Hi friend, Welcome to the 350th issue of the Nerdletter! Regardless of how long you've been reading, thank you for being part of our journey to 350 issues. The most significant insight I've gained from publishing 350 issues of this newsletter is the unpredictable yet potent force of consistency. I’ve learned that consistent, small actions, like sending a simple email, can be more impactful than inconsistent, big actions. But often, the hardest part of remaining consistent is believing that...
about 1 year ago • 3 min read
Hey, All of our regular habits create neural pathways in our brains. The more frequent the habit, the deeper the groove. Habits can be a thought, like “I’m just not good with money.” They can be an action, like impulse spending. And you can also be habitually avoidant of something, like investing your money. The most ingrained neural pathways are like the Grand Canyon in our brains. Changing the path is like shoveling the Grand Canyon. Changing our habits is difficult because it takes a lot...
about 1 year ago • 3 min read
Hey pal, I’ve been thinking about this quote from Katherine May’s book Wintering. “We are told to live within our means, but there are times when, frankly, I feel that 'my means' would be a caravan on waste ground. Instead, I suspect that most of us have periods of feast and famine in our lives, and, increasingly, we spend the feast years paying off the debts of the famine. It's only money, as a friend of mine often says with a sigh.” Most of the creative professionals I’ve spoken to at the...
about 1 year ago • 3 min read
Howdy, I came across the term digital feudalism a few weeks ago and I can’t stop thinking about it. It’s a way some folks are describing our current digital economy where we are all powerless serfs, freely giving our data, attention and labor through content creation to digital platforms. Then, in exchange for all of our free labor, we’re given the opportunity to be advertised to through these same platforms. All along the way, enriching the platform owners. It’s weird to navigate because...
about 1 year ago • 3 min read
Hi friend, I’ve been thinking a lot about the changes I’ve been seeing across various creative industries. Almost all of my friends and community are creative professionals, and I’ve noticed that in this particular moment, there is a lot of shifting and pivoting happening. The people around me around figuring out a new way to work. This constantly changing world is normal for folks that work for themselves, but it does seem like technology is playing a role in making change happen faster. For...
about 1 year ago • 2 min read
Howdy, Many folks believe that the U.S. tax code is rigged rich vs poor. And in a sense, it absolutely is. Folks and organizations with the most money can lobby to keep or change the parts of our tax code that benefit them the most — like how the mortgage interest deduction is a subsidy for property owners, to the tune of “a hundred and ninety-three billion dollars in 2020 — far exceeding the fifty-three billion dollars in direct housing assistance that the government gave to low-income...
about 1 year ago • 4 min read
Hey pal, I’m sure you’re as excited as I am about Monday, January 29, 2024. In case you didn’t know the significance of that date, it’s when the IRS will officially start accepting completed tax returns here in the US. Thrilling, I know. Even if you won’t be filing your returns as soon as they are accepted, I just wanted to send a note to remind you that getting started sooner rather than later would be a nice thing to do for your future self. While filing your return may feel like an...
over 1 year ago • 2 min read
Hi friend, Improving your relationship with money is like riding a bicycle. There are two sides that you must pedal to propel yourself forward. One side of the pedal is taking practical action, like implementing a spending plan, setting up automatic savings/investing, and tending to your finances regularly. The other side is managing your emotions around money, so they don’t manage you. For example, not using money to solve non-money problems, like playing status games or knowing when your...
over 1 year ago • 2 min read
Howdy, New Year energy is all a bit much for me. It feels like the whole of the internet is screaming about resolutions, goals and why making my bed every morning could make me a millionaire. During this time of year, instead of setting goals, I think about behaviors that I want to either subtract or add into my life. And the only goal I set out to achieve is the vague aim of consistency. Instead of shooting for more in 2024, I’m going to aim for less. The thing I’d like to subtract is...
over 1 year ago • 2 min read