Happy 4th of July! Here are some of the best personal finance and fintech posts from June 2019.
Contents
Podcasts
Bishop Barron: Catholicism and the Modern Age – Jordan Peterson Podcast
While not a personal finance or fintech related post I highly recommend this podcast discussion between Jordan Peterson and Bishop Robert Barron. While your personal finances and overall financial well being are important I think it is important to remain focused on what is truly most important in life. As a Catholic, I have enjoyed listening and reading the work of Bishop Barron. This podcast brings together the very best of Catholicism, philosophy, and psychology from two beautiful minds. This is one you will want to listen to at least twice!
Naval Ravikant – Joe Rogan Podcast
Another classic podcast with Naval Ravikant who is another great thinker of our time. This podcast covers a lot of ground on various topics and will undoubtedly be one you will want to listen to over and over again!
Credit & Debt
I've Paid $18,000 To A $24,000 Student Loan, & I Still Owe $24,000 – Bustle
The student loan problem we now have in this country might not feel like a crisis but it is for 44.2 million Americans! What makes the student loan crisis not as prevalent as the 2008 financial crisis has more to do with the fact that college-educated students have a lifetime to pay back their student loans and as long as the federal government continues to back these loans the cost of education will only continue to rise while the threat of frozen financial markets like we witnessed in 2008 remains mute. I predict that we will only see the cost of college go down when the federal government stops guaranteeing these loans. Until then, the banks, financial institutions, and universities will only continue to profit from them. It’s hard to stop lending (gambling) when the risk of actually losing (gambling) stands at 0 percent. When politicians say they will wipe clean student loans the cost for these borrowers only rise because when they stop paying thinking they will get relief the interest and principal balance will simply continue to grow. Plus, how are the millions of borrowers who paid back their loans in full going to feel? This is a difficult situation only getting worse but with a few simple obvious adjustments could improve.
Insurance
How to Buy Life Insurance – Credit Donkey
A comprehensive resource for purchasing life insurance! If you don’t currently have life insurance and someone else is dependent on your income be sure to make purchasing a term life insurance policy a priority.
Investing
VTI vs. VTSAX: What’s The Difference – Four Pillar Freedom
If it isn’t already obvious why investing in Index Funds and ETFs are a better strategy than trying to pick individual stocks or an investment advisor let this be the article which saves you the time, energy and stress of having to deal with an advisor who might be claiming they know best and can beat the average. This article will show you why being average in investing is precisely what you want to achieve! Here is one on VTI vs VOO. You will quickly see that the same principle applies!
Why I Love The Roth IRA – The Free Financial Advisor
If you don’t already have a Roth IRA open let this article be your reason you open one in the next 5 minutes! Our Roth IRAs we max on or as close to January 1st each and every year! Hopefully, after reading this article you will do the same!
Real Estate
Zillow’s 2018 Consumer Housing Trends Report – Zillow
Check out this comprehensive consumer housing report from Zillow which has nearly any and every consumer housing statistic you could ever want or think of!
Saving
Interest Rate Chasing in Your Savings Account – A Wealth Of Common Sense
“There is over $8 TRILLION sitting in savings accounts at banks that are earning an average yield of 0.10%, which is ludicrous. These people should move their money to an online savings account pronto.” As interest rates rise make sure your cash is working for you every minute of every day even when you sleep!
Miscellaneous Links I Liked
Financial Advice For My New Daughter – Collaborative Fund
We are expecting our first daughter in August! As a first-time father, I admit that I am a bit nervous but also excited! Excited for the many obvious reasons nervous for many more! This article is exactly the one I plan to share with her 10 years from today!
12 Major Decisions and How We Feel About Them Now – Budgets Are Sexy
Great post from J. Money on some past decisions he has made. This one might seem personal and on the surface not interesting for a larger audience but you will see that almost anyone can get some valuable insight and value from it! Including, why the first $100,000 is always the most difficult and why and how it gets so much easier after you reach this important milestone!
For a look at other amazing content from the personal finance, community take a look at Rockstar Finance.
To see previous months top picks click here.