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Weekend reading: Blogger on the run edition

Weekend reading: Blogger on the run edition post image

What caught my eye this week.

I continue to live out of boxes after the move – and more pertinently have no Internet as of yet – but I’m still reading and reading and reading when I’m out and about.

Google blew up my ad revenue when it insisted I make Monevator and other sites look good on mobile phones – but for these past few days I’ve been glad of it!

Here are the articles I bookmarked for the links this week. Feel free to add anything Monevator-y that I missed in the comments below.

Have a good weekend!

From Monevator

Our updated guide to help you find the best broker – Monevator

From the archive-ator: They don’t tax free time – Monevator

News

Note: Some links are Google search results – in PC/desktop view these enable you to click through to read the piece without being a paid subscriber.1

‘Universal basic income’: report suggests giving £10,000 to everyone under 55 – Telegraph

Divorcing couples may clash over Bitcoin – BBC

Home ownership among young adults has ‘collapsed’, IFS finds… – Guardian

…though first-time buyer numbers just hit a 10-year high – Guardian

Real estate bubbles worldwide [Yes, London is on the list]Visual Capitalist

The rising speed of technological adoption – Visual Capitalist

Products and services

A risk too far: Accident victims and compensation [Search result]FT

Two thirds of investment shops ‘fail to publish full details of charges’ – Telegraph

Auto-enrollment pension contributions set to rise: How to take charge – Telegraph

Just 12 days left to spend your old £10 notes – Guardian

Loyalty counts for nothing with household bills [Search result]FT

High out-of-contract prices for mobile and broadband can sting – ThisIsMoney

Halifax offering £125 to open a bank account, but better deals around – ThisIsMoney

Pocket money goes digital with apps for children as young as four [Search result]FT

A new way to approach alternative funds – Morningstar

All the world’s a bet [Reviewing Thinking in Bets]Abnormal Returns

Comment and opinion

Financial firewalls defend against volatile markets – Portfolio Charts

The new Permanent Portfolio for millennials – A Wealth of Common Sense

Is it fair to blame older people for the housing crisis? – Guardian

Be terrified – The Reformed Broker

A deep (and technical) dive into market gyrations/valuation – Grumpy Economist

How to become an ISA millionaire – Interactive Investor

Hedge fund mediocrity is the best magic trick – Bloomberg

Get rich with… The Process – The Escape Artist

Becoming a lender: What can possible go wrong? – FirevLondon

Unraveling retirement strategies: The constant spending rule – The Retirement Cafe

Should us stockpickers run our winners and cut our losers? – UK Value Investor

Taking the plunge – SexHealthMoneyDeath

London is a different country – Simple Living in Somerset

No new stuff for a year – 3652 Days

Off our beat

DIY solar energy project: Free energy for life! – Mr Money Mustache

Can you save an American mall from extinction? [80s-style game]Bloomberg

And finally…

“You and everyone you know are going to be dead soon. And in the short amount of time between here and there, you have a limited amount of fucks to give. Very few, in fact. And if you go around giving a fuck about everything and everyone without conscious thought or choice – well, then you’re going to get fucked.”
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck, Mark Manson

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  1. Note some articles can only be accessed through the search results if you’re using PC/desktop view (from mobile/tablet view they bring up the firewall/subscription page). To circumvent, switch your mobile browser to use the desktop view. On Chrome for Android: press the menu button followed by “Request Desktop Site”. []
{ 12 comments… add one }
  • 1 MyRichFuture February 16, 2018, 6:12 pm

    That “And finally” quote is wise (if sweary) words indeed. A mantra to live by.

  • 2 ermine February 16, 2018, 6:21 pm

    > more pertinently have no Internet as of yet

    On the general topic of speeding up technological adoption, you’re a young whippersnapper compared to me, but even as a late adopter I have managed to get Internet from far flung places – it’s what the tethering feature on your iphone is for, surely 🙂

    It takes such a long time to find all your stuff after moving – even after six months I have no idea where my umbrellas got to, OTOH you do get to find an awful lot of stuff that you lost over the years, it’s not all bad. Hope you make some order from the chaos soon.

  • 3 The Investor February 16, 2018, 6:36 pm

    @ermine — Yes, I could tether but I am a bit allergic after I over ran my phone’s data allowance a couple of months ago when forcing it to update a load of apps just as I left the house… It’d only cost a few quid but it’s the principle. (Also my iPhone is ancient and next on the list to upgrade after ‘living conditions’. I think it might just cross its arms and shake it’s head stubbornly if I ask it to tether ha ha).

  • 4 The Rhino February 16, 2018, 7:39 pm

    I wonder if Sarah Knight, author of ‘The Life Changing Magic of Not Giving a Fuck’ gives a fuck that Mark Manson completely ripped off her book?

    It’s a shame its his book rather than hers that’s getting quoted.

  • 5 Vanguardfan February 17, 2018, 8:34 am

    Dirk Cotton articles are excellent, thanks, if a bit frustrating with the drip feed…
    Your phone contract allows you to exceed data allowance without notification? I thought they’d stopped that (mine will just cease connecting when I’ve run out).

  • 6 hosimpson February 17, 2018, 9:44 am

    Perhaps I’m not old enough to have a perspective on property bubbles… But.
    Vancouver has been said to be in a bubble for as long as I remember. Ditto Sydney’s eastern suburbs, ditto Hong Kong’s southern districts from Repulse Bay to Stanley… Back in 2001 a friend nearly refused her dream job in Stockholm because of the housing situation, she rented for 7 or 8 years before being able to afford a studio in southern island, and I understand that wasn’t entirely without help from family.
    The same cities keep featuring on every property bubble list, constantly. You’d think people would just move elsewhere and prices would regain equilibrium, but that’s not happening. Does this mean we should revisit our definition of a bubble, or perhaps add more variables to our equations?

  • 7 The Investor February 17, 2018, 11:32 am

    @VanguardFan — Ah, no they did notify me. Basically my phone is ancient and I unthinkingly pressed Update All on about 40 App updates (I still do manually) as I left house. Once started it wanted to finish (and so did I!) Edge case probably. 🙂 Welcome re: the articles, thanks for reading!

    @HoSimpson — Indeed, there is more to the global city phenomena than meets the eye! Hopefully we haven’t killed ours with Brexit. Given the mega campuses being built around Kings Cross it’s clear the money says smart people want to live and work here, despite housing costs…

  • 8 Ms ZiYou February 17, 2018, 2:20 pm

    On the moving side, I call it a success if you have unpacked within a month, got rid of the boxes within six months and decorated within two years. Beating that is overachieving.

    I’m also quite in favour of UBI, but that proposal in my opinion ruins the simplicity and just adds bureaucracy. If we go for it, it should needs to be simple and well thought out – not another Universal Credit catastrophe.

    I was broadening my horizons and attended a socialist event last night (was conned into going by the suffragette theme) and there seems to be growing support for Corbyn and his approaches to property and private companies

  • 9 RE February 17, 2018, 8:32 pm

    Manson’s book is based on an article written on his blog a full year before Ms. Knight’s book was published… but I’m sure he doesn’t give a f**k

  • 10 Mr Optimistic February 18, 2018, 12:21 pm

    @vanguardfan. Was going to say the same thing re Retirement Cafe. Thanks to this site for directing me to it, a calm voice amongst the noise. Having found out the pension administrator have just zeroed my account because they can’t read English I am in need of calm, especially as they sold at the bottom of the recent dip and I am out of the market.

    There is a clear shortage of competence in the pension administrator business in this country and I am sick of it.

  • 11 The Rhino February 18, 2018, 5:23 pm

    Maybe she ripped him off?

    Someone’s been up to no good, of that much I’m sure?

  • 12 Learner February 20, 2018, 3:39 pm

    The Odd Lots podcast on what happened to VIX-linked futures during the little correction last week is fascinating and very well explained: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/audio/2018-02-16/how-one-of-the-most-profitable-trades-blew-up-in-one-day

    XIV wiped out and SVXY saved by the skin of its teeth, largely due to it’s inability to make the trades it was required to at the time. Wonderful anecdotes about retail investors getting into it too – surprised to learn /r/tradeXIV is a thing!

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