I generally subscribe to the Simple Path to Wealth. My strategy is generally equity based, with the highest likely return over time. The over time being crucial, it is no where near as consistent in terms of cash flow. In…
Category: Aspiration
Contribute more to a Retirement Annuity or go Offshore and pay CGT? – Why a South African RA isn’t for me on my journey to FIRE
I started this post with the intention of explaining why an RA isn’t for me. I’ve been skeptical for a while now that it’s advantages outweigh the constraints for disciplined investor. So, I built a model to prove my point.…
Spending tomorrow’s happiness
I stopped drinking 439 days ago. I have an app that tracks it. It was useful to remember “my why” in the early days of breaking that happiness debt cycle. – “Too many wasted days to hangovers. Feeling down, losers.…
Investing Strategically – So many Opportunities in this time of Crisis
To save some time, for those looking for the next 10x investment and/or how to be rich by Friday, this post isn’t going to help you. It’s been almost 12 months since I last wrote in my Project Fire 40…
Corona Virus: A Considered Response Needed for South Africa
We knew a potential flood was coming, so we put up the flood gates to buy preparation time. But the water is still there, behind the gates which can’t hold forever. We also can’t open them completely, as all we…
No Emergency Fund in this Emergency – Didn’t earn enough or spent too much?
An emergency fund is between 1-6 months of expenses, in a readily accessible non-volatile account, like a high interest savings account. It is for those rainy days and guess what, it’s raining. If you don’t have an emergency fund, I…
Three Mental Models to spend (waste) less – Frugalism, Minimalism and Valuism
I started Project FIRE40 with an ambitious goal of going from unsecured (lifestyle) debt to financially independent in a rapid four years. It’s ambitious and I think realistically, I’ll miss by a year, perhaps two. Which will still be a…
Five glorious mindsets to adopt in 2020
As we embrace the new year, it is an opportunity to re-frame our thinking and to challenge the hidden scripts we live by. Become “overly optimistic” – Mr Money Mustache is a pragmatist, I think I default to the same…
Mental Models for MMM’s Outrageous Optimism Argument
I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened. Mark Twain As a naturally pragmatic person, I typically adopt Edward de Bono’s Black Thinking Hat, immediately spotting and highlighting the difficulties…
The Paradox of Freedom – We need Rules and Structure
We want freedom to do what we like. We rebel against rules and structure, herein lies the paradox. I see it regularly with one person businesses (such as dentists and electricians), freelancers and entrepreneurs, they chose this way of earning…