Ah, hello. Welcome back to Apex Money. Today I have a handful of personal-finance stories to share with you. And our final story of the day is perhaps the most important story you will ever read. (Okay, perhaps not.)
The survival instinct of money. [More to That] — “Life familiarizes us with its contents, and anything that threatens this familiarity kicks in the survival instinct. And herein lies the conundrum: The more money you have, the more you have to preserve. And the more you have to preserve, the more fear that surrounds its potential loss.”
Your inflation rate depends on where you live. [Accidental FIRE] — “Regular Accidental FIRE readers know that I’m a geography geek and whenever possible try to highlight aspects of personal finance from a geographic perspective. And I’m here at your service to do that again. Geography affects virtually everything, so it’s no surprise that it affects inflation too. Where is inflation worse and where is it better? Let’s take a look.”
How OXO conquered the American kitchen. [Slate] — “OXO is so dominant in the kitchen-gadget space that the consumer-recommendation site Wirecutter features a blog post simply listing the 42 OXO products that top its various category rankings. OXO rules America’s Test Kitchen picks, too, to the point it makes readers suspicious ATK is in cahoots with the brand…But come on: Can any kitchen gadget, or gadget company, really be that much better than the others?”
To close things out for Friday, here’s the most important story I’ve shared all week:
Is a bidet seat right for you and your bathroom? [Consumer Reports] — “For most, using a bidet has been overwhelmingly positive. But people also told us what they wish they’d known before they settled on the model they bought—such as whether the bidet was easy to install, if it was easy to clean, and whether it can warm up your bum.”
Let me answer this question for you: Yes — emphatically yes — a bidet seat is right for you and your bathroom. I’m a huge fan.
I installed a bidet seat attachment at our old house and loved it. After we sold the house a year ago, I was bidet-less for a long, long time. It was like living in the dark ages. A month ago, I finally installed one at our new place. Cue the choir of angels singing. Life is good once more. (My current bidet attachment is the Tushy Classic.)
Okay, now that I’m finished singing the praises of clean butts, let’s turn our attention to the first weekend of summer, shall we? You all go have some fun. We’ll see you on Monday.