Since the Covid shutdown 5 years ago, I’ve been hearing constant complaints about restaurant prices, service, quality and experience. To add insult to injury, there are now ubiquitous and obligatory tip expectations for all “restaurant experiences” – including self service, delivery, drive-through, pickup and in person – with minimums often set above 20% – regardless…
Deadbeats
In a recent Money For Couples podcast episode, I listened as a married couple in their early 60s spoke about financial issues. Initially, they said their financial problem was that they were spending too much money and didn’t have enough set aside for retirement. After Ramit Sethi dug into their numbers with them, he uncovered…
I Will Teach You To Be Rich
I’ve been listening to Ramit Sethi‘s podcast Money For Couples recently. In it, he interviews a couple that has applied to his show for financial advice. Ramit digs into their current financial situation, debt, problems, financial education/background, family history with money, etc. Although on the surface it is a financial podcast, his advice often has…
How Do You Know?
The news media, pundits, economists and corporations are all saying that the US economy is being sustained because wealthy people are spending more while poor people are spending less. They usually then go on to talk about how Trump’s tariffs, inflation, food price increases, prices rising for basic goods and cost of living increases all…
Empty Literary Calories
Many of the nonfiction books I read contain superfluous content, which I suspect is to increase the page count. I’m not the first person to point this out. One fluffing technique I’ve seen lately is spending the opening chapter defining the words that are central to the book’s argument. The author will fill several pages…
Unimportant
If you want a realistic perspective on the news, pay attention over a holiday break like Thanksgiving or Christmas. The news websites, podcasts and videos that were filled with “breaking news”, “what you need to know about”, “existential”, and “unprecedented” go dark. Why? Because everybody is on vacation. Suddenly all of these supposedly URGENT issues…
Sounds Of Life
After my wife died when I decided to run away from society and live in the wilderness, I sought solace in the silence in nature. At the time, I lived in Florida across the street from a golf course. Between the golf course and my neighbors, my ears were assaulted by lawnmowers, trimmers and leaf…
No Shit Sherlock
The news breathlessly reported that a recent meta-analysis research study of GLP1s concluded that the weight loss people had while on GLP1s reversed after they discontinued using the drugs. In a side note, the report mentioned that some of the researchers were employees of the drug manufacturers. Thank you Mr. Obvious. Who decided a study…
China Skeptic
The news (and pundits) frequently speak about how China is “eating the US’s lunch” when it comes to infrastructure builds, AI development, economic growth, manufacturing, military strength, cybersecurity, cyber hacking, quality of living and more. China’s progress is often used as a foil to critique US economic, business and social issues. Why isn’t anyone other…
“F*ck This Guy”
This is what I say to myself that helps me cope with 90% of what I read about (or listen to) in the news. It has been a surprisingly effective way for me to quell my own consternation, disappointment, worries and anger. For whatever reason, saying this dismisses all of this from my head so…