Gotta love........................

 

.........................................The Bee:

currency...............

 

On earning and spending...................

 

Earning more money increases freedom.

Spending less than you earn reduces stress.

-James Clear, from this edition

Try me.....................

 

But after writing about money for two decades, I am constantly amazed at how bad most of us are at knowing what we want out of money, or how to use it as anything more than a benchmark of status and success.

Morgan Housel, who writes better than most, has a new book coming out, The Art of Spending Money: Simple Choices For A Richer Life.  My copy has been ordered.

On retirement spending....................

 

The truth is, you can’t predict the future. Black swan events, long-term care needs, unexpected medical expenses—these things happen. But the bigger danger for this audience isn’t overspending.

It’s under-living.

-Jordan Grumet

via

crucial........................

 

Living within your means is a crucial financial skill for anyone.  It is especially valuable to someone who just fell into big bucks.

-Barry Ritholtz

Reminder................................

 The point of delayed gratification is eventual gratification in the future.

-Ben Carlson

Certainly not my plan.....................

 

...........................So don’t expect ‘die with zero’ to become a rallying cry for the Boomer generation.

Responsibility and accountability - oh, no......

 

If Congress wants to reclaim the power of the purse it so proudly declares its own, it must take its responsibilities more seriously. Americans are right to be upset at its routine failure to perform its constitutional duties. Appropriating money is only half the job. Anyone can swipe a credit card, but ensuring that the money is spent properly is the inescapable responsibility that comes with the power to spend. You can’t have one without the other. If Congress wants control over the purse strings, it has to own the duty of accountability that comes with it.

-Casey Burgat

One can hope..................

 

       more fun here

It's a low bar, but I'd tune in.............

 

Predict that the DOGE weekly live streams listing all the things they are cutting from the federal budget will garner larger rating than any of the news shows on TV.

-Chris Lynch, from here

Blaming the voters...............

 

Congress won’t tackle the debt unless Americans force the issue.

A good question for today...........

 

Who spends money better: the person who spends his own money, or the person who spends other people's money?

-from the Calafia Beach Pundit, who loves his charts

such as this one...........................

Overshooting...............................

 

.....................................longevity estimates:

The financial impact of overshooting longevity estimates isn’t insignificant, the report said. According to one startling calculation, a 65-year-old man who has met his income replacement ratio goal based on age 95, but is then projected to live only up to 86 because of his high cholesterol, may potentially be able to spend an additional $447,000 in retirement.

Seriously?

On getting what you deserve................

 This is not a Democrat or Republican issue, nor a liberal or conservative one; it is an existential one for the country. . . . 

-Kevin raises the alarm

This is sort of interesting...................

 

via

On progress........................

 You could say higher spending is the goal. But all new luxuries become necessities in due time as expectations reset. I suspect part of the reason people don’t feel better off is because financial progress is better measured by wealth, not income. And wealth is just the accumulation of income you haven’t spent. So a lot of people are the financial equivalent of the exerciser who burns 500 calories then immediately offsets it with dessert and is frustrated by the lack of progress despite working so hard.

-Morgan Housel

On achieving financial independence....

Morgan Housel tells a story.   Two wee excerpts:

To generalize only a little: In the 1950s camping was an acceptable vacation. Hand-me-downs were acceptable clothes. A 983 square foot house was an acceptable size. Kids sharing a room was an acceptable arrangement. A tire swing was acceptable entertainment. Few of those things are acceptable baselines for most households today. The average new home now has more bathrooms than occupants.
-------
Everything has a price, and prices aren’t always clear. The price of exercise isn’t just the workout; it’s avoiding the post-workout appetite. Same in finance. The price of building wealth isn’t just the trouble of earning money; it’s avoiding the post-earnings urge to spend what you’ve accumulated.

Financial well-being...................

.................................................in five easy steps:

I suspect that kind of wisdom.....................

.....................................................is mighty elusive:

In a moment of rare generosity, JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon, who got into hot water for his Davos comment that his "heart is Democratic but my brain is kind of Republican" said he has "no problem" paying higher taxes, as long as government spends that money wisely.