Well Covered

My rule of thumb for insurance, is to buy cover for the risks you can’t handle, while building capital to handle as much of it as you can yourself. Perhaps it is the Self-Reliance that was beaten into me by South African folklore. I push back hard on most people who talk of being “against hand-outs” when it comes to charity. Most of the time that push back doesn’t come armed with a mirror. The boundary between a hand-out and privilege is unclear to me. Privilege is compounded entitlement made invisible. Before you can start building breathing space, you have no choice but to rely on others. No one is self-made. Gradually, you can reduce that reliance. By building Capital. The only way to build that self-reliance is by snapping the connection between income and expenses. Self-reliance is a privilege. It is also one that frees you up to give back. If you get to the point where you no longer need to consume everything that is coming in. Separating consumption and creativity is the key to sustainability. The key to handling risk.