Language and notes
Precision for the room, and short notes behind the engines if you need them.
Vocabulary
A gentleman’s guide to saying precisely what you mean. Definition, use, replacement.
Say it better
Blunt line in, usable line out. Diplomatic disagreement without theatre.
Notes
Mechanisms behind the engines. Read one if you need it. Skip it if you do not.
Interest vs Currency Debasement
Nominal growth is not purchasing power. Interest expands a balance; debasement erodes the unit.
The Power of Compounding
Returns on returns. Frequency, contributions, and time turn a linear path into a curve.
Nominal vs Real Returns
The number on the statement is nominal. Wealth is what that number still buys.
Primary Drivers of Inflation
Demand-pull, cost-push, and monetary expansion — three mechanisms, one erosion of cash.
Avalanche vs Snowball
Highest rate first versus smallest balance first. Same budget, different interest paid.
Section 24 and BTL Tax
UK landlords cannot deduct mortgage interest in full. Model the 20% credit and SPV alternative.
ISA versus GIA Tax Drag
Identical portfolios, different tax. Dividend tax, CGT and turnover compound into a silent leak.
FIRE Number and Safe Withdrawal
Annual spend divided by a withdrawal rate is the target. Savings rate sets the date.
Emergency Runway
Fixed burn is survival. Variable burn is lifestyle. Dependants and income risk stretch the target.
Unit Economics and Billable Time
Price minus variable cost funds fixed cost. Unbillable hours are a tax on every hour you sell.
Salary, Dividends and Corporation Tax
A low salary near the NI threshold plus dividends is the classic UK director split — until bands move.
The Empire Lab
A paper empire that forces the same choices the engines quantify: cash vs assets, heat vs yield, wages vs growth.