♠ Yes I are ♠

Connor glared up at Justin and instinctively reached to his pocket to check his favourite knife was safely stashed where it should be. Justin was taller and stronger. Even with a bullet hole in the arm, Connor was unlikely to win in a fair fight. But he had no intention of playing fair.

“She has the capacity to save humanity, show her some respect,” Justin said through gritted teeth.

“What makes you think I give a shit about humanity? Humanity doesn’t give a shit about me. I’ve been locked in my house for the last eight years …”

“No trial, no jury, no appeal, blah, blah.” Justin glared down at the snorting animal in front of him. “I’ve heard it a hundred times. Every member we recruit to the Drop has the same self-pity sob story bullshit.”

“I should just kill you now, Chrome Boy.” Connor snarled at the larger man.

“Try it. See what happens.” A newcomer stepped from the shadows of a support pillar, crossbow levelled at Connor’s crotch.

Another one appeared, also brandishing a crossbow. This one handed Justin a gun.

Gertie leaped from the buggy and stood in the middle of the developing drama. “Calm it. This is much bigger than you or I.”

“Me.”

“What?”

“Bigger than you or me.”

“What is?”

“Just shoot him, for God’s sake.”

“Nobody’s shooting anybody.”

“Do it.”

“No.”

“OK, I will.”

“I dare you.”

“I will.”

“Aaarrgh!”

⛥

Read Big Day Out in weekly installments on FaceBook or WordPress. Receive notifications via Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, GoodReads, or Amazon, where you’ll find the whole mad mercenary romp through the dystopian nightmare that Covid-19 might have become. Might still become, if we don’t keep our self-appointed leaders on a very short leash.

Download FREE sampler previews of all my books – and some complete short stories – from PCloud at www.bit.ly/FreeBurning. Or read them on Kindle Unlimited.

No charge. No obligation. No sign-in. Read for free. Share with your friends.

Anyone in Johannesburg who would like a signed copy (of any of my books) can have one delivered to their door by Big Bad Wolf Motorcycle Maniac Deliveries. No charge for delivery.

Also available at Inner Journeys in Edenvale.

⛥

For a different experience, listen to these weekly episodes as Spotify podcasts, Apple podcasts, or Google podcasts.

⛥

If you have a book you’d like to publish, contact me to claim your 15 minutes of bestselling fame at No.1 on Amazon. Find all the above details and links at www.amazon.com/author/burning.

In case you missed the link while listening to the podcast, that’s www.amazon.com/author/burning.

⛥

Cheers.

($) Creeping death ($)

Let’s distinguish between fixed assets and liquid assets. Fixed assets include your house, car and jewellery, solid things you own.

Liquid assets include your bank accounts and investments, amounts that you can cash in at any time to pay bills or settle debts.

Fixed term investments, which you can’t touch until the due date, form a different class of asset, for present purposes.

High earners often strive to accumulate fixed assets, believing this is the way to build wealth. But they often destroy their liquidity along the way. So they end up owning lots of fixed assets, but with huge debts, large monthly instalments and no available cash.

There are two ways to become insolvent. Having more debts than assets, or not being able to meet your financial obligations as they become due. The second one tends to creep up on people, resulting in a sudden sale of assets at less than their actual value in order to generate cash and avoid bankruptcy.

Millions of people are happy to live this way, struggling year after year from one paycheck to the next. Either because they’ve overextended themselves on acquiring fixed assets, or because they have more debt than they can afford.

Don’t be like these people.

($)

Stop living from salary to salary. Achieve Financial Independence. Retire Early. Join the FIRE movement igniting the world.

Follow these weekly posts for solid advice on how to escape the rat race, covering material contained in Hard Money.

No obligation, no pressure – ever.

This is no get-rich-quick scheme. It won’t be easy. That’s why it’s called Hard Money.

Work while they sleep. Learn while they party. Save while they spend. Then live like they dream.

If you have a book you’d like to publish, contact me to claim your 15 minutes of bestselling fame at No.1 on Amazon.

Anyone in Johannesburg who would like a signed copy (of any of my books) can have one delivered to their door by Big Bad Wolf Motorcycle Maniac Deliveries. No charge for delivery.

www.amazon.com/author/burning

Also available at Inner Journeys in Edenvale.

♠ Drive ♠

Connor would have loved to have seen the look on Noecker’s face as they burst out and took a hard left, tyres screeching on the road. Some things are best left to the imagination.

Shock was overcome quickly as Noecker’s orders echoed down the street. “GET THEM!” Police vehicles’ engines fired into life. Infantry shouldered arms and pointed them in Connor’s direction.

The spotlight was turned on the buggy as it sped away from the patrol. Connor aimed and returned fire, shooting at the source of the light. Automatic weapons hurled bullets in the buggy’s general direction. A hail of lead fizzing around them, over them, smashing into buildings but missing the buggy. Just like a Hollywood movie.

Justin drove with his one good arm, slowing as they turned a corner.

“Keep going,” Connor urged from the back, his body thrown to the side by the force. He returned fire again.

There was an explosion and the sound of screams as one of the police vehicles burst into flame.

“How did that happen?” Connor was impressed with his own shooting.

“We have friends.” Justin grunted as he straightened the wheel.

“The resistance lives!” Gertie was elated in the passenger seat.

Justin slowed as he steered the buggy, turning left and right through Melville’s grid of streets by the light of the moon.

“Head north,” Connor called over his shoulder. “We need to get this crazy to Lanseria and out of here before midnight.”

Justin slammed hard on the brakes and brought the buggy to a stop under a freeway bridge.

He jumped out. “You’d better stop calling her crazy, old man!”

Connor jumped down from the back of the buggy. The engine was giving him a burnt arse anyway.

“Or what?”

⛥

Read Big Day Out in weekly installments on FaceBook or WordPress. Receive notifications via Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, GoodReads, or Amazon, where you’ll find the whole mad mercenary romp through the dystopian nightmare that Covid-19 might have become. Might still become, if we don’t keep our self-appointed leaders on a very short leash.

Download FREE sampler previews of all my books – and some complete short stories – from PCloud at www.bit.ly/FreeBurning. Or read them on Kindle Unlimited.

No charge. No obligation. No sign-in. Read for free. Share with your friends.

Anyone in Johannesburg who would like a signed copy (of any of my books) can have one delivered to their door by Big Bad Wolf Motorcycle Maniac Deliveries. No charge for delivery.

Also available at Inner Journeys in Edenvale.

⛥

For a different experience, listen to these weekly episodes as Spotify podcasts, Apple podcasts, or Google podcasts.

⛥

If you have a book you’d like to publish, contact me to claim your 15 minutes of bestselling fame at No.1 on Amazon. Find all the above details and links at www.amazon.com/author/burning.

In case you missed the link while listening to the podcast, that’s www.amazon.com/author/burning.

⛥

Cheers.

($) Jugglers and clowns ($)

Assets – liabilities = net wealth

This is your personal balance sheet. We’ll explore it a bit more in later chapters.

List and total all your assets – your bank accounts, your house (market value), your car, your jewellery – and deduct all your debt – overdraft, mortgage, balance owing on your car, credit cards, loans, store accounts. The result is how much you are worth. Financially, not as a human being.

This might be a negative number, in which case you have more debt than assets. This is a problem. You are actually insolvent. This isn’t necessarily the end of the world. You may be able to juggle your cashflow indefinitely, robbing Peter to pay Paul. You might even be able to pull yourself out of the situation, by settling your debts over time. If not, you may be forced to declare bankruptcy.

“How did you go bankrupt?” a character asks in Ernest Hemingway’s “The Sun Also Rises.”

“Two ways,” Mike replies. “Gradually and then suddenly.” 

Don’t be like Mike.

($)

Stop living from salary to salary. Achieve Financial Independence. Retire Early. Join the FIRE movement igniting the world.

Follow these weekly posts for solid advice on how to escape the rat race, covering material contained in Hard Money.

No obligation, no pressure – ever.

This is no get-rich-quick scheme. It won’t be easy. That’s why it’s called Hard Money.

Work while they sleep. Learn while they party. Save while they spend. Then live like they dream.

If you have a book you’d like to publish, contact me to claim your 15 minutes of bestselling fame at No.1 on Amazon.

Anyone in Johannesburg who would like a signed copy (of any of my books) can have one delivered to their door by Big Bad Wolf Motorcycle Maniac Deliveries. No charge for delivery.

Also available at Inner Journeys in Edenvale.

♠ Fun, fun, fun ♠

Inside was dark. Justin reached for a light switch, but Connor stopped him. “No need to tell them more than they already know. Where we going?”

Forced to discard his crossbow, and still favouring his wounded arm, Justin stepped carefully to the centre of the room and felt around a dark mass that took up most of the space. Grunting, he walked around the object, bending down on each side.

“WE KNOW YOU’RE IN THERE. YOU CAN’T GET AWAY.” A spotlight hit the shop window, forcing Connor’s eyes away from the glare. “GIVE US THE GIRL. THROW OUT YOUR WEAPONS. AND I PROMISE TO MAKE THIS QUICK. THAT’S THE BEST OFFER YOU’RE GOING TO GET, CONNAUGHT.”

Justin was back, reaching for the girl. “Friends of yours, old man?”

Connor handed her over before reloading. “You could say we have history. It ends tonight.”

Justin was lowering Gertie into the vehicle that filled the room. “For all of us, maybe. I can’t use my arm. You’ll have to ride shotgun.”

“Do you have a shotgun?”

“Figure of speech. Get on.”

Connor stepped over, still keeping one eye on the street outside. He could only see shadows, vague shapes, snatches of movement. But he heard the grunted commands. In Noecker’s own words – time was few.

“What is this? A beach buggy? It’s only got two seats.”

Justin winked, almost imperceptible in the glare of the spotlight. “Sit on the back, grab hold of the roll bar, and don’t let go.” He turned the key and the powerful engine kicked into life.

Connor did as he suggested, Justin hit the accelerator, and the beach buggy shot through the shop window, showering the street with shards of glass.

⛥

Read Big Day Out in weekly installments on FaceBook or WordPress. Receive notifications via Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, GoodReads, or Amazon, where you’ll find the whole mad mercenary romp through the dystopian nightmare that Covid-19 might have become. Might still become, if we don’t keep our self-appointed leaders on a very short leash.

Download FREE sampler previews of all my books – and some complete short stories – from PCloud at www.bit.ly/FreeBurning. Or read them on Kindle Unlimited.

No charge. No obligation. No sign-in. Read for free. Share with your friends.

Anyone in Johannesburg who would like a signed copy (of any of my books) can have one delivered to their door by Big Bad Wolf Motorcycle Maniac Deliveries. No charge for delivery.

Also available at Inner Journeys in Edenvale.

⛥

For a different experience, listen to these weekly episodes as Spotify podcasts, Apple podcasts, or Google podcasts.

⛥

If you have a book you’d like to publish, contact me to claim your 15 minutes of bestselling fame at No.1 on Amazon. Find all the above details and links at www.amazon.com/author/burning.

In case you missed the link while listening to the podcast, that’s www.amazon.com/author/burning.

⛥

Cheers.

($) Boldly go ($)

William Shatner requested stock options instead of cash when he was hired to be the face of Priceline in 1997. His wise negotiating paid off over the years when the company’s stock went through the roof.

He is quoted as stating that if saving money is wrong, he doesn’t want to be right.

Be like William Shatner.

Income = net salary + investment income + other income (part-time work, lottery winnings, garage sale)

Most of your initial savings will come from your salary. In Chapter 8, we’ll discuss some ways to protect your salary, to keep your job and to maximize the income you earn from it.

In these initial stages, some people find it helps to take on a second job, even if it’s only on weekends. Especially if they need to settle a mountain of debt before they can start saving properly.

As you build your wealth, you will start to earn more and more interest, maybe some dividends. You will also experience capital growth when you diversify into other investment types. These all add to your “income.”

Your ultimate goal might be to reach the point where your passive income and capital growth from investments is enough to cover your monthly expenses. At this point, you can tell your boss what to do with his nine to five.

($)

Stop living from salary to salary. Achieve Financial Independence. Retire Early. Join the FIRE movement igniting the world.

Follow these weekly posts for solid advice on how to escape the rat race, covering material contained in Hard Money.

No obligation, no pressure – ever.

This is no get-rich-quick scheme. It won’t be easy. That’s why it’s called Hard Money.

Work while they sleep. Learn while they party. Save while they spend. Then live like they dream.

If you have a book you’d like to publish, contact me to claim your 15 minutes of bestselling fame at No.1 on Amazon.

Anyone in Johannesburg who would like a signed copy (of any of my books) can have one delivered to their door by Big Bad Wolf Motorcycle Maniac Deliveries. No charge for delivery.

Also available at Inner Journeys in Edenvale.

♠ Dream of the archer ♠

If Connor hadn’t ducked to avoid the expected crossbow bolt, he might have caught one of the unexpected bullets that ricocheted off the doorway.

Justin did catch one. Gertie broke free and launched herself across the gap, wrapping her arms around him as he tried to move deeper into the doorway to find cover.

“Get off me! Get down!”

“But Justin –”

He swung her into the wooden door hidden in the shadows. The thud drowned out her grunt. Connor rolled to join them, not sure yet where the gunshots were coming from or which of his neatly-filed alphabetical backup plans was now in play. He was pretty sure he’d exhausted the Roman alphabet by now.

“You got a car, Chrome Boy?”

Justin was preoccupied, trying to hold Gertie upright while inspecting the bullet hole in his bulging bicep.

Connor tapped the hole with the tip of his gun. “Clean. Went straight through. But you’ll have a few more if we don’t get out of here.”

Justin had been swearing beneath his breath. “Inside.”

Connor shook his head. “Bad idea. We can’t hide from these people. We need to move.”

Justin heaved Gertie towards Connor. “Catch.” He reached for the door. “Trust me, old man. Inside.”

⛥

Read Big Day Out in weekly installments on FaceBook or WordPress. Receive notifications via Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, GoodReads, or Amazon, where you’ll find the whole mad mercenary romp through the dystopian nightmare that Covid-19 might have become. Might still become, if we don’t keep our self-appointed leaders on a very short leash.

Check out Beyond, a new horror anthology containing one of my short stories. http://getbook.at/tgvb_beyond

Download FREE sampler previews of all my books – and some complete short stories – from PCloud at www.bit.ly/FreeBurning. Or read them on Kindle Unlimited.

No charge. No obligation. No sign-in. Read for free. Share with your friends.

Anyone in Johannesburg who would like a signed copy (of any of my books) can have one delivered to their door by Big Bad Wolf Motorcycle Maniac Deliveries. No charge for delivery.

Also available at Inner Journeys in Edenvale.

⛥

For a different experience, listen to these weekly episodes as Spotify podcasts, Apple podcasts, or Google podcasts.

⛥

If you have a book you’d like to publish, contact me to claim your 15 minutes of bestselling fame at No.1 on Amazon. Find all the above details and links at www.amazon.com/author/burning.

In case you missed the link while listening to the podcast, that’s www.amazon.com/author/burning.

⛥

Cheers.

($) Beyond money (pun intended) ($)

While there are ways to increase your income, it’s pretty much fixed at any point in time. Don’t let that limit you in terms of building wealth. Decide how much you want to save. Set yourself a target for the end of the year. Make it a stretch, but not completely unreachable.

Then look at the resulting equation. Deduct your monthly savings amount from your net income. This tells you how much you have left to spend every month.

We’ll discuss this in more detail in the following chapters.

Think of kids being offered 2 marshmallows now or 4 marshmallows later. It’s called deferred gratification. You can spend your money now, or save it, grow it, and have more to spend later.

Your patience and sacrifice will be rewarded.

Don’t be like the greedy kid.

Savings x 12 = annual increase/ (decrease) in wealth

If you spend less than you earn for twelve months, your wealth will have increased by the end of the year.

It really is that simple.

We won’t be covering stock market investments in this book. My aim is to get you to the point where you are saving regularly and have scraped together enough cash to start dabbling with more sophisticated investments. These higher-risk investments are more volatile and could increase or decrease your wealth no matter what you do on a monthly basis, although – over the long term – they should result in higher growth.

($)

Stop living from salary to salary. Achieve Financial Independence. Retire Early. Join the FIRE movement igniting the world.

Follow these weekly posts for solid advice on how to escape the rat race, covering material contained in Hard Money.

No obligation, no pressure – ever.

This is no get-rich-quick scheme. It won’t be easy. That’s why it’s called Hard Money.

Work while they sleep. Learn while they party. Save while they spend. Then live like they dream.

Check out Beyond, a new horror anthology containing one of my short stories. http://getbook.at/tgvb_beyond

If you have a book you’d like to publish, chat to me to claim your 15 minutes of bestselling fame at No.1 on Amazon.

Anyone in Johannesburg who would like a signed copy (of any of my books) can have one delivered to their door by Big Bad Wolf Motorcycle Maniac Deliveries. No charge for delivery.

Also available at Inner Journeys in Edenvale.

♠ Fairies wear boots ♠

Gertie laughed. The laugh of the insane. “You always were two steps behind.”

Connor turned to face her, his hands on her shoulders. “We’re going to find a car and get the hell out of here.” Built-up area, plenty of residential, there had to be something.

Steal a police vehicle? Let’s call that plan B.

He peered up and down the street. Listened. Waited. Some shouting from 4^th Avenue, otherwise nothing.

He pushed her out of the alley, hand on the collar of her top, gun fixed in her spine. “Don’t try anything stupid.”

A crossbow bolt whizzed past his ear and thudded into the brick wall behind him.

“Far enough. Give me the girl.” From the shadows of a doorway emerged a man. Well over six feet tall, biceps bulging from beneath his top. Connor couldn’t make out any features in the light.

Except the glittering crossbow.

“Is that chrome?”

Gertie was positively vibrating with excitement. Still laughing hysterically. Still annoying the hell out of her would-be rescuer.

“Just step back, man. There’s been enough bloodshed.”

Connor did step back. He also kept a firm grip on the girl’s collar.

“No, really. Justin, is it? Is that chrome? Or pixie dust?”

⛥

Read Big Day Out in weekly installments on FaceBook or WordPress. Receive notifications via Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, GoodReads, or Amazon, where you’ll find the whole mad mercenary romp through the dystopian nightmare that Covid-19 might have become. Might still become, if we don’t keep our self-appointed leaders on a very short leash.

Check out Beyond, a new horror anthology containing one of my short stories. http://getbook.at/tgvb_beyond

Download FREE sampler previews of all my books – and some complete short stories – from PCloud at www.bit.ly/FreeBurning. Or read them on Kindle Unlimited.

No charge. No obligation. No sign-in. Read for free. Share with your friends.

Anyone in Johannesburg who would like a signed copy (of any of my books) can have one delivered to their door by Big Bad Wolf Motorcycle Maniac Deliveries. No charge for delivery.

Also available at Inner Journeys in Edenvale.

⛥

For a different experience, listen to these weekly episodes as Spotify podcasts, Apple podcasts, or Google podcasts.

⛥

If you have a book you’d like to publish, contact me to claim your 15 minutes of bestselling fame at No.1 on Amazon. Find all the above details and links at www.amazon.com/author/burning.

In case you missed the link while listening to the podcast, that’s www.amazon.com/author/burning.

⛥

Cheers.