Have you ever heard the phrase: Money makes the world go round. The phrase was made popular by the song “Money” (Money Makes the World Go Round) from the 1966 musical Cabaret, famously performed by Joel Grey and Liza Minnelli. The lyrics cynically highlight how money buys status, romance, and comfort while poverty brings cold stoves and hunger. Whether this was art imitating life or life imitating art, it’s created an environment where we tend to […]
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Facing tough financial realities
Holidays and special occasions are supposed to be moments of deep joy and connection. But for some, these seasons simply magnify the quiet ache of a recent loss. Whether it is the empty chair at the family dinner table, the sudden shock of losing a job, or the ongoing exhaustion of a serious illness, these milestones often highlight the pain we usually manage to tuck away in our daily busyness. And, trying to manage our money […]
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Social and spiritual capital
When we talk about building wealth, we almost exclusively talk about money. We track our investment returns, our property values, and our retirement accounts. We measure our success by the size of our balance sheets. But perhaps true wealth cannot be measured by a single metric. We could potentially consider three distinct types of capital: financial, social, and spiritual. Financial capital is the easiest to understand. It is the math. It is the money that funds […]
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Long-term plans need short-term protection
Imagine you have been diligently saving for a milestone family holiday. You have carved out the time, set aside the capital, and prioritised your “Return on Memories.” But out of nowhere, a severe storm damages your roof, or a burst geyser floods your kitchen. It’s not nice to think about, but… it could happen. When we talk about financial planning, we often expect to focus on the the big things. You prepare to discuss goal timelines, […]
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The new retirementality
For decades, many of us have been sold a very specific version of retirement. We are culturally conditioned to believe that at a certain age, we should step away from our careers, retreat from the world, and live out a permanent, quiet holiday. But as medical treatment improves and lifestyles become more intentional, this traditional model is starting to feel less and less relevant. A pioneer of lifestyle financial planning, Mitch Anthony, has spent years redefining […]
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The freedom of an open hand
When there are bills to pay, and income feels like it’s not quite enough to cover the monthly expenses, it’s easy to hold back on generosity. Sometimes, we might even treat generosity as a financial finish line. We tell ourselves that once we hit a certain net worth, or once we finally retire, then we will start giving back. We want to ensure our own bucket is completely full before we are in a position to […]
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Creating a single view for your wealth
There is a common belief that when it comes to our wealth, we should never put all our eggs in one basket. It’s easy to extend this logic to our financial advice. We often assume that having multiple advisers is the safest approach. We might have one for our retirement fund, one for our stock portfolio, and perhaps another for our tax structuring. It feels like we are diversifying our risk and getting a healthy mix […]
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The invisible scripts
Did you know that, according to cognitive scientists, the average person processes over 6,000 distinct thoughts every single day. That’s around six to ten thoughts per minute. It is an overwhelming amount of mental data flowing through our minds from the moment we wake up. But have you ever paused to ask what is actually driving all of those thoughts? When it comes to our money, we like to believe that our thought process is purely […]
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The value of a financial thinking partner
When we think about working with a financial planner, we often assume the value lies entirely in the numbers or the brokering of a financial product or contract. We naturally expect them to pick the right investments, optimise our tax, and help us generate a better yield. Those technical elements are certainly important. But true lifestyle financial planning goes far beyond the spreadsheet. The real value is rarely found in simply trying to beat the market. […]
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The real purpose of short-term insurance
It is perhaps the ultimate grudge purchase. Every single month, we watch the premium leave our bank accounts. We pay to insure our cars, our homes, and our household contents, often wondering if it is simply money down the drain. Because if we have a quiet year with no claims, it can easily feel like a wasted expense. But if we look at it through the lens of our overall financial wellbeing, it might be helpful […]
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