OnceUSave

If you are into weight training, you know that if you want to increase muscle size and strength, you must lift heavy. Heavy to a point of discomfort. Heavy to a point of pain. Not that I would know but that is what I’ve heard. The same applies to investing. You must be willing toContinue reading “Growth Comes With Discomfort”

Reserves as in safe. Reserves as in accessible. Reserves as in durable. There is nothing safer than cash. There is nothing more accessible than cash. And if done right, there is nothing more durable than cash. And by done right means that the quantity of reserves matches the duration required of those reserves. For most,Continue reading “Reserves”

Berkshire Hathaway, run by Warren Buffett, unarguably one of the best capital allocators ever, paid a 10 cent dividend just once – all the way back in 1967. Buffett later joked, “I must have been in the bathroom when the decision was made.” That is because of all the ways a business returns profits backContinue reading “Dividend Focused Investing Will Remain Sub-Optimal”

Say someone you know is running short on funds and comes to you for a loan that he promises he will pay back in a month. Will you lend him the money? And if so, would you do it for free? You think why not. You have loaned him the money before and without fail,Continue reading “Yield Curves”

A widely known way to value a stock is its price to earnings ratio – how much are investors willing to pay for each dollar of earnings a business behind that stock generates. The other way to look at that same information is by flipping that ratio upside down. That is, earnings over price orContinue reading “Equity Risk Premium”

A wise woman once said that when in doubt, zoom out. So zoom out I did. This is what a 40-year chart of Dow Jones Industrial Average looks like… Add in reinvested dividends and we are looking at an easy double of that. Or if you want to get exotic, here is what the IndianContinue reading “Perspectives”

Rule number one – don’t lose money. Rule number two – never forget rule number one. That of course is classic Buffett. So, say you have a choice to invest between the shares of the hottest tech stock around or in a basket of shares that represent say the entire tech sector. Which one do youContinue reading “Mind That Overconcentration Risk”

Mary Hunt in her book, 7 Money Rules for Life profiles three different types of folks on how they handle their money. She then goes on to highlight the implications of not getting this money thing right, not only on their overall well-being but also in bringing lasting happiness and peace into their lives. So, say this isContinue reading “Adding Fuel To Fire”

Financial markets are inherently manic depressive. Euphoric one moment and downright despondent the very next is in their nature. But we must condition ourselves to ignore these short-term machinations of the markets because we can. Because we must. That’s the only way we come out winners at the other end. But we are also humans.Continue reading “Maxims To Live By”

How long are you going to live? Average life expectancy today for a typical American is about 80 years. And it’s somewhat distributed like this… It’s skewed left because some unlucky few will lie on the extreme left of the distribution, a major chunk will live close to the average and some to the rightContinue reading “A Pension Plan Of One”