Beyond The Average

Beyond The Average You'll be the best, or you'll be nothing.
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Can't wait to see the documentary.Opening episode: "It all started without any late fees."Last episode: "27 dollars a mo...
09/02/2026

Can't wait to see the documentary.

Opening episode: "It all started without any late fees."

Last episode: "27 dollars a month and they still ask if you're watching.

No state income tax. $15.7 billion in reserves. A budget surplus.And a property tax initiative to repeal taxes for 60% o...
09/02/2026

No state income tax. $15.7 billion in reserves. A budget surplus.

And a property tax initiative to repeal taxes for 60% of residents that will appear on the November ballot.

Florida has a strong case to make.

Here's the skinny:

Florida has had no state income tax for years. What does have is a recent development in Tallahassee.

On June 2, 2026, the Florida legislature approved HJR 1F, the "Save Our Homes from Excessive Property Taxes" amendment, by a 75-26 vote in the House and a 30-9 vote in the Senate. It will now go to the people for a vote on November 3, 2026.

If approved by 60% of voters, the homestead exemption on non-school property taxes will increase to $50,000 to $ 150,000 for 2027 and $250,000 for 2028. This would eliminate non-school property taxes for about 60% of homeowners.

There are some qualifiers and nuances to this.

The most dangerous type of inflation isn't the type that economists clash about.It's the kind that creeps up on you.Groc...
09/02/2026

The most dangerous type of inflation isn't the type that economists clash about.

It's the kind that creeps up on you.

Grocery prices have jumped nearly 32% nationwide since February 2020

But how much have prices really increased?

Not by the average, or the economy's perspective.

Your family shops for eggs, meat, coffee, snacks, veggies and the same twenty things your kids eat within the time you finish shopping.

One family's grocery budget can vary wildly when compared to another's.

You may find yourself buying the cheaper cut of meat.

Putting off buying cereal until it goes on sale.

Taking out two items at checkout and realizing you spent more than you did with the two items in your hand.

At this moment, members of Congress are taking the government to court in order to receive their back pay, arguing that ...
09/02/2026

At this moment, members of Congress are taking the government to court in order to receive their back pay, arguing that the freeze on their salaries at $174,000 was unconstitutional.

Some people would be awarded as much as $419,000 in back pay, and the federal minimum wage that they established for all the others is $7.25 and has remained at that level since 2009.

Let it sit in my mind for a moment.

The amount of money that a member of Congress earns has remained at $174,000 since 2009 and this places them in the highest 5% of all American earners.

They also have their healthcare completely subsidised, are given a pension after only five years of service, and are entitled to a travel allowance which pays for commuting between their home state and Washington.

Meanwhile, a number of people are currently in court claiming that they have suffered financial harm.

This argument seems very clever, until you consider that running a business is not quite the same thing as getting an ac...
09/01/2026

This argument seems very clever, until you consider that running a business is not quite the same thing as getting an account on Netflix.

“Deducting things” is not what businesses do willy-nilly.

Businesses have payroll, insurance, software, freelancers, equipment, rent, taxes, legal costs, accounting costs, risk, refunds, chargebacks, slow months, difficult customers, and many other expenses employees never even see.

The reason businesses have deductions is that these expenses are necessary to produce income.

Groceries, rent, Netflix, car payments, and electricity bills are personal expenses.

We may hate being taxed as much as you want, but that doesn’t mean this argument is not totally absurd.

There are enough issues with our tax system already.

This is simply not one of them.

The argument that Millenials are lazy was about as viable in 2022 as a variable-rate mortgage.Many people still talk abo...
09/01/2026

The argument that Millenials are lazy was about as viable in 2022 as a variable-rate mortgage.

Many people still talk about the Millennials as if they had been given an easy economy and failed because they chose to buy iced coffee.

That’s a joke.

In 2008 the housing market collapsed while they were watching it.

It was told that going to college was the safest option, after which a large number of people left with student loans and were given entry-level salaries that barely managed to pay for rent.

People were given lessons on how to buy houses at a time when starter homes began to vanish like concert tickets.

The COVID outbreak occurred exactly when they were at the peak of their careers and in the middle of their family-building phase.

I am against stealing.And I'm also against making a sweaty man wait 11 minutes for some guy named Trevor to unlock the O...
09/01/2026

I am against stealing.

And I'm also against making a sweaty man wait 11 minutes for some guy named Trevor to unlock the Old Spice.

There are certain products that we can argue the case on.

Electronic goods, perhaps.

Razors, definitely.

But deodorant in the middle of summer needs a special exception from whatever law it is that protects the general public from suffering.

Because now we've all got our little awkward button-pressing arms waiting for an employee to come with the keys, trying to keep up with the false pretense that this isn't the most humiliating experience of your adult life.

And Trevor is always somewhere else.

This is the kind of financial advice that people do not want to hear.Nobody wants to post the used couch.Nobody wants to...
09/01/2026

This is the kind of financial advice that people do not want to hear.

Nobody wants to post the used couch.

Nobody wants to boast about keeping the same phone.

Nobody wants to show off that they did not upgrade the house, the car, the wardrobe, the vacation.

But the quiet discipline is usually where wealth is born.

No Instagram version of success.

The real version.

The one where your payment does not eat your paycheck.

The one where you do not need a new car every three years to feel like you're doing well.

The one where you can enjoy your life without financing every upgrade.

A simple life is not a failure.

Sometimes it's the point where you stopped letting strangers, algorithms, and broke people with nice pictures tell you what success is suppose…

Dunkin' has just released a 48 ounce "coffee bucket."A bucket.With a handle.All for about $8.89 for coffee and about $9....
09/01/2026

Dunkin' has just released a 48 ounce "coffee bucket."

A bucket.

With a handle.

All for about $8.89 for coffee and about $9.49 for a Refresher, so for under ten bucks you can have a little aquarium of caffeine to tote around with you like it's perfectly normal and acceptable in the year 2026.

We used to buy coffee, now we buy a personality!

This isn't a beverage - it's an emotional support container.

Also, if you show up to work holding a Dunkin' bucket, no one will ask how you're doing. They'll already know.

Paid off doesn't look so good on social media, but sounds pretty sweet in real life.A paid-off carA paid-off credit card...
09/01/2026

Paid off doesn't look so good on social media, but sounds pretty sweet in real life.

A paid-off car

A paid-off credit card

A paid-off student loan

A paid-off house.

A paid-off anything that used to come out of your account every month.

That's freedom people don't talk about enough.

Because the world constantly tells you how great it will be to have rich-looking payments.

A bigger house,

newer car,

upgraded vacations,

nicer watches,

a lifestyle that looks nice in a picture but quietly leeches away your paycheck every 30 days.

Paid off is different.

Paid off is where your money finally stops working for someone else.

Paid off is where your paycheck has room to breathe.

Paid off is fewer people getting a say in your life every month.

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