November 2014 Awesome Article Roundup

Throughout the month of November I read several articles and these are the best I came across. Each one of these gave me some thought and discussed ideas that I find interesting.

Joe at Retire by 40 wrote “Can You Live on $1,250/mo in Silicon Valley?” discussing a conversation he had with his brother who is doing just that.  The main take away I got from this artilce is a quote from Joe’s brother Chris; “I don’t believe spending more money and “living it up” would make me any happier in the long run. I’m perfectly happy living a modest and comfortable life style.” It is strange to me how when people realize you save money they assume you must not be getting any enjoyment out of life, it simply isn’t true.  Allthough the income side of the equation was not discussed, you can assume that Chris is easily saving well over half of his income and acknowledges that his expenses will increase substantially when we starts a family.  Putting yourself in that situation is a recipe for quick success in building wealth.  

Nick at Side Hustle Nation wrote “5 surprising side hustle lessons from the lego movie“.  I like the concept of finding (and of course installing) important life lessons in media, especially media geared towards children.  Everything is Awesome! indeed!

Martin at Studenomics wrote “The truth about working hard Vs. relaxing in your 20s.” Martin goes beyond the basic advice of work hard and build wealth to include finding a purpose.  When you have a mission, things you really want to do, then you want to work and make things happen. I identify with this well, I am very grateful for the help and direction others have given me to make things happen in my 20s.  I still have 18 months left, and you better believe a lot is gonna happen in that time! One of my favorite quotes from Bill Gates, is “I didn’t take a single day off in my 20s, Not one.” No weekends, no holidays, no screwing around; putting forth effort to make something you want to happen, happen. This isn’t just for your entrepreneur who is going to be hitting a billion at age 30, it is equally as important, if not more so, for the “average” worker.

Sam at Financial Samurai introduced me to a new concept of investing through Motif Investing.  I had previously never heard of it, and the concept is very intriguing.  Essentially, the company creates a bag of stocks that you can purchase fractional shares of each one.  The bags of stocks are combined to represent ideas, such as IPOs, Online Gaming, Biotech, etc.  You can even create your own.  I think this is a really interesting form of investing.  You can focus in on one small sector of the economy, but can limit your exposure by having 30 stocks instead of 1 or 2.

Amanda at My Life I guess…posted “Why I accepted a part time minimum wage job“. Amanda has had a rough several months and needed a job.  Although she applied for a job a step higher, she was offered this job.  Despite having a bachelors degree and several years of experience she took it and explains why she took it very well.  You do what you have to do in order to move forward, and even working part time for minimum wage is WAY better than working 0 hours for $0 an hour.  In addition to a paycheck having a job that isn’t ideal helps with motivation, makes it easier to get another job AND can provide some decent networking opportunities.

Ashlee at The Consumerist wrote “Why You Shouldn’t Get a Reverse Mortgage Just Because Fred Thompson Tells You To.” This is a very in depth article that explains the downsides to a reverse mortgage and celebrity endorsements.  Reverse mortgages are marketed the same way as a miracle weight loss drug, with a too good to be true catch. Reduce or eliminate your monthly mortgage payments and use the equity in your home to live the retirement you deserve!  Truthfully, reverse mortgages are only a good idea for a very small amount of people who typically have a paid off home which has appreciated greatly over several decades, don’t want to move, and have no desire to leave the house to their children.

What have been some of your favorite awesome articles this month?