One event, one bill, and what Wade would do about it.
Each letter follows a single thing that happened in the world to a single bill you pay. It is short enough to finish over your coffee.
How a letter runs
It opens on something real.
A fill-up with the receipt math, a dated event, or a question his brother-in-law asked.
It walks the road.
Each step from the event to your bill gets one plain sentence and one figure at most.
Wade gives his read.
When it is his opinion, he says so.
It lands on your bill.
One bold line with the dollar figure at your size, and the arithmetic right under it.
It names the date that could change it.
The single thing that could change the read, with the day it happens.
What I'd do about it.
Two to four moves. One is always something you can do at home this week.
Eight lanes he checks before he writes
The lane that hands him a real chain and a real number that morning becomes the letter.
"I will not hand you stock tips or tell you who to vote for, because that is not the job."
Wade, in his first letter
When a story offers a money move, he names the kind of holding and leaves tickers out. On politicians he gives the play by play, and his verdict lands on the deal.