Don’t be fooled by the 4 percent rule
If you’ve done any research on planning for retirement, you’ve probably come across the 4% rule. It originates from the US (specifically, Trinity University from Texas). This idea,...
Category: Planning
Drawing on capital during retirement [with video!]
Most online retirement calculators are overly simplistic. They can be a great starting point. Sorted.org.nz’s Retirement planner, for instance, is a terrific resource. (And better than calculators from many...
Digital assets and succession planning [video]
I recently presented to a group of lawyers about estate/succession planning in relation to digital assets. I only had 10 minutes to speak so I had to make...
How to calculate your asset allocation
The most important thing to get right when investing in financial assets is asset allocation.”Asset allocation” refers to how your funds are invested across different classes of financial...
The folly of predicting market downturns
I’ll start this article with a prediction. At some point in the future, the sharemarket will go down. It might go down in a big way. Phew! I...
NZ Super and uncertainty in retirement planning
The future is uncertain. This fact shouldn’t stop us from planning for the future. But we need to plan with an appreciation for this uncertainty. In terms of...
Handwritten money lessons
Some handwritten scrawling about how to set yourself up for your financial future.
Private education: It’s not a $16,000 decision, it’s more like a $500,000 decision.
The decision send your eldest child to a private primary school isn’t just a $16,000 decision. In the scheme of things, it could be more like a $500,000 decision.
Are we on the road to ruin?
In this article, I use James Rickards’ book The Road to Ruin as a starting point for talking about predicting “The Future” (singular, rather than plural), “X risks” (or “existential” risks), and the challenges of trying to predict “worldwide financial meltdowns” (whatever that actually means).
Planning for a changing future
When we plan for the future, it’s easy to think that we’re planning for a future that’s similar to the present. But think about how much the world has changed in your own lifetime. Or in the past 50 or 100 years. What will happen in the next 20 or 50 years? This is the context in which we need to plan our long-term future.
