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6 February 2026
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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30 January 2026
Many people with enough money — often more than enough — struggle to actually spend it on the things they say matter to them. They'd say health matters, but won't pay for the physio. They'd say relati…
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24 January 2025
Lately I've been using AI to help with goal-setting — working on a "living" document that outlines my goals in a way that feels organic. I've included some prompts you can experiment with yourself.
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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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18 May 2023
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…
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12 May 2023
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…
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3 March 2023
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…
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17 December 2021
If you're actively thinking about your children's financial literacy, they're already lucky — that you care is more important than any specific tactic. I'm sceptical of both the Barefoot-style jam-jar…
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6 March 2020
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…
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28 February 2020
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…
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18 February 2020
My wife and I joke that cafe treats and holidays are "coming out of the kids' inheritance". It's strictly true. But your children don't just inherit money when you die — they inherit memories, experie…
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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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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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1 November 2019
Ethical investing sounds simple: invest in line with your values. In practice it's a minefield. What counts as ethical varies wildly from person to person, the labels on funds often don't mean what yo…
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1 March 2018
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…
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11 August 2017
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…
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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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14 July 2016
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…
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31 July 2015
When people prepare a will, they tend to think in terms of property, chattels, and financial assets. But your loved ones inherit far more from you than that. Memories, experiences, beliefs, values, wi…