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Don’t Just Sit There Moaning about TV, Do Something
Daytime TV has no reason to exist in my view. It wasn’t just my opinion either – TV companies used to be of the same opinion, and helpfully transmitted testcard signals and the like, so that young...
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Saving money on heating
The Torygraph tells us, shock, horror, that fuel prices are going up by about 10% this winter, and the Grauniad is up in arms about ‘Millions of householders face record high heating bills this...
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Saving money on heating – 2
This is an expansion of the previous post, as it seems I have more luck with a wood stove than the general experience. Saving energy seems to be all the rage these days, it isn’t just me, both the...
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where did we lose the basic skills of self-reliance to cope with financial...
The Grauniad’s had a series called Breadline Britain about how dreadful life is for our increasingly financially challenged nation. Now I just about experienced Britain in the 1960s, as it was pulling...
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So how did this early retirement lark work out in the end
It’s coming up to about nine months since I retired about eight years early from work – that’s eight years than the normal retirement age for The Firm. Truth be told, I retired for negative reasons...
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When we are lender of last resort, we take your soul
Paul Tucker, outgoing deputy Bank of England governor, summed up an essential truth about debt 1 “When we are a lender of last resort to a bank … we take the institution’s soul. And we say we will give...
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Poundland are cynical con-artists
We make so many consumer purchases now, that we don’t think about them or educate ourselves about what we are buying. We often go for the easy metric, which for most of us is price. The modern consumer...
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A Genius way of qualifying Needs and Wants
Sadly it’s probably one of those rear-view mirror tools, something that seems to be a recurrent theme in investing, but Lam Thuy Vo – Quantified Breakup has a great way of summing up the continuum...
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Energy efficiency for the poor is a matter for taxation, not arbitrary levies
Britain hasn’t really done very well for a cold-ish country in the Northern Hemisphere on the energy efficiency front, for residential property anyway. I’m not quite sure why this is so – there seem to...
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Fight consumerism – get time on your side
mistersquirrel has been watching TV, in particular an excellent three-part series about consumerism. The third programme was the one I found most insightful, which develops the theory that adults are...
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Time for homage to the Holly King
Summertime in the city finds the good people at Monevator dwelling on thoughts of refreshment, but out here is the sticks while sipping my iced coffee I sensed a stirring in the Force and the distant...
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The real way to make money using old pallets is to be Blake Lively
Wow. I was wasting my time recycling pallets into kindling or log-stores. Here’s the way to do it Upcycled pallets – way to go, Blake! Not only do you get to touch the hemline of Blake Lively thus...
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An insight into the consumer heart of darkness of watches
The peacock has his tail, and it seems humans have jewellery. In general the march of technology has made many things cheaper and sometimes better, though often not more durable. However, it seems the...
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Trending now – automate your spending with subscription shopping
A few years ago1, a young-adult daughter of some friends posted on Facebook about one of the delights of her office routine that made the experience of work bearable – “Look at all these yummy treats...
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FIRE in the news, liar, liar, pants on FIRE
Escapism seems to be the norm, people have got back from their hols and the rude awakening of life back at the office makes for good newspaper copy. It seems the Torygraph is working on this sort of...
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Anti-FIRE – the YOLO train-wreck edition
It’ll soon be the season of goodwill, which also seems to bring about exceptional financial muppetry for some reason. A few years ago it was Shona Sibary and her excessive brood that was financial...
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Odd Christmas sales and consumerism
Unlike most years, where the Santa rally is a thing, there’s not so much cheer on the stock market at the moment. In other words, there’s a sale on. The Ermine has an additional problem, in that my...
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97% off annuity rates – with Class 2 NI contributions
Annuities are dear, so if someone offers you 97% off, you run, not walk to take them up on it. If you are an early retiree, don’t leave State Pension on the table. You need to get enough NI to get a...
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Monzo, metal cards and bullet journals
There are intrepid folk like RIT and TA flaying fees on their investment products. Quite rightly so. Anything to do with storing and processing your money should cost as little as possible, subject to...
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Hedging is not just about money
One of the likely issues we will have later this year due to coronavirus is a shortage of fresh produce. This is absolutely not the same as OMG WE ARE ALL GOING TO STARVE! For starters, a fair...
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