This close to an e-Sport Super Star Supposedly, every 9 years your investments should double. At an 8% average yearly rate, this is just math (8% compounded 9 times is 1.999...I'm going to round up). Historically, the S&P has averaged 12%(!!) so doubling is even faster - 6 years (again, this is just math). I bring all this up because towards the end of 2021, my wife became pregnant, and in 2022 we already needed to think about how to pay for Little P's college - if she choses to go. I know I'm on the hook for thousands of dollars' worth of Diapers, Food, and Formula in the near term. Perhaps we'd need a larger SUV or House. None of that scares me...but for some reason, College Tuition does. Perhaps it's due to the fact that my parents partially paid for mine, and I remember the stressed it caused. Perhaps it's due to the fact that I paid my own way through Grad school, and I still know the stress that caused. Perhaps it's due to the fact that my en
A $15 Minimum Wage will Make your Big Mac $12!!! What a headline. And this is probably the headline that many media outlets love to share - especially if they're opponents to an increased minimum wage. You know the types: Loud as a motorbike, but wouldn't bust a grape in a fruit fight. If you're doing some quick math, raising salaries by a factor of 2, should increase the cost of a Big Mac by that same factor. And you could even do more complicated math, and get the same result. BUT this is a scenario of using Math to prove a point of view instead of using Math to find an answer. A subtle yet powerful distinction. Using Math to Prove a POV (Count the Assumptions) According to the BMI aka Big Mac Index , individuals pay about $5.66 every time they order the sandwich. By doing some Algebraic Scare Tactics (Trademark pending), I can "prove" an increase of wages to $15 will increase the BMI to $11.71, or $12 since that's a better headline. First things first,