Principled Money Posts #25: ‘being fifty and mad celebrations’ edition
It has been a week since I hit fifty; how is it? Great! It is the time of life when we are suspected of having mid-life crisis and, this applies more to us women, menopausal. As I say, it is the same as being in puberty but so much better…
Our financial optimism: ‘no spending’ to ‘home improvements’
Well, I didn’t tell you that but last Saturday (13 October) was my 50th birthday. I am becoming an ‘old bird’, indeed. Apart from having to work on that day and receiving many messages of congratulation this has a very special meaning for me. Three years ago we first found…
How has the eurozone crisis affected corporate banking?
Banks have been having a bad press recently. My views on the causes are probably better kept out of this article but don’t tar all banks, let alone bankers, with the same brush. Love them or hate them, we need them. In fact we have good reason to be very…
Changing people’s hearts and minds: the magic and practice of enchantment
Couple of days ago my work bought me a new laptop; this was not a privilege but necessity. My new ‘production tool’ is a Samsung, sleek, thin and light, and works like a dream (well, there is no need to get technical). It also looks very much like a Mac;…
Why comparing your budget to this of other people is a really dumb thing to do
Recently I came across a post on a public forum that provided a Statement of Affairs (for my readers in the US this is a tool that sets out income, expenditure, assets and liabilities) and asked how does this compare with the budgets of other people. Of course, people jumped…
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…