Morning!

Welcome to the first Friday of the rest of your life! ;)

Here are a bunch of great articles and resources I came across this month that’ll be sure to enhance your future blessings… (along with some juicy gossip thrown in for good measure)

As always, you can find more articles like these in my weekly newsletter –> jmoney.biz/newsletter

Enjoy!! 👍

*******

An Interview With The Man via David Cain — “Millions of people work for The Man, and many complain about his managerial practices and his indifference to the plight of workers. I sat down with him to get his side of the story, and he was very candid.”

The Mystery of the Millionaire Hermit via Bloomberg Businessweek — “Eugene Brown’s story could be anyone’s… 56 percent of Americans don’t have a will, according to a 2016 Gallup poll. Even the fabulously wealthy and highly accomplished sometimes neglect them. Prince and Aretha Franklin died without a will; so did Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr.”

A List of LGBTQ Personal Finance Bloggers and Creators via Debt Free Guys — “We believe that LGBT personal finance is different. It’s different in many ways, but one of the best ways to see that difference is to listen to the individual stories of these personal finance experts or those on the journey to a better financial life. Below is a list that we’ve gathered of LGBTQ personal finance bloggers who are working to help the queer community as well as our allies thrive financially.”

What It’s Like to Grow Up With More Money Than You’ll Ever Spend via The Cut — “[Money] does not, in and of itself, make you a bad person. It also does not, in and of itself, makes you a good person. You are who you are and the least important thing about you is what you have.”

Unpacking a Simpler Life via The Minimalists — “I didn’t want to spend months slowly paring down my possessions like Josh had. That was fine for him, but I needed faster results. So we came up with a crazy idea: let’s throw a Packing Party. (Everything is more fun when you put “party” at the end.) We decided to pack all my belongings as if I were moving. And then I would unpack only the items I needed over the next three weeks.”

Thinking in Bets about FIRE via Done by Forty — “You can play it right, and still lose. Similarly, you can play a hand terribly, and still win. Skill and luck are always at play. I think this metaphor of poker much more accurately describes the environment that we make our financial decisions in, rather than thinking of modern life as chess.”

Should You Send a Handwritten or Email Thank You Note After an Interview? via Business Insider — “If I don’t get a thank you note, I assume the person doesn’t want the job, is disorganized, and I’ll likely forget about them… While it varies depending on the industry, I’d strongly suggest going with the email. Here’s why…”

The Pro Dumpster Diver Who’s Making Thousands Off America’s Biggest Retailers via WIRED – “His foraging isn’t just about dollars. It’s also about the knowledge he acquires and the people he shares it with. He prefers to be known as a “for-profit archaeologist.” After all, archaeologists have always studied garbage… refuse, more than anything else human beings produce, “gives us insight into the long-term values of a civilization.””

College Grads Sell Stakes in Themselves to Wall Street via Bloomberg Businessweek — “To pay for college, Amy Wroblewski sold a piece of her future. Every month, for eight-and-a-half years, she must turn over a set percentage of her salary to investors.”

Monday Musings via David Perell — “For the most part, I’ve stopped reading books alone. If I’m going to invest 10-20 hours in a book, I might as well spend an extra 2-3 hours recruiting a friend to read the same book so that we can discuss it at the end. Book clubs and 1-on-1 conversations both work and so far, it’s been a success: my reading retention has skyrocketed.”

Starting in July, Any Kohl’s Store Will Handle Your Amazon Returns via The Verge — “Beginning in July, Kohl’s will take back items you’ve ordered from Amazon and want to return for a refund. You don’t need to pack them up in a box, either; the retailer will handle all aspects of shipping and get the items back to one of Amazon’s return centers on your behalf.”

Froebel’s Gifts (Or the history of kindergarten) via 99% Invisible — “The word Kindergarten cleverly encompassed two different ideas: kids would play in and learn from nature, but they would also themselves be nurtured and nourished “like plants in a garden.””

Why Some Coins Have Ridges via Now I Know — “In 1696, [Isaac] Newton was tapped as the Warden of the Royal Mint, and three years later, was elevated to Master of the Royal Mint. These positions were, typically, considered ceremonial government honors for those citizens who had already aspired to greatness — not roles with real responsibilities. But Newton, seeing that the UK had a massive counterfeit coin problem, took the role seriously.”

The woman who volunteered at 200 food banks to prove a point about hunger via Mashable — “Having never personally endured hunger, she imagined those affected by it experienced chronic mental health issues or homelessness… That naiveté quickly gave way to the realization that 40 million people — or 1 in 8 Americans — are food insecure, meaning they lack consistent access to enough to food to lead an active, healthy life. Setbacks like losing a job, having a car break down, or getting hit with a major medical expense can plunge families into food insecurity. They often then must decide between paying rent or buying groceries.”

The Curiosity-Seekers and Die-Hards at the Last True Blockbuster via NY Times — “”I just wanted to relive my childhood,” said a man who had driven nearly 1,000 miles to see what’s left of the video chain he grew up with.”

And in cRaZy news…

50 Cent Sells Massive Connecticut Mansion After 12 Years for an 84 Percent Loss via People — “The extravagant home includes 19 bedrooms, 25 bathrooms, an indoor pool and hot tub, and a “substantial” night club, according to the listing. Multiple game rooms, a green-screen room, a recording studio, a full gym and a home theater can also be found in the 50,000-square-foot structure. The palatial pad sits on approximately 17 acres. The lot features a pool, pond with fountain, basketball court, guesthouses, gardens, and a Playboy mansion-style grotto.”

A crying baby just cost one trader a 6,000% return on his Qualcomm position via MarketWatch — “”It was a very emotional decision at 4 in the morning with a baby crying (hence why I was awake) that led me to put that order,: he explained. “Two hours more, and it would have been a different day of celebrations.””

SchoolofAffluence.com — A site I hope is a joke but is probably not ;) Where you’ll learn “How to enter the elite circles ▸ How to fit into the high-society ▸ How to look like an affluent woman ▸ How to make wealthy connections ▸ How to find a rich man ▸ How to get a life full of extravagance.”

*******

Thanks to everyone who continues to pass me a lot of this juicy stuff! Keep it coming! :)