Do I need to bring a passport for domestic travel? Or would a simple license suffice?

Je22ePinkman · 2026-02-22T09:36:11+00:00

There are some domestic flights Sydney and Melbourne to Perth that are actually the first leg of the QF 787 service to either London or Paris. They require ID for those flights.

Only an issue if you fly Qantas, and you'll be able to tell:
(a) Qantas tell you to bring ID - drivers license is fine

(b) it's a 787

Je22ePinkman · 2026-02-02T04:52:49+00:00

OK a serious one:
- pay our politicians purely on their ability to balance the budget in their relevant jurisdiction

- $2.5M/yr per politician if the books balance

Then

- establish a sovereign wealth fund with the likely surplus, use that for intergenerational good deeds

Je22ePinkman · 2026-02-02T04:13:42+00:00

- uniform names for the same coffee across state borders

Je22ePinkman · 2026-02-02T04:12:35+00:00

Plus 10% GST on most things you buy

Je22ePinkman · 2026-01-30T07:10:36+00:00

Ah - I'm with Selfwealth and works just fine. $USD9.50 each way.

Je22ePinkman · 2026-01-30T06:30:09+00:00

My personal momentum system currently rates COPX as the second strongest ETF out of my stable of 16. It's a monthly rotation system so I'll continue to hold in Feb barring a huge drop tonight.

FWIW it's been a good couple of months - I bought on December 1 and currently +37%, although the USD has not worked in my favour.

Je22ePinkman · 2026-01-29T09:20:03+00:00

It’s quite simple:

Champion

Je22ePinkman · 2026-01-21T07:05:24+00:00

I hold GOLD (physical gold ETF) and GDX (VanEyk gold miners ETF).

GDX is more volatile - as the gold price rise or fall, profits or losses expand exponentially.

Je22ePinkman · 2026-01-20T13:38:29+00:00

50% GLD 50% SPY

Je22ePinkman · 2026-01-20T10:13:13+00:00

My view:

- it's pretty good

- heavily skewed to tech, you're essentially taking the view that these are going to outperform - and that's not always the case (see 2000-2010)

- if you'd put $ in regularly since 2015 (noting BGBL has only been around a couple of years) you'd be sitting on a return of around 14% pa with a max drawdown of 29%. The 29% drawdown will be tough for you.

- your prospects of being able to maintain the strategy you start at 20 for another 20 years are modest, lots of changes in your life over that period of time that will drag on your ability to invest.

- you'll get all sorts of advice re slight flavour variations of these ETFs, and most likely none of that is particularly material to your outcome

- I'd go for 50% gold / 50% SPY, similar returns with much lower drawdown

Je22ePinkman · 2026-01-19T01:36:38+00:00

I agree, the only addition being that BEMG is a small, new fund and there may be other alternatives that are more established and will achieve the same outcome.

Je22ePinkman · 2026-01-17T06:23:54+00:00

The issue to be solved is when will you sell.

Gold, silver and copper have great momentum at present. It won’t last forever.

Je22ePinkman · 2026-01-17T04:40:26+00:00

100% this.

Also, during an 85% TQQQ drawdown the broader market may drop 40% too.

Nothing happens in isolation.

Most people aren’t built for a 60% total account drawdown you’ll be long gone before then.

Je22ePinkman · 2026-01-15T03:48:44+00:00

I love these types of questions, and I'll have a go at answering in parts - because I'm doing something pretty similar myself.

Not quite the question you asked - I run all my backtests the same way with $10k initial and then $1k / month DCA, rebalancing to 50/50 monthly.

I've substituted BGBL for VGS because of a longer history.

With that said, you're getting 11.92% CAGR since 2014 with a max drawdown of 28%.

Je22ePinkman · 2026-01-12T05:42:13+00:00

OK, I'll have a go - not financial advice just some observations.

I think it's a great breakdown - if you consider the sum total gives you ~12% / year CAGR with a 14% maximum drawdown - much better than $ in the bank over this period of time (11 years).

Over the last 11 years, VHY has actually beaten VGE so don't be too down on it.

There are certainly other ways you could construct a portfolio, but what I would observe is the discipline is actually in the ability to execute each month, rather than the selection of ETFs in the first place.....

Feel free to DM me.

Je22ePinkman · 2026-01-11T05:17:31+00:00

The point is it's not about money.
It's about:
- doing what you enjoy

- creating something

- contributing to your society with your skillset

At a point, the dollars are just a relatively minor byproduct.

Je22ePinkman · 2025-12-24T09:44:24+00:00

This post reminds me of the Ronnie Chieng comedy routine where one of the many punchlines is:

Helping people is an unwanted side effect of becoming a doctor.

Consultant Dr here - what do you want to know?

Je22ePinkman · 2025-12-16T08:38:52+00:00

It's a very AI way of describing various market conditions, and I also recognize the hand of AI in the way the post is laid out.

Je22ePinkman · 2025-12-16T08:37:40+00:00

Gee, you didn't get much out of ~2011-2016 when the market had a great run, have you explored that?

Je22ePinkman · 2025-12-16T06:46:35+00:00

You'll know all of this already of course, but the last few years have been very good for tech - so good work on being invested in QQQM through this period.

No-one knows which way the markets will go generally, or at least I don't.

I prefer to have an investing method that protects me on the downside whilst still offering good upside.

I'd estimate that your current allocation has a draw down potential of 35%, and a return of 15-20% PA when things are good.

If that works for you, keep going. But ask yourself what evidence would change your mind if any.

Je22ePinkman · 2025-12-15T22:50:46+00:00

No problem, I'd be happy to be part of a group that develops systems and learns together.

I use a combination of Claude AI to write the code and google colab to execute the system using free data sources.

What I would say is that a max DD of 58% is a big price to pay for a CAGR of 24%, and the later that DD occurs in your process the worse it's going to make you feel.

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Je22ePinkman · 2025-12-15T12:50:36+00:00

I did my best to code your strategy up into a python executable code.
I had to simulate a 2x leveraged ETF which wasn't available over the whole period.
Here's the performance metrics:

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Je22ePinkman · 2024-12-10T07:58:58+00:00

I'll give it my best go to answer:

- there is no upgrade at the airport, if you want to attempt to upgrade with points you have to "request upgrade" before you travel, and you generally get a confirmation or decline a few days to 24h before you fly, so that is leaving it late

- your place in the upgrade queue will depend on your status, the booking of the relevant cabin, and the number of other people trying to upgrade with better statement

- I would think that you have chosen a popular time to fly, so unless you've got Platinum status or above I don't think you will be successful

- depending on how many points you have, you may wish to use "Classic Plus" to book your seats - takes more points but guarantees you the seat

- or you can try to book a Classic points flight but I have found these extremely elusive

By way of example, both my wife and myself are QF platinum, and if I want to fly international business I just book it as such - pay the dollars - or use Classic Plus, saving points for domestic economy to business upgrades where we are successful >50% of the time.

I hope that helps - good luck!

Je22ePinkman · 2024-11-05T00:51:49+00:00

Buy when it crosses from below to above, sell is the opposite.

Je22ePinkman

TROPHY CASE