Every week I find a few great articles I feel are especially valuable. Following are this week’s best. I hope you find them as useful as I did.
This week’s favorites include why that mansion next door is ruining your life, what is it like to have “more than enough,” nine retirement myths, how buffers will relieve stress in your life, and how much to keep in your emergency fund.
Happy reading!
We are creatures of comparison. We want to be better, faster, smarter, richer… But what does that gain us? Accidentally Retired discusses this with The Mansion Next Door. Nothing devalues the nice house we own, in our eyes, more than watching a mansion being built next door. Comparison is the thief of Joy. What are you comparing that makes your great life seem inadequate?
What happens when we realize we have accumulated more money than we will ever need? We have been saving for years and discover, after a little math, that we have more than enough to last the rest of our life. What should we do now? Stock pile even more? Spend more? Give more? This is the question Humble Dollar discusses as he reviews a new book called More Than Enough. If you are reading this you are likely to have more than enough. What will you do with your riches? I also discussed this topic in the final chapter of my book The Doctors Guide to Eliminating Debt.
There are many misconceptions about what life will be like after retirement. This is mainly because we have not yet retired, so we are only dreaming about what it will be like. But are all our dreams correct? There were definitely things about my retired life that I didn’t see coming. Physician on FIRE discusses Nine Retirement Myths that he understands now that he is retired. Number five on the list was a myth I expected but my thinking was way off. Which of these myths did you think were true? In order to better understand what retirement will be like for you, get advice from someone who has already done what you want to do, not someone who is still working their way to the goal. It always looks different from the other side of done.
Wouldn’t it be nice to have a buffer that keeps stress away? There is one, it’s called an emergency fund. Another financial buffer is a retirement fund. Who could use a little less stress in their live? I could. I kept a big financial buffer ever since I got married. DINKS on a Bus feels the same way and discuss it in Financially Buffer Your Way to a Stress Free Life. Is your buffer big enough? What can you do to improve it?
There is a lot of debate about the amount of money to keep in an emergency fund. Should it be $1,000, three month’s living expenses, six month’s living expenses, or do you even need one at all? How Much is that in Tacos tackles this question with a simple quiz that will help you determine How Big Your Emergency Fund Should Be. I think this is a great way to come up with the best number for you. I have always used the amount that will let you sleep at night as my guide.
I hope you enjoy these articles as much as I did. I look forward to updating you again next week with a few more articles I find especially interesting. If you read an especially good article, send me the link so I can share it with others.
