A Different Sort of Internet Poker

I should fold, right?
Image by puck90

If you’re playing a poker game and you look around the table and can’t tell who the sucker is, it’s you.
—Paul Newman

I just completed a little game of Poker with my local broadband Internet monopoly (who shall remain nameless). It all started when I had to cancel one of my credit cards due to some fraudulent charges I discovered (Hooray for Mint.com!). I had a number of auto-bill arrangements set up on the card with various companies, and updated my info with most of them, but, regrettably, I forgot about the cable company. When monthly bill time rolled around and their automatic charge failed, they were kind enough to inform me of the oversight, but not before slapping me with a $50 “returned payment” charge.

Why would they do such a thing to a loyal customer of several years, who had always payed his bills on time? The simple answer: because they can. They’re a monopoly, after all. If I want cable Internet service, I’ve got a Hobson’s Choice. (Sadly, FiOS is not available in my neighborhood.) So, I might as well just suck it up and pay up, right? After all, they hold all the cards.

Or do they? [Click to continue...]

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Money is Time

Benjamin Franklin

Lost time is never found again.
—Benjamin Franklin

Time is money. You’ve heard it a thousand times, and it makes sense. But have you ever considered it the other way around? After all, if time is money, then money must be time. It may seem like an odd concept, but as it turns out, the analogy holds up quite well. More importantly, thinking of money in terms of time is one of the best ways to adopt a more healthy attitude about spending vs. building wealth. Read on to find out how. [Click to continue...]

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On the Resurgence of Stoicism

Seneca the Younger

We all have finite time and energy. Any time we spend whining is unlikely to help us achieve our goals. And it won’t make us happier.
— Randy Pausch, the Last Lecture

Over the past year I have read a number of inspiring articles and books on the classical school of Stoicism. What I learned was surprising — Stoicism may be an ancient philosophical school, but it is extraordinarily well suited to modern life. It offers an eminently practical path to a life of happiness and fulfillment, and while growing material wealth is not the primary focus, it is a near inevitable side effect. Let’s take a brief look at the central tenets of Stoicism, and their benefits. [Click to continue...]

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Min-Max Your Life

The Prince and the Pauper

A hundred million dollars in New York and twenty-two fish-hooks on the border of the Arctic Circle represent the same financial supremacy.
—Mark Twain

I hosted Thanksgiving in my home for the first time this year. In a rather pleasant reversal of roles, my mother assisted me in the kitchen as I prepared the feast. She spoke admiringly of my All-Clad roaster, my Le Creuset enameled cast iron pans, and my Gunter Wilhelm knives, among other things. She seemed far less impressed when the time came to set the table, though, as I pulled out the mismatched plates and silverware I had bought at Goodwill in 1998, and glasses from Dollar Tree. What’s behind this apparent contradiction?

[Click to continue...]

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Building Wealth is Like Losing Weight

Give Us All Your Money And Three Big Macs To Go
Image by Jeremy Brooks

My problem lies in reconciling my gross habits with my net income.
—Errol Flynn

Building wealth and losing weight are both simple in theory. There’s really only one step to each. To lose weight, simply burn more calories than you eat. That’s it. If you do that consistently, day after day, you will lose weight. You may not lose as much as you’d like as quickly as you like, but you will lose weight. Period. Nothing can change this fact — not your metabolism, genetic profile, family history, or any other excuse or rationalization you can come up with. No one can escape the laws of physics.

Similarly, if you consistently spend less than you earn, you will get richer. Again, perhaps not as quickly as you’d like, but your net worth will grow.

Simple, right? So why do so many of us struggle with both? Why are Americans the worst savers and most overweight people in the developed world? [Click to continue...]

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