Personal blog on early retirement, a little traveling, and analytics projects. I write about what I learn as I am learning it.
Personal finance from an optimization habit: early retirement, Roth conversions, credit cards, and the arithmetic behind decisions people usually make by feel.
Are you ready for some eye-opening financial revelations? Look no further! In this blog post, we’ll dive into seven captivating documentaries about money that are as educational as they are entertaining. Get ready for a cinematic journey into the world of finance.
Have you heard the story of the Mexican fisherman? If not, allow me to introduce you to a tale that is sure to leave you feeling inspired and contemplative.
If you’ve spent any time in FIRE circles or on personal finance forums, you’ve encountered the VTSAX vs VOO debate. Both are Vanguard funds, both are extremely low-cost, and both will make you more money over 30 years than most actively managed alternatives. The debate mostly comes down to structure and personal preference rather than any meaningful performance difference. Here’s what actually separates them.
The premise of “Die with Zero” sounds provocative: Bill Perkins argues you should plan to spend all your money before you die, optimizing for maximum life experiences rather than maximum wealth at death. Not “die debt-free” — that’s a different book. Perkins is talking about people who will almost certainly die with millions in unspent savings because they never gave themselves permission to spend it on things that actually mattered while they were healthy enough to enjoy them. The title is deliberately extreme. The actual argument is more nuanced than it sounds.
I picked it up because I’m interested in the other end of the FIRE question — not just how to achieve financial independence, but what to actually do with it.
Not an Italian luxury car.
No. Pareto was the Italian economist that came up with the 80/20 rule. He figured out 20% of the richest families held 80% of the wealth (this is probably worse nowadays). More generally stated, the 80/20 rule says that 80% of the results come from 20% of the inputs, you spend 80% of your time doing 20% of your tasks, etc, etc.
