UNSINKABLE
In baseball, the fastest way to break up a no hitter, and draw the ire of your teammates is to say the word “no-hitter. During a hockey game, if the opposing team has yet to score, you are forbidden from uttering the words “shut out”. Marines, and soldiers serving across the world would tell you that a beautiful sunny day will change instantly if someone utters the “r” word…rain. The list of superstitious words and phrases like these is quite extensive. Today, I would like to add one; “unsinkable”.
For most readers, that word makes you think of the infamous Titanic disaster. The “unsinkable” ship that tragically failed to complete its maiden voyage. Today’s lesson however comes from a different unsinkable ship. A ship that also failed to complete its maiden voyage. In fact, this ship failed to make it out of the harbor. Rather than sinking in the isolated waters of the north Atlantic, this ship sank in front of thousands of horrified onlookers on the docks of Stockholm Harbor.
The Vasa was commissioned by King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden in 1626. Its grand intent was to be the flagship of the Swedish Navy that was currently engaged in campaign of military expansion in a war the king initiated with Poland-Lithuania in 1621. As a flagship, no expense was spared in both technological innovation, royal opulence, and overall firepower.
Thousands of laborers painstakingly adorned the ships upper levels with wooden and bronze carvings depicting the royal coat of arms, images from Swedish history, and various other ornate details. Local foundries in Stockholm specially cast 64 bronze guns to be mounted on the ship, making it the most powerful naval vessel in the world. Everything from the types of wood to the etching in the bronze cannon was accounted for. Over the course of two years engineers and tradesmen took careful ownership of every tiny detail of the mammoth ship.
A metronome is a tool for musicians to help them keep the beat of a song. While modern electronic metronomes use computers to do this, older metronomes achieved this purpose by using a pendulum of sorts. I small weight would be slid up the timing post that rocked back and forth producing a click every time it passed the center. When the weight is near the bottom the device produces rapid clicks, and the post sways only slightly. When the weight is moved to the very top of the post the clicks become very slow, and the post rocks to an almost horizontal position.
While metronomes like this existed in 1628, none of the design engineers gave it any thought. So consumed were they in the small details of the ship, they forgot to remember the most important detail; it must float. Nobody had given a second though to how much all those cannons weighed, or the added bulk of the carvings and bronze castings. Even more damning was that nobody had stopped to realize that most of that weight, was positioned near the top of the vessel.
As the ship left the dock and proceeded into the harbor it was hit with a gust of wind. Just as a metronome with the weight positioned at the top of the post, the Vasa rocked wildly from side to side. While eventually the Vasa righted itself, it was no match for the second, more powerful gust. That second breeze sent it rocking to the point where the great ship capsized and sank, while a once ecstatic crowd watched in stunned horror.
High yield savings accounts are a better solution than a bank. Credit cards that earn 2x points can help you pay for a vacation. Rebalancing investments is an important factor in portfolio maintenance. Moving credit card debt with interest free balance transfers helps lower your bills. The list of financial tips could literally go on for pages. And would contend that most of those tips are great advice.
All these tips, however, are the small details. That high yield savings account will make you an extra $100 next year. The rewards credit card will get you some free flights. The balance transfer could potentially save you hundreds. I don’t mean to dissuade anyone from undertaking these maneuvers because they make a difference, and that difference can add up.
What I see happening all too often is the same thing that happened to the Vasa. People get consumed in finding the best savings account, getting the lowest auto rate, and saving $3 at the grocery store. They pay close attention to those details but ignore the big ones. You need to spend less than you make. You need to be saving 15% of your income. You need to be asking for raises and looking for alternatives that offer better pay. If you don’t stop to remember those big details, no amount of small financial tips and tricks will be able to dig you out of the hole that gets dug by racking up credit card debt to live beyond your means.