Our methodology Using our proprietary scoring system, called SimpleScore, we assessed the top home insurance companies. We looked at available discounts, coverage options, customer satisfaction, accessibility and quality of support. We also looked at other reputable reviewers, such as J.D. Power, which tracks customer satisfaction each year, and Consumer Reports, which looks at such factors [&#8230;]
The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.thesimpledollar.com/insurance/home/best-home-insurance-in-new-jersey/">The Best Homeowners Insurance Companies in New Jersey</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.thesimpledollar.com">The Simple Dollar</a>.

The Best Homeowners Insurance Companies in New Jersey

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img width="1024" height="649" src="https://www.becomingminimalist.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/designed-for-money-1024x649.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-25007" /></figure>



When I was younger, I worked at a small department store in North Dakota. It was my first job actually. I remember, specifically, my first day stocking soda in the fridge.



At the time, I didn’t think much of it. I headed over to the refrigerated case and started loading cans into the empty rows.



Before I got too far in the job, the manager who hired me walked up and gave me more detailed instructions, “When you stock shelves, always put the label facing out. It looks nicer and neater, and customers are more likely to buy if they can see the name of the product.”



It was a simple selling technique. So simple, that even a first-day, minimum-wage, high school student could figure it out. And yet, it was designed for one reason: to make a sale.



Earlier this week, I happened to walk past a large clothing store. On the window of the store, in as large a print as possible, the store was advertising their semi-annual clearance sale (60% off every item in the store).



When I entered another store down the street, I was immediately met with soft music and shelves upon shelves of color-matched items with smaller signs announcing the sale price on each of them.



And I was reminded, in that moment, almost everything in this world is designed to sell you something. From the smallest detail to the highest executive decision, stores are designed to part you with your money.



No detail is overlooked.



The signage on the outside and the inside of the building—designed to get you to buy.



The original price, the sale price, the limited time offer—designed to get you to buy.



The smells, the sounds, the colors, the free samples —designed to get you to buy.



The items placed at eye level, the items displayed on mannequins, the items placed at the very back of the grocery store—all designed intentionally to get you to buy. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/retail-lose-track-time-shopping-malls-gruen-effect-transfer-ikea-department-stores-2016-12">Even the exact layout of your local mall</a>.



<a href="https://www.becomingminimalist.com/return/">Even the refund policy is designed to get you to spend more</a>.



The brand credit card, the rewards card, the loyalty punch card—designed to get you to buy.



The payment options, the financing, the warranty—designed to get you to buy.



And the list continues.



Even worse, these strategies are utilized by far more than retail brick-and mortar stores.



Restaurants use them. Grocery stores use them. Gas stations, service technicians, your favorite sports team, podcasts, streaming services, even your favorite free-to-download app.



As do websites of every size. Just yesterday I received several emails inviting me to attend a webinar on “Amazing One-Hour Webinar on the Small Tweaks your Website Needs to Become a Money-Making Machine.” Something tells me even that webinar intended to sell me something.



Everywhere you go, it seems, is designed to sell us something and get us to part with our money.



I fear, however, we don’t even need to enter these stores to be bombarded with their strategies anymore.



Billboards, junk mail, and email newsletters contribute volume to the already noisy world of ads we see every day. Each designed to encourage your purchase&#8230; or get you in their store where their other sales techniques can further the work and persuasion.



There are some practical steps we can take to be sold to less, such as not walk into these stores unless necessary I suppose.



But we’re never going to avoid it altogether—and we’re probably not going to change society to the point where this no longer exists.



However, we can become more aware of it. We can get better at recognizing when it is happening. And we can learn to recognize the tactics retailers employ to sell us something so we don’t fall so easily into the temptation.



In so doing, we can keep some of that money around for more important pursuits than buying stuff we don’t need.
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/becomingminimalistcom/~4/TPdO_z6xrsA" height="1" width="1" alt="" />

Designed to Part You with Your Money

In a tragic turn of events, a Morningstar Portfolio manager debacle wiped out my historical performance data earlier this month. So we&#8217;ll have to make do with <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.portfoliovisualizer.com/backtest-portfolio?s=y&amp;timePeriod=2&amp;startYear=1985&amp;firstMonth=1&amp;endYear=2021&amp;lastMonth=12&amp;calendarAligned=true&amp;includeYTD=false&amp;initialAmount=10000&amp;annualOperation=0&amp;annualAdjustment=0&amp;inflationAdjusted=true&amp;annualPercentage=0.0&amp;frequency=4&amp;rebalanceType=1&amp;absoluteDeviation=5.0&amp;relativeDeviation=25.0&amp;reinvestDividends=true&amp;showYield=false&amp;showFactors=false&amp;factorModel=3&amp;portfolioNames=false&amp;portfolioName1=PP+%28Implemented%29&amp;portfolioName2=Global+60%2F40&amp;portfolioName3=SPY&amp;symbol1=NTSX&amp;allocation1_1=37&amp;symbol2=GLD&amp;allocation2_1=32&amp;symbol3=VIESX&amp;allocation3_1=9&amp;symbol4=JOHIX&amp;allocation4_1=9&amp;symbol5=WIGTX&amp;allocation5_1=7&amp;symbol6=GQGPX&amp;allocation6_1=6&amp;symbol7=SPY&amp;allocation7_2=40&amp;allocation7_3=100&amp;symbol8=VGTSX&amp;allocation8_2=20&amp;symbol9=VBMFX&amp;allocation9_2=40" data-type="URL" data-id="https://www.portfoliovisualizer.com/backtest-portfolio?s=y&amp;timePeriod=2&amp;startYear=1985&amp;firstMonth=1&amp;endYear=2021&amp;lastMonth=12&amp;calendarAligned=true&amp;includeYTD=false&amp;initialAmount=10000&amp;annualOperation=0&amp;annualAdjustment=0&amp;inflationAdjusted=true&amp;annualPercentage=0.0&amp;frequency=4&amp;rebalanceType=1&amp;absoluteDeviation=5.0&amp;relativeDeviation=25.0&amp;reinvestDividends=true&amp;showYield=false&amp;showFactors=false&amp;factorModel=3&amp;portfolioNames=false&amp;portfolioName1=PP+%28Implemented%29&amp;portfolioName2=Global+60%2F40&amp;portfolioName3=SPY&amp;symbol1=NTSX&amp;allocation1_1=37&amp;symbol2=GLD&amp;allocation2_1=32&amp;symbol3=VIESX&amp;allocation3_1=9&amp;symbol4=JOHIX&amp;allocation4_1=9&amp;symbol5=WIGTX&amp;allocation5_1=7&amp;symbol6=GQGPX&amp;allocation6_1=6&amp;symbol7=SPY&amp;allocation7_2=40&amp;allocation7_3=100&amp;symbol8=VGTSX&amp;allocation8_2=20&amp;symbol9=VBMFX&amp;allocation9_2=40" target="_blank">just the backtest</a> while I build up the live track record again (as far as I can tell the old data is unrecoverable). 



I may try and go back through the old updates to rebuild the &#8220;real&#8221; track record but it&#8217;s not something I&#8217;ve put any time into yet. 



Current allocation:



33% S&amp;P 500 Futures



22% Laddered Treasury Futures



32% Gold



30% ex-US Equity



~117% gross exposure

05/21 Permanent Portfolio Update

There are three types of investors: those who know nothing, those who know some things, and those who know everything.

People on the left don&#8217;t know much. They know what they see on Fin Tok. They know that Doge is going to the moon. They live and die by the meme. And right now, the meme is pure alpha.
People on the right have read all the white papers. They understand each blockchain, how it is built and secured, a...The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://theirrelevantinvestor.com/2021/05/06/three-types-of-investors/">Three Types of Investors</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://theirrelevantinvestor.com">The Irrelevant Investor</a>.

Three Types of Investors

We found that Liberty Mutual, Allstate, State Farm and MetLife are great options for home insurance companies that offer flood insurance. Using the SimpleScore and our proprietary methodology, our team evaluated the top four insurance providers offering flood insurance. It&#8217;s an issue your insurance agent may bring up, because in 2019, the Center for Disaster [&#8230;]
The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.thesimpledollar.com/insurance/home/best-flood-insurance/">Best Flood Insurance Companies of 2021</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.thesimpledollar.com">The Simple Dollar</a>.

Best Flood Insurance Companies of 2021

Tesla offers car insurance for Tesla owners in California, with plans to expand in the future. Because Tesla repairs can be expensive, the Tesla team offers an alternative to the more traditional auto insurance companies. Our Tesla auto insurance review uses our SimpleScore methodology to compare it to other brands including coverage options, discounts, customer [&#8230;]
The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.thesimpledollar.com/insurance/reviews/tesla/">Tesla Car Insurance Review</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.thesimpledollar.com">The Simple Dollar</a>.

Tesla Car Insurance Review

You may be tempted to purchase home insurance solely because it&#8217;s the cheapest offered, but price should only be one aspect of how you make your choice. You also want to look at customer service, discounts available, and other criteria. We do the heavy lifting for you, and recommend four great choices for cheap home [&#8230;]
The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.thesimpledollar.com/insurance/home/cheap-home-insurance/">How to Find Cheap Homeowners Insurance in 2021</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.thesimpledollar.com">The Simple Dollar</a>.

How to Find Cheap Homeowners Insurance in 2021


It&#8217;s fun to look at returns from the tops and bottoms for certain markets or stocks but no one actually invests consistently at the peaks or troughs.
10. Producing alpha in your portfolio. Jason Zweig once told a story about interviewing dozens of residents in Boca Raton, FL, one of the wealthiest retirement communities in the country:
Amid the elegant stucco homes, the manicured lawns, the swaying palm trees, the ...

10 Things You Shouldn’t Care About as an Investor

Let&#8217;s talk about physician work-life balance, or should I say, the frequent lack thereof. This is something that I struggled ... <a title="Physician Work-Life Balance and Gender Disparities" class="read-more" href="https://www.physicianonfire.com/physician-work-life-balance/" aria-label="More on Physician Work-Life Balance and Gender Disparities">Read more</a><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/physicianonfire/grbz/~4/iGic-g7NgyA" height="1" width="1" alt="" />

Physician Work-Life Balance and Gender Disparities

After buying a pop-up camper last spring I began to prepare for a summer of camping adventures. This time when preparing for something new, I decided to take a different approach than I had in the past. Old me would have used this as an excuse to purchase all the things. To shop and spend [&#8230;]
The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://nosidebar.com/how-little-i-needed/">How Little I Needed</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://nosidebar.com">No Sidebar</a>.