Good reads from around the Web.
Blogger Ermine has been retired for nearly two years now. Many Monevator readers are familiar with his dispatches from the other side of the 9-to-5, which he recapped this week in a monster anniversary post [1] sharing what he’s learned.
The following section stood out for me — because instead of the stereotypical vision of an early retiree quipping “so long, suckers!” before hitting the golf course, it makes Ermine sound like a rescued battery chicken relearning how to peck about in the grass:
“I retired early because I was stressed and became increasingly out of sync with the way work was being run.
I am still recovering from that.
It is only recently that I can reliably hear what is good in music, and there’s still a while to go before I will have recovered this to what I once had
In a myriad of small ways I am still reminded that I pushed my luck flying into the storm for three years, and indeed to carry on after I had been off sick.”
Thank goodness he got out! As I’ve said before, don’t kill yourself for your job [2]. It’s not worth it.
Escape if you need to and do something different. If it’s less lucrative, cut your cloth. Anyone who has found and can read this website has many options.
My solution long ago was to escape office life [3] — with all its comforting security and its progression — to become a freelancer and mini-entrepreneur. To my kind of spirit, the security and progression of a typical job feels like systematically moving through the prison system towards parole.
We’re all different. I know a few people who love their jobs, and more who love their careers.
But if you’re 30, say, and you already feel you’re going the way Ermine did, don’t postpone your salvation for 20 years.
Turkeys may vote for Christmas, but the smart ones hop the fence.
From the blogs
Making good use of the things that we find…
Passive investing
- G is for Gambler’s Fallacy – The Psy-Fi blog [4]
- Investing philosophy versus investing strategy – Rick Ferri [5]
- Investment bloggers on: Smart Beta – Abnormal Returns [6]
Active investing
- Lessons from David Einhorn – Clear Eyes Investing [7]
- Value investing is ‘good enough’ – Oddball Stocks [8]
- Why I’m selling bank shares – Under the Money Tree [9]
- The incredibly exciting consumer staples sector – Millennial Invest [10]
- Are BT shares a good investment? – UK Value Investor [11]
Other articles
- Try saving 50% of every raise you get – Kitces [12]
- Watching the bubble watchers – Musings on Markets [13]
- China used more cement in 3 years than US in past 100 – Bill Gates [14]
- From Get Rich Slowly to Mustachianism – Mr Money Mustache [15]
- Are reward credit cards worth it? [Also see comments] – MisterSquirrel [16]
Product of the week: You can get 5% interest on up to £2,000 with a current account from the newly-listed TSB [17]. The good news is it’s not a bonus rate, but you do need to pay in £500 a month and register for online banking.
Mainstream media money
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 of that site.1 [18]
Passive investing
- Investing in trackers is cheaper than ever – Guardian [19]
- Just one manager in 100 beats the market – Telegraph [20]
- A UK smart beta dividend index – The Freedom Index [21]
Active investing
- Hold the line with long-term compounders [Search result] – Merryn/FT [22]
- Re-emerging markets offer opportunities [Search result] – Redwood/FT [23]
- Should you buy into the bombed-out supermarkets? – Telegraph [24]
- TSB jumps 10% on IPO price – ThisIsMoney [25]
- A day in the life of a UK fund manager – ThisIsMoney [26]
- Don’t buy the FTSE 100 to bet on Britain [Video] – Motley Fool [27]
Other stuff worth reading
- Virgin Money tops tables with new 2.1% cash ISA rate – ThisIsMoney [28]
- The ins and outs of let-to-buy – Guardian [29]
- Don’t forget: £15,000 NISAs from 1 July – ThisIsMoney [30]
- How indirect taxes clobber the poorest taxpayers – Guardian [31]
- Six scenarios that highlight the inheritance tax threat – Telegraph [32]
- Counting the cost of the finance sector – Buttonwood/Economist [33]
Book of the week: Want to be a buy-to-let millionaire? Monevator reader Rob Dix sent me a copy of his motivational book, Beyond The Bricks [34]
Like these links? Subscribe [35] to get them every week!
- Reader Ken notes that: “FT 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”.” [↩ [39]]