Achieving Minerva
By Minerva
13. The Content of Education
What we learn in school is mostly useless in the workplace. What should we be teaching in school instead?
Book Recommendation: https://www.amazon.com/The-One-World-Schoolhouse-audiobook/dp/B009LD459E/ref=sr_1_1?crid=4THQUKGJTWWV&keywords=one+world+school+house&qid=1676250007&sprefix=one+world+school+hous%2Caps%2C325&sr=8-1
Khan Academy: https://www.khanacademy.org/
12. The COST of Education! And some Alternative Pathways to decent Paychecks
As a decently well-credentialed academic myself, I have some serious issues with Education and how we approach it with aspiring adults. Today I talk about the issue of cost for college, and why it is not really a good idea to teach your 17 year old that you can study whatever you want and still make a good living.
11. The ESSENTIAL Investment Accounts to achieve FI (and prioritization).
Which accounts and investment vehicles should you have in order to achieve financial independence? And which ones should take priority over others? We break that down and more!
Visual flowchart can be found here! https://www.achievingminerva.com/blog
10. Sorting through the mess of Insurance!
Insurance is often misunderstood. Allow me to try and explain it to you in simple terms! Yes, the healthcare system is a mess in the US and I won't argue against that, but insurance as it stands is misunderstood.
Insurance as a whole industry is pretty scammy. I will try and just tell you how it works in reality, not whether the industry is good or bad.
Sources:
HMO vs PPO: https://www.humana.com/medicare/medicare-resources/hmo-vs-ppo
9. Tax Brackets EXPLAINED!!
Ever been told not to take a raise or work Overtime because you'll be screwed over by Uncle Sam? Well, I'm here to tell you that those lines are false. A raise is STILL a raise even if you jump to a new bracket! Allow me to explain why.
Sources:
Tax Brackets 2022: https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/taxes/federal-income-tax-brackets
W-4: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw4.pdf
Publication 15: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p15.pdf
Withholding Worksheets from Pub 15: https://www.irs.gov/publications/p15t#en_US_2023_publink100019280
8. FINANCE BOOK REVIEW
So you've decided to Read this year! Yay!! Here are 8 finance books to add to your list!
Book Links:
1. Millionaire Next Door - https://wild.link/amazon/AOftkAM
2. Dave Ramsey's Complete Guide to Money - https://wild.link/amazon/AOjtkAM
3. Psychology of Money - https://wild.link/amazon/AOrtkAM
4. Quit like a Millionaire - https://wild.link/amazon/AOvtkAM
5. Richest Man in Babylon - https://wild.link/amazon/AOztkAM
6. A Random Walk Down Wall Street - https://wild.link/amazon/AO3tkAM
7. The Bogle Effect - https://wild.link/amazon/AO7tkAM
8. Fables of Fortune - https://wild.link/amazon/AO_tkAM
7. The BASICS of DIETING AND EXERCISE.
Is THIS the year you're going to turn things around with your health? Good! Getting into some good shape is an investment in your future and helps you acheive a different kind of freedom. Are you tired of the rabbit hole of which diet to use which workout program? Let me dice out the basics for you because there is no magic, just math and science.
Some Resources:
Livestrong.com - https://www.livestrong.com/article/286610-what-does-cardiovascular-fitness-mean/
Health.gov guidelines for Physical Activities - https://health.gov/sites/default/files/2019-09/Physical_Activity_Guidelines_2nd_edition.pdf#page=55
2020 NY Resolutions study mentioned in episode: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0234097&utm_id=56209642&orgid=671
Info on Weight loss Goals: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6444530/
Study on Cardio fitness. This study is old, but still relevant - https://www2.karlin.mff.cuni.cz/~kulich/vyuka/medexp/doc/midesign.pdf
Hobbies Series: Homebrewing
Taking a brief break from the spreadsheets to discuss one of Sal's hobbies that he does in his spare time. It may help stir some ideas in you for when you all the sudden have 40 more hours per week of your own time back! This week we are discussing homebrewing and the craft beer craze!
Some resources used:
https://www.brewersfriend.com/ has a bunch of recipes and calculators!
https://www.northernbrewer.com/ Starter equipment packs
https://www.academia.edu/38440206/How_To_Brew_By_John_Palmer - Recommended reading to get started mentioned in episode.
How we decided to be SAHPs!
The Math says two incomes are better than 1. But we decided against that for the purposes of ChildCare! How we decided to have one SAHP and why we felt it made sense despite the pure math!
Care.com article mentioned with ChildCare costs: https://www.care.com/c/how-much-does-child-care-cost/
Why WE bought our house: The non-math side of things.
While the math of owning a house goes against the trendy new age finance wisdom (and I don't disagree), there is some other freedom aspects to consider. But remember!! Your house is NOT a financial asset! It is a USE asset!!!
The essence of Minerva
What is true Freedom? What sort of freedom do you hope for after you are financially free?
Kids and Money
How do you go about saving for College/other large child expenses? What do you do with money from relatives that is intended to benefit your child? We'll talk about some options including 529s and UTMCs.
Introduction to Minerva
A podcast about the lifestyle side of (early)retirement. What would you do if everyday was Saturday? Just a reminder: It is A LOT of saturdays.
Sources:
CDC Sleep: https://www.cdc.gov/sleep/about_sleep/how_much_sleep.html
Census Commutes: https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2021/one-way-travel-time-to-work-rises.html
Ridster Commutes: https://www.ridester.com/average-us-commute/