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The Jolly Investor – Financial planning for the “Yacht-less”
Fri, 1st Jul 2011
FYI, this story is more than a year old

I remember the first time I read a blog: I happened across it accidentally, as I was surfing the web looking for some information about investments. After stumbling onto the world of blogging, I began reading a different blog each day, which got me thinking about starting my own.

The motivation behind the Jolly Investor comes from a deep passion to help real people improve their financial situations.  In order to achieve this, the blog needed to be written in a manner that was easy to understand.  If you can’t explain to the average reader why something is a good idea on half a sheet of paper, then it probably isn’t such a good idea after all!

I believe that this sort of ‘continuing financial education’ will empower Kiwi families to take fewer financial risks and enable them to reach sound decisions with regards to their future financial well being.

I wanted an outlet to provide investment advice to everyday people trying to achieve their financial goals to improve their lives and those of their children. A blog seemed like a great place to do this, since I wanted the advice to be free and easily accessible by anyone with a need for it. It isn’t always the case that paying more for financial advice results in better decisions. Many investors have recently lost their life’s savings after following the advice of a few well paid professionals. In improving people’s investment knowledge, I hope to aid them in making financial decisions that they can understand and be confident with.

These are just a few of the reasons why I started the Jolly Investor. Although the blog began as a way of helping others, I must admit that it quickly became an opportunity for me to grow and learn as well, which I have really valued.

The experiences I have had with the blog have taught me a few things. One is to listen to your gut, no matter how good something sounds.  Two, you’re generally better off sticking with what you know – sometimes your best investments are the ones you don’t make. And last (but certainly not least!) Money can’t buy you happiness, but it can buy you and your family freedom – freedom to study, to travel, to enjoy hobbies or to help others, without the financial strife that puts pressure on so many people today.

Jolly Investing! thejollyinvestor.com