Growing up, we didn’t talk a lot about money.
But it wasn’t a taboo subject by any means. It was simply that money would be a distraction from my “job” as a kid, which was to study and get good grades.
When it came to money, my parents were very open about it. While I didn’t know how much my parents earned, how much we spent, being frugal and judicious, and why were being frugal were all discussed. There wasn’t a lot of emotional baggage tied to money. We weren’t broke but we also weren’t wealthy, we were solidly middle class and happy.
A lot of people have a lot of emotional baggage around money and that’s, in part, because we don’t talk about it more. I this first post, Darius Foroux makes the case (and I agree 100%) that we should talk about it more (and why).
Why We Should Talk About Money More Often [Darius Foroux] – “So many of us carry around some baggage when it comes to money. Some folks find it rude to talk about finances, others are ashamed or uncomfortable. And then there are many folks who’re clueless because no one ever taught them how to talk about money. It’s no wonder that a recent survey found that 44 percent of Americans see personal finance as the most challenging topic to discuss with others.1 Most folks find it harder to talk about money than subjects like death, politics, and religion.”
Who gets to flourish? [Vox] – “Are you flourishing? Not “just getting by” or “making it through,” but truly thriving? In the last two decades, the field of positive psychology has embraced the concept of flourishing, the pinnacle of well-being. Distinct from subjective happiness or physical health, flourishing is the aggregate of all life experiences when every aspect of your life is going well. “A state in which all aspects of a person’s life are good,” says Brendan Case, the associate director for research at Harvard’s Human Flourishing Program. As impossible as it may seem, to flourish is to feel satisfactory, inside and out, about your relationships, income, work, health, and passions, and to extend that virtuous spirit to others.”
Silver coin boom in medieval England due to melted down Byzantine treasures, study reveals [The Guardian] – “The new rush of silver coinage stimulated trade and helped fuel the development of the new towns springing up at the time – but where did it come from? Were the Anglo-Saxon kings recycling old Roman scrap metal? Or had they found lucrative sources from mines in Europe?” It’s fascinating that they can determine coins in England came from melted silver from the Byzantine empire. Science is amazing!
Would you go to this type of bar?
At Stock Market Bar Night, Buy Low and Drink Up [New York Times] – “In London, “competitive socializing” transforms pubs into stock exchanges, golf courses and cricket fields for those looking for more elaborate drinking games.”
See you next week!