
Crazy Stones: The Chinese Gamblers Betting Millions on Rocks [Sixth Tone] – “Gambling on the contents of uncut jadeite stones has a long history along the China-Myanmar border. Now, livestreamers are taking the practice nationwide.” This was back in 2021 so I don’t know if they’re still doing it… but the fact that they ever did is wild!
That’s an interesting question right? Turns out the answer is yes.
It’s also a question that Eddy Elfenbein has answered in his latest Crossing Wall Street (CWS) Market Review for January 23, 2024. “I recently ran the numbers. Since 1957, the S&P 500 has made a new all-time high more than 1,100 times. (I could even be sneaky with the data because the market didn’t pass its 1929 high for 25 years, but I purposely started after that.) If we were to invest in only those days following a new high, then the market has risen at an average annualized rate of just over 15%. When the market hasn’t been at an all-time high, it’s gained an average of just 6.7%. The market has performed more than twice as well when it’s been at a new all-time high compared to when it hasn’t been. Buy high and sell even higher.” (emphasis mine)
Fascinating, right? BTW, Eddy Elfenbein and Crossing Wall Street is a great blog (and newsletter) to read. No fluff, straightforward, and easy to read.
A Lifetime of Wisdom [Humble Dollar] – “Charlie Munger, whodied recently at age 99, always had a colorful turn of phrase. But entertaining as he was, his comments were also invariably full of wisdom. In fact, taken together, Munger’s ideas offered investors a masterclass in investing. Here are some highlights:”
This next one is really fun, prepare to be really surprised.
Thirteen Discoveries Made About Human Evolution in 2023 [Smithsonian Mag] – “This huge amount of meat suggests that Neanderthals may have gathered in larger groups, perhaps seasonally, and had some kind of food storage or preservation techniques. Furthermore, the dating of elephant bones at the site covers a span of about 2,000 years, demonstrating a behavior that continued in the same place across generations.”
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