Category: Dilemmas & Paradoxes

If it sounds too good to be true

If it sounds too good to be true

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It probably is (too good to be true)…

In case you missed the latest development in the Baltic crowdlending industry, let me give you a quick recap;

Two of my (previously) best performing platforms have turned out to be fraudulent (nothing is proven yet, but I think the writing on the wall is pretty clear).

In December it became apparent that Kuetzal was more than a little dodgy around the edges – and last week another bombshell dropped, when it became apparent that Envestio was also in fact a highly dubious operation. I am reluctant to use words like “scam” and “ponzi scheme” (oops, I just did) about Kuetzal and Envestio, as nothing has been proven yet. Although, in the case of Kuetzal it seems that the majority of their projects simply did not exist, and thus it would not be in-appropriate to use the word “SCAM” to describe Kuetzal…

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The Christmas paradox

The Christmas paradox

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When I was a kid, I used to love Christmas (which kid doesn’t?!).

My parents divorced when I was very little, so I’ve always had two Christmas eves! One with my dad and his family, and one with my mom and her family. Some times I would get presents for 3 days straight (23-24-25), because I also had “step-families” (my mom and dad both remarried a few years after their divorce). I’ve never actually seen their divorce as a misfortune. Because they both remarried I had two happy families – and 4 set of grandparents!

IMAGINE that, as a child at Christmas! – Yes, you guessed it; presents galore!

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Oops, I spent all my (FU) money! What now?

Oops, I spent all my (FU) money! What now?

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After I spent 8 months hoarding cash, I finally found Property #1 and now find myself in a strange vacuum.

I have yet to transfer the full amount due for Property #1, but since the money is now ear-marked, I’ve been having these strange feelings; Regret? Anxiety? Excitement?

I transferred the down payment for Property #1 last week (approximately 1/5 of the total cost), and felt nothing but excitement at the time. Now that it’s had time to really sink in, I find myself wondering: What now?!

Worst of all, it just dawned on me that while I might have gained a decent asset to my portfolio, I’ve lost something extremely valuable in the process: My F.U. money (you know – the money that would allow me to say F*CK YOU to my boss, and not worry about any sort of work for a while).

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A night out – with Rich Dad (Property investing)

A night out – with Rich Dad (Property investing)

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This week I attended a 2-hour (free) seminar on property investing, from the Rich Dad Education company.

I didn’t really know what I was going into (the agenda was very sparse), so I tried to keep an open mind (I already read Rich Dad, Poor Dad, so I was pretty sure I already knew the gist of it).

What I did know however, is that nothing is free 😉 I was sure that they would try to convince me to purchase something after/during the seminar.

I was right.

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Gambling vs. Calculated risk

Gambling vs. Calculated risk

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I don’t consider myself a gambler. I take calculated risks – there’s a difference.

I’ve been playing with the idea of this post in my mind for a while, and decided it was time to get it out there.
It’s likely that I’m going to regret it somewhere down the line, as someone is most likely going to throw it in my face eventually (My money is on the wife. – OH SHIT, did I just gamble?) 😛

Anyway, this post is (primarily) intended as a historic reminder to myself. I once proclaimed that I was not a gambler. Living up to that statement is not going to be easy – because let’s face it: We’re all gamblers in some way.

So what is the difference between gambling and calculated risk, Nick?

Follow me into the dark (and cobweb-filled) corners of my mind, and let’s explore this topic together!

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“Budget” traveling

“Budget” traveling

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I’m stretching the word “Budget” here, as our typical vacations aren’t really what most people would consider cheap. However, given our new found love for the FIRE, we’ve been trying to scale down on the “luxury traveling”, and now spend an awful lot of time, trying to find the best “value for money” vacation spots. It suits my frugal mind just fine. (Brace yourself folks, this is going to be a long one!).

Historically though, this was not always the case. I’ve never been the kind of guy, to go for the most expensive stuff that money could buy – but spending a monthly salary on a weeks vacation was not uncommon for us (this was before we had a kid). These days, we try to spend around 1/3 of a monthly salary (my salary) on a weeks vacation (to somewhere warm, typically). It’s still a lot, all things considered – but remember that lifestyle inflation is a lot easier than lifestyle deflation 😉

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Opportunity cost

Opportunity cost

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After reading a ton of blog posts about how you can’t time the market, and just as many stating how you can/should time the market (you mean like this one?), I decided it was time to dig a little deeper into this subject.

This let me to think about opportunity cost (remember I’m currently holding on to a huge pile of cash, because I’m waiting for the right opportunity to invest in a real estate project). Much to my annoyance, someone had already written pretty much what I wanted to say about it – and to make matters worse, this someone even shares my love for the balance!… 😉

Have a look here if you want to read a great post, about opportunity cost 😉 thebalance.com is a great source of financial knowledge – I highly recommend reading their articles. (I did not stumble upon this great source of knowledge, until after I came up with the name for my blog – so while we might share a name, I assure you it’s purely coincidental).

So, what’s left to say about opportunity cost? Let’s dive in, and have a look!

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F*CK Capitalism

F*CK Capitalism

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I came across this sign in a town close to where I live. It’s supposed to be a nice neighborhood too! 😉

The sign indicate that a new apartment complex is going to be build in the near future – it even says “climate friendly”. Apparently, someone did not approve of this message. This someone took it upon themselves to share their own message instead: FUCK CAPITALISM!

My immediate reaction was: BLOODY VANDALS! – But then I started to think about it, and a few minutes later – much to my surprise – I found myself sympathizing with the vandals.

How did that happen!? A project like this is actually just the kind of project that I’d like to invest in myself, so obviously this left me very conflicted about the duality of this graffiti “artwork”…

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When the Universe throws a curveball

When the Universe throws a curveball

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– Do you try to hit it out of the park, or do you move the fuck out of the way, to avoid getting it in your face?

I apologize for the baseball analogy (and the foul language), but it seemed appropriate, giving the topic I’m going to ramble about today!

You see, I believe that the Universe generally want me to succeed in life. Sometimes that faith is challenged though (I’m not religious, but I do believe in some sort of higher cosmic power. Sort of…). This week has been one of those weeks!

We try not to let the little things get to us, right? So what if someone took your parking spot right in front of you, and it’s the last one on the lot, and you’ve been driving around for what seems like hours to find one!? Karma will get that a**hole for sure!
Anyway, as parents of a 4-year old with two full-time jobs, two cats, two cars and a mortgage on a 200 year old house, there’s not a lot of tolerance for such kind of events to happen on top of one another, before someone lose their shit…Today that someone was me! (Well, almost).

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To FI, or not to FI…

To FI, or not to FI…

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Inspired by one of my “role models” in the FI community, I felt like writing my thoughts on this topic today (the topic has been in my notebook for a while).

I’ve noticed a change in my own behavior, since I started this FIRE journey that I would like to put out there to emphasize, that whatever journey you might be embarking on, you should always make sure to make it your own. People will be skeptical when you present them with ideas that seem preposterous to them. Be advised that it seems some ideas are not meant to be shared with everyone…

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