Flashback time
A lot of time is spent on this blog looking at the finer details of the Aussie economy and markets, and less time these days is spent writing about what I've been up to.
The year is rapidly drawing to a close, so here's a quick look at what's been going down...
Stock indicators flashing red
A calendar year is quite a meaningless thing to measure in one sense, but still it's been a year to forget for the Aussie stock market.
At the beginning of the year there were all the usual confident forecasts of 11 to 14 per cent returns.
As it happens returns may well be in that range...but with a minus sign in front of them!
I bought some strong dividend-paying companies when the market fell, which have...um, paid some strong dividends, but not a whole lot else.
With US stocks tumbling again the ASX 200 is eyeing an open of just 5,400 on Monday, and with the major market players packed off for their Xmas hols it could be an ugly stretch ahead for equities markets.
The news hasn't been much better over in the UK, with the FTSE copping a significant correction this year.
As net buyers with a lazy cost averaging strategy (both for ourselves and for the kids' ISAs) this shouldn't bother us unduly, but nevertheless it's hard to smear lipstick on what's been a pig of a year for FTSE.
While tightening policy in the US has been a worry, financial markets have shifted quite quickly from 'one hike then done' to...ohhh...so rising bank funding costs might not get quite as much airtime next year.
Real estate: illiquidity
It's been a much slower year in Aussie property too, with transaction levels for established properties dropping off precipitously in the face of tighter lending practices.
There are always opportunities for those of sound credit quality, but since we maxed out our borrowing capacity last year, this year's highlight for us was a renovation on our place at New Farm in Brisbane.
The best performing property asset we have in Australia was regional, in Geelong, which is a mark of how much market conditions have changed.
Like everyone else that owns properties in Sydney I read a lot of scary headlines, but a recent portfolio review served as a timely reminder that you can never own 'the housing market', you can only own individual properties, and I breathed a lot more easily after that.
Sydney's economy has held up pretty well to date, with enormous employment and population growth, the unemployment rate now at a record low, and nascent signs of wages growth.
And new property listings have slowed through the year suggesting that most owners are holding on as the market chews its way through the end of a record construction boom.
Still, the outlook for both housing and the economy will mainly be determined by how bank lending plays out early in 2019.
Still, the outlook for both housing and the economy will mainly be determined by how bank lending plays out early in 2019.
We bought land in the UK this year as Brexit jitters and tweaks to tax legislation brought prices into the reasonably attractive range for the first time in a while, a cash purchase being by far the easiest way to actually get things bought in the prevailing climate.
The UK political situation is an absolute quagmire at the moment, with apparently little hope of that improving any time soon.
The UK 20 Cities Index eked out only moderate housing market gains this year - following on from years of far stronger increases - although annual wages growth jumped to 3.3 per cent, taking real wages growth to the highest level in a decade.
Onwards and upwards.
Onwards and upwards.
Live events & reinvigoration
I did a fair amount of media and spoke at quite a few events in 2018.
Business Insider's Devils and Details Live and Unplugged event in Sydney was a highlight, including sitting on a panel with Bill Evans of Westpac, which was a great privilege (Kouk doesn't look too impressed; I was probably dissing the ALP's proposed franking credits policy at this point).
As well as the Sky News Real Estate segment, I was very excited to appear on the revamped Your Money show on Channel 9 and Sky News with the axis of awesome that is Chris Kohler and Brooke Corte.
Happily, this also resulted in a green room catch up with the CIO of the Motley Fool, Scott Phillips.
But by far the most significant event of the year for me proved to be presenting at my 4th consecutive annual Wealth Retreat event at Gold Coast.
I've found that good things always seem to happen when you mix with positive and like-minded people for a week - this alone is a reason that you should come along to the Wealth Retreat next year - and the 2018 event was no exception.
As it transpired it was some personal mentoring and business advice from Mark Creedon of Red Monkey and Metropole that inspired me to relaunch my coaching program product, and this helped to rekindle my enthusiasm for delivering elite quality personal coaching.
Enormous energy has ensued, thanks Mark!
As it transpired it was some personal mentoring and business advice from Mark Creedon of Red Monkey and Metropole that inspired me to relaunch my coaching program product, and this helped to rekindle my enthusiasm for delivering elite quality personal coaching.
Enormous energy has ensued, thanks Mark!
Looking ahead
You might have noticed from a rare online foray into relationship matters - my better half hates social media with an impressive passion - that today was our 10th wedding anniversary.
Strangely that solitary post got more traction across social media channels than any of my financial analysis ever has, which probably says something, though I can't understand it myself.
Strangely that solitary post got more traction across social media channels than any of my financial analysis ever has, which probably says something, though I can't understand it myself.
Penultimately, watch out for my new book which will be out in the first quarter of the new year.
And finally, after four fabulous years in Brisbane, we're taking a bit of a seachange in 2019, relocating up to Sunshine Beach in Noosa (my office will still be in Brisbane, but with any luck I'll be spending a bit more time in the surf with the kids).
And finally, after four fabulous years in Brisbane, we're taking a bit of a seachange in 2019, relocating up to Sunshine Beach in Noosa (my office will still be in Brisbane, but with any luck I'll be spending a bit more time in the surf with the kids).
Cheers for reading my blog this year, and to all my Twitter followers - well, most of you😃 - by the time year's done it will be the biggest calendar year to date, with page views tracking at about 45,000 per month, taking the cumulative total to well over 2 million. Nice one, thanks!
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