Well, the New Year is upon us again. Last year at this time, I wrote about the importance to Just Start on your sustainable wealth creation journey. After an outsized down year across most financial assets in 2022, this has left many disheartened with the economy and their finances - particularly regarding their goals of wealth.

If you went up to a child and asked them whether they wanted to be wealthy, I’m confident they would answer that they want to be rich. My guess is they would say this for two reasons:

1) They might not understand the difference between the two

2) The idea of being ‘rich’ is something that is sold to us from a young age

I recently enjoyed some time with my family and a break from the headlines that we’ve been hammered with over the last few months, while celebrating Rosh Hashana. For those who aren’t aware, Rosh Hashana is the Jewish New Year. No matter when you celebrate the new year, these celebrations all have two things in common; A farewell to what has been and excitement for what new things are to come.

Of all the questions I get asked about investing, one of the most common that I get asked - especially from young investors - is “when should I start?” This is a great question because how you start something matters. If a sports team gets early points on the board, it puts them in a stronger position to get an important win.

No matter where you get your news, I think we can all agree that the tone has been overwhelmingly negative of late. This is upsetting because a lot of people just go by the headlines which are raising a lot of alarm bells about interest rates.

If you turned on your TV, opened a newspaper, or checked your phone at any point in the last month, it's very likely you saw the word inflation. Amongst all the pressing issues currently being discussed, inflation is always high on this list - and it’s easy to understand why.

As a society, we often do everything we can to avoid uncertainty. Whether it’s checking the weather before we leave the house or getting insurance to protect us from unfortunate events, we do what we can to avoid uncertainty. This is especially true when it comes to our money. Ask anyone about investing, and I bet that they’re looking for the least amount of risk with the best possible returns.

With the market's sharp declines so far in 2022, it’s almost impossible to have a conversation about investing without the word risk or its close siblings volatility and uncertainty coming up. You’ll hear things like “it’s too risky”, “markets are volatile”, and my personal favorite “there is uncertainty.” Sound familiar?

If you’ve met me, read any of my previous blogs, or listened to my podcast, you’ll know that I love football. There are so many aspects that I love about it, but one of my favorite parts by far is when I can relate the game to the world of personal finance and the creation of sustainable wealth.

Since the beginning of 2022, it feels as if there hasn’t been much good news. Financial markets have been down, a war broke-out in Ukraine, and I officially became old when I turned 40 in mid-February! At the end of the day, as I try to instill in myself and others, negativity gets you nowhere.

I know it’s been 10 years since the film was released, and 18 years since the book that inspired it was published, but I want to talk about Moneyball. As a sports fan, this movie and portrayal of the 2002 Oakland A’s was right up my alley, however, this isn’t the only reason I loved this movie.

No matter how old you are, at some point or another, you will have heard someone talk about ‘The American Dream’. This is an ideal that has been the inspiration of countless films, TV shows, books, art, and more. It has been the subject of countless rousing speeches from politicians and business leaders, and the drive for generations of people.

The new year is upon us once again, and I’m sure like many others, you’re experiencing similar feelings of reflection and optimism. Reflecting on the things you could’ve done differently over the past 12 months, while being optimistic at the chance to get yourself back on track.

With the news this past Friday that the US Inflation rate hit a 39-year high of 6.8% in November[1], we should talk about inflation. It’s a word that you’ll hear on the news or read online almost daily when the subject of the economy or the Federal reserve comes up and is thrown about in numerous conversations related to finances.

Sustainability has been the flavor of the month for what feels like the last five years. It’s been a topic not far away from many people’s minds, especially now in light of the recent COP26 that has been making headlines around the world. It seems every man, woman, and their dog is talking about sustainability for the planet and sustainability in business.

I didn’t come from money. Actually, the opposite is true. Before I was 10, my family had fallen apart, my father had lost his business, and our home was repossessed by the bank. At the time, my brother and I didn’t realize what was taking place, we just thought it was cool to have a green pool with tadpoles living in it! What we didn’t realize is that we’d basically lost everything.