priorities

1. 18 May 2023

   Adiós, amigos!

   This blog and Fairhaven Wealth are on indefinite hiatus. I have other things in my life right now that are more important to me and my direct loved ones, and freeing up that mental bandwidth is more i…

2. 12 May 2023

   “Buy things, not experiences”

   Harold Lee wrote a piece arguing you should buy things, not experiences — and I think he's onto something. The popular idea that experiences are inherently more valuable than things is, at its core, a…

3. 3 March 2023

   Living in line with your values and priorities isn’t always easy

   One of the themes of this blog is the importance of aligning your decisions with your values and priorities. Sometimes, this isn't easy. Sometimes it's hard. 2022 was a pretty bad year for me, but des…

4. 6 March 2020

   The magic’s not in the numbers (or: Why this blog is squishy)

   I rarely talk numbers on this blog, which might be surprising since it's mainly about money — and I LOVE spreadsheets. Numbers change, past performance isn't future performance, and precision can make…

5. 28 February 2020

   Is “early retirement” another pot at the end of the rainbow?

   What does "retirement" actually mean to you? For many of the people I talk to, early retirement isn't really about stopping work — it's about changing their relationship to work, or getting freedom to…

6. 14 February 2020

   The paradox of advice

   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…

7. 22 November 2019

   You’ve got to spend money to save money

   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…

8. 1 March 2018

   Financial advice for 16 year olds (and the rest of us)

   Some high-level financial advice for 16-year-olds, and anyone who still feels young. The biggest investment in your early adulthood is in yourself. One of the best (or worst) financial decisions you'l…

9. 11 August 2017

   Financial advice and the FIRE (“financial independence, retire early”) phenomenon

   The FIRE movement — financial independence, retire early — is alluring. The core lesson is simple: increase your savings rate, live frugally, and you can retire decades early. I'm sympathetic to it, a…

10. 7 August 2017

    A billion dollars, or the right person?

    Approaching 20, I asked myself a stark question: would I rather have $1 billion in the bank, or a fantastic relationship with a fantastic woman? The answer reshaped my priorities. I spent years workin…

11. 17 June 2017

    The big financial decisions you make need to reflect your values and priorities

    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…

12. 14 July 2016

    Investing is not the first step

    Investing matters, but it's not the first step. Before you start, you need to know what you want from your life, get on the same page with your partner, focus on the right metric (net worth), pay off…

13. 18 September 2015

    Ubuntu. An ode to friendship

    Success in life, to me, isn't about accomplishments — it's about the relationships we cultivate with the people we care about. The South African word ubuntu captures it: I am because you are. If your…