Under The Money Tree

Author: Under The Money Tree

  • The Importance of Preserving Capital

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    It may seem an incredibly obvious statement to make but as investors, we should strive not to lose our capital. You don’t need to read lots from the likes of Benjamin Graham or The Sage before you hear them extolling the virtues of protecting your capital. Graham highlights the extreme example beautifully when he states:…

  • Thoughts From the Beach

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    Well I’m now safely back Under the Money Tree after a week away in the sun. A small Greek island was our destination for what turned out to be an amazingly relaxing break from the daily grind. Despite my best intentions to use some of the down time to create some wonderful posts, the lure…

  • Direct Line Group – A Special Case

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    Last week Direct Line Group released it’s quarterly results. Compared to the first half of last year here are the main points highlighted on page one of the results statement, along with the reasons given by the board in (): Gross written premium fell 5.1% (“disciplined underwriting”…yeah right!) Operating profit fell 13.1 (claims from bad…

  • Squeeze The Cheese

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    Investing isn’t all about buying low and selling high. In the infinity complex world of finance there are many other factors apart from security prices that can have a material effect on the performance of your investments. I’ve mentioned before that thinking about your personal finances as if you were managing a business is a…

  • What Keeps You Up At Night?

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    I’m very much macro or trend investor. While I’m happy rooting around a balance sheet or combing through a cash flow statement most of my investment decisions are based on or at least initiated by ‘big ideas’ or long term trends or strategies. At the same time as seeking out opportunities, I’m always on the…

  • Dealing with Investment Fatigue

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    Under The Money Tree
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    I’m quite an impatient kind of guy. When I decide on something, I want it now. Since my decision a few years ago to seriously commit to achieving early retirement/financial independence I am often overcome with serious bouts of investment fatigue. The main problem with getting rich slowly is that you’re not getting rich quickly.…

  • The Ultimate Slimline Wallet

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    Under The Money Tree we like to keep our money safe. As a general rule I tend to avoid carrying cash as I find it tends to get spent if I have it on me. Instead I prefer to rely on credit/debit cards for daily expenditure and any cash I do carry is rarely used,…

  • Advice to My Former Self

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    I recently received and email from a reader Mary who asked me a few questions regarding her choice of career and saving for early retirement. As I started drafting a response I was in fact simply reflecting back on things I would have done differently in my early years. I thought that the contents would…

  • Retire Early and Smell the Coffee

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    Perhaps one of the biggest cliches in personal finance/money saving blogsphere is the ‘how much can you save a year on lattes’ post. I’ve resisted for a few months now but being such a big coffee drinker there was only so long I could resist for. Apologies in advance. While the post below touches on…

  • I’m a Business Man!

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    I have a good friend that for many years has had a undeniable urge to be an entrepreneur. All he wanted to do was to quit the rat race, start his own company and get rich. For years he was talking about it yet nothing really happened until the day he was made redundant. After…