Reclaiming agency
Bhakti unplugged.
Usually, I’ll travel around the city with headphones in, music or podcasts soundtracking my journeys.
But this week I felt like unplugging. Not sure why, but I just didn’t feel like untangling my headphones and finding something to listen to. And, while I’ve been reading on the odd tube journey, I’ve mainly been taking in the sounds of life happening around me.
What have I noticed? It’s very rare to see other travellers in the same state - almost everyone is on their phone or listening to something. And the more I disconnect, the more I feel strongly about how all of this online connectivity is eroding our individual abilities to make the best decisions for ourselves, uninfluenced by external forces. Those forces that want us to spend more, keep working so that we can spend even more, and, arguably, be too exhausted to leave powerful and manipulative players to go unchecked.
Last week was Debt Week, and The Cut ran a couple of pieces — one about 100 people’s levels of debt, The other one is below… read on.
A short piece caught my eye this week, about ‘some banks are adding to the stress of the bereaved.’ I messaged Natalia Pazzaglia who’s working on a solution in this space: “One of the main (and most difficult) characteristics of being bereaved is that you don’t know what you need.”
She says that what banks should be providing is a number of different options for support, so that people can choose from these. Whether or not they’ll do this is another story…
PS I have a reader survey out.. Would love if you could take 5 mins to respond.
1. Are we all living beyond our means now?
What’s the point of living in a big city, if you’re not able to enjoy it? Can you enjoy it on a shoestring budget? (No).
What’s the point of being young, with few commitments, if you’re not going to be travelling? What’s the point of living somewhere dark and dingy, and just working to live?
Costs of living are rising, debt is rising, and that the “doom scrolling-to-checkout pipeline” is stronger than ever.
Plus, as we get older, obligations increase. We’re now in wedding season, which is its own minefield, plus there are longer-term challenges associated with caring and health responsibilities.
A UK survey found this week that nearly a quarter of people are describing their finances as ‘uncomfortable.’ But, more significantly, that a third expect this situation to worsen over the coming months.
2. Households are spending over two-thirds of their wages on essential bills and daily expenses
In Manchester, households spend around 84% of their income (£1,967) per month on essential bills. That’s higher than in London, where people spend 71% (£1,869).
Rent, mortgages, energy costs have been going up — while the gross annual income has fallen £32,246 to £31,889.
The research was done by a comparison website, and their message is to make sure you’re not paying more than you need to on bills.
3. We consistently overestimate others' wealth while underestimating their financial constraints
Perception has a massive influence on reality; how we spend money, what we spend it on, what we signal to others.
So, what does a healthier relationship between financial reality and perception look like?
Practice status ambivalence: I.e., acknowledge that others will form opinions about your financial status while deciding those opinions don't matter.
Build financial self-awareness: Understand your own unconscious wealth signals and status-seeking behaviors is the first step to changing them.
Find like-valued communities: Research shows that status anxiety decreases when we're among people with similar financial values (not necessarily similar incomes).
Links!
Money
Where to get books, movies and TV without Amazon.
Facebook has overtaken Instagram as the worst place for social media financial scams - and LinkedIn scam victims are losing £40k on average(!).
“This time feels different.” Everyone seems worried about their jobs now.
The types of companies you can work for and what they do for your career.
Period homes now cost 123% more a year to insure than contemporary properties.
India has a middle-class debt crisis.
Life
Surveillance is not friendship.
Activewear is going plant-based.
The rules women in ancient cultures followed while on their period: Wear wool socks. Eat warm, soupy foods. Sip warm herbal teas. Rest deeply.
On the sh*tshow that was the Katy Perry space flight.
I’m a German citizen in 1933, and is it just me or is it really hard to get any work done right now?
One of my favourite podcasts is Handsome, and on a recent episode they were discussing investments and money management. It starts around 29:43.
Fortune Feimster is particularly brilliant in this chat; sharing that she didn’t grow up with money (“My childhood was spent with creditors calling at eight in the morning, every day”) but has learned to make money management a priority.
“If you have a little something, if you can, try to have that money making interest. Otherwise, it literally loses its value sitting there doing nothing.”
YES, Fortune 🙌
Know someone who would enjoy this in their inbox on a Sunday morning?
thanks so much for sharing my piece! :D
Thank you for the shout out x