What caught my eye this week.
The serendipity was too perfect. I thought: I’d write about this on Monevator, but who would believe me?
My girlfriend and I were on a visit last week to a picturesque part of Wales. Out of nowhere the blue sky turned into a thunderstorm (because we were in a picturesque part of Wales) and we dashed for cover under a tarpaulin strung up in a car park, allegedly meant for the patrons of a nearby coffee van but surely put there as advanced compensation by the Welsh tourist board.
An older lady appeared out of the storm. All smiles and shaking her head. A few seconds later her even more elderly partner stepped in.
As I often do and she clearly always does, we got chatting.
Golden dears
It turned out that they were in their mid-to-late-80s and had been semi-retired for decades.
They looked fitter than some of my university friends.
“We always walk at least 13km a day!” the lady told me.
“It’s a big world,” her husband added. “You have to get out to see it.”
They’d met and married in Malaysia more than 50 years ago, when she was visiting as an English teacher. Nowadays they spent half the year living in the poshest part of this town, and spent October to March overseas.
“It’s always summer for us!” laughed the man.
He asked me what I did for a living, but then he didn’t particularly listen before he gave me his investing tips. I’ve heard worse.
She said they did part-time work as marriage counsellors for their church. It was important to stay active and engaged when you’re older, she confided.
“I have three pieces of advice!” interrupted the man. “Always forgive the other person. Don’t argue for more than one minute! And never do anything to make your partner unhappy.”
That last one seemed like a reach, I suggested. In my experience it was often out of your hands?
But he was already off telling my girlfriend how he’d got his baseball cap – and most of the rest of his walking clothes – from visits he’d made to his old employer. Waste not want not.
The rain stopped and we shook hands and said our goodbyes. But then it turned out they were actually walking the same way as us.
Faster than us…
Now he was running! The jogging baby steps of an 86-year old, sure, but definitely pulling away.
“He wants to watch the Lionesses,” the lady told me, as she sped into a power walk. Over her shoulder: “Nice to meet you!”
I wished I’d asked them for their sustainable withdrawal rate [1].
Have a great weekend.
From Monevator
FIRE update: year four – Monevator [2]
The mysterious case of Treasury 2061 – Monevator [3]
From the archive-ator: What’s your financial origin story? – Monevator [4]
News
Rail fares rise by an inflation-busting 5.1% – Guardian [5]
Inheritance tax nets record £6.7bn before Budget raid – City AM [6]
UK house prices rebound as market recovers from June dip – Guardian [7]
…with BoE data pointing to a mini-boom – Yahoo Finance [8]
…and Nationwide says housing is most affordable for a decade – This Is Money [9]
Metlen confirms date for [much needed] £5.5bn London listing – City AM [10]
London commuter towns revealed as Britain’s best places to retire – Standard [11]
City offices ‘regain footing’ as deals tick up and prime rents surge – City AM [12]
[13]
A speculative frenzy – Sherwood [14] [with no risk premium [15] on US equities]
Brewdog and its crowdfunders mini-special
‘Equity for punks’ fuelled Brewdog’s rise, and maybe its fall – The Conversation [16]
How private equity swallowed the Brewdog unicorn [Paywall] – FT [17]
Brewdog Britain is dead – The Spectator [18]
Products and services
Cash ISA battle sends Best Buy rates up again – This Is Money [19]
How to pay less for magazines or even get them free – Be Clever With Your Cash [20]
Get up to £1,500 cashback when you transfer your cash and/or investments to Charles Stanley Direct through this link [21]. Terms apply – Charles Stanley [21]
Should you consider a product transfer for your next mortgage? – Which [22]
Ofgem mulls different energy charges for varying household wealth – Guardian [23]
Get up to £2,000 when you switch to an Interactive Investor [24] SIPP. Terms and fees apply. – Interactive Investor [24]
Pet insurance prices drop. You can pay even less with these tips – Which [25]
The Junior ISA strategy that’s helped some accounts reach £200,000 – Which [26]
Get up to £100 as a welcome bonus when you open a new account with InvestEngine via our link [27]. (Minimum deposit of £100, T&Cs apply. Capital at risk) – InvestEngine [27]
The cheapest ways to watch the Premier League – Be Clever With Your Cash [28]
“We take everything a financial adviser does and automate it” – FT Adviser [29]
Homes for sale in seaside hotspots, in pictures – Guardian [30]
Comment and opinion
One-year state pension delay could cost early-50s over £16,000 – IFA Mag [31]
Index investing is easier on your nerves – Humble Dollar [32]
“Why I’m not paying into a pension” – BBC [33]
Many Britons say they can’t afford to have kids – Independent [34]
Don’t let comfort creep you out – A Teachable Moment [35]
Could time off when young compensate us for retiring later? – The Conversation [36]
“I earn £100,000 a year but I don’t feel rich in London” – This Is Money [37]
The best leading indicator of wealth – Of Dollars and Data [38]
Can we build it? No we can’t – Propegator [39]
Uncommon common sense investing perspectives – Allan Roth [40]
Today’s active managers are more skilled but they still lag… – Larry Swedroe [41]
…and there are risks to passive dominance… [Research] – Alpha Architect [42]
AI capital spend versus tech workers mini-special
Honey, AI capital spending keeps eating…everything – Paul Kedrosky [43]
These charts on the spending boom have something for everyone – Sherwood [44]
What happens if we spend $3tn on data centres that nobody needs? – FT [45]
The have lots and have nots – Spyglass [46]
The Satya of Satya’s layoff memo – Om Malik [47]
Naughty corner: Active antics
Lessons from investing before the Internet – The Onveston Letter [48]
Where do fund managers lose performance? – Klement on Investing [49]
The case for low-volatility equities – CFA Institute [50]
Bitcoin treasury companies: lessons from the 1929 crash – Be Water [51]
Kindle book bargains
What They Don’t Teach You About Money by Claer Barrett – £0.99 on Kindle [52]
Too Big to Fail by Andrew Ross Sorkin – £0.99 on Kindle [53]
50 Economics Ideas by Edmund Conway – £0.99 on Kindle [54]
Mastering the Business Cycle by Howard Marks – £0.99 on Kindle [55]
Environmental factors
Househunters can now search for a home with an EV charger – This Is Money [56]
Sheffield company launches eco-bricks that absorb carbon – BBC [57]
Call to make wet wipe producers pay for UK’s polluted waterways – Guardian [58]
UK’s rarest breeding birds raise chicks for first time in six years – Channel 4 [59]
Is indoor salmon farming the future of aquaculture? – Eating Well [60]
Invasive seaweed ‘overwhelming’ Spanish beaches – Guardian [61]
Robot overlord roundup
AI is about to make the public Internet useless – Philip Rosedale [62]
Anything you say to ChatGPT can be used in court, warns Sam Altman – PC Mag [63]
Reddit is even more influential than you think – Finfluential [64]
Not at the dinner table
I coulda made a better deal – Paul Krugman [65]
The great crime paradox [Paywall] – FT [66]
Xi Jinping is the main thing holding China back – Noahpinion [67]
Trump’s tariff disaster [Podcast] – David Frum [68] of The Atlantic
The cost of financing U.S. government debt – Econofact [69]
“We voted for retribution” – The Atlantic [70] [h/t Abnormal Returns [71]]
Off our beat
“I’ve stopped life-saving medication” says man after fight for NHS care – BBC [72]
What ever happened to all the serial killers? – Derek Thompson [73]
How diet can delay chronic illness in old age – Independent [74]
The Red Queen fallacy – The Garden of Forking Paths [75]
Neanderthals weren’t ‘hypercarnivores’. They feasted on maggots – Guardian [76]
This is why we can’t have nice things: ‘dine and dash’ edition – BBC [77]
How bread versus rice moulded history – Uncharted Territories [78]
A nostalgic diesel train ride through Portugal – BBC [79]
And finally…
“Advice is one thing that as freely given away, but watch that you only take what is worth having.”
– George Clason, The Richest Man in Bablyon [80]
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