Hello again, money nerds. Welcome back. Let’s dive right in to today’s stories, shall we?
Introducing a hierarchy of financial wellness. [Journal of Financial Planning] — “As we get older, the biggest threat to our financial security is not a stock market correction or rampant inflation. It is us….Financial wellness might best be viewed, therefore, as a tiered pyramid, with each layer building on the one below.”
The people the suburbs were built for are gone. [Vice] — “Much of the suburban sprawl of the 20th century was built to serve a very different population than the one that exists now, and so preserving what the suburbs once were doesn’t make sense.” This is a fascinating interview about changing U.S. demographics.
There’s value in chilling the f*** out. [I Pick Up Pennies] — “Chilling the fuck out is highly valuable, and I recommend it heartily. Even if it means retiring a couple to few years later. Heck, even if it means a slightly slower debt repayment. Constantly hustling is exhausting and draining — and generally it’s just not really a good or healthy way to live if you can help it.”
Why you should practice failure. [Farnam Street] — “Failing is a byproduct of trying to succeed. We do our research, make our plans, get the necessary ingredients, and try to put it all together. Often, things don’t go as we wish. If we’re smart, we reflect on what happened and make note of where we could do better next time. But how many of us make deliberate mistakes? How often do we try to fail in order to learn from it?”
Lastly, here’s a charming video to end our time together today. From HBO, it’s a 30-minute collection of calming scenes from classic Studio Ghibli films. This isn’t the sort of thing you’d sit and watch. (Well, I wouldn’t anyhow.) It’s more like something you’d put on in the background to calm your kids. Or your cats. Or yourself.
I recognize stuff here from Spirited Away and Ponyo and Howl’s Moving Castle and My Neighbor Totoro and The Wind Rises. I’m guessing that there are scenes here from every single one of Hiyao Miyazaki’s films.
Okay, that’s enough for Tuesday. See you tomorrow, friends!