About — Ballast Notes

Most money writing gives you a verdict: rent is throwing money away, debt is always bad, index funds are the answer. Verdicts are easy to share and hard to check. We would rather give you the sum and let you decide.

Our examples use round, clearly made-up numbers on purpose. A $4,000 salary or a 6% return is not a forecast; it is a stand-in that makes the arithmetic easy to follow. Tax and legal rules vary a lot by country, so when they matter we tell you what to look up rather than pretend one rule fits everyone.

We do not take affiliate fees, sponsored posts or payments from financial firms, and we never name a bank, broker or app as the one to use. The publication is paid for by readers who choose to support it.

Nothing here is personal financial advice. Think of it as a patient friend who is good with spreadsheets and will happily sit at the kitchen table with you until the numbers make sense.

Worked examples published: 180+
Affiliate links: 0
Average issue length: 6 min

The writers

Leeds

Nadia Okafor

Editor · Budgets and household systems · Leeds

Nadia spent nine years as a management accountant before starting Ballast Notes. She writes about budgets, sinking funds and the monthly routines that keep a two-income household from drifting.

Valencia

Tomás Reyes

Freelance income and tax buffers · Valencia

Tomás has been self-employed as a translator for twelve years, through two lean years and one very good one. He covers irregular income, emergency funds and setting money aside when no employer does it for you.

Rotterdam

Hannah Vos

Investing costs and compounding · Rotterdam

Hannah trained as an actuary and still enjoys a good amortisation table. She writes about fees, compounding and the slow, unglamorous maths of long-term saving.

Toronto

Marcus Ebbesen

Big decisions, pay and protection · Toronto

Marcus covers the large, infrequent choices: renting or buying, insurance, pay negotiations. He has rented in four cities, owned in one, and kept the spreadsheets for both.