20120627-163334.jpgI have been inspired.

Recently, I was out for dinner. And the topic of retirement savings came up*.

This is an interesting topic. Mostly because I have spent the last two years of my working life pooh-poohing the idea in the most vocal way possible. And by that, I mean constant complaints about the monthly 12% of my salary that was involuntarily contributed to a provident fund on my behalf.

Of course, this did not stop me from being very excited about cashing-in my provident fund. Nor did it stop me spending it on a rental deposit, multiple air tickets, and a first edition signed copy of Nelson Mandela’s “Long Walk to Freedom”**.

But the point is, I have a revised viewpoint: based on a rather startling realisation that the future is only a day away.

In the paraphrased words of “Rich Dad, Poor Dad”, best we all get out of the rat race. Because the goal of life shouldn’t be a secure job, it should be being secure. That said, for the most part, “being secure” is as grand a delusion as “having a secure job”. Complete financial security, alas, is a myth. Just ask any greek pensioner.

But that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t aim to be secure. And that doesn’t just mean aiming for “enough money”. It also means aiming to have enough skill, knowledge and wisdom to navigate the storms. And to be independent of your boss.

Which is going to be the point of this series of posts.

The financial supermarket has fully-stocked shelves. And like any supermarket:

  • some produce is fresh;
  • some is tinned;
  • some goes off very quickly;
  • some needs to be cooked before consumption;
  • some things come pre-cooked and ready-to-eat;
  • some of the ready-to-eat stuff isn’t really that healthy;
  • some stuff is frozen and takes a long time to prepare; and
  • some of the cleaning agents are poisonous and shouldn’t be eaten.

So this series is for all of my friends that don’t know the difference between a stock and a futures contract. And either buy both anyway***, or prefer to do nothing and go on holiday****.

Before anyone dies throws the dice…

Let’s roll.

*Okay – I brought it up.

**And I gloat: to date, one of my best investments.

***DANGEROUS

****Probably just as dangerous. Aging is inescapable.