The hottest Budgeting Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
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Top Technology Topics

The Cost of Restoring Order in Los Angeles

OpenTheBooks Substack • 177 implied HN points • 17 Jun 25
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Government Public Policy Law enforcement Budgeting Civil Rights
  1. Los Angeles is facing high costs due to record overtime pay for emergency services. The city spent $1.1 billion on overtime, which is a big burden on taxpayers.
  2. There are many job vacancies in the city, especially in the police department, because of early retirements and hiring delays. This has led to increased overtime as the remaining staff try to cover the gaps.
  3. Top city officials are earning high salaries, with many workers making over $100,000 a year in overtime. This pay structure is raising concerns about financial sustainability for the city.

TGIF: The Lame Duck

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 4488 implied HN points • 20 Dec 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Presidency Budgeting Political parties Government Policy Elections
  1. President Biden is facing criticisms about his mental health and lack of engagement with key government officials, raising concerns about his leadership capabilities.
  2. President-elect Elon Musk and Donald Trump are disrupting the traditional budget process, causing Congress to struggle with passing a new budget amid rising tensions.
  3. There's a contrast in political styles between Biden, who presents a moderate image, and Musk, who is approaching governance in a radically different way, hinting at significant changes ahead.

Tough Love for California

In My Tribe • 1306 implied HN points • 10 Jan 25
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Government reform Public Policy Environmental Issues Budgeting
  1. California will likely need financial help from the federal government due to massive damages from wildfires. This support should come with conditions to improve how the state manages its resources.
  2. The state's public employee salaries are much higher than the national average. A bailout should come with rules to give the federal government more control over salary adjustments and workforce management.
  3. California struggles with water and forest management. New laws should allow federal agencies to build necessary water infrastructure and implement better forest practices to prevent wildfires.

Will Elon's Team of Elite Math Twinks Tell Him That You Can't Close a $1.8 Trillion Budget Gap By Eliminating a $0.04 Trillion Agency?

I Might Be Wrong • 25 implied HN points • 06 Feb 25
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Budgeting Government Federal Spending Policy Analysis Economic Theory
  1. Elon Musk's team is trying to find ways to cut a massive budget deficit, but suggestions like eliminating a small agency won't make a real difference.
  2. Young and inexperienced teams can bring fresh ideas, but they might also lack the courage to challenge big figures when things don't add up.
  3. Real budget solutions will likely involve tough decisions like tax increases or cuts to popular programs, which are often avoided in flashy discussions.

Deficit-to-GDP Ratio Near World War II Levels, CBO Finds

QTR’s Fringe Finance • 18 implied HN points • 07 Feb 25
💰 Finance Debt Management Budgeting Economic Policy Government spending Fiscal Responsibility
  1. The U.S. government is facing huge deficits, with the deficit expected to be around 6.2% of GDP in 2025. This level hasn't been seen since World War II.
  2. Federal spending is outpacing revenue, primarily due to rising costs for programs like Social Security and Medicare. This is leading to increasing government debt.
  3. Despite the seriousness of the debt problem, it hardly gets discussed in politics, meaning there's little pressure to change how spending is managed.
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❄️ 💰 15,9 % : taux d'épargne des Français. Et vous ?

Snowball • 1650 implied HN points • 01 Mar 23
💰 Finance Savings Budgeting Investing Personal Finance Money Management
  1. The savings rate of French citizens is 15.9%, consider your own savings.
  2. Understanding the basics of saving, the importance of putting savings to work in your budget, and determining the ideal amount to save.
  3. Tips for successful saving: set annual goals, make saving a habit, establish rules, track your savings, and create a balanced situation.

❄️ 🔧 Mes 38 outils préférés pour gérer vos finances personnelles

Snowball • 1356 implied HN points • 17 Mar 23
💰 Finance Budgeting Investing Cryptocurrency Retirement Market Analysis
  1. The post shares 38 favorite tools for managing personal finances including budget tracking, investment research, and ETF investing.
  2. The tools cover various aspects such as budget management, investment strategies, tracking investments, and finding information on companies and markets.
  3. There are tools for managing subscriptions, finding forgotten bank accounts, simulating compound interests, assessing insider trading activities, tracking crypto portfolios, and more.

Congratulations On Your New Money Pit!

Shades of Greaves • 275 implied HN points • 13 Dec 23
💰 Finance Personal Finance Investing Budgeting Real Estate
  1. Owning a 'money pit' home comes with financial responsibilities like mortgage, property taxes, and maintenance costs.
  2. Engaging in DIY home repairs can save money but may take more time and effort than expected.
  3. Despite the challenges, owning a home allows for building relationships with neighbors and sharing experiences with other homeowners.

What if Congress Doesn't Specifically Reject NIH Indirect Cost Changes?

The Good Science Project • 48 implied HN points • 24 Feb 25
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Legislation Health Policy Budgeting Funding Regulations
  1. NIH can't just set a flat rate for indirect costs on all grants. Each university's costs need to be negotiated individually.
  2. If Congress removes rules preventing NIH from changing how they calculate costs, it doesn't mean they can bypass accounting regulations.
  3. Any exceptions to indirect cost rates must be well-documented and communicated in advance for specific grants, not applied broadly.

House passes the Biden-McCarthy debt limit/spending bill

Speaking Security • 275 implied HN points • 01 Jun 23
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Legislation Bipartisanship Fiscal policy Federal Spending Budgeting
  1. The House passed the Biden-McCarthy debt limit/spending bill with a 314 to 117 vote.
  2. The bill places strict limits on discretionary budget spending, giving less money to non-military initiatives and more to the Pentagon.
  3. The Biden-McCarthy bill reflects a bipartisan consensus to prioritize military spending over other areas, with the Pentagon receiving a record-setting budget while other sectors face cuts.

Mapping your company's year: how to sequence the big processes

Lessons • 255 implied HN points • 07 Apr 23
💼 Business Planning Budgeting Performance reviews Sequencing
  1. Sequencing big projects in your company efficiently can save time and streamline processes.
  2. Key company-wide activities to schedule include board meetings, business reviews, budgeting, and performance reviews.
  3. Being thoughtful about the timing of important processes like performance reviews can impact company productivity.

Buying Time

Comment is Freed • 93 implied HN points • 31 Oct 24
💰 Finance Economics Government Forecasting Spending Budgeting
  1. The government is trying to slow down a financial crisis by making tough choices, but this is just a temporary fix. They've had to reverse some tax cuts and allow for more borrowing.
  2. The previous government's budget projections were unrealistic, leading to anger and concerns about how much spending was really needed. Many departments are facing serious issues.
  3. Despite these reversals, the government doesn't have much time left to make the situation better. They're in a tough spot and need to find new ways to improve the economy.

It’s the First Budget Season of the AI Revolution

Second Rough Draft • 137 implied HN points • 13 Jul 23
🕹 Technology AI Journalism Budgeting Generative AI
  1. The generative AI revolution is considered the biggest turning point in technology since the Nineties with significant implications.
  2. Artificial Intelligence offers cost-saving opportunities but also presents hard choices in terms of reallocating resources.
  3. AI can enhance journalistic capabilities by creating new versions of stories at low costs and opening the door to new audiences.

A glimpse into the ongoing "zero-based budgeting" fiscal reform in Anhui

Pekingnology • 49 implied HN points • 20 Oct 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Fiscal policy Budgeting Government reform Public Administration Economic Policy
  1. Zero-based budgeting in Anhui means starting from zero each year rather than using last year's budget as a base. This change helps focus on the actual needs and priorities of programs.
  2. During the budgeting process, Anhui discovered many overlapping policies and wasteful spending practices. This shows there was a lack of coordination between different departments.
  3. The reform aims to reduce ineffective spending and improve efficiency, which includes cutting unnecessary policies and reallocating funds to areas that need it the most.

How to realistically estimate market size and revenue in defense start ups

Nathan’s Substack • 59 implied HN points • 18 Oct 23
💼 Business Market Analysis Defense industry Budgeting
  1. Estimating market size and revenue in defense startups is challenging due to the complexities of the market, long customer life cycles, and misleading reports from analysts.
  2. The traditional top-down approach for market sizing in defense is flawed, so a bottom-up method, focusing on quantifying available customers and understanding unit costs, can be more effective.
  3. Understanding different contract types in defense, such as SBIRs, OTAs, IDIQs, and Programs of Record, is crucial for startups to differentiate between product revenue and government-funded R&D, and to aim for sustainable growth.

The Big Development Project: How much should it cost?

Dev’s Substack • 13 HN points • 25 Apr 24
💼 Business Finance Budgeting Investment Development Analysis
  1. Performing a double worst-case analysis can help determine a reasonable price for a software investment based on the project's business value.
  2. ROI (return on investment) calculation considers total benefits, total costs, and time horizon to assess project profitability.
  3. Setting a target cost for development budget based on the minimum acceptable ROI and apportioning costs between development and operational can guide budget planning.

Sobriety as an Inflation Hedge

Anxiety Addiction & Ascension • 59 implied HN points • 11 Jul 22
🏥 Health & Wellness Sobriety Personal Finance Self-Improvement Budgeting
  1. Inflation is deliberate and will worsen, impacting people's finances through mass money printing and asset devaluation. Consider alternatives like self-managed retirement funds.
  2. Being sober can be an effective way to save money and act as an inflation hedge. Alcohol can be a costly luxury, and cutting back can lead to substantial savings.
  3. Sobriety not only helps save money but also strengthens the body, mind, and spirit, making it a valuable strategy for navigating challenging times and hardships.

It turns out we can, in fact, build things. Time to build sidewalks.

Exasperated Infrastructures • 19 implied HN points • 07 Jul 23
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Infrastructure Federalism Safety Leadership Budgeting
  1. Emphasize the importance of building and maintaining infrastructure like sidewalks to improve safety and reduce pedestrian fatalities.
  2. Highlight the need for collaboration and coordination between different levels of government and private entities to address infrastructure challenges.
  3. Call for leadership from government officials and active participation from citizens to advocate for necessary infrastructure improvements.

Capital Planning for Early Stage SaaS Founders

desknotesaz • 1 HN point • 29 Feb 24
💼 Business Startup Finance Strategy Investment Budgeting
  1. Capital planning includes budget preparation, strategy formation, and team alignment. It helps create a framework for quantifying decisions and deliberate capital allocation.
  2. A capital plan involves mapping out a medium-term business strategy and creating a budget that outlines resource allocation and implications on cash balance.
  3. Navigating from Series A to B requires increased complexity and possibly hiring a financial expert. Their role is crucial in managing operational details, translating them into a comprehensive budget, and challenging proposals for realistic alignment.

How's your 302(b) looking? Strong...to quite strong

Matt’s Five Points • 0 implied HN points • 27 Mar 12
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Budgeting Legislation Congress Government
  1. The congressional budget process is complicated but important. It involves planning for the next fiscal year's budget, and the President has to submit a budget to Congress each February.
  2. 302(b) allocations divide spending among subcommittees and set limits on how much each can spend. This means subcommittees can't really cut overall spending and instead fight for larger shares of the same budget pie.
  3. Changes in the budget process have shifted responsibility for controlling spending from the Appropriations Committee to the Budget Committee. This has affected how subcommittees operate and strategize for their funding requests.

Không có gì quý hơn độc lập... tài chính

Thái | Hacker | Kỹ sư tin tặc • 0 implied HN points • 19 Apr 16
💰 Finance Financial Independence Investing Budgeting Retirement planning
  1. Financial independence is important because it opens up opportunities and allows for more freedom in decision-making.
  2. Achieving financial independence involves passive income exceeding living expenses, emphasizing the need to save and invest.
  3. Starting to save and invest early, tracking expenses, cutting unnecessary spending, and setting savings goals are key steps towards financial independence.

Are you feeling influencer fatigue?

Cosmos • 0 implied HN points • 11 Mar 24
🎭️ Culture Influencers Budgeting Digital Platforms Social media Content creation
  1. Influencer fatigue is becoming more common as people are tired of influencers flaunting luxurious lifestyles and promoting products.
  2. Loud budgeting is gaining popularity, with individuals openly discussing financial decisions and sharing money-saving tips.
  3. Google is making significant updates to fight off search spam, particularly targeting AI-generated content that aims to manipulate search rankings.

On self-storage strategy, getting my first client, and my investment philosophy

Austin's Analects • 0 implied HN points • 02 Jun 21
💰 Finance Investment Retirement Stocks Budgeting
  1. Self-storage investments involve owning real estate and a business to appeal to banks and investors
  2. Directly contacting self-storage owners can provide a competitive edge over relying on brokers
  3. Instead of focusing on individual stock picking, consider investing in index funds for retirement accounts for lower risk and better growth potential

The Why of Security Red Teams

Locks and Leaks • 0 implied HN points • 29 Jun 23
🕹 Technology Security Red-Teaming Vulnerabilities Budgeting
  1. Red Teaming is essential for organizations with high-value assets, significant threats, or discovered vulnerabilities to test and strengthen their security measures proactively.
  2. Red Teams assess threat actors tactics, uncover vulnerabilities, address organizational hubris, challenge security assumptions, and protect business and assets through rigorous testing.
  3. Red Teaming is not just a tool but a philosophy that promotes critical thinking to improve security measures, ensure defense readiness, and make informed decisions to safeguard organizations and valuable resources.

Winter is Coming

SFEDup • 0 implied HN points • 20 Jun 23
🚌 Education Finance Budgeting School Districts Staffing
  1. There is an impending fiscal crisis in many school districts due to various financial challenges.
  2. SFUSD will face significant budget deficits due to factors like declining enrollment, loss of pandemic-related funds, and potential recession impacts.
  3. The complexity and challenges of managing a school district budget are highlighted, including issues with expenditures on special education, staffing allocations, and transportation costs.

Taming the Annual Budget

Build To Scale • 0 implied HN points • 24 Oct 23
💼 Business Finance Management Strategy Operations Budgeting
  1. When setting an annual budget, use a top-down approach for better efficiency and success in funding key initiatives.
  2. Departments need to create their own annual plans that align with overall company goals to ensure success and mitigate risks.
  3. As the business evolves, flexibility is key in budget management, with regular check-ins to adjust spending and headcount based on actual performance.

FIVE POINTS: The Most and Least Vulnerable Politicians

Matt’s Five Points • 0 implied HN points • 29 Sep 17
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Elections Legislation Political Behavior Budgeting
  1. Having a 'safe seat' doesn’t completely protect politicians from challenges, especially from party primaries. They still have to worry about losing to a fellow party member.
  2. Retiring politicians often make bolder decisions since they no longer fear losing their seat. This can allow them to vote differently or criticize their party without worry.
  3. The budget resolution is crucial for moving forward on tax reform. It sets spending limits and priorities, so Congress will have to work carefully to agree on it.