Busy days at Schaap Residence… 

Some of you know that the last number of months have been quite strenuous in the Schaap Residence. Having put up our house for sale to actually selling it within a fortnight. At the same time we’ve been looking for a new home southbound. Besides, I’m busy co-designing a new website for my ‘new business’ Food XLerator (fundamentally a continuation of my sole proprietorship activities).

Pandemic times has had positive effects too, as far as listening to inspiring podcasts and reading (new) books are concerned. One of the topics that I picked up recently is (personal) finance.

On my LinkedIn thread I bumped into a number of inspirational bloggers, among others Josh Brown & Barry Ritholtz (co-founders Ritholtz Wealth Management). Josh hosts the ‘The Compound Show’ podcast weekly (on Fridays) and also stars as CNBC’s commentator of the Halftime Report. Barry hosts the weekly ‘Masters in Business’ podcast for Bloomberg Radio.

Michael Batnick & Ben Carlson jointly host the ‘Animal Spirits‘ podcast on Wednesdays (serious & hilarious at the same time) discuss pundit finance topics in lay language which is music to my ears! Morgan Housel’s latest book “The Psychology of Money’ in my opinion perfectly describes how we approach money in both personal & private situations, which aren’t too different from one another. 

One of the chapters of the book really resonated with me, where Morgan describes “The Three Sides of Risk”. Morgan personally experienced a horrific skiing accident once growing up skiing in Lake Tahoe where he lost two of his ski mates. Without noticing back then, this experience taught him all about investing in later years. The Three Sides of Risk encompass:

1. The odds you will get hit
2. The average consequences of getting hit
3. The tail-end consequences of getting hit

The first two are relatively easy to understand. The latter can only be learned through experience.

Although there are many uncertainties in life, one certainty is that once in life we will all be hit; big time! Whether that’s losing a loved one, losing your job or your business over a pandemic of being hospitalized following a tragic accident.

The more important to realize how to live up to the consequences and focus on your ability to get back up on your feet. Extreme events are all that matter! 

Main source: The Collaborative Fund, ‘The Psychology of Money’ by Morgan Housel