Monevation

I have made financial mistakes just like anyone else – but maybe not the same mistakes.

The difference that spending £100 a month less on clothes in your twenties and investing it will make to your future is incredible.

Don’t dismiss the benefits of earning a few bob from a passive income project. Income generating assets are expensive!

I accept it’s normal to feel frustrated, angry, or even downright stupid when you lose money on your investments. But what about guilt? My portfolio’s fall from its peak value in summer 2007 to a low in October 2008 represents a big loss for a 30-something private investor like me: at least a couple of [...]

What follows is a personal post, but I believe it’s relevant to investing. I won’t be discussing underpriced stocks or earning more money. Instead I’ll share something that for me puts the business of personal finance into perspective. Call it an end of year message. I’m visiting my parents. In the next room, my gentle and intelligent [...]

Anyone who reads personal finance blogs is clearly more interested in money than the average person. If you write a personal finance blog, you’re even more interested in money (even if blogging won’t make you any). Can you be too interested? Are we deluding ourselves into thinking we’re being economically literate, whereas really we’re just [...]

In this post, I’ll outline three methods I’ve successfully used to stop me spending money on stuff I didn’t really need. Warning: All three methods are a bit unusual! 1. Reserve it on Amazon Nearly everything is cheaper to buy online. If I’m out shopping and I see something I like, I try to: Postpone [...]

Fable II is a video game, in which you play a hero and business mogul. In this post I’ll explain what it can teach you about making money. Lesson 1: Jobs mean money, but gosh they can be dull You begin Fable II as an orphan with a dog. Slaying bandits and collecting gold to [...]

(Image: annia316) I love animals, and I’ve kept pets since I was a child. They’re funny, sometimes loyal, they make me happy, and they keep me in touch with nature. Over the past 20 years or so, though, pets have turned from being relatively cheap additions to the household into major moneypits. I’ve succumbed myself. [...]

Do you have the vision, determination and commitment of swimmer Michael Phelps? You might not have his 6′ 4″ tall frame and dolphin-like body, but even as investors we can learn from his stunning achievements. I let go of my Olympic dreams when medical complications sent me to hospital aged 18. Before then, I’d been [...]

What do you really want from your online stockbroker? Security? Cheap dealing charges? Low or no annual fees? Special offers? All well and good. After five years of dealing online, however – and especially during the recent bear market – I’ve discovered something else matters. Something you may think sounds silly, but which will make [...]

So you’ve done your four financial crisis checks: Your savings are safe They’re earning more interest You’ve got a plan to pay off any debt Your mortgage is sorted for the foreseeable future. Time to turn over and fall back to sleep? Possibly. I’m serious! It’s often too late to Do Something once a financial [...]

Space operas are exciting, with droids, blasters and galaxies far, far, away. Financial advice is often dull, and focussed on doing without, dying, and matters down, down to Earth. Is it any wonder millions more of us watched the lamentable Episode 1: Phantom Menace than will ever read The Millionaire Next Door? But what if [...]

Catching up with some of my favourite financial blogs (no, Monevator.com is not an island!), I’ve noticed a sour note on those that follow the net worth of the author (e.g. My 1st Million at 33 and Accumulating Money). I admire these writers for putting their cojones on the line so publicly. My thoughts certainly [...]

There are no true short cuts in investing, but I believe there are some subtle benefits in targeting income when making your investment plans.