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Bondster Review 2025 – Why I No Longer Recommend Investing

Published: August 07, 2025Leave a Comment

Bondster review 2020Bondster was once a promising addition to the European P2P lending space. When I first came across the platform, it offered what looked like solid returns, backed by buyback guarantees and a growing selection of loan originators. However, in recent years—especially into 2025—things have taken a sharp turn for the worse. After monitoring the platform, reading investor feedback, and reviewing my own experience, I can no longer recommend Bondster as a viable P2P investment option.

Red Flags That Can’t Be Ignored

Over time, what started as minor concerns grew into recurring problems. Transparency is minimal. The platform still fails to clearly communicate loan originator performance, recovery expectations, or how it handles defaults. Too often, you’re left guessing what’s really going on with your money.

What’s even more worrying is how many loan originators have defaulted on their buyback obligations—and how little Bondster has done to protect its investors. The buyback guarantee sounds reassuring in theory, but in practice, it’s often meaningless. I’ve seen more than half of some users’ portfolios go into the “60+ days late” category, with no clear resolution path.

Investor Sentiment Has Collapsed

A quick glance at recent Trustpilot reviews tells you everything you need to know. Investors are complaining about blocked funds, multi-year delays in recovery, and poor communication. The most recent reviews in mid-2025 are damning—users are not just dissatisfied; they feel deceived.

Even the most loyal supporters of Bondster are throwing in the towel. It’s no longer just about risk—it’s about trust, and that trust has eroded beyond repair.

The Bigger Problem: Misaligned Incentives

Bondster’s main priority appears to be onboarding new loan originators rather than safeguarding the interests of its existing investors. This raises questions about their long-term strategy and who they’re really working for. In my view, they’re not doing enough due diligence on originators or enforcing buyback agreements when things go south.

Add to that the lack of meaningful regulatory oversight and it becomes clear—Bondster is playing a dangerous game with investor capital. It’s privately owned, opaque in its operations, and has failed to adapt or improve in the face of repeated problems.

Looking Ahead

There was a time when I believed Bondster might evolve into a strong player in the European P2P market. That time has passed. In 2025, there are simply better options out there—platforms with stronger governance, better transparency, and actual enforcement of investor protections.

If you’re still on Bondster, I’d suggest reviewing your portfolio and starting the process of unwinding your position. And if you’re new to P2P lending, this is a reminder to look past the headline returns and focus on platform integrity and long-term reliability.

As always, do your own research, diversify smartly, and don’t fall for the promise of “guaranteed returns” without understanding who’s standing behind them—and whether they can actually pay.

Filed under: Money, P2P Lending

Crowdestor Review 2025 – A Cautionary Tale in P2P Investing

Published: August 03, 2025Leave a Comment

crowdestor review

When I first came across Crowdestor, I was intrigued. The European P2P platform had that slick, high-return, high-risk appeal—offering access to business loans, real estate, and startup financing, often with double-digit returns. It felt like the edgy cousin of Mintos or Bondora. But fast forward to today, and Crowdestor has become a textbook example of what can go wrong when aggressive marketing meets weak underwriting and zero accountability.

The Pitch vs. The Reality

Crowdestor sold a dream: investing in Baltic startups, restaurants, and real estate developments with the promise of 15–20% annual returns. The projects looked polished, the platform UI was clean, and the team seemed ambitious. But in hindsight, most of that turned out to be marketing fluff. The actual risk analysis was shallow at best. There was little transparency around borrower vetting, and in many cases, it seems loans were given to ideas rather than businesses with proven track records.

Default City

As of 2025, the number of non-performing loans on Crowdestor is staggering. It’s hard to get reliable figures because they don’t exactly lead with transparency, but if you’ve been following the platform—or worse, invested in it—you’ll know what I’m talking about. Delayed projects, vanished borrowers, and defaulted repayments have become the norm.

Some investors have portfolios where over 80% of loans are late or in recovery. That’s not a bump in the road—that’s a platform-wide failure of underwriting and follow-through. And let’s not even talk about the “Recovery Fund” they hyped up back in the day—it ended up being more of a PR gimmick than a real safety net.

The Communication Problem

Crowdestor’s investor updates are sporadic, vague, and often just an attempt to buy more time. You’ll get phrases like “we’re in negotiations,” “borrower communication ongoing,” or “legal steps under review.” It’s the same cycle: delay, deflect, disappear.

To make matters worse, they’ve pivoted to new ventures—launching crypto experiments and trying to push new products—while the original investors are left holding the bag. That tells me everything I need to know about their priorities.

My Experience

I tested the waters on Crowdestor early on, as I usually do with emerging platforms. Thankfully, I never committed more than I could afford to lose, because that’s exactly what happened. The platform became a graveyard of broken projects and empty promises. The ROI? Negative, both financially and in terms of time wasted trying to follow up on dozens of dead-end updates.

Lesson Learned

Crowdestor is a cautionary tale—one that highlights just how quickly things can unravel when flashy returns aren’t backed by solid fundamentals. In the end, it’s not about the platform’s pitch or branding—it’s about governance, accountability, and whether they actually care about their investors.

If you’re still on Crowdestor hoping for a turnaround, I genuinely hope you see some recovery. But I’ve moved on. There are better places to put your capital—places where risk is real, but at least the rules of the game are clear and enforced.

As always, don’t chase yield blindly. Look for transparency, skin in the game, and a track record that actually means something.

Filed under: Money, P2P Lending

Why I’m Switching from Weekly to Monthly Options (And You Should Too)

Published: July 29, 2025Leave a Comment

optionsOver the past few years, I’ve used options as a way to generate consistent income from stocks I own or follow closely. Like many traders, I gravitated toward weekly options. They’re fast, frequent, and seemingly efficient. Whether I was writing covered calls on MicroStrategy or selling cash-secured puts on Alphabet, the weekly premiums felt like a reliable source of cash flow.

But recently, I made a strategic shift: I’m moving away from weekly options and focusing on monthly full-term options instead. After diving deeper into the mechanics of option pricing, execution, and market structure, I’ve realized that monthlies offer superior performance in most real-world trading scenarios.

Here’s what changed my mind, and why you might want to reconsider your own approach if you’re still using weeklies as your default.

Weekly Options: What I Was Doing

My earlier approach centered around short-term trades. I’d sell weekly calls or puts to collect premium, targeting short-term moves in names like MicroStrategy (MSTR), Tesla, or Alphabet. The appeal was obvious:

  • Faster income cycles
  • High annualized returns (on paper)
  • Tactical flexibility

But in practice, I noticed several recurring issues:

  • Wider bid/ask spreads on anything beyond the front-week
  • Low open interest and less competitive pricing
  • Higher gamma risk near expiry
  • Constant need to monitor, manage, and roll positions

These frictions slowly eroded returns and added more stress than necessary.

Enter the Monthly, Full-Term Option

So what is a full-term monthly option? It’s the option that expires on the third Friday of each month. These were the original standardized options listed by the Options Clearing Corporation (OCC) when listed options began trading in the 1970s.

Weekly options, on the other hand, were introduced much later (2005 by CBOE) to meet demand for more flexibility and short-term trading instruments. While they serve a purpose, they were essentially bolted on to the original system.

And it shows.

The Structural Advantage of Monthly Options

  1. More Premium in Real Terms
    Monthly options consistently offer more time value per trade. Yes, weeklies may look more “efficient” per day on paper, but in practice, monthlies return more net premium due to better execution and tighter spreads.
  2. Superior Liquidity and Tighter Spreads
    Market makers prioritize monthly expiries. The bid/ask spreads are narrower, meaning you lose less on the buy and sell side.
  3. Better Open Interest and Volume
    Full-term options attract more traders. More liquidity = better fills and less slippage.
  4. Simpler Management and Rolling
    Weekly positions expire quickly, requiring more active management. Monthly options give you breathing room to manage positions deliberately.
  5. Lower Gamma Risk
    As weekly options approach expiration, price sensitivity (gamma) spikes. With monthlies, that curve is smoother.

If You’re Holding for a Month Anyway, Use the Monthly

This was a big insight for me: I realized that even though I was trading weekly options, I was often holding them for 2–4 weeks before rolling or closing. So why not start with the monthly to begin with?

Instead of targeting an August 30th expiry (a weekly), I now look at the August 16th full-term option. Or even better, go out to September 20th, sell the call, and manage or roll it earlier if needed.

You’re not locked in. You’re just operating on more favorable terms.

Why Weeklies Can Look Tempting: Volatility Magnifies the Premium

One of the big reasons I leaned into weekly options — especially with names like MicroStrategy (MSTR) — was the sheer volatility. When a stock regularly moves 5–10% in a week, the premiums on short-dated options get inflated fast. That meant:

  • Juicy implied volatility (IV) priced into the premiums
  • The ability to quickly collect income, sometimes multiple times in a month
  • An opportunity to sell rich options even when far out-of-the-money

And it worked — for a while. MSTR’s wild swings made weeklies feel like an income machine. But as I looked deeper, I realized that those rich premiums came at a cost:

  • Assignments became more frequent and harder to control
  • Bid/ask spreads on later-dated weeklies were sloppy
  • Managing positions every few days started to feel like a job

It became clear that even in high-IV environments, the structural advantages of monthly options often win out, especially when you’re trading size or managing a portfolio systematically.

Are High IV Weeklies Really That Much Better?

It’s true that weekly options often show higher implied volatility per day than monthlies. On paper, that makes them look more profitable. But here’s the reality:

Issue Why It Hurts Weeklies
Wider bid/ask spreads Slippage reduces your actual collected premium
Thin open interest Poor fills or difficulty closing positions
Gamma spikes Rapid, unpredictable price moves near expiry
More frequent management More trades = more fees + more stress
Assignment risk Especially with short-dated ITM options

So while weeklies may look more profitable in high-volatility stocks, monthlies often deliver more net premium with less friction, especially when scaled.

Who Weekly Options Are Still Good For

Despite all the advantages of monthly options, there are still specific situations—and traders—for whom weeklies make sense.

  • Earnings Plays & Volatility Events: Traders who want to sell options around earnings or Fed announcements often prefer weeklies for their precision. The ability to target a specific date lets you isolate risk to that event window.
  • Short-Term Directional Bets: If you’re speculating on a 1–3 day move in a stock, weeklies give you the cheapest and most gamma-sensitive exposure.
  • Scalpers and Day Traders: Those managing trades by the hour or day often favor weeklies for their fast-moving nature. They’re nimble tools in the hands of professionals.
  • High IV Environments: In stocks with elevated implied volatility (like MSTR), weeklies may offer juicy premiums that justify the risks—if managed closely.
  • Exit Tactics: If a monthly covered call is expiring in-the-money, you may prefer to let the shares get called away and switch to puts rather than roll at a poor price. This can be a cleaner transition than forcing a roll for little premium or upside.

In short, weeklies are best for traders who are both tactically aggressive and highly active. They require more time, tighter discipline, and the ability to move quickly. They’re not inherently bad—but they’re often used inefficiently by traders who would be better off with the stability and performance of full-term options.

Final Thoughts

Weekly options are great for tactical plays, earnings speculation, or quick gamma scalps. But for consistent income, clean execution, and strategic control, monthly full-term options are superior.

This isn’t just theory. It’s a shift I’ve made in my own trading, and it’s already improved both my performance and my peace of mind.

If you’re looking for less friction, better fills, and stronger long-term returns, consider making the switch.

Monthly might not sound exciting—but it works.

Filed under: Money, Stock market

Why I Got My Child a Revolut Junior Account

Published: July 25, 2025Leave a Comment

Revolut junior

As parents, we want to give our kids the best shot at a successful future. For me, that includes teaching them how money works—not just how to spend it, but how to think about it. I recently opened a Revolut Junior account for my son, and it’s been an eye-opening experience—for both of us.

A Better Way to Learn About Money

When I was growing up, money was a limitation. We didn’t have much, and that naturally shaped our values. For many in my generation, “No, we can’t afford that” was a daily reality. That’s no longer the case for a lot of families in Europe today—including mine.

That’s a good thing—but it also means our children may grow up with no understanding of what things are worth. They might hear “yes” more often than “no,” simply because we can now afford what our parents couldn’t.

This is why I wanted to introduce financial literacy early, before habits form and before money becomes just something that “comes out of the card.”

Weekly Allowance: No Strings Attached

Right now, my son receives €10 per week. It’s not tied to chores. It’s not a reward system. It’s a tool. The goal is to help him learn to make small decisions, evaluate trade-offs, and feel the impact of running out of money.

One friend in our GLC community joked: “a kind of universal basic income, then?” I get the humor—but the point is to separate money from obedience. I’m not paying him to exist. I’m helping him build a relationship with money.

We’ll probably introduce earning opportunities in the future, but they won’t be the usual “take the trash out” jobs. Instead, we’ll look for creative or productive projects where he can add real value and learn the power of entrepreneurial thinking.

The Fun Side: Customizing the Card

One of the unexpected highlights was customizing the card together. We picked the design, added his name, and made it feel uniquely his. That small interaction gave him ownership and pride.

When the card arrived in the mail, it was a big moment. Kids almost never receive traditional post anymore, so that envelope with his name on it made the whole thing tangible and memorable. It gave him a sense of responsibility and excitement about using it.

What Revolut Junior Gets Right

  • ✅ A prepaid card linked to your Revolut account
  • ✅ Full parental control with instant notifications
  • ✅ A fun, simple app interface designed for kids
  • ✅ Built-in tools for savings goals, tasks, and allowance
  • ✅ Card customization that makes it feel personal

It’s also ideal for travel and online purchases—no more sharing your own card or handing over cash in unfamiliar currencies.

Looking Ahead: Financial Confidence

At the moment, my son is already curious about investing. He can read a stock chart and tell me what’s happening—though of course it’s too early for him to invest responsibly. But that curiosity is the seed that leads to long-term understanding.

Many of us were never taught the difference between an object’s price and its value. With tools like Revolut Junior, we can help our kids build that distinction from the start and grow into financially confident adults.

Want to Get Started?

Revolut makes it easy to open a Junior account—even on the free Standard plan, you can create one child account and start introducing financial education right away.

If you want access to additional features like savings goals, tasks, multiple child accounts, and priority support, you can always upgrade to a Premium or Metal plan later on.

👉 Click here to sign up for Revolut using my affiliate link.

It’s free to get started, and helps support the blog. Thanks!

Filed under: Banking, Money

How to Hedge Currency Risk in Global Investing: A Simple Guide for Retail Investors

Published: July 19, 2025Leave a Comment

hedgingInvesting across borders opens up new opportunities for yield, growth, and diversification. But with international investing comes exposure to foreign currencies—and that means currency risk.If your home currency is the euro, US dollar, or any other, and you invest in assets priced in a different currency (like the British pound, Japanese yen, or Swiss franc), shifts in exchange rates will impact your actual return. Even if the investment performs well in local terms, currency fluctuations can boost or shrink your returns once converted back.Fortunately, there are effective strategies to manage this risk. Below are three simple approaches retail investors can use—along with a deeper look into how currency-hedged ETFs actually work.

1. Use Currency-Hedged ETFs

Best for: Investors who prefer a hands-off approach

Many ETF providers offer currency-hedged versions of their funds. These are designed to deliver the performance of the underlying investments while neutralizing the impact of currency movements relative to your base currency.

How does this work in practice?

Fund providers use rolling forward contracts—agreements to exchange currencies at a set rate on a future date. Each month (or sometimes weekly), the ETF manager enters into new contracts that match the value of the underlying portfolio. If the foreign currency weakens, gains from the forward contract offset the loss. If the currency strengthens, the gain in value is canceled out—but your exposure remains aligned with the core asset, not the currency.

This type of hedging is mechanical and systematic, often with little to no day-to-day impact for the investor. You just hold the fund as you would any normal ETF.

Examples for euro-based investors:

  • iShares MSCI Japan EUR Hedged UCITS ETF
  • Xtrackers FTSE 100 EUR Hedged UCITS ETF

How to do it:

  • Log into your brokerage account
  • Search for the hedged version of the fund (look for your currency and the word “hedged” in the name)
  • Review the factsheet to confirm hedging frequency and method
  • Buy as you would with any ETF

This approach works well when your goal is to track the equity or bond performance of a specific market, without letting currency fluctuations interfere.

2. Build a Natural Hedge Through Portfolio Diversification

Best for: Long-term investors with global exposure

A natural hedge uses the principle of balance. By holding assets in different currencies and regions, you avoid the risk of being overly exposed to just one. If one currency drops, gains in others may cushion the impact.

For example, an investor who holds:

  • US stocks (USD exposure)
  • Eurozone real estate (EUR exposure)
  • UK dividend stocks (GBP exposure)
  • A global bond ETF (mixed currency exposure)

…is unlikely to suffer major damage from a single currency movement.

How to do it:

  • Analyze your portfolio by currency exposure
  • Identify concentration risks
  • Add international exposure gradually across geographies
  • Rebalance once or twice a year

This approach relies on long-term alignment and reduces the need for ongoing management or financial products.

3. Use Forward Currency Contracts (with Help)

Best for: Larger portfolios or investors working with private banks or advisors

Forward contracts allow you to lock in a specific exchange rate for a future transaction. These are useful if you expect to sell an asset or receive dividends and want to fix the future cash flow in your local currency.

Banks or asset managers typically manage this process. For example, an investor planning to repatriate £100,000 from a UK investment next year might agree to exchange it at a fixed rate today, protecting against adverse currency moves.

How to do it:

  • Contact your advisor or bank
  • Ask about currency hedging using forwards
  • Match contract dates with your expected income or exits

Final Thoughts

Global investing introduces currency risk, but this doesn’t need to be a source of stress. Whether you prefer the simplicity of a hedged ETF or the elegance of long-term portfolio balance, you have the tools to control your exposure. Choose the method that fits your strategy and move forward with confidence.

Filed under: Money, Stock market

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Jean Galea

Investor | Dad | Global Citizen | Athlete

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