Common Savings Tools And Strategies Explained And Why I Don't Use Them
Today, we briefly explain and endorse some traditional nuts and bolts personal finance at the same time as eschewing it! Expect more of this type of content, particularly after I can announce the major media organization I’m writing money articles for at or around the end of the month. I actually love writing about conventional banking, saving and investing and think the newsletter will benefit from more objective and subjective takes in those areas.
To set the stage, consider something subjective I wrote this past week—
But, generally speaking, don’t nickel and dime yourself.
Putting $10,000 into a savings account because it pays 5% interest to beat inflation is the type of psychobabble bean-counting economists use that drives lots of people crazy for no good reason. I’m not saying you should not take the 5% interest over the 0.2% interest rate (even though I pretty much don’t). But I am saying if you don’t, this isn’t going to put you financially behind the subscriber sitting next to you.
Ultimately, the $480 or so in additional interest you earn in a year amounts to a personal financial rounding error. It makes you feel good that you beat inflation (high five!), but did you really “beat inflation” or just score some self-soothing moral victory?
I have two other primary reasons for not going with savings products that generate more meaningful interest at the moment. One that I’ll understand if you call it irrational. The other that I think makes more sense, particularly in the context of Living The Semi-Retired Life with a bunch of short-term plans.
But, real quick, before we go there—
A quick update on what to expect during February when me and partner spend a month in Spain and France:
7 posts from each of the seven cities we’re visiting (Barcelona, Girona, Montpelier, Lyon, Paris, Bordeaux and Toulouse) with urban and food photography, cost of living comparisons and general observations as they relate to Living The Semi-Retired Life.
10 posts that take a traditional personal finance or investing topic (think 401(k)s, financial planners, money market funds or accounts) and relate them to the non-traditional path you might be following or want to follow.
I plan to take actual grocery shopping trips in the US and do hypothetical trips to buy equivalent items in Spain and France to highlight differences in cost of living.
We had a lot of great content from Spain and Italy this past February. And we hope to do even better in less than four months!
This post — How To Afford Travel — was among the most popular.
Now, the long and short of today’s story: In some areas of life, I’m a creature of habit.