Time flies.
Six weeks ago, things couldn’t look gloomier.
Post-Christmas hangover, exacerbated by the lockdown. An impossibly long road ahead to sunnier weather and a vaccinated population.
And yet, as I look back at this year’s inaugural edition of Greatest Hits, I am pleased to see the quote below:
The finishing line is now well in sight. And as with any race, it’s not how you start – it’s how you finish.
We are literally mere weeks away from being able to (slowly) get back to normal.
Those of us who are fortunate enough to be healthy and employed have tons to be grateful for.
Surely enough, just 42 days later, the picture is drastically different.
It’s finally warm and sunny (at least here in London).
So good that a neighbour of mine fired up his BBQ this weekend. I’m probably going to follow suit this afternoon.
More importantly, we are now nudging closer to delivering first doses of the vaccine to 30% of the population.
The case count, stubborn as it was around the 10k mark, finally dipped down to 8.5k yesterday.
To say that it’s all looking up would be an understatement. We are finally returning to normal.
And if that doesn’t put a spring in your step on this Saturday morning, then I don’t know what will.
Have a wonderful weekend – and enjoy this week’s jumbo serving of Greatest Hits:
From Yours Truly
Why The Active vs Passive Investing Debate Misses The Point
Building Wealth
How To Build a $15m Company Working 40 Hours Or Less As A CEO – Accidentally Retired
How To Build An Edge: Develop Your Talent Stack – Personal Excellence
Even the best of us make investment mistakes. JL Collins writes about his big blunder in Mariah International: All That Glitters…
How The Stock Market Works – A Wealth Of Common Sense
JP Morgan’s 2021 Guide To The Markets
How Exceptional People Think – Value.app
A Ruthless Look At Self-Employment – A Chat With Kat
Early Retirement
By design, this blog is focused on building wealth. However, it’s equally important to look forward to a life post (early) retirement.
Getting Minted is pondering his Seven Years Of Financial Independence.
And in other news, Monevator’s The Accumulator has now reached financial independence and is mapping out his own retirement strategy.
Here is the first part of his plan: Decumulation: A Real-Life Plan. I’m far too young and energetic to pack it all in – but I’ll be watching this series very closely.
Equally, who says you have to leave work early in order to thrive in retirement?
Not these people: It’s Never Too Late: Elderly High Achievers – The Guardian
Lifestyle Design
“There’s no way to avoid risk in life. The real risk is making your life small.”
Why Do Some Some People Risk Their Lives For Fun? – The Economist.
Dollars and Data encourages us to Respect The Base Rate. Too bad about motorcycles. Great news for us bloggers though!
Think working from home is the new normal? The CEO of Goldman Sachs views it as an aberration.
Where Self-Esteem Comes From – Raptitude
“I Get Better Sleep”: The People Who Quit Social Media – The Guardian
The Philosophy Of A Mid-Life Crisis – The New Yorker
How To Feel Closer To People Far Away From You – Chicago Booth Review. Hint: share experiences.
All Around
A Professor Realizes At The End Of A Two-Hour Lecture He Was On Mute – NY Post
New Blogger Highlights
In every edition, I would like to spotlight a blogger or two who aren’t yet very well-known to the general public.
This week, it’s Dollar and Drams with a refreshing view on How To Be More Productive: Work Less.
If you want to be included in my next edition, please scroll down to the bottom of the post.
Recommended Books
As always, some excellent and entertaining books to wrap it all up:
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life – Mark Manson
Skin In The Game – Nassim Taleb
The Simple Path To Wealth by JL Collins. If you are going to read only one book on personal finance, this is it.
Bad Blood: Lies And Secrets In A Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou
Enjoy!
P.S: Attention New Bloggers:
if you are a personal finance blogger who hasn’t yet been featured on Greatest Hits, I would like to hear from you.
Please send an email to bankeronfire at gmail dot com with a blog post you would like to submit for consideration.
The key criteria for inclusion are as follows:
(i) Content that will be interesting or beneficial to the readers of this blog (I hope you will forgive me for reserving judgment on this one)
(ii) Your blog must be at least 6 months old, with regular posts. Too many bloggers flame out early, and I don’t want the readers here to follow a bunch of dead links.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Note: the above post may contain affiliate links. You can read up about our affiliate policy here.
About Banker On Fire
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Banker On FIRE is an M&A (mergers and acquisitions) investment banker. I am passionate about capital markets, behavioural economics, financial independence, and living the best life possible.
Find out more about me and this blog here.
If you are new to investing, here is a good place to start.
For advertising opportunities, please send an email to bankeronfire at gmail dot com
Thanks for the feature! Some great posts on here today, perfect for Saturday morning reading.
Cheers Kat. I loved the honest look at self-employment/entrepreneurship, especially in a world that trashes the 9-5 for no good reason.
Thanks for featuring me! I’m glad to be included with the rest of these fantastic writers.
No worries – I really enjoyed the article.
Keep it up!
Thanks for the feature! Between that and the coffee, I am enjoying this Saturday morning!
It’s one of my favourite posts this week – hence the prime placement!
Been reading this blog for a few months now and this is my first post.
Thanks ever so much for writing it – absolutely fantastic! Your own content posts and your curation of links.
Do NOT underestimate how much of a positive impact you will be having on people’s lives (short and long term).
Favourites link this week is the exceptional people think one.
Thanks a lot for the kind words, means a lot.
It certainly takes quite a bit of time and effort, but knowing that it’s making a difference to folks out there makes it all worthwhile.
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Thanks for featuring my recent post about my 7 years of FI.
Cheers – I enjoyed an honest look at life “on the other side”
My favorite post was from accidentally retired. Like you said, there is a reason why it made it to the prime placement 😉
Some great links, and book recommendations! Simple Path to Wealth is the one I recommend above all others. Subtle Art to me felt a little too reliant on the shock value of saying F*ck in a book title, and not a ton of substance otherwise. Bad Blood has been on my list for a while now, need to read that one.
Thank you.
You are in for a treat with Bad Blood. Recall staying up until 3 am to read yet another chapter and cursing myself the following morning 🙂