deMauriac

09/09/2026

“When we think about working lives we often imagine it to be a ladder...[but] it doesn’t exist anymore.”

Professor Lynda Gratton, author of ‘The 100-Year Life,’ suggests that as we get older, finding a sense of purpose means thinking of our lives as a weave of many different threads rather than a ladder we need to climb.

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09/08/2026

Doctors get paid 20% more to operate on a man than on a woman. Same complexity, same operating room, different reimbursement. A Journal of Surgical Research study compared 621 matched pairs of male and female surgical procedures and found men's procedures carry a median work value of 12.7 versus 10.6 for women's, which translates to roughly $145 more per case.

Medicare's "work value" is the score assigned to every procedure for the time, skill, and intensity it requires, and it sets what every insurer pays, so a low score on a women's procedure follows her care through the entire system. That gap shapes which specialties attract talent, which clinics stay open, and how long women wait.

Women may face delays in diagnosis and treatment, which can lead to expensive complications in our care plans. Know what your plan covers before you need it, ask what a procedure will actually cost you, and build a health savings cushion so the gap does not come out of your retirement.

Source: Journal of Surgical Research, February 2026, "Gender-Based Disparities in Reimbursement," based on 2024 Medicare RVU data (PMID 39978776).

09/06/2026

Ann Patchett’s latest novel Whistler is a story about a woman named Daphne and her stepfather Eddie, who she’s lost touch with. At its core, it’s story about how we all relate to people who come back into our lives after many years away.
b.kay talked to Patchett about how your perspective shifts as you age and her thoughts on the meaning of life.

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09/06/2026

Single women report more contentment than single men, and more money stress. Ally Bank's 2026 survey found 32% of single women feel content in their status daily versus 21% of men, and 44% say they have priorities ahead of a relationship. They also report more anxiety about their finances (38% vs. 24%), and only 34% of singles feel confident they can build long-term wealth on one income.

Independence is a choice worth protecting: fund a six to nine month reserve, automate investing and not just saving, name your own power of attorney and health proxy, and treat raising your income as a plan rather than a hope.

Source: Ally Bank, "The Cost of Singledom," February 2026.

09/06/2026

It can now cost families over $1,000 a year to sign their child up for sports.

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09/05/2026

Back-to-school spending is at its highest in years: college students plan to spend $1,438 on average, and families of K-12 students about $864. Sixteen states are running sales-tax holidays to take some of the sting out. In Tennessee, one $1,400 laptop bought during the tax-free weekend saves $98 in state tax plus $21 to $38 in local tax. Check your state's dates and price caps, save the big-ticket items for that window, set one number for the season, and move what you save into a 529 or savings account the same week.

Source: MarketWatch, 2026, using the National Retail Federation's back-to-school consumer survey.

09/05/2026

“There’s a big difference to a founder between a company being sold and a company being acquired,” said Gold. “They reached out to us and said, ‘We have to have this.’ You never want to build something that you want to sell. You want to build something that somebody wants to buy.”

Justin Gold got his homemade nut butters into Whole Foods, but still couldn't turn a profit — until a mountain biking ride helped put Justin's on the map.

09/05/2026

“Qian Liu is an economist and founder & CEO of Wusawa Advisory, which helps companies understand China. She spoke to the World Economic Forum’s Robin Pomeroy and the Straits Times’ Ravi Velloor on everything from trade, tech and geopolitics to investing in women’s education.”

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09/04/2026

Louisiana is currently holding $1.2 billion in unclaimed money, with 1 in 6 residents having property waiting, an average claim of about $900. In 2026 alone, $70.9M was returned, marking a record year. Check for dormant accounts, uncashed checks, or other assets that may belong to you (real estate and vehicles aren’t included).

Be cautious: legitimate agencies will never rush you, ask for upfront fees, or request sensitive information by phone or email.

09/04/2026

The world's largest sovereign wealth fund just told Norway's finance ministry it wants to hold fewer U.S. Treasuries. Norges Bank Investment Management, which runs $2.3 trillion, proposed cutting government bonds from 70% to 50% of its bond index, dropping Treasuries from 34.1% to 21.9% (roughly $80 billion of its $215 billion position) and rotating into U.S. corporate and mortgage debt, which rises from 16.2% to 27.6%. Dollar exposure barely moves, from 52.9% to 52.5%, so this is a rotation inside the United States, not an exit from it. As Mohamed El-Erian put it, the size isn't big but the signal is.

Source: Norges Bank Investment Management letter to Norway's Ministry of Finance, September 2026, reported by CNBC, Reuters and Bloomberg. Dollar estimate per Reuters, based on June 30, 2026 holdings. Proposal pending ministry approval. General education, not personalized advice.