These are the best personal finance reads from July 2019

Deep summer allows for only two moods: sweating, or huddled against the ravages of aggressive air conditioning. In July, it can feel like most of our energy is devoted to regulating our body temperatures. Still, it’s usually a more straightforward task than trying to regulate our emotions, which were stoked plenty of times by the past month’s financial reads — and hardly ever in a good way.

From confrontations with employers to everyday expenses that amount to less than a year-long, round-the-world vacation, here are the financial reads that incensed us most in July.
 

I was owed about $5,000 from late-paying publications. I tried to hold them all accountable. Here’s what happened., via Wudan Yan

When journalist Wudan Yan came back from vacation and realized she was owed three outstanding payments from publications she’d freelanced for, she decided to take action. The situation was not new — Yan had worked as a freelance writer for five years, and has had to follow up with editors at more than one publication about payment. But the size of the cumulative total, $5,000, was much bigger than usual; it was also the minimum amount of money she needed to cover her monthly bills. Fed up, Yan charged each of her clients a 20% late fee.

What ensued were a litany of excuses from editors and accounting departments that proved what many freelancers already know: their clients are not going to prioritize their well-being over their own bottom line. To avoid paying Yan’s late fees, the (unnamed) publications broke the terms of their own contracts, framed her requests as irrational and threatened to never work with her again. Are you mad yet?
 

They became millionaires and retired at 31. They think you can do the same, via the Guardian

Another month, another story about the FIRE movement (that’s “financial independence, retire early” for those who aren’t familiar with the term yet). Couple Kristy Shen (36) and Bryce Leung (37) are former computer engineers who left their jobs to retire about five years ago, after they achieved their savings goal of $1 million. Their story is different from that of most FIRE practitioners — instead of depriving themselves during their 20s in the service of an early retirement, they continued to go on vacations and allowed for treats while they saved. How did they manage this? By cutting back as much as they could on rent (the couple lived far away from Toronto’s downtown core), only taking public transportation and never eating at restaurants. Of course, the fact that they made high salaries while they were working didn’t hurt.

While Shen and Leung’s progress is largely satisfying to read about, there is one detail that might leave you feeling a little less… enthused, especially if you’re reading from Canada’s biggest city. Since the couple retired, they’ve been traveling around the world — an endeavour that their friends and families were certain would drain their retirement funds fast. The depressing reality? Traveling around the world for a year ultimately cost the couple less than living in Toronto for the same period of time — even with their relatively frugal lifestyles. Good to know.
 

Lifestyles of the Hood Rich and Famous, via Financial Impulse

According to multiple Urban Dictionary entries and Joyce, the blogger behind Financial Impulse, the term “hood rich” describes the phenomenon where a person spends beyond their means on things that are more obviously categorized as “luxuries” than “necessities.” There’s a fair degree of shaming that’s built into the concept: the term itself, even upon first glance, suggests a perpetrator who is simultaneously low-income, and irresponsible enough to believe that they’re entitled to luxuries that should only be available to people in higher income brackets. While Joyce is quick to point out that the phenomenon can happen to anyone, regardless of income, the way that the term is used across mainstream culture often suggests otherwise. Still, the concept is useful for illuminating how common it is to link income to morality, and to believe that wealth always correlates to personal responsibility. (It doesn't.)