Plan. But don’t over-plan.
“Plans are worthless, but planning is everything.” – Dwight D Eisenhower I believe that it’s important to plan. That should be obvious: after working in various roles, I’ve found my current calling as a...
How to predict the future
Trying to predict the future is hard. And in some ways, it’s impossible. But it’s a valuable exercise. Because in “predicting” the future, we also increase the likelihood that we can shape it. Lately, I’ve...
The Rugby World Cup, the All Blacks, and Luck
I wrote this article before the 2011 Rugby World Cup. (It had an original publication date of 4 September 2011. Have I been blogging that long?!) As we enter into the 2019 Rugby World...
Question the question
(On the surface this article is about “scoping” when it comes to professional services. But consider it also in the context of your role as a consumer of goods and services. And most importantly,...
Baches (or: some terrible financial decisions can be great life decisions, and vice versa)
(File under: Some terrible financial decisions can be great life decisions, and vice versa.) A few months ago, I took my family on a road trip around the South Island. We stayed in various...
What does wealth mean to you? [VIDEO PRESENTATION]
This week I gave a 30-minute presentation to a group of engineers. I talked about investing and insurance, while emphasising the importance of making financial and lifestyle decisions that are in line with YOUR...
The copy and paste personality
The most damning revelation you can make about yourself is that you do not know what is interesting and what is not. – Kurt Vonnegut When I first heard the phrase “copy and paste personality”,...
Investing is personal
How would you invest if you were 60 and had an investment portfolio of $5 million? And let’s say you enjoyed a lifestyle that costed, say, $100,000 per year, and didn’t have any desire...
Fiduciary: yet another “F” word
Every now and then, I see people use the word “fiduciary” when it comes to financial advice. Although I 100% support what the term represents — an alignment between the interests of client and...
You can’t be half-pregnant: when to use (and when to be) a specialist
I’ve worn braces at two points in my life. The first time was when I was a teenager. The second time was soon after my 30th birthday. The first time, my local dentist provided...