It’s that time of the year when ridiculous consumer spending seems to prevail and dominate most peoples lives. This year like others I’ve tried to avoid unnecessary spending and instead focus on spending quality time with family and friends and giving thoughtful gifts where appropriate. I thought I’d take the time to share a recent […] Read More
Personal Finances
To pay off the mortgage or to invest? That is the question. It’s an often debated question in the world of financial independence and one thats been done to death in blogsphere several times over. In this article I won’t go in depth into all of the pros and cons of each side of the argument […] Read More
Working with colleagues form all over the world over the last decade or so has given me the opportunity take a peek into the national psyche of some of these colleagues. Over time observable stereo types emerge and patterns of behaviour present themselves. Over the years i’ve marvelled at: The entrepreneurial spirit of the Americans The passion […] Read More
Having recently moved house it’s our expectation that the current UTMT residence will remain just that for at least the next 20 years or so, hopefully a lot longer. Given the place needs a fair bit of work doing to it we’ll be looking to make the place as energy efficient as possible during some […] Read More
One thing I’ve noticed about people that have reached FI is that many of them continue to ‘work’ to some degree. If you’re smart enough to get yourself in a position to reach FI or early retirement then you’ve most likely got a brain that needs more stimulation than daytime TV can provide. It strikes me […] Read More
In a (reasonably) recent post I alluded to the fact that things breed more things. We all know we have too much clutter in our lives. If you look hard about some of the clutter in your life you’ll probably realize that there is a chain reaction to many of the things you have bought […] Read More
We all know that to become financially independent you need to get your expenses down below the level of your investment income. It’s a remarkably simple formula but one that can seem unattainable. However the maths doesn’t lie…do it and you’ll have reached the promised land that is FI. I’d wager that the largest expense on most household […] Read More
This weeks budget brought about some big controversial changes. I won’t delve into all of them here, but instead comment on the fact that this and other recent budgets have made it possible to earn significant amounts of income without paying any tax – something most people are interested in! I’m lucky in a sense […] Read More
As mentioned in my last post we’ve had (what is most certainly) a life changing event happen here Under The Money Tree. While I promise that this site won’t turn exclusively into an online homage to reusable nappies I can’t let an event like this pass without posting a few observations of the things we’ve learned so […] Read More
Us personal finance blogger types tend to loathe consumerism. Quite rightly so given the way that so many people succumb to the urge to buy more crap in exchange for a short term endorphin release. In these days of internet shopping it has become easier and easier to amass vast quantities of possessions that deliver you […] Read More