To kick off today’s post, let me tell you a little story. The story is about a good friend of mine from the MBA days. To preserve confidentiality, we can call him Mike. Today, however, I will call him the Frustrated Consultant. With that […]
Regular readers of this blog will notice that today’s post is a day late. No, the intention was not to turn it into Valentine’s day present (though I am sure it’s a nice touch). The real explanation is far more prosaic – I’ve spent […]
The other day, I had a call from my relationship banker across the pond. Now, I have no idea why I have a relationship banker. I’m far, far away from meeting the definition of an ultra-high-net-worth individual, for whom such niceties are usually reserved. […]
If you want to embark on a thankless affair, look no further than the pursuit of financial independence. There are a million constantly moving pieces being debated in the personal finance community. Persistent calls to “index and chill”. Heated discussions about safe withdrawal rates. […]
Sometimes it seems there is nothing but obstacles on your road to financial independence. Stagnating pay, high taxes, the ever-increasing cost of living, stock market downturns. Take your pick – all of these… […]
A few weeks ago, I sat down on a Saturday afternoon to write a post about the top investing mistakes people make on their journeys. Now, I am not talking about active investing, trying to time the market, or even join that exclusive club […]
Over the past few weeks, a strangely coordinated affair played out across investment banks around the world. At the surface, it manifested itself in short, ten-minute conversations – all revolving around a single number. A number that is, at least theoretically, supposed to reflect […]
Welcome to the weekend. Let me kick off today’s edition of Greatest Hits with a little story. A long, long time ago, I had a little conundrum on my hands. To be precise, I had to find a way to pay for college. As […]
It’s going to happen. It could happen tomorrow – or many years from now. Perhaps it’s a sharp drawdown – or a painfully long journey that resembles death by a thousand cuts. It could end quickly, like the March 2020 or the October 1987 […]
Earlier this month, I set out to cross off a few items on my 2021 money agenda. As part of that (somewhat boring) exercise, I had to transfer roughly £150k from my wife’s workplace pension into Hargreaves Lansdown. Alongside Vanguard, Hargreaves is one of […]
If you are in your 20s and reading this, let me promise you one thing. At some point in the future, there will come a point in your life where you will think to yourself: Ahh. If only I knew / did / thought / avoided [insert one] this earlier! […]
A lot has been said about the tremendous run-up in the stock market since the global financial crisis. Historically, the S&P 500 returned about 10% a year (nominal, with dividends included). Over the past decade, however, the returns are well into double digits: So […]
At first glance, it seems easy enough. Figure out your spending needs. Divide by the safe withdrawal rate (SWR). Done – your FIRE number is staring you in the face. But is it? Inspired by a couple of reader comments on this post, let’s […]
And just like that, we are two weeks into 2021. I think we can all agree that so far, it hasn’t really felt any different from 2020. New mutations popping up across the world – and spreading faster than anyone could expect. Cases (and […]
The world of investing is a confusing one. Let’s start with the good news: it gets easier with time. Now for the bad news: when you first start out, the terminology can get so overwhelming that you’ll just want to give up on the […]
A couple of years ago, one of my best friends was let go from his job. He had spent the previous 14 years climbing the ranks of a large corporate, ultimately landing a senior, well-remunerated position. Unfortunately, the organization he worked for employed an […]
As one of your fellow readers helpfully pointed out in a recent email, for someone who never really defined financial independence, I sure spend a lot of time talking about it. Point taken. […]
On August 5th, 2011, representatives of the S&P rating agency announced their decision to downgrade their credit rating of the US Federal Government. To be fair, the S&P had clearly flagged their thinking earlier on, announcing a negative outlook back in April of the […]
And so, as it usually does every year, the Christmas fiesta has come to an end. If anything, the unexpected lockdown here in London was a blessing in disguise. Yes, not being able to see friends and family was a bummer. On the flip […]
Well, here we are. 2020 firmly (and thankfully) behind us. The clock has now begun its relentless countdown on 2021. At the outset, a year seems like a very long time. Objectively speaking, it is indeed a chunky stretch. But days have this pesky […]
Well, here we go. By the time this post goes up, we’ll be just hours away from ushering in the new year. These days, there seems to be a certain rhyme and rhythm to the vast majority of the “year in review” posts. Following […]
You will have noticed that over the past few weeks, I have really dialed back on the number of “quantitative” posts. Gone are the rates of return, expected probabilities, and asset class comparisons. There’s plenty of time for those topics throughout the year. Instead, […]
When it comes to building wealth, the first £100k is a critical stepping stone. But it is crossing the one million mark that makes you realize you are well on your way – at least in financial terms. […]
As my workload finally eased up over the past few weeks, I have been able to spend a fair bit of time catching up with friends and family members. Many people in my social circle also have young kids and demanding jobs. Between all […]
Nothing in life is easy. But it’s fair to say that building wealth has got to be one of the most challenging tasks you can set for yourself. A big underlying issue here is incentives. Think about losing weight or learning a new language. […]
Over the past few days, the lead-up to Christmas is finally proving to be a reprieve from what has been a very busy 2020. Thus, I have finally gotten around to doing something I’ve long had in mind – publishing a summary of what […]
One of the fundamental truths of being a personal finance blogger is that it invariably involves telling readers what you think. The internet, however, is a funny, opaque place. Things are not always what they seem. And for all you know, I could be […]
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