[ { "title": "Fornebuløpet 10 km - Thoughts about running", "url": "/posts/fornebulopet-10km/", "categories": "sport", "tags": "sport, running", "date": "2025-05-21 00:00:00 +0200", "content": "On May 21, 2025, I ran a local race in Fornebu (a district in Oslo), and I’d like to share a few thoughts on urban races.                                                 📌 TL;DR The local race in Fornebu on May 21 was a great reminder that sporting events aren’t just about results — they’re also about atmosphere. We ran 10 km with friends and my wife, enjoying the course, the support, and the warm organization. Chasing records is great, but balance matters too — especially if you’re in it for joy and well-being, not just performance. 🏃‍♂️ The Fornebu Run and Thoughts on Urban Races On May 21, I took part in a local race in Fornebu — a scenic district southwest of Oslo. It wasn’t a big marathon, but rather a cozy, small-scale event — and these are exactly the kind of races I enjoy most. 🎯 Distance Options The organizers offered several distances, making the event accessible to everyone: Kids’ run (big respect for including even the youngest participants) 3 km 5 km 10 km I chose the 10 km distance. 🌿 Atmosphere & Course Even though around 2,500 participants had registered, the atmosphere remained relaxed and friendly — no crowds, no hype, just a well-organized local race. The course ran along the waterfront, offering great views and fresh air. It was completely flat, which makes it perfect for those who aren’t fans of hills. Navigation was easy — everything was clearly marked, no GPS needed — just run and enjoy. 🛠️ Organization The course was closed to traffic but not fully fenced off — regular pedestrians occasionally crossed the path, which added some spontaneity (and a few surprises). There were three water stations along the route. The Red Cross was on duty, with a rescue tent at the finish line. After the race: water, bananas, music, wet sponges — everything you need for recovery and good vibes. 🎉 My Experience – A Race as a Celebration I see events like this as a true celebration — and a great chance to test my fitness before more serious races. Every time, I try to bring as many friends as I can, because doing it together makes it even better. This year I was especially lucky — I ran with two friends and my wife (she did amazing 💪). We all chose the 10 km distance, each with our own pace and plan — but we all truly enjoyed the day. It reminded me that an urban race isn’t just about the result — it’s also about enjoying the process. And yes, discovering a new part of the city through a waterfront loop is always a win. 🤔 Food for Thought Urban races aren’t just about sport — they’re also a way to feel the rhythm of a neighborhood. Sometimes it’s these small events that help you discover new places in your own city. It’s a good reminder that you don’t have to wait for a big event — you can just run close to home and still enjoy it. And yeah — running on asphalt is a bit harsh on the legs 😅 🧠 A Few Words About Balance and the Finish Line At the finish, it was clear that many runners had misjudged their effort. Some literally collapsed as soon as they crossed the line. Others were nauseous or sat down and couldn’t get back up. I get the drive for personal bests — it’s motivating and energizing. But here’s my take: aiming for a result is important, but just as important is planning and pacing yourself. If you don’t have a lot of race experience, it’s better to run at a comfortable pace — one that leaves you with enough energy to smile at the end, share the moment, and spend time with friends or family. Don’t destroy yourself at events like this. It’s a celebration, after all! Stats" }, { "title": "My Personal Top of the Craziest Sports Events in Norway", "url": "/posts/my-top-crazy-sport-events-in-norway/", "categories": "sport", "tags": "sport, adventure, bucket-list", "date": "2025-05-18 00:00:00 +0200", "content": "This is my personal list of the craziest sports events in Norway, and I hope to take part in at least some of them during my lifetime.                                                 📌 TL;DR Norway is known for its breathtaking natural landscapes and passion for extreme sports. In this post, I’ve put together my personal list of the most exciting and craziest sporting events I’d love to try. It’s my own top list — and I hope to take on at least some of these challenges in my lifetime. Extreme Challenges 🏊‍♂️🚴‍♂️🏃‍♂️ 1. Norseman One of the most extreme triathlons in the world, Norseman includes swimming in a cold fjord, cycling through steep mountain roads, and finishing the race with a run to the summit of Gaustatoppen. It’s a true challenge that almost every triathlete dreams of. What makes this race unique is the lack of traditional aid stations along the course. Each athlete must have their own support crew that provides food, hydration, and technical help throughout the event. Every year, I follow the journeys of amateur triathletes preparing for and competing in this race. Despite the rise of similar events, Norseman is still seen as the most extreme and prestigious triathlon out there. For me, participating in Norseman is on my bucket list — a once-in-a-lifetime experience that demands serious and thorough preparation. 🏃‍♂️ 2. Bislett24 A 24-hour race held at Bislett Stadium in Oslo — a true test of endurance and mental strength. The winner is simply the one who runs the farthest distance within 24 hours. My wife calls it the “hamster race”, because you’re literally running in circles — in a basement. In 2021, I closely followed Allan Hovda, who won the race by running nearly 265 km. He was hospitalized in the final hour with kidney failure — a dramatic ending that made me think: “Wow… what an incredible event!” In May 2022, I even managed to secure a slot — registration filled up in under 20 minutes. But by September, I realized I wasn’t mentally ready for such an intense challenge (so I successfully sold my spot to another athlete). Looking back, I think for an amateur, Bislett24 is almost a guaranteed injury. Still, it remains an unforgettable adventure — and it continues to pull me in. 🏃‍♂️ 3. Ekeberg Ultra Backyard A race in the last person standing format: every hour, participants run a 6.7 km loop — until only one runner remains. The unique twist is that only one person finishes the race. Everyone else gets a DNF (“Did Not Finish”). I think it’s a relatively safe way to push your limits, but I’d still recommend doing at least 2–3 marathons beforehand. That experience will help you understand how your body responds to long, continuous stress. In 2025, the winner was Harald Bjerke (51 years old at the time), who completed 37 loops for a total of 248 km. Each loop starts exactly one hour after the previous one — which means Harald stayed awake for 37 hours, running 6.7 km each time without proper rest (Strava route). Personally, I see this format as a fantastic way to test both your physical and mental boundaries — and I definitely plan to sign up next year. 🏃‍♂️ 4. Oslo – Bergen Ultra Run An ultramarathon between Norway’s two largest cities. It’s madness — I honestly have no other word for it. Participants can cover the distance either solo or in teams of two. The event isn’t held every year, participation is limited, and entry requires a thorough health screening. The race takes 8–9 days to complete, covering a total distance of around 500 km. In my opinion, it’s absolute insanity to put your body through that kind of strain for several days in a row. Still, the scale and ambition of this event are undeniably impressive. 🚴‍♂️ 5. Styrkeprøven Trondheim – Oslo A cycling race with a route that changes slightly every year. The distance is usually over 500 km, with around 4,000 meters of elevation gain — and the entire course must be completed in one go, without sleep. Taking part in this kind of event is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It demands incredible endurance and serious preparation. The best way to take it on is with friends, colleagues, or a cycling club — people who can support you not just physically, but mentally too. I still dream of doing this race one day — but I know for sure I wouldn’t dare to take it on alone. 🚴‍♂️ 6. Jotunheimen Rundt (I participated) A cycling race around the Jotunheimen National Park. The route stays the same every year (because there are literally no alternative roads): 430 km with about 5,000 meters of elevation gain — making it one of the most beautiful and toughest rides in Norway. I took part in the race in 2023 and finished in 18 hours and 29 minutes. The start time was 21:20. The main challenges were temperature swings, unpredictable weather, strong winds, and of course, traffic and other cyclists. It’s hard for me to describe the experience as purely “fun” — but those 18 hours are something I’ll never forget. 🏃‍♂️ 7. Lofoten Ultra-Trail (100 miles) An epic trail run across the stunning Lofoten Islands — known not only for their breathtaking views, but also for the extremely tough natural conditions. It’s a deeply appealing event that I’d love to take part in someday. However, it requires serious training — and probably some lifestyle changes — to make sure you don’t harm your health during the race. Cultural Events Some sports events in Norway go beyond competition — they reflect the country’s cultural heritage. Over the years, I’ve made it a point to take part in each of them, as they hold special symbolic meaning for me. Every one of these is a true celebration of sport and Norwegian culture! 🎿 Birkebeinerrennet (54 km) — a legendary cross-country ski race with deep historical roots, running from Rena to Lillehammer. I participated in 2023 and was lucky with the weather. 🎿 Skarverennet — a classic ski race that marks the end of the winter season, attracting thousands of participants every year. I took part in 2023. 🏃‍♂️ Oslo BMW Marathon — Norway’s most popular marathon, taking runners through the scenic streets and landmarks of the capital. I also ran it in 2023. 🏃‍♂️ Besseggløpet (14 km) — a stunning trail run along the famous Besseggen hiking route, featuring breathtaking views and around 1,100 meters of elevation gain. My plan for 2025. 🏃‍♂️ Birken Ultra Løp (60 km) and Birken Fjellmaraton — summer trail races in Lillehammer. Epic, scenic, and truly unique. Distances range from 5 to 60 km. I completed the marathon in 2023 and the 60 km ultra in 2024. Useful Links Kondis – Event calendar and aggregator for sports in Norway Oslo Dawn Patrol – The best cycling community in Oslo 📹 Video" }, { "title": "Getting Richer or Poorer? Why the Numbers in Your Bank Account Don’t Always Tell the Truth", "url": "/posts/getting-richer-or-poorer/", "categories": "investments", "tags": "norway, investments", "date": "2025-05-01 00:00:00 +0200", "content": "Richer or Poorer? Why Your Bank Balance Can Be Misleading                                                                                                 📌 TL;DR In this post, I try to reassess my net worth in terms of real assets and goods — housing, gold, oil — instead of just looking at nominal amounts in kroner. For the calculations, I use annual data from my Skatteoppgjør and compare it to market prices of key resources over the past 10 years. Introduction The other day I came across a Facebook post in the “Norway. Money” group — “The Illusion of Wealth” by Aleksandr Shcherbakov. In a world of endless money printing, there’s a growing sense of wealth. But if you start tracking your net worth in square meters, stocks, gold, or barrels of oil, you’ll realize it’s an illusion — you’re actually getting poorer. I had never thought about my capital from that angle before. And I got curious — what would happen if I applied this logic to my own assets? At first glance, our capital seems to grow. Salaries get indexed, savings increase, and the numbers on our bank accounts look more and more comforting. But what happens if we measure that growth in real assets — square meters of housing, ounces of gold, or barrels of oil? Maybe our sense of wealth… is just an illusion. “Formuesverdi” and Nominal Growth In Norway, the term formue refers to the official measure the government uses to calculate wealth tax. In your tax return, you’ll find the line formuesverdi for assets: property, bank accounts, stocks, and other holdings. But does this number actually reflect real wealth? Many of us feel reassured when we see growing numbers in our tax reports or online bank accounts. Property in Oslo is officially “worth more,” your account balance has increased, and your pension fund (through KLP, DNB, etc.) is showing gains. It creates a sense of financial progress. It feels like we’re getting richer. But there’s a catch: this growth is often nominal — measured in kroner that lose purchasing power over time. If we don’t account for inflation and rising prices of real assets, we risk fooling ourselves. Being “richer” in kroner doesn’t necessarily mean you can afford more. A more accurate way to assess wealth is to measure it in tangible terms: How many square meters of housing can you buy? How many ounces of gold or barrels of oil is your capital worth? Once we change the unit of measurement, the illusion can disappear fast. Why It Matters to Recalculate Wealth in Real Goods When we talk about growing wealth, we usually mean growth in our national currency — in this case, Norwegian kroner. But money isn’t an absolute unit of measurement. Its purchasing power changes — and sometimes, quite rapidly. Take a look at this chart from Gull & Penger, which shows the price of 1 square meter of housing in Norway, not in kroner, but in grams of gold: 🔗 Gullerpenger: Norway in Charts At first glance, it may seem like housing prices are rising steadily. But when you recalculate the price per square meter in gold — one of the most stable stores of value across centuries — you’ll see that since 2008, Norwegian real estate has actually become cheaper in “gold terms.” What Does This Mean? It means that if you had held your capital in gold instead of kroner back in 2008, today you could afford more square meters of housing. Your real wealth — measured in gold — would have increased, despite rising nominal prices in kroner. Conversely, if you simply kept your money in the bank in NOK, you may be “richer” on paper — but your purchasing power relative to real estate has actually declined. Currency Is Not a Measure — It’s a Variable We’re used to measuring everything in money — in kroner, dollars, euros. It’s convenient because money is everywhere; it’s the universal medium in the economy. But there’s one issue: currency itself is unstable. It’s subject to inflation, manipulated by governments and central banks, and gradually loses its purchasing power over time. Put simply, if you store your wealth in kroner, you’re measuring it in a moving target — a variable that keeps depreciating. What Happens to Money? Central banks print money to stimulate the economy. Inflation reduces the purchasing power of that money. Interest rates, currency exchange rates, and government policy further affect the “price of money.” One of the most striking examples is the U.S. response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Federal Reserve dramatically increased the money supply to “support the economy.” You can see it clearly in the chart below: 🔗 Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED) The chart shows how the amount of dollars in circulation literally spiked in 2020. This isn’t just a number — it reflects the real dilution of value across all existing dollars. If $100 used to buy you a certain basket of goods, after trillions were injected into the economy, that same $100 now buys less. Your savings in dollars lost value — even if the amount in your account stayed the same or even increased. Similar dynamics affect other currencies as well — including the Norwegian krone. Example If in 2015 you could afford 10 m² of housing in Oslo with your savings, but by 2025 — only 6 m², then you’ve objectively become poorer — even if your bank account shows a “+40%” increase. Let’s Try to Analyze Our Net Worth Here’s what the picture looks like: Year Gold (NOK/oz) Oil (NOK/barrel) Oslo Housing (NOK/m²) Nettoformue Gold Oil Square Meters 2014 9,005.00 453 54,112         2015 9,790.00 328 60,528         2016 10,000.00 463 70,585         2017 10,615.00 533 75,781         2018 11,071.00 486 76,281         2019 13,688.00 596 78,861         2020 15,500.00 436 83,304         2021 15,865.00 669 92,213         2022 18,681.00 798 96,955         2023 21,061.00 830 97,949         2024 29,980.00 — 102,899         🔗 Gold prices 🔗 Brent oil prices 🔗 Oslo housing price per m² (average yearly) Now we can add one more column — Nettoformue, to track your actual net worth. You can find this value in your Skatteoppgjør for the corresponding year. Ideally, collect this data for the full 10-year span. Then, calculate nettoformue using the following simplified formula: Nettoformue = Sum of gross assets − Total debt (for both spouses, before deductions) + Adjustment for deductible debt due to valuation discounts (if any) (Norwegian) Nettoformue = Sum bruttoverdi formue − Sum gjeld (обоих супругов) до учёта скидок + Reduksjon av fradragsberettiget gjeld på grunn av verdsettingsrabatt(если есть какие-то скидки) Once calculated, you can convert your nettoformue into real goods — gold, oil, or square meters of Oslo housing. For clarity, it makes sense to plot a graph that visualizes how your purchasing power has evolved over time. Disclaimer The formula used in this post to calculate nettoformue is simplified and intended for illustrative purposes only. It may not reflect all tax nuances and can differ from the official Skatteetaten calculations. Gold Gold is often seen as a safe investment, but if you look at its price over the last 100 years, it becomes clear that it’s also subject to volatility. After the gold standard was abolished in 1971, the price of gold surged and peaked in 1980 — but what followed were two decades of decline and stagnation. Investors who bought at the top had to wait nearly 30 years for prices to recover. A new upward trend began in the 2000s, with a sharp increase during the 2008 financial crisis and especially during the pandemic, when gold reached historic highs in 2024–2025. This chart shows clearly that even “safe haven” assets like gold don’t guarantee steady growth — they go through cycles, and recovery after a major surge can take a long time. 🔗 Historical gold prices – 100-year chart This logic also applies to other goods: oil, real estate (per square meter), and so on. Conclusion: What Does Wealth Really Mean? Real wealth isn’t a number in your tax return or online bank account — it’s what you can actually afford in real resources: housing, food, experiences, travel, comfort, freedom. When I translated my net worth into equivalents like gold, oil, or square meters of housing, I realized that over the past 10 years, my nettoformue hasn’t shown consistent growth. On the contrary — on a timeline, the movement is mostly sideways, with occasional spikes but also noticeable drawdowns. It’s a sobering realization. So should we rely on “formal” wealth — the kind calculated annually by Skatteetaten? Yes — it’s a useful and objective source that reflects the structure of your assets and liabilities. But it shouldn’t be the end of the analysis. It’s just as important to go deeper: to examine what your capital is made of — and what real opportunities it gives you in a constantly shifting world. How to Protect Your Real Wealth I consider myself a long-term investor, and my main principle is risk management. In times of uncertainty, inflation, and currency volatility, the goal isn’t to chase quick returns — it’s to build resilience. To do that, I believe these points are essential: Invest in your own knowledge — without that, everything else loses meaning. Diversify your capital — don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Hold assets that aren’t tied to a single national currency — gold, silver, and other precious metals. Have exposure to the energy sector — oil, gas, and possibly new forms of energy generation. Invest in real estate — especially properties that hold value across economic cycles. Don’t forget liquidity and cash — especially during unstable periods. The formal numbers are just surface-level. Real wealth is about freedom, optionality, and resilience in the face of shocks. It was truly useful for me to view my financial situation from a new angle — through the lens of real assets and tangible goods. It gives you something to think about — and helps realign your goals." }, { "title": "Do we still understand how the world works?", "url": "/posts/ai-and-complexity/", "categories": "technologies", "tags": "technologies, ai", "date": "2025-04-24 00:00:00 +0200", "content": "Do we still understand how the world works?                                                                                                                                                  📌 TL;DR AI speeds up our work — but the more we rely on it, the less we understand how the systems around us actually function. This post is about the fear of losing engineering thinking in a world where everything is built through prompts. True reliability requires a deep understanding of how things actually work. 📝 Introduction I often see people on LinkedIn — employees from all kinds of companies — enthusiastically discussing artificial intelligence. Some “joke” that developers will soon be obsolete. Others seriously claim that the future belongs to no-code and AI-generated everything. The idea is simple: just describe what you want — and AI will build it for you. Interfaces, code, infrastructure. All of it. I’m not immune to this optimism — although in that scenario, I might have to retrain for a new profession. And honestly? Even this very text is partially AI-generated. I regularly use AI tools — for coding, writing, managing cloud infrastructure, analyzing papers, summarizing videos, and more. They really do accelerate work, suggest ideas, even inspire. But there’s one “but” that keeps nagging at me. What worries me isn’t that AI will replace people (though I have many thoughts on that — not all of them friendly). What really worries me is that people will willingly give up understanding — the desire to know how things actually work. Every day, we drift further from the mechanism — and closer to magic. We no longer write code — we just copy solutions. We don’t design architecture — we ask AI to generate boilerplate. We don’t read documentation — we read summaries compressed by neural nets. It’s convenient. It’s fast. It’s modern. But it’s also dangerous — because somewhere along the way, we’re not just losing knowledge. We’re losing thinking. Engineering thinking. Systemic thinking. Causal thinking. 📖 Taking Care of God I love science fiction. My Goodreads profile Warning: spoilers ahead I keep thinking about the Chinese novella Taking Care of God by Liu Cixin — it eerily reflects many of my own concerns. One day, thousands of alien ships arrive on Earth. From them emerge elderly men in white robes who claim to be... the creators of humanity. They say they once engineered us, then set us free to develop on our own — and now they’ve returned. But there’s a problem: they no longer understand their own technology. Their ships are failing. Their systems are breaking down. And they can’t repair or adapt anything — because they’ve forgotten how it all works. Now, they ask humanity to take care of them. By law, each family on Earth must host one of these “gods.” But the care they require isn’t just physical — it’s intellectual. People don’t understand the alien technology. The ships. The systems. They’re too complex. The old ones, who once built it all, now just stare at screens without comprehension. They remember that it *used to work*. But that’s no longer science — that’s **faith**. They’ve become passengers in systems they can no longer control. We’re already seeing this happen. We’re building systems we only partially understand. Models we can’t fully explain. Infrastructure we no longer manage manually. Services whose behavior we can’t reliably predict. And if we continue to hand over control — without caring to ask how it all works — well… who will take care of us? The problem isn’t that AI might replace the programmer. The real problem is that the programmer stops being an engineer — and becomes an operator, an observer, a user. Meanwhile, the world keeps getting more complex. And if you think I’m exaggerating — here are a few examples of systems that already function like black boxes, even to the people who build and maintain them. 🧩 Technologies We’re Losing Understanding Of 🌐 Internet Network Topology The internet feels reliable — it “just works.” But its network architecture is an incredibly complex system made up of thousands of autonomous systems (AS), routers, BGP routes, and traffic exchange points (IXPs). Today, almost no one can fully grasp the whole picture — neither in terms of physical infrastructure nor routing logic. When BGP misconfigurations or route leaks occur, they often lead to large-scale outages that are hard to trace and fix. 🔗 Cloudflare – Understanding BGP 🔗 Cisco – The Risks of Traffic Hijacking 🧠 Large Language Models (LLMs) The paper “Rethinking Interpretability in the Era of Large Language Models” explores new challenges in understanding how LLMs work. The authors argue that although these models can generate natural-language explanations, they often produce hallucinated reasoning that doesn’t reflect their actual inner workings. This raises important questions about whether we can trust these explanations — and highlights the need for more reliable interpretability methods. 🔗 Rethinking Interpretability in the Era of Large Language Models ☁️ Cloud Infrastructure Cloud technologies today have become so layered and abstracted that managing them requires increasingly narrow and deep specialization. At first glance, it seems simple: click a button, deploy a service. But in reality, the cloud is a case of “kludge complexity” — hidden beneath convenient interfaces. Too much happens under the hood, and it’s often unclear what exactly is going on, or why. I’ve been working as a Cloud Infrastructure Engineer for about six years, and the topic of understanding technology is something I care deeply about. “What has emerged is not elegant architecture, but an opaque and intricate bricolage: a kludge.” 🔗 Uptime Institute – Why Cloud is a Kludge of Complexity 💹 Algorithmic Trading Algorithmic trading relies on complex models — often opaque even to their own creators (hello, AI). This increases risk and makes market behavior harder to predict. 🔗 Investopedia – Basics of Algorithmic Trading 🤖 Examples of Unintuitive AI Behavior in Trading Spoofing An AI agent trained to maximize profit independently discovered a spoofing strategy — placing fake orders with no intention of executing them, solely to manipulate market behavior. 📄 Research on arXiv Crisis Engineering Risk The Bank of England warned that AI systems might begin exploiting weaknesses in other traders to trigger market crashes for personal gain. 📰 The Guardian Herd Behavior in AI Systems When multiple AI models follow similar strategies, they can begin to act in sync, amplifying volatility and creating systemic risks. 📰 The Times These examples show how AI can “sincerely” follow the goals it was given — but do so in unpredictable, and sometimes dangerous, ways. 🤯 What if AI isn’t just a black box — but a step toward singularity? The technological singularity is a hypothetical point where AI becomes so advanced that it can improve itself without human intervention. This could lead to an intelligence explosion, where technology evolves at such a rapid pace that we can no longer keep up — like science fiction, but for real. Some futurists — like Ray Kurzweil — predict the singularity may arrive as early as the mid-21st century. Others remain skeptical. But even if it never happens, the question remains: What happens to humanity when we no longer understand how our own world works? 🔗 Wikipedia — Technological Singularity 📘 Ray Kurzweil – The Singularity Is Near 📘 Nick Bostrom – Superintelligence ✅ Conclusions Thoughts I can’t say I’ve reached any clear conclusions. I just hope we never stop learning the foundations and principles — the underlying systems that hold our technologies together. Especially if you’re working in a field that depends on those very systems. I remember back in university, I used to ask: why are we learning all this? Why do I need to know how a single bit is stored in memory? Why should I manage memory manually? Why suffer through Assembler? How will knowing the types of transistors help me write code for a microservice? Back then, I resisted these lessons — though I still studied them diligently. Now we’re facing yet another layer of abstraction — artificial intelligence. But unlike previous layers, some parts of this one are truly black boxes. PS. While writing this post, I kept pushing myself to read every article and source I referenced. I can’t say I studied it all in depth — but I did discover a lot of fascinating things along the way." }, { "title": "Selling on Finn with a Contract and BankID Electronic Signature", "url": "/posts/buy-sell-contract-with-bankid-signature/", "categories": "living in Norway", "tags": "norway, finn.no, bicycles, contract, bankID", "date": "2025-04-17 00:00:00 +0200", "content": "Why you need a contract, which services are available for creating one, and how it all went in practice                        📌 TL;DR Go to signering.posten.no → click on “Finn kontrakt her” — the rest is pretty intuitive. Detailed step-by-step instructions are further down the post: How we signed a contract using BankID 📝 Introduction I recently sold an expensive bike through Finn.no — using a contract signed with BankID. Surprisingly, it’s not the first time I’ve noticed that people aren’t aware of ready-made contract templates available at forbrukerradet.no, or that they can be digitally signed via BankID — it’s convenient, fast, and legally valid. I use Finn.no almost exclusively — it’s Norway’s largest marketplace for personal listings. The platform is owned by the media group Schibsted and covers everything: from rental housing and job listings to selling cars and bicycles. I’m into cycling and regularly upgrade my bikes — buying and selling them. In my experience, if the deal is worth more than 3000–5000 NOK, it makes sense to sign an official sales contract with a digital signature. This protects both parties — especially if we’re talking about an expensive bike with a service history, warranty, and accessories. 🚲 The Deal I decided to sell my time trial (mainly triathlon) bike — the Canyon Speedmax CF 8 Disc eTap. I own four bikes, three of which I keep in my apartment. The bike was in excellent condition, with a full service done in March 2025. This is a niche product, typically bought by people who are seriously into triathlon and aiming to set personal records. But hey — this is Norway, where sports performance obsession is totally a thing (and I’m probably one of those people). I checked the market, added a wear-and-tear discount, and listed it for 57,000 NOK. To get the best possible response on the marketplace, I asked a friend for help — Nikita Solenov, a professional photographer. 📎 Link to the listing The listing went live on March 28 — and I sold the bike on April 16. (almost 3 weeks) In that time, I got messages from four potential buyers (all tried negotiating down by 5–10K), and one person wanted to rent the bike for 3 months — which I wasn’t interested in. 📄 Why Use a Contract with BankID When you’re selling high-value items — especially anything above a few thousand NOK — trust between buyer and seller is important, but not enough. For me, using digitally signed sales contracts via BankID has become the standard: 💰 This is a financially significant transaction. The amount is large, and I want it legally documented. ⚖️ The contract protects both parties. It clearly states the date, buyer and seller info, description of the bike, amount, and delivery terms. It’s a legal document you can rely on. 🧾 BankID signature = legal force + verified identity. There’s no way to claim “That wasn’t me” afterward. 🚲 Premium bike brands like Canyon, Trek, and Specialized require ownership registration on the manufacturer’s website. Without a contract, it’s hard to prove you’re the rightful owner. 🏠 The contract may be required for insurance (Innboforsikring). If the buyer wants to insure the bike, the insurance company might ask for proof of purchase. A signed BankID contract is perfect for that. In general, if a bike is stored in a basement or apartment, it’s covered by household insurance (been there — my basement was once robbed). 🔐 The contract protects against fraud. Unfortunately, I once bought an item without a contract — and the seller turned out to be a scammer. Just the act of offering a contract can scare away fraudsters — for them, it’s an added risk of exposure. 👀 Viewing, Contract, Payment, Handover We scheduled a time to meet so the buyer could inspect the bike. The meeting went smoothly — a 10-minute presentation, I shared my experience, answered questions. He said “yes,” and we moved on to the contract. 📑 How We Signed the Contract with BankID Went to: signering.posten.no Clicked “Finn kontrakt her” — this opens contract templates. We used “Kjøpekontrakt ting” (sales contract for an item). Filled in: Seller and buyer details Item description Payment and delivery terms Reviewed everything → clicked “Fullfør” Next step — “Klikk her for å gå videre til betaling og signering” Paid for the digital signing service (as of April 2025: 42 NOK for two signatures) Each participant received an email with a link to sign Signed using BankID Once both had signed, we each received an email with a link to the final signed contract Buyer transferred the money I handed over the bike We shook hands — done deal. 💡 Payment tip: If both buyer and seller have DNB accounts, the money can be transferred directly, instantly, and without fees — even on weekends or outside business hours. A great alternative to Vipps, where transfers over 5000 NOK incur a 1% fee. The whole signing process took 5 minutes. Fully online, no paperwork. Both sides felt secure. 🛠️ Services for Creating and Signing Contracts I know of several services that support contract signing via BankID (there are likely more): Signant.no buypass.no digisign.no Personally, I use Signant.no — and that’s the one used in this post. 📄 Contract Templates For ready-made sales contract templates, I recommend forbrukerradet.no. The site also has a ton of helpful info on consumer rights and common cases. 🔗 Easier Workflow — via Posten To streamline things, I use Posten’s signing platform: 👉 signering.posten.no It combines everything in one place: Contract templates from Forbrukerrådet Signing and identity verification through Signant + BankID FYI: Finn.no has a built-in digital contract solution — but it’s only available for car sales. For everything else (bikes, electronics, furniture, etc.), you’ll need third-party tools. ✅ Conclusion Everyone has to decide for themselves when a contract is worth it. For some, only large transactions. For others — anything beyond “just giving it away.” Remember: A contract isn’t bureaucracy — it’s your protection It helps in case of fraud, theft, or disputes It signals a serious deal and deters shady buyers or sellers Stay sharp. And don’t be afraid to ask for a contract — it’s totally normal. P.S. For every transaction I’ve done using a contract on Finn.no, I’ve received only positive reviews. 📹 Bonus Video" }, { "title": "Money and happiness - how much does it cost to be happy in Norway?", "url": "/posts/cost-of-happiness/", "categories": "living in Norway", "tags": "norway, research", "date": "2025-04-15 00:00:00 +0200", "content": "Here I’m digging into the study by Kahneman, Killingsworth, and Mellers, published in PNAS (2023), where the authors explore the correlation between income and happiness. 📌 TL;DR The answer: yes, but not equally for everyone. The benchmark line: an annual income of NOK 1,100,000 (as of April 2025). 📊 The Numbers For most people — the higher the income, the higher the happiness. For the unhappiest 20% — happiness increases with income up to a point, then levels off. For the happiest individuals — happiness continues to rise with income, possibly even faster. The relationship between income and happiness depends on your starting level of well-being. 👥 Why split people into groups? Because the “average person” is a myth. In earlier studies: Kahneman and Deaton (2010) found that happiness increases with income up to ~$75,000 a year, and then levels off. Killingsworth (2021) showed that happiness keeps increasing with income, with no clear ceiling. The issue? They were looking at different groups of people. The authors of the new study broke participants into quantile groups (the happiest, the average, and the unhappiest) based on their well-being: Bottom 20% — the least happy. For them, income helps up to ~$100,000 (≈ NOK 1,100,000 in 2025). Beyond that, not much changes. Top 30% — the happiest. For them, happiness continues to increase with income — maybe even faster beyond the million mark. This explains why previous findings seemed to contradict each other — the average masked individual differences. One person earning NOK 800,000 may feel a happiness boost, while another might barely notice a difference anymore. 📏 How is happiness measured? The study used two approaches: Momentary well-being Participants received random notifications during the day and answered: “How do you feel right now?” These data were collected via a mobile app, as used in Killingsworth’s study. Evaluative well-being The classic survey question: “How satisfied are you with your life overall?” — rated from 0 to 10. Kahneman focused more on the former, Killingsworth on the latter. The new study combines both — and finally gives us the full picture. 🇳🇴 What about Norway? Taking into account inflation as of April 2025 (~2.6% according to SSB CPI), here’s what the U.S. happiness thresholds look like in Norwegian kroner: $75,000 in 2010 ≈ NOK 940,000 today $100,000 ≈ NOK 1,100,000 If you’re in that range — increasing your income might still move the needle. Above that? Maybe it’s time to focus on the less material parts of life. 💰 What about taxes? The study doesn’t mention taxes. All income figures like $75,000 or $100,000 refer to gross income — that is, before taxes. In Norway, this is especially important. At an annual income of NOK 1,100,000 (gross), you’ll take home roughly NOK 700,000–750,000 after taxes, depending on deductions and your specific situation. 💡 So when comparing yourself to the study’s figures, focus on gross income, not what actually lands in your bank account. Interestingly, despite higher taxes, countries like Norway still report high levels of well-being. That might be due to how taxes are used — healthcare, education, public safety nets, etc. 📎 Norwegian Tax Calculator (Skatteetaten) 🧍‍♂️ Individual or household income? Important detail: the study refers to individual income, not household or family income. So the $100,000 ≈ NOK 1,100,000 benchmark applies to a single adult, not to couples or families with children. Official Norwegian statistics (like those from SSB) usually focus on household income or equivalized income, which accounts for the size and composition of the household. If you’re living alone, the comparison is direct. For a couple, a comparable threshold would be somewhere around NOK 1.8–2.0 million in total household income. 📎 SSB: Household Income by Quantile Groups 📐 Conversion to G (grunnbeløpet) To make the numbers more future-proof and easier to compare over time, it’s useful to express income in G — grunnbeløpet i folketrygden, the base amount used in Norway’s national insurance system. This figure is adjusted annually and is used to calculate a wide range of social benefits. As of May 1, 2024, 1 G = NOK 124,028 📎 Source: Skatteetaten.no So that means: NOK 1,100,000 ≈ 8.87 G NOK 2,000,000 ≈ 16.12 G Using G makes it easier to compare income levels and thresholds independently of inflation and economic changes. 🧠 Final Thoughts Money really can buy happiness — but not for everyone, and not forever. In the early stages, income makes a big difference. Then other things kick in: health, relationships, meaning, and all the “soft” stuff. If you’re earning around NOK 1,100,000 a year, you’re likely in the zone where happiness still nudges upward with income. If not — maybe it’s worth thinking beyond the numbers." }, { "title": "Hardangervidda - Ski Expedition (March 2025)", "url": "/posts/fjellski-expedition/", "categories": "adventures", "tags": "adventure, ski, hike, norway, hardangervidda, winter", "date": "2025-04-14 00:00:00 +0200", "content": "A three-day winter adventure in Hardangervidda National Park                                                                                                          📌 TL;DR Route: Halne Fjellstugu - Krækkja - Kjeldebu - Dyranut Type: ski expedition on fjellski with three stages Team: Paul, Nikolai, Nikita Introduction: Planning My friends and I — a small squad of four (though not everyone can always join) — are building a nice tradition: at least once each winter, we go on a ski expedition with an overnight stay. This year, everything lined up just right: there was a sale at XXL, we bought fjellski, and decided it was a sign — time to go. The idea of going to Hardangervidda came up early in the season, but the real planning didn’t start until just a week before the trip. The two key factors: weather and snow levels in the mountains. 🗺️ Day 1: Night, Wind, and Skis (Halne Fjellstugu - Krækkja) The three of us left Oslo by car on Thursday and drove toward Halne Fjellstugu. Roughly 260 km, around 4 hours on the road plus stops for fuel and snacks. We paid for parking — 220 NOK for two days (110 NOK per day), put on our skis, and hit the trail toward Krækkja — already at 19:30, in complete darkness. Night. Wind. Snow. And happy faces. Navigating in the dark is a challenge on its own. We were saved by the route markers — kvistede løyper — thin sticks sticking out of the snow. These are seasonal, so it’s important to check in advance whether your route is marked. The first stretch was short — just 5.5 km — but in the dark and with that weather, it felt like a real adventure. Along the way there were a few small downhills, some tents with other travelers, and even 5G signal at times. After about an hour and a half, we arrived at Krækkja — a serviced DNT cabin (betjent hytte) where you can eat, take a shower, and stay overnight. Dinner and breakfast are included. We slept in a shared room with 16 people. Shoutout to wax earplugs — they saved my sleep. 🌨️ Day 2: Long Trek and Gear Testing (Krækkja - Kjeldebu) Day two brought us the longest trek of the trip — about 13 km. We had to gain around 350 meters in elevation. Not scary, but the strong morning wind made it feel more serious. The weather shifted every few hours — sunny, then cloudy, then back to gusty winds. Nothing to worry about. First Break — and First Gear Test Paul decided to test out our 4-person shelter — a fun little thing to hide from the weather. No wind inside, warm enough to eat, and a great way to take a real break. Definitely useful. That day, I really started to feel like we were off the grid. We met three groups on the way. One of them stopped to chat — we exchanged thoughts on visibility, forecasts, and general route info. Lots of foreigners. The general rule is simple: See a person in the mountains — go talk to them. It’s always worth it. The scenery was fantastic: a white desert, biting wind, no trees in sight. Just you, your skis, and the horizon. We were on the move for about 5 hours, of which 3.5 were active skiing. The pace was easy, to conserve energy. Unfortunately, everyone’s boots started rubbing badly. We were semi-prepared — with plasters and the knowledge this was common — but still, the damage was done. Our first-aid kit got a workout. 🛖 Reaching Kjeldebu We made it before sunset. Kjeldebu is an unstaffed cabin (ubetjent hytte) — super basic but peaceful. Outhouse, wood stove, bunks, and some light from solar panels. No outlets (thankfully we had powerbanks). It felt like a mini version of living outside. By day two, I had stopped noticing the smell of my clothes. Not showering for 2–4 days — it’s just part of the expedition 😄 We melted snow on the stove, boiled it on the gas burner, ate, wandered around, and chatted with the few other guests. The evening was spent around the stove — warm, cozy, and full of good vibes. I slept in thermal underwear and a hat, in a room built for nine people. We stayed up late discussing our route for the next day… and decided to make the final call in the morning. ☀️ Day 3: New Trails and a Lucky Ride (Kjeldebu - Dyranut) The morning started with a discussion about the route… and a bit of a bravery contest. In the end, we decided to go toward Dyranut for two simple reasons: the route was shorter the route was new and unexplored for us Almost immediately after setting out, we went off trail. It happens. We’re experienced enough to just keep going. The weather was great, the views were amazing, and the vibes — absolutely top-notch. 🚗 Hitchhiking — Grandpa to the Rescue Once we reached Dyranut, one question remained: How do we get back to the car we left at the starting point? One of us headed to the road and… hitched a ride. Normally, a taxi or private transfer costs about 600 NOK (for a 15–20 minute drive), but we got lucky — a super friendly grandpa gave a free lift all the way to the parking lot. Half an hour later, our car rolled up, and we packed up and hit the road back to Oslo. 🎒Gear Pulk — the best cargo-carrying-thing when it comes to carrying heavy stuff. Downhill, it handles like a drunk Labrador. But for multi-day winter trips? Absolutely essential. We dumped all the heavy gear in there, and our backs were grateful. 🧰 Must-haves: First aid kit: lots of plasters (next time I’m bringing tape), paracetamol, Vaseline (for windburn and chafing), sunscreen (SPF 50) Thermal base layers — at least one set (two is okay, but honestly, by day two you don’t notice the smell) Fjellski — wider than classic skis, with skin attachments BC ski boots — our biggest pain point. Even with plasters, everyone got blisters Skins — synthetic strips that glide one way and grip the other. A lifesaver for climbs Poles for deep snow Indoor slippers — you can’t wear boots inside the huts. Floors are cold (sometimes wet) Ski goggles — for wind and snow protection Windproof jacket with hood — an absolute must. Snow finds its way into everything Backpack with hip support Warm clothes and a towel Thermos with hot water or tea Power bank — especially important at unstaffed huts Bedding or a DNT sleeping liner Knife or multitool — ideally with a can opener and tiny spoon :) 🍲 Food Everyone does it differently. I packed bread and canned food for dinner and lunch, and fueled up during the day with Snickers and sandwiches. Sometimes Turmat — freeze-dried meals with eternal shelf life and minimal effort. 🤷‍♂️ What I could’ve skipped: Second set of thermal layers Second pair of underwear (you get used to the smell pretty quick) Second thermos GoPro — battery died in the cold. Didn’t record a thing 3–4 extra pairs of socks (though… warm wool socks are always a joy) 💸 Costs (in NOK) Prices shown without DNT membership discounts: Transport (gas + tolls): 730 / 3 = ~ 245 Parking: 220 / 3 = ~ 75 Stay at Krækkja (with dinner & breakfast): 3840 / 3 = 1280 Stay at Kjeldebu: 1500 / 3 = 500 Personal food: ~300 Total for me: ~2400 NOK 📹 Video" }, { "title": "Five years on stock market", "url": "/posts/five-years-stock-market-experience/", "categories": "investments", "tags": "investments", "date": "2025-04-11 00:00:00 +0200", "content": "Five Years in the Stock Market (2020–2025): What I Learned and What It Cost Me                                                                                                📌 TL;DR Over five years of investing, I went from an excited rookie to (at least I think) a more mindful investor. I’ve learned not to overestimate my knowledge, to keep my emotions in check, and not to chase quick profits. Consistency, discipline, and diversification help preserve — and potentially grow — your capital. I learned through a hands-on approach, or simply put — learning by doing It’s better to invest in your own knowledge than in someone else’s “market signals” This journey cost me around 60,000 NOK (in missed profits). On the other hand, not investing at all could’ve cost me roughly 120,000 NOK in missed gains over the same five years How It All Started: Spring 2020, Lockdown and Charts May 2020. Everything had come to a standstill — though people hadn’t fully realized how serious it was yet. The pandemic, stay-at-home recommendations, lockdowns. At the time, I changed employers — I work in consulting — but the project remained the same. Same colleagues, same tasks, just now everything was through TEAMS, without those kafeprat chats or 11:00 lunch breaks. Working from home gave me more space — for thoughts, interests, and, of course, dumb ideas (like: “should I buy some stocks?”). I started noticing that everyone around me suddenly became an investment expert. YouTube kept suggesting Solodin and similar content. At some point, even my dad casually said, “Maybe it’s time to buy some stocks.” That’s when I remembered that old quote I’d once heard: When even housewives start investing — it’s time to be careful. That’s when I opened the S&P 500 chart for the first time. And there it was — a nice, deep dip from late February to late March. Naturally, my first thought was: “If only I had bought in March! I’d be sitting on profits right now and… and who the hell knows what else.” I think every beginner goes through this. You look at a chart in hindsight — and everything seems easy, obvious, and logical. And yeah, there were plenty of other charts too. Euphoria, Expectations, and “Brilliant” Moves Expectations? Ha. I wasn’t even thinking in monthly terms. The plan was simple: buy anything — it’ll eventually go up. And then just sell. Foolproof logic… Trust me. In learning, I usually follow the hands-on or learning-by-doing approach — which isn’t exactly ideal for preserving and growing capital. My head was burning. I felt an urge to buy something, anything, so I wouldn’t miss “the moment.” I had zero knowledge. So I started with what was most accessible — the bank DNB. Everything looked simple: no unnecessary bureaucracy, you could directly invest — no ASK account needed — just transfer from a debit card into their DNB Technology fund. And so — my first pancake was served. It was a great time: everything was going up just because… and I had no idea why. Everyone said it would grow — and it did. Of course, I could’ve dug deeper and realized that central banks had printed tons of money, that interest rates were slashed, and that many newbies like me had flooded the market. But all of that was too complicated for me back then. I could open the DNB Spare app 2–3 times an hour just to see how my funds were doing. It felt like I was on the right track. Or at least, already in the investment boat. I clearly remember: I didn’t read the terms, didn’t check the fund’s description. At the time it felt unnecessary — the name said it all. Technology? Well, I know tech. So I’m good, right? Now I sit here… kind of shocked. Does everyone start out like this? The hype hits your nervous system hard, and once you’re in the boat — it doesn’t matter if you’ve got paddles or not — it’s hard to resist. You’re already inside. Already an investor. Already sailing somewhere. Goals? Just one — to make money. How much? Didn’t matter. Somewhere in the back of my head I had this dream that this new hobby would become a second source of income (I just wanted more work, basically). Heh. Writing this now, I’m laughing. At that point, I wasn’t thinking about strategies or plans. I just wanted to be “in the game.” Year One: Emotions, Luck, and Mistakes In my first year, I was searching for every possible way to invest in Norway. It was something between research, excitement, and chaotic clicking. Here’s a list of tools I still use to this day: Nordnet – a Scandinavian broker with a wide range of investment instruments and integration with Skatteetaten (Norwegian Tax Administration) Finansportalen – helps consumers compare financial products and services TradingView – charts. Obviously. Finviz – free stock market analysis, plus tons of bells and whistles. I check the SPX heatmap almost daily. Simply Wall Street – for fundamental analysis. A personal choice — there are plenty of alternatives. Morningstar – great for fund screening and data. Fidelity: Business Cycle Update – business cycles. Solid theory every investor should understand. I did some questionable things. For example, I bought into the DNB Technology fund while also picking tech stocks manually. Did I already mention I never read the fund description? Yeah… I only started doing that recently. 🤦‍♂️ And here’s an example of a “long” position that was pure luck… I made just over 10%, or a bit more than 2800 NOK. Later, I treated my friend Changiz to McDonald’s while telling him about the trade. (Taxes? Yeah… forgot to mention those.) Everything felt exciting, cool — and most importantly, it was working. I had, or so I thought, mastered long positions. Buy and hold sounded reasonable. Especially since everything was going up anyway. The hardest thing at that time? Selling. I mean, if a stock is going up — why sell? And if it wasn’t going up… I just tried not to look at that red number in the terminal. In truth, I had no idea when to sell. (Still a topic I think deserves a separate deep dive.) Sometimes it went like this: I bought a stock, it dropped, then eventually crawled back into green — I’d panic-sell with a +3–5% gain, cross myself, and move on. Cutting losses? Not a chance. Back then, I just waited, hoped, stared at red numbers, and convinced myself: “Just a little longer and it’ll bounce back…” Early Signs That Something Was Off At some point, I started feeling that maybe… not everything was going as smoothly as I thought. It wasn’t anxiety, exactly — but there was a nagging thought: “Am I missing something?” Nordnet has this interesting feature where you can follow other users’ portfolios via Shareville. Not in full detail, of course, but you can see the relative weight of each holding — which stocks and funds they own and in what proportions. I found myself checking in more and more often. It seemed like I’d found a few portfolios with undeniably great performance. So I started copying some of their trades. Sometimes that worked. Other times… not at all. That was my first glimpse of what might be called a “strategy.” Well — if you can call “follow that guy, he looks like he knows what he’s doing” a strategy. The experience was mixed, but it taught me one thing: it’s not that simple. Just buying and holding doesn’t always work — especially if you don’t understand why you’re buying something in the first place. The only portfolio I still follow to this day is that of fiskaren — in my opinion, it’s one of the best examples of long-term investing done right. Discipline and Strategy When Did a Strategy Finally Emerge? On the main page of Nordnet, there’s a chart that shows your total account performance — the overall return of your portfolio. There’s also a “Compare with” option, where you can select one or more indexes: like OSEBX (the Norwegian stock market benchmark), DAX (top 40 public companies in Germany), or NASDAQ (which includes around 3,000 mostly tech-heavy companies from the US). Well… I was underperforming. Still am. Compared to all of them. I’m not sure the chart reflects absolute numbers correctly — I made a lot of transfers between my brokerage and debit accounts. That’s when I started digging into how to close that performance gap. The first thing I stumbled upon was index funds with passive management. That’s when it hit me: Beating the market over the long term is insanely hard. Especially if you’re not a professional and don’t treat investing like a full-time job. So I started diving into index funds. Each big bank has their own set of offerings — covering different countries, sectors, market caps, and so on. Lots of nuance. But the core idea was simple: It’s better to own the whole market than try to guess the winners. At the same time, I took a financial deep-dive course by Dmitry Solodin. Tons of valuable lessons: Diversification and risk management — the foundations of investing Trading tools (which I tend to avoid): shorting, options, crypto (more on that later) Planning and strategy Budgeting (Excel is immortal) The magic of compound interest I also took a few extra courses on Udemy — not always top-notch quality, but overall they expanded my perspective. I’m still far from an expert, but I started recognizing my past mistakes — and that’s already a solid win. Overall, I haven’t had any major disasters. Maybe thanks to the knowledge I got in time — and maybe a bit of luck. It was a bull market after all. And the bull forgives a lot. What I Tried: From Hot-Headed to Systematic Five years in, I can now say I’ve tried all kinds of approaches — from speculation to moderately mid-term strategies. I’ve started to understand that long-term investing is not about a year or two. Or even five. It’s an ultra-marathon. Over time, I moved away from short-term trades — anything within a day to a month. It’s exhausting and doesn’t really work in the long run — especially if you have a full-time job and can’t watch the market all day. ✅ What worked (and still works): Investing in myself — knowledge, courses, books, observation. It always pays off. Doing my own analysis, especially with Scandinavian stocks, where there’s not a lot of public hype or media noise. Fundamental analysis works. Slowly, but steadily. Also helps develop patience. Investing only what I can afford to lose — one of the most valuable lessons I’ve learned. Avoiding things I don’t fully understand, like shorts, leverage, and financial voodoo. Diversification — a cash buffer in my bank account, funds across sectors, countries, and currencies. Regular, fixed-amount investing — that’s DCA (Dollar-Cost Averaging), and it helps keep emotions and FOMO in check. ❌ What didn’t work: Copying other people’s trades. These were my worst investments. Hot-headed decisions. Most of my mistakes happened under emotional pressure. Averaging down based on emotion, just because “it dropped,” not because I read the reports and believed in the fundamentals. Trying to get rich quick. Nope. Psychology in Investing This is a big one. It’s dangerously easy to fall into cognitive biases and dive headfirst into some market swamp — while genuinely thinking you came up with the idea yourself. Walking straight into a burning house, thinking it’s a sauna. 📖 A book that gave me a lot of food for thought and changed how I approach decision-making is Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman I listened to it in audio format, and I’ll probably reread the physical copy. It made me reflect a lot — and in so many examples, I saw myself, my actions, and my investment mistakes. No spoilers here — just go read the summary. If you’re investing (especially solo), this book might just rewire how you process information. Where I Am Now My head has cooled. Risk diversification is key. Or rather — let’s put it like this: a level of diversification that’s good enough for me, right now, in this stage of life. No more chasing trains or rockets. I’m aiming for stability and predictability. And ideally — I want investing not to get in the way of life. Here’s what my current setup looks like: Kron — my main platform. “Index” plan (90% stocks / 10% bonds). I invest a fixed amount every month. Most of my capital is here, in passive funds. Nordnet — exited to cash in January 2025. What’s left is my employer pension and an IPS account. Crypto — small amounts scattered across Binance, Bybit, Firi, and Metamask. More for education than profit. Buffer funds — the classic 6-month expense cushion. I had to use it at the start of 2025, now rebuilding it bit by bit. Other assets — think “real estate, wheels, and bikes 😄.” Selling two bikes I no longer use. Everything else is unchanged. Gold and bonds — knowledge gaps here. I’m learning more now. Key Takeaways I was lucky not to lose money. Knowledge is great, but you also need real-world experience. It’s more fun with friends — sharing ideas, comparing strategies, and laughing at your “brilliant” trades. If you don’t want to spend much time on this — passive investing in index funds is a solid choice. But always read the fund descriptions. The more capital you have, the more conservative you become. That’s just me, though. P.S. Everything described here is based on my own, highly subjective experience. Your definitions, benchmarks, and approach may differ. For example, when I say “diversification” and only talk about stocks — someone’s gonna lose it. But hey, this is my personal level, in my current life stage. And it works — for now." } ]