How I money
(Technically, this article should be titled “How WE money” because everything I do, I do it with my wife.) One of the things I pride myself on is providing financial advice that follows the...
Category: Planning
Focus on what you can control
In life, it pays to focus on the things we can control. Of course, that’s not always the case: we like watching movies and reading novels, and follow sports teams, even though we can’t...
The last safe investment is YOU
I love books that swing for the fences. They almost always include things I disagree with. And they’re not the sort of books that will average 5 stars on Amazon. That’s how I’d describe...
Some bold predictions [Sonnie Bailey, futurologist (cough, cough, splutter, ahem)]
* I use the term “futurologist” entirely tongue-in-cheek. In the spirit of taking a more positive approach to trying to predict the future, below are some of my predictions (and levels of confidence) relating...
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...
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...
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...
How much buffer do you need? (Or: four things I agonise over when providing financial advice)
I have clients worth tens of thousands of dollars, and clients worth tens of millions of dollars. I find it much easier to advise clients with millions rather than thousands. First up, I’ll admit...
Questions I ask clients (and why I’m not afraid of roboadvice)
“I’m not racist, or a Luddite, but…” If you want people to listen to what you have to say, a good gambit is to say “I’m not racist, but…”. The room will go quiet....