Micawber’s Favorites – August 5, 2017

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

The Epic Battle Against the Ball Gag 401k by Mr.WoW at Waffles on Wednesday

If you are a regular reader of my blog you know that I believe that low-cost Index funds are the key to successful investing. The problem is that there a lot of terrible 401k plans out there that don’t provide the option of low-cost index funds. So what do you do if your company has a lousy plan? You can either accept it or try to get it changed. As this article shows, fighting it won’t be easy, but change is possible. The first step is educating yourself about your company’s plan. If more people took action like Mr. WoW there would be less lousy plans out there. This is a great playbook for what to do if your company has a lousy 401k plan.

Morgan Housel on What You Need to Know to Be a Successful Investor by Chris Reining

This is an interview of Morgan Housel by Chris Reining. I love Morgan’s writing and Chris has done a masterful job of asking interesting questions and allowing Morgan to share his wisdom. I think everyone can learn something from this interview. On a related note, in the interview Morgan recommends a book called The Quest of the Simple Life by William J. Dawson. I am reading it now, and I absolutely love it. And the best part is that the Kindle version is free on Amazon.

Where Personal Breakthroughs Really Come From by David Cain at Raptitude

I love the following quote by Charles C. Coonradt: “If you have the courage to keep score, even when you are losing, you will win more in the long run.”

David Cain wouldn’t argue with this. He believes you don’t need to diet as long as you are willing to write down everything you eat, and you don’t need a budget as long as you are willing to write down everything you spend. Keeping score is the key. If you are willing to keep score, then change will follow almost effortlessly. As Cain says “it’s impossible to be aware of the actual numbers behind your behavior without your priorities changing.” This is a great article.   

5 Fascinating Things about Money and Happiness That You Probably Didn’t Know by Brian Stoffel at The Motley Fool

Returning to one of my favorite topics, here is another interesting article on money and happiness. I particularly like #4: Money doesn’t add happiness, it reduces sadness. This is an interesting idea that I have never thought of before, but it rings true to me. Money really can’t buy happiness, but it can make life less difficult in many respects.

This is the Age When You Become ‘Old’ According to Four Different Generations by Kerri Anne Rezulli at Money magazine

If you have a little experience in life like me you probably realize that the definition of “old” is a moving target that increases as you age. This article proofs that by asking four generations the question, “When does old age begin?”

Dee-1 – Sallie Mae Back (Official Video) by Dee-1

I have a new favorite rapper. Ok, my only favorite rapper. Ok, the only rapper I have ever really listened to. But then, he is also the only rapper I know of that is proud of driving a 1998 Honda Accord because it is paid off and who writes songs about paying off his student loans. He teaches many of the same things I do but in a much cooler way. And he is definitely reaching a different audience. Consider me a fan. Here is a video of the song he wrote when he paid off his student loans.