The Paper Oligarch

08/10/2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DT7bX-B1Mg

www.southparkstudios.comA clip from the South Park episode Margaritaville; season 13 episode 3.

02/10/2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rCqTydqMJg

My portfolio update as of October 1st 2023, which implements the Pyramid Allocation Strategy discussed in a previous video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c...

19/09/2023

01/09/2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMxaaKqaREc

My portfolio update as of September 1st 2023, which implements the Pyramid Allocation Strategy discussed in a previous video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v...

19/08/2023

1 like and I'll quit my job

01/08/2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=In5YdbMdyqw

My portfolio as of August 1st 2023, which implements the Pyramid Allocation Strategy discussed in a previous video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_8pq_hzK...

03/07/2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_IyHMEmTzU

Fondul Proprietatea/Hidroelectrica hedge play...

My portfolio update as of July 1st 2023, which implements the Pyramid Allocation Strategy discussed in a previous video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_8p...

22/01/2020

Failing my way to success

https://paperoligarch.wordpress.com/2020/01/22/failing-my-way-to-success/

The year that just ended turned out to be one of the best in history for stock markets returns all around the globe. Those of you who are long-time readers might remember that I actually predicted …

20/12/2019

Poor Paper's Almanack 2019

https://paperoligarch.wordpress.com/2019/12/20/poor-papers-almanack-2019/

2019 It’s the Holiday season again my old friend, that time of the year when lines are drawn in the sand, a good time to think about what has been as well as dream about what will be… My small gift…

29/08/2019

How the wheel turns

https://paperoligarch.wordpress.com/2019/08/29/how-the-wheel-turns/

I struggled a bit before publishing this fourth installment of the “Letters to my unborn child” series because the topic covered is a polarizing one for two main reasons: the obvious one is that it…

08/04/2019

Getting domesticated

https://paperoligarch.wordpress.com/2019/04/08/getting-domesticated/

Today I’m going to tell you two short stories, which I personally enjoyed a lot. The first one is attributed to the Greek writer Aesop and it’s called “The Dog and the Wolf” and it goes something l…

20/02/2019

The Impostor Syndrome

https://paperoligarch.wordpress.com/2019/02/20/the-impostor-syndrome/

Impostor syndrome – [also known as impostor phenomenon, fraud syndrome or the impostor experience] – is a psychological pattern in which an individual doubts their accomplishments and h…

07/01/2019

For the love of the game

https://paperoligarch.wordpress.com/2019/01/07/for-the-love-of-the-game/

Recently I suffered a small injury that initially seemed harmless enough however things escalated quickly at a point where, for a brief moment in time, I thought that my life was in danger. Since t…

27/12/2018

Poor Paper's Almanack 2018

https://paperoligarch.wordpress.com/2018/12/24/poor-papers-almanack-2018/

2018 Yet another year has past, seemingly quicker than the last, and here we are again my old friend talking to each other as almost different people. Remember that a different version of you exist…

18/09/2018

Good, cheap and fast

https://paperoligarch.wordpress.com/2018/09/18/good-cheap-and-fast/

I didn’t plan to write this somewhat specific article but recently a friend who’s just starting his investment journey mentioned that the price of Tesla stock recently dropped because E…

06/09/2018

Waiting for the Apocalypse: a case for cash

https://paperoligarch.wordpress.com/2018/09/06/waiting-for-the-apocalypse-a-case-for-cash/

With just a few days away from the 10 year anniversary of the Lehman Brothers collapse, widely considered the spark that ignited the 2008 global financial crisis, analysts and “financial experts” g…

09/08/2018

The pursuit of happiness

https://paperoligarch.wordpress.com/2018/08/09/the-pursuit-of-happiness/

It’s been a while since I wrote my previous article and after rereading it I noticed that it was a shade darker than usual so today I want to flip the switch and focus on the bright side of life. S…

03/04/2018

Too late to die young

https://paperoligarch.wordpress.com/2018/04/03/too-late-to-die-young/

Let me tell you the most interesting definition of hell I ever heard: “On your last day on earth, the person you became will meet the person you could have become.” If that happened to …

26/02/2018

Don’t take it personally

https://paperoligarch.wordpress.com/2018/02/26/dont-take-it-personally/

At the beginning of every year I try distancing myself for a while from the “daily grind” of existence in order to look at my life as a whole: health, relationships, financial situation, personal a…

07/02/2018

Turning crisis into opportunity

https://paperoligarch.wordpress.com/2018/02/07/turning-crisis-into-opportunity/

“In the midst of every crisis, lies great opportunity.” – Albert Einstein Last week I sold all my stocks making a profit of 42.5% on top of the 25% that I had already obtained as dividends so far s…

20/12/2017

Poor Paper’s Almanack 2017

https://paperoligarch.wordpress.com/2017/12/20/poor-papers-almanack-2017/

2017 We’re getting close to the holiday season again so what better gift can one hope for than the third installment of the “Poor Paper’s Almanack” quotation booklet. Called by most readers a…

10/11/2017

A good slave will never be a master

https://paperoligarch.wordpress.com/2017/11/10/a-good-slave-will-never-be-a-master/

As the third part of the “Letters to my unborn child” series I want to share with you another important lesson that I hope you’ll take to heart: “A good slave will never be a mast…

29/08/2017

My biggest fear

https://paperoligarch.wordpress.com/2017/08/29/my-biggest-fear/

This is by far the most personal article I’ve written so far, so I really hope you like it. Even though I might have said this before a bunch of times I will come clear and admit that I never…

27/07/2017

Success has an enemy

https://paperoligarch.wordpress.com/2017/07/27/success-has-an-enemy/

After reading the title you’re probably a little bit intrigued and maybe asking yourself: “I know that there are many enemies of success, which one will he be referring to? Could it be …

20/07/2017

How to find a job you love

https://paperoligarch.wordpress.com/2017/07/20/how-to-find-the-job-you-love/

Recently I tackled a problem that was nagging me for a while: recruiters reached out to me quite often on LinkedIn but none of the positions seemed right for me. As a friend of mine was told by a C…

13/07/2017

A kid's dream

https://paperoligarch.wordpress.com/2017/07/13/a-kids-dream/

“When we are young, we all dream of doing something wonderful and exciting with our lives. What will we be? A cosmonaut? An underwater detective? A tommy gunner? A groin surgeon? Anything is possib…

11/04/2017

Mo money more problems

https://paperoligarch.wordpress.com/2017/04/11/mo-money-more-problems/

I have some great news…now it’s the first time in the last 5 years that I’m not actively planning on quitting my job anymore. For the longest time I used to be one foot in and one foot out but now …

31/01/2017

All roads lead to the same place!

https://paperoligarch.wordpress.com/2017/01/31/all-roads-lead-to-the-same-place/

Today I want to talk to you about a complicated subject: “What is success?” In your personal opinion is success, as Darwin would have you believe, just about the survival and replication of the ind…

17/01/2017

The terrible good old days

https://paperoligarch.wordpress.com/2017/01/17/the-terrible-good-old-days/

Reminiscing about the “good old days” has become a cliché in the western world but what does it really mean? Often when people talk about the good old days, they refer to an era they consider bette…

10/01/2017

Better lucky than good

https://paperoligarch.wordpress.com/2017/01/10/better-lucky-than-good/

There is an ancient saying attributed to one of my favorite authors, the Roman stoic philosopher Seneca (4 B.C. – 65 A.D.) that is a constant reminder of the fact that in the end we are the only on…

03/01/2017

It’s about the principle of the thing, damn it!

https://paperoligarch.wordpress.com/2017/01/03/its-about-the-principle-of-the-thing-damn-it/

‘When a fellow says “It ain’t the money but the principle of the thing,” it’s the money.’ – Kin Hubbard I find myself at this moment in a peculiar situation and I swear that it’s not about th…

20/12/2016

Poor Paper’s Almanack 2016

https://paperoligarch.wordpress.com/2016/12/20/poor-papers-almanack-2016/

Yet another year has passed in which we’ve gotten a little bit older and hopefully a lot wiser and it’s once again that time of the year in which you get to read the most awesome thing on the inter…

06/12/2016

A big fish in a small pond

https://paperoligarch.wordpress.com/2016/12/06/a-big-fish-in-a-small-pond/

A long time ago a former boss of mine told me that in his opinion a programmer’s life is very similar to that of a professional football player. What he meant was that they both have the opportunit…

29/11/2016

I am an as***le

https://paperoligarch.wordpress.com/2016/11/29/i-am-an-as***le/

deadlock – [noun] – a situation, typically one involving opposing parties, in which no progress can be made. “in IT a deadlock is a situation in which two computer programs sharing the …

25/10/2016

The big picture

https://paperoligarch.wordpress.com/2016/10/25/the-big-picture/

There is a very wise saying that goes something like this: “You can’t see the forest for the trees.” and what it really means is that sometimes we can become so involved in the minor details of a p…

18/10/2016

You pay for the red ink!

https://paperoligarch.wordpress.com/2016/10/18/you-pay-for-the-red-ink/

As the second part of the “Letters to my unborn child” series I want to share another important lesson that I learned during my experience teaching in different capacities starting from…

11/10/2016

OPM

https://paperoligarch.wordpress.com/2016/10/11/opm/

Since interests on bank deposits have been going down for years and are currently approaching 0% I believe that now is the right time to focus on building some alternative passive income sources. T…

04/10/2016

The light at the end of the tunnel

https://paperoligarch.wordpress.com/2016/10/04/the-light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel/

Type A and Type B personality theory refers to two contrasting personality types. The people that posses type A personalities are usually more competitive, outgoing, ambitious, impatient and aggres…

27/09/2016

A Paradox of Choice

https://paperoligarch.wordpress.com/2016/09/27/a-paradox-of-choice/

This has been a cornerstone year for me because I turned 33 years old, a venerable age that not too long ago I never thought was even possible to reach. Unfortunately it also started to sink in tha…