Someone just responded to this with "Now do the mode."

But since the median is $0 (aka at least half the households have no cc debt), we know that the mode is also $0.

https://twitter.com/dollarsanddata/status/1770791396137394348

My working theory is that as bad as you think some people are at understanding statistics, they are even worse than that.

I can't tell you how many times I've posted a median and gotten a response about how it is "being biased upward by outliers."

Before you max out your 401(k) ask yourself one question:

Is 0.5% per year worth locking up your capital until old age?

Sometimes maximizing your options is worth more than maximizing your returns. For everyone asking, the annual benefit of avoiding capital gains taxes (at the 15% rate) for 30 years is 0.73%.

Average 401k fees in US are 0.45% per year. 0.73% - 0.45% = 0.38% (average annual benefit above the match and after fees)

I round 0.38% up to 0.5% to be conservative in favor of the 401k. Also because it's easier to remember.

Detailed explanation here:

I'm happy to announce that I've finally built an S&P 500 historical return calculator (with data going back to 1871 via Shiller).

The output includes both nominal and inflation-adjusted returns (with and without dividends).

Enjoy!

ofdollarsanddata.com/sp500-calculat… For example, every dollar I invested into the S&P 500 following my college graduation in 2012 would have grown to $4.02 through July 2023 (in nominal terms), or $3.01 in inflation-adjusted terms.

I asked the AI ChatGPT to write me a 1,000 word blog post on "the importance of diversification not only in your portfolio but also in your lifestyle."

Below is what it wrote.

I have some thoughts on how this will (and won't) change writing online. First off, the essay above is good, but it's also generic and devoid of personality. It sounds like something someone would write to rank well on a Google Search.

That's AMAZING for an AI to do, but it's not going to replace great writers. Who will it replace?

In 2021 Of Dollars And Data surpassed 1.8 million pageviews (up from 1.6 million in 2020)!

I cannot thank you all enough for this. With that being said, here are my most read posts in 2021:

Go Big, Then Stop

ofdollarsanddata.com/go-big-then-st… How Much Do You Need to Be Financially Independent

ofdollarsanddata.com/how-much-do-yo…

There is almost no evidence to support this statement. As incomes rise so do savings rates. It is one of the strongest correlations in the personal finance literature.

Yes, you may know someone who doesn't save while having high income, but they are the exception not the rule.

https://twitter.com/dmuthuk/status/1436129149727375362

See this paper (Do the Rich Save More?):

piketty.pse.ens.fr/files/Dynaneta…

This is the deli in New Jersey that is currently trading at a $100 million market cap under $HWIN (they have one store and $35k in annual sales) Maybe the most insane thing I've seen this year

cnbc.com/2021/04/15/the…

A thread on the 10 biggest money mistakes I see people make.

1. Cutting spending instead of raising income

Spending has lower limits (i.e. you have to eat), but income has no upper limit. Find small ways to grow your income today that turn into BIG ways to grow it tomorrow. 2. Not thinking like an owner

Do you know who the wealthiest NFL player in history is? Not Brady/Manning/Madden.

It's Jerry Richardson. Never heard of him? Me neither. He made his wealth from owning Hardees franchises, not playing in the NFL.

Be an owner. Think like one too.

You think the Gamestop short squeeze is the greatest ever? Not. Even. Close.

This is the story of Piggly Wiggly and one man taking on Wall Street ALONE.

Buckle up, because this is one of the craziest stories in investment history. It all started in 1919 when a man by the name of Clarence Saunders invented the first modern supermarket—Piggly Wiggly stores.

Before this time, people had to go into a store, give the clerk a shopping list, and then wait for their items to be gathered and brought out.

In 2019 Of Dollars And Data surpassed 1 million pageviews and in 2020 we increased that to 1.7 million pageviews!

I cannot thank you all enough for this. With that being said, here are my most read posts in 2020:

1. The 9 Best Income Producing Assets

ofdollarsanddata.com/income-produci… 2. The Biggest Lie in Personal Finance

ofdollarsanddata.com/the-biggest-li…

\1 Presenting a Tweetstorm on how to do embedded videos on Twitter with custom captions. I am tired of seeing subpar meme-ing and it is time you all learn.

This is an example of what I am talking about: \2 This kind of tweet, where the video plays instantly is great for engagement and makes it easier for everyone on Twitter to share videos. Don't believe me? My most liked Tweets of all time are video tweets (and its not even close). Here is an example:

https://twitter.com/dollarsanddata/status/1107813250257817600

\1 Tweetstorm on the power of New Year's Resolutions, the wonders of consistency, and discovering yourself.

Two years ago (NYE 2016), I decided I would start an anonymous investment blog. I registered the domain (OfDollarsAndData.com) and opened this Twitter account. \2 When I started I had something like 10 Twitter followers, all who were friends.
I decided I would post once a week. Rain or shine. This was one of the most important decisions I ever made for the blog:

Stick to a schedule.

\1 Tweetstorm on The Privilege (and Curse) of Knowledge
and why “Buy and Hold” may not be so easy this time around.


To start, a history lesson: When George Washington died in 1799, he didn’t know that dinosaurs existed. In fact, no one did. \2 Though the first dinosaur bone was discovered in New Jersey in 1787, no one realized its importance and it was eventually lost.

It wasn’t until the paleontologist Richard Owen coined the term dinosauria, meaning “terrible lizard”, in 1841 that dinosaurs became mainstream.

\1 Are you ever afraid of investing at market peaks?

Of course you are. So am I.

But…you shouldn’t be.

This is a tweetstorm on why not to worry about investing at market peaks, as told from the world’s worst market timer. \2 The world’s worst market timer in our story goes by the name of Bob and he started his career in 1970 at the age of 22. Bob saved $2,000 a year for 3 years before making his first stock purchase in December 1972.

\1 Tweetstorm on the relative importance of saving vs. investing throughout your life cycle.

To start I will declare:

“Saving is for the Poor, Investing is for the Rich”

Why do I say this? A story… \2 When I was 22 and fresh out of college I was OBSESSED with how to invest my money. How much should I put in stocks? How much in bonds?

Though I didn’t have much money to invest at the time, I thought that my allocation decision was incredibly important.

\1 Tweetstorm on How to Detect Financial Fraud Using Simple Math (aka Benford’s Law or the Leading Digit law)


If you haven’t heard of this, it will BLOW YOUR MIND.

First, let’s consider something mundane: The revenue of every company in the S&P 500 in 2017. \2 For example, Walmart had 2017 revenue of $485 billion, Exxon Mobile had $237 billion, and Amazon had $177 billion. Now, let’s take the LEADING DIGITS of these numbers. So, the leading digit for Walmart’s revenue is 4, for Exxon is 2, and for Amazon is 1.

1| Tweetstorm on the most important (and difficult) investment rule to follow.

To start, a question for you to ponder:

What is the most important piece of information when it comes to buying a stock? 2| Do you think it is management? Growth prospects? Profitability?

No, no, and no.

The most important piece of information when buying a stock (or any asset) is — the price you pay.

\1 Tweetstorm on some uncomfortable truths in personal finance and investing.

To start, raising your income is far more important than cutting your spending when growing your wealth. Spending definitely matters, but without sufficient income it is far too difficult to succeed. \2 Just look at the lowest 20% of income earners. They spend MORE than what they earn for BASIC NECESSITIES. While there are low-income individuals that become millionaires through very low spending, they are the exception, not the rule.

\1 Career advice + luck Tweetstorm based on the work of the legendary venture capitalist Marc Andreessen (@pmarca)


1st rule: Don’t plan your career.

Why? You can't plan your career because you have no idea what's going to happen in the future. Life is chaos. \2 So what do you do instead?

Focus on developing skills and pursuing opportunities.

We will get to skills in a moment, but there are two kinds of opportunities:


Those that COME TO YOU and those that YOU CREATE.

\1 Visualization tweet storm

Historically, the U.S. stock market has had long-term positive real returns for most of its history (regardless of valuation). These long-term returns tend to converge: \2 However, this market behavior is characterized by quick drops and slow recoveries.