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Greg is a proud husband and father of two young women, all living in Victoria, Australia. He has a long history of playing local cricket (poorly) and being involved in the volunteer effort required to run several cricket clubs. He also heads up the local chapter of Tough Guy Book Club, a great global organisation that aims to get men to read more, talk more and have more friends. Formerly a mechanical engineer working in the industrial sector, he has more recently opted for a slightly slower pace of life, managing automotive and small engine workshops.
Comments
I'm 100% with you on this one. One key financial aim that we have always had is to pay down debt as quickly as we can, and avoid taking on any new debt. And it worked well for us. I get it that the math says that taking on debt can lead to a better financial result, rather than dipping into investments. But we all need to sleep at night, and debt can interrupt your sleep! With regards emergency funds, we have never had something we might think of as an emergency account. But we have always had some way to access funds if required. Sometimes that was by drawing down on investments, which ran this risk of selling at a loss if our timing was bad. But the benefits of being invested over the long term have far outweighed the downside of selling a portion of an investment at a loss (which has happened).
Post: Leverage
Link to comment from June 20, 2026
Another great piece, thanks Mark. In Australia we have a lot of FIFO workers - Fly In, Fly Out. Typically remote mine sites where employees live at the mine for a period of time, then return home. Something like 2 weeks on, 1 week off is pretty common. The pay can be exceptional. The impact on families can be devastating.
Post: Risk Adjusted: The Family Ledger
Link to comment from June 20, 2026
Mike, thanks for putting into words so neatly what I was feeling. I have had periods where I worked really hard, and my wife bore a huge load in holding our family together and supporting our two daughters. I have very few regrets, but if I had my time again I would try to strike a better balance between working to pay off mortgages, save for retirement etc. and providing more support to my wife and daughters. Like yourself, I've been lucky that it all worked out ok. Most importantly, congratulations on 52 years of marriage!
Post: Risk Adjusted: The Family Ledger
Link to comment from June 20, 2026
Andrew, thanks for another amazing piece of writing. So sorry to hear that load that your sister, and all your family, carried for so long. I was particularly struck by the line "In today’s world, we have become accustomed to reducing people to the worst thing that happened to them." I agree wholeheartedly that we owe people the effort to understand them a little more, rather than simply pass judgement.
Post: What Addiction Couldn’t Take: My Sister’s Story
Link to comment from June 17, 2026
Agreed Mark, I was just trying to be "diplomatic" with my words!
Post: Gold and Diamonds
Link to comment from June 16, 2026
I think that this is a strong reminder of how lucky we are to be born into a wealthy nation like Australia or the US. If you happen to be born in a nation where extreme poverty is still very commonplace, no matter how hard you work or how careful you are with your money, it will be very difficult to achieve the standard of life many of us in wealthy nations enjoy.
Post: How well off are Americans compared to the rest of the world? Fun facts.
Link to comment from June 16, 2026
Mark, another great piece - thanks. Two thoughts. Firstly, my wife has a very simple wedding ring that she likes. No idea how many karats of anything might be involved. But Cindy likes it, and that's all that matters. I didn't get a wedding ring, as I have never worn any jewelry. Cindy and I agreed that it was pointless to purchase something that I wouldn't wear. Secondly, I think your article makes a really nice point about gold, diamonds, Bitcoin and a range of other non-productive assets. There is no sensible methodology to determine what the fair value of any of these speculative assets should be. As many other comments have noted, investing in income-producing assets just makes a lot more sense to me.
Post: Gold and Diamonds
Link to comment from June 16, 2026
Thanks Mark. I keep two totals - net worth and net investable. My percentages above all reflect the net investable total. My comment about house and cars was more a reflection on the role that housing plays in the personal finances of many Australians.
Post: What’s in your portfolio ?
Link to comment from June 15, 2026
Neat topic, thanks. Our basic setup:
- Vanguard index funds - 61%
- Funds from sale of business ownership still to be distributed, currently in high interest account - 6%
- Share in local community owned bank - 1%
- Managed funds (Warakiri, Aoris, Australian Ethical) - 10%
- High interest bank account - 22% (note - funds from recent property sale, to be distributed to index funds and managed funds in the near future).
Whilst calculating these percentages, I was pleased to see that our home and cars only came to 20% of our net worth. Here in Australia, there are lots of people with relatively high net worth, but a lot of that is tied up in their home and cars.Post: What’s in your portfolio ?
Link to comment from June 13, 2026
Mark, agreed, I have pondered this issue before. According to Wikipedia, US spends US$13,473 per capita each year, and Australia US$6,980. Yet Australia has life expectancy approximately 4 years longer than the US. Surely the fact that spend per capita is nearly double, but life expectancy is lower, is a sign of some major inefficiencies.
Post: What do we Americans want? We want “free” healthcare
Link to comment from June 11, 2026