ThoughtsOfAndrew

Before planning an essay, it is important to choose the correct topic Choosing a topic at random will make the essay very hard and slow to write To choose the topic, you need to read for a few days  This will help to establish historiographical debates and find gaps the research has missed Once a broad amount of reading is done, a topic should jump out Benefits of choosing a topic vs being given one If you are given a topic, you have to try and fit evidence around a preselected question If you choose a topic, you find evidence and then work out a question The second approach is much quicker The first approach means you might try and fit in evidence that is not appropriate The second approach means you are being led by the evidence, so will be more impartial How to structure a concept The historiography portrays X events/time period in a certain light Event Y does not seem to fit within this broader general narrative This is because the historiography has missed certain documents and ev

 Gold Coins Gold Britannia's are legal tender in UK and have no capital gains tax These are more divisible - you can sell a 30g coin which is 1/3 of a 100g bar  They generally have a higher spread - if you buy and sell quickly, the difference is often  Gold Bullion Bars Gold bars do require capital gains tax Capital gains tax allowance is £12,800 so still low, but you want to avoid going into this where possible These are less divisible, if you need cash you need to sell a whole 100g bar rather than just a 30g coin Gold bars have a lower production cost, so are cheaper per gram. With Bullionstar, you only have a tiny spread of about 2% The consequence of Bullionstar bars is that you pay a higher price for the reward of a higher resale price (GoldAvenue is £4,350 vs Bullionstar of £4,500). The solvency of Bullionstar as a company and their promise of honouring this buy-back clause will determine whether this premium is worth it. Jurisdictions/Storage/Purchasing Always avoid paper go

 Premise The aim should be to select an industry that meets the following criteria An unglamorous business. These have lower competition simply because people do not want to do this work as much as other kinds of work. For example, nobody wants to do a garbage collection business because it is deemed to be low status A non-Black Swan business. Avoid these all or nothing businesses - for example Instagram influencers - the top 2% make 95% of the earnings and the bottom 98% earn 5% of the earnings. You are very unlikely to be in that 2% Higher barriers to entry. For example, to set up an accounting practice, you need a Practicing Certificate which requires 2 years of post-qualification experience. You don't want to just offer generic services as it will not stand out - you want to develop a thesis Possible Outcome 1: Finance Study for ACA - pass exams now and then apply for another training contract to get qualified by age 26. Then get 2 years post qualification experience to get the

During lockdown the cynical approach to work is not an option, so this article seeks to develop a strategy which makes use of domestic UK strategies as international ones are not readily available due to travel restrictions. The advantages here are you can store items and do not need to live out of a rucksack as you will be more in one location. Location Select a cheap location for living in UK, normally you may have to consider ones of the beaten track. Entertainment can be free if you select a place with good outdoor activities. Scotland allows wild camping, so this could be an option to utilize as no landlords are required. Thurso - accommodation costs around £350 per month. Excellent surfing location, which provides entertainment even during winter as that is when the surf waves are at their best.  Dundee - Cheap accommodation again at £400 per month. Close to Arbroath - cliff jumping, snorkeling, kite surfing. 1.5hrs bus ride to Cairngorms, including Glenshee ski centre. Also clo

It is important to consider alternative approaches to work, even extreme ones, to develop an understanding of how to improve work patterns. This one relies on international movement to minimize costs (and therefore reduce the amount you need to earn) and is only possible with relaxed Covid restrictions. The basic idea is that life is to be lived and enjoyed and you are focusing on developing freedom by not focusing on work all the time. The aim is also to be a sigma, not caring about family events, long term friendships etc., but being a truly independent mind and mysterious. Basic outline of the cynical approach 1. You live temporarily in places with low costs of living, examples include Georgia, Vietnam, Serbia, Peru, Ecuador, Cambodia etc. The breakdown of the cost of living in these places is as follows: Rent a cheap apartment on Airbnb for around £300 per month Transport can be cycling/walking which is free with the occasional bus ride which will be a negligible cost. You will mai

What is positional chess play?  Positional play is simply making sure that you improve the position of one of your pieces, whilst degrading the position of your opponent's pieces. It means that every move you make must be constructive in trying to control the center of the board to open up as many moves as possible or trying to move your attacking pieces to places which put pressure on the opponent to make mistakes. In a chess game on chess.com, there is a side bar which determines whether a move is a blunder, mistake, book move, good, excellent or perfect. Perfect moves are ones which sufficiently protect your pieces or put the opponent under an frustrating amount of pressure. For example, you may move your bishop from the back row to the middle of the board as that opens up diagonal attacking options centrally and can also prevent the advance of some of their pieces. There is also a move where the pieces back up other pieces, for example a queen placed next to your opponent's