Reading Time: 2 Minutes MrsFrugalSamurai recently asked me how the performance of our stock portfolio is going. “Decent” was my one word reply. Why? She wanted to know. I could have told her it was because one of our holdings has received a significant boost from the early roll-out of the COVID-19 vaccine. Or that another holding has surged off all-time lows from March last year. Even still, another could be the prospect of re-opening international borders, which would allow free travel to commence once more. But. The truth is. I don’t know. More to the point, I don’t think anyone truly knows why markets move up or down. We…
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How Much Is Your Time Worth?
Reading Time: 2 Minutes What’s up dudes and dudettes! Welcome back to another episode of The Frugal Samurai. SO GUYS, DRAMA in the TFS household. Or rather we had a mini bust-up recently with a close family member. Long story short, it involved some tree trimming, and the question of who is responsible for the leftover rubbish (think branches, leaves, logs… y’know tree stuff). I’d thought that it was a simple matter for the tradies to take away said rubbish. HOWEVER, it appeared that this detail was not negotiated in the works – which meant they left a great big mound in the front yard. Just look at that eyesore!…
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Market Musings
Reading Time: 2 Minutes Howdy all! And a Happy Valentine’s Day. Ooo and hugs and kisses goes out to my personal Valentine aka MrsFrugalSamurai. She made me feel very special indeed with a uniquely composed card and personalized message. Although I could only decipher two thirds of her writing, the love and warmth shone through. Received with thanks MrsFS. As for my present? Well, that’s for her eyes only of course (truly, otherwise Crime Stoppers would be called). But today’s not about love and chocolates and naked bloggers – no, today’s post is a bit of social commentary regarding what I’m seeing in the markets, or rather the market participants.…
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Your Life In Weeks
Reading Time: 2 Minutes Hola peeps! Sorry went a bit AWOL there, but it’s good to be back! Been a bit full-on these days as MrsFrugalSamurai and I have been beavering away getting things ready for MiniFrugalSamurai. Case in point were some prenatal classes taken at the hospital, which are meant to better prepare first-time parents with what to expect. I didn’t learn anything from these classes. Mainly because I wasn’t paying any attention. Hear me out though – the baby will be delivered at the hospital, with experienced mid-wives, nurses and an OBGYN who does this for a living; oh and MrsFrugalSamurai also works in the medical field. IF…
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Wealth Inequality Rises In Australia
Reading Time: 2 Minutes I was perusing through the interwebs as you do, and came across a very insightful article regarding the wealth or rather, the lack of wealth equality here in Oz. It’s a joint research study by the University of New South Wales and the Australian Council of Social Service and to be honest, it’s very confronting. As we know, COVID-19 has exacerbated what was already a burgeoning wealth gap between the haves and have-nots, and this paper only highlights that. Here are some key take-aways: Household Wealth The below compares the wealth holdings of the highest 10% (highest wealth) of households followed by the next 30% (middle…
