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In this issue: Determining how much is enough, forgoing "loud budgeting" for "quiet compounding" and identifying the foundations of successful journeys.

"Helping parents raise money-smart kids."

​​3 Ideas to Share & Save​
​(Click the link above 👆 to read this week's edition on the web.)

Hello, friends!

Before we dive into this week's ideas, I want to remind you that you can still receive my books in time for the holidays. While I'm a bit biased, I think they're great family gifts.

👉🏻 The Art of Allowance is available on Amazon in both paperback and Kindle versions. In addition to being a guide to raising money-smart kids, this book is peppered with "Memos from the Chief Mammal" (yours truly 😉) to help parents survive the swell of stuff that threatens to swallow us all this season.

👉🏻 The "Share & Save & Spend Smart" trilogy makes a memorable present pack! The final book in the series, Joe the Monkey and Friends Learn About Spending Smart, helps kids stay afloat amidst the stuff and fads that often rain down during the holidays.

Now on to this week's three ideas. I'm sharing one book, one podcast and one bit of weekly wisdom that impacted me in the past year.

I hope you find them useful!

— 1 —

How much is enough? The late John C. (Jack) Bogle's book Enough: True Measures of Money, Business, and Life is full of insights. Here are three that stood out to me:

• "We ignore the real diamonds of simplicity, seeking instead the illusory rhinestones of complexity."
• "I know of not one academic study that has systematically attempted to calculate the value extracted by our financial system from the returns earned by investors."
• "In fact, while there have been numerous black swans in our short-term-oriented and speculative financial markets, there have been no black swans in the long-term investment returns generated by U.S. stocks."

Like I often do with impactful books, I wrote a summary of Enough that may help give you an idea of whether it is for you:

Inspired by Bogle, I periodically ask myself, "How much is enough?" You might discuss this topic with your kids—even the younger ones—this season. Their responses could surprise—and perhaps delight—you.

I'd love to know what questions Bogle's ideas generate for you and your family.

— 2 —

Quiet Compounding: I have been enjoying The Psychology of Money author Morgan Housel's eponymous podcast and want to share his "Quiet Compounding" episode with you. Housel is adept at telling stories to help us see the world more clearly and to discover how to use money to live more fulfilling lives.

While this episode isn't my favorite, it's good and short—a tiny investment of time to see if this approach is for you. Housel is an economical writer, so most of his podcast's episodes are under thirty minutes. Many are under ten.

Housel kicks off this particular episode by telling a tale we hear periodically about someone with a low-wage job who "managed to save and compound sometimes literally tens of millions of dollars. And the story is always the same. They just quietly saved and invested for decades. That's it." He then goes on to share the four things that quiet compounding means to him.

This year we heard much media noise about "loud budgeting." Although largely performative, it was probably impactful for a few folks. But we heard much less about quiet compounding, which happens over a lifetime and is something from which we can all benefit.

— 3 —

Weekly Wisdom: I enjoy finding quotes from my favorite authors that feel like they were written just for this newsletter.

These are the last three ideas I plan to share with you this year. I appreciate your attention each week and am glad you're on this journey with me. As always, I hope you're enjoying it.

Happy holidays!

John,
Chief Mammal

📗 Get The Art of Allowance (for parents)​
📚 Get the "Share & Save & Spend Smart" series (for kids)​
🫱🏻‍🫲🏽 Become a partner (for businesses)

P.S. Please consult with a financial or investment professional before making any decisions that might affect your financial well-being.

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