It’s Jim again and for the first time in 2024 – so Happy New Year!
I want to start off the year with something bright and cheery as we look back on the ways the world got better in 2023.
The Year in Cheer: 177 ways the world got better in 2023 [Reasons to be cheerful] – “Cancer fatalities in the US are down 33 percent from 1991, amounting to 3.8 million deaths avoided. […] In California, a 400-acre oil field is being transformed into a nature preserve. […] Curved blades in next-gen hydroelectric turbines allow 99 percent of aquatic life to safely swim through them.”
OK one post looking back, one post looking forward. Those are the rules!
24 Rules for 2024 [Jonathan Clements on Humble Dollar] – “WHAT SHOULD YOU DO with your money next year? The same things you should have done this year, and the year before, and the year before that. The rules for a successful life—financially and otherwise—are, I believe, pretty timeless. What rules? Here are 24 of my favorites.” #3 is always good advice but don’t skip #12.
Finally, I love a good allegory and Katie from Money with Katie draws up a great one about money and preferences:
Learning to Like Beer in a World Full of Champagne Propaganda [Money with Katie] – “The families we see on TV? Upper middle class, at least. The personalities we see online? Most live (or pretend to live) top 1% lifestyles, often fueled by the very fact that the job of “influencer” pays handsomely, even if your niche is “van life rock climber.” The average car payment in the US is $729, which means—depending on where you live—even a short trip to the grocery store will probably surround you with relative opulence.”