Hello, my friends, and welcome to Friday. Today, I have four articles for you — and I like each one of them quite a bit. I mean, I always like the articles I share with you, but these four seem especially good today…
The past is not true. [Derek Sivers] — “We think of the past like it’s a physical fact – like it’s real. But the past is what we call our memory and stories about it. Imperfect memories, and stories built on one interpretation of incomplete information.” [A short, powerful message — one I am constantly re-learning.]
Why 72% of retirees are happy. [The Retirement Manifesto] — “What is it about the 72% of retirees who are happy vs. the 28% who are depressed? What should you think about as you plan for retirement to increase your odds of falling into the happy camp?”
The hidden truth behind retail pricing. [Becoming Minimalist] — “Most of us don’t know the actual cost of manufacturing a blender, delivering it to a shelf, or staffing the store. Or forget blenders, we don’t know the actual cost of any item we purchase — be it a pair of pants, a purse, a car sunshade, or a new set of golf clubs. We just take the retailer’s word for it.”
The evolution of financial advice. [A Wealth of Common Sense] — “We now have all of this technological innovation, lower fees, better investment products, fewer barriers to entry and more information than we know what to do with. So what’s left? Behavior is and always will be the final frontier.” [I’m a fan of articles on the history of personal finance, so really liked this piece.]
And that’s it for this week. I’ll be back in ten days to share more great stuff with you. Jim will return on Monday.