Category: Philosophy

5 (free) ways to keep in touch during a lockdown

5 (free) ways to keep in touch during a lockdown

Comments 0 Comment

Hello dear readers and followers of the Total Balance household!

While we all try to practice safe “Social distancing” these days (to break the chain of infection from the dreaded Corona virus dubbed Covid-19), there are ways to remain social, without being close to one another!

Thanks to the great invention of The Internet (and Video chat software/Apps!).

Todays post is thus NOT going to be about investments (lets all try to avert our eyes from the market for a little while anyway, am I right?!)…

…

Read More Read More

History in the making

History in the making

Comments 0 Comment

As if we didn’t have enough troubles already, today added another nail to the coffin of the bleeding stock market. OPEC and Russia couldn’t agree to cut down on the oil production (to keep the oil price steady), and as a result of the decreased demand (hello, Corona virus), the oil price plummeted. And the stocks followed. 

As a result the S&P 500 is now trading below $2800 (currently at $2750 at the time of writing – down more than 7% for the day!). This means that the massive earnings of 2019 (30%+ for the S&P 500) has now been wiped out in less than 3 weeks. Ouch…

…

Read More Read More

If it sounds too good to be true

If it sounds too good to be true

Comments 5 comments

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…

…

Read More Read More

Boy, was I wrong!

Boy, was I wrong!

Comments 1 comment

2019 is drawing to a close, and as is the norm on the Total Balance blog (easy now hot shot, this is only the first full year of blogging!) it’s thus time to take a gander back at this years major events – good or bad!

My wife asked me yesterday, if I had a “highlight reel” ready for the year of 2019. I didn’t/don’t. I actually had to read through some of my old posts, just to remember WTF had actually happened this year – this is EXACTLY why I started blogging; To help me remember shit!

I fell over a post from December 2018 in which I highlight 3 events/problems that had occurred to me/us (because all bad things come in 3’s?!), and it dawned on me that all 3 “problems” actually resolved itself since! This just goes to show you that sometimes the best action you can take, is NO action!

…

Read More Read More

The Christmas paradox

The Christmas paradox

Comments 2 comments

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!

…

Read More Read More

A tribute to TEoW

A tribute to TEoW

Comments 3 comments

Behind every (great) man is a great woman (rolling her eyes)…

This is a tribute to my (eye rolling) wife. Because she doesn’t get enough credit for her hard work every day, taking care of our family. I figured it was only appropriate to use the voice of my alter ego to thank her properly. And because part of this journey is also being grateful for what you have.

You all know a lot about me and my Total Balance. The truth is, it’s really not MY Total Balance – it’s OUR Total Balance. It’s time you guys get to know the real mastermind behind this endeavor. I might be the one leading the pen, but make no mistake – my family is my muse.

…

Read More Read More

One year later

One year later

Comments 13 comments

I wrote my first post on the 25th of September 2018, which makes today my blogs first birthday (I also started to get those domain renewal reminders a few weeks ago).

Much like real babies, it takes some work before they actually come out – so obviously the blog started way before that – but I figure it’s fair to consider the day of the first post, as the “official birthday” 😛

Since that first post 1 year ago, I have published more than 50 articles and received more than 300 comments (thanks for the support guys, I really appreciate it!) from over 4000 visitors. I know these stats might not be very impressive in the professional blog-o-sphere, but to me they are pretty awesome. I really didn’t have any expectations, going into this whole blogging universe, so seeing that people actually read my ramblings (on a regular basis!) has been one of the best parts of this journey so far. I love all my readers, so thank you all for reading 🙂

Lets look back at what happened in my first year on FIRE…

…

Read More Read More

Going against the stream

Going against the stream

Comments 2 comments

Last month, The Saving Ninja proposed a thought experiment, which he does every other month.

I’ve participated in his thought experiment series one time before, and then I kind of got sidetracked, so I haven’t contributed to the series since. This months (last months) topic however, really got me thinking. I know that you’re supposed to post your “answer” to the thought experiment on the same day (the 15th), so this post will not be an official “reply” to the series 😉 – But, I’m going to piggyback on it none the less (I hope that is acceptable).

A different opinion is somewhat frowned upon in our clique based society, but some of the greatest minds of all time were outliers. They weren’t scared to go against the grain and stand up for what they believed in. So, for this Thought Experiment, I’d like you to reveal yourself: What opinion do you have that most of your peers do not share?

…

Read More Read More

Bumps on the road

Bumps on the road

Comments 4 comments

A while ago, I introduced the concept of “not breaking the chain”.

In this context, I had set a goal for myself, to write at least one post per week. As avid readers would know, I’ve now in fact broken the chain… – I “missed” a post two weeks ago. Technically, I did in fact start my previous post “on schedule”, but then became occupied with other matters, and thus didn’t finish it, until a week after it should have been posted.

At first I was a little bit annoyed, but then I just decided, not to let it bother me. Small bumps on the road (of life) happens all the time. We tell our kids that it’s important to try – and fail – rather than not to try at all. Surely it must be possible, to live by this mantra, even as an adult 😉

I use the Total Balance blog, not only as an account of my journey towards Financial Independence, but also as an outlet for my thoughts, hopes and dreams. Warning: This post is of a philosophical nature 😉

…

Read More Read More