Archives for September 2017

Scott’s Pizza Tours: Unconventional Entrepreneur Turns Passion into Business

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sptmovieI’m a sucker for people turning their unique interests into a profitable small business, especially a quirky one-person business (like this person who farms food from other people’s yards). My newest discovery came from watching the Scott’s Pizza Tours documentary about Scott Wiener, who turned his passion for pizza into a successful tour business and more. Below is a more bio and the trailer (direct link):

He runs a successful tour business in NYC, where he leads visitors to some of the best and most historic pizzerias in the world, teaching the history and science of pizza making. He writes a monthly column in Pizza Today magazine, is a legend in the pizza industry, judges pizza competitions, eats 15 slices per week, and–oh, yeah–he’s the Guinness World Record holder for the largest collection of pizza boxes, now numbering nearly 1,000 different boxes from 55 countries, selections of which are currently touring through gallery spaces in the U.S. and Europe, with tentative exhibitions planned for Asia and Latin America. In his spare time, he founded and organizes Slice Out Hunger, an annual event, which has raised over $70,000 for hunger relief organizations in NYC.

Are you happy with the path are you on? In one scene, Scott describes how he used to have a desk job with the government. After his first year, they had a little celebration and said “Hurray, only 24 years left until retirement!”. That statement really shook him, and he put in his resignation notice the next day.

“Follow Your Passion”: Too idealistic… or actually practical advice? You can’t make good money at something unless you’re good at it, and it’s very hard to get good at something if you don’t like it. That means passion fuels 2 out 3 parts of the pie (pun intended). If you can figure out how to make it well-compensated, you’re golden. Here’s a quote from Charlie Munger:

I have never succeeded very much in anything in which I was not very interested. If you can’t somehow find yourself very interested in something, I don’t think you’ll succeed very much, even if you’re fairly smart. I think that having this deep interest in something is part of the game. If your only interest is Chinese calligraphy I think that’s what you’re going to have to do. I don’t see how you can succeed in astrophysics if you’re only interested in calligraphy.

Dream job: Goal vs. Journey. Did Scott Wiener write down one day that his dream job would be to teach tourists about pizza history? No, it was a result of incremental daily movements. I’m reminded of the High Fidelity movie scene where John Cusack’s character makes a list of his top 5 dream jobs if “qualifications, history, time, and salary were no object.” After going through them, he realizes that he is already doing one of his dream jobs, owning his own record store.

I saw Scott’s Pizza Tours on the Viceland cable TV channel, but you might also be able to see it for free on Hoopla if supported by your local library. Otherwise, you can buy/rent on Amazon/iTunes/YouTube.

p.s. If you live in the NYC area, the 2017 edition of Slice Out Hunger’s $1 Pizza Party is on Wednesday, October 4, 2017. I’m impressed he even leverages his passion to raise money for a good cause (over $70,000 so far).

My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers and may impact how and where card products appear on the site. MyMoneyBlog.com does not include all card companies or all available card offers. All opinions expressed are the author’s alone, and has not been provided nor approved by any of the companies mentioned.

MyMoneyBlog.com is also a member of the Amazon Associate Program, and if you click through to Amazon and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission. Thank you for your support.


Practical Advice on Identity Theft and Removing Unauthorized Accounts

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bankshowerThe boilerplate advice I keep reading at the end of every article about the Equifax hack is… Everybody freeze their credit! That certainly is an option, but perhaps it might be overkill to expect 150 million people to do that? The credit reporting agencies seem to make it an painful experience on purpose, charging you $10 a pop x 3 bureaus for freezing/thawing. Some good news: Equifax just announced a new free instant lock/unlock feature, which probably wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t for this breach.

For a more practical perspective, I recommend bookmarking the post Identity Theft, Credit Reports, and You by Patrick McKenzie. He has real-world experience in helping others deal with the credit bureaus and navigating the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). My notes:

  • You don’t need to do anything just because your data was leaked or might have been leaked and nothing has actually happened.
  • Don’t pay money for credit monitoring.
  • If you find unauthorized charges on an credit card you opened yourself, just call your bank or card issuer. This shouldn’t be a big headache.
  • If you find an account NOT opened by yourself, either due to fraud or some sort of clerical error, then read the entire post for detailed instructions. You need to create a paper trail because this could easily turn into a big headache.

A lot of nuance is covered and sample text is helpfully included, such as:

On August 5th, 20XX I accessed my credit report from Experian, numbered 1234567. It shows an account with your institution in my name, with account number XXX123. I am unaware of the full account number. I have no knowledge of this account. I did not open it or authorize anyone to open it.

Please correct this tradeline and confirm this to me in writing within the timeframe specified by law. If you cannot correct this tradeline, provide me with your written justification for why your investigation concluded that this tradeline was accurate.

Here are some important things to note if you have to deal directly with a financial institution regarding an unauthorized account:

  • Do not call. Communicate only via written letters sent by postal mail to their official address. Create a paper trail. Keep a scan/copy of everything.
  • Never pay debt which isn’t yours, even if you are being harassed.
  • Never speak to debt collectors on the phone, either. Just ask for their address and hang up so you can communicate in writing. You are not breaking any laws if you hang up on them.
  • You can do this. In his experience, most issues were resolved after 2-3 letters send via certified mail/return receipt.

My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers and may impact how and where card products appear on the site. MyMoneyBlog.com does not include all card companies or all available card offers. All opinions expressed are the author’s alone, and has not been provided nor approved by any of the companies mentioned.

MyMoneyBlog.com is also a member of the Amazon Associate Program, and if you click through to Amazon and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission. Thank you for your support.


Tomorrow App: Free Will & Trust, Optional Term Life Insurance

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tmrwapp0The newly-launched Tomorrow app brings estate planning to your smartphone. The app includes software that will guide you through the creation of a legal will and trust for your family, and it makes money by also selling term life insurance (which you can use to fund your trust). You can use the free will and trust feature on its own and buy life insurance elsewhere. More press at TechCrunch.

The ready-to-sign wills are legal in 47 states (AK, LA, NC coming later). Here’s a diagram from their website:

tmrwapp

Is this an adequate replacement for an estate lawyer? Estate planning is strange because it is so important, but people always procrastinate about it. Nobody wants to think about death. Meeting a lawyer can be intimidating and potentially expensive. So while you could argue about what is best, most people have nothing. Is it a positive to have free will & trust software that fits many situations, making it more readily available for the public? Can it provide a positive start to a conversation with family? I think so. Are there cases where an estate lawyer would create a better product customized to your personal situation? Certainly.

Here’s what The Consumerist (owned by Consumer Reports) had to say about other DIY will-making software back in 2011:

Our wallet-watching cousins at the Consumer Reports Money Adviser newsletter took a look at three DIY options for will-making — LegalZoom, Rocket Lawyer and Quicken WillMaker Plus — and found that while all three are better than not having a will, none of them is likely to meet the needs of anything more than the most basic of estates.

I’ve always been a little disappointed with legal software products when they say “we are not a law firm and this is not legal advice”. Okay, they probably have to say that. But really, if they are explicitly providing you with a ready-to-sign will and trust (and historically charging a fee for this service), then aren’t they… kinda… providing you legal advice? I certainly don’t understand it all on my own.

I did download the app and poke around for a bit. I liked the mobile-friendly Q&A format (similar to tax prep software), but as I’m not a lawyer I don’t know about quality or whether it covers the proper scenarios.

Competition. There are many established legal software websites that will guide you through the creation of a will and trust for a fee. For example, the LegalZoom Living Trust package includes a living trust, will, financial power of attorney, advanced medial directive, free revisions, and review from an independent attorney for $299. Willing.com currently offers a basic will for free (no minor children), but their cheapest package that includes a revocable trust also runs $299. A traditional local lawyer will certainly cost more than that, closer to $1,000 and up.

It appears that Tomorrow hopes to subsidize this cost by encouraging you to buy optional term life insurance from them. I think this is a reasonable idea (assuming its not too hard of a sell) as term life insurance is also one of those things people regret not buying until it’s too late. Comparison sites like PolicyGenius life insurance quotes are helpful because premiums are the same no matter which broker or website you buy it from. That means Tomorrow can’t mark up the price.

Our family already has a will & trust set up in-person with traditional lawyers. We bought term life insurance years earlier. On the other hand, I did use a software service to form my business (S-Corporation vs. LLC). Motivating myself to finish our estate plan was hard but I’m definitely glad we did it. I recommend getting something down in writing and starting the conversation, no matter which way you choose to do it.

My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers and may impact how and where card products appear on the site. MyMoneyBlog.com does not include all card companies or all available card offers. All opinions expressed are the author’s alone, and has not been provided nor approved by any of the companies mentioned.

MyMoneyBlog.com is also a member of the Amazon Associate Program, and if you click through to Amazon and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission. Thank you for your support.


Vanguard Thoughts: Pros and Cons from a 15-Year Client-Owner

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Vanguard has been sucking up assets like a vacuum, with total assets now exceeding $4 trillion. Their hybrid robo-advisor Vanguard Personal Advisor Services has over $65 billion in assets under management. Are they unbeatable? People tend to love building things up, then love tearing it down.

Vanguard holds the majority of my net worth, grown over 15 years in Vanguard brokerage accounts and Vanguard mutual funds/ETFs. You could therefore call me a fanboy, but also a concerned “client-owner” (I prefer the term “investor-owner”). As they keep hounding me to vote on their proxy, here’s what I like the most and least about Vanguard:

Pros

  • Historical track record. Vanguard has a long history of providing investments at a low cost. When they arrive to an asset class, costs tend to drop like a rock. This the Vanguard Effect.
  • Skill and experience. They are good at what they do – run low-cost index funds and low-cost actively-managed funds. They understand things like reducing index tracking error and utilizing securities lending to boost fund returns.
  • Ownership structure. Vanguard does have a unique ownership structure conducive to continuing to maintaining low costs. There are no outside shareholders or activist hedge funds working to squeeze out every last drop of profit.
  • Profitable. Vanguard has their current expense ratios and is actually making money (or technically breaking even) on every single fund and ETF. The others are losing money on their “cheap” products while they try to make money elsewhere.
  • Less company risk. All the above adds up to my opinion that Vanguard has the best chance of future, ongoing lower costs. A potential cost beyond expense ratios that should be considered is the cost of switching to a different fund in a taxable account. If I sell now to buy something else, I will have to pay taxes on a significant amount of capital gains. I want to minimize the chance of having to do that.

Cons

  • Lack of transparency on marketing costs. Vanguard runs a lot more advertising than they used to. I might argue too much, but nobody knows how much they are spending because they don’t disclose this even to their “investor-owners”. Vanguard is not a non-profit, but I have seen even non-profits suffer from internal bloat and having quality suffer in the pursuit of growth.
  • Lack of transparency on executive compensation. Vanguard may not have outside shareholders, but we also don’t know how much money the CEO or other executives make. If Vanguard were a publicly-traded company like Schwab, they would have to disclose these numbers. As “investor-owners”, I don’t get told anything. As this Bloomberg article states, “Vanguard is an important shareholder voice on executive pay, but it isn’t transparent on its own compensation.”
  • Mediocre customer service. Vanguard has struggled with the quality and responsiveness of their customer service as they have grown in size. My interactions with Fidelity and Schwab have consistently produced faster response times and more accurate levels of service. Vanguard themselves have admitted that they have had struggles in this area.
  • Not necessarily the cheapest at any given moment. If you look at any specific ETF benchmark at any specific moment in time these days, the cheapest offering might come from Vanguard, but it just as likely might come from Schwab, iShares, or Fidelity.

Financial author Jonathan Clements argues in his Protection Money article that he is willing to a little bit more for Vanguard ETFs in order to avoid potentially having to pay significant capital gains if the loss-leader pricing trend stops. I think that is a very valid argument.

Now, you could also buy Vanguard ETFs inside another brokerage account. However, you may have to contend with trade commissions. A few exceptions on ETFs: Merrill Edge and Bank of America will give you 30 free trades a month if you have $50,000 in combined assets at BofA and Merrill (plus better credit card rewards). The Robinhood app lets anyone invest with free commissions (although I’d expect even less than Vanguard in terms of customer service). You can transfer Vanguard ETFs to another custodian for a flat fee if you wish to avoid realized capital gains.

Big picture. Vanguard changed the investment world, but now the gap is much narrower. I started out with Vanguard and think they still have the best long-term structure, so I own Vanguard mutual funds and ETFs. However, Schwab and iShares Core ETFs held somewhere with low trading costs and good customer service are also very good choices for someone starting out. This group of “nearly as good” alternatives to Vanguard continues to grow. Meanwhile, there is still another large group of “definitely worse” alternatives. Debating between 0.01% is rather useless when there are still people paying 1% or more for index funds.

My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers and may impact how and where card products appear on the site. MyMoneyBlog.com does not include all card companies or all available card offers. All opinions expressed are the author’s alone, and has not been provided nor approved by any of the companies mentioned.

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SlingTV: Buy 2 Months, Get Free Indoor HD OTA Antenna

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winegardSling TV streams live cable channels over the internet, with bundles starting at $20 per month. They have added some new promotions to help you add local HD broadcast channels via an OTA Antenna and a AirTV streaming box which integrates everything together to feel like a traditional cable box. No switching inputs back and forth.

  • Free Winegard FlatWave Indoor Amplified Antenna when you prepay two months of Sling TV. For as little as $40, you’d get 2 months of Sling TV and an antenna that costs $53 on Amazon.
  • Winegard Flatwave Indoor Amplified Antenna and AirTV Bundle for $70 when you prepay three months of Sling TV. The AirTV bundle costs $130 direct, but comes with $50 in Sling credit.
  • AirTV Bundle (Box + Adapter) for $50 when you prepay three months of Sling TV.

I hadn’t heard of the AirTV box before ( Wired review), but it strikes me as a time machine product. You can get live cable TV and old-fashioned channel surfing for about $20 to $30 a month. Both the product and price point feel like 1995. Sling TV has added cloud DVR recording on selected channels (no Disney/ABC/ESPN) for an extra $5 a month.

Alternatively, there is a product called Tablo that is a DVR with software designed to record OTA channels. Both AirTV and Tablo offer easy OTA channel lookup tools to see what is available in your area.

My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers and may impact how and where card products appear on the site. MyMoneyBlog.com does not include all card companies or all available card offers. All opinions expressed are the author’s alone, and has not been provided nor approved by any of the companies mentioned.

MyMoneyBlog.com is also a member of the Amazon Associate Program, and if you click through to Amazon and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission. Thank you for your support.


Amazon Prime Restaurants: $10 off $20 Minimum Order

My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers and may impact how and where card products appear on the site. MyMoneyBlog.com does not include all card companies or all available card offers. All opinions expressed are the author’s alone.

az_restAmazon Restaurants is a restaurant delivery service open to Prime members. Enter your ZIP code too see if what restaurants are available in your area. They claim to deliver in an hour in most cases. Alexa skill available. What a world we live in.

Get $10 off your first order of $20+ with promo codes 10EATNOW or AMAZON10. With a $20 minimum order, the delivery fee is usually $4.99. Right now, delivery is free for $40+ orders. Tipping is optional but be aware there is a default value set during checkout.

My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers and may impact how and where card products appear on the site. MyMoneyBlog.com does not include all card companies or all available card offers. All opinions expressed are the author’s alone, and has not been provided nor approved by any of the companies mentioned.

MyMoneyBlog.com is also a member of the Amazon Associate Program, and if you click through to Amazon and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission. Thank you for your support.


Fandango Movie Tickets: Buy 1 Get 1 Free (3D/IMAX) – Sold Out

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(Update: Sold out.)

Fandango has been offering the equivalent of Buy 1 Get 1 Free movie tickets on weekends when you use Visa Checkout and promo code DEALSTHATCLICK9. Limited quantities, otherwise runs from 9/22 to 9/24/17. Technically, you have to buy 2 tickets and one of them will be free. Up to $25 value so 3D/IMAX/etc should work, and the convenience fee is also waived for one ticket. Perhaps in response to pressure from MoviePass, which doesn’t include 3D/IMAX?

fan_b1g1

My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers and may impact how and where card products appear on the site. MyMoneyBlog.com does not include all card companies or all available card offers. All opinions expressed are the author’s alone, and has not been provided nor approved by any of the companies mentioned.

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Local Ethnic Grocery Stores: Why Are Fruits and Veggies So Cheap?

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Bittermelon picture.  Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bittermelon_(5926208390).jpgMost cities have local ethnic food stores that sell produce for a lot less than the big grocery chains. I suppose they are called this because they are often started by immigrants to serve other immigrants (ex. Mexican, Vietnamese, Armenian). But why are they cheaper? One popular theory was that they bought the “ugly” stuff that the chains wouldn’t buy. (Driscoll’s became dominant by breeding beautiful strawberries, even though in my opinion it tastes like they crossbred with styrofoam.)

In the case of New York City Chinatown at least, the WSJ found (non-paywall link) that a major reason behind the lower prices are special, local supply chains.

Her discovery: Chinatown’s 80-plus produce markets are cheap because they are connected to a web of small farms and wholesalers that operate independently of the network supplying most mainstream supermarkets.

My personal theory is that these are family businesses and everyone pitches in. The article doesn’t directly address cheap family labor, but minimal overhead is discussed:

Indeed, Chinatown’s green grocers make Costco look like Dean & DeLuca. Some are mere sidewalk stands renting space in front of a nail salon or a drugstore. Shelves are typically made of plywood and lined with newsprint; prices are hastily marked on strips of cardboard. Shoeboxes serve as cash registers. The scales are still analogue, and good luck using a credit card.

All this translates into low overhead for the retailers—and low prices for shoppers. The typical Chinatown produce markup is just 10% to 12% over wholesale, said Wellington Chen, executive director of the Chinatown Partnership Local Development Corp.

This special sourcing can vary. Unfortunately I don’t live near NYC Chinatown, but in my local ethnic market, some of the produce will also be from a local farm, often the lesser-known asian vegetable or herbs that grow like weeds but wilt quickly. However, some of these vendors also offer everything from watermelon to tomatoes in December. In that case, then they are probably buying some things directly from a commercial wholesaler. (It still might be cheaper than a chain.) I usually look for a sign that says “local” or simply ask them what is locally grown.

My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers and may impact how and where card products appear on the site. MyMoneyBlog.com does not include all card companies or all available card offers. All opinions expressed are the author’s alone, and has not been provided nor approved by any of the companies mentioned.

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Health Insurance Premiums: Average Annual Cost $19,000 Family, $6,000 Individual

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healthThe Wall Street Journal recently published (paywall?) a chart showing how the average cost of employer-provided health coverage for a family has changed from 1999-2017. The total average annual cost was $18,764 for a family and $6,690 for an individual in 2017. The data source is an annual poll of employers performed by the nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation along with the Health Research & Educational Trust, a nonprofit affiliated with the American Hospital Association.

wsj_health

In very rough terms: a single adult is ~$500 per month ($6,000 per year), and a family is about $20,000 a year. These numbers agree overall with the preliminary health insurance quotes that I have gotten for my own family.

In addition to the rising premiums, the average annual deductible is now over $1,200 for a single worker.

The implications for an prospective early retirees are obvious. How are you going to cover this huge expense? Here’s a quick brainstorm of options. Spoiler alert: There is no easy fix.

  1. Use an Affordable Care Act (ACA) plan and get a subsidy if your income is low enough to qualify. Do a lot of reading, then hope it doesn’t change?
  2. Plan ahead with a job that offers health insurance benefits in early retirement (don’t have to be a certain age). You’ll probably have to hunker down with the same employer for a number of years.
  3. Save enough money (or create enough income) to pay for health insurance premiums. Try a managed-care system like Kaiser for a low-cost HMO plan.
  4. Find a part-time job that you both enjoy and offers health benefits.
  5. Run a part-time side business that earns enough profit to cover health insurance costs. Look for potential group discounts or tax breaks that are available as a business instead of a consumer.
  6. Now and later, look for a high-deductible health plan (HDHP) and fund a Health Savings Account (HSA) due to the tax advantages.
  7. Join a direct primary care arrangement or health care sharing ministry that is exempt from ACA.
  8. Extend your current employer coverage for up to 18 months through COBRA (check cost).
  9. Move to a foreign country with reasonable and transparent cash pricing.

Am I missing anything? Right now, we have #4. My family’s future plan is a mix of #1, 3, and 5. However, #5 could push us over the income limits for #1.

My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers and may impact how and where card products appear on the site. MyMoneyBlog.com does not include all card companies or all available card offers. All opinions expressed are the author’s alone, and has not been provided nor approved by any of the companies mentioned.

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Robinhood: Free Share of Stock for New Users – Estimated Value

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Robinhood is a sleek smartphone app that’s a brokerage account with unlimited $0 trades with no minimum balance requirement. They’ve been around for a few years now and I’ve been impressed that they’ve kept up the free trade business model, partially by recently rolling out premium paid features. I enjoy the minimalist and intuitive interface.

Right now, if you a referred by an existing user you get a free share of stock. The existing user also gets a free share, so thanks if you use it! As I write this, that share is randomly selected from a pool of “widely-held companies”, which includes Apple ($158), Facebook ($172), or Microsoft ($75). Too bad they don’t offer Berkshire Hathaway Class A shares ($274,000). Okay, but there are also shares of companies that are worth $1 or less.

What share value should I expect? Here are screenshots from my phone showing some odds:

rh_freestock3 rh_freestock2

For some reason they try to use the World’s Smallest Fine Print™, but here are selected details from their FAQ:

The stock bonus is one share selected randomly, when the bonus criteria are met, from Robinhood’s inventory of settled shares held for this program. When shares are purchased into this inventory, Robinhood purchases shares from the three to four companies representing the highest market capitalization in various ranges of share prices between approximately $3 and $175, limited to those companies that are widely held among Robinhood accounts. There is an approximately 98% chance of the stock bonus having a value of $2.50-$10, an approximately 1% chance of the stock bonus having a value of $10-$50, and an approximately 1% chance of the stock bonus having a value of $50-$200, based on the price of shares at the time of purchase. The Robinhood platform displays approximate odds of receiving shares from particular companies at the time the screen is generated. These odds do not necessarily reflect the odds of receiving stock in those companies at the time the stock bonus is awarded.

So… basically 98% chance of getting something $10 or less, and 2% chance of something higher. This means the weighted average share price can’t be more than ten bucks.

By the way, you can cash out your bonus by selling after 2 days and withdrawing your balance after 30 days:

Limit one offer per qualified referral with a maximum of one account per referred client. Stock bonus will be credited to the enrolled account within approximately one week after the bonus is claimed. Stock bonuses that are not claimed within 60 days may expire. Shares from stock bonuses cannot be sold until 2 trading days after the bonus is granted. The cash value of the stock bonus may not be withdrawn for 30 days after the bonus is claimed.

Bottom line. The Robinhood “Get Free Stock” promotion is clever and it certainly appeals to the hopeful gambler within us with a $200 potential value, but most people are likely going get a share of stock valued at $10 or less. (Don’t sell it and wait 30 years – see what happens!) I would just treat as a fun game if you otherwise want to be able to trade stocks for free on your smartphone. Robinhood is a good value on its own, see my full Robinhood review.

Sign up for Robinhood and get your free share here, and I’ll report back on any shares that I win.

My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers and may impact how and where card products appear on the site. MyMoneyBlog.com does not include all card companies or all available card offers. All opinions expressed are the author’s alone, and has not been provided nor approved by any of the companies mentioned.

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University of Berkshire Hathaway: Notes From Annual Shareholders Meeting (Book Review)

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If you are a Buffett & Munger follower, you should be intrigued by University of Berkshire Hathaway: 30 Years of Lessons Learned from Warren Buffett & Charlie Munger at the Annual Shareholders Meeting by Daniel Pecaut and Corey Wrenn. Anyone can buy all the old BRK shareholder letters, but there are very few transcripts from the live shareholder meetings in Omaha, Nebraska (1986–2015). There is definitely overlap, but these live interactions sometimes provide a peek into their less-publicized opinions (especially Munger’s). Here’s how the authors describe the book:

This book isn’t for the first-time investor. It’s for the informed investor who sees the value of being able to get deep into the mindsets of Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger. If you want to walk around in their shoes for the past three decades, absorb what works, and then apply it to your own investments, then this book is for you.

The current price is only $0.99 in Kindle format. At that price, it should be an easy decision on whether to own the entire book forever, but here are my personal notes and highlights to give you an idea of the contents:

How Berkshire Hathaway differs from other actively-managed stock mutual funds:

The public has long viewed Berkshire as a sort of mutual fund with large stock holdings. This view underestimates or ignores 1) Berkshire’s insurance companies’ impressive generation of low-cost float, 2) Berkshire’s impressive and growing stable of cash-generating operating businesses, and 3) Berkshire’s ability to orchestrate value-enhancing deals.

Classic quote on stock market prices:

Buffett noted that many investors illogically become euphoric when stock prices rise and are downcast when they fall. This makes no more sense than if you bought some hamburger one day, returned the next day to buy more but at a higher price, and then felt euphoric because you had bought some cheaper the day before. If you are going to be a lifelong buyer of food, you welcome falling prices and deplore price increases. So should it be with investments.

Luck and the Ovarian lottery:

Buffett launched into an intriguing thought problem he called “the ovarian lottery.” You are to be born in 24 hours. You are also to write all the rules that will govern the society in which you will live. However, you do not know if you will be born bright or retarded, black or white, male or female, rich or poor, able or disabled. How would you write the rules? Buffett said how one comes out in this lottery is far more important than anything else to one’s future. He and Munger were huge winners having been born American (“in Afghanistan, we wouldn’t be worth a damn”), male (at a time when many women could only be nurses and teachers), white (when opportunities for minorities were slim) and good at valuing businesses (in a system that pays for that like crazy). Buffett noted it is important to take care of the non-winners of the ovarian lottery. Therefore, some sort of taxation is in order. Given that few people with money and talent are turned away from free enterprise under the current system, the 28% capital gains tax is probably okay.

Investing in yourself:

Buffett asserted that the very best investment you can make is in yourself. Buffett shared that, when he talks to students, one of the things he tells them is what a valuable asset they have in themselves. Buffett would pay any bright student probably $50,000 for 10% of their future earnings for the rest of his life. So each student is a $500,000 asset just standing there. What you do with that $500,000 asset should be developing your mind and talent.

State-sponsored legal gambling:

Buffett asserted that to a large extent, gambling is a tax on ignorance. You put it in, and it ends up taxing many that are least able to pay while relieving taxes on those who don’t gamble. He finds it socially revolting when a government preys on its citizens rather than serving them. A government shouldn’t make it easy for people to take their Social Security checks and waste them by pulling a handle. In addition, other negative social things can flow from gambling over time.

Read, read, read:

Buffett agreed that he is big on reading everything in sight and recommended good investors should read everything they can. In his case, he said that by the age of 10, he’d read every book in the Omaha public library on investing, some twice! Fill your mind with competing ideas, and see what makes sense to you.

Investing with real money:

Then you have to jump in the water—take a small amount of money, and do it yourself. He joked that investing on paper is like reading a romance novel versus doing something else. Munger shared that Berkshire Director Sandy Gottesman, who runs a large, successful investment firm (First Manhattan), asks interviewees, “What do you own, and why do you own it?” If you’re not interested enough to own something, then he’d tell you to find something else to do.

Book recommendations, including The Richest Man in Babylon:

We have often recommended to our friends and clients George Clason’s classic, The Richest Man in Babylon, so we were delighted to hear Charlie speak of it. He said that he read the book when he was young and that the book taught him to under-spend his income and invest the difference. Lo and behold, he did this, and it worked.

Munger also suggested that it is very important to learn how to avoid being manipulated by lenders and vendors. He strongly recommended Robert Cialdini’s book, Influence, for the task. He also recommended Cialdini’s newest book, Yes, noting that Cialdini is the rare social psychologist who can connect the world of theory and daily life.

Note: This a dated quote, and Robert Cialdini’s newest book is actually Pre-Suasion: A Revolutionary Way to Influence and Persuade, published in 2016.

Work for yourself an hour each day:

He got the idea to add a mental compound interest as well. So he decided he would sell himself the best hour of the day to improving his own mind, and the world could buy the rest of his time. He said it may sound selfish, but it worked. He also noted that if you become very reliable and stay that way, it will be very hard to fail in doing anything you want.

Simple career advice:

“Do what you enjoy the most. Work for people you admire. You can’t miss if you do that.”

Investing in stocks (equity) vs. bonds (debt):

Buffett noted that the analytical hurdle for buying a bond requires answering the question, “Will the company go out of business?” while buying an equity requires answering the more difficult question, “Will the company prosper?” This is why Berkshire bought the 15% notes of Harley Davidson rather than the stock. He had no question the company would stay in business, quipping, “You have to like a business where the customers tattoo your name on their chests!” But gauging Harley’s long-term prosperity was much more difficult, especially during the throes of the crisis.

Also see my earlier posts on appreciating your absolute standard of living and why you should maintain some optimism.

Bottom line. If you’re a Buffett & Munger enthusiast, this is a nice addition to your collection. Lots of familiar wisdom but also includes some additional perspective. If you’re not a Buffett & Munger enthusiast, I might start elsewhere, for example with Warren Buffett’s Ground Rules if you’re not ready for the original shareholder letters. Here’s to hoping the authors will do a similar book on the Wesco Financial meetings with Charlie Munger.

My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers and may impact how and where card products appear on the site. MyMoneyBlog.com does not include all card companies or all available card offers. All opinions expressed are the author’s alone, and has not been provided nor approved by any of the companies mentioned.

MyMoneyBlog.com is also a member of the Amazon Associate Program, and if you click through to Amazon and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission. Thank you for your support.


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My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers and may impact how and where card products appear on the site. MyMoneyBlog.com does not include all card companies or all available card offers. All opinions expressed are the author’s alone, and has not been provided nor approved by any of the companies mentioned.

MyMoneyBlog.com is also a member of the Amazon Associate Program, and if you click through to Amazon and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission. Thank you for your support.