Evolution

Financial origin stories are the flavour of the month and I’ve enjoyed reading about the geneses of my blogging peers. Yet when it came to writing my own I’ll confess to a fair dose of self-doubt. There are over seven billion individuals on this planet, we are but cosmic ants. Our stories may be unique

Am I Diversified Enough?

This question emerged from the milieu of my cognitive stew whilst in the shower. The knee-jerk part of my brain, the fast-thinking portion that doesn’t like to dwell spat out a “yes” and moved on. The more ponderous parts of my cerebrum latched onto the question, and I’ve been mulling it over ever since. Diverse

The First 100,000

Milestones are an important part of making progress. They break up a task into more manageable psychological and material chunks. They’re motivating; you can celebrate when they’re reached even if the bigger victory isn’t yet won. Yes, milestones are generally a good thing, a marker on the road to where you’re going. There are conversely

Financial Resources for NHS Professionals

One of my aims for the blog is to improve financial literacy among healthcare professionals. Although the internet houses a plethora of financial information, deciphering which of it is relevant to you can be a bit of a struggle. This page will therefore serve as a repository for financial resources that are applicable specifically to

Cash, currency and collecting

“Never that foreign stuff MedFI. Only English.” were the words of advice from my grandfather, spoken in his gruff yet somehow also sing-song Celtic tones. The irony that the statement came from an immigrant was lost on my boyhood self. Instead there was only excitement and wonder as he showed me the contents of a

Westminster wallies: a golden false start to 2021

It only took fourteen days for my prediction to come true. Rule-makers turned rule-breakers. Quelle surprise. The politician in question was undoubtedly under surveillance by journalists hoping to generate an easy headline, unlike the rest of the Toms, Harrys and Dicks that are flouting the rules without such scrutiny. Whether you’re a hypocritical government official

Bin the resolution – try a Yearly Theme instead

New Year’s resolutions are awful. They mostly amount to, admittedly well-intended, hot air. The Banker on FIRE has already laid bare the pitiful probability of succeeding in your newfound resolve. Instead of crafting a single defining goal for the year 2021, one that you’ll have likely forgotten about come the start of Spring, why not

Ho Oh No

What’s this? An early Christmas present?! How thoughtful! Is it a bicycle? Or a drone? Or that generic deodorant, aftershave & moisturiser trifecta? Nope. It’s a huge lump of Christmas Covid coal. A perhaps fitting cherry on top of a year that’s been far from trifling; a government announcement that takes the cake. How naive

10 Outrageous Financial Predictions from 2020

Before the time of masks, quarantine and abhorrence for hand-shaking, the Danish investment bank Saxo Bank published ten “unlikely but under-appreciated” financial events that might occur during 2020. If there was ever a year for outrageous predictions to come true, 2020 seems like it could have been the perfect one! I’m sure, however, that those

RIP RPI – pensions in the cross-hairs?

The Treasury has lined up the Retail Price Index (RPI) for a 2030 retirement. In its place will be the much wordier, and ultimately lesser in value, Consumer Price Index + owner occupiers’ housing cost (CPIH). The change has brought a modicum of grumbling, predominantly because of the negative impact on those with defined benefit