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Investing Series - Index or Dividends?

What is Enough?

Posted by 14Life, Money, , ,
Even this doesn't come along for the last ride.

Even this doesn’t come along for the last ride.

“Even an eye-less needle doesn’t come with you on your last journey”  says an old proverb.  A sewing needle is a trivial item anyone can afford and its essential part is the hole or the ‘eye’ where you pass the sewing thread. If that is broken, the sewing needle is useless. You cannot carry even such a useless item on your final journey, leave alone the nice things and the people you love.  This is the inner meaning of that proverb.  It may be depressing but that’s the stark truth.  (more…)

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It Pays Rich Dividends

Posted by 7Investing
19gybk

English is an interesting language.   We bring financial concepts into daily expressions and vice versa.  All the English-speaking countries in the world trace their English language origin to some connection, if not a straight colonization, to The British Empire or the East India Company.   Many of the old British expressions have survived centuries and are used even today in many countries that have historical connection to the language.   This post takes an old British expression, back to the days of William Shakespeare (The Bard), that a good venture “pays rich dividends”.   Even as a poet, he knew about the rules and ruthlessness of business, seen in his classic The Merchant of Venice.    

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Update: Another Destination Emerges

Posted by 13News & Analysis
A wonder of the world beckons.

A wonder of the world beckons.

In my earlier article on working abroad, I mentioned the example of my American friend living and working in India.   In the same article, I mentioned that India does not offer permanent residency or retirement visas for foreign citizens, unless they can prove Indian ancestry.  My friend sent me an article last night that I want to share with you.   

Guess what?  Looks like the Indian government deliberated on my post and came up with this announcement. 🙂

India woos foreign investors with permanent residency status

But there is a problem. 

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Got Risk? Get Over It!

Posted by 6Investing, Life
risk-taking

Risky move or human ‘bridge’?  It is how we see it.

“I would like to avoid risk as much as possible” is what we often hear or even say.   That’s understandable for a conversation but the attitude we show towards risk is the single largest determinant of our success.   And that attitude was likely formed even before you entered your teenage years.  There could be any number of triggers for it. 

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Not Another Buy vs. Rent Post!

Posted by 14Investing, Money

Haven’t we seen a lot of those already?  The personal finance blogosphere is filled with material, both strongly for and vehemently against, homeownership. Due to my preference for a globally mobile career and the ‘invincible’ DC market saga, you know which side of the fence I am on.   But the real estate asset class can’t be broad brushed by individual experiences.  It can be a delicious entree or a nice side dish in a fulfilling financial meal, if done well and in moderation. I will give you my personal recipe here.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodo

Are You Biased?

Posted by 12Investing, Life, Money
It's not so obvious always.

  It’s not so obvious always.

Of course, you are! We all are.  We just don’t want to admit it.   The biases we have are so hidden and yet, so effective, that they pretty much control how we think, speak and act in many situations.   That’s a pretty tall claim, I know.  In my life and in my corporate experience, I have often found that those who feel they are objective or unbiased often have deep-rooted biases that they think actually make them unbiased!  Ironical, isn’t it?  Such is the nature of cognitive bias (as psychologists call them) that it spares no one on its path.  They can stop you from investing efficiently.   They are enemies on your path to financial independence.  

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How To Invest Efficiently

Posted by 17Investing, Money
The real path. No gimmicks or short-cuts.

The real path. No gimmicks or short-cuts.

My past articles have been on many essential topics relating to life, work, savings and even relationships.   Those posts serve as preparatory work for getting into a serious topic in this article – on investing.   Before starting on our investing journey, it is clear that we should learn to save more and be sensibly frugal.   The next step is to understand what efficient investing is – nobody taught me this but I learned the hard way by making mistakes, which I hope you will avoid.  You are smart to learn from my past investment mistakes.  Efficient investing is an important concept that will make a huge impact on your future, easily adding over $100,000 to your retirement stash with no effort on your part!

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Simple Trick To Save More

Posted by 2Money
This trick is a cute little devil that helps you reach FI!

This trick is a little devil that works for your FI!

If you have read the article about retirement crisis, you would have rightly concluded that it is in many ways a ‘savings crisis’.   Here at Ten Factorial Rocks, we believe in earning more income as a better way to increase savings, but let’s face it – for many people, that’s not an immediate possibility.   However, that’s the direction to put efforts in the long-term if you want to accelerate your journey to Financial Independence (FI).  In the meanwhile, should you use ‘less income’ as an excuse to put off savings?  Clearly, that’s not sustainable behavior.  The 10! way is ‘devilish’ about both income and expenses, but in a sensible manner. 

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Money & Relationships: Rules That Work

Posted by 7Life, Money, Relationships

Love may be blind but life isn’t! Long term domestic partnerships are not the garden path of roses leading to a velvety beach that romantic novels, movies and dating websites want you to believe.   As a married man for over 12 years, and also, raising a kid together, I think I have earned the right to comment about domestic partnerships. 🙂  This post is about a topic that any person with a ‘significant other’ must confront at some point on their journey towards financial independence.   

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Juvenile Philosophy?

Posted by 4Life
This kid is the carrot among peppers!

Is this kid the carrot among TFR peppers?

“Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what’cha gonna get.”  Thus declared the famous Forrest Gump, in a rare glimpse of his philosophical mettle way beyond his portrayed capabilities in the film.   That quote resonated for me recently when I was speaking with my 10-year old kid for his ‘sub par’ performance in his exams recently.  

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