One of the metrics used extensively in the financial profession to evaluate a given decision is the Return on Investment (ROI). It’s used in other areas too, like in marketing and operational planning meetings for larger companies and corporations. This metric drives us to optimise portfolios to chase the highest possible yield. We scrutinise management […]

Have you ever thought about the unspoken money scripts we pass to our children? As parents, we often assume that teaching our children about money requires a formal sit-down conversation. We plan to wait until they are teenagers to explain the mechanics of a budget, the danger of credit cards, and the magic of compound […]

The financial world is full of complex algorithms, dense spreadsheets, and jargon designed to make investing look like a highly complicated science. You could find yourself thinking that you need an advanced degree just to understand what your money is doing. But occasionally, a piece of math comes along that is so simple, and so […]

In our last post, we looked at the foundational laws of money: spending less than you earn, insuring your risks, and respecting the erosive power of inflation. These are the defensive structures of a good plan. But defence alone doesn’t build the life you want. You also need to move forward. Today, we look at […]

In finance, as in life, there are opinions, and there are facts. Opinions are everywhere. You hear them at dinner parties, read them in the news reports, and see them shouted on cable news. “Buy gold,” “Sell tech,” “Property is dead,” “Crypto is the future.” These opinions change with the wind. But beneath the noise, […]

Let’s be honest. Nobody wakes up excited to pay their car or home insurance premiums. It is the ultimate “grudge purchase”. You pay for something you hope never to use. Every month, you see that money leave your account, and if you are lucky, you get absolutely nothing in return but silence (and peace of […]

In the world of finance, it is easy to get distracted by the shiny objects. We hear about the next big tech stock, cryptocurrency, or complex hedge fund strategies. We are naturally drawn to the exciting, the new, and the sophisticated. Especially after the holidays, when we’ve sat with everyone who seems to have “done […]

We tend to assume that the journey to financial success is linear. We imagine that as our net worth rises, our stress levels will fall. We believe that once we hit a certain number (let’s call it the “freedom number”), anxiety will simply evaporate. Yet, in our conversations with successful individuals and families, we often […]

We often talk about the emotional side of money, but sometimes the barrier to peace of mind is purely logistical. Over a lifetime of working, moving, and saving, it is normal to accumulate a “financial junk drawer”. You might have a pension from a job you left ten years ago, a savings account opened on […]

(This is the last blog of three about biases and how they impact our financial planning, all published this month.) If you’ve ever walked away from a brilliant webinar or insightful podcast thinking, “Yes! I’m going to make a change,” and then done… nothing, welcome to the club! Change is hard. Not because we’re lazy, […]