Where are you going? – have you made a plan yet?
Truth, or Doomer Porn? Tales From The Edge of Finance
You don't have to be vegetarian to try the salad, and you don't have to be an extremist to listen to extreme views. There’s a certain discomfort that comes from peering over the edge—especially when the abyss you’re staring into is the global financial system. Entertaining “fringe” ideas like a debt collapse, fiat failure, or financial repression by design often gets you labeled a doomer, a crank, or worse. But
Two Ways to Wealth for Everyday Investors
Two Ways to Wealth for Everyday Investors A couple of weeks ago, I found myself in Las Vegas, not for the slots or the shows, but to hear Michael Saylor—the guy who turned MicroStrategy from a respectable $1.6 billion company in 2020 into a $75 billion Bitcoin juggernaut—talk to over 30,000 fans about wealth. His presentation, “21 Ways to Wealth,” was a real eye-opener. I’m zeroing in on two main
The Money We Can’t Outrun
It Shouldn't Be A Secret, But It Is The primary cause behind rising costs, AND positive investment returns, is often the most overlooked aspect of personal finance. It shouldn't be a secret, but it is. The answer's too complicated for some, too simplistic for others, and too contrarian for all. Going forward, ignorance comes with a 100% no-money-back guarantee. It took me way to long to learn the secret: I
How London Bridge Can Help NZ Find Its Way.
What's a Chainsaw Got to Do With London Bridge Falling Down? In my shed sits the remnant of my first chainsaw. I’ve owned several over the years, but the most unique one is a McCulloch brand. It has a unique chain-tensioning system which makes it easy to keep chopping as the chain expands from heat. I haven’t seen this feature elsewhere, and it does make the process of firewood gathering
Is The NZ Property Market Dead?
Where the New Zealand Property Market Is At: Straight Talk Property's always a hot topic, and for good reason. Ever since the '87 stock market crash, it's been the 'drug of choice' - not just for everyday investors, but for banks. At an economic level, the credit creation that occurs through the property segment is [sadly] what underpins a lot of economic activity in NZ. Property ownership, or investment, is
How The World’s Changing, and Why Your Money Needs to Keep Up
The world is changing Trade wars, tariffs, and a new way of thinking about money are all hitting at once. If you’re an everyday investor, this is about your wealth, your future, and how to play the game when old rules are being followed. Trade’s Getting Messy, and It’s Not Just Talk Since Trump took office, global trade’s been turned on its head. You've heard about the tariffs (think taxes
Weighing Your Bucket, Before You Kick It.
In a typical week I'll have 3-5 'one-on-one' meetings to help people make financial decisions with massive long-term consequences. 'How do we purchase our first home?' 'How can I financially split from my partner' 'What's the best way to invest now, now there's a bit of money coming in?' The most nuanced and personalised conversations I have, however, have to do with a topic many of us tend to delay
How to Get Ahead When You’re an Everyday Person
To find truth, remain open-minded until you find it - then hold on tight. For everyday people struggling to get ahead in a system that feels rigged, the path to financial security does not in fact, come from getting the degree, working hard, and trying to be liked. That's the old world. In the new world, to build new wealth, we have to quest for objective truth. Really? Sounds a
The Ultimate Commercial Property Playbook
Unlike some things, there's more than one path you can follow to build financial freedom. For my wife and I, residential property investment was our starting point, but it may not be our end point. Nearly 20 years ago, we bought our first rental property—a simpler time when a 5% deposit was enough, prices were lower, and tax benefits like depreciation and offsetting losses against personal income were standard. Back
The Great Gold Grab: A Monetary Reset Normies Can’t See
Gold is on the move, and it’s not just a market blip. Central banks are stockpiling it, countries are yanking it back from foreign vaults, and the U.S., once a gold exporter, is now a massive importer, rivaling World War II levels. From Germany to Turkey, nations are repatriating their gold from the New York Fed and Bank of England, trading liquidity (or the ability to move it around and
Can You Trust Mortgage Advisers in a System Stacked Against You?
These three groups have the ability to influence your wealth significantly, but they all hold secrets: Financial advisers, product manufacturers, and regulators. At an organisational and individual level, incentives abound in each of these three groups. Incentives which may or may not be aligned with yours. Each group contains imperfect people, working in their part of the industry with 'growth' in mind. Each group does good, but can cause harm
Wall St vs Main St: Which One Breaks First?
Is Wall Street Crashing Main Street, or Is Main Street Crashing Wall Street? In a recent conversation with Rupert Carlyon, Managing Director at koura Wealth, we talked about the volatile interplay between Wall Street and Main Street, sparked by a dramatic 9.5% surge in the S&P 500—the largest daily rise since 2008. This market upheaval followed President Trump’s announcement of a 90-day pause on most tariffs, except for a steep
Gold: Can It Save Us From A Crash? Gary Savage
Finding Your Way to Wealth: No One-Size-Fits-All An investment strategy is a framework for you to go about putting money to work in markets. There are many valid strategies you can choose from—you can even make your own. It’s your money, after all. Here’s a few you may have heard of. Dollar cost averaging, or investing the same dollar amount over the same time interval, into index funds. A low-cost
Will Trump Destroy Our Investments?
When market jitters hit, check that you’re not derailing your investment strategy. I generally avoid taking calls late on Friday’s, but I made an exception recently to talk with a client who was clearly distressed about the markets. She’d sat through a presentation at work where an economist warned about the impact President Trump would have on the world. “I’m going to sell the rental and I’m going to cash
Lawrence Lepard: The Big Print is NOT Transitory
Inflation Is Not Transitory: So is it a Bug or a Feature? Fees, taxes, and inflation—nothing robs your investment account more than this evil threesome. With fees, if you’re not getting value, you can move your money wherever you like, but there’s diminishing returns the further you go. Once you hit zero then you realise, you've been the product the entire time. With taxes, there are ways to legally reduce
Are These The Returns You’ve Been Looking For?
Today, central banks and government agencies wield unprecedented influence, distorting free market signals in their quest to steer the economy. Interest rate tweaks, quantitative easing, and fiscal interventions have potentially synchronised asset classes like equities and bonds, eroding the negative correlation that once cushioned portfolios against volatility. Translation: Trying to influence the rate at which prices change in our economy comes with side effects. Investing in shares and investing in
Is Property A ‘Smart’ Investment Strategy?
I'm getting this question a lot lately, and it's understandable after a period of strong, rising prices, followed by a sharp pull back. For full disclosure, we've used property to build the majority of our net worth. Just because prices are down, there's no way I'm selling now. Why? Because there's no material change to what drives house prices. That declared, is it still a 'smart strategy' going forward to build
Trump Tariffs Trigger Trade War Then Tank Markets?
Should you buy the dip, or sell the rip? By the time it takes for you and I to respond, chances are, the markets have already changed - hence why it’s so challenging to invest in the short term based purely on news cycles. So in this one, is Trump responsible for market corrections? Is AI dead? And what if healthcare is the next big tech play? I recently sat
The MARKET [for ‘isms’] is about to CRASH!
Does our 'ism' impact our wealth? I used to love looking through these 'View-Finders'. 3D images of ET and Raiders of the Lost Ark, all while listening to the story on scratched record. Lost in the narrative, I forgot I was in my PJ's, sitting on my 1970's shag-carpeted bedroom. Our worldview can be just as mesmerizing. Some "isms", ideologies, and world views, may offer better returns than others. Timing
Seven Steps to Financial Independence
Imagine being over 65, and spending up to $3,000 a month more than what the government superannuation scheme provides. Where does that come from in your world? In a recent discussion with Ben Brinkerhoff, Head of Advice at Consilium in New Zealand, I explored seven critical questions that we need to address to ensure a comfortable and secure future. Reframing Risk: Beyond Price Volatility Before jumping into it, we need