What caught my eye this week.
I think we can all agree that money is not the most important thing in this life.
Equally, I suspect most of us believe money is one of the most important things in our lives. Simply because of how it enables us to do the other things.
I’ve been wrestling (often in the mud) with this conundrum for much of my working life. For me the path has mostly been [1] to earn less (so less stress, and more life) and to save more (because I didn’t earn enough to save less while still hitting my financial freedom goals).
Others I respect, such as my co-blogger [2] and the rarely-spotted RIT [3], took a different approach. They both sucked up many years of work stress at the same time as saving hard. They wanted to get out sooner than average, and they started saving later than me.
So you can turn these dials in various ways, particularly if you earn mega-bucks.
But most people will choose less stress as well as less saving… the conventional path to retirement at 67.
Being and nothingness
This week the marmite-y website More To That exposed [4] what drives these choices from a different angle:
There is just one certainty: One day our time will be up, and we have no idea when that day will be.
Equipped with this knowledge, people decided that they didn’t want to spend their entire lives thinking about money.
They wanted the Nothingness of Money to start earlier than the last few moments of their lives, so they could spend at least a few decades living without the attentional drain of their finances.
They devised a tool that helped elongate the Nothingness of Money, and its invention ushered in a new way of thinking about financial freedom.
That tool was called retirement.
The full article [4] will either make you think a lot or else seem trite.
I was left a ponderer, but then I always have been skeptical [5] of the power of money – particularly for a money blogger!
At least the More To That vision of retirement looks more fun than most existential musings do:
[6]Have a great weekend everyone!
From Monevator
The time value of money – Monevator [7]
How unmarried couples can protect their finances – Monevator [8]
From the archive-ator: Know your own risk tolerance – Monevator [9]
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!1 [10]
Bank of England surprises markets by holding rates at record low – CNBC [11]
U-turn over access rules re: pension age rise from 55 to 57… – ThisIsMoney [12]
…and the rationale – Which [13]
New York’s Mayor Elect to take first three paycheques in Bitcoin – The Block [14]
Luton man left shocked as his house is ‘stolen’ – BBC [15]
UK average house price hits record £270,000 high… – Guardian [16]
…while return of super-rich to London fuels house price surge – Guardian [17]
Boris Johnson can’t escape the economic costs of Brexit [Search result] – FT [18]
The OBR’s scary forecast on [bad scenario] UK interest rate rises – David Smith [19]
[20]
Is rampant house price inflation about to decline? – ThisIsMoney [21]
Products and services
Who made more: you or your house? [‘Fun’ interactive tool] – New Statesman [22]
Money coaching app Claro offers FSCS-protected 2% on first £3,000 saved – ThisIsMoney [23]
BOE rate hold means more time to secure a cheap mortgage – Guardian [24]
Open a SIPP with Interactive Investor and pay no SIPP fee for six months. Terms apply – Interactive Investor [25]
Half of the UK’s energy suppliers have gone bust this year – ThisIsMoney [26]
How to super-rich buy their homes [Search result] – FT [27]
What you can expect to pay to buy the freehold of your flat – ThisIsMoney [28]
How has coronavirus affected house prices? – Which [29]
Homes with an air source heat pump, in pictures – Guardian [30]
Comment and opinion
The power of passive investing: time to relearn lessons [Search result] – FT [31]
Why 84-year-old Winning The Loser’s Game [32] author Charlie Ellis owns no bonds – Humble Dollar [33]
There’s no such thing as enough money – Incognito Money Scribe [34]
11 things every stock market investor should know – Darius Foroux [35]
Momentum is building for 24/7 stock markets – A Wealth of Common Sense [36]
Two books to live by – Humble Dollar [37]
How one 27-year old makes $10,000 a month as freelancer on Fiverr – CNBC [38]
Hot streaks in your career don’t happen by accident – MSN [39]
Smart beta: sometimes smart, sometimes not [Search result] – FT [40]
The value of nothing: capital versus growth – American Affairs [41]
Corporate culture mini-special
Does a fund manager’s culture and brand matter? – Behavioural Investment [42]
Corporate culture as an intangible asset – The Evidence-based Investor [43]
Naughty corner: Active antics
Inflation and stock market returns: a deep dive – OSAM [44]
“I picked that stock, so it won’t go down” – Klement on Investing [45]
The recovery in European value stocks may have further to go – Verdad [46]
Moonshots – Foxy Monkey [47]
Bill Miller: a value investor’s education – Neckar [48]
Covid corner
America has lost the plot on Covid – The Atlantic [49]
Where are we at in the UK? – BBC [50]
Kindle book bargains
Exponential: How Accelerating Technology Is Leaving Us Behind by Azeem Azhar – £0.99 on Kindle [51]
Happy Sexy Millionaire: Unexpected Truths about Fulfilment, Love, and Success by Steven Bartlett – £0.99 on Kindle [52]
Billion Dollar Loser: The Epic Rise and Fall of WeWork by Reeves Wiedman – £0.99 on Kindle [53]
Liar’s Poker by Michael Lewis – £0.99 on Kindle [54]
(What do you mean you haven’t got a Kindle? Get £20 off [55] one today.)
Environmental factors
A SIPP can be a great way to save the planet… – DIY Investor UK [56]
…but markets can’t fix climate change on their own – The Evidence-based Investor [57]
Off our beat
Fitness: one step at a time – Humble Dollar [58]
Arc – Indeedably [59]
The same stories, again and again and again – Morgan Housel [60]
Can data die? Tracking the Lenna image – The Pudding [61]
The new science of metabolism – Guardian [62]
The Metaverse: brave new world, or capitalist hellscape? – ETF Trends [63]
And finally…
“Mortality makes it impossible to ignore the absurdity of living solely for the future.”
– Oliver Burkeman, Four Thousand Weeks: Time and How to Use It [64]
Like these links? Subscribe [65] to get them every Friday! Note this article includes affiliate links, such as from Amazon [66] and Freetrade [67]. We may be compensated if you pursue these offers, but that will not affect the price you pay.
- 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”. [↩ [72]]