News
Fear, Outrage and Finance
These days every single one of us appears to have an issue with which we feel outrage. The thing about this emotion is that it's often rooted in fear and ignorance and is usually contagious. What I mean by that is you read or hear somewhere how someone you respect...
Decisions, Super Powers and Shakespeare
When we’re children, and before grown-ups had given us a reason to question our every move, we made decisions easily. Unburdened by fear and consequences we saw no reason in undertaking a climb up a tree or a roof or diving into the deep end of a pool.
Long Jump, Bankers and Culture
Many years ago, in my penultimate year of high school, I had a friend, Roger*, who at his first attempt became the best in the school at Long Jump. He was 16 at the time. He jumped a record 7.85 metres at the school during trials and 7.25 metres in competition. He...
The Future
Just imagine you’re a waiter in a restaurant. You’re paid $25 per hour and rack up a forty hour week. Tips are split between all staff. Now imagine if your boss informed you last night that by July next year you would be receiving a 19% pay cut. You spring into...
Summer, Tennis, Culture and Jerks
This has been a typical summer for my family. None of us are at work or school. Each year my brother escapes the Swiss winter for a few weeks and spends most of the summer with us. He’s sometimes accompanied by his wife or one of his daughters. The days are spent at...
More
This article is about three couples that I've come across over the years. Only one are clients. Two wanted more (whatever that is) and one didn't. As you will see, more is not always better. Jenny & David David and his spouse, Jenny, are in their mid-late forties....
Heart Health, Smart Watch and Loan Health
As many regular readers may recall, I have an exercise regime conducive to my age. That is, I walk a lot. Everyday. Rain, hail or shine. I thought it was doing me some good and for a long time it was.
Rover, Process, Fear and Loathing
When I was nine, my best friend in the world was a kid in my class named Stewart McNaughton. After school and on weekends I would visit Stewart’s house, which was located across the road from Willoughby Park. Our routine consisted of joining a third friend, Stewart’s dog, Rover. The three of us would go across to the park and spend most of the day there. At that time Rover was a 10 month old Labrador.
Mechanics, Alfas and Trusted Accountants
Jack*, a friend of mine, owns a vintage Alfa Romeo – for those who are interested it’s a 1965 Giulia Sprint GT. Arguably, Alfas of that vintage are the most unreliable car marque this side of Creation. Jack treats that car better than his kids – and if you’ve met his kids you’ll understand why. It has its own tiled garage with a car hoist. It only gets driven very briefly twice a year. His kids share a bedroom. There’s blood splatter on the floor from 2006 (I assume/hope from a nosebleed) and food scraps from which the cockroaches have fashioned Scandinavian furniture.
First World Problems
Through our travels into the urban, suburban and rural parts of the country we hear a lot of sayings from people to justify their sometimes lavish expenses. In order to help us get over some of our woes this morning I thought I would compile a list of some of our...