Your most powerful investment

When we think of investments, we usually think of stocks, bonds, or real estate. Personal finance media often focus on these popular asset types. They teach us to maximize our retirement funds, invest in low-cost index funds, diversify with bond funds, and buy rental houses.

While these are all good advice and it certainly helped a lot of people improve their financial standing, I think it overlooks a very important asset. One that can yield great returns when utilized properly, can improve your lifestyle, and more importantly, one that you already own! Continue Reading

The True Cost of Things

When we acquire things, mostly by buying or when someone gives it to us, we associate this object by its cost. “This costs half my monthly salary“, or “This looks cheap!”. While this may seem obvious from our perspective, in reality, this is only a part of its true cost.

There is an excellent article from Raptitude about this, titled Everything Must Be Paid for Twice. The author said that the first price is what we pay to gain possession of something. Once we obtain it, we must also then pay a second price, which is the effort needed to utilize and reap the benefits of that thing. Continue Reading

Managed investments are alright!

“Why did you get that VUL? They are inefficient! Just buy Term Insurance and invest the difference!“. This was me years ago after I found out that a friend just purchased a Variable Universal Life Insurance from a big insurance company. I then went on a tirade about the insurance fees, agent commission, and managed fund expenses. I continued on about why it is a bad idea to mix insurance and investments.

Was I trying to help? My intentions were good: I wanted my friend to have the best insurance and investment set up. Paying unnecessary fees is a big no-no from my perspective. Continue Reading

Surviving and Thriving in a Recession

When a recession hits, it affects many people and industries across the world. Even if you think that your industry is not affected, your company can still be hit due to knock-on effects. Revenue becomes harder if your clients are affected or if they realign their budgets. If this persists for several months, it can result to layoffs and furloughs.

Protect your income

It is with this increased risk that we should protect our sources of income as much as possible. If you run a business, then this is the time to optimize operations and reduce unnecessary expenses. Look into each recurring expense and determine whether it is critical for your business. You may be surprised to know that some of them can be eliminated without affecting your operations. Continue Reading

Accounting for Noobs, Part 2

In Part 1 of this series, we discussed basic accounting concepts like the Accounting Equation. From there we identified the different Account categories and how transactions are placed under Debits or Credits.

You may be thinking, “Ok good, I get why this is being used by companies and banks, but this does not apply to me!“. Perhaps you may be right, but have you asked yourself these questions before? Continue Reading

Tech and FI

Technology and Financial Independence

Category: Personal Finance