Wealth & Risk

Essays on wealth, risk, and living in line with your values and priorities. By Sonnie Bailey – who is not, and never has been, a lion tamer or competitive power walker.

Recently tended

10 June 2026
The FMA has questions for everyone but itself (or: here we go again, with banks and financial advice...)

The FMA's access to advice report says some good things. But a report that urges banks deeper into advice without acknowledging the risks, and that critiques sector conservatism without any acknowledg…
22 April 2026
Where does your money go? I built an app to find out.

Do you actually know where your money goes? Not roughly — actually know? Most people can't, and I couldn't either. So I built Snoopy: a private desktop app that turns a pile of bank CSVs into a clear…
9 March 2026
Your insurance application is a health check in disguise

When you apply for personal insurance, the application forms require you to answer some remarkably personal questions. Those questions exist because actuaries have spent decades researching what drive…
13 February 2026
Spending through the tax code

The Government doesn't only support people through benefit payments and public services. There's a third, largely invisible form: tax concessions. When the Government simply doesn't collect tax it cou…
6 February 2026
Money matters. Part 2: Expanding your capacity

Earning more can be values-aligned behaviour. If living well requires resources, building the capacity to earn what your values actually require is itself a form of service — not greed.

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My manifesto
"Wealth" isn't just about money, and "success" is personal. Don't over-complicate your financial life — make it boring so the rest of your life can be interesting. Everyone has a financial plan, wheth…
When you spend money or use your time, you make trade offs. Hopefully the trade offs you make reflect your priorities
Whenever you spend money, there are opportunity costs. You're using money you could have saved or spent on something else. The same goes for time. When you spend time on one thing, there are many othe…
What does financial security mean to you?
Most of us want to feel financially secure. How we feel about our financial situation is highly personal. I often speak with people worth millions who are worried about their financial security, and w…
Investing is personal
How would you invest if you were 60 with $5 million and spent $100,000 a year? Some of my clients in this position sit heavily in defensive assets. Others sit 80-90% in growth assets. Both are right —…
Volatility is inevitable
Every time I work with a client, I make a bald statement of fact. If you invest in growth-oriented investments, there WILL be times when the value of those investments drops. Sometimes significantly.…

Recently tended

The FMA has questions for everyone but itself (or: here we go again, with banks and financial advice...)

Where does your money go? I built an app to find out.

Your insurance application is a health check in disguise

Spending through the tax code

Money matters. Part 2: Expanding your capacity

If you are new here, start with

My manifesto

When you spend money or use your time, you make trade offs. Hopefully the trade offs you make reflect your priorities

What does financial security mean to you?

Investing is personal

Volatility is inevitable

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