My Struggle with Anonymity

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My Struggle with Anonymity

I struggle with anonymity, I’m even struggling with writing this post about struggling with anonymity. 

As a blogger who’s been talking about personal finance, relationships and everything in between, anonymity has been a soft & cozy blanket. It’s helped me find the courage to talk about a lot of ideas that are far from mainstream and that could cause some people in my other circles to distance themselves from me. 

The most prickly topic? Money.

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My Kind of “Polished”

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My Kind of “Polished”

I used to get a manicure and pedicure every month or so in my spendthrift days, but now I go for a pedicure only once or twice a year or when my feet are in major need of a little TLC .

Now that I’m doing more public speaking, which means wearing uncomfortable dress shoes more often, it was time for another appointment. I asked if Mr. F2P if he wanted to come with me, given his feet could also use some attention thanks to the abuse they endure at the hand of his nasty steel-toed boots. He said "Absolutely!".

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Why I Dumped My Financial Advisor

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Why I Dumped My Financial Advisor

I was with my broker for over a decade. I trusted him because he was an old university friend and, having worked with him on some business school projects, I also knew he was very intelligent and personable. And he was also up front about his compensation and he didn’t recommend anything he wouldn’t be confident investing in himself. The advice was sound and his fee of $1,000 per year felt fair so I didn’t see any need to make a change. 

Life was good.

Then, he had the nerve to fall in love with an American woman (ah, love), which lead him to move to the U.S. As a result, he sold his practice to another fellow.

Not the same type of guy.

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Money: It’s Not That Complicated

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Money: It’s Not That Complicated

There’s been a recurring theme in what I’ve been reading and watching lately. From The Big Short to Pound Foolish to Four Horsemen to Requiem for the American Dream to Frontline's Retirement Gamble, the message is that the only reason money management is complicated and expensive is that we allow it be by believing what the financial services industry (aka Big Banks) tells us about it.

And it’s a big fat lie.

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