Reading Time: 2 Minutes What’s up guys! What a difference a few days makes. Oil below zero, who woulda thought. Certainly I’ve never encountered nor learnt about this in the textbooks. You see, over the weekend the price of oil dropped down to -$37.50. Which meant if you wanted a barrel of oil, the seller would gift it to you, AND pay you $37.50 for the privilege. The reason is because of COVID-19, or rather the lack of global consumption as a result of the lockdowns from COVID-19. But how can the price of something be negative? Well, in short – the price of oil is actually a futures contract,…
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The Way We Think – 9 Cognitive Biases
Reading Time: 4 Minutes The market has bottomed, buy buy buy!!! The market has more to fall, sell sell sell!!! Hi guys! So those are the two main themes out there regarding the state of the market. Those two messages are polar opposites of course, and just like Arthur Fleck, the last couple of months has left you confused, exhilarated, disturbed and above all, in shock. So why are there two distinct views at the opposite end of the spectrum? It’s because of the way we think. Or more specifically, our cognitive biases. Cognition You see, most of us like to think we are rational people, in that we are…
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15 Personal Finance Habits Everyone Should Follow
Reading Time: 3 Minutes Howdy all! Recently I received a question from a loyal reader named JD regarding a cheat-sheet of personal finance habits everyone can follow. Good money habits start with keeping what you’ve earnt, which leaves more $$$ left-over for investing! Here’s a quick list, enjoy! 1. The most basic one, is to start paying better attention to your finances. MrsFrugalSamurai has come leaps and bounds with her personal finance habits since our dating days. Back then… well at the risk of a frypan to my face, let’s just say it wasn’t… ideal. But now, she’s turned into a money whizz! Keeping track of her expenses ensures she…
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When to Invest in this Current Market?
Reading Time: 3 Minutes What’s up people! Hope we are all having a well deserved Easter break. It’s the 4-day Long Weekend here in Oz, and I for one NEED it. Now I think it’s safe to say that most people have been caught up in the stock market rollercoaster recently. Certainly our superannuation (a kind of 401k to my American friends), has taken a whopper of a hit. But currently, there seems to be a bit of normality which has resumed. Indeed, the US stock market has been fairly bullish since it’s lows in late-March. So is now a good time to invest? Is It? Um, let me just…
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Coronavirus Investment Strategies – 4 Ways to Profit During Volatile Periods
Reading Time: 4 Minutes Buenos Dias! Welcome back peeps. Hope everyone’s self-isolation is going well! Anyhow, I read an interesting fact this week. After the epic rollercoaster that was the first two weeks of March, the markets have come roaring back from recent lows. So much so, that people are speculating that a bottom has been found, and are looking for ways to jump in. I mean, just look at this chart this week, courtesy of respected commentator Alan Kohler: Two things jump out from this. Firstly, I would hazard a guess and state that the ones who punched in that search term are newbies to the stock market and…
