Wealth & Risk

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Everything in the library, newest first.

251 articles.

2026

  1. Classic literature: an AI showcase (13.5 hours over 3 days) 12 July 2026
  2. Access to financial advice: the FMA has questions for everyone except itself 10 June 2026
  3. Where does your money go? I built an app to find out. 22 April 2026
  4. Your insurance application is a health check in disguise 9 March 2026
  5. Spending through the tax code 13 February 2026
  6. Money matters. Part 2: Expanding your capacity 6 February 2026
  7. Money matters. Part 1: Does your spending reflect what you value? 30 January 2026
  8. Making the invisible visible 20 January 2026

2025

  1. Thoughts on AI 19 December 2025
  2. What I’ve been up to 3 December 2025
  3. The paradox of code 2 December 2025
  4. My submission relating to the FMA’s access to advice review 9 May 2025
  5. Four types of “existential” threat 11 April 2025
  6. Recursive goal-setting with the help of AI 24 January 2025
  7. More people should blog 10 January 2025

2024

  1. Mood tracking: finding happiness in the data 27 December 2024
  2. Becoming handier 20 December 2024
  3. Maybe there are Supermonkeys 13 December 2024
  4. I’m baaaaaaaaaaack! 9 December 2024
  5. Evolving thoughts on private education 26 April 2024
  6. A podcast for two 23 February 2024
  7. “Equality” 16 January 2024
  8. Flying kites 🪁 8 January 2024

2023

  1. Movies & TV shows I’m looking forward to in 2024 17 December 2023
  2. Reimagining Babylon: a majestic bastard of a film 3 September 2023
  3. Why would an entrepreneur seek external finance when they have the funds themselves? 3 September 2023
  4. Y2K and Covid 17 August 2023
  5. Ways I use AI in my day-to-day life 1 August 2023
  6. “Written quickly, not perfectly” 7 July 2023
  7. Quick questions (and fast answers) 7 July 2023
  8. Questions! – my first “app” 3 July 2023
  9. Midjourney art gallery 30 June 2023
  10. AI for getting writing feedback 29 June 2023
  11. Throwing mud at the wall 29 June 2023
  12. Adiós, amigos! 18 May 2023
  13. Articles I never published 18 May 2023
  14. 2022 – a belated movie & TV media retrospective 12 May 2023
  15. “Buy things, not experiences” 12 May 2023
  16. AI and the last mile 5 May 2023
  17. Influencer marketing 🤮 21 April 2023
  18. Thoughts on AI and financial advice (April 2023) 17 April 2023
  19. AI, red herrings, and Superman vs Voldemort 4 April 2023
  20. My crystal ball is on the fritz (#AI) 2 April 2023
  21. Living in line with your values and priorities isn’t always easy 3 March 2023
  22. Not whether, but when 6 January 2023

2022

  1. Top posts of 2022 30 December 2022
  2. Movies and TV shows I’m looking forward to (2023) 23 December 2022
  3. “Be an asker” 16 December 2022
  4. Why I’m preoccupied with existential risks – and you should be, too 21 October 2022
  5. How I money (2022) 16 September 2022
  6. “Market cap” can be misleading 15 July 2022
  7. Shares and hurricanes 8 July 2022
  8. Every asset class has bad years, even bonds 3 June 2022
  9. The right ragrets 6 May 2022
  10. The 4% rule is a mind-killer 8 April 2022
  11. Investing in social capital 18 March 2022
  12. Unhappenings by Edward Aubry: an unusual book review 11 March 2022
  13. When Consumer is anti-consumer 25 February 2022
  14. Paid off the mortgage? Don’t cancel your income protection insurance just yet 18 February 2022
  15. Don’t cancel or reduce your insurance in the heat of the moment 11 February 2022
  16. Movies & TV shows I’m looking forward to 7 January 2022
  17. Books I enjoyed in 2021 1 January 2022

2021

  1. Most popular articles of 2021 21 December 2021
  2. Kids and money – building financial literacy and investing on their behalf 17 December 2021
  3. High guaranteed returns? 🤮 17 September 2021
  4. Return OF capital versus return ON capital 30 July 2021
  5. What does financial security mean to you? 9 July 2021
  6. Are you spending or investing? It’s not always black and white 18 June 2021
  7. Volatility is inevitable 4 June 2021
  8. Active investment is great! Just pick the right domain 28 May 2021
  9. You don’t need a “come to Jesus” moment 7 May 2021
  10. Shades of right – avoiding black & white thinking and “musturbation” when it comes to your finances 12 March 2021
  11. What your balance sheet omits [human capital] 29 January 2021
  12. What is your asset allocation? 22 January 2021
  13. Read some of these fiction books in 2021 8 January 2021
  14. Read some of these non-fiction books in 2021 1 January 2021

2020

  1. 2020 in review: favourite articles (and popular articles) 25 December 2020
  2. It’s trade-offs all the way down 4 December 2020
  3. When, not if 27 November 2020
  4. B-listers are best 6 November 2020
  5. Every hour wounds, the last one kills 30 October 2020
  6. There are two types of job security (continued) 2 October 2020
  7. What I think about when I think about buying something expensive 25 September 2020
  8. Are you buying a seat on the merry-go-round, or building a new ride? 18 September 2020
  9. There are two types of job security 11 September 2020
  10. There are no Supermonkeys 28 August 2020
  11. People are interesting (and what is right for one person may not be right for the next person) 21 August 2020
  12. Knife skills and investing 14 August 2020
  13. 38 great podcasts (2020) 17 July 2020
  14. Money and time travel 10 July 2020
  15. Retiring early is expensive (and so is private education) 12 June 2020
  16. Financial literacy and financial confidence 15 May 2020
  17. April 2020 was the S&P 500’s best month in over 30 years. Huh?! How is that possible? 7 May 2020
  18. The unmitigated joy of watching movies at 7x speed 28 April 2020
  19. What are your shadow assets worth? 24 April 2020
  20. Niceness isn’t goodness 21 April 2020
  21. Investing in a business can make you rich. It can also make you poor. 17 April 2020
  22. Capex and Opex for personal finance 14 April 2020
  23. Even cash can be risky 31 March 2020
  24. Could I have picked this market crash? 27 March 2020
  25. The magic’s not in the numbers (or: Why this blog is squishy) 6 March 2020
  26. Is “early retirement” another pot at the end of the rainbow? 28 February 2020
  27. The regulator shouldn’t be funded by those it regulates 21 February 2020
  28. What type of inheritance do you want to leave? 18 February 2020
  29. The paradox of advice 14 February 2020
  30. Pay less attention to historical returns 7 February 2020
  31. Don’t yuk yums (financial or otherwise) 24 January 2020
  32. Get lit! (with these non-fiction books) 17 January 2020
  33. Get lit! (with these fiction books) 10 January 2020
  34. My favourite articles of 2019 3 January 2020

2019

  1. Insurance isn’t black or white 20 December 2019
  2. What price a dream 13 December 2019
  3. Focus on what you can control 29 November 2019
  4. You’ve got to spend money to save money 22 November 2019
  5. How to be interesting 8 November 2019
  6. The minefield of ethical investing 1 November 2019
  7. Situational ethics 25 October 2019
  8. My manifesto 18 October 2019
  9. The last safe investment is YOU 11 October 2019
  10. The Rugby World Cup, the All Blacks, and Luck 19 September 2019
  11. Baches (or: some terrible financial decisions can be great life decisions, and vice versa) 6 September 2019
  12. The copy and paste personality 23 August 2019
  13. Investing is personal 16 August 2019
  14. Thought(crime)s on parenting 26 July 2019
  15. My (in)efficient market hypothesis 19 July 2019
  16. How much buffer do you need? (Or: four things I agonise over when providing financial advice) 12 July 2019
  17. Questions I ask clients (and why I’m not afraid of roboadvice) 28 June 2019
  18. Three great podcasts for your earballs 21 June 2019
  19. Stop complicating your financial affairs! 14 June 2019
  20. A tale of two pension systems (Australia v NZ) 7 June 2019
  21. You’ll never have the “right” amount of insurance (but don’t let that stop you) 31 May 2019
  22. The myopia of compound interest 24 May 2019
  23. A financial plan should be based on YOUR circumstances, needs, and objectives 17 May 2019
  24. Buy experiences, not things?? 19 April 2019
  25. The most important assets can’t be found on a balance sheet. (An ode to resourcefulness) 12 April 2019
  26. Insurance, commission, and the separation of church and state 5 April 2019
  27. You can’t buy love 22 February 2019
  28. How money misconceptions can put your life into hard mode 15 February 2019
  29. The gift of fear 18 January 2019
  30. Most popular articles of 2018 7 January 2019

2018

  1. A curmudgeon reads The Barefoot Investor 17 December 2018
  2. “Past performance is no guarantee of future performance” – especially when it comes to property 3 December 2018
  3. Parents can help out their children by underwriting risks 12 November 2018
  4. The issue isn’t “bad apples”. What New Zealand can learn from Australia’s Royal Commission 15 October 2018
  5. Don’t be fooled by the 4 percent rule 9 October 2018
  6. How to calculate your asset allocation 16 September 2018
  7. Should you repay your mortgage or invest? 14 September 2018
  8. The median is not the message 3 September 2018
  9. Why Fairhaven Wealth’s fees are increasing 31 August 2018
  10. On Simplicity becoming cash flow positive 27 August 2018
  11. “Living doesn’t cost much, but showing off does” 13 August 2018
  12. The folly of predicting market downturns 6 August 2018
  13. NZ Super and uncertainty in retirement planning 30 July 2018
  14. When taking too little risk is risky 16 July 2018
  15. Trauma insurance is not a substitute for income protection insurance 18 June 2018
  16. The difference between a financial adviser and an investment manager 20 May 2018
  17. “The truth is usually better than the nightmare.” What do we do when the unthinkable happens? 11 April 2018
  18. Headwinds and tailwinds: Every dollar is easier than the next 29 March 2018
  19. Insurance – why I prefer stepped premiums over level premiums 15 March 2018
  20. The absurdity of asset-based fees 11 March 2018
  21. Build wealth by being lazy! 8 March 2018
  22. Financial advice for 16 year olds (and the rest of us) 1 March 2018
  23. Should I use my KiwiSaver funds to buy a house? 8 February 2018

2017

  1. Should I contribute more than the “minimum” to KiwiSaver? 29 December 2017
  2. Risk management for ballers 21 December 2017
  3. If you’re getting personal insurance, don’t go direct 15 December 2017
  4. Money in the media 11 November 2017
  5. How to get better-than-market returns 29 October 2017
  6. You may not need to save as much for retirement as you think 27 October 2017
  7. “What investment return can I expect?” 2 October 2017
  8. Just because you call yourself innovative, doesn’t mean you’re innovative 26 September 2017
  9. Negotiating doesn’t look like you think it does 19 September 2017
  10. What is your investing risk profile? Answering a risk questionnaire won’t tell you. 21 August 2017
  11. Career risk and how to manage it 17 August 2017
  12. Financial advice and the FIRE (“financial independence, retire early”) phenomenon 11 August 2017
  13. Money in the media, July/August 11 August 2017
  14. A billion dollars, or the right person? 7 August 2017
  15. Excessive fees – “a tax on smart people who don’t realise their propensity for doing stupid things” 30 July 2017
  16. Money and marriage 12 July 2017
  17. Weekend reading (1 & 2 July 2017) 2 July 2017
  18. Repaying debt is building wealth 27 June 2017
  19. Weekend reading (24 & 25 June 2017) 26 June 2017
  20. Red flags to consider if you’ve received personal insurance advice 19 June 2017
  21. Weekend reading (17 & 18 June 2017) 18 June 2017
  22. The big financial decisions you make need to reflect your values and priorities 17 June 2017
  23. How to be lucky 11 June 2017
  24. Weekend reading (10 & 11 June 2017) 11 June 2017
  25. Weekend reading (3 & 4 June 2017) 3 June 2017
  26. Weekend reading (27 & 28 May 2017) 28 May 2017
  27. Of time, trains, and opportunity 25 May 2017
  28. Time travel movies and books 23 May 2017
  29. Life isn’t a game of Monopoly. There are many different ways to invest money 23 May 2017
  30. You have a financial plan, whether you’re aware of it or not 15 May 2017
  31. Your insurance needs should reduce as you get older 12 May 2017
  32. Why I’m paying for my children to get EPAs when they turn 18 5 May 2017
  33. “If money doesn’t make you happy then you probably aren’t spending it right” 5 May 2017
  34. Long-term retirement planning and the uncertain future (speculative) 1 May 2017
  35. How much do I need to save for retirement? 20 April 2017
  36. Are you OVER-insured? 13 April 2017
  37. “Hurry up and wait” – why laziness is an investor’s best friend 12 April 2017
  38. Adventures in the multiverse 9 April 2017
  39. “Fees never sleep.” – Warren Buffett’s bet 4 April 2017
  40. If you fancy yourself as a stock picker, think about this. 27 March 2017
  41. Most financial advice wasn’t written for you 11 March 2017
  42. A 30 year mortgage is too long 10 February 2017

2016

  1. Living in a golden age, under the sword of Damocles (Or: dentists, criminals, terrorism, furniture, and Kim Kardashian) 24 September 2016
  2. The younger you are, the wealthier you are 18 September 2016
  3. Trying to be authentic might be holding you back 1 August 2016
  4. Biases that keep you from saving money 29 July 2016
  5. Fixed costs aren’t necessarily fixed. (Or: Less car, less house, more wealth) 19 July 2016
  6. Why I’m keeping my Australian superannuation funds in Australia despite living in New Zealand 14 July 2016
  7. Investing is not the first step 14 July 2016
  8. Mortgages are red herrings when it comes to level of life insurance cover 14 July 2016
  9. When you spend money or use your time, you make trade offs. Hopefully the trade offs you make reflect your priorities 18 June 2016
  10. The first $10,000 is the hardest 25 May 2016
  11. Not all types of insurance are equal 25 May 2016
  12. How financial advisers can add value to their clients – “Adviser’s alpha” 25 May 2016
  13. Feet, forks, and fingers 5 March 2016
  14. Good luck = the absence of bad luck 20 February 2016
  15. How to lose wealth (or: How do you turn a large fortune into a small fortune?) 24 January 2016
  16. Is there a relationship between luck and morality? 23 January 2016

2015

  1. Can’t afford a home in the current property market? You can still get into a good long-term financial position. 24 October 2015
  2. Insurance is a foundational risk management tool. But like any tool, it doesn’t cover all contingencies 10 October 2015
  3. How do you consume media? These are some of my secrets. 1 October 2015
  4. Ubuntu. An ode to friendship 18 September 2015
  5. Scattered thoughts on nutrition 15 September 2015
  6. The biggest risks we take aren’t swashbuckling risks 9 September 2015
  7. Inheritance – a broader perspective 31 July 2015
  8. “Very happy people” 30 July 2015
  9. “The dirt on coming clean” 25 July 2015
  10. Clarkson (and others) on supercars 23 July 2015
  11. What is your relationship with money? 17 July 2015
  12. Personal decisions are the leading cause of death 14 July 2015
  13. What should you consider when determining how much insurance cover do you need? 1 July 2015
  14. There’s a difference between being wealthy and appearing wealthy 2 June 2015
  15. The perils of sudden wealth 19 February 2015
  16. Some thoughts about developing a personal dress sense 18 February 2015
  17. Do ALL people need life, trauma, TPD, or trauma insurance? No. Do MOST people need insurance? 6 February 2015
  18. Australian Tax Receipts – pros and cons 16 January 2015

2014

  1. Fun with counterfactuals 16 December 2014
  2. What are the odds? 15 December 2014
  3. A will by itself is not an estate plan or succession strategy 7 December 2014
  4. You shouldn't (and can't) save a fixed percentage of your income every year of your life… 5 December 2014
  5. “‘Show me the numbers.’ Big hearts and hard heads can come wrapped in the same skin.” 4 December 2014
  6. Podcasts 25 November 2014
  7. Picking stocks should be the least exciting part of an investment plan 14 November 2014
  8. Rating services for professionals 14 November 2014
  9. Changes to FOFA – a storm in a teacup? 13 September 2014
  10. “How to be polite” 26 August 2014

2010

  1. A matter of record 15 May 2010

2007

  1. Stumbling on Happiness 2 May 2007

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