I am now almost 8 months into my time at Morningstar. And I have spent a lot of that time trying to think less about what to invest in and more about the way I invest.

In that spirit, I described the “watch and wait” approach to investing in high quality companies and shared my assessment of a candidate for my watchlist.

I also allowed myself to dream about two companies I’d love to own at the right price, again through the lens of strict investing criteria.

A bright spot in November was the continued rise of our Ask the analyst feature, which gives you the chance to quiz our equity research team on the ASX stocks and industries under they cover.

This month we fielded reader questions on MinRes’s falling share price, Healius’ struggles, and the impact of passive investing on active managers Perpetual and Platinum.

If you have a burning question, or even a mildly curious one, please email it to [email protected] and I’ll see what we can do.

Another highlight was the cab ride I took with a driver who shared his masterplan to Uber his way to a house in the suburbs. Naturally, I saw the potential for an article and looked at how hard it is to side hustle your way into the housing market.

I also took a look at the use of quantitative and rules-based systems, a method I'm not 100% sure makes sense for individual investors. You can see what I like and dislike about these investing systems here.

My work for Firstlinks this month included asking myself a rather uncomfortable question: are more informed investors prone to making worse decisions?

I also had the chance to sit down with the bosses of Australia’s biggest listed investment company, AFIC, and discuss everything from its record discount to passive investing and pricey markets.

It is impossible to talk about Firstlinks without mentioning Graham Hand, the Firstlinks co-founder who passed away aged 66.

The tributes paid to Graham by Firstlinks readers show the profound impact of what became his mission: to help Australians navigate a financial jungle where the players don't always put investor interests first.

I am grateful to contribute to Graham's co-creation, and even more grateful to have met him at a team lunch a few months ago.

November ended with a surprise trip up the coast to Port Stephens. If I am honest, I didn’t realise how much I needed it. How nice it was to be out of the Sydney traffic for a while. How lovely it was wandering to wherever caught our fancy, on our own schedule. As opposed to hurrying some place specific, with one eye on the clock.

Every new place we visit in Australia leaves me thirsty for more. It also makes me even more grateful for you, our readers, who ultimately give me a reason to call this country home. Thank you for being here. If there’s anything you’d like to me write about in particular, please let me know at [email protected].