I can’t admit to being a huge fan of Indonesia’s premier holiday destination despite the fact that I head to Bali on a fairly regular basis – the irony is not lost on me. Still, what I like about Bali is the close proximity to Perth, I like to head over to just hang at a nice hotel, the smaller the better for me, I like to be out of the major areas and just be right up in north of the island.

What was once a cheap holiday is now overpriced, you still get sick easily and there are all the hassles, crime, corruption and pollution. There is dog meat being sold as beef, rabies if you get bitten, motorbikes and scooters to fall off. Even if you don’t ride one, you are not much safer on the footpath as they ride down that and knock you over. I am not riding around on a scooter, I would rather walk or get a paid ride on the back of a scooter, supporting the local taxi industry I believe is the best option.

Don’t even think about drinking the spirits, even the imported spirits as they distill it up in the mountains and top up name brands with it, the results are alcohol poisoning, blindness and death. The pollution is a disgrace, Indonesia is second after China for dumping plastics in the ocean. It is a simple transaction to a poor and uneducated villager, dump all your rubbish in the river and the problem is gone. Let’s not even think for a moment that whilst it is gone from your village that it has to end up somewhere – it’s just gone.

Where Bali works for me is a long weekend, I can take an extra Friday off work, jump on a cheap flight on Thursday night after finishing work and in three and a half hours am there. Then I can take a Sunday evening flight and be back for work on Monday morning. Want a four day weekend? Take Monday off as well and return to work reasonably fresh again. That will be my plan now, a Thursday night flight, Friday to Monday in Bali and return on Monday night ready for work on Tuesday morning.

Even better, the rainy miserable Perth winter is the dry season in Indonesia so you can escape winter for a few days, sit around the pool, eat out and stay out of trouble. I take a decent book and sit around the resort for a couple of days in either Legian or Seminyak heading out to a restaurant in the evening. Yes, it is getting expensive, but that is ok, as long as the quality is good.

Likewise, I take some dive equipment with me and spend the time up island away from everything getting a couple of dives in. It really depends on my mood and how exhausted I feel. Since I only ever book a couple of weeks ahead so the decision is made at the time. That’s what Bali is good for, a long weekend at short notice and that’s just about it.

Upper Reach winery in Perth’s Swan Valley is one of my favorite wineries; their 2013 Petit Verdot is a pretty good example of what this boutique winery can create. Winemaking is definitely an art and Derek is on top of his game with Upper Reach winery well represented at wine shows, they are not a big producer, what they do make is pretty popular and they have a loyal following.

Located on the narrow banks of the Swan River, Upper Reach produces quality wines at a reasonable price and for me, I can arrive at the cellar door in just a half hour drive from my home. The 2013 Petit Verdot has a strong varietal flavour based upon the traditions of old school wine-making utilising modern technologies.

I like big robust reds and this particular offering of quality winemaking doesn’t disappoint. Whilst the 2013 Petit Verdot is maybe a little too full bodied for all palettes, this is a big red well suited to a large roast or steak straight off the barbecue and I am more than happy to break open the cellar for such occasions.

Back in early 2014, I undertook an online course through IE Business School with my partner Emilly. I, like many of my classmates now identify with the IE Business School; we feel as if we are a pseudo alumni – they have achieved excellent brand recognition through their online courses.

As the number 1 online MBA, naturally a large proportion of their students are online students. Bearing in mind that many of their students never set foot inside the physical grounds of the business school, getting on campus is exciting. I have had the privilege of wandering the halls of the school when I was in Madrid in 2014. I had dinner with the professor and classmates even ended up back at his apartment drinking red wine until the early hours of the morning.

Now I have turned 50, I have an increased interest in superannuation and retirement if I want to meet my goal of retiring at age 60 then I really need to get organised. The years from the age 50 to 60 are the decade to really prepare for retirement, this is the decade to get going.

The challenge is now to manage the final decade of my career to retire debt free with more than adequate funds in my retirement account to give me a 20 year retirement account beginning at 60 – that’s assuming I live to age 80. Naturally I wish to live above the poverty line, there is no value retiring early and then having to live a life of poverty unable to experience life. In such a scenario, I would be better off remaining in the workforce because at least then I would maintain a degree of financial freedom.

As an individual with no net debt, the critical criteria is to remain debt free during that period. For me, that’s not going to happen as I need to upgrade my motor vehicle. So I would expect to undertake a 3 year motor vehicle loan during that period. Fortunately, I have no mortgage as my primary residence is owned so I just need to finance the outgoings in my retirement. Paying off your mortgage before retirement is important otherwise a lump sum needs to be withdrawn to pay that debt down first.

I won’t qualify for a pensioner card until I at least turn 65, that should be 5 years into my retirement so I won’t receive discounts on state government charges such as water, electricity and rates until then. That makes a difference, a reduction in those outgoings is important to the longevity of your retirement funds. That is a downside of retiring when you can get your retirement funds, the early years are going to be a little more expensive than the later years – still, one has to enjoy the early years of retirement.

Really, the final decade of my career should be to maximise my earning potential, remain largely debt free during that period and to ensure I make maximum contributions to my retirement account during that period. This will also include maximising employer contributions in this period, that will require full employment and minimising sick leave. Finally, reducing income tax along with maximising tax efficient investments during the decade under the continuing onslaught of federal government changes to the superannuation system.

This is a trait I picked up from my old man, he worked in an office dressing in a suit and tie during the week, he looked business like and professional during the week. In work time, you needed to act and dress in a professional manner, weekends were my time though.

However, on weekends he got around unshaven and we would go out on the boat with him in old yard shorts held up with a rope as a belt tied with a reef knot. Naturally his hat was also held on by rope and his shirt wouldn’t look out of place down at skid row. For the last twelve years I have taken a standard weekday job so I have weekends free. For work I also shave every day and deal with the public and dress to workplace requirements. So on weekends I get around unshaven; whilst I don’t get around in shorts held up by rope, I do try to dress down.

We are into watch collecting in my workplace, the interest is catching on so when one of our group discussions was overheard, one of the guys wanted to bring in his biscuit tin of old watches, we more than happy to take a look at what he had.

As soon as I started looking through the tin, the vintage Omega Constellation immediately jumped out to me. This was the only timepiece I could see. One of my colleagues is really into Seiko, so he went for that while I looked over the Constellation. From what I could gather, it appeared to be a mid 1960s release, possibly from 1963 – 66. I never popped the back off to inspect the movement, it appeared to be a 561 automatic calibre. Amazingly, the powerplant still worked, the movement would only need a service and not an overhaul.

The crystal was badly scratched, that would require replacement as I don’t think they could be polished out. Then again, some of the scratches come out so I would like to see their reasoning. I put him in contact with the watchmaker that I go to, they do an excellent job. The plan was to restore the timepiece and return to his stepfather, a noble pursuit. I was happy to put him in contact with the watchmaker I use, they do a good job and I see their fees as reasonable. This will be an excellent gesture to Mick’s stepfather, I am sure he will appreciate this.

I am a big believer in stealth wealth, I have no issue with successful people, I respect self-made people, a positive mental attitude and finally their work ethic.

High net worth individuals who are self-made generally don’t all drive Rolls Royce automobiles, they mostly don’t have servants waiting on them nor are they dithering fools as some make them out to be. They do enjoy quality possessions; sure, you can’t take them with you but I see no issue with enjoying your wealth in this life. Life is about experiences, so I am not into big houses, latest model cars, I drive a 20 year old vehicle and I am happy doing so.

My interest in watch collecting is partly born from my belief in stealth wealth, the mechanics of mechanical movements and associated engineering, and the style of a luxury timepiece. As a diver, I also have a range of dive computers collected over the years. I love nothing more than getting around on weekends unshaved, dressing casually but sporting a pretty decent timepiece on my wrist. Even better, the average person has no idea what I am wearing this weekend, or during the week for that matter.

Only people with an interest in horology notice, then we can discuss timepieces when they comment; then we can discuss heritage, engineering and style. I find it interesting chatting to watch people as we all have differing tastes, budgets and access to vintage watches. I will certainly not bring up the discussion if they don’t remark; they generally notice because they have an interest themselves in this hobby. Because if we both have an interest in this activity, the discussion is robust and stimulating.

You only have to wander around any restaurant precinct, shopping complex or entertainment area to see that designer clothes and accessories are so popular with not only the young set but an older and arguably more refined clientele too. They tend to be a little more reserved in showing off money, they are not out to flaunt it, the old adage of fake it until you make doesn’t apply to them, they purchase quality for the sake of quality.

It’s not hard to like Ray Ban aviator sunglasses when trendsetters like the ageless Jennifer Aniston is seen out and about in them.

Naturally, Jennifer pretty much looks good in anything but you can’t help feeling they will sell because of her. At almost fifty years of age, Jennifer appeals to a wide variety of women since she starred in New York orientated sitcom Friends. Aniston has also appeared in numerous movies introducing herself to a newer and younger audience. The Ray Ban RB3025 Aviator series is a classic style of sunglasses and I can understand people wanting to look like her.

Before you even consider heading out into the countryside, European cities off the traveler so much – there are just so many choices.

Starting with the major centres of London, Paris, Rome and Berlin; these are the great cities of the world. If you want to stay in Germany then Munich, Frankfurt, Cologne and Dresden are a great start. If France is your destination the Versailles just south of Paris is amazing with Lyon, Marseilles, Nice, Antibes, and Cannes as a pretty decent itinerary. Italy has Milan, Florence, Venice and Naples as a starting point with other brilliant options available.

The United Kingdom has Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Oxford and Cambridge as starting points to explore further. Then there is Cardiff in Wales and the trip north to Scotland, there are major cities that are interesting to visit. There are so many interesting cities west of the UK from Copenhagen, Gothenburg, Oslo, Stockholm and Helsinki that I am yet to visit.

At this point we haven’t even considered heading further south to Barcelona, Madrid and Lisbon. Further to the north is the capitals of Brussels, Amsterdam and Luxembourg City with so many options for the smaller centres of Bruges, Ghent, Antwerp and Liège in Belgium, Rotterdam and The Hague in the Netherlands.

The rail network is extensive so Zurich is easy to reach along with Warsaw before heading further east. Everyone raves about Prague although after visiting Budapest, I know which city I prefer. There is Vienna and Bratislava on the route and I would love to visit Bucharest at some stage. After tours of the cities then there is the countryside to visit – great.

I am so glad I made the decision to return to private enterprise, I feel my time in the public sector wasn’t a total washout as I made some reasonable career decisions.

I used this time to engage in tertiary education, I began at diploma level, that earned me first year advanced standing allowing me to begin in second year university saving myself a third of tuition fees. The training and development degree didn’t pay off in the government; that’s for sure but I was able to leverage that knowledge in the private sector and continue to do so. However, with my return to the private sector paid immediate dividends.

Actually, the knowledge gained helped land me to not only land the job but to excel in the role. I also undertook every possible opportunity and role in my former job to learn the job ground up from multiple perspectives. I am a firm believer in informal learning, throughout my part-time study I used actual work experiences to develop assignments and case studies. This on-the-job knowledge learnt through practical application is deeply embedded and easily recalled in pressure situations such as a panel interview.

Moving onto a business degree was a fantastic personal learning experience, once again totally worthless in the public sector as they don’t utilise contemporary leadership and management practices. My move back to the private sector saw immediate application of leadership, project management, organisational behaviour, operations and general management learning. It was exactly as I had been trained, these were required skills.