Introducing Inside Voices with Kristin Messerli, a new interview video series hosting by Messerli, who’s research on NextGen homebuyers helps to inform tomorrow’s generation. She is also author of NextGen Homebuyer Research and a speaker and educator.
Today, she interviews Yanely Espinal, the Education Outreach Director for NextGen Personal Finance. She shares what every leader needs to know about reaching Gen Z, and the moment that made her decide to devote her career to personal financial education.
As a child from an immigrant family, financial literacy was not something that was discussed at home, and Yanely struggled with personal finance as she entered adulthood. Conversations about personal finance can be something that starts at an early age, she says, to alleviate societal pressure and achieve confidence.
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Yanely: I was really struggling myself with my personal finances because I’m first-generation American. I’m a daughter of immigrants. My parents are from the Dominican Republic. And so we grew up in a very traditional household. They pretty much were cash only for everything. And my parents never really had bank accounts, or debit cards, or credit cards, or anything like that.
And so we never talked about money. And when it was time for me to go off to college, I remember my parents being like, “Okay, sweetie, you better go and get some scholarships because we don’t have any money to give you to pay for college tuition.” And being that we’re low income, I did qualify for a lot of grants and I did qualify for PELL and a lot of different programs that did cover a lot of it, but there was still so much that I didn’t know about the cost of college and how to fill out your FAFSA and how to get additional scholarship dollars. And long story short, I got really lucky and I got a full scholarship to Brown University because they had a special program for low-income students, and there was just a pot of money that was meant for some of the neediest families to be able to graduate without student loan debt.
So I was in that program. Shout out to the Sidney Frank scholarship program at Brown. It was a great experience. And what that meant is that I dodged the whole student loan experience because I never really had to take on student loans, and I never had to compare interest rates or understand what it means to take on loans like that. So when I got to college, I wanted to have a laptop and I wanted to have name brand clothes and shoes, and I wanted to get Starbucks and go to the movies with my friends. And so I got my first credit card when I was in college, and that was my first entry point into the world of personal finance. I didn’t know what it even meant to use a credit card. I had no idea. And yet, I was swiping my little credit card up and down campus, buying everything, and it got out of control really quickly.
I went from $1,500 to $20,000 by the time I graduated, and I didn’t have anybody to explain to me how the compounding interest works, and how it was really growing and getting out of control. So I held onto that secret. And when I graduated and once I became a teacher, I realized this doesn’t make sense. My paycheck is not enough to pay all my bills, help out my family, get transportation to my job, pay for lunch, and also pay off these credit cards. So that was when I picked up a book about money and my real kind of education was a self-education, learning about money myself through reading books. And then later I decided, “You know what? I love teaching, but I think I want to teach specifically about financial literacy because it’s something that I never got myself when I was in school.”
If there’s one thing that science fiction has taught us, it’s that you don’t mess with aliens. From intergalactic empires to ancient gods in hiding, extraterrestrials can often give as much as they get— if not more! Whether they come from distant galaxies or are right next door to us, alien species might have vastly differing tech levels and powers. Here we take a look at some of the most powerful alien species in sci-fi TV shows, movies, and video games: let’s all hope our future encounters with extraterrestrial beings prove less hostile than these!
1. Spiders and Snakes, from Fritz Leiber’s Change War Series
One user shared, “The Spiders and The Snakes from Fritz Leiber’s Change War stories. No human has ever seen any member of either race. They are fighting a war that is ongoing on all planets in the Universe, and that started with the Big Bang and goes beyond the end of time. Each side wants to rewrite all history in the entire multiverse.”
Another user replied, “Sounds like Xeelee.”
One commenter added, “Fantastic story that I wish had more books. Rare to get sci-fi with a theater production theme AND locker room mystery.”
2. The Q, from Star Trek
One Redditor shared, “I’ll throw two into the ring: The Q, from Star Trek, is effectively godlike, unconstrained by time, space, or the laws of physics as we know them. The Xeelee, the Baryonic Lords, are nigh-all-powerful. They utilized extensive time travel technology to populate the Universe with themselves, starting from the Big Bang and eventually escaping our Universe into others.
“(Their foes, the Photino Birds, defeated them—but they seem to have no technology nor the ability to travel through time. I’m not even sure if they’re sentient beings or more akin to animals—though the fact that they still formed the entire Universe to fit their life cycle and intentionally destroyed Boulder’s Ring seems to suggest the ability to plan and execute those plans, on a billion+ year timeline.).”
One user replied, “As dark matter beings, baryonic matter is just ants to them. It’s less ‘all that has to go’ and more ‘let’s get rid of that infestation.’”
3. Forerunners, from Halo
“Halo has the Forerunners. For an approximate idea of power level. They power all their technology with vacuum energy. They built a solar system-sized Dyson sphere that can be compressed utilizing an alternate dimension to about 1 meter in diameter. They built whole planets and moved stars.
“The flagship of their fleet, Mantle’s Approach, took two 2.1 million megaton kinetic impactor rounds that barely poked a hole in the hull that self-repair mechanisms fixed in seconds. Its main gun was ‘adapted from planet cracking siege platforms.’ They were masters of their own genetics, too, rewriting themselves into new ‘forms’ throughout their lives.
“With the assistance of advanced armor, they were biologically immortal and had no need to sleep. Perhaps their most “powerful” accomplishment is, of course, the Halo Array, a series of 7 10,000km diameter ringworlds capable of sterilizing the entire galaxy of life in an instant.
“Halo also has the Precursors, which predated the Forerunners. While their technology is primarily unknown, it’s been stated it is based on ‘neural physics,’ the concept that inanimate matter and thought are inextricably linked and that the Universe itself is a living entity. What relics they left were essentially indestructible, most notably Star Roads.
“These were many kilometers thick cables that stretched between planets and even linked separate star systems together. Described as being ‘anchored in the deepest layers of unreality,’ the star roads visible in real space were mere shadows of their exotic neural physics construction woven between dimensions,” shared one user.
4. C’tan, from Warhammer 40,000
One user added, “C’tan from Warhammer 40k is pretty busted. Each of them is connected to an intrinsic aspect of reality, and they have night-unlimited power, even shattered into fragments of themselves.”
One user posted, “Given that the old Necron broke and enslaved them, I’d say that War in Heaven Necrons are also absurdly powerful.”
Another user added, “Yeah, but the Necrons were only able to do it because of power taken from the Ctan and because the Ctan were weakened by infighting and the Old Ones.”
5. The Beyonders, from Marvel
One Redditor added, “The Beyonders from Marvel are pretty powerful. They were so strong. Doom needed to build a bomb of one of the strongest reality warpers in the Universe and reset the multiverse.”
Another user commented, “Not one of them; he used thousands of Molecule Men from different universes, made a ball with them, and detonated them all at once.”
6. Time Lords
One user shared, “Time Lords are pretty powerful.”
One user replied, “I’d say Daleks are superior; if it weren’t for the Doctor, the Time Lords would have been wiped out.”
“If it weren’t for the Doctor, Rassilon would have used the Final Sanction to rip the Time Vortex apart and destroy the whole of reality, which would have enabled the Time Lords to shed their corporeal forms and ascend into acausal beings of pure consciousness alone. However, the Daleks were indeed winning the Time War up until that point. Still, Gallifrey would have won the conflict if it hadn’t been for the Tenth Doctor’s and the Master’s interference in The End of Time,” another user commented.
One Redditor replied, “The Time Lords still have more power and hax at their disposal, just that the Daleks got the advantage with a surprise attack that made them immune to their go-to time erasure.
“After all, the Time Lords were holding back since, up until the end, they still wanted to save the Universe. They, too, could have built a reality bomb if they wished; they never dared to use the moment; they were gonna use the final sanction, and seeing how it was a time lord that created the Flux and the Daleks had no counter to that, they could have used that too.
“So, it was a combination of surprise attack, unwillingness to commit, and continuously underestimating the Daleks that caused the Time Lords almost to lose.”
7. Zeno Sama, from Dragon Ball
One user added, “Nah, they are petty insects. Zeno Sama can erase entire universes at will.”
Another user replied, “Was it ever specified whether Zeno belonged to a race or was he just a divine creature?”
“Well, he’s not from Earth, so he’s surely an alien. Divine or not, I think it fits the alien concept,” one Redditor commented.
8. Lovecraftian Creatures
“Lovecraftian, aka cosmic horrors, are pretty much unparalleled in power,” one user added.
Another user replied, “The outer Gods are technically aliens, but each of them is vastly different and hard to quantify as a ‘species.’”
9. Trisolarans, from Three-Body Problem
One Redditor shared, “The [trisolarans] from the three-body problems. Literally, quantum entanglement communication and the teardrop terrifies me.”
Another user replied, “I would actually give the other hunters in the dark forest an example.”
One commenter said, “Weren’t they the ones who destroyed spatial dimensions to vanquish their enemies?”
10. Species 8472, from Star Trek: Voyager
“Species 8472 is pretty [great],” one user shared.
A user commented, “I came here to say this. Any species that can force the Borg to make an alliance is a force to be reckoned with.”
Another user added, “One of the most interesting aliens from Star Trek, IMO. Especially due to the way all their tech is biological, like how their ships are basically animals. BTW, it’s not true canon, but the game Star Trek Online named them the Undine.”
One user added, “I’m surprised at how little treatment [8472] was given. The cannon is just tiny. I know the foreign-universe-ness and our lack of understanding of them is a big part of their charm, but I would love a deeper exploration of the buggers. The whole ‘fluidic space’ thing is left almost entirely to the imagination. There couldn’t be any gravity, obviously. How does physics work there? I believe they are the only species in their universe. Did they wipe everyone out recently, or did they evolve as apex predators without any prey?”
Do you agree with the names listed above? Share your thoughts in the comments!
Source: Reddit.
These are 10 Things That Completely Destroyed The Love in a Relationship
There’s no question that relationships can be confusing, but here are some of the top things to avoid if you want to keep your relationship healthy!
10 Actors and Actresses People Refuse to Watch Ever Again
We all have a favorite actor or actress, but most of us have a least-favorite as well. Check out this list of actors and actresses people never want to see performing again!
Top 10 Worst Human Inventions of All Time
Some inventions are world-changing, and some of them, well, they change the world in the wrong ways. Here are some of the worst inventions Redditors could think of.
10 Famous Celebrities Who Look Like They Smell Terrible
We’ve all had moments of hygiene faux pas—but these celebrities just look like they don’t take care of themselves at all.
10 Terrible Fads People Are Glad Died Out
Every fad has its time in the limelight, but some of them come and go faster than others; and some just need to die out right away. Check out this list of fads of which people were happy to see the last.
“God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” — Reinhold Niebuhr
Recent volatility in the financial markets and a weakening US economy have tested the resolve of even the most patient of investors, and cast a shadow of doubt upon the most resolute in personal finance. What if the stock market continues its decline? What if the economy slips into recession? What should I do, if anything, to protect my investments? Where can I find the answers?
While these questions are normal in the face of uncertainty, the problem with them is that they are reactionary and seek answers from external sources. Those kind of questions suggest we have not sought answers from internal sources and, perhaps, have failed to ask questions that may be a bit more difficult, such as “Who am I?” and “Where am I going?”
I believe that it’s important for us to limit our attention to those external sources we can not control, to instead allocate attention to things we can control, and, ultimately, to set forth on our own path rather than the path of others.
“Not being able to govern events, I govern myself.” — Michel de Montaigne
From a financial perspective, there are significant events that are not within our control:
Financial markets. As legendary economist John Maynard Keynes famously said, “The markets can remain irrational longer than you can remain solvent.”
The economy. As with financial markets, the economy moves in cycles. That’s about where our absolute knowledge ends. To paraphrase Mark Twain, history may “rhyme” but it does not repeat itself.
Government actions. Fiscal acts (i.e. tax rates), monetary acts (i.e. interest rates), and geo-political acts (i.e. foreign government) have an incredible impact on the Big Picture of our finances, but no individual has any meaningful control over them.
There are, however, many items that are within our control as investors:
Asset allocation. We have the power to select a diversified mix of stocks, bonds, and cash. We also have the ability to control investment selection and investment types, such as mutual funds vs. individual securities, index funds vs. actively-managed funds, or even the use of “life-cycle” funds.
Holding period. While timing the market is a fool’s game, time in the market is prudent. Based on history, between 80% and 90% of the returns attributable to market performance come from just 2% to 7% of the time in the market. Miss the market’s greatest moves and you’re doomed to under-performance.
Savings rate. This is a “no-brainer”. All other things being equal, increasing the amount you are saving or investing will have a much larger impact on your long-term account value than market movements or economic activity. Of course, in order to have a positive savings rate, we must spend less than we make.
All of the above controllable determinants of investing depend on your goals, objectives, tolerance for risk, and time horizon. None of these can be accurately determined without asking those challenging questions I mentioned previously: “Who am I?” and “Where am I going?”
“If I have even just a little sense, I will walk on the main road and my only fear will be straying from it.” — Lao-tzu
Lao-tzu sought the Tao or The Way. Buddha called it Nirvana. Socrates promoted “the examined life”. And Maslow suggested it is self-actualization, which we all seek. Before success in finances or any other area in life, we must first know ourselves. Here are some suggestions for finding your own “path” and staying on it:
Find yourself. Who am I? Why do I think and feel differently than others? How can I leverage this knowledge to benefit myself, my relationships, my personal finances? First, you are a human, then you are an individual. For the understanding of yourself as a human, I suggest the book, Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ, by Daniel Goleman. For understanding yourself as an individual, I suggest the online version of the Jung Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. These are only beginnings. Self-awareness is a life-long pursuit. Seek information that will enhance knowledge of yourself.
Define yourself. Our “path” may be easily diverted by social conventions and language. For example, what is your definition of “retirement”“? Where did your definition come from? Is your ultimate financial goal financial freedom? What is your definition of freedom? Define other words for yourself as well, such as rich, wealth, success, strength, weakness, and happiness. Otherwise, you are following the definition of others.
Allocate attention. Meaning, happiness, and control in our lives best derive from internal sources. So how do we limit external noise? A good start is with our informational media consumption (i.e. television, internet, paper media). If we are consumers of information, we must stop to think of what it is that information consumes — our attention. Were you seeking the information or was it seeking you? Be aware that information sources, especially those that are in the business of selling advertising, are trying to “capture” your attention. Capture your own attention first by creating a “portfolio” of information sources: For example: 40% Music, 30% books, 10% blogs and internet, 10% periodicals, and 10% television.
Think about “thinking”. Anyone can think. But to strengthen our reasoning capabilities we must learn to “think about thinking.” To provoke this level of thought, try studying philosophy. For some relatively easy reading, start with The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Philosophy, then gravitate to philosophies or philosophers that speak to your interests.
No matter which direction we are walking or what life brings us — whether it is personal finance or anything else — we cannot be wrong as long as we are following our own path. We will make mistakes, of course, but they will be our own. And, because of our self-awareness, they will help us to grow stronger and to continue in the right direction.
I think The Financial Philosopher’s advice is excellent. The main reason I struggled with money for so long is that I didn’t know myself, and I didn’t know what wealth meant to me. As I’ve come to understand myself and my aims in life, it’s been easier to set goals for my money. (And I’m an ENFP, by the way.) Photo by Mr. Hayata.
Hiring movers and using a moving company to help with your move has all sorts of benefits, like saving time and logistics coordination. Using these types of services is as basic as just having someone help carry boxes or entrusting the entire moving process to your movers. But how much do movers cost? How much will you need to pay for specific types of services and what’s included?
This guide on how much movers cost and the overall cost of moving will help you know what to expect so you can budget and prepare accordingly and not be caught off-guard.
How much does it cost to hire a moving company?
How much do movers cost? Unfortunately, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer to this key question. The cost of hiring movers and getting a company to help with your move depends on a variety of factors, from how far you’re moving to how much stuff you’re transporting.
To give you a ballpark figure, hiring a moving company ranges in price from $800 to $2,500. The national average cost of using movers is $1,400. But, moving company costs go up significantly if you’re moving cross country, ranging between $2,200 and $5,700.
Different companies, from local operators to major outfitters like United Van Lines, will also have different pricing structures and rates.
What does the cost of hiring movers include?
At its most basic, the cost covers labor (the movers) and the means of transport (the truck). You don’t need to go to an outside truck rental company, and you have at least one mover helping out. But, hiring movers can have all sorts of add-ons like packing materials.
What impacts the cost of hiring movers?
There are several factors that impact the cost of hiring a moving company and movers.
Time of year
The season and time of year that you move have a definite effect on how expensive your move will be. Peak moving season generally extends from Memorial Day to Labor Day weekend, meaning that the majority of people move during the summer months. In fact, roughly 70 percent of all local or long-distance moves happen during this timeframe. There are several reasons for this. For one, school is out and it’s easier to coordinate a move, especially long-distance moves when the kids aren’t in school. For another, the weather is nicer and the days are longer.
This also means that summer is a busy season for movers and costs are higher. If you plan your move in the off-seasons of fall, winter or spring, moving company prices are lower and you’ll save money.
Distance
The price to hire movers and use moving services also depends on distance and how far the movers have to travel, like moving to a different state. For a local move that’s within 100 miles of the original apartment, costs are generally lower. This is because there are fewer logistics and travel costs involved. A moving company can typically give you a quote over the phone instead of an in-person visit, and a short-distance move uses less gas and takes less time.
But, you can expect to pay much more for a long-distance move. Long-distance moving companies naturally charge more and have higher rates than local moving companies because of the travel fees associated with a long-distance move versus local moves.
For one thing, longer moves require more planning and are more complicated. The movers will typically have to come to your home and give you an in-person estimate. The more belongings you have, the bigger the truck required for the move. On a long-distance move, costs need to cover more necessities like gas, mileage, tolls and potential lodgings or essentials for the drivers and movers. You’re also paying for time. If the company charges an hourly rate, you’ll pay for all the hours the movers spend getting to the destination. For flat rates, they’ll be higher, as well, to account for the hours, miles and time invested.
Amount of goods
If you’re packing up a studio apartment and are mainly moving personal belongings, moving services cost less because they’re transporting fewer goods. But, if you’re packing up an entire three-bedroom apartment with furniture, appliances and more, it’ll take much more manpower and therefore cost more.
Number of movers
On top of paying by the hour, you’ll also pay per mover. For easy, local moves where you only need one or two movers, you’ll pay less. But, if you’re moving cross country with a three-bedroom apartment’s worth of stuff, it’ll likely require a bigger team and more experienced movers. In that case, you’re paying for the extra movers and their advanced expertise.
Size of truck
The larger the truck, the higher the cost. The size of the truck needed for your move also impacts the average cost. Smaller vehicles have better fuel efficiency and cost less due to their reduced capacity. But, bigger moves typically require larger box trucks or even semis to fit everything. Carrying bigger, heavier loads and being larger reduces the trucks’ fuel efficiency, requiring more frequent fill-ups at the gas station.
Specialty services and items
Moving fragile, unique items like grand pianos, extra vehicles or antique furniture drives the cost more since these objects require special care and attention.
Full-service moves
Full-service movers take care of pretty much everything for you during your move, from packing up your apartment to assembling furniture at your new place. But, that kind of personalized service comes at a much higher cost because it requires more hours, skills and personnel.
If you pay for labor-only movers and no additional services, you’ll keep costs down.
Packing supplies
Moving services that take care of everything for you also typically provide packing materials, but you rarely have control of the price. You can avoid these costs altogether by buying or using your own packing materials.
Accessibility or difficult locations
Movers charge a premium for more complicated moves. For example, if your new apartment is on the top floor of an older apartment building with no elevator, the movers will have to carry all the boxes and furniture up multiple flights or stairs. Typically, that can add a couple of hundred dollars to your bill.
Additional moving costs
On top of all these, you may have to pay for additional services like closing costs, using a storage unit or having the movers assemble furniture or unpack things for you.
How can I save money and reduce costs when hiring moving companies?
If you have a tight budget and need to keep costs down during the moving process, there are plenty of ways you can reduce your moving expenses.
Move on a weekday
Because of work, the majority of people plan their moves to happen on the weekend. Not only does this mean that movers have less availability, but also movers cost more on the weekends due to the increased demand.
You can usually find a better deal and more availability by moving during the week between Mondays and Thursdays.
Pack everything yourself
For an extra cost, a full-service moving company will pack all your belongings for you. But, the cost of having movers pack up your household for you can cost up to $1,000.
Avoid this charge by packing up your personal belongings ahead of the move. That way, you’re only paying for the labor of having movers load and unload boxes.
Find free packing supplies
Unless you have a ton of moving boxes and bubble wrap lying around, you’ll have to buy packing materials. Depending on how much stuff you need to pack, you may have to spend a decent amount of money on all the supplies you need.
Luckily, there are ways to find free packing materials. If you know you have a move coming up, you can start saving boxes you get in the mail in advance. People frequently get rid of unwanted packing materials on online marketplaces like Craigslist and Freecycle. Check with friends, family and acquaintances to see if they have boxes and other materials to spare. You can even request free boxes from USPS.
Don’t move at the beginning or end of the month
Since most apartment leases start or end at the beginning or end of the month, those are the busiest times for movers. By planning your move for the middle of the month, movers cost less and have more availability.
Is it cheaper to move by myself and not hire movers?
Generally speaking, yes, it’s cheaper to do a DIY move and not hire professional movers. For one thing, you don’t have to pay an entire crew of people to help you with the move. You’ll still need to pay for a moving truck, gas money, packing supplies and maybe some pizza and beer as a thank you to any friends or family members who helped out.
In some cases, you may not even need to rent a moving truck. If you don’t have a ton of stuff to move, you can usually make do with your own car and borrow a friend’s truck. But,as you get older and accumulate more belongings, you’ll likely need to get a bigger truck rental.
However, since you don’t have someone helping you with the planning and logistics of a move, you may encounter unexpected costs or expenses that you didn’t plan for or anticipate. You’ll also have the entire burden and stress of moving solely on you.
How much should I tip?
On top of the overall moving costs, it’s customary to tip the movers assigned to your move. It’s not required, but it’s good practice and generally expected as a final thank you for a job well done. It’s especially recommended to tip your movers more if the job was especially big or they had to handle fragile items. Fast, efficient service and your movers going above and beyond are also reasons to tip more. Cash is also best.
There’s no set amount since moving costs are different for each person and company. In general, you should tip between 5 and 10 percent of the total cost of the move. Another option is to tip by the hour. Anywhere from $6 to $12 per hour and per mover is a good current rate. The more movers you have and the more hours they work, the higher the tips are.
Your tip should also be big enough so all the movers, including the driver, are equally compensated. To make sure that everyone gets their share, you can pass out the tips to everyone while thanking them. Another way to thank your movers is by providing easy food like pizza and sandwiches and drinks.
The tip should also reflect the quality of the service. If lots of boxes arrived damaged, the movers got the moving date wrong or the moving truck arrived late, those are all causes for a reduced tip.
What are the benefits of hiring a moving company?
Even though using a moving company is expensive, there are many benefits to hiring movers to assist you with a big move.
Prevents injuries
From heavy boxes to giant pieces of furniture, the process of moving apartments is rife with opportunities to accidentally injure yourself or others. You could pick up a heavy box of books and hurt your back. Maneuvering heavy furniture opens the door to everything from accidentally dropping it on someone’s foot to hurting yourself rather than risking damaging the furniture. While there are certainly some items you can easily move by yourself, others it’s best to leave the pros.
Since movers do this for a living, they have more than enough experience handling heavy boxes or unwieldy furniture. Not only do they have the strength and dexterity, but they also operate as a team, working together as a well-coordinated, experienced unit to safely move items without injury or damage to themselves or the objects.
Finally, they also have the proper tools for the job. From moving dollies to hand trucks, having the right equipment reduces the risk of injury. So, why put yourself at risk of lifting that too-heavy box of books when you can call in the pros?
Saves time
Saving time is one of the biggest advantages of hiring a moving company.
Maybe you’re starting a new job on the other side of the country and need to get settled in by a certain date. Or, you’re trying to juggle a job, family and other responsibilities while planning a move at the same time. Whatever the reason, most of us already have significant other demands on our time aside from moving. Most people don’t have the benefit of hitting pause on all their other responsibilities while moving house. Moving takes a lot of time and can take anywhere from a few days to several months from start to finish. That’s where movers come in.
If you don’t have the time of day to plan and coordinate everything yourself, a moving company takes the stress of planning off your plate. Even if you do have the time, it’s nice to leave the process in the hands of professionals. By shifting the logistics of moving to your movers, you can focus on other things and not get overwhelmed.
Professional service and expertise
When your car breaks down, you take it to the mechanic. If your sink gets clogged, you call a plumber. We turn to professionals to solve all kinds of problems, so why wouldn’t you do the same for moving?
Professional moving companies are here to make the process of moving easy for you. They take care of all the heavy lifting (literally), offer quality customer service and take the burden off your shoulders. If something goes wrong or there’s an issue, they problem-solve and offer solutions. As moving experts, they know exactly how to get your belongings from Point A to Point B safely and efficiently. Everything from loading and unloading to planning out the logistics of the move, they can do for you, and you know you can trust them because they do this every day. You also know that your personal belongings are safe and are in good hands.
Hiring a moving company ensures you have an expert beside you to hold your hand, answer your questions and take care of everything for you during the move.
Reduces stress
No matter which way you slice it, moving is a stressful process. Maybe you have a short timeline and don’t have a ton of time to pack and plan. Even if you have months to plan a move, unexpected problems like delays can come up. When you hire movers, you don’t have to face and solve these problems alone, which cuts down on stress.
How much will my move cost?
Now that you know what factors impact the cost of hiring professional movers, you may wonder how much your move will cost you.
To calculate the cost of your move, you can use our moving cost calculator to get a free estimate and start creating your moving budget. As you’ve seen above, there are plenty of ways you can keep moving costs down, from packing your belongings yourself to being flexible with the season or time of the month that you move.
How much movers cost depends on the needs of your move
While some moving costs are in stone, you can take steps to reduce costs or find a moving operator that fits your budget.
As you might expect, most of my personal investments are safely tucked away in index funds, those mutual funds designed to track the performance of a particular stock market index. This is a smart way for the average investor to achieve solid growth over the long-term.
However, I continue to hold about 5% of my investment capital in reserve as “mad money”. While the rest of my investments are conservative, I use this money to purchase whatever investment strikes my fancy.
I don’t do a good job.
In 2006 I gained about 20% with my mad money. Last year I lost about 33%. I’ve lost even more this year. I’m just not educated enough to pick and choose individual stocks. I buy and sell at the wrong times. Obviously, this is further anecdotal evidence in support of index funds. Undaunted, I recently made a trip to the library to borrow a book about individual investing, John Wasik’s The Kitchen-Table Investor: Low-Risk, Low-Maintenance Wealth-Building Strategies for Working Families.
At first, the book made me wary. In the preface, Wasik writes:
My low-risk, long-term strategy makes it possible for any investor to share in the great wealth Wall Street is producing — by investing as little as $25 a month…By following a handful of rules, real wealth is certainly attainable even if you don’t have the the money to invest. I’ll not only show you how to invest small sums of money but help you find the money to invest automatically on a regular basis.
Real wealth is attainable even without money to invest? What? Despite this bold claim, this book is not a get-rich-quick screed. Wasik offers sound personal finance advice. In fact, his philosophy often echoes classics like Your Money or Your Life: “In saving money, we are preserving our own natural resources, that is, our life energy.”
Wasik’s approach to low-maintenance investing follows eight steps. Here are my comments on each:
Find money to invest. Wasik preaches the virtues of compound interest: “If you can save at least 10% of your annual income — no matter how much you make — you will have [prosperity].” But how do you find the money to save? Avoid advertising, Wasik says, especially television advertising. Avoid credit card debt. Buy a sensible home and a sensible car. Spend less than you earn.
Join an investment club. Wasik is a huge fan of investment clubs. These groups provide amateur investors with an opportunity to pool their money to make larger purchases. They also teach members to research stocks and to track their portfolios. The book contains a lot of good information on running an effective investment club.
Find a place to park your money. You need someplace to stash your money while you’re saving to make your stock purchases. Wasik recommends money market funds. Nowadays, parking the money in a high-yield savings account probably makes the most sense. (Many of these are money market funds, anyhow.)
Fund your company plans. “Welcome to the golden age of retirement vehicles,” Wasik says. He provides an overview of various pension plans, including 401(k)s, 403(b)s, traditional IRAs, and Roth IRAs. “Fund your plans for maximum growth,” he recommends.
Buy stocks for growth. Wasik offers his five fundamental rules of stock-picking:
Find quality companies that are growing earnings consistently from 10% to 15% per year.
Sales and earnings per share should be increasing in lockstep with earnings. Look for companies with at least five years of earnings.
Buy a stock for the long term.
Keep your costs low and your commitment high. Reinvest all dividends.
Automatically purchase shares on a regular basis to reduce market risk.
He offers tips on screening companies, and explains how to read an annual report.
Buy mutual funds. What if you don’t want to pick individual stocks? What if you’re not interested in gambling whether you can beat the market? Create a portfolio comprising four essential mutual funds: one that tracks the Wilshire 5000 index, an international fund, a value fund, and a “wild card” fund. The latter can be any aggressive fund that focuses on one sector of the economy.
Be patient. Don’t panic. “Investing is a matter of rational faith,” says Wasik. Buy and hold. Don’t pay attention to the financial report. Don’t check your stock prices every day. Don’t try to second guess the market. Be patient, rebalancing your portfolio every year. Accept the risk and sleep at night.
Become an automatic investor. Wasik loses his way in the final chapter. This ought to have read like David Bach’s The Automatic Millionaire. Instead, it’s a list of ways to save money through frugality. That’s fine, but it has nothing to do with automatic investing.
The Kitchen-Table Investor is not a bad book — in fact, I think it would be quite useful for many Get Rich Slowly readers — it’s just not everything I had hoped. Still, bits and pieces are quite good. I like that Wasik provides examples from his own life. He’s not afraid to share the mistakes he’s made in order to illustrate a point.
Though some of the book’s advice is dated, and there’s more delivery than payoff, The Kitchen-Table Investor is worth reading if you’re interested in a more active approach to self-directed investing. If you want to try picking your own stocks, then consider borrowing this book from your local library. It’ll give you a solid introduction to the basics.
Moving to a new home is always full of excitement. Whether you’re finally moving out on your own or are relocating for that dream job, there’s a lot of anticipation around getting to your new destination.
Moving is also a time when you realize how much stuff you actually have to pack. Even packing up a small studio instead of an entire home isn’t easy, but you need to stay organized to keep things stress-free.
One way many do this is with a packing list, where they track everything that goes into each moving box. But, how you pack things is only one part of the process. When you pack them also matters for a successful move. You don’t want to start too early or save everything for move-out day. You want important items to remain easily accessible, but don’t want to do the bare minimum in advance.
To keep the packing process smooth, you can get a head start. Here’s what to pack first when moving and how to craft a moving checklist that will keep you headed in the right direction without feeling like you need to wait until the last minute to do the bulk of the work.
Start the packing process
Before the first box gets packed, you have a few decisions to make. First, do you need to find movers? If you’re using a moving company, what will they pack for you on moving day? Those items can go off your to-do list and may mean you’ll spend less time packing.
Second, does anything need to go into storage? Having a storage unit is great if you know you won’t need certain items for a long time. However, it’s better to keep things in your own home if there’s a chance you’ll need whatever is inside within the next six months. Storage items can get packed first (or really at any time) to free up some space.
Third, are you moving a long distance? If you’re going far away, you need to think about what you’ll have to pack for your own trip. You may need more stuff than just a few essential items. You’ll also need to decide if you’re shipping anything. Because of the long distance, it’s wise to send a few boxes ahead. What should go in those, and when do you want them to arrive?
Answering all these questions first can help you separate special groups of items that may fall outside a typical packing timeline, so you may have to make some adjustments and concessions to stay on track as you pack.
Trim the fat
The next thing you want to do in a move is to avoid packing a bunch of stuff you don’t need at all. For this reason, it’s always a good idea to spend a day or two going through all your stuff, separating out items you don’t need and can donate, along with those in a rough condition that can get thrown out.
Old furniture or pieces that won’t work in your new place can get sold, and old clothing can do straight into a donation bin. If you’re an avid reader who loves the feel of actual books, now is a great time to whittle down your collection. Book boxes are heavy, even for a professional moving company. The fewer of these, sometimes, the better.
Move through each room of your home and collect all the unwanted items, then distribute them accordingly. Doing this before you even pack a single box will make the moving process that much faster. You’ll have less to pack and less to move.
Gather packing supplies
The final piece to starting the packing process is to gather the right packing materials. This includes moving boxes, bubble wrap, packing paper and packing tape. Don’t forget about a large marker or two to label each box, as well. You can estimate the amount of moving supplies you’ll need based on your home’s square footage, how many rooms you have or even the amount of stuff you’ve got. A packrat will need many more moving boxes than a minimalist.
To save money on moving boxes, make sure you visit local grocery stores, liquor stores and other shops that end up with a lot of empty boxes. Finding out what day they get deliveries, and going that evening to ask for empties, can yield a nice boon of free boxes.
As you gather supplies, don’t forget to grab an extra box of trash bags. You’ll end up with plenty to throw out as you go.
Establish a packing order
When it’s time to start packing, a strategy of how to tackle your stuff is essential, but you do have options. There are different ways to decide what to pack first when moving. You can go by room, rank items by difficulty or even create a pile of non-essential items to deal with first.
No method is better than the other since they all make it easier to start packing boxes. It’s the plan itself that makes it more efficient to get your home ready to move.
Go room to room
Packing up your home by room gives you easy access to what’s most important to you for the longest period of time. You start with your least-used room and move up to the spaces you use most frequently.
A great place to start with this strategy is in the spare room, if you have one. If not, your starting point could be a closet, your garage space or even the basement. If you’re in an apartment that came with storage space, go there first.
Working in this order, you’ll pack the bathroom, bedroom and kitchen last. These are the most useful rooms in any home, but also can contain a ton of stuff. Make sure you give yourself plenty of time to tackle these spaces (and have plenty of boxes).
Rank space by packing difficulty
Always leaving out essential items, you can also pack by difficulty. This means starting in rooms that will be the most work. It really flips the order from going room-to-room since the most difficult spaces to pack are often the ones we use the most — the bedroom and kitchen. Both rooms can have a lot of stuff, but most of it you could live without for the few weeks you’ll be gearing up to move.
If you start with the bedroom, begin by setting aside the clothes you’ll need or want to wear leading up to moving day and for about a week after. If it can all fit into a suitcase, set that suitcase aside, too. You can pack this all up the day before you move.
Whatever is left, you can start packing at any time. Begin with clothing that’s out of season, though, so you know for sure you won’t need it.
If you start with the kitchen, create a pile of essentials to set aside first. This should include a place setting for every member of the home, one pot, one pan, a pair of tongs, a wooden spoon and a spatula. Yes, you’ll have to wash dishes more frequently, but this lets you get ahead in packing up a very full room.
If it’s easier, move everything you want to pack first into the dining room, so you don’t accidentally pack your essentials.
You can also take this approach with items you have multiple sets of, like towels and linens. Leave out one set for every bed/person and pack up everything else early.
Rank essentials
Another way to figure out what to pack first when moving is to look at all your stuff and group everything into two categories — essentials and non-essentials. Start by packing all the non-essential items, no matter what room they’re in, and then, reprioritize your essential items to create a realistic timeline to pack what’s left. Think about what you need the night before your move versus what you can live without for a few days.
Non-essentials can include:
Fragile items like those that are purely decorative and any fine china or fancy dishes
Picture frames and anything hanging on the walls
Books
Off-season items and holiday decorations
Each room will have plenty of things in it you won’t need immediately so you can really get through packing up a lot of your stuff early. However, as you’re packing, there are certain items that won’t feel like essentials that you’ll actually want to keep out. A big one is cleaning supplies. Since you shouldn’t pack anything dirty, you’ll need cleaning supplies to tidy up whatever you pack first. You may also have to do a final wipe-down of your place before you move out, as well.
Create an “open me first” box
No matter what you pack first, the very last box to pack, using any strategy, is the one you’ll want to open first when you get to your new home. Although you’ve put important documents, a few days’ worth of clothing, toiletries and possibly any valuables into a suitcase you’ll carry with you, this box should contain a few other required items to have on hand as you begin to unpack.
Include:
A set of towels and linens
Toilet paper and paper towels
Hand soap
Trash bags
An extra box cutter
You can also put in other personal items you won’t need immediately but may need soon. Consider creating a little first-aid kit with plenty of band-aids and maybe some extra medications, too. You can even throw in some of your favorite snacks to avoid having to run out to the store right away.
Label this box very clearly and make sure it’s one of the first boxes off of the moving truck. Stick it in the bathroom so you can find it quickly.
Solidify your strategy with a moving checklist
Once you decide on your plan of action, make a list. Breaking down the packing process into actionable items not only keeps you on track, but nothing feels better than crossing something off a to-do list. That’s why a moving checklist is one of the best packing tips out there.
When to start packing boxes
With a strategy in hand and all the bubble wrap you could possibly need, it’s time to set a packing timeline. That’s assuming you’ve already scheduled a moving company or rented a moving truck, and you’ve already donated or thrown out everything you don’t want to take with you. After you complete these items, it’s best to begin packing no later than three weeks out. You can certainly start packing earlier, but remember boxes get in the way fast.
Week three of your three-week countdown schedule should include the items or the spaces you’ve decided are least necessary. Try to pack at least one box per day. If you feel like you’re falling behind, ramp up to two boxes.
Week two means all the middle-ground packing. This is stuff/rooms you thought you might want access to, but now realize you can live without until you get to your new house. Again, aim for at least one box a day. Don’t forget about labeling boxes either and taping them up well.
Week one, the week before you move, everything else must get packed. Moving companies definitely don’t want to arrive on moving day with a bunch of stuff laying around, so make sure you’ve got everything boxed up the night before except what you need right then.
If it helps, you can break your to-do list down to the day rather than the week just to make sure everything gets done without feeling rushed as you near the end.
What will you pack first when moving?
Preparing to move means managing so many details, but what’s most important is getting your stuff from one home to the next. Having a plan is essential, but what you pack first is really up to you. As long as you decide early and collect enough moving supplies, getting to your new house will feel a lot less stressful. So, what’s going into your first moving box?
During my family’s Christmas celebration, I learned a little more about my oldest nephews. I don’t see them often, so it’s hard to know what interests them. This year, I learned that six-year-old Alex likes art. You can bet I’ll be encouraging this productive hobby — the only other two things I know he likes are dinosaurs and video games. I was also pleased to learn that his older brother, Michael, likes money.
“I have $86 saved,” Michael told me. “It’s for my trip to Florida.” The two boys were taking a trip over Christmas break to visit their grandmother.
“That’s great,” I said.
“And grandma is going to give us each $100 to spend at Disney World,” Michael added, “but I might save some of it.”
Michael turns nine tomorrow. To encourage smart money behavior, I sent him a book for his birthday. While compiling my guide to personal finance books as gifts, I was intrigued by Growing Money: A Complete Investing Guide for Kids. This book by Gail Karlitz received rave reviews. Kris and I both read it recently, and we think it’s perfect for Michael.
The first thing the book covers is inflation. Many adult books never mention the subject, so it’s refreshing to see a book aimed at grade-schoolers put it front-and-center. “In 1960,” Karlitz writes, “a kid with a quarter cold buy a pizza and a slice of pizza for 15¢ and a soda for 10¢. Today, you’d probably need at least $2 to buy the same meal!” (Or $4 if you live in my neighborhood.)
Growing Money has good chapters on banks and bonds, but most of the book is devoted to the stock market. Karlitz has written a brilliant chapter on how stocks work, using a hypothetical pizza parlor as an example. By keeping the scope small and understandable, she’s better able to convey concepts like equity, dividends, and IPOs. (She doesn’t always use those terms, however.)
The book also contains chapters on the history of the stock market, how investors make money, and how to buy and sell stocks.
The final chapter introduces the “Growing Money investment game”. Using $10,000 of imaginary money, participants buy and sell investments following the rules of real-life investing. The goal is to see how much money each person has at the end of six months. Yes, this is just like any other stock market portfolio game, but it’s aimed at kids. I think it’s an excellent way to introduce children to the stock market. When my Michael finishes the book, I think I’ll challenge him to a duel!
Growing Money offers a solid introduction to saving and investing, but it does have some weak spots. Only one page out of 120 is devoted to mutual funds. Because the book is aimed at children, taxes are barely considered. Still, its strengths outweigh its weaknesses.
Though this book is designed for children, I think most adults could profit from reading it, too. Actually, it’s a great book for parents to read with their kids. Growing Money provides clear, concise explanations of important financial concepts. It’s the sort of book to buy for your nephew, but read yourself before you pass it on.
When I bought a home three years ago, the economic climate was different from today. Back then, a house would could be listed on Friday and a contract signed by Monday. It was easy to get a loan (too easy, in fact) and you could make every mistake in the book and still find yourself a home.
Despite the market differences, sound financial planning and a handful of smart moves will ensure that you won’t regret grabbing your piece of the American dream. This post isn’t going to go over the merits of buying versus renting or how you should pick a real estate agent. Instead, I’ll focus on the things you should do to prepare yourself before applying for a loan and then buying a home.
Don’t borrow money Your home will likely be the single largest debt you will take on and represents the greatest risk in the eyes of potential lenders. With lending rules tightening, it’s becoming more and more important that you make yourself look as safe as possible. Safe means as little debt as possible and as little access to credit as possible.
Don’t apply for any new credit cards. They could be offering some hot credit card offers of a hundred bucks to make one purchase or 0% balance transfer, but you must avoid it at all costs. That hundred dollars will cost you thousands, if not tens of thousands, over the life of your loan. Don’t buy a car. Don’t take advantage of 12-month 0% financing “same as cash” offers at Best Buy to get that new flatscreen HDTV you’ve been thinking of.
Don’t make any drastic changes Don’t shuffle your funds around, don’t change your bank, and most of all don’t change your job. This won’t necessarily affect your credit score (some banks will do a hard credit check, which negatively affects your score) but it will give the lender headaches when they try to decipher all the moves you’ve made.
Making large transfers will bring up questions of fund origins. Is this really your money or did you receive it as a gift? Why are you opening up new accounts and shifting your money when you expect to spend it soon? Such moves will result in more questions for you to answer, which takes energy and will prolong the review process. It’s not necessarily bad — just a pain.
The only exception to the “not necessarily bad” is the part about changing jobs. Lenders like stability; stability equals low risk. If you’ve been working with a company for thirty years (or even five), chances are you’re going to work there for a while. If you’ve been working with a company for three months, there’s no saying how long you will work there. Maybe you have a falling out and are fired, maybe you can’t hold a job, maybe you’re perfectly fine and will have a successful career there. All those maybes make lenders nervous. Avoid changes if you can.
Play house There are two crucial steps to “playing house” (financially). First, you need to correctly estimate your monthly payment. Remember that your monthly payment will include the mortgage, taxes, and homeowners insurance. You will also probably want to add a buffer for maintenance and repairs, as you likely will have both. In three years, my wife and I have spent at least $10,000 in repairs and improvements (windows, roof, carpeting).
Another bit of information to research is how the recent federal housing rescue bill or how local first time home-buyer assistance programs may apply to you. The federal housing rescue bill offers a 15-year zero interest $7500 loan in the form of a tax credit to new home buyers. In Maryland, first time home buyers get one half of the transfer tax waived, which can be up to 0.75% the sale price of the home. Both of those will play crucial roles in how you calculate your monthly payment.
The second step is actually playing by budgeting for the mortgage. If you are currently renting, deduct rent from your monthly mortgage payment, and transfer those funds to an account that offers high interest savings. A great place to put those funds is in a fund you designate for your downpayment. As the months pass, you will get a feel for how much you can comfortably afford rather than simply guessing.
This also serves another purpose: it will keep you within your house budget. The Realtor will likely want to show you homes that are outside of your price range. It’s always good to see what is a little above and a little below your range just to see what the difference in value is. By playing house, you have a more accurate feeling of how differences in the monthly payment will affect your lifestyle because you’ve lived it.
Sell or donate your junk Two things will happen when you buy your house:
You will be short on cash.
You will have to move.
By selling some of your junk now, you get a little extra cash, which will likely go towards all the little things involved with a home, and you have less stuff to move. Your wallet will thank you for the former and your friends — whom you will have bribed with pizza and beer to help you move — will thank you for the latter.
Sell or donate anything and everything you honestly can’t see yourself ever using on your new home. Good stuff to purge includes:
Old furniture
Books (do you really need to keep your college textbooks?)
Old clothes
Electronics equipment
Decorations and wall coverings
This will require a bit of intestinal fortitude and an honest assessment of your belongings. It’s difficult to sell or give away things with emotional value. That couch you’ve had since college or that poster you hauled all the way from home — they have emotional value. If you can think of a great place in your new home for it, keep it; if you really can’t (where will a ratty old couch go?), give it a new home.
Donation is a great solution if you’re on a time crunch because organizations like Goodwill or the Salvation Army will happily come and haul away your gently used items absolutely free (and you get a bigger tax deduction).
I hope this list of ideas has been helpful, these were some of the tricks I used when my wife and I bought our first home three years ago. Since then, it’s been a wonderful ride. Home ownership truly has been all it’s cracked up to be. You might be buying a house, but it truly becomes your home.
As with many things in life these days, it all started with an episode of the Peter Attia podcast.
In this edition, our nation’s most Badass Doctor was interviewing a guest I initially dismissed as not overly applicable to my own lifestyle. A young,excessively handsome dude who happened to be a writer with a new book out. But the headline of the episode was just intriguing enough to get me to click.
“The Comfort Crisis”
Wow, what an amazing turn of phrase, and what a concise summary of the core of this whole Mustachianism thing I’ve been trying to express for the past dozen years.
While the news headlines cry constantly about our nationwide personal debt crisis or health crisis or any other number of things that suggest that life is so hard these days, I have always seen the opposite: on average, we Americans seem to have a problem of ridiculous overindulgence and easiness in our lives, and our main problem is not recognizing it, and the damage it does to us.
So of course I had to click, and then listen to the whole two hour episode, and then buy the book, and then spend the past month reading and digesting it in small, meaningful chunks like the modern-day chunk of scripture-like wisdom that it is. And wow, am I glad I did so.
The author is Michael Easter, a former writer for Men’s Health magazine was also once catastrophically addicted to alcohol – and descended from a long family line of ancestors with the same affliction.
He was lucky to catch himself from that fall in time to save his own life, and that story alone makes the book worth reading as someone who has stood by helplessly as loved ones battled with addiction. But I think his history with overindulgence in the hollow comforts of alcohol also gives him an edge on writing about the battle between comfort and hardship on the bigger stage of life in general.
So what is The Comfort Crisis about, and how can it make all of our lives better?
The best part about this book is just what a damned good writer this Easter guy is. Like many of the most fun popular science books*, it follows a split narrative which jumps back and forth to interweave the story of an insanely difficult caribou hunting trip he joined in a remote pocket of Alaska, with the appropriate bits of science, psychology and cultural commentary that help us explain and learn from each chapter of the epic shit he had just endured. This allows us to process and apply the lessons in our own lives.
For example, have you ever wondered why the type of bored, rich suburbanites who populate the board of your local Homeowner Association and whine about unacceptably tall weeds or unauthorized skateboarding on Nextdoor are so insufferable?
Why can’t they do something better with their time?
It turns out that there’s a scientific explanation for these unfortunate people, along with most of our other problems:
The tendency of humans to always scan our environment for problems, regardless of how safe and perfect that environment is.
The book cited a study in which researchers told people to look for danger, in an environment which gradually became safer and safer:
“When they ran out of stuff to find they would start looking for a wider range of stuff, even if this was not conscious or intentional, because their job was to look for threats.”
“With that in mind, Levari recently conducted a series of studies to find out if the human brain searches for problems even when problems become infrequent or don’t exist.“
“As we experience fewer problems, we don’t become more satisfied. We just lower our threshold for what we consider a problem.“
In other words, even when our lives are virtually problem free, instead of appreciating our good fortune we just start making up shit that we can complain about instead.
And then our politicians cock their greasy, finely-tuned ears in our direction and make up policies to appease our mostly-insubstantial concerns. And they invent their own trivial “wedge” issues to get us to all bicker about our different cultures and religions, suddenly caring about things that would not have even been problems if nobody told us they were.
And there’s America’s weakness in a nutshell, and meanwhile our strength comes entirely from the times we choose not to waste our time stooping to this level.
Meanwhile, the opposite effect holds true: people who survive in rougher environments than us end up more resilient and less prone to complaining.
In a series of recent interviews, Ukrainian people living in the war zones of their occupied country were asked “is it safe to live where you live?” and a strangely high percentage still said “Yes” – not all that different from the responses of US residents when asked the same question about their own cities.
This adaptation principle also explains why some first generation immigrants tend to build businesses and wealth while their own offspring in second and third generations are more likely to become complacent and spend it down. As an immigrant myself, I can see why this is: conditions were just slightly more harsh and less comfortable and wealthy where I grew up, so I adapted to those conditions as “normal” which made the United States seem posh and easy by comparison. Which made it easier to spend less money and accumulate more.
Tree Therapy
The trap of pointless worry is just one of the many revelations of The Comfort Crisis. It also gives insightful explanations for why spending time in Nature boosts our mental and physical health, while cubicles and car driving grind us down.
There’s something in our biological wiring that responds instantly and powerfully to everything natural, in ways that you can’t get anywhere else.
Even placing a single plant into a hospital room will measurably improve the recovery of almost all patients from almost all ailments. So can you imagine the power of the medicine you are inhaling if you step into a real, living forest? And what if you spent several hours there, or even several days?
Later, we get lessons on our human adaptation towards the ratio of effort to reward:
It’s proven the harder you work for something, the happier you’ll be about it,”
And our bizarre natural aversion to physical exertion:
A figure that shows just how predisposed humans are to default to comfort:
2 (two).
That’s the percent of people who take the stairs when they also have the option to take an escalator.
Which is remarkable, given the absolutely insane cost this tendency imposes upon us.
Moving your body, even a bit, has enormous benefits – again to almost all people towards reducing the probability and severity of almost all diseases. So can you imagine the benefit of moving your body for several hours per day in a natural environment, and including heavy load bearing and bits of extreme exertion?
These things are not speculative pieces of alternative medicine. They are known, easily and reproducibly tested, and proven to be the most effective things we can possibly do with our time.
So why, the actual fuck, are people still sitting inside, watching Netflix, driving to work, and then driving to the doctor’s office to get deeper and deeper analysis of a neverending series of exotic and mysterious and unsolvable problems with their physical and mental health?
We should at least start with the stuff we know is essential – maximum outdoor time every day, heavy exertion including with weights, minimal time spent sitting and driving, and minimum junk food, sugar, and alcohol. You definitely don’t have to be perfect, but just understand that these are the big levers for physical and mental health.
Only then, once you reach these minimum basic things for human survival, should you expect that more exotic and niche medicines and treatments are the only course of action.
By all means, follow your doctor’s orders and don’t just dump all of your medications down the sink because of this MMM rant. But at the same time, realize that the stuff that is hard and uncomfortable is very likely to be the stuff that improves your life the most.
It’s all the stuff that Mr. Money Mustache has been telling you since 2012, but with more detail and less distraction. This book is a concentrated packet of advice for solid living.
Real Life Inspiration from the Good Book
In a happy coincidence, I happened to be in the middle of some hard stuff** of my own as I worked my way through The Comfort Crisis and I found the perspective quite useful and transformative to apply hot off the press.
Normally somewhat of a homebody, I had embarked on a solo journey for some Carpentourism deep in the mountains of Southwestern Colorado. I had my whole life shrunk down into the new Model Y including food, bed, and the necessary tools and materials to tackle a pretty long laundry list of tasks on two different construction projects (fixing up a mini-resort property in Salida, and starting construction on a small cabin in Durango)
The trip immediately took a turn towards the dramatic as I climbed into the mountains and drove straight into the most torrential rainstorm I have ever seen, then accidentally broke a traffic law in a remote mountain town right in front of both of the local police officers ($115 fine and two points off my license), then five minutes after that had a small pebble hit my brand-new windshield which instantly spread into a crack that spans the whole thing, all before finally limping into Salida to unpack and get started on the work.
“Big deal”, I can already hear you saying, “Retired man experiences two minor incidents while taking a vacation in his luxury car.”
And you’re right, and that is exactly my point.
My life is so stable and comfortable that even these two miniature challenges threw me off balance, and I arrived in a slightly bummed and stressed-out state. But I still knew that in the bigger picture, they are good for me if I accept them as I accept them as the lessons they are rather than choosing to continue to worry about them.
As the trip went on, more things happened, almost as if The Comfort Crisis book were trying to prove a point. I drove three hours deeper into the mountains and up the steep dirt road to arrive at my second friend’s piece of land – a plot of forest in the mountains just outside of Durango.
My work days in that high desert environment in the peak of summer were hot and physically demanding. It was hard to keep my tools, and my food supply in the cooler, and myself protected from the scorching sun (and a strange neverending blizzard of tree pollen) while still getting the job done. There was no indoor plumbing and we had to be very careful with our limited water supply. And then at the end of each day I had to reshuffle everything and set my car back up as a bedroom and crawl in for the night. Alone and far from home.
But instead of feeling depressed as I experienced this constant hardship, the opposite thing was happening: I felt more alive and more badass with each passing day. I got better at being a feral forest man.
One day, my co-builder and I decided to take the afternoon off and head to the wild, remote Lemon Reservoir for some paddleboarding. We didn’t bring our phones or any other conveniences or amenities – just two boards and the minimal clothing required for swimming. And we headed out into a stiff headwind and little whitecap waves, laughing at the freedom of the experience.
It was hard, and slightly scary, as we got further and further from the shore. Progress was slow even with serious paddling, and we didn’t have any particular plan beyond the spirit of “let’s GO!”
But again Michael Easter was there whispering in my ear, saying,
“Is this difficult, Mustache? GOOOOoood! Then you’d better keep going!”
So we did. And we got way out into that lake, to a point where the water was shielded from the wind by the mountains on the other side. And it was awesome.
We cruised over to the shore to explore a particularly scenic meadow, coated with the softest green mossy grass and exuberantly colored wildflowers, and set at an impossibly steep angle. And damn I wished that I could have taken pictures, but in a strange way this forced me to burn that spot more thoroughly into my memories using my own senses instead.
Then we headed back out into the center of the lake, set down the paddles, and just laid down on our boards to let the wind and the waves take us back towards the far end of the lake where we had started. And what a strange, serene feeling it was, floating on just a tube of air over two hundred feet of cold blue water, feeling like a jungle man with no cares and no plans and no material possessions. It could have been scary, but instead it was one of the best and most relaxed moments of my life.
Eventually, this week of forest living and exertion had to come to an end so I could get back to my own town to be a Dad again. But it ended with a final reminder of the principles of the Comfort Crisis – after so many days relatively extreme work and a relatively sparse food supply, I had grown used to a healthy background hunger. Which is yet another thing that we are meant to experience as humans – being satisfied and free from hunger all the time is neither normal nor healthy.
But when my hosts took me out on the town for a final night thank you dinner at the Mexican restaurant, the immense Burrito platter I consumed turned out to be the most delicious meal of my life.
Purposeful Hardship vs. Purposeful Spending
There has been a lot of talk directed at the FIRE community recently about how bad we are at spending our money, and how we all need to loosen up. And there’s a small amount of truth to it, as my local friends Carl and Mindy recently admitted during a grilling on the Ramit Sethi podcast.
But we also need to keep this whole idea of excessive comfort in mind, and the damage it does to the natural human condition.
It’s great to spend money on adventures and improving yourself, being generous to others, and making the world a better place.
But it’s also way too easy to fool yourself into thinking you “want” things that just make your life easier and easier.
So your job is to catch yourself before this happens, and learn to keep things challenging, even as you upgrade the rest of your life experience.
In other words: buy yourself better tools, not softer chairs.
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* Another great book that follows this style is Wired for Love by neruroscientist Stephanie Cacioppo – highly recommended for reading in parallel with a lover, whether new or old.
** not actually hard by reasonable human standards, but it seemed hard by my comfort addicted first world standards
We think we know what will make us happy, but we don’t. Many of us believe that money will make us happy, but it won’t. Except for the very poor, money cannot buy happiness. Instead of dreaming of vast wealth, we should dream of close friends and healthy bodies and meaningful work.
The Psychology of Happiness
Several years ago, James Montier, a “global equity strategist”, took a break from investing in order to publish a brief overview of existing research into the psychology of happiness [PDF]. Montier learned that happiness comprises three components:
About 50% of individual happiness comes from a genetic set point. That is, we’re each predisposed to a certain level of happiness. Some of us are just naturally more inclined to be cheery than others.
About 10% of our happiness is due to our circumstances. Our age, race, gender, personal history, and, yes, wealth, only make up about one-tenth of our happiness.
The remaining 40% of an individual’s happiness seems to be derived from intentional activity, from “discrete actions or practices that people can choose to do”.
If we have no control over our genetic “happy point,” and if we have little control over our circumstances, then it makes sense to focus on those things that we can do to make ourselves happy. According to Montier’s paper, these activities include sex, exercise, sleep, and close relationships.
What does not bring happiness? Money, and the pursuit of happiness for its own sake. “A vast array of individuals seriously over-rate the importance of money in making themselves, and others, happy,” Montier writes. “Study after study from psychology shows that money doesn’t equal happiness.”
The Happiness Paradox
Writing in The Washington Post last June, Shankar Vedantam described recent research into this subject. If the United States is generally wealthier than it was thirty or forty years ago, then why aren’t people happier? Economist Richard Easterlin of the University of Southern California believes that part of the problem is the hedonic treadmill: once we reach a certain level of wealth, we want more. We’re never satisfied. From Vedantam’s article:
Easterlin attributes the phenomenon of happiness levels not keeping pace with economic gains to the fact that people’s desires and expectations change along with their material fortunes. Where an American in 1970 may have once dreamed about owning a house, he or she might now dream of owning two. Where people once dreamed of buying a new car, they now dream of buying a luxury model.
“People are wedded to the idea that more money will bring them more happiness,” Easterlin said. “When they think of the effects of more money, they are failing to factor in the fact that when they get more money they are going to want even more money. When they get more money, they are going to want a bigger house. They never have enough money, but what they do is sacrifice their family life and health to get more money.”
The irony is that health and the quality of personal relationships are among the most potent predictors of whether people report they are happy — and they are often the two things people sacrifice in their pursuit of greater wealth.
Why aren’t rich people happier? Perhaps it’s because many of them are workaholics, because they’re more focused on money than on the things that would bring them joy. A brief companion piece to The Washington Post story notes that researchers have found that “being wealthy is often a powerful predictor that people spend less time doing pleasurable things, and more time doing compulsory things and feeling stressed.”
In general, rich people aren’t much happier than those of us in the middle class. Yes, money can buy happiness if it elevates you from poverty, but beyond that the benefits are minimal. So why do so many people believe that money will make things better?
Stumbling on Happiness
In 2006, Harvard psychology professor Daniel Gilbert published Stumbling on Happiness, a book about our inability to predict what will really make us happy. Here is is a 22-minute video of a presentation Gilbert made at TED 2004, in which he compresses his ideas into bite-sized chunks.
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Gilbert says that because humans can plan for the future, we naturally want to structure our lives in such a way that we are happy, both now and later. But how do we know what will make us happy? We don’t. In fact, we’re surprisingly bad at predicting what will bring us joy. Gilbert asks:
Which future would you prefer? One in which you win the lottery? Or one in which you become paraplegic? Which would make you happier? […] A year after losing their legs, and a year after winning the lotto, lottery winners and paraplegics are equally happy with their lives.
The problem is impact bias, the tendency to overestimate the “hedonic impact” of future events. Put another way, the things that we think will make us happy usually don’t make us as happy as we think they will. Winning the lottery isn’t a panacea. Having an affair with your hot new co-worker won’t be as thrilling as you imagine. And losing a leg isn’t the end of the world.
It turns out that humans are able to synthesize happiness. Many people look outside themselves for fulfillment; they expect to find it in things, or in relationships, or in large bank accounts. But true happiness comes from within. True happiness comes when we learn to be content with what we have.
13 Steps to a Better Life
What does all this mean to you? If money won’t bring you happiness, what will? How can you stop making yourself miserable and start learning to love life? According to my research, these are the thirteen actions most likely to encourage happiness:
Don’t compare yourself to others. Financially, physically, and socially, comparing yourself to others is a trap. You will always have friends who have more money than you do, who can run faster than you can, who are more successful in their careers. Focus on your own life, on your own goals.
Foster close relationships. People with five or more close friends are more apt to describe themselves as happy than those with fewer.
Have sex. Sex, especially with someone you love, is consistently ranked as a top source of happiness. A long-term loving partnership goes hand-in-hand with this.
Get regular exercise. There’s a strong tie between physical health and happiness. Anyone who has experienced a prolonged injury or illness knows just how emotionally devastating it can be. Eat right, exercise, and take care of our body. (And read Get Fit Slowly!)
Obtain adequate sleep. Good sleep is an essential component of good health. When you’re not well-rested, your body and your mind do not operate at peak capacity. Your mood suffers. (Read more in my brief guide to better sleep.)
Set and pursue goals. I believe that the road to wealth is paved with goals. More than that, the road to happiness is paved with goals. Continued self-improvement makes life more fulfilling.
Find meaningful work. There are some who argue a job is just a job. I believe that fulfilling work is more than that — it’s a vocation. It can take decades to find the work you were meant to do. But when you find it, it can bring added meaning to your life.
Join a group. Those who are members of a group, like a church congregation, experience greater happiness. But the group doesn’t have to be religious. Join a book group. Meet others for a Saturday morning bike ride. Sit in at the knitting circle down at the yarn shop.
Don’t dwell on the past. I know a guy who beats himself up over mistakes he’s made before. Rather than concentrate on the present (or, better yet, on the future), he lets the past eat away at his happiness. Focus on the now.
Embrace routine. Research shows that although we believe we want variety and choice, we’re actually happier with limited options. It’s not that we want no choice at all, just that we don’t want to be overwhelmed. Routines help limit choices. They’re comfortable and familiar and, used judiciously, they can make us happy.
Practice moderation. Too much of a good thing is a bad thing. It’s okay to indulge yourself on occasion — just don’t let it get out of control. Addictions and compulsions can ruin lives.
Be grateful. It’s no accident that so many self-help books encourage readers to practice gratitude. When we regularly take time to be thankful for the things we have, we appreciate them more. We’re less likely to take them for granted, and less likely to become jealous of others.
Help others. Over and over again, studies have shown that altruism is one of the best ways to boost your happiness. Sure, volunteering at the local homeless shelter helps, but so too does just being nice in daily life.
Remember: True wealth is not about money. True wealth is about relationships, about good health, and about continued self-improvement.
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