👑 How status games kill your finances


Good afternoon Reader,

How is it the end of 2024 already? We're just a couple weeks away from the end of the year - and our kids only have two more school days left!

There's goes my sanity. 😆

How has your year been?


(View this email as a webpage)

👑 Avoid status games

The holidays can be a great time.

They can also be a challenging time.

One of the ways it's challenging is that when you see friends and family, there's a natural inclination to compare yourself. This is especially true when you see extended family, folks who you grew up with and may or may not be "doing better" than you now.

These are status games. Here's how to avoid them:

👉 How to Avoid Status Games

⚒️ Ditch activities that no longer serve you

As we near the new year, you're probably going to think about ways to declutter your life. We remember to declutter things because we can see them (even though it's not easy!).

But it's important to declutter activities and practices too:

👉 Ditch financial practices that no longer serve you

📅 5 Year End Financial Ideas

My internet friend Jesse at The Best Interest shares a list of 5 good year end financial ideas you should think about.

They're not specific tips in that "you should do this," but more financial areas you should be thinking about and considering.

Click through and you'll know what I mean:

👉 5 Year-End Financial Planning Tips

What did you think of today's email?
I Loved It! 🟨 It Was Okay Not My Favorite

Take care!

Jim

PS. Do you get random text messages from strangers pretending to know who you are (and asking you to coffee or something?) - here's why and what you should do.

(see our archive of previous emails)


You signed up for this newsletter via wallethacks.com

We respect you and your attention. If you no longer wish to get emails from us, you can unsubscribe and we will still be friends.

If you like sending gifts, we like getting them here - P.O Box 323, Fulton, MD 20759

Hi, I'm Jim Wang and I share my strategies and tactics for managing your money and enjoying more out of life.

I have been writing about money for nearly 20 years and believe that personal finance is one of those subjects that is made complicated because it benefits a select few. Our aim is to help make it easier to understand so that regular folks can use what we teach to take control of their money and build wealth.

Read more from Hi, I'm Jim Wang and I share my strategies and tactics for managing your money and enjoying more out of life.

Good morning Reader! Moody's has an AI recession model that just said there's a 49% chance of a downturn. It's trained on 80 years of data and when the model hits 50%, there's been a recession within 12 months. And it's based on February data, which does not yet include the Iran war and its impact on oil prices. (and the two week ceasefire just announced yesterday night) That doesn't mean sell all of your stocks and hide. But it does mean it's time you should be playing defense in other areas...

Good morning Reader! You should watch this explanation of the Yen Carry trade and how its unwinding impacts our economy and your personal finances. As a long term investor, I am not adjusting my allocations or making any other significant changes. I will, however, make sure that my actual allocations match my targets. I believe in remaining informed, even if it doesn't affect my actions, because then I won't be surprised when something happens. The market is dominated so heavily by news...

Good morning Reader! Last week, a reader (Hi Gloria!) ask why I never list Vanguard's Cash Plus account in the interest rate roundup below. Here's my answer: I don't list the Vanguard Cash Plus Account because the yield is only 3.35% APY (that includes a 0.25% boost that they will remove on 4/30/26), which makes it lag behind most other banks. It's just not competitive. I love Vanguard though, I have most of our investments there, but the Cash Plus account isn't that great. Vanguard's Money...