I met Michael Quan a few years ago at FinCon, a personal finance blogging conference, and was excited to hear that he was coming out with a fun early retirement book. It’s not so much a “book” as it is a planner and journal that is colorful, fun, and most importantly, effective. There are a ton of books out there but I haven’t seen too many planners and Michael delivers. If you’re pursuing financial independence, you should check out The F.I.R.E. Planner – he’s done a great job making it accessible to anyone.
What’s at the bottom of the crypto rabbit hole? [The Escape Artist] – “People who understand this new world better than me say that where decentralised finance is now is the equivalent of where the internet was back in 1995-97 with clunky dial-up modems and most people unaware of the tidal wave about to hit markets, the economy and broader society.”
Lumber: A Demand Drive Rally… On Steriods [RCM Alternatives] – “Unlike most other commodities, lumber is used in a product with a long decision-making process. Housing has a long timeline. While the production of a 2×4 is rather quick, the cycle from tree to house is much longer. And because of that abnormally long period of time, lumber futures have the possibility of overlapping economic cycles and seasons. With that amount of lead time available how did this commodity get so under-bought, so under-produced and so under-supplied to cause a 300% increase (!!!) from it’s typical price?”
Why Cryptocurrency Is A Giant Fraud [Current Affairs] – “I’ve been among those who have ignored cryptocurrency for a long time, but Vox has told me I am no longer allowed to, so I’ve read up on it. And I have to say, Schweikert is partly right: “selling it as a revolution” is a hugely important part of why cryptocurrency is succeeding. But as is generally the case when someone is trying to sell you something, the whole thing should seem extremely fishy. In fact, much of the cryptocurrency pitch is worse than fishy. It’s downright fraudulent, promising people benefits that they will not get and trying to trick them into believing in and spreading something that will not do them any good. When you examine the actual arguments made for using cryptocurrencies as currency, rather than just being wowed by the complex underlying system and words like “autonomy,” “global,” and “seamless,” the case for their use by most people collapses utterly. Many believe in it because they have swallowed libertarian dogmas that do not reflect how the world actually works.”