Hump Day- July 12, 2017
What is hump day? It’s Wednesday. The hump to your work week. 2 days down and 2 days to go. On hump days I will be sharing articles, videos, or other form of entertainment. It will include links to other posts I have liked throughout the week. Some are parenting articles, others are personal finance ones, and occasionally there will be a random funny article. Enjoy!
This day in history
Today’s history was taken from this great site called Boston Hot Air Balloon Rides.
On this day back in 1785 the first manned flight of a gas ballon occurred in the Netherlands.
This was not the first ballon flight, that honor goes to the Montgolfier brothers of France back in 1782. They used straw, manure, etc. to heat the air and float the ballon. Initially they sent up some animals (a sheep, duck, and chicken) and then a person in October (Jean-Francois Pilatre de Rozier who 12 years later would be the first person killed in a hot air balloon accident). The first flight was to 84 feet and lasted 4.5 minutes.
From there the technology improved and eventually gas ballon were created using hydrogen. A.C. Charles (another Frenchman) began experimenting with hydrogen and filled his first ballon in 1783. It took him 4 days to fill the balloon. That ballon flew 3000 feet into the air and over 15 miles away, terrifying peasants who attacked it when it landed. Charles finally made a manned flight that December. He traveled tweety-five miles in 2 hours. Not too shabby for the 1700s. The next 150 plus years were pretty fun and amazing time for the balloon world and finally after World War II the propane burner for hot-air balloons was invented.
If you have an hour and want to see a old school US Navy film about the history of balloons, check it out here.
Hump day finances and retirement
There are some great article out this week. To start Sam at Financial Samurai goes through “Everything to know about 529 college savings plans”. I lean towards a mixed bag. Half the money planned for college in the 529 and the other half in a taxable index fund.
On the White Coat Investor there is a guest post discussing Super-Saving for an early retirement. There are some great tips here including that it is okay to change your job and controlling lifestyle inflation (or creep as I like to call it.).
Another guest post, but this time on Budgets are Sexy from a former professional (well semi-professional) poker player. He discusses the lessons learned from that life. Discipline and respect are 2 of the keys to success.
Finally, for stocks and early retirement do you think you can outperform the market? Well Wall Street Physician discusses how Time, Fortune, and Forbes did picking stocks this year. Not surprisingly, it is a mixed bag for the top stock pickers, but WSP makes for a good read.
Hump day life
Another great post by Joshua Becker on Becoming Minimalist. He discusses the reality that digital and physical clutter are similar. This is a topic near and dear to my heart as discussed before about email, possessions, and the phone.
Finally, Mr. Tako discusses what the best reason for financial independence is. Surprise it is family.
There you have it. Another great weekly round up. Any thoughts on these articles.
Thanks for the mention in your weekly roundup D^3! Some great posts to be included with!
Oh wow it’s already Wednesday, thanks for the reminder DDD.
Gonna check out Financial Samurai’s 529 article. Currently have a 529 account, thanks for article!
Its a good article so definitely check it out. Thanks for coming by the site!
Ugh, I can’t believe it’s Wednesday already! Time certainly flies when you aren’t paying attention. Thanks for featuring these articles!
You and me both. The week goes by so quick, which makes me realize the benefit of early retirement. No more stressing about Mondays or thinking about Wednesdays.
I liked Sam’s article on 529s. I’m with you in that I don’t want to put too much work to work on 529s and only be able to use it for education. I’m hoping to fund three years and have a year wiggleroom with alternative payments.
Tom @ HIP
It was a good article. That is actually a nice plan. 3 years of funding and then move on from there. I like it and one I may follow. Who knows what school will cost by then.
Thanks for sharing my article. It was interesting to read about the history of hot air balloons. It was probably the only way people could “fly” before they were airplanes.
It must have been exhilarating and amazing. Being the first people up that high, getting a bird’s eye view, and traveling longer distances quickly. Blows my mind.