How to Find the House You Love

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house you love

“I wish we could move this house to…” You could fill in the name of a neighbourhood or a city of your choice. Still, this is one of the most hopeless sentences in the history of human interaction. My mum used it at least once a week. Every time she wanted to go to the theatre and there was no one to watch with her. Every time she wanted to see her granddaughter and remembered that she is 250 miles away. Every time she wanted to have a coffee and a chat with her sister and remembered that she’d have […] Read more »

Why Batman Will Get Better Life Insurance Than Jabba the Hutt?

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life insurance

  Editor’s note: This is a sponsored post that contains affiliate links. Okay. Strictly speaking neither Batman, nor Jabba the Hutt need to have life insurance. It is not what you think: they don’t need life insurance not because they are fictional charters: this only making me feel a bit weird discussing this. Batman doesn’t need life insurance because he is wealthy enough so that if something goes wrong all his affairs can be put in order. Jabba the Hutt may not be as obviously wealthy as Batman. In Jabba’s case, the important matter is that he has no apparent […] Read more »

Five Objections to FX Trading and Why You Shouldn’t Listen to Them

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fz trading

Don’t know about you but I’ve heard enough objections to last me several life-times. You want to leave work? Oh, it is so hard to get another job. You want to start your own business? Oh, but most of them fail. You want to run an ultra-marathon? Do you know how many people don’t finish? You want to make enough money to retire in four years’ time? This is impossible. And so it goes about almost anything. You see, I may be an optimist but I’m not delusional; well, not usually, anyway. I know that some things are difficult to […] Read more »

Four Ways to Tackle Your Debt and How to Decide Which One is For You

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tackle your debt

Did you think that to tackle your debt is simple and straight forward? Think again! You see, when we first realised how much debt we had all I wanted was that it disappears. Oh, I know this would have taken magic I regretfully don’t possess. It may have been done by going bankrupt were we ready to take the consequences. This wasn’t our way and we did it ‘the proper way’. We reduced our spending by developing and using the ERR strategy for money management. We learned how to make more money. And we put it all against the debt. […] Read more »

10 Rules to Keep in Mind When You Borrow Money

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borrow money

In an ideal world you’ll never have to borrow money. In an ideal world, you’ll buy your house and cars for cash. In an ideal world, you’ll have cash to cover emergencies. In an ideal world, you’ll never overspend and get in trouble. In an ideal world, I’ll look like Julia Roberts and be a Hollywood star. Thing is, we don’t live in an ideal world. Just look at me. I look like…well, like me and I’m a university professor, not a movie star. When I was young, I often ran out of money. Heck, when I was in my […] Read more »

Playing with fire: is life insurance a main course or luxury dessert for you?

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life insurance

Do you have life insurance? I do. I have so much life insurance, I joke that if something were to happen to me, John will be a very wealthy man. It is a bad joke, I know. John’s been telling me that since the very first time I mentioned it. It may be a bad joke, but it is the truth. My life is insured for close to $800,000 in two different policies; one of these is part of my pension plan. This is quite a bit less than the amount for which David Beckham’s legs were (are?) insured but […] Read more »

Sometimes it is better to be sorry!

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Do you dream about the day when all your debt will be paid off and you’ll feel safe again? I did that! Four years ago, faced with a consumer debt of $160,000 I mourned my safety and feared the risks to my family this meant. Then I forgot to be safe and started living an exciting life. I changed the way we spend. I changed the way we manage our finances. I learned about money, finance and business. I stood at the bottom of a snowy hill asking to buy ski-passes (now, this is so outside my comfort zone). I […] Read more »

To Own or to Hire: This is the Question!

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Have you ever wished to spend your summer on a luxury yacht? I did today. I was on the beach, in the Algarve (Portugal), relaxing and looking at the yachts passing by. ‘Wouldn’t it be nice to have one of those?’ – I thought. And just before I started dreaming about buying a smart yacht with great facilities, another question popped into my mind: is the dream to buy a yacht or to hire one for a month? It’s better to hire one, I decided. Now, I do realise that this may be having you, my reader, ready to denounce […] Read more »

Five debt induced feelings that can ruin your relationship (and how to cope with them)

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Do the words you screamed at him/her still taste bitter on your tongue? Did he/she snap at you when you asked an innocent question? Well, chances are that if you recently had a serious argument with your ‘loved one’, this was because of either love or money. One of the most often cited reason for divorce is ‘fall out of love’. Statistics also tells us that money problems are mentioned in about half of the divorce cases in the developed world. You know, I believe that debt is a curse. When it comes to relationships, debt can be a killer […] Read more »

Why Camping is a Very Expensive Holiday Option for Me

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camping costs

Last Sunday we drove to the airport and my son boarded a plane. On his own and he is only thirteen. He is off for a week camping with a friend and his family. Why we are not with him, you may ask? We are staying put because, contrary to popular belief, camping for me has always been a very expensive holiday option. “Always” as in the three times I’ve tried it, that is. I tried camping for the first time about twenty years ago; we were young(ish) and my step sons were still at an age when sleeping in […] Read more »

Don’t be sloppy with your money: make sure to get what is due to you

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sloppy with money

One thing I know well is debt. Small wonder this is: I lived with debt for quite a few years before we reached a crisis point and dealt with it once and for all. Debt, however, is just a symptom while the illness is in a number of behaviour patterns we acquire on the way. My illness was in: Refusing to talk about money; Refusing to check on my money; Convincing myself that I need stuff (I didn’t really); Not having a big, fat dream for my life; and Being sloppy about money. How can one be sloppy about money, […] Read more »

Seven Boosters to Help Grow Your Income

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grow your income

When was the last time you saw an upsurge in your income? I’m asking because I didn’t see any increase for years. I believed I’ve reached my earning peak and that was that. Until, we found ourselves in financial trouble. Then I realised three things: You can get far by making your money go further; You can get far by making more money; and You can get so much further by making more money and making your money go further. In fact, doing this you can go all the way to building serious wealth, and fast; be it by paying […] Read more »

Why you should make your retirement a priority

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pension

The other day I was walking our lovely puppy in the nearby park. Dog owners stick together and talk to each other. You’d be surprised what you can learn in the park while throwing a slimy tennis ball around. You don’t believe me? Well, I used to talk to a woman who told me that she’s had lovers all through her marriage. Thing is, I knew her husband as well and liked him a lot. Eventually she caught her and the whole thing ended up in custody battle for the dog. Anyhow, this time there was nothing as dramatic as […] Read more »

A wedding is a statement of commitment not a show of opulence

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See the picture? It’s me (or my back) on my wedding day 21 years ago. Why my back you may ask? Because my sister in law thought that everyone takes pictures of the bride’s front but she hasn’t seen a picture of the bride’s back. Ever! So here you go; a picture of my back which also happens to show a wonderful detailed of my wedding suit. To tell you the truth, I have not thought of my wedding for a very long time. Even worse, I caught myself thinking the other day about the interesting stage of life I’m […] Read more »