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All about Sydney Sweeney’s custom Knicks jersey for NBA Finals Game 5

NY Post
2 days 21 hours ago
The "Euphoria" star traveled to San Antonio with boyfriend Scooter Braun — and brought her blue-and-orange best.
Melissa Minton

Missing tortoise reunited with family after frantic search

NY Post
2 days 21 hours ago
A 50-pound Missouri sulcata tortoise is finally back at her home base after a nine-day runaway spree, delivering relief to her shell-shocked loved ones and community.
Daniel Cody

Charles Barkley in shock over Sydney Sweeney NBA Finals Game 5 appearance

NY Post
2 days 21 hours ago
Charles Barkley had something to say about the Game 5 Knicks-Spurs celebrity guest list.
Bridget Reilly

Mets’ Freddy Peralta hopes mechanical tweak will help him get back on track

NY Post
2 days 21 hours ago
Peralta had his worst outing of the season on Tuesday, when he surrendered six earned runs over six innings in a loss to the Cardinals.
Mike Puma

News of the World: What you missed this week internationally

NY Post
2 days 21 hours ago
An Oslo balcony is delivering pizza, a group of 200 women from Mexico embroidered a canopy for the World Cup, and more news from around the world.
Angela Barbuti

Mookie Betts owns up to error that ended Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s perfect-game bid

NY Post
2 days 21 hours ago
After committing an eighth-inning error on Saturday that ended Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s bid for a perfect game, Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts stood before his locker and kept repeating the same message.
Jack Harris

North Korea Rips Fresh Western Criticism Of Expanding Moscow Relationship

Zero Rss
2 days 21 hours ago
North Korea Rips Fresh Western Criticism Of Expanding Moscow Relationship

North Korea fired back on Saturday and lashed out at the Washington-Seoul alliance, tearing into a fresh South Korea-EU joint statement that condemned Pyongyang's deepening military alliance with Russia.

North Korea has increasingly over the past acknowledge a significant number of troops sacrificed in support of Russia and in the context of the brutal and grinding Ukraine war.

The Western-aligned statement, inked Wednesday during South Korean President Lee Jae Myung's high-profile trip to Brussels, took direct aim at the "illegal military cooperation" fueling the war in Ukraine.

"We condemn support by third parties, in particular the DPRK, which enables Russia to sustain its war of aggression against Ukraine," the statement said.

A fully anticipated, North Korea's foreign ministry quickly hit back through the state-run Korean Central News Agency, framing its axis with Moscow as a mere "exercise of sovereign rights."

Russia and North Korea under Presidents Putin and Kim have even signed a defense, technology and economic cooperation pact relatively recently.

The ministry didn't mince words, calling the joint condemnation a "clear infringement on the sovereignty of our state and a grave hostile act," while pointedly reminding everyone that South Korea remains the North's primary "enemy state."

Pyongyang has of late branded Seoul as Washington's "favorite dagger" in alleged grand American plot aimed at "invading... the Asian continent.”

The reference was a play on words after General Xavier Brunson, the top American military commander in South Korea, raised eyebrows last month by provocatively describing his host nation as "the dagger in the heart of Asia."

Both North Korea and China have seized on Brunson's slip of the tongue, painting it as proof of Washington's true playbook ofusing Seoul to contain Beijing.

With North Korean leader Kim Jong Un already putting his money where his mouth is - shipping troops and heavy munitions to bolster Vladimir Putin’s front lines - the war in Ukraine has slowly been morphing into more than just a EUropean crisis.

Tyler Durden Sat, 06/13/2026 - 21:35
Tyler Durden

Sean Manaea’s return as starter proved he can be what Mets ‘need’

NY Post
2 days 21 hours ago
Just over two weeks into Sean Manaea’s reinstatement as a bulk pitcher for the Mets, the left-handed hurler is continuing to earn more trust.
Mollie Walker

Jeremy Sochan agitates former teammate Victor Wembanyama from Knicks’ bench

NY Post
2 days 21 hours ago
Victor Wembanyama might be extra motivated for the rest of Game 5.
Spencer Brod

Jose Ramirez heading to IL with fractured hamate bone in Guardians crusher

NY Post
2 days 21 hours ago
The Guardians both won and lost on Saturday.
Spencer Brod

Patrick and Brittany Mahomes’ son Bronze, 3, points out Taylor Swift in Arrowhead Stadium photo

NY Post
2 days 21 hours ago
Patrick and Brittany have frequently been spotted on double dates with Swift and Travis Kelce since the singer began dating her now-fiancé in 2023.
mliss1578

Patrick and Brittany Mahomes’ son Bronze, 3, recognizes Taylor Swift in Arrowhead Stadium photo

NY Post
2 days 21 hours ago
Patrick and Brittany have frequently been spotted on double dates with Swift and Travis Kelce since the singer began dating her now-fiancé in 2023.
Audrey Rock

Sabrina Ionescu finally set to return to Liberty lineup after long injury layoff

NY Post
2 days 21 hours ago
The Liberty (9-4) have managed to do more than just survive without its trusty point guard on the mend. 
Madeline Kenney

Alex Freeman was USMNT’s unflappable unsung hero in World Cup debut

NY Post
2 days 21 hours ago
The 21-year-old seemed to win every duel in a dominant first half and won 9-of-14 in the game.
Ethan Sears

Brewers’ Jacob Misiorowski spoke pitch into existence

NY Post
2 days 21 hours ago
Before Jacob Misiorowski made history Friday night, by throwing the fastest pitch by a starting pitcher at 105 MPH Friday night, he knew what he was capable of doing.
Thomas L. Murray

Why The Millionaire Next Door Drives A Used Car - And What That Teaches About Real Wealth

Zero Rss
2 days 22 hours ago
Why The Millionaire Next Door Drives A Used Car - And What That Teaches About Real Wealth

Authored by Peter Daisyme via Due,

The wealthiest person I know personally drives a 2018 Toyota Camry. He owns three rental properties, has over $2 million in investment accounts, and could buy any car on any lot without blinking. He chooses not to, and his explanation is both simple and profound: "A car is a tool that takes you from one place to another. Everything beyond that is a payment for other people's perception of you."

Income alone doesn't create wealth. The key is the gap between what you earn and what you spend. Morakod1977/Shutterstock

That conversation rearranged how I think about money, status, and the difference between looking wealthy and actually being wealthy. And the more I studied the habits of genuinely rich people - not the Instagram version of rich, but the people with real, substantial, enduring wealth - the more I found that his approach was the rule, not the exception.

The Wealth Illusion

We live in a culture that equates visible consumption with financial success. A nice car, a big house, designer clothes, expensive vacations - these are the signals we use to judge who has money and who does not. The problem is that those signals are almost perfectly inverted from reality.

The person leasing a $70,000 SUV might have a negative net worth. The person buying rounds at the bar might be maxing out a credit card. The couple who just renovated their kitchen might have raided their retirement accounts to pay for it.

Meanwhile, the person with $1.5 million in the bank is wearing jeans from Target, driving a paid-off Honda, and eating dinner at home. They do not look wealthy because they channeled the money that would create the appearance of wealth into building actual wealth.

This is not a new observation - the book "The Millionaire Next Door" documented it decades ago - but it bears repeating because the cultural pressure to spend for status has only intensified with social media. Every platform is designed to show you people living aspirational lifestyles, and the psychological pull to keep up is relentless.

The Math Of Lifestyle Inflation

The mechanism that keeps high earners from building wealth is lifestyle inflation - the tendency to increase spending proportionally (or faster) as income grows. A $10,000 raise should accelerate wealth building. Instead, it usually gets absorbed by a nicer apartment, a better car, more dining out, and upgraded vacations.

Consider two people who both earn $100,000 per year. Person A spends $90,000 and saves $10,000. Person B spends $70,000 and saves $30,000. After 20 years of investing at a 7 percent annual return, Person A has about $410,000. Person B has about $1,230,000. They earned exactly the same amount. The difference is entirely in spending decisions.

The gap gets wider as incomes grow. If Person B receives raises over the years and keeps spending at $70,000 while saving the difference, their accumulation accelerates dramatically. Person A, who upgrades their lifestyle with every raise, stays on the same slow trajectory regardless of how much more they earn.

This is why income is a poor predictor of wealth. The correlation between earning and accumulating is much weaker than people assume. The real predictor is the gap between earning and spending - and that gap is a choice.

What Actually Wealthy People Spend On

After studying the spending patterns of people I know who have built significant wealth, a clear pattern emerges. They spend freely on what matters to them and ruthlessly cut everything that does not.

One friend spends generously on travel - international trips, business-class seats on long flights, quality hotels. But she drives a ten-year-old car and lives in a modest house. Travel brings her joy and enriches her life. The car is transportation. The house is a shelter. She allocates accordingly.

Another friend spends very little on himself personally but funds his children's education and activities without hesitation. His wardrobe is basic. His entertainment spending is minimal. His kids' college accounts are fully funded.

The common thread is intentionality. Wealthy people do not spend less overall because they are cheap - they spend less on things they do not care about, so they can spend more on things they do care about and invest the difference. They have examined their own values and aligned their spending with those values rather than with social expectations.

The Status Tax

I think of unnecessary status spending as a tax - the status tax. It is the premium you pay for goods and services, not because they perform better, but because they signal wealth or taste to others.

A $300 watch tells time just as well as a $5,000 watch. A $30,000 car gets you to work just as reliably as a $60,000 car. A $2 coffee tastes nearly identical to a $6 coffee with a designer label on the cup. The difference in price is the status tax, and over a lifetime, it is enormous.

If you spent $500 a month less on status consumption - the car upgrade, the brand-name clothes, the visible luxury purchases - and invested that $500 at 7 percent, you would have roughly $260,000 after 20 years. That is the real cost of caring what strangers think about your car.

I am not arguing that you should never buy nice things. I am arguing that you should buy them because they genuinely improve your life, not because they improve how other people perceive you. The distinction is everything.

Building Wealth The Boring Way

The actual wealth-building formula is anticlimactic. Earn a reasonable income. Spend significantly less than you earn. Invest the difference in diversified, low-cost index funds. Do this consistently for 20 to 30 years. That is it.

No one gets famous for this approach. No one writes viral social media posts about it. No one makes a documentary about the person who maxed out their 401(k) every year and retired comfortably at 60. But that person exists in enormous numbers, and they are far wealthier than the influencer showing off a rented sports car.

The boring approach works because it harnesses the only truly reliable wealth-building force: time and compound growth. A portfolio growing at 7 percent doubles roughly every 10 years. $100,000 at 35 becomes $200,000 at 45, $400,000 at 55, and $800,000 at 65. But only if you leave it alone and keep adding to it.

The wealth-building strategies that work in your 30s are the same strategies that work at any age. They just work better the earlier you start.

How To Resist The Pressure

Knowing the right approach and actually following it are different things. The pressure to spend for status comes from everywhere - advertising, social media, peer groups, family expectations, and your own psychology.

Here are the tactics that work for me. First, I curate my information diet. I unfollowed accounts that showcase luxury consumption and followed accounts that discuss financial independence and intentional living. What you see shapes what you want, so be deliberate about what you see.

Second, I calculate the real cost of purchases in hours worked. A $200 dinner after taxes costs me about six hours of work. Is that dinner worth six hours of my life? Sometimes yes. Often no. This reframing makes spending feel real rather than abstract.

Third, I keep my financial goals visible. I have a spreadsheet that projects my net worth at five-year intervals. When I am tempted to make a large discretionary purchase, I consider what that money would become in 10 years if invested instead. Seeing the compound growth I would forfeit is a powerful deterrent against impulse spending.

Fourth, I surround myself with people who share my values around money. Peer influence is the strongest force in spending behavior. If your friends measure success by possessions, you will spend to keep up. If they measure it by freedom and security, you will save to keep up.

The Ultimate Status Symbol

The wealthiest people I know share one trait that no purchase can replicate: they have options. They can leave a job they dislike without panic. They can handle an emergency without debt. They can retire when they choose rather than when they must. They can help family members without compromising their own stability.

That kind of freedom is the real status symbol, even though nobody can see it from the outside. It does not fit on a bumper sticker or in an Instagram photo. But it is the thing that every person chasing visible wealth is actually searching for - the security and peace that come from knowing you are financially independent.

My friend with the Camry has that freedom. And if you asked him, he would tell you it is worth more than every luxury car on the road combined.

The views and opinions expressed are those of the authors. They are meant for general informational purposes only and should not be construed or interpreted as a recommendation or solicitation. ZeroHedge does not provide investment, tax, legal, financial planning, estate planning, or any other personal finance advice. ZeroHedge holds no liability for the accuracy or timeliness of the information provided.

Tyler Durden Sat, 06/13/2026 - 21:00
Tyler Durden

Prince Harry makes surprise solo appearance at Knicks vs. Spurs game after skipping Trooping the Colour

NY Post
2 days 22 hours ago
Prince Harry is set to head to the U.K. next month to promote his 2027 Invictus Games.
mliss1578

Prince Harry makes surprise solo appearance at Knicks vs. Spurs game after skipping Trooping the Colour

NY Post
2 days 22 hours ago
Prince Harry is set to head to the UK next month to promote his 2027 Invictus Games.
Audrey Rock

World Cup taking over US — and New York City will drink to that

NY Post
2 days 22 hours ago
Bars all over New York City are reveling in the wonder of the World Cup.
Mark Cannizzaro

Justice at last for slain tourist Ethan Williams — but New York is still in his debt

NY Post
2 days 22 hours ago
As Jason Williams told his son’s killer before the judge Thursday, “You entered the story and violated our family, and you introduced an evil into our lives.”  
Nicole Gelinas

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