What The Fat Wallet taught me (#245)
The Fat Wallet Show from Just One Lap
Like many of you, I have listened to every episode of The Fat Wallet Show. I’ve learned so much over the years, but I find it interesting that some lessons keep repeating. This week, Simon and I spend our last episode together reflecting on lessons we keep on learning. Think of this as the TL;DR version of 245 episodes of this incredible show. Here’s what we know for sure: Many people who listen to the show think their biggest financial decision is ahead of them when actually they’ve already made it: being an active participant in your own financial life is the best financial...
info_outline
Access bonds explained (#244)
The Fat Wallet Show from Just One Lap
If you’re new to this money business, access bonds will confuse you. Not only do we use the word “bond” to mean “lending money to the government” and “borrowing money from the bank to buy a house”. The access we’re talking about has changed over the years. As Simon Brown explains in this week’s episode, in the bad old days before the 2008 crash, banks used to give you a little additional spending money when you took out a home loan. Those days are long gone, but the idea prevails. These days you can’t access the interest or principal repayments you’ve already made....
info_outline
The cost of moving retirement products (#243)
The Fat Wallet Show from Just One Lap
It has always been the philosophy of this show that a good question is more valuable than a good answer. It’s incredible what you can learn from a really good question, both about the topic and about the person asking the question. This week, Frank had an excellent question about moving retirement funds. This question reveals, first and foremost, just how much Frank already knows about the market. It also reveals a thoughtful person who has found a balance between taking calculated risks and doing whatever he can to protect his assets. In this episode, we address issues around the ethics of...
info_outline
Passive income (242)
The Fat Wallet Show from Just One Lap
A conversation on our excellent had me wondering why we’ve never dedicated a whole Fat Wallet to finding passive income streams outside of investments. It took about ten minutes for the realisation to dawn on me: true passive income is a myth. We often talk about side-hustles. “Hustle” is the operative word there, because we’re describing a second job. The appeal of working in your free time is the diversification of income streams and the potential to eventually earn your monthly income doing something you enjoy instead of your day job. True passive income means you work at...
info_outline
Should I stay or should I go? (#241)
The Fat Wallet Show from Just One Lap
Many people take their first wobbly steps into the financial world because they understand money is meant to do something. What exactly that “something” is, is often left to someone else to figure out. However, once they start learning about the financial environment for themselves they realise there might be products better suited to their needs. Moving a lump sum away from a provider you’ve trusted for a few years is a daunting process. Even if your reasons are sound, it’s not an easy decision to make. In honour of the brand new tax year, we spend this week’s episode helping...
info_outline
Farewell Fatties! (#240)
The Fat Wallet Show from Just One Lap
After five rewarding years as host of The Fat Wallet Show, my time with the show is coming to an end. This episode is a short retrospective of our time together, followed, as usual, by your questions. On 30 May 2016 we published the of The Fat Wallet Show. We knew from our personal experience and from our work at Just One Lap that money was such an emotional topic. All so-called financial education came with an assumption that you would already know the jargon and have some basic understanding of how the system worked. Based on the questions we got at Just One Lap, we knew that wasn’t...
info_outline
TFSA strategies (#239)
The Fat Wallet Show from Just One Lap
Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year, but tax month is a close second. For buy-and-hold investors like myself, this is the only time of year I get to do anything significant in my portfolio. That’s why I take a moment to reflect on my portfolio every February. My tax-free strategy may seem static from the outside, but it has changed as new products have come into the market and as I’ve matured in my investment philosophy. The market is a highly dynamic environment and even a buy-and-hold strategy requires sharpening every so often. In honour of tax-free savings month, we think...
info_outline
Finding the next hot thing (#238)
The Fat Wallet Show from Just One Lap
We are still running our survey. Please take two minutes to . Around the beginning of every year we notice a strange phenomenon. Energised by the holidays and inspired to turn life into an everlasting vacation, investors start searching for the investment Holy Grail. “What is the one, hot thing that will finally liberate me from the shackles of employment?” The opportunity that generates the most excitement changes every year, but the pattern is the same. Newbies and impatient veterans alike flock to alternative assets, penny stocks or underdog listed companies believed to be the...
info_outline
Money and travel (#237)
The Fat Wallet Show from Just One Lap
There’s nothing like lockdown to induce a bad case of wanderlust. 11 months into the biggest bummer of many of our lifetimes, it’s wonderful to hear some ordinary good news. Remember weddings? Lady Kablo certainly does. She got married in December. Lockdown is giving her a little time to think about what she’d like for her perfect honeymoon. Many of us striving for financial independence hope to travel once we no longer have to work. Every time I take a trip, be it abroad or local, I’m reminded travel money works differently from ordinary money. While I’m extremely frugal in my...
info_outline
Intergenerational wealth (#236)
The Fat Wallet Show from Just One Lap
Time is such an odd ingredient in the realm of wealth creation. When treated with respect, a good amount of time can be your greatest ally. When ignored, however, time can be your biggest risk. In a country with so much historical inequality, the idea of intergenerational wealth seems entirely mythical. However, a small amount of money sprinkled with a great deal of time makes building a nest egg for the next generation seem downright simple. By the same token, sleeping at the wheel creates an opportunity for inflation to eat away at real returns. In this week’s episode, we explore...
info_outlineIn honour of Christmas this Friday, this week’s episode is the first ever Fat Wallet fairytale, written by Suzanne for her daughter Nina.
Happy Holidays, everyone!
Win of the week: Suzanne
I just want to say thank you for the great work that you are doing. I know that we as a society tend to use the word EMPOWERING quite loosely, but there is no better way to describe how I personally have experienced this whole journey into personal finance. I also feel it has made me a better parent to my kids – that can now guide and empower them on their own road to financial independence.
I attach a little Christmas Fairytale I wrote for my daughter, that I hope you will enjoy – and as a little ode to a Fairy Godmother that you may recognize……
A CHRISTMAS FAIRYTALE FOR MY DAUGHTER
As smart as a whip, and with a feisty personality to match,
Princess Nina was considered by all to be quite the catch.
But frowns of worry have been darkening her day,
For on the eve of her sixteenth birthday, she was unsure of her way…….
“OH”, she cried, while munching on her two-minute noodles,
“This world has to offer me oodles and oodles,
Yet I am unsure of what I need to do!
I know I am a Princess, and being one too,
Cinderella and Rapunzel I should probably like you,
And don’t forget Snow White, she is in the mix too.”
“But, being rescued has never really been my vibe,
I think I am more part of the Katniss Everdeen tribe.
I wear my hair in a bob, and can really whack a hockey ball,
I don’t really mind people, but love dogs more than all.”
“I have no desire to be rescued by a prince,
To me that sounds about as appealing as a bowl of pets mince!
I don’t want to toil away my days in some remote castle tower,
I want to learn Korean, travel the world and find my own Power!”
It was then that it happened, in a flash she appeared,
The extremely tall fairy godmother, all mothers-in-law feared…
She was known through the land from north to south,
For her sensible advice ….and her potty mouth.
“Girl”she exclaimed, ”I heard your pleas,
And I think you are cooler than the fucking bee’s knees,
So in your future there will be no dwarfs, prince’s or even a count…..
What you get is a Tax Free Savings Account.
With the whip of her wand, she quickly set about,
to set up an Easy Equities TFSA account….
“That is it”, she cried,” my magic is done!”
“Now, my dear princess, starts all the fun.”
“You will go out into the world, and chase those dreams!,
But you will also be smart, and live within your means.
You will graft at your craft, and your joy will be astounding,
You will also be saving a shitload, and experience the magic of compounding.”
“This blessing and wisdom I bestow upon you,
Is not one to be horded, but for you to share with other princesses too.
So should Cinderella come crying about her boring days,
Or Rapunzel curse about her man’s whoring ways…….”
“You can exclaim: “Girl, I hear you cries,
so let me sort for you, the truth from the lies…..
You don’t need to live your life as prescribed,
Where fate is fate, and choice is denied.
You don’t need a blesser, or a large inheritance amount,
You need a Tax Free Savings Account!”