I’m sure my best mate is an alcoholic, I’ve never known anyone so obsessed with getting smashed. He’ll always get drunk whenever we go out and try to bring everyone with him; shots being ordered, karaoke and staying out until …
Happiness vs pleasure
Author Archives: Richard
Don’t waste money on letting agents
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 …
Not wanting children needn’t require an explanation
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 …
Landlord depreciation spreadsheet
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 in your rental property. It’s a super simple process and a great tool …
Budgeting with Monzo, Al Rayan Bank and a spreadsheet
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 …
Well Man UltraVit blood test: maintaining optimum health
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 …
Spending time in early retirement
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 …
Financial Independence ratio: the measurement for quitting your day job
The general definition of financial independence (FI) is when you have enough passive income to cover your living costs. Needless to say, living costs are subjective; so for the purposes of clarity, I believe the definition of living costs in …
Parkinson’s Law explains why office work is so dull
It was a cloudy Monday morning in October when I received another “urgent” email request to provide PowerPoint slides, this time for an important VP visit. I took another swig of coffee and looked ahead at my chores for the …
Online reviews have become fake news
My trust in online reviews has been wavering for some time but it was the recent purchase of a wall stud scanner from Amazon that sent me over the edge. I’ve been trying to become more self-sufficient and improve my …