What caught my eye this week.
After compiling this list of the best money and investing reads for over a decade now, it’s rare I come across anything super new.
But I loved this fresh idea from Pete The Planner [1] on how to borrow money from your own emergency fund.
Hold up – borrow your own money?
That’s right. Sort of.
Pete explains it’s down to one of those endearing tics of being human. Many people would rather borrow from a lender – and pay interest – because they prefer to see a repayment schedule in place, rather than raid their own emergency fund that they’d diligently saved [2] for a rainy day.
Even when it starts to rain!
One reason is they don’t trust themselves. But research provides a possible solution, says Pete [1]:
In a lab experiment, researchers found that when subjects were given the option of taking money from savings and entering into a “pay-back” agreement, they were more willing to use their savings rather than borrow money.
So simple. See Pete’s blog for a quick example with numbers.
As somebody who got a mortgage [3] because I couldn’t bear to spend the money I’d socked away in ISAs for this very purpose (okay, and to lose the tax wrapping) I can relate.
Anyone else found any leaks in their mental accounting buckets [4]?
Let us know in the comments below.
From Monevator
The stock market is wilder than you think – Monevator [5]
Get out of debt to unleash your inner money maker – Monevator [6]
From the archive-ator: Why factor return premiums can be disappointing – Monevator [7]
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! ((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”.))
Brexit: ‘Very little progress’ in negotiations with the EU, UK says – Sky News [8]
Coronavirus furlough scheme extended to end of October 2020 – Which? [9]
UK scheme for self-employed signs up 440,000 workers on first day – Guardian [10]
London congestion charge comes back Monday, with a price rise from 22 June – BBC [11]
Opening of English housing market catches estate agents on the hop – Guardian [12]
Housebuilding to fall by a third as construction sites reopen with strict distancing rules – ThisIsMoney [13]
Seven out of ten dentists could go bust by the end of summer without state aid – ThisIsMoney [14]
[15]
Strategists query sudden ‘sprint’ in US stocks. Bear rallies over the past 150 years have been gradual and often rocky, says SocGen [Search result] – FT [16]
Products and services
Bounce back loans: How to apply for this helping hand from government – Much More With Less [17]
Help to Buy ISAs vs Lifetime ISAs: which will get you on the property ladder first? – Which? [18]
Mortgage rates drop to their lowest ever average level – ThisIsMoney [19]
Sign-up to Freetrade via my link [20] and we can both get a free share worth between £3 and £200 – Freetrade [20]
Market-leading easy access savings rate slashed from 1.2% to 1.05% – ThisIsMoney [21]
Homes with income potential [Gallery] – Guardian [22]
Comment and opinion
Nothing fails quite like success in the stock market – A Wealth of Common Sense [23]
Is it indefensible not to take out a pension? – Indeedably [24]
Why liquid net worth is so important for your finances – Of Dollars and Data [25]
The people who beat the stock market – Banker on FIRE [26]
The Long Road to Financial Independence: Kat’s Journey – A Chat With Kat [27]
The stock market is [not] ignoring the real economy – The Reformed Broker [28]
Larry Swedroe: Is it really stocks for the long run? – The Evidence-based Investor [29]
We need to talk about ergodicity – Behavioural Investment [30]
Naughty corner: Active antics
Ichigo Ichie – All Star Charts [31]
Can stocks and bonds both be right about this crisis and the global economy? – CNBC [32]
Tips for stock pickers in a coronavirus world – UK Value Investor [33]
A deep dive into the Herald Investment Trust – IT Investor [34]
The stock picker who delivered a 2,550% return: Marlborough’s veteran UK small cap fund manager Giles Hargreave to step down after 22 years… – ThisIsMoney [35]
…while Invesco dumps Woodford protege Mark Barnett after he fell 30% behind the market – ThisIsMoney [36]
It could be a good time to buy Buffett’s lackluster Berkshire Hathaway – Tiho Brkan via Twitter [37]
The illusion of alpha in active bond management – The Evidence-based Investor [38]
Wall Street heavyweights sound the alarm about stock prices – Bloomberg [39]
Why the most futuristic investor in tech wants to back society’s outcasts – The Hustle [40]
Is (systematic) value investing dead? – AQR [41]
Covid-19 corner
[42][Click to enlarge the good/bad news]
…and up-to-date graphs of case rate rises and falls in different countries – End Coronavirus [44]
The risks – know them – avoid them [Excellent] – Professor Erin Bromage [45]
A summary of all the major vaccine and treatment contenders – CNBC [46]
Covid-19 ‘R’ rate for various areas of England, compiled in real-time – PHE/Cambridge University [47]
Public Health England approves Roche’s antibody test as accurate – Guardian [48] & BBC [49]
Without a vaccine, herd immunity won’t save us [Includes a cool interactive tool] – FiveThirtyEight [50]
App shows promise in tracking new coronavirus cases, study finds – New York Times [51]
‘Weird as hell’: the Covid-19 patients who have symptoms for months – Guardian [52]
The co-morbidity question – The Actuary [53]
Dutch official advice to single people: find a sex buddy for lockdown – Guardian [54]
Kindle book bargains
The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity by Carlo Cipolla – £0.99 on Kindle [55]
Digital Transformation: Survive and Thrive in an Era of Mass Extinction by Thomas Siebel – £0.99 on Kindle [56]
Money: A User’s Guide by Laura Whateley – £0.99 on Kindle [57]
The Hating Game [‘The very best book to self-isolate with’] by Sally Thorne – £0.99 on Kindle [58]
Off our beat
“I got fired over Zoom” – The Atlantic [59]
The virtual reality winter [On the technology] – Benedict Evans [60]
How the coronavirus turned a pilot shortage into a surplus overnight – Abnormal Returns [61]
And finally…
“The hungrier one becomes, the clearer one’s mind works— also the more sensitive one becomes to the odors of food.”
– George S. Clason, The Richest Man in Babylon [62]
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