Precious Time

We all treat our time on this planet like it is infinite. We all know it isn’t – but we live in a suspended state of denial, virtually every day of our lives. Occasionally we come across something so real, that whilst it isn’t ground-breaking, the reality literally stops us in our tracks.

Freedom Day

As the Nanny State starts to withdraw from attempting to control our every move, hopefully from the 19th July, battle lines seem to be being drawn once again.

We live in an increasingly polarised society. “Remoaner” v “Little Englander” continues to roll on and on, now it will be joined with “Selfish, reckless, non-mask wearing, conspiracy theorists” who can live with Covid-19 v “Petrified, selfish, stay at home, I’m alright Jacks”, who believe Zero Covid is possible. I’m not going to try to sway anyone towards my way of thinking, because I haven’t the time, there really is no point as positions are more or less fixed and I could equally be as ill-informed as the next person anyway. However I do want to add some context to what you will be reading later in this blog.

Mission Creep

Together we helped stop the NHS from becoming over-whelmed. Mission Accomplished, or so we thought. Together we then helped to protect those who were most vulnerable in society until the jabs were administered. Then the over 60’s, 50’s, 40’s, adults generally, perhaps children next. The list seems never ending, perhaps next it will be pet dogs and cats (they can transmit the virus). But wait a minute. We must draw the line where an individual carries less risk of harm from contracting the virus itself, than perhaps they do from receiving a vaccination. A vaccination with a wide degree of side-effects that includes death. Dying to be cured. At some point this creeping mission has to end.

Incentives are the most powerful force on Earth

Tell me how someone is paid and I will tell you the stand they will take on any subject. It’s clear that, as it was when the UK left the EU, the narrative continues to be bent by whoever has a vested interest supporting one side or the other. Today many have a financial interest in seeing the end of these anti-virus controls, with many businesses suffering. Just as many seek to prolong this current extraordinary challenge to our democracy and personal liberties. Research grants must continue, PPE must be sold and a sitting government with a majority of 80 could be destabilised by unpopular decisions. Trade unions, scientists, pharmaceutical companies, mainstream media, advertising resellers, social media – the list of interested parties goes on and on. We the population are reduced to pawns in one big financial and political game. Money talks and money makes the recipients of “all those billions in filthy wonga”, say and do things they normally would never consider to be acceptable. Whatever happened to balance?

Anyway, here is what I wanted to share with you this week.

“From the moment we are born, we have on average 4000 weeks of life“

Andy Cope

4000 weeks equates to 77 years. Hopefully a little on the conservative side for my liking, but far more accurate than 5000 weeks which equates to 96 years, which is truly optimistic. I do however have some clients who have been lucky enough to make it into their 80’s and 90’s – my mother being one of them.

I’ve done the maths. Approaching age 60, (My birthday is on 18th November if you wish to send a funny or rude card) I have less than 1000 weeks left! I’ve just spent 8% of those remaining weeks being told what I cannot do and where I cannot go! I can’t say I’ve been very happy – that time is not coming back. Ever.

Together

We look after the life savings of 200 families. Most have enough savings now, or continue to build enough, to last them for the rest of their lives. I have written before that Money=Time. You really should re-read that blog. I had more feedback from that one blog than many others in total. Without the time to spend our savings, there was little point in saving so hard in the first place and no point in taking any kind of investment risk now to try to grow our savings from here. We all have some catching up to do in the life we have left.

Shortly I will be releasing the latest quarterly investment update.

SPOILER ALERT: It is good news. Covid 19 hasn’t decimated our life savings, far from it. For many of us are level of life-savings is at an all time high.

July

We make New Year’s resolutions in January at the start of the year. We then eventually break them. We have just passed the start of the second half of the year. Perhaps we should make some New Half-Year’s resolutions, it could be easier keeping those over a Summer.

Perhaps, just perhaps, we need to re-base our thinking to New Week’s resolutions. I have. I guess I may have less than 1000 weeks left. Perhaps I have far fewer, who knows? I want every one of those weeks to be satisfying, happy, sociable, safe, healthy, wise, loving, charitable and an example to others. If not now – then when. Forget planning to make a change in 6 months time. We do not have enough time left on this planet to defer living our lives to the full for any longer. YOLO.

Come on Boris, don’t let us down! Again. Finally release us or I and many like me will be furious.