There are a few ways in which, as an investor, you may be tempted to distract yourself from your long-term plans. The most common is to fall prey to the cycles of fear we are susceptible to when a major world crisis or market downturn arrives. In these moments, the fear of uncertainty can lead you to become short-term focused, often abandoning the discipline and patience that long-term success requires. The other way you may distract yourself is by buying into the cycles of hype that appear when specific trends, sectors, or technologies become popular. The companies best positioned to benefit from the publicity become the focus of investment speculators, providing the financial media an easy way to fill pages.... Read More

The proximity of Christmas and the start of the new year in the calendar creates the opportunity for a lengthy break from work. With judicious use of just a few days out of your annual entitlement it’s possible to enjoy almost a complete fortnight off. Indeed, in my experience, many businesses will close over this period, with, at most, just a skeleton staff on the end of the phone in case of emergency. If you’re in the position of being able to enjoy a good break, I think it’s important not to be tempted to work but instead, to take it. Winter is the most common time to read articles on the benefits of recharging your batteries by taking time... Read More

Investment markets are currently being very kind to investors. Despite continued geopolitical uncertainty in Ukraine and the Middle East, markets worldwide have continued to give you above-average returns in a bull market that has lasted since the pandemic. More significantly, since March 2020, there have been no periods of significant decline. While this has been a very welcome respite from the normal market rhythm, there’s a danger that you will forget the important lessons learned from past falls, because triggers for market volatility still exist. To prepare you for the potential of decline during the coming year, here are some points you should keep in mind when others are losing theirs. Market corrections happen frequently A market correction is defined... Read More

If you are saving hard for your retirement, you may be reluctant to make a big financial outlay on a once in a lifetime experience. Instead, you might be entirely focused on setting money aside for your future needs. However, I’ve long thought that sometimes spending money on an experience to create lasting memories can often be just as important as saving for your retirement itself, once you’ve set enough aside to ensure your financial needs in retirement are covered. This is often referred to as creating “memory dividends”, and in this article you can read why that’s the case, and why it’s so important to ensure that you’ve accumulated your share of this type of dividend. Living comfortably in... Read More

Your road to financial freedom is a journey of a thousand steps. Fortunately, the path is well-trodden by millions of investors who have already reached financial independence. Drawing upon their experience, I can help you to extract the key learnings and metrics you’ll need as you continue your financial journey. This journey is a marathon, not a sprint. It will require patience, discipline, optimism, and regular reflection on the progress you’ve already achieved. It is this practice of measuring your progress that I want to reflect on in this article so that you can avoid the fate of too many unsuccessful investors: discovering an unpleasant truth when it’s too late to correct your course. So, here’s how to avoid common... Read More