Secrets of More Money

Total cost of ownership and negative cash flow Your own home is a liability with constant negative cash flow. Beyond the mortgage payment, you incur costs for taxes, insurance, major repair contributions, and utility bills for the "extra" square footage. If you calculate the TCO (Total Cost of Ownership), it turns out that owning costs are comparable to renting a similar apartment. The difference is that when renting, you control your surplus cash, while owning forces you to spend it on maintaining walls. Do not confuse the cost of living with the cost of owning an asset. The latter is always more expensive due to hidden transactional costs. #budget #finance #realestate

Commissions eat your coupon Many investors look only at the yield to maturity, ignoring real costs. You must subtract broker fees for buying, selling, and exchange fees from the final profit. If your capital is small, even a 0.05% transaction fee turns into tangible losses over distance. A yield calculator often lies, ignoring your transaction costs. When calculating real profit, subtract everything: from exchange fees to custody fees. A bank deposit is more transparent in this regard: there are usually no fees for opening or maintaining it at all. #bonds #finance

Why buybacks are more profitable than dividends Share buybacks are the most efficient way to return capital to shareholders in terms of tax optimization. Unlike dividends, a buyback does not create a taxable event for the investor. When a company buys back its shares, the number of shares in circulation decreases. Your share in the business grows automatically, and the share price generally receives support. “A buyback is an invisible dividend that compound interest accrues on your share of business ownership.” In the long run, companies that practice regular buybacks often show higher returns than dividend lovers. #stocks #buyback

YTM math vs. reality The Yield to Maturity (YTM) you see in your app assumes you will reinvest all coupons at the same rate. This is a dangerous assumption. In reality, market rates change. When it comes time to reinvest a coupon, the market may offer a yield significantly lower than the one at the time of the first bond purchase. A fixed-rate deposit for the entire term frees you from this uncertainty, guaranteeing yield without the need to constantly look for reinvestment options. #investing #analytics

Payout ratio as a risk indicator Watch the Payout Ratio — the share of profit going to dividends. If a company gives away more than 60–70% of FCF to payouts, that's an alarm bell. It has no financial cushion in case of a crisis or the ability to invest in breakthroughs. High dividend yield is often a sign that the market doesn't believe in the company's future. Such companies become 'leveraged bonds': they don't grow, but they carry stock market risks. It's the worst of both worlds, where you get bond-level returns but with stock volatility. #risks #portfolio

The risk of inaction exceeds market risk Investors often fear that the market will drop by 20%. But they ignore the fact that over 3–4 years, inflation is just as likely to eat away that same 20% of their purchasing power if they keep their money in cash. This is an asymmetric risk: the market can recover and generate profit, while inflation is an irreversible process. Over a ten-year horizon, the risk of "holding" capital in cash is statistically higher than the risk of owning a high-quality, diversified portfolio of stocks and bonds. Stop measuring risk by asset price drops. Measure it by the loss of your ability to buy goods tomorrow. #riskmanagement #savings

Core and satellite strategy Try dividing your portfolio into two parts. The "core" is bank deposits with a clear term, creating a foundation and providing confidence. The "satellites" are bonds that allow you to increase yields above the market through corporate issues or long-term government bonds. This approach eliminates wavering between instruments. You know exactly why you need both types of assets and do not try to "outplay the market" in an attempt to guess the rate peak. Portfolio stability is more important than trying to squeeze out an extra half-percent of yield. #portfolio #passiveincome

The Illusion of Cheapness Technology makes electronics and clothing more accessible, which masks the real rise in the cost of living in a metropolis. If you exclude depreciating gadgets from your basket, it becomes clear: services are rising in price by 10–15% per year. The purchasing power of savings falls not because of rising bread prices, but because of the inflated service sector. While you enjoy a cheap smartphone, the cost of an expert's hourly labor is eating away at your capital. #capital #inflation

The Illusion of Concrete Safety Investors often argue for real estate as an inflation hedge but ignore the "opportunity cost." If inflation is 8% and a bank deposit offers 17%, the real return on a deposit is multiple times higher than the potential capital appreciation of a square meter, which often stagnates. Putting funds into real estate at current rates is a bet on price growth that may not pay off for years, while a deposit provides a guaranteed cash flow here and now. By freezing money in square meters, you lose the ability to compound interest. This lowers your purchasing power compared to someone keeping cash in a savings account. #capital #inflation #deposit