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J.D. on the Adulting podcast: Learn to control what you can control
While tidying up and decommissioning my old Money Boss website, we found a couple of treasures that deserve to be shared here at Get Rich Slowly. This is one of them.
A couple of years ago, I was a guest on the excellent Adulting podcast. Although targeted specifically at young adults, this show has great info for everyone who feels like they need help being a grown-up. (I fall into that category, and I'm nearly fifty!)
In this episode, I spoke with hosts Miranda Marquit and Harlan Landes about taking charge of your life, choosing to control what you can control.
Time is more valuable than money
It's a GRS tradition! Each year on Halloween, I publish a story about planning for death. Usually these are general articles about estate planning. This year's story is personal.
When my best friend died in 2009, one of my biggest regrets was that I hadn't made time to travel with him.
Sparky had previously asked me to join him on trips to Burning Man (in 1996) and southeast Asia (in 1998) and Mexico (in 2003). I'd declined each invitation, in part because I was deep in debt but also because I thought there'd be plenty of time to do that sort of thing in the future.
Turns out, there wasn't plenty of time to do that sort of thing in the future.
Should you pay off your mortgage early?
My friend Amy recently wrote with an interesting dilemma. “Should I pay off my mortgage early?” she wonders.
Amy has a high-paying job and has managed to save enough that she could be completely debt-free if she wanted to. And she kind of wants to! But is this the best choice? She's aware that this is a nice problem to have — but it's still a bit of a muddle. She'd like some guidance.
Here's an abridged version of her email:
I'm wondering if you have any advice for me related to paying off a mortgage vs. keeping it for tax purposes.
Here’s the basic rundown: I have 22 years and $103,000 left on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at 3.95%. My monthly payment is $668 per month. I will pay about $48000 in interest this year. I pay both my taxes and insurance out of pocket annually.
The best of both worlds: How to find quality products without spending a lot of money
Our recent three-part discussion on choosing quality over price has been interesting. (If you missed it, here's part one, part two, and part three.)
It's clear that most of you money bosses value quality, but not all of you are willing to pay a premium to obtain it. And some GRS readers don't think it's ever worth paying more to buy the best. (In fact, some folks think this philosophy is foolish.)
One thing we all seem to agree on: It's always best to pay less.
The boots theory of socioeconomic unfairness
When I wrote about my $80 pajamas, I never imagined it'd spark a three-part series of articles. Yet here we are.
- On Monday, I wrote about why I chose to buy high-quality pajamas. (I've been wearing them all week, by the way. They're awesome.)
- On Wednesday, I published a follow-up piece that explored the “buy it for life” philosophy, and explained why sometimes it makes sense to shop based on quality instead of price.
- Today, I want to spend a little time exploring the ethical implications of buying expensive items.
Quality tends to come with a price. While there are ways to mitigate some of these higher costs — buy used, wait for sales, etc. — if you want to buy new quality items, you're going to pay a premium.
Buy it for life: Choosing quality over price
Note: This is a substantial re-write of an article I first published more than twelve years ago. (Yikes, I'm old!) I've opted to keep some of the older comments if they had good suggestions.
Earlier this week, I wrote about my quest for quality pajamas. I recently paid $80 to purchase a pair from Filson, a company I trust for well-made goods. It's my hope that these will be the last pair of pajamas that I ever purchase. My goal was to “buy it for life”.
This experience reminded me of two other companies that I love for their top-notch stuff.
Quality versus crap: Why I bought $80 pajamas
Yesterday, I spent $80 on a pair of pajama bottoms. (Or, as the company calls them, Alaskan guide lounge bottoms.)
On the one hand, this feels like an insane amount to spend on sleepwear. On the other hand, my last two pairs of pajamas — both $20 specials from Costco — have lasted no longer than a year because they've quickly fallen apart. They were cheap garments cheaply made.
Herein lies a question I frequently face: When does it make sense to pay more for quality?
My experience with the KonMari method (and the life-changing magic of tidying up)
Because I'm a money nerd and a comics nerd, one of my favorite things is when these two obsessions come together in the form of (drom roll, please): financial graphic novels!
Celebrating one year of Get Rich Slowly 3.0
Can you believe it? A year ago today, I returned to the helm of Get Rich Slowly. Eight-and-a-half years after selling the site, I bought it back.
During the past twelve months, GRS has been through three distinct phases as I've struggled to figure out my focus and direction.
How to do great work
I've been frustrated lately with the quality and quantity of my work. I haven't produced as much here at Get Rich Slowly as I would like — due largely to Fincon and its aftermath (calls and meetings, calls and meetings) — and what work I have produced isn't as good as I would like. This lack of productivity makes me agitated, which makes me even less productive because I'm not in a good place mentally. It's a vicious circle.
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