Jake Desyllas's Blog, page 17
July 3, 2017
297 The Role Of Cash In Investing
There is a saying in investing that "cash is trash", because cash provides such low returns and loses value owing to inflation. Yet every investor has to deal with cash in some way and there is always some role for cash within a portfolio. So how much of your net worth should you have in cash? Why hold it? When should you rebalance in and out of cash?
Harry Browne thought carefully about the role of cash with his permanent portfolio strategy. His insights on cash are useful for all investors, regardless of your particular approach. In this episode I explain the role of cash in investing from a permanent portfolio strategy perspective. As always, your money is your own responsibility. I am not a financial advisor.
Show Notes:
Become A Patron of The Voluntary LifeFail-Safe Investing by Harry BrownePrevious TVL Episodes on The Permanent PortfolioListen To Episode 287
June 25, 2017
296 No One Is Coming To Save You
This week's episode is a response to this listener email:
"I've been a long term listener, but honestly I'm having a difficult time [seeing why I should be] a paid subscriber. I listen to several podcasts and a similar characteristic seems to be FI and hosts who are millionaires. Provide real value for those who don't enjoy that status and the money will come. There's too many of us who want to be financially independent but don't have a system to get there. Figure out a way to teach the methods and you'll never have to ask for donations."
The Voluntary Life now has a Patreon page! In the first week of TVL on Patreon, my patrons have received:The first exclusive patron podcast episode (How To Sort Your Life Out Part 2)An Evernote template for Areas of Responsibility from my own productivity systemBehind-the-scenes information about the running costs of the podcastThree e-books by JakeAnd lots more!Become a Patron today to get all these goodies and more to come, including this week's patron-only episode, "How To Do A Daily Review".
Show Notes:
The Voluntary Life Patreon PageListen to Episode 296
June 19, 2017
295 How To Sort Your Life Out Part 1 (and Patreon!)
The Areas of Responsibility framework is a very powerful productivity technique for sorting your life out. It helps me answer questions such as:
What am I doing with my life, and why?Is what I am doing right now a good use of my time?What should I devote my efforts to in order to build the life I want?In this episode I introduce Areas of Responsibility and explain how to start implementing them.
I've also got some big developments to tell you about. I want to completely upgrade The Voluntary Life, provide a whole new range of bonus content, and enable new ways for you to connect with me and other supporting listeners. Please help me by becoming a patron of the show and supporting me with a monthly amount of your choosing, through Patreon. Sign up and get your bonuses now at patreon.com/thevoluntarylife The first bonus episode has already been recorded and it goes deeper into the same theme as this one, as Part 2 of How To Sort Your Life out.
Show Notes:
The Voluntary Life Patreon PageTVL 232 The Next Level — Horizons of Focus Part 1 (School Sucks Interview)TVL 185 How To Set Meaningful Goals For The Year AheadListen to Episode 295
June 9, 2017
Special Announcement: Keynote Presentation At The Freecoast Festival
I will be giving the keynote presentation at the Freecoast Festival on the 9th September 2017 in beautiful Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The festival runs from the 8th to 10th September. The theme this year is "Living A Voluntary Life"— so the topics will be highly relevant for TVL listeners.
Both my wife Hannah and I will be giving presentations on Saturday 9th September. My keynote will take place on a catered cruise on a special cruise boat— so if you want to hear it, get a ticket for the cruise as well as the general admission. If you get a ticket before the end of June and use the promo code "Jake", you will get a free Freecoast T-Shirt too, with the logo shown below.
Get your tickets at https://freecoast.org/festival/What is the Freecoast Festival all about? Listen to the special announcement
June 6, 2017
294 The Five Laws Of Stupidity
"Non-stupid people always underestimate the damaging power of stupid individuals. In particular non-stupid people constantly forget that at all times and places and under any circumstances to deal and/or associate with stupid people always turns out to be a costly mistake."Carlo Cipolla
In the 1970s, an economic historian called Carlo Cipolla wrote a provocative article titled "The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity". This week's episode is about his theory of the destructiveness of stupid behaviour and why it is so underestimated and misunderstood.
Show Notes:
The Basic Laws Of Human Stupidity by Carlo M. CipollaThe Five Universal Laws Of Stupidity by Corrine PurtillListen To Epsiode 294
May 29, 2017
293 Girona: Our Adventure Continues (featuring Hannah Braime)
This week's episode features Hannah and me discussing our move to Girona. We talk about adapting to a travel lifestyle with a baby, the challenges of minimalism and travel, beautiful Girona as an expat location, and many more topics!
Show Notes:
Hannah BraimeTVL 254: Perpetual Travel With Kids Part 1: Interview With Go Curry CrackerListen To Episode 293
May 22, 2017
292 A Listener Question About The Decision To Have Kids
This week's episode is a response to this interesting listener question:
"Hi Jake, I would like to hear your thoughts on making the decision to have a child. I am 33 years old, and there are lots of expectations on this one. I find it difficult to escape this identity trap and to know for myself if I want to become a parent or not. I know it's a BIG one, and it is personal, but your podcast is probably the only place which talks about parenting from a unique perspective different than the norm. I will be curious to hear your view, especially as a new parent."
Show Notes:
Episode 290: Escaping The Identity TrapEpisode 283: Minimalism and Parenting (Featuring Hannah Braime)Episode 268: A Listener Question About Family Pressure, Expensive Weddings, And KidsListen to Episode 292
May 10, 2017
291 Setting Up A Nomadic Business With Estonian E-Residency: Interview With Ilias Ismanalijev
Ilias Ismanalijev is a web developer based in Belgium. When Ilias started his own company straight after college, he wanted to be able to manage the business online and travel easily as a digital nomad. In this interview, he explains why he chose to to found his business in Estonia using Estonian E-Residency. If you are interested in different options for running a nomadic business, check out our discussion of Ilias' experience.
Show Notes:
Ilias' website LeapIN.EU
Listen To Episode 291
May 7, 2017
291 Setting Up A Nomadic Business With Estonian E-Residency: Interview With Ilias Ismanalijev
Ilias Ismanalijev is a web developer based in Belgium. When Ilias started his own company straight after college, he wanted to be able to manage the business online and travel easily as a digital nomad. In this interview, he explains why he chose to to found his business in Estonia using Estonian E-Residency. If you are interested in different options for running a nomadic business, check out our discussion of Ilias' experience.
Show Notes:
Ilias' websiteLeapIN.EU
Listen To Episode 291
May 1, 2017
290 Escaping The Identity Trap
The identity trap is an idea from Harry Browne's book How I Found Freedom In An Unfree World. Harry suggested that some widely held assumptions about life are false. By accepting such false assumptions, you lose your freedom. He called these false assumptions "traps".
The identity trap is the belief that you should be the person that others want you to be, rather than being yourself. In the episode, I suggest two key questions to ask yourself in order to escape the identity trap.
Show Notes:
TVL Episode Discussing How I Found Freedom In An Unfree WorldHow I Found Freedom In An Unfree World by Harry BrowneListen To Episode 290
