Apex Money Posts

I’ve always wondered, but never researched, why the marriage penalty existed.

Its history is very interesting and worth reading:

How the U.S. Tax Code Privileges White Families [The Atlantic] – “The U.S. tax code can seem like a neutral, or at least equally punishing, system. But that misses how it has privileged white people—particularly white married couples—and preserved the racial inequality that has long defined America. Take the joint return, for instance, a policy that was designed to give a tax break to married (heterosexual) couples in which only the husband worked in the paid labor market. That setup favored white couples, whose familial structure was most likely to fit its mold. And it came at the expense of Black married couples, including my parents.”

The tax code can be discriminatory even if there was never any intent ahead of time. The solution is to fix that system or you are complicit in its discrimination. And, as it turns out, the fix is quite simple.

Letting Go of Childhood Toys and Memorabilia [One Frugal Girl] – “When I see those old toys, I picture my boys’ chubby little hands playing with the pieces. I imagine their smiling faces looking up at me with utter delight. I remember the moments of their first few years and relish in the memories of that time in my life. While I consider myself a minimalist, I struggle to let go of them.” I struggle with this one too.

A Lot of the Woo-Woo Probably Works [Raptitude] – “There’s something I miss about the days when most people I knew thought meditation was nonsense. In the early 2000s, I was a hardline skeptical type, but I did this one woo-woo-ish thing, because its benefits were obvious enough to me.”

My dad once told me that if there is something that people have been doing for thousands of years, it probably works. It might not be provable beyond a reasonable doubt with science but it can’t be all wrong.

Amazing video on how cats walk [via @RexChapman on Twitter] – “Cats have a precise method of walking called ‘direct registering’. Their hind paws fall inside the place of their forepaws — minimizing noise and visible tracks — while ensuring more stable footing. Amazing…”

The many emotions of redundancy [Paul Wilson on Linkedin] – “Like many other people I was recently made redundant. It is a huge shock to lose your job and that has been amplified by the uncertainties of lockdown and the emotional rollercoaster of the last 12 months. […] Alongside sadness I also felt moments of intense anger. If I was honest with myself most of the anger I felt about redundancy was due to ego. Why have I been made redundant? Why have THEY done this to ME? I was particularly angered by the timing. Everyone had made sacrifices throughout the last year and this felt like a poor way to repay that sacrifice – particularly as our client scores had gone up, employee scores had remained stable and we were profitable as a business unit.” A very honest look at what it’s like to be fired.

Solve Problems Before They Happen by Developing an “Inner Sense of Captaincy” [Farnam Street] – “If we want to get away from glorifying those who run around putting out fires, we need to cultivate an organizational culture that empowers everyone to act responsibly at the first sign of smoke.”

Get Rich versus Stay Rich [The Belle Curve] – “Few things compare to the high of making millions off a concentrated bet; whether that bet is on a single stock, building a business, or working for a successful start-up. I imagine the brain responds to this high in the same way it does to addiction. The temptation to chase the next high is all-encompassing. I talk to investors all the time who can’t stop chasing that high.”

Cartoons [Mapologies] – “It is surprising how often the names of the three nephew of Donald [Duck] have been adapted to the local audiences. More than other cartoon characters. Just some languages uses the English names literally or their transcription. Other chose native names which sound more familiar: in Spanish (diminutive of John, George, James in Spain; Hugh, James and Louis in America; except in Argentina where they are Hugh, Frank and Louis), Portuguese (diminutive of Hugh, Joseph, Louis; in Brasil before had other names) and Catalan (diminutive of John, George, James).” It’s about a more than just Hewey, Dewey, and Louie and it’s quite fun to dig into the other names.

Every night before bed, Kim and I browse Reddit. I’ve managed to purge most negative subreddits from my feed, so I only see positive stuff (animal videos, /r/humansbeingbros, /r/toptalent) and interesting stuff (/r/bestoflegaladvice, /r/stopdrinking, /r/mapporn). Plus, of course, I subscribe to several subreddits about money. (Big fan of FIREyFemmes, for example.)

Consistently, one of the best subreddits I read is /r/povertyfinance, which is exactly what it sounds like: “Financial advice, frugality tips, stories, opportunities, and general guidance for people who are struggling financially. No Judgement, just advice!”

By design, /r/povertyfinance is a place for people who are “financially challenged”. From the subreddit sidebar:

Much of the financial advice online and on reddit is aimed at people who have varying degrees of disposable income, ability to invest, lots of free time, available transportation, no kids, a partner, access to credit, and beyond. This is a place for people who do not have a lot, nor ideal circumstances, to help each other get by and hopefully move up in the world.

You do not have to be absolutely destitute to be here. Whether you are a single parent only pulling 10k a year, or a single person trying to get past student loans at 28K, you are welcome here. The goal here is to help anyone who doesn’t have a lot of breathing room get to a place where they have stability, comfort, contingency, and maybe even a little luxury.

The moderators keep /r/povertyfinance a positive, productive forum that’s mostly free of the sniping and political crap that other similar sites fall into. It’s a terrific resource. And it’s filled with interesting stories. For me, it’s been a great place to learn about what others are going through.

So, today at Apex, I’m going to share some recent excellent posts from /r/povertyfinance. I urge you to read these, even if you aren’t struggling with money.

Does anyone else find being poor absolutely exhausting? — “I feel like I can’t go one day without thinking about being poor. I am constantly planning and budgeting and thinking of ways to make money. When I’m not working I’m calling places to attempt to get extensions on my bills. I’m doing surveys and scanning receipts several times a week for pocket change. I’m just tired. Physically and mentally, I’m tired.”

“The only thing that has seriously helped me reduce my debt has been increasing my income.” — “By a stroke of incredible fortune, I was able to start a job towards the end of last year, and overnight, I doubled my income. The difference has been immense. There is NO WAY I’d be able to have the same sense of peace, lack of stress, and above all optimism without the income I now have.”

30 things that helped us. — In this post, one user lists thirty things that has helped their family improve their financial situation. Good stuff.

White people don’t understand how hard it is for black men from “the hood” to be financially mobile. — “Bettering myself is so hard. So fucking hard man. I’m drowning. White keys to success aren’t working for me. I’m scattered and lost. And alone. Contemplated suicide last week for the first time. It is what it is. I’m about to be homeless very soon. I have enough money for a greyhound ticket. I just want to be seen as human.”

The discussion on this post is terrific and well-worth a half hour of your time. The stories and anecdotes are enlightening.

I’m not shy about sharing that I grew up poor. But I grew up poor as a white boy in rural Oregon. I had a loving (but imperfect) family. I was a smart (if strange) kid. I managed to better myself, as did my brothers. We worked hard and were lucky. Not everyone is as fortunate.

Okay, Jim will back on Monday to start another week of money news. See you then!

Happy birthday to me! Happy birthday to me! Happy birthday dear meeeeeeee… Happy birthday to me!

Today I turn 52 years old. My 52nd year was an interesting one, and not just because of the coronavirus, the Capitol riots, and all of the other strange stuff that the country (and world) experienced as a whole during the last twelve months.

For me personally, it’s been a year of growth. I’ve done a lot of introspection and self-reflection. And, as a result, I’ve begun to make a lot of big moves in 2021. It’ll be intersting to see where I am (and who I am!) a year from now.

But you don’t really care about that, and I know it. You’re here at Apex Money for personal-finance links. Every year on my birthday — and I know this is only Year Two of the site — I share a list of my favorite money blogs.

There are lots of great blogs out there. This isn’t meant to be an objective list. It’s a subjective list. That is, these are the money blogs that I, personally, most enjoy reading. Your list might be (and probably would be) very different. That’s okay.

Here, then, are my ten favorite money blogs from the past year.

• One Frugal Girl was perhaps my favorite money blog of the past year. Jewels produces consistently great content that balances her own story with actionable advice. It’s great. Plus, she and I seem to have similar mindsets and have an ongoing e-mail conversation about life itself.
• Minafi has one of favorite blog designs. I’m not sure what Adam’s background is, but he has a firm grasp of UI and reader experience, which makes Minafi a joy to read. Couple that with his always-excellent content, and you’ve got a top-notch money blog.
• Bitches Get Riches has been one of my favorite blogs since it launched. Piggy and Kitty offer solid advice in an irreverent style. Their target audience is “young women”, but the material is useful for most folks (and entertaining for everyone). I like BGR so much that I put my money where my mouth is: I’m a long-time Patreon supporter of the site.
• Physician on Fire is, as you might expect, a blog targeting health-care workers pursuing financial independence. But again, the content here is useful for most folks. What I admire about the site is how well Leif curates everything, balancing his own articles with syndicated articles and guest post from other authors.
• Frugalwoods remains one of my fave sites to read for the sake of reading. I know many people are already familiar with Liz and her adventures on a 66-acre farm in Vermont. If you’re not, you should check her out. She and her husband have done FIRE the right way — high incomes, low spending, and a dedication to the things that bring them meaning.
• Raptitude isn’t a money blog. It’s a site about “getting better at being human”. But David Cain’s thoughtful approach to life and its challenges has plenty of applications to the world of personal finance. This recent article about ADHD was eye-opening for my own challenges with the condition, and helped me connect the dots between my ADHD and my depression/anxiety.
• The Fioneers, Jess and Corey, document their personal journey to financial independence with thoughtful, introspective pieces that cover traditional FIRE topics while diving into new ones. (They popularized the notion of Slow FI, for instance.) They’re doing great work.
• Abnormal Returns might not seem like much if you follow the link to its homepage, yet it’s probably my favorite source of money news. I’m not joking. Tadas Viskanta does an amazing job of curating financial news from all over the web. (It’s the first place I go each day when looking for stories to share here at Apex.)
• Women Who Money is a team blog focused on financial advice for, well, women. But the advice is generally useful for everyone. Amy and Vicki produce consistently excellent articles with practical advice about real-world situations. Highly recommended. (If I were to pick one blog that I thought was actually the best overall financial blog right now, it would likely be Women Who Money.)
• Apex Money. Wait, what? Is it ridiculous to pick one of my own sites as one of my favorites? I don’t think so. Jim and I work hard here to collect fun, interesting, and useful articles to share with you in a thoughtful, light-hearted manner. We cast a wide net to catch as many stories as possible, but we only pass along the best stuff we find. Apex truly is one of my ten favorite money blogs right now.

What do all of these sites have in common?

First, most are content-centric. They’re more interested in creating and publishing material that helps the readers than they are in making money. As a result, they don’t produce the same old material that you find on every other site. The material at these sites is unique and interesting.

Second, they tend to have strong authorial voices. One problem with most money blogs (the blogs that are focused on making money) is that they write about the things that generate revenue, not the things that interest the authors. As a result, there’s no passion. You can’t really be passionate about the latest credit card offer, right? Because these blogs draw on the personal experiences of the authors, the articles have a strong voice.

Finally, these blogs publish fairly often. They might not have regular schedules, but they don’t sit dormant for months on end either. The writers update at least once a month. (There are plenty of fine sites out there that rarely update. I don’t count those as favorites.)

Okay. That’s it for this birthday. I’ll be back tomorrow to close out the week with more great articles about money — and more. (And for those unaware, I update my life philosophy with a new lesson every year, then share that life philosophy at Get Rich Slowly on my birthday.)

Good morning! Good morning! Good morning! It’s Wednesday — my birthday eve — and today I’ve collected four great personal-finance stories for you. Let’s start with the seemingly-ageless Martha Stewart, shall we? (Stewart is 79!)

Martha Stewart is the original influencer. [Harper’s Bazaar] — “You can see Stewart’s influence every time you scroll through Instagram and spot an artfully lit photo of a frittata or a meticulously arranged tablescape, or in the raft of cooking and home-entertaining hosts who came after…to the entire Food Network and anyone who’s ever posted a how-to video on YouTube.”

“The financial spreadsheet I use to track my progress to financial freedom.” [Minafi] — “I’ve been tracking my finances in a Google Sheet since January 2015. I used Mint for years before that to understand my spending…Over the years I’ve dialed in my spreadsheet one row and column at a time. It’s to the point where I barely touch it anymore, yet can answer any question I have. I’ve found these five metrics to be the most useful over the years.”

Do self-help books help? [Art of Manliness] — “The demand for self-help books isn’t hard to understand: life can be confusing, frustrating, and obstacle-ridden, and yet also full of potential and possibilities. People are thus hungry for guidance on how to surmount the former and seize the latter. They want to better themselves. But hovering over this quest is a question that’s rarely asked: Do self-help books actually help?”

“Lessons in real hourly wage from delivering food on my bike.” [Financial Panther] — “I regularly earn $30 to $40 per hour delivering food on my bike with apps like Postmates, DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. When I calculate what I earn per hour with these apps, I always calculate it from the second I walk out my front door to the second I walk back into my house.”

That’s it for today, but I’ll be back tomorrow with my annual birthday list of favorite money blogs. Who made the cut? Come back to find out!

Hello, my friends. Welcome to Tuesday. Today’s edition of Apex money, as always, features some of our favorite recent money stories from around the web. And today, each featured article asks (and answers) a question! Take a gander…

What is lifestyle design? (And why does it matter?) [The Fioneers] — “I actually prefer to think of lifestyle design as an action or an identity. I want to be in the process of designing a life that I love. I want to be a lifestyle designer. When learning about lifestyle design, it was helpful for me to breakdown the phrase into its component parts.”

How much should you pay for tax preparation? [The Wealth Accountant] — “A good place to start your accountant search is by asking people in a similar situation as you are. If you have income properties, ask other income property owners who they use as a tax professional. Business owners should do the same. If you have multiple state issues you certainly need to find someone in the same boat you are because not all tax professionals handle out-of-state or multiple state tax returns.”

Which password manager should you use to secure your digital life? [Wired] — “Now that so many people are working from home, outside the office intranet, the number of passwords you need may have significantly increased…A password manager offers convenience and, more importantly, helps you create better passwords, which makes your online existence less vulnerable to password-based attacks.”

Finally, here’s something that has nothing to do with money.

Until I became obsessed with Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation earlier this year, my favorite film of all time was Alien — the first one. It’s a nearly perfect film. (Rogue Nation upped the bar. I’m not even joking.) I’ve seen Alien dozens of times in my life, and I hope to see it dozens more.

Well, HBO Max has re-created the trailers for ten classic films (including Alien) in a modern style. These are fun…but they also make me tense. I hate hate hate the short-attention span, quick-cut video that’s so prominent today. (It’s one reason I don’t like TikTok.)

Still, it’s fun to compare the original trailer for Alien…

to the “modern” trailer for Alien…

I don’t know. That first trailer is a classic. I remember seeing it in the theater (at age ten) and being both scared and intrigued.

The second trailer looks like every other movie preview on the market today. And like all modern trailers, it gives away too much of the movie. It’s the entire movie in two minutes instead of two hours.

Okay, that’s it for today. I’ll be back tomorrow with more fun stuff. See you then!

Hey hey, everyone! It’s Monday, March the 22nd. Spring has sprung! (Astronomical spring, anyhow. Meteorological spring started three weeks ago.) It’s my 52nd birthday on Thursday. Kim and I are prepping to sell our home. Things are CRAZY, I tell you. CRAZY!

Add to that craziness a brand-new money blog. Women’s Personal Finance started as a Facebook community three years ago, a community that many of my friends love. And now the founders of that group have started a supporting website. My buddy Gwen (from Fiery Millennials) pointed me to the site yesterday.

Women’s Personal Finance is a membership community first and a website second. Those who join get access to a quality group of like-minded folks, a monthly newsletter, and more. I like it! I hope it flourishes for years to come. To that end, our first article today comes from WPF…

Divorce ruined my finances but saved my life. [Women’s Personal Finance] — “In one harsh, cold decision, our whole world flipped upside down. I left with less than half our assets and all my debt, including some credit card debt from the move and the divorce. While I could have fought to have him help me pay it, we couldn’t afford lawyers, and I wanted freedom more than I wanted equality.”

Am I the asshole for hiding a large savings account from my husband? [/r/AmItheAsshole] — “My (44F) husband (46M) is a big spender. Whenever we have money to spare, he wants to buy something new for the house or for his car or boat. For this reason I have a secret checking account that I rarely use for purchases I don’t want him to know about…He found the [account] and asked me why I had a debit card he didn’t know about. Eventually I confessed that I was saving it for our vacation. He was really mad…Am I the asshole?” Reddit’s verdict? Not the asshole. My verdict? Also, not the asshole. What’s your verdict?

“The evolution of my thoughts on spending money.” [A Purple Life] — “I always assumed that my thoughts on spending money would remain stagnant, like my thoughts on marriage or having kids. However, it turns out that my view of spending has evolved almost as much as my thoughts on time.”

To round things up for today, here’s a crazy (but cool) five-minute video of a beekeeper removing a hive and moving it to a new location — all without gear. THIS FREAKS ME OUT!

I admire this woman’s courage. This is not for me. I have a bee allergy, and while I know the little guys are nice, they scare me. (I hate ants too, but that’s another story.)

Okay, that’s it for Day #1 one my birthday week. I’ll see you again tomorrow with more great stuff. See you then!

Salt!

How a Salt Monopoly Could Spike Car Accidents in the Midwest [BIG by Matt Stoller] – “Michael Milken, private equity, and a salt roll-up are showing we’re in for shortages and price spikes.” This was fascinating to read because of its discussion of the importance of salt (I did not know the magnitude of its importance in transportation) but also the larger implications of a roll-up in the industry.

How We Removed 80% of Our Unhappiness in The Home [Keepin’ It Frugal] – “In 2020, we removed 80% of our unhappiness in the home. Using the 80/20 rule, we took stock of what grated on us most, and one by one started eliminating them. The results were huge.” We started doing this at home too, finding those areas that bother us and slowly fixing them so they don’t bother us anymore. A lot of it is organizational (kids toys!) so very fast, just have to get your hands on it. Those pesky bebbles!

It’s Friday so two pieces of candy today —

Something fun for you to play with – draw an iceberg and see how it’ll float. (kinda)

Something fun for you to watch – How to impress a woman.

Stockton’s Basic-Income Experiment Pays Off [The Atlantic] – “Two years ago, the city of Stockton, California, did something remarkable: It brought back welfare. Using donated funds, the industrial city on the edge of the Bay Area tech economy launched a small demonstration program, sending payments of $500 a month to 125 randomly selected individuals living in neighborhoods with average incomes lower than the city median of $46,000 a year. The recipients were allowed to spend the money however they saw fit, and they were not obligated to complete any drug tests, interviews, means or asset tests, or work requirements. They just got the money, no strings attached.”

What happened next will (not) shock you!

How To Prepare For Prosperity [His & Her Money] – “You must be ready to be completely done with the debt that you have in your life. It gets hard being in the same place every single month, being in debt and being in over your head with bills. You have to get yourself to the mental space where you are tired of it and ready to get out of the hole you have dug yourself in. […] Believe you can do it. The change will not be comfortable. Be prepared for that too. Just remember this is going to lead to the best future for you and your family.”

NFTs are a dangerous trap [Seth Godin] – “BUYERS of NFTs may be blind to the fact that there’s no limit on the supply. In the case of baseball cards, there are only so many rookies a year. In the case of art, there’s a limited number of famous paintings and a limited amount of shelf space at Sotheby’s. NFTs are going to be more like Kindle books and YouTube videos. The vast majority are going to have ten views, not a billion. It’s an unregulated, non-transparent hustle with ‘bubble’ written all over it.”

This is just a cool drone video inside a bowling alley:

An interesting thought experiment – what would change in your life if you were rich? As in Elon Musk/Jeff Bezos rich…

Being Rich – What Would Change in Life? [Route to Retire] – “It’s hard to digest everything you could do if you had an unlimited amount of funds. Being rich – like really rich – would certainly give you the power to change the world if you wanted.”

12 Things I Remind Myself When Markets Go Crazy [A Wealth of Common Sense] – “3. Your gains will be incinerated at some point. Investing in risk assets means occasionally seeing your gains evaporate before your eyes. I don’t know why and I don’t know when but at some point a large portion of my portfolio will fall in value. That’s how this works.”

Is investing a zero-sum game? [Occam Investing] – “To understand whether investing is a zero-sum game, a useful place to start is a concept known as Sharpe’s Arithmetic of Active Management. Sharpe’s arithmetic begins with the premise that the equity market is owned by two kinds of investors: a) market cap indexers, who own every equity in the market in proportion to its market capitalisation (known as “passive investors”), and, b) active investors, each of whom owns a portfolio of equities which they believe will outperform.” That’s just a teaser but the summation is that active management is for the birds. 🙂

Speaking of which… how flipping cool is this??? I also learned a new word – “murmuration.”