It was a Saturday afternoon and I was sitting on the train when a couple of teenage girls sat in adjacent seats. Music was blaring from a smartphone as they were engrossed in something or other on YouTube. This new trend of listening to music or watching videos on public transport without headphones is a…
If you’re not familiar with OpenRent, they offer a platform for landlords to manage their property instead of paying a letting agent. Before moving to OpenRent I was paying PurpleBricks £2,160 per year to manage my flat and before that a similar amount to Winkworth. Both of them did such an appalling job that I…
The reason I want to escape the daily grind is to do less of things I don’t like and more of the things I do. Currently, I’m time poor and when that changes I want to have enough things that interest me and keep me fulfilled. Otherwise, what’s the point of stopping work? Last year…
I’m sure my boss is an alcoholic, I’ve never known anyone so obsessed with getting smashed. Whenever we have a work trip he’ll always get drunk and try and bring everyone down with him; shots being ordered, karaoke and staying out until 4 am. I see his hedonistic behaviour as escapism which is prevalent throughout…
This post is aimed at landlords thinking of using a letting agent for managing their rental property. I’m writing this with 12 years of experience of dealing with letting agents (in London) and speaking with landlords, I’ve also worked at property companies involved with property management. Flawed business model The essence of any business model…
I’m male, 43 years old, heterosexual, athletic with a well-paid job and no children (I realise this is starting to sound like an online dating profile). It’s fair to say that statistically, I’m in the minority by not having (or wanting) children. What I find interesting is that you’re more likely to be questioned about…
If you assume the concept of tracking depreciation is only for businesses, then you’d be wrong. I would encourage you to start tracking depreciation for anything valuable that you plan to replace. It’s a super simple process and a great tool to have in your personal finance toolbox. In this quick post, I’ll show you…
I wrote a few months back about how I do my budgeting. My general approach is to have regular monthly payments (utilities, Netflix and the like) managed through my current account. I then have a separate easy access saving account for non-monthly payments such as home insurance, dentist, haircuts and depreciation. I was using Marcus…
My boss is under a lot of stress, he’s been off work with heart-related issues at least twice in the past 2 years (he’s in his early forties). After taking a week off work he comes back and carries on at the same relentless pace as before. I’ve always found this attitude perplexing, maybe he…
I have a friend that’s the laziest person you’d ever meet. His weekends consist of watching TV, writing lists of things to do (and not doing them), more TV …oh and he likes to drink (a lot). He’s one year away from retirement without a plan. Needless to say, this has disaster written all of…