Behavior

Now that the World Series is complete, MLB news at this time of year will typically be all about awards for last season and trades for next season. But instead, we get the bombshell that Emmanuel Clase and Luis Oritz of the Cleveland Guardians are accused of throwing pitches in MLB games to profit themselves and a group of bettors. It would appear very likely to end their baseball careers.
Now, you might think that these guys must have been offered enormous sums of money to risk their professional baseball earnings.

I’m pretty much a non-judgmental person, though this isn’t a virtue I’ve cultivated or a moral position I strive toward. As my wife Suzie has pointed out on many occasions, normally in an exasperated tone, I tend to wander through life in a state of “fuzzdom.” Suzie’s phrase, not mine.
Case in point: last week my opinion was asked about the dress sense of the weird guy with the high heels, lime green miniskirt, and shocking pink topknot hairstyle we passed while crossing the road.

I’m an optimist. And proudly so. Perhaps too optimistic, but that’s a risk I’m willing to take.
Having this mindset and reflecting on how I engage with money, and the world more broadly, got me thinking of two things.
Firstly, it takes a lot of work to remain an optimist in the modern media landscape. The default position of financial media is that bad news is either here or right around the corner. If the market is down,

When I was growing up in a loving but economically stretched household, birthdays and Christmas presents were nice. But what really rang my bell was a gift of cash. These sometimes materialised when an aunt or uncle couldn’t think of anything better. As a kid those crisp notes were full of potential, self-directed treats, a true treasure.
My parents were exclusively a cash using family; if there was ever any excess it ended up in a bank savings account or credit union.

If there were red down arrows on Facebook I would have received so many in the last week, their system would have crashed. I have taken on the seniors who failed to plan for their retirement and now blame the system for their situation along with those who think they should not pay property taxes for schools or any taxes at all once they reach age 65 – because they paid their dues plus those
Many say without a mortgage you should not pay property taxes,

I received a HumbleDollar friend request on Facebook this morning. I did not find this unusual because I sometimes share HD posts I feel may be helpful to people. Of course I accepted the friend request. 
I just received a private message from HD. The sender was offering free consultations for financial services. Jonathan’s picture was at the top of the message, as well as at the bottom, which leads you to believe that he is the author.

SOME YEARS AGO, the scientist Edward Fredkin identified a quirk of human behavior.
When it comes to making decisions, Fredkin found, we tend to allocate our time inefficiently. Suppose, for example, you’re at the grocery store, looking for something basic like paper towels. In a big supermarket, there might be a dozen or more choices. The result: Because there are so many options, it can be hard to choose among them. In the absence of big differences,

Have any of you heard about the new book by Harvard economist, John Y. Campbell, Fixed: Why Personal Finance Is Broken and How to Make it Work for Everyone? I heard him interviewed yesterday on Episode 380 of The Rational Reminder podcast and found myself nodding along in agreement the whole interview. I want to read the book.
Campbell argues that the financial system we all need to navigate fails most people because of needless complexity,

Although I’m more inclined to introversion, I’ve always had the gift of the gab. I can switch this on at will, whether I’m talking to an audience or striking up a conversation with a stranger. I guess it’s a gift of some kind.
Talking with a stranger is more about listening carefully and understanding, whereas talking to an audience leans more toward narration and storytelling. Writing articles falls into the storytelling genre as well.
There have been a few calls on Humble Dollar encouraging readers to submit posts and share their retirement experiences.

Have you ever met “they?”  Me neither, but from what I hear, he or she is a pretty bad dude.
“They” is responsible for every ill we face from rent prices to mortgage interest rates and student loans. “They” have caused housing prices to rise and inflation too.  “They” have rigged the system, even health insurance premiums. “They” made Social Security a scam. “They” is why people don’t earn what they think they should. 
“They” seem have total control over our economy with the ability to Ignore supply and demand and prices. 

I would like to dedicate this post to Jonathan.
My spouse and I started with nothing. We left college with debt and moved to a HCOL area in the mid 1980s. We knew nothing about money other than “if you can’t pay your credit card off each month, quit charging until it is paid off”.
We are Christians and felt called to tithe our income, so we worked up to the full 10% of gross income that is traditional.

I wanted to follow up on R Quinn’s forum post about HD writers and encourage everyone to submit your own articles for posting.
Many people mentioned that they’re unsure what to write about, so here are a few ideas to get you started:
> What I wish I knew about money before turning X
> How my relationship with money changed after X happened
> The emotional side of retiring, and learning to spend the money I saved
>

We have a more than sufficient income. Our income is not dependent on withdrawals or the stock market. Our net worth is more than adequate. By standard measures we are into the 90th percentile for any age. So why do I still worry about money?
I have done some research and I’m convinced it’s all psychological, past experiences and unjustified fear playing with my mind. Maybe yours too. 
For many people, money isn’t just a tool — it’s a symbol of safety and control.

I don’t know if there’s an academic term for one aspect of my personality. I honestly struggle to articulate what it is. The best I can do is describe it as a total lack of emotional investment in the political and economic situation in the world around me, an absence of the ability to deeply care about the personalities and themes of the great political and financial stage. It puzzles me that people feel so passionately about these events and figures.

There is a long list of past HD writers, some fairly prolific in the past. Where are they?
Some of us are still telling  our stories and taking our licks with a bit of risk without the comfort of Jonathan’s editing. A few welcome new faces have appeared – a couple also prolific, right Mark😉
If you were a writer in the past or entirely new to HD, including those from across the pond or oceans,