Hump hump hump day! It’s hump hump hump day! It’s Wednesday, money nerds, which means we’re midway through another wonderful week. And, as always, Jim and I have a handful of top money stories from other corners of the web. Enjoy!
The spectrum of wealth. [Collaborative Fund] — “There is no objective level of wealth, because people compare themselves to other people’s money while adjusting to their own. It’s always been that way and will always be that way. What would a spectrum of wealth look like if you described it with words, not numbers?”
The economist who wants to ditch math in favor of stories. [Marker] — “After four decades of a religious-like fixation with mathematics, mainstream economists may learn that the gossip, whispers, half-baked philosophy and ‘news tips’ passed human to human since cave days drive economics. True, fake, it hasn’t mattered — such talk has spread and commanded surprising influence over economies. Shiller…argues for a profession-wide, decades-long study of viral stories as a path to much-needed improvement in utterly flawed economic forecasting.”
There’s one simple thing people can do to increase retirement income — but 96% won’t do it. [Mutual Fund Observer] — “Most people would say ‘yes’ to making one simple retirement planning decision that could mean more income during retirement. But the same study shows that 96% of retirees take their first Social Security check at something other than the best time to do it. The potential lost income is estimated to average $111,000 per household.”
Today’s final piece has nothing to do with money! It’s an 11-minute video in which David Kwong explains how to create a crossword puzzle.
I’ve been trying to wean myself of technology before bed. One way to do that? Crossword puzzle magazines! It’s actually kind of fun to use this low-tech, old-fashioned pastime to ease myself to sleep.