Two factors behind debt and what does this have to do with you
Have you noticed that more and more people have more and more debt? This is a fact hard to miss even if you are not one of them. Here are some numbers: Between 1990 and 2000 the number of Americans seeking the help of a credit councillor doubled; The average…
Two conversations and a museum: it is important to face our past if we are to have a future
I do remember that Thursdays on The Money Principle are usually reserved for a book review or for thought provoked by reading something related to life and money. But today I am feeling ill – I had to see a doctor, spend loads of money for the check up and…
Could one have good quality of life in a poor country?
There was a time, over fifteen years ago, when I did believe that one can have a really good quality of life in a poor country; given that one isn’t poor, of course. This belief had no foundation in experience – only in casually empiricist observation. I had noticed that…
Investment options: trading futures
Last week I admitted to being a bit of a chicken where it came to financial risk. This comes from my family background I think – we never had much money at home yet paid off the only mortgage we ever had in ten years. Even so, while my parents…
Principled Money Posts #23: Write on Finance Blog Up
What an enjoyable weekend we had! A weekend when, I hope, history was made and the personal finance bloggers in the UK got together to have our first conference. Well, OK some of the UK personal finance bloggers met but it is a start; apart from that I believe that…
Why I don’t have aggressive investments
Because I am a chicken. If I weren’t we would be filthy stinking rich but then we wouldn’t have the fun of writing this blog and you wouldn’t have the pleasure of reading it.:) Let me explain. Many times in my life, I have seen what looks like a good…
Coping with uncertainty: how I decided the level of life insurance to carry
Yesterday I was chatting to a friend of mine on the phone; many friends gossip or make trivial arrangements. But I am a personal finance blogger and had just looked at out budgeting spreadsheet…so I mentioned how proud I am that couple of years ago managed to get higher insurance…
Beyond ‘The Secret’: the seven laws of the Universe Part 2
Last week I was telling you about the seven laws of the Universe that were set out by Mel Gill in his book entitled The Meta Secret. These are: The Law of Mentality The Law of Correspondence The Law of Vibration The Law of Opposites The Law of Rhythm The…
Gosh, renting is expensive! And not for the obvious reasons either
Renting, on both sides of the property divide, has been a lot on my mind lately. Why you may ask? Well, after five years of boomeranging sons (I am not even sure that this is a proper verb but I mean that they moved in back with us multiple times)…
Principled Money Posts #22: the new academic year is upon us
Last Wednesday, coming back from Bonn, I noticed the exceptionally long lines at the ‘outside EU’ counter at passport control. On a whim I struck a conversation with the border control guard. ‘Very busy today’ – I said. ‘The overseas students are back’ – she replied. This kind of real…
How to buy your first commercial property
You might have a great idea for a bricks-and-mortar business such as a beauty salon or a picture gallery. Next you need premises, which remain the most important investment in your business plan for the next couple of years, until you’re ready to scale up or change the focus of…
Living cheap and feeling cheap
Last weekend I was in Helsinki, at the beginning of a rather tiring work trip – during the last two days I gave two high pressure, high level talks in two different countries. The first one was to be in Helsinki and since I have a very good friend (and…