The Fat Wallet Show from Just One Lap - #76: Listener suggestions

#76: Listener suggestions

Explicit content warning

11/26/17 • 60 min

The Fat Wallet Show from Just One Lap

This week, two listeners help Simon score free wine and free petrol using loyalty programmes. Here’s a new Fat Wallet rule: if it gets us free wine, you are automatically the win of the week. No questions asked.

We discuss medical aid and how much to save towards the education of two toddlers. We received a question about the Warren Buffett indicator. I figure out halfway through the discussion that it’s basically the P/E ratio of a country and nearly die of pride. I just love those moments where my brain makes a connection that I didn’t know it was capable of making.

By the way, Craig Gradidge blew my mind this week when he explained a very complicated principle in a way that made it clear as day. This, to me, is the mark of true intelligence.

Jonathan de Freitas found an awesome workaround for price alerts on the If This Then That (IFTTT) service. Check that out here.

Lastly, we read through all of your tips and suggestions in our survey and we spend the episode talking about the things you guys want. We’ve had many requests for show transcripts, for example, to make the site more searchable and help people who are hard of hearing.

We dedicate this episode to the ideas we loved, the suggestions we don’t agree with and our listeners’ wicked sense of humour. Thank you all, one last time, for taking the time to help us serve you better.

Remember to join us IRL on 7 December for our final Power Hour of the year. It is always our favourite event. We can’t wait to hang out with you.

Kris

By the way, Craig Gradidge blew my mind this week when he explained a very complicated principle in a way that made it clear as day. This, to me, is the mark of true intelligence.

Jonathan de Freitas found an awesome workaround for price alerts on the If This Then That (IFTTT) service. Check that out here.

Remember to join us IRL on 7 December for our final Power Hour of the year. It is always our favourite event. We can’t wait to hang out with you.

Kris

Previous Episode

#75: Retirement revisited

How it happened that November turned into the retirement annuity month, I’m not sure. Following our previous two episodes, we were bombarded by questions and concerns around RAs. It seems our episode on choosing an RA spurred many of you into action.

We hear from an 86-year-old listener how far the 15% savings rate actually gets you. Hint: not very.

We help two listeners figure out if they’re paying too much for their annuities. One listener is struggling to find the right answers to his retirement question from his provider, Discovery. We also discuss Stealthy’s reasons for not loving RAs.

I can send virtual dirty looks to expensive providers for days, but the last three episodes reiterated the importance of keeping a very close eye on my investments. I contribute more to my retirement annuity than any other investment. We’ve seen providers won’t be brought to book for selling expensive, wealth-depleting products. We’ve seen legislation change. My future financial security rests solely with me, as yours does with you.

Kris

P.S. Our survey results are in. Check them out here.

Next Episode

#77: Spring clean your portfolio

In investments we fall victim to all the consumer habits we’ve developed over a lifetime. We are fooled by bells and whistles, make impulse purchases, get home with things we don’t need only to realise we forgot the thing we went to the store for in the first place.

By the end of an investment year, it can be hard to remember why we own what we own. This is especially true if you haven’t formalised your investment plan yet. With easy-to-use investment technology, it’s fun to experiment. These experiments hopefully help us develop a coherent investment philosophy over time.

Those of us outside of the retail sector have a bit more time for reflecting this time of year. It’s a great opportunity to take a critical look at our portfolios. In this episode, we help a listener make choices about individual shares cluttering her portfolio. We also consider strategies to deal with duplication resulting from ETF holdings.

This was our second-last recording day for the year. We are looking forward to recording six mini-episodes over a bottle (or two) of bubbles next week.

Kris