We’ve all absorbed invisible “rules” about money since childhood. These subconscious beliefs, called money scripts, shape how we earn, spend, save, and even feel about wealth. Coined by financial psychologist Dr. Brad Klontz, money scripts are often picked up from parents, religion, media, or culture without us realizing it. Many of these scripts paint money as inherently bad, something dirty, corrupting, or shameful. The result? We unconsciously sabotage our finances, feel guilty about wanting more, […]

The FIRE and Bogleheads communities have a Selection Bias Issue. What’s selection bias? Selection bias is a systematic error occurring when data points are not randomly selected, making the sample unrepresentative of the target population. This creates distorted, unreliable conclusions because the analyzed group differs significantly from the population intended to be studied. “Unreliable conclusions because the analyzed group [FIRE, Bogleheads] differs significantly from the population [everyone else].” Why aren’t you green, too?! We are a group of people who have self-selected to be DIYers. We love getting in the weeds and getting our finances right, down to the little details. I came from your ranks. I read those books and blogs too. I listen to that podcast. My portfolio looks like yours. Naturally, we are going to be pro-DIY. We’d lean away from hiring a professional. That’s totally understandable. The more we interact with people like us, the more we convince ourselves that everyone is this way. It is the “online echo chamber” effect, driven by confirmation bias, the false consensus effect, and conformity. But we should be aware of Selection Bias (and the others I just mentioned) because it distorts our understanding of the world and, more importantly, how we communicate and help the rest of the population. Do Other People Need Help Too? I felt inspiration when I saw an online commentator say, “The entire financial advice industry is a scam. Bar none. Literally every advisor, coach, planner, etc. is a scam. Just buy index funds and wait. That’s the type of comment that comes from high confidence, low competence. We’ve all been there. I came here to help people make better financial decisions. I want to help fellow FIRE folks and Bogleheads. And I want to help other people too. What have I found interacting with hundreds of readers and listeners?  There’s a HUGE part of our population – our friends, family, colleagues, peers – who want nothing to do with FIRE, Bogleheading, DIYing, or any variation thereof.  They want best practices in their life and retirement, absolutely. But they do not want to navigate in the weeds like you and me. I think there are two ways to respond to these people: “You’re wrong. You say you don’t want to be a DIYer. But trust me. You do want it.” Or… “I get it. Some of us might enjoy DIYing our long-term finances, but that’s not for everybody.” If someone wanted to hire a health coach to help them get in shape, would you tell them, “No – just keep white knuckling it. That’s what I did.”  Such advice assumes our experience is the only path. It ignores how tough the process can be for someone else. It comes off as “I struggled, so you should too,” rather than offering help that could make things easier or safer.

Wednesday we spent a lot of money, a lot of money of which the return is not guaranteed. But, in light of future developments, it still seemed to be the right (and fun) thing to do. What we did? We bought a “make it your self” home battery. Delivery is scheduled for late March. Then we still need to build the batteries and install the management/communication systems, the converters, cabling and more. Finally, we still need to program the system and see if it works! So this will be the first in a series of blog posts to see how this goes. Home Battery: many choices Choices in Home Battery systems There are a lot of systems on the market, and there is something for almost everyone. But you need to know what you want, why you want it, how much you are willing to spend on it, and if you like a hobby. Basically there are the following systems: Plug-and-play There are systems such as HomeWizard, Marstek, Zendure, etc. Some good reviews on real life tests of these systems can be found here (in Dutch). There systems are easy to use (you plug them into a socket, and you are good to go). Can usually also be used as an emergency system. Albeit that is usually limited to just one socket and a limited amount of power you can draw. Most systems are stackable, or expandable, so you can get anywhere from say 2kWh up to about 16 kWh (per converter). These systems are by far the best choice for most consumers. Advantages include: easy to install, relatively cheap to buy (per kWh) but you do need to shop around (or order via Germany), generally easy to program. Depending on the system, reasonable power supply through the emergency socket. Great for background energy consumption and with around 10kWh capacity and solar panels, you can pretty much cover 60-70% of your home use (so excluding things such as cars, cooking and heat pumps). Some systems are also able to be installed outside. Disadvantages include: When used via a regular socket, limited charging and discharging capacity (often 800W, sometimes to 1200W). Some can also be installed via a dedicated socket directly into the junction box, in that case you can often upgrade to 2400W. Cannot be used to run the whole house during a power outage, only a select few systems/appliances (via emergency socket). These systems will not keep your solar panels operational during a power outage. Another downside is that quality and efficiency varies greatly, see also the experiences and measurements done by the Energienerds. So you have to do some research to find the right systems (which are often not the cheapest!). Home Battery: plug and play Complete Systems You can also buy complete, professionally installed systems. There are connected directly into your junction box (meterkast) of your home. There typically have between 5-64kWh in capacity. Size can be determined based upon your needs, solar panels, and if you

For years on this blog I mined the official U.S. Census Bureau income data every September and took the time to format it and map it.  Examples can be seen here, here, and here. Mapping, more specifically geographic information systems… The post What Was The Median Household Income In America In 2024? appeared first on Accidental Fire.

Are you looking for a banking option that works for your whole family while helping your kids learn how to manage money? Crew might be exactly what you need. Crew is a high yield checking account and family banking app that helps parents and kids manage money together. It combines budgeting tools, debit cards for kids, and strong interest rates into one simple platform. Our family has been using Crew since July 2024 and it […]

Don’t miss an episode of our podcast, Personal Finance for Long-Term Investors. Tune in on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Here’s the latest episode: I wrote this article below in 2023. There’s new data today, and it’s even more interesting. The result is clear: Good luck picking individual stocks over the long run. The Needle in the Haystack Researcher Henrik Bessembinder published a new study on the history of the U.S. stock market. Some of the most interesting facts from Bessembinder’s paper are: He looked at data for 29,081 stocks that were publically traded at some point between 1926 and 2025 The full data set yields a compound average return of 10.1% per year Only ~48% of the stocks generated a positive return. Only ~41% of the stocks generated a return greater than one-month Treasury bills (the “risk-free” return) Only ~28% of the stocks outperformed “the market” Bessembinder then introduces a term he calls “Shareholder Wealth Creation” (SWC), with a few small twists on classic performance data. But by and large, SWC is simply a way of measuring how stocks create wealth for their investors. The total SWC through 2025 across the 29,081 companies over the last 100 years totaled to $90.96 trillion. The data here is amazing. Only 46 companies (out of 29,081) account for 50% of that $90.96 trillion. That’s 0.16%. And 1082 companies account for 100% of the $90.96 trillion. That’s 3.72%. How can 3.72% of companies create ALL the wealth in the stock market? Let’s start with the worst companies. Bessembinder found that 17,197 companies reduced shareholder value, and did so by a total of $10.67 trillion. So we’re below zero. It then takes the next 10,802 decent companies to generate a positive $10.67 trillion, bringing the net value creation back to zero. Summing those two groups, we have 27,999 companies “generating a total of zero net wealth enhancement, as they collectively match Treasury bill outcomes.” That leaves the remaining 1,082 best companies in the study, which account for all $90.96 trillion of net positive wealth creation. The most charitable conclusion here is that: 59% of the haystack is rotten, but at least 41% of the haystack is semi-decent, with a sliver of that 41% being outright great. 59% though! That’s not good. But I think the better, more realistic conclusion is that: 96% of the haystack is a waste of time. Less than 4% provides a true return on investment. The stock market has few needles. Missing out on them negates the purpose of stock investing in the first place. Your best bet – literally – is buying the whole haystack. Thank you for reading! Here are three quick notes for you: First – If you enjoyed this article, join 1000’s of subscribers who read Jesse’s free weekly

The Best Australian Cash Back and Discount Sites or Apps The post The Best Australian Cash Back and Discount Sites or Apps appeared first on The Thrifty Issue.

Spring has a way of making you want to renovate everything. The sun comes out. You notice the fence looks tired. The front door feels dated. The garage is… a situation. But before you drop thousands on a renovation, here’s the good news: You don’t necessarily need a bigger budget.You need smarter upgrades. These spring […] The post 6 Spring House Projects That Make a Big Impact On A Budget first appeared on Whitney Hansen […]