-
Fictitious Capital and Why It Matters Today
The name “Fictitious Capitalist” might raise an eyebrow or two, and it is intended to do so. It’s a deliberate play on a profound concept from the economist and philosopher Karl Marx: fictitious capital. In his magnum opus, Das Kapital, Marx introduced the idea of “fictitious capital” to describe financial assets like stocks, bonds, and other derivatives.…
-
The CAPE ratio, the Merton Share and Your Asset Allocation | Part 1
If you’re part of the Financial Independence (FI) community, you’ve probably built your retirement dreams on a pretty common assumption: stock market returns average 8–10%. To be fair, the S&P 500 has delivered, hitting a 10.2% compound annual return from 1928 through 2024. Popular FIRE calculators like Networthify err on the conservative side and dial…
-
How a Water Heater Can Increase Your Wealth
Energy efficiency may be boring, but it can be an incredibly lucrative investment What if I told you there is a way to make a 20 percent annual return on your investment over the next 13 years? What if I also told you that you could make that return with the same low risk associated…
-
Is Your Car Holding You Back Financially?
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average American spent 16.4 percent of their budget on transportation expenses in 2021. Experts, however, recommend limiting your transportation budget to 10–15 percent of your income. As transportation costs have climbed faster than inflation during the last few years, understanding your vehicle’s true costs are more important…
-
Here’s How Much You Really Need to Save for Retirement
Planning for retirement spending is one of the more nuanced parts of financial planning. The Financial Independence community commonly follows the “4% rule,” which was first developed by Bill Bengen in a 1994 paper and later expounded upon in the Trinity Study. The 4% rule dictates that a properly designed portfolio should last at least…
Fictitious Capitalist
Wealth for the many.
Fictitious Capitalist 