Micawber’s Favorites – August 19, 2017

Here are links to several of my favorite recent articles and resources on money and life. Enjoy:

Refusing a Gift From Your Past by Anthony Ongaro at Break the Twitch

We are doing some remodeling in our house. A side effect of remodeling is that it has forced us to go through the accumulated junk of 31 years of marriage and raising four children and decide what is worth keeping. This article describes some advice given by Seth Godin in a conference the author attended about how to make these sometimes difficult decisions.  I always find Godin’s advice clarifying, and this is no exception.      

My Loyal Army of Henchman by Othalafehu

I have always loved the idea of having your money earn more money by working for you. In this informative and creative post the author takes this concept one step further by personalizing his different sources of passive income.

Humorous Consumerism Today by Retire 29

Last night I took my wife out to dinner for our 31st anniversary.  I ordered I combination plate from the menu where you can “choose three items for one low price.”  Unfortunately, I missed the fine print stating that some of the items come with an additional charge, and I ended up spending $7 dollars more than planned.  In a free market economy you are faced with constant temptation and never-ending decisions. Choice is good, but the more choices you have the more chances you have to mess up, as I did.  This article takes a humorous look at some of the unwise purchasing choices we might be tempted to make if we don’t remain vigilant.

Does Cash Make You Happier Than Income or Paying Down Debt by Jonathan Ping at My Money Blog

We have had a rather meager emergency fund the last several years while we concentrated on paying down debt. About a year ago we decided to put more focus on adding to our emergency fund. As our emergency fund has increased I have noticed our level of stress about money decreasing. This article looks at some recent research confirming our experience. Paying down debt is always a good idea but having some liquid cash on hand pays quicker psychological dividends.

Some Thoughts on the Extreme Early Retirement Movement by Ben Carlson at Wealth of Common Sense

Early retirement is not for everyone, for a variety of reasons. Carlson discusses some of them in this insightful article. Like Carlson, I have a lot of respect for people who can pull early retirement off.  It takes a lot of planning and discipline. However, I have never been motivated enough personally to make the types of sacrifices necessary to make it a reality. I have always had different financial goals and priorities. If early retirement motivates you, great. If not, feel free to pursue other career or financial goals that do inspire you.

The Big Book of Everything by Eric A. Dewey

I absolutely love this tool. The Big Book of Everything is a tool to help you gather and organize all of your important information, financial and otherwise, in one place. And the best part about it is the price – absolutely free (you can make a voluntary donation if you wish). You can download either an Excel or a pdf. version. I like the Excel version for the flexibility. The book is extremely thorough, with tabs for just about every type of information you can think of. This is both a strength and a weakness. A strength because having all this information organized and in one spot is important, but a weakness because when you see all the different types of information you need to gather it is tempting to just give up. The key is to take it one tab and one day at a time. I wouldn’t recommend trying to complete it in one sitting. Dewey has provided a great service by offering this tool free of charge. After I complete mine I might write a more extensive review.