What caught my eye this week.
One of the most popular posts we’ve ever run on Monevator was my co-blogger The Accumulator’s origin story [1].
In it we learned how the high priest of passive investing pursued financial freedom to retire early from the daily slog of slaving for a big corporation, for a life of slogging away writing for Monevator and me instead.
(Don’t worry, it’s summer and he’ll be too busy chasing cows [2] to read this.)
Plenty of you shared your own stories in the comments to that article. Which highlighted both the multitude of ways it’s possible to achieve FIRE1 [3] and also the breadth of our community.
So I got to thinking perhaps it could be a regular feature?
This is your life
I’d like to try running a case study focused on a Monevator reader every month or two, revealing the secrets of your financial success.
Don’t worry, you won’t need to wax as lyrical as @TA to be featured.
Rather we’ll follow an interview format. I’ll email you a set of questions, you’ll reply in as much depth as you can, and then I’ll run the edited copy past you before publication.
I imagine all the case studies will be anonymous – except for the Internet handles you use in our comments, of course – and I’m hoping people will feel comfortable sharing quite a bit of detail.
I know we’re (mostly) British and that talking about money still isn’t really the done thing.
But by opening up about the ways and challenges of getting wealthy, we can inspire others to do the same.
Also, it doesn’t matter how you did it.
Index funds, active trading, hardcore frugalism, crypto, fat company pensions, a win on the lottery or an inheritance from a long-lost uncle – all routes are relevant and will add to our archives.
How to get involved
I’m really hoping some of the Monevator regulars will step forward to get the series rolling, but consider this call for entrants open to all.
So if you’d like to get involved, either leave a comment below (with a valid address in the email field so I can contact you) or else let me know via the Contact form (top-right).
Or if you’re reading this after subscribing to get Monevator as an email, you can just hit Reply.
I can’t wait to hear how many of you made it – and your tips for others who’d like to do the same.
Have a great weekend!
From Monevator
ETFs vs index funds: What are the key differences? – Monevator [4]
Reality bites for private company funding – Monevator [5]
From the archive-ator: Sticking to your goals when the funk comes to visit – Monevator [6]
News
Note: Some links are Google search results – in PC/desktop view you can click to read the piece without being a paid subscriber. Try privacy/incognito mode to avoid cookies. Consider subscribing if you read them a lot!2 [7]
Inflation hits 40-year high of 10.1% as food and energy prices surge – CNBC [8]
Food sales rose in July, but we’re spending more to get less – ONS [9]
UK debt interest payments balloon to £120bn – ThisIsMoney [10]
Two-thirds of families could be in fuel poverty by January, research finds – Guardian [11]
Consumer confidence hits rock bottom as prices soar – Yahoo Finance [12]
Blame Brexit: UK hospitality industry loses 200,000 overseas workers [Search result] – FT [13]
WeWork founder Adam Neumann’s residential startup Flow already valued at $1 billion – Protocol [14]
Student made $110mn trading meme stock fav Bed Bath & Beyond [Search result] – FT [15]
[16]
Wealth managers warn retail investors over rising inflation [Search result] – FT [17]
Products and services
Interest rate rises make the cash ISA tax shield attractive again – ThisIsMoney [18]
Are student bank account perks any good? – Which [19]
Open an account with InvestEngine via our affiliate link and get £25 when you invest at least £100 (new customers only, T&Cs apply) – InvestEngine [20]
How much could the state pension rise by next year? – Which [21]
The people ditching credit cards due to the cost-of-living crisis – Guardian [22]
Is a payment plan for that new jacket a good idea? – Vox [23]
Open a SIPP with Interactive Investor and pay no SIPP fee for six months. Terms apply – Interactive Investor [24]
Older homes for sale, in pictures – Guardian [25]
Comment and opinion
Retirement income as water management – Portfolio Charts [26]
Read the fine print before consolidating pension pots [Search result] – FT [27]
Panorama: The billion pound savings scandal [Video, iPlayer] – BBC [28]
Sequence-of-inflation risk – Humble Dollar [29]
Show us your portfolio, with passive guru Rick Ferri [podcast, US but relevant] – Excess Returns [30]
Why do advisors recommend complex portfolios? – Oblivious Investor [31]
Larry Swedroe: no, indexing is not worse than Marxism – Advisor Perspectives [32]
When data fails – Of Dollars and Data [33]
What bond investors need to know in a rising rate environment – Vanguard [34]
Four common sense rules of investing – A Wealth of Common Sense [35]
How portfolio rebalancing reduces risk but can also reduce reward – Morningstar [36]
Consistency is overrated – Klement on Investing [37]
Work on your terms mini-special
“The best thing I’ve done”: over-50s on quitting work for good – Guardian [38]
Life is not a game – Get Rich Slowly [39]
The joys and challenges of switching to a four-day week – Guardian [40]
Small US towns are paying as much as $20,000 to remote workers who relocate – Fortune [41]
How one early retiree made his $1million the old-fashioned way – CNBC [42]
Naughty corner: Active antics
A thoughtful review of a long-term dividend portfolio – UK Dividend Stocks [43]
Taming investing regret – Humble Dollar [44]
Inside long-short equity investing [Podcast] – Capital Allocators [45]
Are growth stocks now cheap? – Validea [46]
Outperformance ain’t alpha – Factor Research [47]
Quest for a perfect hedge fund benchmark demonstrates [to me] their aggregate mediocrity – MPI [48]
Emerging market cycles – Verdad [49]
Kindle book bargains
Why We Get The Wrong Politicians by Isabel Hardman – £1.19 on Kindle [50]
The Ride of a Lifetime by [long-time Disney CEO] Bob Iger – £0.99 on Kindle [51]
Anthro-Vision: How Anthropology Can Explain Business and Life by Gillian Tett – £0.99 on Kindle [52]
Money: The True Story of a Made-Up Thing by Jacob Goldstein – £1.19 on Kindle [53]
Environmental factors
Can eating fish ever be sustainable? – BBC [54]
Water firms in England and Wales lost 1tn litres via leaky pipes in 2021 – Guardian [55]
How future generations will remember us – The Atlantic via MSN [56]
Off our beat
Lewis Hamilton never quits – Vanity Fair [57]
The Brexit exodus of EU workers has left a ‘cost of Leaving’ crisis – iNews [58]
Five lessons from history – Morgan Housel [59]
Why you should embrace boredom – Inside Hook [60]
The rise and fall of Ashford International – Londonist [61]
And finally…
“All new markets are inefficient at first.”
– Sebastian Mallaby, More Money Than God [62]
Like these links? Subscribe [63] to get them every Friday! Note this article includes affiliate links, such as from Amazon [64] and Interactive Investor [65]. We may be compensated if you pursue these offers, but that will not affect the price you pay.
- Financial Independence Retire Early. [↩ [70]]
- 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”. [↩ [71]]