Nick Maggiulli

As of today I've published 500 blog posts online, one per week since January 2017. Here are the 4 biggest lessons I've learned along the way: ofdollarsanddata.com/what-ive-learn…

The Wealth Ladder by @dollarsanddata

Greed has the worst risk/reward payoff you can imagine. Your upside is capped, but your downside is unlimited. Yet people keep making this trade every day. My latest on why survival is the only success: ofdollarsanddata.com/survival-is-th…

Jack is one of my favorite financial writers and I can't wait to read this

Imagine quitting your 9-5 to "coast" into retirement and then AI threatens your livelihood. Is Coast FIRE still viable in the age of AI? My latest: ofdollarsanddata.com/did-ai-kill-co…

@buccocapital I’ve been publishing every Tuesday for almost 10 years now. If you stick with it, it will completely transform your life. Best of luck.

Some various thoughts on how it's been going to try to write more: 1. The other day someone said to me that you need to have a side hustle in the AI era because it's a forcing function to go really deep on AI. So far I have found that to be true, and an absolute blast to really dig into how I can automate my workflow AROUND writing so I can spend more time on the writing itself. I'd imagine at some point, if I can stick with this, I'll want to build a proper website, too. That will be way more tool heavy and half the incentive to do it. 2. Man. Twitter really, really, really, really doesn't want you to move your audience off this platform 3. Almost every single person who reached out to me said you need to make it a habit. So...I'm forcing myself to make this a habit. Every Tuesday a post goes up. So far I'm 3/3. We'll see how long I can keep it up. 4. I used to write a lot more. Twitter, and technology in general, has atrophied this skill. I can think of a cluster of really important skills that have atrophied due to technology. I read less when I am using screens too much. My attention is worse. I am less patient. Something to think about. I'm starting with writing more, but there are other habits that I really care about that I aught to correct. 5. Writing is a muscle, and a craft. The first article was like pulling teeth. It's getting easier, and I can feel the words starting to flow more smoothly. 6. People in general have been really kind. Reaching out to provide feedback, to share ideas, and to propose future topics in areas they are personally wrestling to understand. That's actually been the most rewarding part of building in public - it's starting to deepen some of the relationships I've built on here. 7. I have found that my thinking is a bit sharper. When you dash off a tweet you don't really have to think twice about it. It's a totally different part of your brain. I've enjoyed the process, and the risk (I don't really know what other word to use) of having to expose my thinking to a lot more people. 8. There are days I don't want to do it. But I force myself to write for just 5 minutes. If I can write for just 5 minutes every day I will get a little bit better. I usually end up writing for more than 5 minutes. One of my favorite ideas is the aggregation of marginal gains. That's the game I am trying to plan. Just get a little bit better every single day. 9. My conviction in this experiment is growing every single day. I am watching everyone around me lean into becoming an absolute slop cannon as they outsource their critical thinking to AI. I am growing more confident that thinking deeply and communicating with rigorous logic will be a massive differentiator in the future.

@robkhenderson Thank you! Means a lot coming from you

@dollarsanddata One of your best

“America’s middle class is becoming wealthier as more families scale the economic ladder into higher-earning groups…the ranks of the affluent have grown markedly…In 2024, 31% of Americans were part of the upper middle class, up from about 10% in 1979” wsj.com/economy/more-a…

@ParisIzzy123 Fair point. Size isn't everything in housing, but it's somewhat telling and we have good data on it. Not sure how much data we have on home amenity costs over time.

@dollarsanddata Enjoyed your article, as usual. My only quibble is that I am not sure that I can make the leap that a smllr home is 'less than' a lgr home. Perhaps in aggregate. But if smaller homes have more amenities and features, I would argue those are 'better' than bigger big 'box' homes

The upper middle class is caught in a trap, and many of them don’t realize it. The houses are getting smaller, the lounges more crowded, and the schools pricier. My latest on how the upper middle class is paying more and getting less: ofdollarsanddata.com/the-upper-midd…

@GabeThoughtsIdk Yes, $10M+ (in net worth) is definitely out of the trap. I consider this the upper class. That's when you can start flying private (at least occasionally).

@dollarsanddata Hm. My takeaway from this is that the optimal way to escape the rat race is to ascend beyond upper-middle and just become upper class. Somewhat serious question: do you see households in solidly 8-figure territory out of the trap?

@stalmico In general, those with $1M-$10M in wealth which is about 18% of the U.S. (give or take)

@dollarsanddata what percent counts as upper middle?

U.S. housing in particular seems overpriced (relative to rents). If rents rise enough (or prices drop enough), I'd consider buying. This will vary by location. I don't market time with income-producing assets because I buy many of them over time. With housing, the purchase is larger and I may only do it 1-2 times in my life.

@dollarsanddata As a fan of Just Keep Buying, I'm curious how you view this correction. For those looking to enter the market, is this a 'wait and watch' moment, or does your data suggest that trying to time the bottom in housing is just as futile as in stocks?

75% of the largest U.S. metro areas saw real home price declines over the past year. Rates have normalized, but prices haven't...yet. My latest on whether U.S. housing is starting to crash: ofdollarsanddata.com/is-us-housing-…

best books you must read atleast once 📖📚 1. The Wealth Ladder

@hansomedan Many sophomores are still trying to decide their major let alone their career (sophomore internship). So career counseling doesn’t necessarily solve that problem.

@dollarsanddata Did your school not have career counseling? Like wtf

A lot of this comes down to poorer kids just not knowing what to do. I didn't know that I had to apply for an internship in the WINTER of my sophomore year to get a sophomore summer internship to leverage into a junior summer internship to get a full-time offer senior year.

The data suggests Boomers had it easier than Gen Z. I'm not debating that. But the question of how hard the backlash against Boomers will be seems to just be getting started.

I've been saying for years we will see a rise in ageism and I think it's finally started. Just read the comments.