The origins of giving gifts at Christmas began with The Three Wise Men bringing the infant Jesus presents, but what with the price of gold now touching fifteen hundred quid an ounce, frankincense 500 dollars a pound, and myrrh a massive four thousand, The Magi are a hard act to follow.

Do you read the FT? Most readers here will say ‘no’, and that’s as it should be, we’ll show you why. Anxiety free investing? There’s a very real technique in doing this, backed up by a Nobel Prize, so I outline for you how that’s done, and what you definitely should not be doing.

An astute investor I know of in the US, Morgan Housel, is also a very, very accomplished communicator who is effective at distilling practices and experience into simple summaries. The simple litmus test of financial decisions he believes is the question ‘Does this help me sleep at night?’ What he is saying is…

It seems that the expression “political football’ has gathered more meaning as The World Cup starts this week. In fact, it’s not a cup at all, but a trophy, once stolen and found in a hedge by a dog called Pickles…

As we all tighten our belts this week, we still see a relentless assault on our pockets from this year’s seasonal TV ads. Soul-crushing, Mawkish or Downright Twee” suggests the headline of a review of this year’s crop by…

Following on from last week’s note, maybe its only stuffy baby boomers who have noted the irony in the FTX crypto investors rushing to the exit to sell their crypto holdings for cash. Next up on the list of items proving cashflow is king, is Mike Ashley – he’s in the process of…

It's our turn to organise the annual New Year's Eve dinner party for local residents all of whom are in their 60s, 70s or 80s. We sent out invitations last week to around 30 people and asked them to confirm their place and let us know about any allergies or aversions they may have…

As people we know about ‘the law of unintended consequences’, and that rule applies throughout the arithmetic of investment. Some is unintended, some consequences are designed, some are simply natural. Interest rate rises have a…

Feeling a little weary this week? Join the club. Your circadian rhythm has been mucked about with by order of the government, and half of us are struggling to make it to News at Ten, for no good reason. Let’s go back in time…

Like borrowing money for a car or a house, government money also needs to be paid back, and that job belongs to Jeremy Hunt. His predecessor said he planned to ignore paying back what we owe so the lenders had him and his boss evicted. It’s interesting to note that…

It was a surprise to read the results of an Ipsos Mori poll suggesting that half of young British adults identify as naturists or nudists, and that one in seven of all Britons enjoy nudist activities in their spare time. However, it appears have been conducted during the hottest year in living memory when we were all sat around in our underpants…

How to get rich slowly and avoid the puddles. The hullabaloo over gilts has had a knock-on effect with interest rates, and you’ll have noticed that interestingly large rates are now being advertised. We should probably repeat ‘if it looks too good to be true …’,

There was a distinctly ‘sausagey’ Sunday in Suffolk this month. First was an attempt on The Guinness World Record for the number of animals on a sausage dog walk which stood at about a thousand (which was well and truly busted) but with a decided snag in the proceedings.

I’m never sure whether the Chinese regard it as a curse or a blessing to live in interesting times, and I’m pretty sure anyone connected to the media in the UK is having a blast with our current shenanigans. Last week’s newsletter came to you a day early due to Kwasegate, and it happened that we pressed the button a mere five minutes before his disciplinary at the head mistress’s office.

And now again – as I write this on Thursday we’ll try to ensure we

This week I spoke at a Financial Services conference which was snappily entitled Empowering Pensions: From Products to Outcomes. Other speakers opined on the search for new products and services whilst some talked about digital wizardry, algorithms and financial engagement programmes. There was discussion about how to get younger people to understand pensions, how important they are in later life, and how to persuade them to commence or increase their contributions in troubled times.

I'm leaving this question in for you - it's rhetorical, but it is very important in setting the right frame of mind for income investing. A quick question to ponder on: are you more anxious about what your income will be in the next 12 months, or in 10 years time?

Baby boomers know about inflation, today’s 60 year old hit teenage years when the price of his Spirograph was shooting up in price by 24%. Spikes always occur, however from 1970 to 1980 the average of the annual inflation rates was 13.3%. Yikes.

My wife and I have to move out of our house for perhaps a year whilst it undergoes repair and refurbishment. This was not something we planned for but a decision thrust upon us by ‘an escape of water’ under the ground floor quietly causing severe damage. Ever the optimists we…

The 4% Rule was defined in America by Bill Bengen using US stocks and bonds records, along with US inflation. This is Bill's original essay and calculations. The study does not transpose to the UK because UK equity, fixed income and inflation levels are not the same; the principle is valid in the UK but not the calculation.

This is what’s called macro – it’s to do with wealth in a country, a continent, the world, and within that macro environment we all exist, earn and pay our bills. The macro measures big ticket items, like the price of everything at the factory gate

We draw on Irving Fischer’s book “Money Illusion” and examine what inflation and deflations means to us.