The New York Times recently published an article entitled, How Should You Manage Your Money? And Keep It Short by Ron Lieber. In it, he asked several personal finance experts to summarize their “best ideas” in the space of an index card (inspired by one such internet-famous card and the book it spawned). I enjoy these sorts of pithy financial recommendations, but what really caught my eye was this call to action alongside the article:
What Would Your Card Look Like? Please make your own card with a few simple tips (or just one, or a sketch) and upload a photo of it here. We’ll display some of our favorites in the coming days.
I didn’t think I had anything to add beyond Scott Adams’ 9-point financial plan (which got me started on this path 10 years ago), but I did wonder whether others might benefit from keeping a yearly log of their financial decisions and plans, as I do on my blog. So I distilled Adams’ list down to what I thought were the 4 most important pieces of advice, and then added my own. Here it is:
I always expect, after recounting my financial chores from the past year, that the next will be simple and uninteresting. That all I will have to write in 12 months is, “I worked a lot and saved a little.” Instead, it seems, each year I confront new challenges, learn the details of increasingly complex financial acronyms, and continue to fine-tune my savings strategy. This, my tenth such dispatch, is no different. (You can read my first here.)
I’ve always been a little intimidated by the Dipsea, what with it being the site of the oldest, continuously-running trail race in the country, not to mention having a reputation for being mercilessly hard. But mostly I was intimidated by the fact that it wasn’t a loop. So on my only other attempt, 7 years ago, I hiked a few miles in, taking pictures of flowers along the way, and then turned around and headed back to Mill Valley. At the time I’m not sure I was as acutely aware of my limits (in terms of miles-per-day-hike) as I am now.
So when I looked at the Dipsea Trail again two weeks ago and saw that it’s “only” 7.5 miles from Mill Valley to Stinson Beach, I was a little surprised by my prior reticence. I’ve been looking to push the envelope beyond my recent 12-mile day hiking threshold, so a Double Dipsea seemed like just the ticket. I left Mill Valley at 10:30am and emerged on the beach at Stinson at 1pm. Exactly 3mph, just like clockwork. I sat down in the sand facing the waves and ate my lunch of beef jerky, marcona almonds, and mozzarella string cheese. Then I got up, turned around, and headed back from whence I came. I arrived at my car around 4:30pm, about 3 hours after leaving the beach. A little slower, a lot sorer.
Ignorant of the overcrowding issues, we pulled into Mission Peak Regional Preserve late in the morning last weekend just as a parking spot opened up. I was impressed by the number and diversity of people attempting this 6-mile hike with 2100 feet to climb. Not surprisingly, the rocky summit was crowded. We ate a quick lunch at the top before continuing down the very steep Horse Heaven Trail back to the parking lot.
After getting married a year ago, Stephanie and I drove out to the northern tip of Point Reyes, a place called Pierce Point Ranch, hoping to see some tule elk. They weren’t around, but we explored the historic dairy buildings before heading out in search of oysters.
It was a complete coincidence that we ended up at the Pierce Point Ranch two weekends ago, to go hiking in celebration of our 10th Halloweeniversary! And hike we did: 9.5 miles out and back on the foggy Tomales Point Trail. This time we saw lots of elk, and even a coyote up close. Here are a few shots from the multi-rutted trail.
![Justin Watt's index card financial advice: Pay off your credit cards [every month]; Save 6 months worth of expenses as an emergency fund; Fund your 401(k) and/or IRA [to the max] and invest in index funds with expense ratios below 0.1%; Get term life insurance---if you have a family to support; Once a year (early January) write a letter to yourself describing the financial decisions you made in the past year and the financial plans you have for the coming year---before writing, read each of your previous letters](/images/index-card-financial-advice-by-justin-watt.jpg)
