How to avoid the sunk cost trap

Logically fallacious The New Year has long since been & gone and I'm pleased to report that lifestyles are now improving again here after the usual silly-season hiccups. Through that time of year it's all too common to use phrases like 'I might as well...' (as in 'I might as… full article

How to increase (or multiply) your income

Thinking things through I'll always be grateful that I trained as a Chartered Accountant, because the qualification rewards you with an invaluable skill set, including the ability to think about problems logically. Consider, for example, the conundrum of what might comprise a good investment if inflation ever takes off again.… full article

4 ways to improve your self-esteem

Nobody's perfect (all of the time) I tend to be sceptical of those 'my typical day' articles you read online or in lifestyle pieces. In the Instagram era, almost anyone's life can be made to look like a highlights reel, and in reality everyone has days that are less inspired… full article

Being right just once

Big winning bets Hedge fund founder John Paulson famously profited to the tune of billions of dollars using credit default swaps to effectively bet against subprime mortgages at the peak of the US housing market. In subsequent years he took some less successful positions leading to the inevitable articles about… full article

Morbid curiosity & gapers’ delay

Gaper blocked! I was driving through Fortitude Valley this weekend, at a time of day when there really shouldn't have been a traffic jam, but the flashing blue & red police lights in the distance foretold a disruptive accident. Fortunately, I managed to lurk away from the highway down a… full article

Frustration? Deal with it

Born of frustration Do you ever have days where everything seems to be frustrating? Aye, so do I! It's easy to become discouraged when something unforeseen happens ('why me?'), or when we seem to be going nowhere fast on a rat wheel (where is this heading?), and especially when someone… full article

How to declutter your home (& life)

Letting go Some years ago I went to live in East Timor, and without particularly planning to do so ended up staying for a long time. It was a wonderful experience for a whole range of reasons, not least that I first went there with, in the literal sense, no… full article

Do you need to be clever to invest well?

What is intelligence? We can probably all remember from school days peers that took academic achievement in their stride, yet in some instances the very same people could barely tie their own shoelaces or deal with social situations easily. An intellectual quotient or 'IQ' is a traditional measure of intelligence… full article

When less is more (6 ways to KISS)

When less is more With the world having been through a tumultuous decade through the global financial crisis & beyond, I've sometimes wondered whether partial ignorance was bliss as many of the gruesome details of the subprime crisis subsequently came to light (the books always seem to follow afterwards). After… full article