Achieving Minerva

What we learn in school is mostly useless in the workplace.  What should we be teaching in school instead?   

Book Recommendation: https://www.amazon.com/The-One-World-Schoolhouse-audiobook/dp/B009LD459E/ref=sr_1_1?crid=4THQUKGJTWWV&keywords=one+world+school+house&qid=1676250007&sprefix=one+world+school+hous%2Caps%2C325&sr=8-1  

Khan Academy: https://www.khanacademy.org/

As a decently well-credentialed academic myself, I have some serious issues with Education and how we approach it with aspiring adults.  Today I talk about the issue of cost for college, and why it is not really a good idea to teach your 17 year old that you can study whatever you want and still make a good living. 

Which accounts and investment vehicles should you have in order to achieve financial independence? And which ones should take priority over others?  We break that down and more!

Visual flowchart can be found here! https://www.achievingminerva.com/blog

Insurance is often misunderstood.  Allow me to try and explain it to you in simple terms! Yes, the healthcare system is a mess in the US and I won't argue against that, but insurance as it stands is misunderstood.  

Insurance as a whole industry is pretty scammy.  I will try and just tell you how it works in reality, not whether the industry is good or bad. 

Sources:

HMO vs PPO: https://www.humana.com/medicare/medicare-resources/hmo-vs-ppo

Ever been told not to take a raise or work Overtime because you'll be screwed over by Uncle Sam? Well, I'm here to tell you that those lines are false.  A raise is STILL a raise even if you jump to a new bracket! Allow me to explain why. 

Sources: 

Tax Brackets 2022: https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/taxes/federal-income-tax-brackets

W-4: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw4.pdf

Publication 15: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p15.pdf

Withholding Worksheets from Pub 15: https://www.irs.gov/publications/p15t#en_US_2023_publink100019280

So you've decided to Read this year! Yay!! Here are 8 finance books to add to your list!

Book Links:

1. Millionaire Next Door - https://wild.link/amazon/AOftkAM

2. Dave Ramsey's Complete Guide to Money - https://wild.link/amazon/AOjtkAM

3. Psychology of Money - https://wild.link/amazon/AOrtkAM

4. Quit like a Millionaire - https://wild.link/amazon/AOvtkAM

5. Richest Man in Babylon - https://wild.link/amazon/AOztkAM

6. A Random Walk Down Wall Street - https://wild.link/amazon/AO3tkAM

7. The Bogle Effect - https://wild.link/amazon/AO7tkAM

8. Fables of Fortune - https://wild.link/amazon/AO_tkAM

Is THIS the year you're going to turn things around with your health? Good!  Getting into some good shape is an investment in your future and helps you acheive a different kind of freedom. Are you tired of the rabbit hole of which diet to use which workout program?  Let me dice out the basics for you because there is no magic, just math and science.  

Some Resources:

Livestrong.com - https://www.livestrong.com/article/286610-what-does-cardiovascular-fitness-mean/

Health.gov guidelines for Physical Activities - https://health.gov/sites/default/files/2019-09/Physical_Activity_Guidelines_2nd_edition.pdf#page=55

2020 NY Resolutions study mentioned in episode: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0234097&utm_id=56209642&orgid=671

Info on Weight loss Goals: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6444530/

Study on Cardio fitness. This study is old, but still relevant - https://www2.karlin.mff.cuni.cz/~kulich/vyuka/medexp/doc/midesign.pdf

Taking a brief break from the spreadsheets to discuss one of Sal's hobbies that he does in his spare time. It may help stir some ideas in you for when you all the sudden have 40 more hours per week of your own time back!  This week we are discussing homebrewing and the craft beer craze!

Some resources used:

https://www.brewersfriend.com/   has a bunch of recipes and calculators!

https://www.northernbrewer.com/  Starter equipment packs 

https://www.academia.edu/38440206/How_To_Brew_By_John_Palmer  - Recommended reading to get started mentioned in episode. 

The Math says two incomes are better than 1.  But we decided against that for the purposes of ChildCare! How we decided to have one SAHP and why we felt it made sense despite the pure math!

Care.com article mentioned with ChildCare costs: https://www.care.com/c/how-much-does-child-care-cost/

While the math of owning a house goes against the trendy new age finance wisdom (and I don't disagree), there is some other freedom aspects to consider.  But remember!! Your house is NOT a financial asset! It is a USE asset!!!