“Be wary not to get lured into things full of money and status that will rob you of freedom and health.” – Roger Nusbaum It’s so easy to get sidetracked from the things that we really want in life. Sometimes it’s because things happen that disrupt our plan, and other times it’s because we’re actually following someone else’s plan! There’s a parable that you may have read online about a fisherman and an investment broker – […]
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How to talk about money
“I love talking about money with my family!” said no one ever. Most of us will agree that there is more to life than money, but regardless, it’s very important for most of us — especially when we feel like we do not have enough. Money can become a consuming focus that leaves us feeling powerless and sometimes even worthless. Talking about money is a helpful way to regain our sense of power and remind ourselves […]
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Are old investment truths still relevant?
In a recent podcast on the Allan Gray Podcast with Dan Brocklemank, head of Orbis UK, he reflected on how humans are NOT designed to be good investors. Our natural instincts very often pull us in the exact opposite direction to what we need to be doing in order to be good at investing. Our natural habits and instincts protect us in the present; they’re not good at protecting us for the future and seeing the […]
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Finding your flow – finding your joy
“The secret to a happy life is to learn to be engaged in as many things we do every day as possible. If work and life become autotelic, then there is nothing wasted in life, and everything we do is worth doing for its own sake.” – Mihály Csíkszentmihályi It’s easy to think that if we work harder, earn more money, and spend more time with loved ones – we will find meaning and joy. But […]
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Life after work
We spend months or years preparing for many significant life events. The first for many of us was the build-up to going to ‘big school’. Our three-, four- and five-year-old selves grew increasingly excited, right up until the day school started and then there was an overwhelming flow of emotions that may have been more negative than positive. When you stand in the playground of first-graders on the first day of school, you’re bound to see […]
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Staying invested when it feels hard
“The individual investor should act consistently as an investor and not as a speculator.” Benjamin Graham Investing is hard when our emotions cause us to shift from being an investor to a speculator. Our best outcome is most often when we’re able to stay invested, not when we try to sell high and buy low (which is generally more sheer luck than accurate planning). If you’re understandably nervous as an investor, fear not. While no portfolio […]
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Living to 100…
So many things have changed in the last four decades, and yet so much has stayed the same. Financial planning has become an entire profession and is no longer just a bunch of salespeople selling insurance. It’s evolved into a profoundly nuanced practice, and those of us who are continually advancing our professional development are spending more time on understanding the integration of all aspects of life and well-being in our approach to financial planning. But […]
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Managing our money and emotional triggers
“Money can’t buy happiness.” Unknown Or, as the Beatles once put it, money can’t buy me love. We fight this expression daily, as emotions pervade our lives and cause us to ruminate on fears and futures of having, or not having, enough. Money has no personality but reflects our feelings, values, and beliefs. This is why it’s become so intrinsically linked to our emotions – either triggering them or being affected by the emotions we’re feeling […]
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Why do we become people pleasers?
We all have reasons for doing things. It might be because we’re sticklers for following rules, or perhaps we avoid difficult situations and emotions by constantly focusing on the positives. Maybe our motivations come from a restless spirit or a drive to keep control and order – but for some of us, we become people pleasers. It may not be in every area of our life, but in certain situations, we may find ourselves defaulting to […]
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The hidden costs of credit
As 22seven recently published on medium.com, “Always think twice before you buy something on credit or take out a loan.” Here’s the thing to remember with credit – it’s just a nicer way of saying that you’re spending money you don’t have. In other words, you’re using someone else’s money to fund your current lifestyle. Credit is sold to us on the premise that it’s money we will have in the future, and often we do […]
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