:D Deus Ex Invisible War purchased in today's Flash Sale.

A credit purchase is substantially more advantageous in the financial sense.

Don't think so. Unless a car is your work tool and/or generates some profit.

Um... what?

Let's say you are buying something reasonably nice, like a Lexus. Financing it for 5 years costs less than 3%. Instead of just handing over $50K it makes every bit of sense to finance, keep the money and invest it. Since last February, despite last week's market crash, my rate of return is 33.1% according to Vanguard's calculations.

Even if your investments bring you only 6% it still is twice as profitable to finance.

If, however, you are buying something like a Toyota, you are gonna get 0% financing. So financing it, is pure unadulterated profit even if your investments somehow only return 0.5%.

So, please, tell me why in the world wouldn't you finance?

This time round, her hubby was a cuckold and they surprised me... First time ever that i celebrated Valentine's day and with a couple, nonetheless...

Beggars can't be choosers, oh well... <3 only!!!

You're probably aware of:
a) interest rates being different in different countries (no 3% financing in Poland, sorry - even my mortgage is above that)
b) 30% on the long run is impossible and 6% may be more than doubtful in dying European economies.

However it would be interesting if you shared what do you invest now and where to expect profits in the upcoming months?

My mortgage is above that too. =) It's 3.125% on an investment property. And I completely agree that 30% is unsustainable. 6% to 8%, however, is normal growth. My average rate since 2010 or so is about 20%.

That said, I admit, I don't know much about what's happening in Europe in terms of growth. I guess it makes sense that different markets call for different strategies. In the US, avoiding financing is an outright loss in most cases, and one should finance large purchases even if one has the full amount on hand. Technically I can pay off all my debts today, but that would be an absolutely terrible idea. I am making WAY more money by holding on to all of this low-interest debt while having my money make more money.

As to where to expect profits ... I wish I knew, man. =) I'd be so rich. Sadly nobody can predict the future. There are some companies I've invested in that have done well. Tesla, for instance. Though at the current price I am not going to buy any more of their stock. There are also some real estate markets that are doing great and will most likely only get better in the foreseeable future. There are some mutual funds that are doing well too.

Now, keep in mind, all of this is long term. I don't try to game the market. People who try that tend to lose in most cases because short-term it's essentially a casino. Personally, I allocate my assets with a belief that overall more value will be created and the economy will grow as time goes by. This accounts for both the upturns and the downturns, since I'm looking at the bigger picture.

If I am wrong and WWIII starts tomorrow and everything is destroyed and wiped out, I'll have bigger problems than my investments losing value. =) Aside from something catastrophic, though, depressions and recessions don't mean all that much in the long term. If you look at the history of Dow (google "dow history" and select "max" in the Google's Market summary screen) you'll see that it grows. There are collapses, and one is probably coming pretty soon, but that's just something that happens. After a collapse there is always more growth. In fact a collapse is a GREAT time to buy.

P.S. - It is also important to keep a balanced portfolio. When you are young it makes every bit of sense to invest exclusively in stocks. You got lots of time and can tolerate higher risks. The rewards are very much worth it. Eventually, as you grow older, it makes sense to grow the percentage of bonds at the expense of stocks. They don't return nearly as much, but are way safer. Right now I'm 36 and have about 10% of my market investments in bonds. Some people recommend higher percentages, but I also have other "safer" investments such as real estate, so it balances itself out. As I am closing in on retirement, I will continue changing that composition, and eventually result in my portfolio being mostly bonds.

A somewhat risky strategy since it's sort of like playing with margin money, but it's doable. However, it's really only possible these days because the prime rate is so low; put it 2-3 points higher and it's no longer feasible. If one understands the risks and has the discipline to put the money into stable investments instead of blowing the saved-up cash on stupid things, then there's certainly an opportunity.

Been a cold - but dry - winter this year, so today's warm up was a nice break.

https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/6881a69a-e3f6-4ea1-b149-a9ee03339971

Agreed, this is only possible with low interest rates. Since we do have low interest rates, though, it is very sensible.

Of course, none of what I said above should be taken to mean that I recommend investing all of one's available money. Having a good amount of liquid assets on hand is also important. An emergency stash, what ought to cover 6 months of all possible expenses (including all loan payments, all recurring fees such as insurance, emergency travels, and replacement costs of most things you own that aren't insured) is highly recommended.

Aside from that stash, though, money should be making money.

I don't normally pay much attention to the Olympics, but for some reason the wife and I are getting into it this time around. Turns out we much prefer the winter sports: for one, the speeds are so much higher.

The biggest surprise for me is how much I'm enjoying the figure skating. Something about the combination of speed, athleticism, precision, and gracefulness has me captivated. Probably turning into a softie as I get older.

Woke up to this morning to
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-43066443
Still can't believe we are finally rid of him!! :D :D :D The pressure have been building against him more and more since last December when his opponent took the ANC presidency from him, or rather his preferred candidate. The exact moment when it happened : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZKwqU0aQAE
If all goes well we might see him heading to jail before too long just like the previous South Korean president. Some of his pals have already been arrested yesterday, and the police are looking for one of his sons as well.

edit : and this XD

This trailer.

Sold a whole bunch of parts the last two weeks. Thinking this will put us in range of getting the solar PV system we want. Just need to hear back from one more contractor, to get an estimate.

Rented some games from the local library and was about to install them on my ps4. Started installing For Honor, and attempted to play it without patching it fully because I wanted to see if it was worth my time. It refused to start without a full 5 gig update.

Also noticed Gran Turismo Sport has a notice on the box that "Internet is required for most features."

Why am I happy? Because now I know that Ubisoft is worth skipping even on PS4, and I can save myself the money from buying AC Origins, and also that Sony's in house titles at least have a warning that internet is required.

Ubisoft, you fucked the dog again.