Dec 02, 2017

What I'm Reading This Weekend

I am going to try (note the word "try") to make this a regular weekly feature of the blog. The goal: a curated list of articles for your weekend reading that will pique your interest, increase your content knowledge and keep you abreast of trends in personal finance. Thanks to Beth Tallman for generating this first list!

Interactive

Investing

Bitcoin

Young adults

Technology

  • As someone who remembers Lotus 1-2-3 and lamented the day when Excel overtook them as the predominant spreadsheet application, it seems times they are a changin'. This WSJ article describes finance chiefs telling their staffs NOT to use Excel.  Is it an indictment about spreadsheets overall or just the weaknesses of Excel? Read and find out. 
  • Curious about machine learning and artificial intelligence that you have been seeing everywhere? Here's a new approach described in the NY Times to make machines even smarter: A New Way for Machines to See, Taking Shape in Toronto

From the Fed

  • Want to know more about what the new Fed Chairman, Jerome Powell, has in mind when he takes the reins? This briefer from Dealbook summarizes his recent Senate Confirmation hearing.

Happiness

  • Jonathan Clements (hear him on NGPF podcast here and here) blogs about self-determination theory to explain the link between money and happiness. My favorite phrase in his post: "....money can allow us to spend our days doing what we’re passionate about."
  • CFPB's Financial Wellbeing Survey (report link) has an interactive tool so you can measure your own financial well-being. Key finding of the study:

More than 40 percent of adults report struggling to make ends meet: Of the nationally representative sample of consumers surveyed, 43 percent of consumers report struggling to pay bills. Additionally, over one third—34 percent—of all consumers surveyed reported experiencing material hardships in the past year. For the survey, examples of material hardships include running out of food, not being able to afford a place to live, or lacking the money to seek medical treatment.

 

 

 

About the Authors

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.

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