Reflections on personal finances and TheWealthMeta for the year 2025

There isn't anything special to me about the New Year. Getting better doesn't happen with one statement you make once a year. Getting better is a campaign of discipline.Jocko Willink Disclaimer: This isn't a typical post of mine, aimed at providing insights and value on a personal finance topic. It's more of a self-serving reflection on my own personal finances, and an affirmation of what I'm trying to achieve at TheWealthMeta. Read at your own discretion2025 has been a year…

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Investment portfolios should be simple and boring

Simple can be harder than complex. You have to get your thinking clean to make it simple Steve Jobs Key Takeaways The overwhelming majority of investors are best served by a simple and boring Boglehead portfolio, consisting of just 1-3 broad-based market index funds A simple and boring portfolio provides a near-guaranteed 10-12% annual return in the long-term, for virtually zero effort Chasing alpha through individual stock picking or excessive diversification increases decision fatigue, raises the risk of errors, and…

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Salary Series Part 6: How to find a new job (with downloadable templates)

It doesn't make sense to hire smart people and then tell them what to do; we hire smart people so they can tell us what to do.Steve Jobs Key takeaways Your career profile is not just your CV. Carefully crafting your profile into a clear, compelling narrative and succinct pitch will elevate your success in the job search Networking is key to accessing the hidden job market, and it doesn't need to be cringey or inauthentic Preparing for interviews is…

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Salary Series Part 5: Understanding recruitment dynamics and myths

First-rate people hire first-rate people; second-rate people hire third-rate peopleLeo Rosten Welcome back to another post in my Salary Series! In my previous post, I wrote about negotiating salaries for a new job offer. But how do you go about getting those job offers in the first place? That’s where Parts 5 (this post) and 6 come in, where I delve into the dynamics and how to job search. In this post, I’ll explain in detail the dynamics of the…

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Salary Series Part 4: How to negotiate a new job offer

The correct price for any asset is what someone else is willing to pay for it, because all asset prices rely on subjective assumptions about the futureMorgan Housel Key takeaways Job offer negotiations are an exercise in price discovery You don't know what the maximum salary is possible is til you push boundaries Always negotiate. You don't ask, you don't get The biggest leverage you can have is multiple job offers at the same time Introduction Welcome to the fourth…

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Salary Series Part 3: How to negotiate salary raises

Negotiation is not an act of battle; it’s a process of discovery.Chris Voss Key takeaways Early preparation is key to success Document everything Do your research and develop your business case Be collaborative, especially when handling objections Keep a positive attitude, showing commitment to the company Introduction Welcome to the third post in my Salary Series! In my previous post, I wrote about how companies determine employee salaries. In this post, we'll leverage all the knowledge we learnt and my…

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Salary Series Part 2: Unpacking company salaries and bonuses

"The property which every man has in his own labour, as it is the original foundation of all other property, so it is the most sacred and inviolable" Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith Key takeaways Companies categorise roles into job functions and grade levels, which results in salary bands Salaries (and bands) are reviewed annually as part of the annual budgeting and performance review process Salary bands are revised based on benchmark data, financial performance and macroeconomic forecasts Budgets cascade…

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