Christmas in July!

What has July brought us this month… Well, it looks to be the most income that I have ever earned in a single month.

This is not because somehow I have become the most emaculate , efficient, money making machine… I don’t know if that will ever be the case.

July, can either be a time of relieve or a time of dread. Whether you have been put on the naughty or nice list… I am of course referring to the tax man.

Thankfully, due to the nature of my work revolving heavily on overtime shifts, a significant portion of my pay check is ‘kindly’ withheld by the ATO until my tax returns have been submitted for the financial year. Am I annoyed that the government holds a large portion of my wage throughout the year, accruing interest on what should be mine…

Not really.

You see, I see this as a type of forced savings. Were this money to be paid out fortnightly to myself, it would most likely get lost in the pay-check itself. However, because I frequently undertake OT the pool continues to grow to the rate where I somewhat forget about it. I have learnt to budget off my base salary treating these returns essentially as a ‘bonus’.

I know that may not be a popular opinion, and no i’m not pro government holding peoples rightful wage but it works for me! And that’s what this is all about, finding how you make your situation work for you!

On the investment front, it has been as pretty stable month. There has however, been a noticeable increase in my monthly investment of course due to that tax return.

Invested: $6036.11

My core portfolio has grown by $17,797.47

This is of course on the back of the continued upward trend that the USA, Aus and practically world markets are having. There’s a multitude of reasons for this current run; Trump’s Tariffs looking like more bark than bite, Trump securing “deals” with various countries (notably EU), rise in the iron ore price and cooling inflation data coming out of Australia – signifying a potential rate cut…?

Is the market looking over bought? Yes. Have people been saying this for years? Yes. Am I going to change anything. No.

I was just listening to a podcast from 2017 where their main concern was a major crash being “imminent”. The price of the S&P500 in Jan 1st 2018… 2719. I know, look at how over priced it is!

In these times of growth however, more worrying uncertainty I find it best to block out the noise, stick to your strategy and plot along with your day.

Being ‘prepared’ for the next down turn is recommended however, worrying and catastrophising about it helps no one, especially not yourself.