Well, hello. It’s me, J.D., and I’m here with another week of fun stories about money (and more). I was supposed to be here last week, of course, but Real Life got the best of me. And I’m okay with that!
One of my recent projects has been to turn a corner of our “library” downstairs into an art studio. I got that finished yesterday. In the process, I found some notes from the end of January 2021 — notes about how the internet was making me crazy. I’m pleased to say that today, three years later, I’ve managed to find a (mostly) healthy relationship with the web. That mostly means I spend far less time online now than at any other point in the past thirty years.
How to spend money to maximize happiness. [Barking Up the Wrong Tree] — Strangely, this article doesn’t offer a good pull-quote (meaning the thesis is never clearly stated). That said, it’s a nice summary of the research into how money affects happiness.
The joy of not wanting things. [Becoming Minimalist] — “Imagine being freed of the desire to keep up with the ever-changing trends, gadgets, and fashions that surround us constantly. That freedom would allow us to spend our money more intentionally. It would allow us to spend our resources on those things we truly value. Imagine the joy we would feel knowing our money is not being wasted on things that don’t matter.” [Mindful spending always brings joy.]
Why you should plan to get less done. [Range Widely] — “I was falling prey to the planning fallacy on a daily basis, and that it was making the to-do lists entirely useless, and leaving me frustrated at the end of each day. The solution, fortunately, was pretty simple: put way less stuff on each day’s list. Now I put one single thing atop the day’s list that, if accomplished, will mean the workday was a clear step in the right direction.”
Failing to lose. [Novel Investor] — “Purposely losing money in the stock market seems like it should be an easy task. It turns out it takes some luck to lose money in the market. The same goes for making it.” [I love this notion: Deliberately try to lose money in the stock market. It serves to illustrate a couple of important investing principles.]
Lastly, I really like today’s video. It’s a cover of Noah Kahan’s “Call Your Mom” from Marianne Beaulieu. I think it’s beautiful. (Skip to 1:59 if you don’t want to listen to her preamble.)
Before stumbling on this video, I had never heard of Marianne Beaulieu or Noah Kahan or “Call Your Mom”. For the past few days, I’ve had Kahan’s album “Stick Season” playing on repeat. It has a melancholy vibe that I dig.
Okay, that’s it for today. I’ll be back tomorrow to share more!