NZ Wealth & Risk - money for thoughtful Kiwis
I first came across the word “ragret” in We’re the Millers. It’s a salty movie from 2013. Jason Sudeikis, best known for playing the titular character in Ted Lasso, plays a character who is the anti-Ted Lasso. Jennifer Aniston also plays against type, as a stripper. It’s not for everyone. ...
I LOVE rules of thumb. In the right place at the right time, they’re invaluable. There are, however, times and places where rules of thumb aren’t appropriate. Working out how much you need in order to retire or feel comfortable or feel “financially independent” is NOT the time or place ...
A lot of people are interested in ethical investing. I’ve written about ethical investing in depth before. In short: I’m ambivalent about the idea. I like that the concept exists, and I like the type of people who find it attractive. But I’m not sure it makes a big difference. ...
“You waste years by not being able to waste hours” – Amos Tversky When I started working as a lawyer, I liked the idea of time recording. In fact, before I started practising law, I had been experimenting with recording how I spent my personal time. Way before Fitbits and ...
🤍🤍🤍 Before we were able to store food properly, the best place to store extra food was in the stomachs of our friends, family members, and neighbours. When they had surplus food, they’d reciprocate. Through most of our evolution, before the agricultural revolution, refrigeration, and the ability to store, refrigerate, ...
Being a parent is a huge responsibility.We want the best for our children. When they leave the nest, most of us want to have some comfort knowing that they’re well-equipped to be happy, independent, productive people.Part of this picture is being able to make sound financial decisions.As a result there ...
I love consuming media. I love reading, watching, and listening – for entertainment and education. We live in a golden age of media, thanks to the internet. At the touch of a few buttons we have access to an uncountable number of books, articles, podcast episodes, videos, courses, etc. At ...
TLDR: High-level thoughts. Less relevant to any specific decision, but more about the lenses through which we see the world, which can in turn inform our decisions.In the last year or so, something weird has happened. I’ve become an optimistic person.This is weird for many reasons, including:The fact I’ve spent most ...
In this article, I reflect on my personal situation. However, I hope my candid thoughts prompt you to reflect on your own situation.For the next couple of months at least, I’m reducing the amount of time I spend blogging.I’ll probably keep posting, but not at the weekly cadence of the ...
I recently wrote about taking articles from this blog and collating them into a series of books. Ostensibly, the books above are short works of non-fiction. With the exception of Luck, however, they’re fictional – in the sense that they don’t technically exist (outside of my mind or this blog).Today, I want ...
Most of us want to feel financially secure. How we feel about our financial situation is highly personal. Quite often I speak with people who are worth millions of dollars but are concerned about their financial security. Other times I speak with people who are focused on a certain figure ...
I’m sharing a lot about my own situation for illustrative purposes. Read this article and think about how the key messages relate to your own circumstances. Lately, I’ve been far too busy. This is despite my best efforts to plan and be on the front-foot regarding my commitments and ...
The idea that there is one specific way to invest, or to manage your financial affairs, is kind of weird. This might seem like I’m contradicting myself, since when I prepare advice for clients, I prepare a report with specific recommendations for where and how to invest. Similarly, I often ...
My favourite articles are those that stay with me, many years after reading. One of these articles, from 2015, is Frank Bruni writing about “The Myth of Quality Time” in The New York Times. He starts by explaining that his extended family of 20 meet for a week each year. ...
Your balance sheet provides a simplified view of assets you own which you can sell relatively easily, and which you can put a relatively stable value on. It omits some other valuable assets. Consider, however, that your balance sheet might omit one or more important assets. You might, for instance, ...