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20 January 2026
“There’s a gap between knowing something intellectually and truly believing it. Visualising your spending, your financial projections, or your mood data can close that gap — making abstract knowledge…
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26 April 2024
My views on private education have shifted considerably over the years. I used to be firmly in the public school camp — we were zoned for good schools and the cost of going private genuinely staggered…
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8 April 2022
I love rules of thumb — in the right place at the right time they're invaluable. Working out how much you need to retire isn't one of those places. The 4% rule is a dumb rule that a lot of smart peopl…
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18 February 2022
Lots of people reassess their insurance after repaying the mortgage and cancel their income protection. I often think that's a mistake. Mortgage-free years are usually when you build the wealth that f…
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29 January 2021
Your balance sheet shows assets you can sell and value easily. The most important thing it omits is human capital — your own ability to generate an income over the coming decades. For most households,…
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25 September 2020
I'm not naturally frugal. I love spending money and buying stuff. I've never gone overboard with spending. Initially that was because it wasn't really an option. But as time has gone on, I've found my…
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24 April 2020
A typical balance sheet misses something important. Most households have "shadow assets" — things that can't really be liquidated but have the potential to be valuable. Speculative investments, antici…
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14 April 2020
When we look at our expenditure, it's easy to mix up day-to-day costs with capital expenses. It's common to make this distinction in business (Opex versus Capex) but it's valuable when it comes to our…
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14 February 2020
If you engage a financial adviser, you might think the decision will leave you better off financially. Not necessarily. I often encourage clients to spend more, or point out they can afford to earn le…
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13 December 2019
A personal allegory. On the surface it's about my long-running desire to own a Porsche Cayman. Underneath it's about having a clear-eyed perspective on your goals — the real, annualised cost of the th…
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22 November 2019
Frugality is great — if it's mindful, and aligned with your values. But focus purely on savings rate and you can miss the forest for the trees. My wife and I joke that you've got to spend money to sav…
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28 June 2019
The most valuable thing I do as a financial adviser isn't running numbers. It's having conversations. The right questions uncover what a client actually cares about, which is usually the hardest and m…
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19 April 2019
"To be happy, buy experiences, not things." It's a compelling slogan and I've repeated it myself. But the more I think about it, the more I question it. Experiences aren't all equally rewarding, and s…
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12 November 2018
Parents help their kids in obvious ways — education, deposits on homes. But there's a subtler one worth naming: underwriting risks. A parent in a sound financial position can take the place of a traum…
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14 September 2018
Paying off the mortgage ASAP is usually the smartest move — a guaranteed, tax-free, risk-free return. But I often recommend clients also put some excess income into investments: it builds liquid asset…
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30 July 2018
The future is uncertain — but we still need to plan for retirement. Plenty of variables are unknowable: when you'll retire, how long you'll live, what returns you'll get. The one I want to focus on is…
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15 March 2018
As a general rule, I say "no" to level premiums for personal insurance. Your insurance needs should reduce over time, so if you select level premiums, you may end up locking yourself into unnecessary…
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27 October 2017
Many people want to get to a position where they can "live off the interest" in retirement. It's a laudable goal, but for most people it's unrealistic, and aiming for it creates unnecessary pressure.…
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12 July 2017
Deciding to marry — or enter a civil union, or slip into a de facto relationship — is one of the biggest financial decisions you'll make. Assets, debts, goals, kids, careers, pre-nups, spending habits…
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27 June 2017
If there's one figure to focus on when it comes to your finances, it's your net worth — assets minus liabilities. From that perspective, a dollar towards debt is the same as a dollar into savings. Rep…
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19 June 2017
Many insurance advisers provide terrific advice — but not always. Two red flags worth watching for: when the adviser has recommended the same level of life insurance cover for both you and your partne…
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17 June 2017
My wife and I own a wonderful house. We could have bought one for half the cost, halved the mortgage, and been financially independent years earlier. We made the decision with open eyes — we were prep…
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15 May 2017
Many people don't think they have a financial plan. They're wrong. Even without clear goals or articulated strategy, you're acting as if you have one — maybe spending more than you earn, maybe skippin…
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12 May 2017
I'm a HUGE advocate for insurance — most working people should carry some. But I'm also a big advocate for self-insuring where you can, and a message I don't see often enough is that your insurance ne…
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18 September 2016
If someone asked you to calculate your net worth, you'd add up your assets, subtract your liabilities, and get a number. But for a younger person, that calculation misses the biggest asset of all: the…
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14 July 2016
Life insurance advice is almost cliche: if the client dies, they want the mortgage paid off. That's often the start and end of the conversation. But the mortgage is a red herring. The real question is…
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24 October 2015
If you can't afford to buy a home in the current property market, don't despair. You can still build wealth and end up in a good long-term financial position. Owning a home is a legitimate goal for ma…