A cold start to the year?
THE.FuTuRe: "CHUMP you still there? Learn from me and THE.NoW forget THE.PaST he is a has been, now look forward he can't teach you anything. THE.FuTuRe is mine all mine and it WILL be different than THE.PaST"CoNTeNDeR: "You are preaching to the converted, mate, but you forget one thing THE.FuTuRE may be different but it rhymes with THE.PaST and.....we are not having you mess up our enjoyment in THE.NoW"
*CHUMP - Fool, loser, muppet, victim of THE.FuTuRe, loner, weirdo, odd, strange, picked on OR WINNER - Happy, healthy and challenged.
TRiBe 2013 - Happiness and Investing...!
We understand that money isn't everything but it alows us to do things that we want that give us..... happiness. It is damn nice but what is it how do we know? To help appreciate it (happiness) don't you need to experience its opposite as well? Can being rich in money mask real happiness by shielding you from real life experiences.
So did the TRiBE have a rounded year.....with rich experiences both good and bad - even if we did not set out on that course - lets take a look:
We really did have a roller coaster of a year. The sadness of a bereavement in the family. Lots of family illness in the form of all kinds of nasty bugs. Scarlet Fever, Schingles, Bronchitis, Chicken Pox and topped off with a nice bout of Gastro. That sure made us un-happy. Can we just mark that one down as couldn't do anything about due to the joys of having young kids and living in a large city.
MRS.C left work followed with the normal withdrawal symptoms. From personal experience I actually think it is nicer to be sacked / made redundant than resign. It gets rid of the what in the hell am I resigning for / doing question.
Bang! Suddenly the lack of work (job) = an empty void that you feel the need to fill back up OR was it too filled in the first place?
We were very fortunate to be able to make these choices. At least our actions left a job behind for someone else to take up the financial independence mantra.
So we packed up our belongings and gave away the rest then moved to another country. Fun, exciting and exhausting.
This place is so different. How do you settle into a completely different culture as well as adapting to a complete change to family life (both parents at home and we have managed not to divorce yet).
Yes family life. No more "shift family member from A to B refill on the way then into bed to recharge the batteries". THE.FuTuRe: "Fill the void! Do it now you must be busy all that free time together would drive you mad"
Is he right what are we doing to fill the void - please read on for an investment review and some key learning's around our downshifting move to France from the year that was 2013
Our Investments in 2013
Due to our position of requiring income (which is rising - GOOD....) we have invested in stocks that can be considered defensive. Defensive stocks are not in vogue at the moment! Damn Damn Damn. Shoot me in the foot why don't you?
What is hot is the speculative investment stocks with future growth / capital gain prospects (and some well known tech stocks with no earnings per share to back their values).
- In the UK the government and opposition have taken a bite out of the utility companies in a battle for votes. Easy target.
- Our investment in gold miners has been tragic to say the least - it is a hedge but we never expected the capitulation we have seen this year. It won't take too much to take the investment much lower, the only reason to hang on is the very robust physical demand out of China and to a lesser degree Turkey. China are set to overtake India as the largest consumer of physical gold this year as India imposes tariffs on gold imports to help reduce its trade deficit.
- Oil stocks are not really following the market up and stay on low PE's.
- We presume some of this has to do with the hype about the shale oil revolution in the US.
- There are some questions about the sustainability of the shale miracle due to the huge rig count and the large number of wells to keep up with very high depletion rates of the older wells. Secondly it is not fully understood if all the sweet spots were drilled first and future shale oil will be more difficult to come by.
- On a positive note the industry is very innovative so further performance gains are highly likely and other shale plays are available in other countries.
- Canadian oil producers have also underperformed due to the heavy nature of the oil and concerns on transport (rail accidents and pipeline approvals).
All in all we were flat on our investment portfolio and up on the pension accounts considering the year we had in US and to a lesser degree UK equities performance was disappointing. Shit happens! Here is another take on investing for FI by Early Retiree on Seeking Alpha - "The Portfolio for Early Retirees"
“At least once every human should have to run for his life, to teach him that milk does not come from supermarkets, that safety does not come from policemen, that ‘news’ is not something that happens to other people. He might learn how his ancestors lived and that he himself is no different–in the crunch his life depends on his agility, alertness, and personal resourcefulness.” - Robert Heinlein
2013 Learning's?
It is great to reflect. To take the time to poke fun at oneself. Arrogant or naive, stupid or visionary, lucky or robbed.
Moving somewhere new - France - beautiful surroundings, really nice people, good weather and great food and wine. Our move so far is looking good. We have found a great school for the little ones, made some really nice new friends already and are transitioning to your downshift lifestyle. Key learning's
- Moving is a pain but when it is planned out and not done in a rush can go very well
- You need more time to adjust than you thought you did. Relax don't reflect on THE.PaST too much and keep yourself busy - read a book, go for a walk or do some gardening.
- As we have everyone at home in the winter it can be a challenge to keep everyone happy..together so split up! Do different activities in small groups rather than as one family unit loose the kids and leave them at friends.
- Get involved in the local community as much as possible. We help our neighbours and with the school as much as we can and are looking at ways to integrate further.
- No wonder a large part of society does not invest. It looks volatile, what do you invest in and worst still some years you lose money PANIC! Taking a long term view takes away some of that terrible human emotion. Having a list of pros and cons for investing in the areas you chose in the first place can calm the nerves. When one investment class has run its course the community jumps ship to the next hot area. THE.TRiBe want to buy forever stocks that grind higher overtime because we are not in the hot money investment gain and do not have the skill or knowledge of the turning points in the market.
- Gold is a case in point it is great as a protection and in our opinion it is an important small part of a rounded portfolio. Investing in it is speculation just like other asset classes and you need to get your timing right. Perhaps a large cap dividend paying major gold miner is a good bet...
- Dividend paying companies that have a history of raising them should have a place in every portfolio. It is great to be paid right? (Warren Buffet actually disagrees as he prefers the tax benefits of capital gains and share buybacks - we are small fish in a big pond and need some stable income and are no good at guessing when to take capital gains!)
- What will win out in 2014?
Maintaining Wealth I - Bitcoins and Real Estate
Maintaining Wealth II - We are all Investors Now
- I changed the layout to make it easier to look at. The name was changed to align with fighting for financial independence and happiness theme.
- Some work has been done to help its visibility on the web - a facebook page, pinterest board and google+ profile.
- In order to grow its audience I need to write more posts, setup its own domain name and spend some money on search engine optimisation so people can find it.
- I have enjoyed reading and commenting on similar blogs and social media more of this is also needed this year.
Financial Independence is available for a large contingent of society. How they get there is entirely up to them. There is no sure fire way of the getting there. All this blog offers is some simple easy principles that have helped our particular TRiBe along the way.
Happy TRiBe = Financial Freedom = Time Freedom. Time to do what we want to make us happy... whatever that is. As for you as a single hermit or a 10 child household whatever takes your fancy.
Time Freedom is about THE.PReSeNT, it is about living it NOW.
We want our free time to be without complexity.
Filling it with expensive complex hobbies may not be a good idea. Multiple cars, subscriptions, phones, jobs, investments will just fill time. We do not want to be time poor again.
Writing this blog is almost free and reading a book from the library is a loafing leisure.
Perhaps make 2014 a time rich year. Defer some short term gratification, downshift complexity, chill, relax and appreciate free time.
Please go out and do something amazing to kick the year off and all the best in 2014!
If you can keep your head when all about youPeace, prosperity and happiness for 2014! Bring it on.
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;
If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on!”If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!
Rudyard Kipling, written in 1895
THE.CONTENDER
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