Over the past ten years I’ve been learning Spanish in different ways. Here are my favourite resources.
This year I will be attending Affiliate World Europe for the first time. I’ve been to Affiliate Summit before so I’m curious to see the differences between the two conferences.
If you’re also attending Affiliate World Europe drop me a line, I’d love to meet this blog’s readers there.
See you all in Barcelona!
This is the hardware that makes up my office. These items are all I need to run my business from wherever I am around the world. Since I’ve given up the digital nomad days and am now firmly based in Barcelona, I’ve had the opportunity to make a few additions to my setup. While some items are not very portable, most of my hardware can easily be packed and moved around to new locations.
The main change in last year’s setup was the addition of an Apple iMac 27″ computer, and my selling of the MacBook Pro 15″. I now use just one monitor for working, so it’s either the iMac or the small MacBook when I’m working from cafes or traveling. I sold off the Dell external monitor since I was not using it. I tried to set it up as a second monitor on my desk but realized it was more of a distraction than a help. The iMac has a gorgeous screen and more than enough real estate to work on. I can have two windows side by side comfortably. I still felt the need for some type of third screen, so I got myself the latest iPad Pro 11 inch.
I also got the new Apple Pencil to go along with the new iPad. I think there is a significant improvement over the writing experience of the previous generation of the pencil, so I’m happy with the purchase. I’ve been using my iPad as a reading device, 2nd screen, and note taking device (straight to Evernote) when I’m at meetings or seminars.
I was planning on upgrading my iPhone this year, however, when I took it in for the battery replacement scheme, they replaced it with a new one since for some reason they couldn’t replace the battery in the old phone. The new phone performed pretty well so I felt little need to upgrade. I did buy an iPhone XS Max to try it out but returned it after a week. For my needs, it didn’t make sense to make the upgrade. The only argument to be made for the upgrade was the better camera quality, but instead, I spent the money on a DSLR setup and got back into photography. Since I became a dad in December I have been taking lots of photos of our baby, so I wanted to have the very best equipment.
My wife did get the iPhone XS and handed down her iPhone 7 to me to use as a secondary phone. This year, I took the step of removing distracting applications from my main phone onto a secondary phone (initially using an old Nexus phone I had lying around). The main apps I removed were Facebook, Messenger, Whatsapp, Wallapop and Instagram. Basically, all apps that emit notifications and are sources for cheap and easy dopamine hits. I am less anxious and more productive now so the experiment was a complete success. Since my wife was giving up her old phone, I took the opportunity to use it as a secondary phone, so when I really need to use those apps I have a good phone to use them on. However the phone is up for sale so if I get a good offer it will also go and I’ll switch back to the Nexus, as I don’t use those apps often now anyway.
I am tempted to upgrade to the GoPro 7 from the GoPro 6 that I had bought last year. However, I will only do that if I manage to get a good offer for my current GoPro. If I don’t, then I’m happy to keep using the GoPro 6, as it’s only an incremental improvement from the 6 to the 7. I use the GoPro almost every day to record padel matches and to take videos of our baby in 4k.
I also upgraded my Kindle Paperwhite to the latest edition as it is now waterproof, which lets me use the Kindle in environments such as pools or the seaside. I also gained lots more storage space, which was important as my burgeoning library was edging closer to the older Kindle’s my memory limit.
My Logitech MX Master mouse died this year, so I replaced it with the newer MX Master 2S. It’s got some incremental improvements but doesn’t really change anything for me.
Another big upgrade this year was the purchase of a standing desk. I had been dreaming of getting one for many years and now that I finally have a base in Barcelona and decent home office, it was time to take the plunge. After conducting lots of research, I settled on the Fully Jarvis and the excellent Topo Mini mat, which is an essential addition to the desk itself. I am very happy with the combo and have logged in many hours in the standing position. Considering the fact that I can’t stand for more than 30 minutes at a time before the soles of my feet start aching, being able to spend hours working while standing is an incredible achievement. Apart from the health benefits of working while standing, I also found it to be a more productive position for me as it helps me focus more and fidget less. I’m usually listening to music while I work and tend to move around in short dance-like movements while typing, and these movements really help me keep my fingers tapping away at the keyboard and my mind focused. If I were sitting down I would more likely get my hands off the keyboard and start fidgeting, open unrelated browser tabs or leave the desk outright to get a coffee or other random distraction.
I also bought the Harman Kardon Onyx Studio 4 which is an excellent Bluetooth speaker and is better than the UE Megaboom I had before. I do regret buying it at a high price though, HK slashed the price soon after launch, so I feel a bit conned. Buying a speaker at €400 and seeing it later available at €180 doesn’t feel good. I’m satisfied with the device itself, but not by this move on HK’s part. I also don’t use it that much now that we have the baby around as I tend to be wearing noise-canceling headphones, so I don’t feel like I’m amortizing the cost in a reasonable way.
Speaking of noise-canceling headphones, I was getting pretty annoyed by the fact that I had daily troubles in connecting the Bose headphones to my Samsung tv, and when I tried the newer Sony WH1000XM3 in a shop I was blown away by the quality and purchased them. I’m trying to sell the Bose headphones as they are in a very good condition and I don’t really need two pairs of headphones, but I’m very happy with the Sony cans. As a bonus, they’re also more comfortable to wear for longer periods when compared to the Bose. The Bose headphones are probably more discrete, so could be an option for using when I’m walking outside.
I sold off the Griffin laptop stand, Magic Mouse and Magic Trackpad due to lack of use.
Spain has a very good train service, especially the high-speed one called Renfe Ave.
I’ve had to travel between Barcelona and Madrid several times, and here’s how I found the best prices.
First of all you should know that there are three seat types:
I try to avoid Turista as they are not that comfortable and it’s a more crowded cabin. However, sometimes the only way to travel in the silent cabin is to choose the Turista seats. The silent cabin is meant for those who don’t want any noise during their trip. You have to use headphones for any music and can’t chat and be boisterous. In the other cabins especially the Turista class ones, things can get noisy, so yet more reason to avoid them.
One of my favorite ways to invest in Spanish real estate is through Housers. In this post, I will give you an example of a success story from my portfolio.
We’ll be considering the project named Pez; a buy-to-sell opportunity in Madrid. In this case the legal form of the investment was a loan to the developer.
Here’s how the project timeline went:
The visual information provided for the project was actually quite scant. As investors, we only got a few standard photos of the area where the apartment is located, the floor plans and two renders of how the refurbished apartment would look like.
We did, however, get some PDFs about the project which gave us more insight into the strategy:
Based on that information I decided to invest in the project, although I would have liked some more photos and plans for the project.
A bit more than a year later, the project was sold.
Once the project was sold, there was some more information available about the internals of the project.
Pez was a buy-to-sell opportunity with an expected return of 6,59% in 12 months, that ended with an annualized IRR of 4,42%. The yield is the same 4,42% since the project took 12 months from start to finish.
Net Yield from the Sale: Represents the dividends that the investor will receive derived from the sale. (12 months)
IRR: Internal rate of annualized return of the investor. It’s the interest rate or yield offered by this investment. It serves to evaluate the profitability of the project and compare it with other types of investment in the market.
A few days after the project was sold, I received capital and interest in my Housers account, closing off a successful investment.
From the interest paid by the developer, a 10% Housers commission was deducted along with 19% for IRPF (Spanish tax). The net interest was then sent to my account.
Have you invested with Housers yet? What has your experience been like?
Online Entrepreneur. Global Citizen. Padel Player.
Founder of WP Mayor & WP RSS Aggregator.
