I'd argue that the lesson here is to choose the girl who doesn't need the engagement ring.
263 karma · joined October 3, 2014
I spent nine months living in a van while traveling all over Japan. Flirted with excessive consumption for a few years in Tokyo but ended up coming back to frugality (although I live in an apartment now heh).
The good parts of living alone in a van are too many to list. The worst parts are 1) dating, and 2) all the fantastic views and vistas you don't get to share with someone.
> He named it Shaggy after a character in "Scooby Doo." He sings it songs and writes it poems and gives it Valentine's Day cards. He takes it for hiking expeditions in the mountains of Tennessee and surfing trips along the Carolina coast.
I so get this!!
I believe you are looking at the official rate.
Having said that, even if I was Argentinian I wouldn't hold any significant wealth in Bitcoin.
Having said that, I'm thinking out loud here and not convinced of it myself. Mainly because whenever the government steps in like this it means that someone somewhere is getting screwed.
Agree that the free (black) market will move to fill the gap.
If your situation is anything like mine was then I really feel for you. You probably feel trapped right now, and that adds to your stress which compounds your mistakes.
Maybe read The Dip by Seth Godin. And good luck!
I'm happy to give lessons but I'll never give an exact net worth. Stealth wealth FTW
http://www.joshuakennon.com/stealth-wealth-why-americas-rich...
1) "Enough" by John Bogle is a decent read if you want more of the same:
> Two famous authors, Kurt Vonnegut and Joseph Heller are talking at a party hosted by a billionaire hedge fund manager. Kurt says to Joseph, “You know, this billionaire makes more money in one day than you made in your whole lifetime from your novel Catch-22“. Joe responds, “Yes, but I have something he will never have… enough.”
2) There's a big difference between people wanting to give back and Picketty's proposal to tax the tits off the rich. I believe the difference is due to people's faith in government and the "buffer" they perceive they require. There is no shortage of people with an 8-figure net worth who just want to increase their wealth a little more, "just in case."
3) The "rich cancel each other out" argument may hold more for the US than for other countries. Not a criticism, just pointing it out.
But I can't tell how sarcastic you are being from your text alone.
I stand by the assertion that the US was trying to come off as a little crazy in the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Agree that the "other"-other choice should be "come to whatever conclusion but not publish findings."
Assuming the FBI have no reason to lie, the more interesting question is "why did the FBI make a statement mentioning North Korea at all?"
The FBI could have chosen to not name the suspect. The only reason I can come up with is that the US is trying to send a message to the world (perhaps China specifically?) that the US is irrational, and may do something crazy at any moment.
The historical precedent would be the game of brinksmanship that played out over the Cuban missile crisis. Obama just doesn't have that sheen of crazy that Eisenhower had.
Here in 2014 my feeling is that the average investor is much more savvy, with the majority of their holdings in diversified, low MER, index tracking ETFs.
So the question is, are these ETFs simply the rich's way of duping the masses this time around? Or has competition and the Internet helped lift the fog, disseminate information and arm the average investor so that he won't succumb to the tricks of Moore's evil faceless rich?
1) "shows to watch" - just delete these and reclaim the time. TV shows and movies are in a new golden age, and if they don't continue to get better then you'll still have the "old" ones from now.
2) When I feel like I'm consuming too much media I remind myself of Stephen Covey's bit on Production vs Production Capacity, and that spending too much time on Production Capacity is just as bad as spending too much time on Production. There reaches a point where you have to start applying your knowledge and just getting the work done.
These days I think in reality most people who have been into indexing for a while give themselves a bit of play money to invest in something more speculative.
Netflix/Cable TV --> reading a book (from the library) or HN. Starbucks --> broaden your horizons and explore the world of "grind your own." Eating out more than once a week --> eating out once a week, and preparing healthy meals the rest. Sometimes having your friends over for dinner. Gym membership --> enjoy looking for new kettlebell and bodyweight exercises that you can do at home. Go for walks with your wife in the evenings, or incorporate walking/exercise into your weekly date.
I'll admit that overseas travel is one area where I still overspend, so this would fall into the "sacrifice" category if I were to cut back. Even so, the skills in frugality that you learn while working your day job are useful on overseas trips. Haggling while jostling with old ladies at a wet market (in a language you don't understand) in order to buy ingredients for breakfast and a packed lunch is an experience that many travelers will miss out on.
(full disclosure: last holiday was a "relax by the hotel pool/private beach" affair. But even then we had a trip to the supermarket to buy some beer, fruit and snacks instead of pay hotel rates).
Anyway, it's not something that happens over night, rather a skillset you work on like any other. You find your own level of "sacrifice," your own groove, that you're comfortable with. Mr Money Mustache is just one guy but there are plenty of people who have entire sites dedicated to the movement who can talk about this idea of "sacrifice" better than I can.
http://www.modernluxury.com/san-francisco/story/the-best-inv...
So many people are quick to dismiss living well within one's means as a way to financial independence. Here's the link to the facts again:
http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/01/13/the-shockingly-sim...
TL;DR: Live on 35% of your after tax income and you're retired in 10 years. Get it down to 25% and you retire in 7.
According to this (there's a study linked within) salt's effect on blood pressure and other indicators of heart disease seem to follow a j-curve - too little or too much and you're at increased risk.
"We need to encourage women to have more babies in order to avoid a population crisis!"
Welcome to the government of contradictions.