Tuesday 3rd January 2023

For non-Australian residents reading, the RBA meets on the first Tuesday of every month (except January) to reveal their interest rate decisions. Being January and clearly we’re in a rising interest rate cycle, debt holders are no doubt enjoying the RBA’s month off!

Saturday 14th January 2023

Inflation in Australia continues to rise, while inflation in the US eased last month according to US data. 

Wednesday 18th January 2023

VAS (Vanguard Australian Share ETF) today paid its December quarterly distributions. Mine are DRP’d so I picked up VAS from my distributions for $86.9181. Today VAS is selling for a little over $90 per unit. A 4% capital gain based on today’s numbers. 

Sometimes these DRP prices are favourable, other times they’re unfavourable price wise. Irrespective of this, personally the benefit I receive automatically buying the four times a year that VAS distributes profits as another method of dollar cost averaging is vital behaviourally.  

Distributions wise it paid $0.749734 cents per unit. This is up a fraction over 7.5% from $0.696543 cents at the corresponding quarter last year.

It’s definitely not shooting the lights out, however on the flip side it’s growing faster than inflation and 100% passive. Complete set and forget. Whether I know it or not, every quarter company profits via distributions are immediately reinvested into accumulating more productive business ownership.   

The key for me is I don’t think about it. It’s just doing its thing in the background while I enjoy life. 

Wednesday 25th January 2023

Australia’s inflation continues to rise with a 7.8% annual inflation rate recorded in the December 2022 quarter, the highest since 1990. Expectations were for 7.5% but as we all know, it’s never the results that are misleading, it’s always the ‘expectations’.  

Data from the December 2022 quarter indicates food prices at the major Australian retail food suppliers (Coles and Woolworths) increased 9.2%. Which is no surprise and in line with inflation in many areas of the cost of living. 

I’m sure I’ve written about this in earlier updates, but in case I’m dreaming, I see inflation as a silent tax. A dollar is worth-less now than it was this time last year and the year before and the year before that and so on. 

Investing in productive assets that grow faster than inflation long term is the best way I know to protect my purchasing power. While the actual dollars productive assets produce are also worth-less than a dollar last year, the key is they produce more dollars so investors are in a position of increasing their purchasing power year after year. 

Using the VAS DRP example from the 18th January, everyone that did this had a capital gain of 4% that day and a 7.5% increase in income compared to last year's income.  

Saturday 28th January 2023

Today I ordered the 3rd edition of Nick Hughes’s fantastic book ‘How To Be Your Own Bodyguard’. 

This time I ordered the hardcopy as opposed to the electronic version I already have of an earlier edition. 

I strongly recommend everyone buy and read this book. Everyone… Matters of self protection, self defence, threat analysis, travel security, hotel security, home security, adrenalin, natural weapons, etc concern us all. Without going into detail I can tell you with absolute certainty Nick Hughes is the real deal.

This quote at the front of his books sums it up perfectly:

‘While the will to survive is instinctive. The ability is learned’ - unknown.  

It’s available on Amazon.