Reading Time: 2 Minutes Gosh, has it really been over 12 months since an unseen, unheard, unknown virus caused never-before-experienced levels of panic and terror? It has. It now seems oh so long ago but 2020 will forever be remembered as the year in which the world, as we know it – changed. Mask wearing, travel bans, working from home – these phrases all entered our colloquial mainstream. I thought it best to revisit some of the lessons which I have learnt from those turbulent days of March and April 2020, more so as a reminder for myself than anything else. In no particular order, here goes… Herd Mentality Never…
-
-
Mistakes I’ve Made A Few
Reading Time: 3 Minutes Recently I was perusing the required reading material that is the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Letter. If you don’t know what this is – basically it’s the shareholder letter Warren Buffet writes each year since 1977. Every year it’s a hot topic of debate and there’s gems a-plenty. This time, he discusses a lot about his mistakes which I think makes him unique in the market – in that he talks more about his failures than his successes. Editor’s Note: Incidentally I never trust a person who only talks about their wins, never their losses/learns. Anyone who has been investing for a while knows that the more…
-
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.…
-
8 Financial Lessons From 2020
Reading Time: 3 Minutes Happy New Year everyone and WELCOME BACK! Hands up if you’re very excited for what 2021 will bring? Haha, I exited 2020 with a whimper, with a (lonely) jog in the park on NYE followed by watching “Tenet” (confusing) with MrsFrugalSamurai, and get this… going to SLEEP before midnight (exhausting), thereby missing out on the fireworks (disappointing) and also ringing in the New Year with MrsFrugalSamurai (chastising). D’oh! Getting old in my years. Anyhow, as much as I love to look ahead, it’s also important to look back on the previous year because well… 2020 had it’s moments didn’t it? So in no particular order, I…
-
Is it Dangerous To Be In Equities (Now)?
Reading Time: 3 Minutes Today’s post is an expansion to a brilliant question from one of the social media groups that I subscribe to. Is it Dangerous To Be In Equities? To paraphrase, the original poster queries the majority of people in the FIRE community who have an asset allocation consisting of 100% in equities, a majority of which sits in index funds (ETFs). It seems like the narrative is “Buy equities, passively, at any price, indefinitely, and hold virtually no other assets, it’s all good coz you can’t beat the market, oh and lowest fees possible”. Occasionally with “use margin or other leverage to speed it up”. With equity…