Tag: Wealth Management

  • Thoughtless Shopping and Life

    Recently I’ve been thinking that shopping can be a metaphor for life. Not so much the shopping itself, but why we are so thoughtless about the shopping. And living.

  • More Morning Routine

    I’m not sure whether it’s because this is already an unusual year, but I’ve been thinking more about my morning routine. Perhaps because there’s been so little else to pin the days on, and the lazy, langourous, sleepy sense of nothing much happening lasts for about 87 hours per day.

  • There’s been a Data Breach!

    “There’s been a Data Breach!” (please imagine the grizzled voice of Taggart’s Detective Chief Inspector Burke). Here in Australia, we’ve recently endured a data breach or two (that we know of) involving some of the largest companies doing business here. Data stolen includes identification (passport and driver’s license numbers), credit card numbers, address details and…

  • Inflation and You

    I’ve been watching the inflation rate with interest. And the local commercial tv stations running around like headless chickens talking about how disastrous inflation is and how we’re all ruined, yet not offering any concrete examples of how to manage you money to get the best band for each buck. Backgound To put it in…

  • Revisiting Just-in-Time Delivery

    The concept of just-in-time delivery is essentially having ZERO stock on hand, ordering it when when you need it. In 2015, when I was long-term unemployed, I wrote a post about developing the virtue of Wealth. Essentially, it involved: But, times are changing… In the good old pre-Covid days, it was possible to buy as…

  • Dating Spending Plan

    I heard on the news the other morning that the divorce rate in Australia (and presumably other contries) has skyrocketed. The going theory is that we’ve spent so much time in lockdown together, without the distractions of other people, that we’ve realised that we don’t in fact like each other very much at all. Which…

  • How to Mind the Beeswax of Business

    I’ve been thinking about minding the beeswax of business. It started when I was happily watching a period drama. You know the kind of thing – lovely clothes, beautiful houses and lush gardens. Cold relationships between the rich and aristocratic families, but much warmer with their domestic servants. So it came as a bit of…

  • House Deposit Holistic Spending Plan

    We have this thing called “The Great Australian Dream,” which is basically to own a house on a quarter acre block. This dream has its roots in returning servicemen wanting to live the good life they fought to defend. It was part creating a comfy family nest, part preventing the land going to “undesirables”, and…

  • How to celebrate your 100th birthday

    A few days ago, Mary Beard asked; “How do you celebrate your 100th birthday?” Like her, I don’t have a fond hope for reaching 100 years, though in my case it’s because my treatment options are likely to be few when my transplant fails (though hopefully, that’s a while away yet). But would you even…

  • How to Win in the Sales Season

    It’s sales season again – that time of year when it seems everyone is trying to get their hands in your wallet. Preferably to empty it, leaving you (and their competitors) with nothing. But you can win the sales season, “all” it takes is a bit of research and planning. Know what you want, and…

  • How to do a Holistic Personal Finance Annual Review

    Here in Australia, we’ve only got another three weeks to lodge our tax returns, so it seems like a good idea to talk a little about the kind of personal finance annual review you could be doing to improve your future. Annual Review The main reason I’m linking your annual review to the fiscal year…

  • Debt Reduction Holistic Spending Plan

    Here in Australia, the major banks have increased their mortgage rates, and the “average” borrower (whoever that is) will be paying another $50 a month. I think that most people will actually be paying more. And when you add that to increasing credit card debt, it’s time to think seriously about debt reduction. Vision, Mission,…

  • Start a New Business Holistic Spending Plan

    It’s tax time here in Australia, and when people see their numbers in black and white on their returns, many start wondering about going into business for themselves. That makes it a good time for a Start a New Business Holistic Spending Plan. The most important part of starting a new business is knowing why.…

  • Your Role as a Purchasing Agent

    Have you ever thought about your role as a Purchasing Agent? Or are you like most people who just buy stuff? You might find it interesting to know that you need formal qualifications to buy things for a living. In Australia, the Diploma of Purchasing “qualifies you to apply integrated technical and theoretical concepts in a…

  • How to Create a Savings Plan

    While I’ve talked about Spending Plans, and how to rearrange them to accommodate your goals, I’ve not mentioned creating a Savings Plan. And when I say Savings Plan, I don’t mean buying things at a discount; I mean not buying things and putting the money aside to use later. Maybe to buy a house or a…

  • How to Recognise and Take Advantage of Opportunities

    I went into town the other day for my transplant checkup, and I noticed a lot of homeless people. It occurred to me that in the same way that you’re only a few steps from losing everything, you’re only a few steps from having it all. You just need the ability to recognise and take…

  • How to Make Good Purchasing Decisions

    Here in Australia, the Banking Royal Commission is well underway. And you may wonder what this has to do with good purchasing decisions, but at some point, we all chose to buy their services, and some of us chose to invest in them, and all of our superannuation funds invest and bank with them. The Commission was…

  • Get Moving! Holistic Spending Plan

    Around now, when life settles back into its usual rut, many of us cry out “I wish I could just get moving again.” It’s not about weight loss per se (I’ve written a spending plan for that), it’s more about dealing with stress, the desire for a shapely calf, or improving your health by getting…

  • Quit Smoking Holistic Spending Plan

    Sooner or later, some smokers will decide that it is time to quit smoking. It’s not a snap decision, it’s something that most of us think about for many years, and take several attempts to do. Like any other self-improvement project, you need a plan.

  • Read More Books Holistic Spending Plan

    I am quite often told, “I wish I had the time to read books.” And I understand that because I wish it too! But I think what we all mean (particularly in Australia where books are expensive) is we wish we could afford to read more books. Which is why it’s time for a read…

  • Holistic Spending Plan for Christmas

    [et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”4.16″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″] Christmas at Macedon, 1909. Photo by Victor Albert Nelson (1862-1929) via State Library Victoria With Christmas 2017 over, you may be ruefully looking at your credit card statements wondering how…

  • Stay in Touch Holistic Spending Plan

    Look at any given monthly report, and you’ll see that I’m always trying to catch up with friends. Just recently I was making a date with Katy and she mentioned we hadn’t seen each other since this time last year. And yet I know so much about what she’s been up to – social media…

  • Make New Friends Holistic Spending Plan

    Something that has been on my list for a while is meeting new people, and I know it’s something many people add to their list of resolutions as well. So let’s look at a Make New Friends Holistic Spending Plan. Vision, Mission, Virtues It might be one of those obvious things, but I’m going to…

  • Pet Ownership Holistic Spending Plan

    My poor Pretty Boy has been ill for the last few weeks. We’re looking for lumps and what-not that might impact his long-term care (and cost). So with all this fresh in my mind, let’s look at a Pet Ownership Holistic Spending Plan.

  • Weight Loss Holistic Spending Plan

    So many of us decide to lose weight without thinking through the implications – as if it’s something that comes without cost – but we’re all wrong! Today, we’ll examine a Weight Loss Holistic Spending Plan.

  • Overseas Vacation Holistic Spending Plan

    With Holistic Personal Finance about ready for release, it’s time to start sharing it with you. Its purpose is to help you plan your spending around the life you want to lead rather than your income. So I’m starting a new series of holistic spending plan posts to inspire and encourage you think more about…

  • How to Eat Well and Save Money on Food

    As I mentioned for my 2016 Transplantiversary, I’m hoping to make some significant lifestyle changes to get down to the hospital recommended weight (and I’ve set up a monitoring page to track it publicly). I’ve ordered new cookbooks to help! During my cookbook shopping, I found a review of Jamie Oliver’s Everyday Super Food (affiliate link), which dismissed…

  • Wealth Management for a Happy Retirement

    Katy recently told me that her company had completed a tender for new cleaning services. She was working late the other day, and she met them. The tender “winners” are an older couple in their sixties who can’t afford to retire, so they have started an office cleaning business. Instead of the happy retirement life…

  • Deliberations on Luxury

    With the research for my new book Holistic Personal Finance progressing nicely, I’ve been thinking about luxury. Partly inspired by the old guy who just paid $55 for a packet of cigarettes (I believe they were about $15 when I quit), but more particularly luxury in food. DB recently came home with a chocolate bar, and…

  • The Happy Benefits of Old Fashioned Budgeting

    I haven’t mentioned it much, but I’m researching a book on Holistic Personal Finance. I’m finding the difference between modern and old fashioned household budgeting amusing, confusing and a disquieting indicator of the change in our values. Modern Budgeting Modern budgeting is seemingly quite simple; add up your expenditure and then work out how to bring it…

  • A Short History of Attitudes Towards Household Expenditure

    I’ve started researching my next book, which is about Holistic Personal Finance. Like Build Your Signature Wardrobe, it draws on the wisdom our ancestors developed through Two World Wars and The Great Depression. I am intrigued in particular about how the attitudes towards household expenditure that I have been reading about have changed. I think they…

  • How to Protect Yourself from Counterfeiters

    Recently I had the misfortune to purchase counterfeit goods online.  Owning counterfeit goods in Australia is illegal, let alone selling them.  I found it very shocking – I thought I had been really careful, but once you click the buy button it’s too late to do anything about it.  And when you realise you could be in…

  • Why Wardrobe Plans are Valuable

    The key wardrobe plan problem is building this year’s wardrobe around last year’s clothes (not lack of funds). I think this may be…