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Three ways to become a better investor.

It’s a Very Special Day in my world, Apexians. In a couple of hours, Kim flies out to visit her best friend in Wisconsin. This gives me five days with absolutely nothing on my calendar and no obligations at home: no chores, no appointments, no meetings, no nothing. Can you guess what I’m going to do with all of that uninterrupted free time? I’m going to code the Get Rich Slowly “de-design”!

That’s right. Given five whole days with no obligations, I’m going to spend my time in my office, in front of my computer, trying to hand-code my dream website. Last weekend, I told a friend about my plans. “I want to create a modern blog,” I said. She laughed and told me “modern blog” is an oxymoron. Maybe so. I don’t care. I’m eager to get this done. If all goes well, I’ll finish early (so that I can use a couple of days for fun instead of computer work), and I’ll be sharing my site’s new look when I next resume duties here at Apex.

Speaking of Apex…you don’t really care about my foray into nerdery, do you? No. You’re here for money links. And here they are…

Sparked by recent upheaval, millennial women are changing their philanthropic focus. [Investment News] — “New and ongoing research indicates that women have intensified their charitable intent and giving in the wake of the public health and racial and gender justice events in the past two years…Millennial women, who are just entering the generational stage where they have enough to make substantial gifts, approach giving differently than prior generations.”

Eight things to do with financial independence besides retire early. [The White Coat Investor] — “Perhaps the most important thing I’m doing in my life right now is raising kids, which I also enjoy. I’ll be 58 by the time my youngest gets out of the house. Given that I currently have two jobs I enjoy already, both of which pay me well, and given that I can’t go on any more trips than I’m already going on and still take care of things that are more important to me than the trips, what would be the point in dropping work completely? Might as well keep working.”

Three ways to become a better investor. [Miranda Marquit] — “No matter the time of year, now is always a good time to improve your finances. Investing, through calculated risks, is part of a comprehensive and successful financial plan. As you consider your investment plan, here are three things you can do to become a better investor.”

Six questions to ask yourself before making a purchase. [Rich in What Matters] — “Marketing has clearly changed a lot over the past few years, becoming increasingly targeted. But the end goal persists: to make you feel deficient so you buy more than you actually need. Increased awareness of the phenomenon that is marketing begets one question: ‘How do we, the consumers, make mindful purchases without becoming swayed by marketer’s snares?’ The answer comes by asking yourself better questions.”

To wrap things up for today, here’s a pair of old TV commercials that take me back to my youth. In my small town, there were a few stores that gave S&H green stamps with purchases. My grandmother collected these stamps, and she encouraged her grandchildren to do so as well. Then, when we’d collected enough, she’d drive us with her to a redemption center in Portland.

Here’s one S&H green stamp commercial from 1962 and another from 1979. (It was probably around 1979 that I was collecting these stamps with Grandma.)

Okay, that’s plenty for today. I’ll see you again tomorrow, my friends, as we work ourselves into the weekend…