I’m bringing Michigan Money here—here’s why
Hey there. Bit of an update this week1.
Every month, I keep a journal.
It’s an Apple Note. I jot down a sentence or two when a strong thought, question, feeling, or insight hits.
At the end of the month, I upload the musings to ChatGPT2 and ask it for trends, insights, actions I could have taken and didn’t, and actions I could take now.
The insights get sharper every month. It’s kind of eerie. And helpful.
If you’ve been here awhile, you know I’ve been in the post-pivot wilderness. When Write of Passage ended, a clear personal mission and deep purpose ended with it. It left a smoking crater in my life.
Finding the next mission takes experimentation.
Why Michigan Money is Moving In
One experiment I’ve been running lately is called “Michigan Money.” Ostensibly, it’s about helping people in Michigan navigate the unique perils and opportunities in the Great Lakes state.
But really, it’s about me finding and building a new career, or business, as part of a new life in my native state.
As I’ve mentioned, my family is moving back to Michigan this summer3. As my daughter wraps up high school, we’re ripping out carpets, painting walls, and saying sayonara to a decade’s worth of accumulated stuff as we get ready to list our home.
After a few editions, it seems clear that Michigan Money is what I need to lean in to. Both here on Substack, and in my life.
But I don’t want two Substacks. Split attention and energy, and all that.
So I’m folding Michigan Money into this newsletter—my main creative home. It just makes sense to keep the momentum (and the mission) in one place.
My favorite bit of March journaling insight from my ChatGPT-therapist was this:
I feel some momentum. It’s time to go all-in.
Everyone is welcome, even if you’re from Ohio
If you're not in Michigan4, don’t worry—I’m not turning this into a hyperlocal Nextdoor rant. The lens may be Michigan, but the questions are universal:
How do we save more?
How do we spend smarter?
How do we find the best opportunities?
What does prosperity really mean—especially in midlife5?
Michigan Money is about the life I need to build and want to help others build. And so that will continue in this single space.
Below is the edition I put together for this week’s newsletter. I also plan to post some fun links on the weekends, linkblog style, in a hat tip to the old “Live Albom” columns Mitch Albom wrote at the Detroit Free Press.
Thanks for being here, and navigating around the potholes6 with me.
This Week: Should You Buy a Generator?
Northern Michigan was hammered by an ice storm this week, with about 260,000 people losing power.
Here’s what the storm looked like:
Some residents may be without power for weeks.
This storm would have crushed even the most robust power grid, but Michiganders are no strangers to frequent, prolonged power outages. Michigan ranks:
49th nationally in average time to restore power after an outage7
43rd in duration of outages per customer.
For the privilege, Michigan residents pay more for electricity than our neighbors in Illinois, Indiana, or Minnesota—all of which have more resilient power infrastructure.
Michigan plans to operate on 60% renewable power by 2030, but that’s of little use if you can’t deliver power to residents reliably.
So, although you could think of it as an additional tax, it’s not a bad idea to consider investing in a generator.
Here are some things to keep in mind if you’re going to go full Stormprepper.
What do you actually need to power?
Make a list. Fridge (don’t forget the garage freezer!8), furnace, maybe your sump pump—anything that turns an outage from “annoying” into “disaster.” Add up the watts (there are calculators online, like this one from Honda), and that’ll help you understand what you’ll need.
Generator types: Know your vibe
Home standby: The Cadillac option. Permanently installed, kicks on automatically when the power drops. Runs on natural gas or propane. Charges up most or all of your home. Also charges up your debit card—think $10K to $15K, installed.
Portable: You’ll need to drag it out, fire it up, and keep it fueled. Good for keeping the basics running. Costs less, but powers less and can be noisy.
Inverter: Great if you want quiet fuel efficiency and clean power for electronics. Usually smaller and pricier per watt.
Fuel options: Pros and cons
Gasoline: Easy to find—unless ice-saddled trees block the roads.
Diesel: Strong and efficient, but fewer gas stations stock it.
Natural gas: Seamless if your home’s already hooked up.
Propane: Long shelf life, great for infrequent use.
Stay alive
Look for a generator with an automatic carbon monoxide shutoff, and never run it indoors or even in a closed garage. Seriously. Living in Florida, I see stories of people who die from the fumes every hurricane season because they run the generator in the garage, or even the house.
Maintenance matters
Standby units need pro installation and checkups (like an HVAC system).
Portables need to be started and tested occasionally. Don’t let it sit there collecting dust—and then fail during a blackout.
Final thought: What’s your peace of mind worth?
Whole-house units aren’t cheap, but they can save your basement, your stash of freezer meat, and familial harmony. Portables are more budget-friendly and still a huge help. Either way, the cost of doing nothing might be higher.
Wait, what? We’re changing again? (Yes.)
I can’t recommend this enough. I understand if it gives you the heebie-jeebies to share your innermost thoughts with a robo-therapist. But it really gives you personal insight, if you’re in to that sort of thing.
Despite the fact Michigan weather is on absolute meth bender this week. Ice, snow, tornadoes, 90-MPH wind gusts. A little of everything, except peace and quiet.
I mean, I’m not in Michigan yet, either.
Midlife in the Midwest. So much mid.
Some so large they can be seen from space.
It’s unclear, at the time of publishing, how the addition of Greenland as the 51st state may affect this ranking.
Got to protect the Hudsonville Super Scoop ice cream that expired in 2021.
Matt, Uploading the doc to Chat GPT is genius! I'm going to do that today as I reflect on March and Q1. Thank you for this idea :)
Your "therapist" was spot on, Matt! This is loaded with great advice. The ice storm ripped through here as well, and this list is a portable and useful one for anyone living in these weather conditions.
And can I say, I LOVE your footnotes!!!
Enjoy the move.