Happy Friday, guys!
How are your 409s doing? ;)
Plucked out a lot of great articles for you this month, so no talking about how “bored” you are anytime soon like my 5 y/o likes to do – EVEN ON CHRISTMAS DAY (!!!)
Consider these your overflowing “toys”, only they make you rich in the end and never require a bloody battery…
Read anything good yourself, lately?
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How to Pay Less Taxes – A Very Cute Cartoon via Burrito Bowl Diaries — “You have to pay taxes, but you don’t like it. You would rather spend your days having fun, and taxes and fun are inversely correlated – It’s MORE fun to pay LESS taxes, and vice versa. So what’s a person to do?”
A Financial Independence Spreadsheet from Mad Fientist — Want to take your finances more seriously in 2020? Start tracking your money in the FI Spreadsheet!
Total Cost of Ownership: Tesla Model 3 Compared with Audi A5 and Toyota Camry via EVANNEX — “Using 2019 figures, the new study reached the astonishing conclusion that, when all relevant factors are taken into account, Model 3, which is indisputably a superior car, is slightly cheaper to own and operate over a five-year period than Toyota’s mass-market sedan.”
The ‘Strange, Unduly Neglected Prophet’ via NPR — “He proposed a new kind of paper money that would have an expiration date. To avoid expiration, the bills would have to be periodically stamped for a fee. With no new stamp, they would become worthless… Gesell believed this would keep money whizzing through the system, preventing future depressions and increasing public prosperity.”
Budgets Really ARE Sexy! with J. Money via BiggerPockets Money Podcast #103 –“In this episode we cover: J. Money’s journey with money, what his biggest financial regret is, building income on buying and selling blogs, where he got his blog name from, the “no spend month” challenge, his net worth, his advice on starting a blog, the reason why he was called the Miley Cyrus of finances.”
‘Kakeibo’: The Japanese Art of Saving Money via CNBC — “Kakeibo, pronounced “kah-keh-boh,” translates as “household financial ledger.” Invented in 1904 by a woman named Hani Motoko (notable for being Japan’s first female journalist), kakeibo is a simple, no-frills approach to managing your finances.”
Keanu Reeves on Money via Medium — “Keanu Reeves rarely talks about money — but when he does, it’s life-changing. Choosing one of these goals as your focus will produce more money than you could ever expect.”
The Economics of Unused Gift Cards via The Hustle — “Every year, Americans spend billions of dollars on gift cards. But what happens to the money when the cards aren’t redeemed?
You Can Literally Sell Your Poop For Cash via Scary Mommy — “I know. I KNOW. Who on God’s green earth would want to donate their dung? Well, according to The New York Times, quite a few people would. And not only are these people making a pretty penny for handing over their chocolate lava, but they are helping to save lives in the process.”
Overcoming Your Demons by Morgan Housel — “About 20% of kids stutter. Most outgrow it by age 5. About 1% still stutter by age 10. A lucky 0.1% stutter into adulthood, with some small fraction of that being chronic enough to affect their daily life. I’m one of them… Maybe you’ve noticed, maybe you haven’t. But I want to tell my story, because it ends well.”
Changing My Attitude… Changed My Life! by 5 A.M. Joel — “Instead of walking out the door, I went straight to the bar and ordered two pints of Guinness. One for me, and the other for… well, me. I returned to my table of friends and announced that I was there to have a good time, and I am no longer in a bad mood! They all cheered! And then an angel appeared…”
Twitter has to figure out what to do with dead people by MIT Technology Review — “Twitter said it would shut down any account that hasn’t logged in for six months, starting from December 11. It wasn’t ready for the backlash.”
How To Go Deeper In 2020 via Raptitude — “Taped to the door of my friend’s apartment, right at eye level, is an Anais Nin quote: “Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born.””
The Dog Walking Side Hustle via Black Tee Money — “This is my Wag Walker review, based on my experience thus far. As of the time of this posting, I’ve completed approximately 80 Wag walks. In addition, my current rating is 4.99 out of 5 stars.”
Life Hacks I’ve Picked Up From The Death Notices via The Globe and Mail — “I spend Saturday mornings with a coffee in one hand and my newspaper’s death notices in the other… What is it that makes me want to know these people? I have been asking myself the same question for a decade.”
And lastly…
A great new site I came across –> SpreadsheetMan.com — “I have used spreadsheets for decades – making all kinds of business calculators, fun simulations, data collectors, analyses of business deals, pricing calculators, and everything else you could imagine – and some things you couldn’t ;) … Over the years I develop spreadsheet solutions to interesting problems and I share them here.”
XOXO,
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Ha even I know that it is 401K and I’m a New Zealander
Maybe you should be running our country ;)
I have a stack of gift cards in a drawer. All have balances less than $5. I will use them some how some way. Great articles. I think i may order two pints of Guinness for myself tonight using gift card balances.
I double dog dare you.
Loved the tax cartoons, but I would differ a little in the advice. Aren’t taxes going to always go up? Why not pay the tax now, when I have kids,etc… and put in ROTH now? skip the traditional IRA part…..start the ROTH conversions NOW. Two reasons: Taxes always go up and the money is growing tax free. For instance, I pay the tax, put in a ROTH, buy Apple stock. The Apple stock grows now TAX FREE. I’m not paying tax on the growth, wouldn’t t I be paying tax on the growth in a traditional IRA? I think the 401K is important……especially to get the ‘company match’ *Free money*. There is also something about qualifications to Medicare and income when you reach that age. Another thing to consider is an emergency…. If I need to reach in for a new roof, etc if the money is in ROTH and been there many years I don’t worry about the 5 year penalty .