Just updates and progress on… Stuff…
Learning / Experience / Financial
Whoa! Millionaire Statistics…
0475 days
Whoa!
So I was listening to a set of audiobooks (Dave Ramsey – Financial Peace University [don't worry I'm not going to say go out and buy it... If you're interested, you can probably get it at a local library or borrow it from someone else]) and toward the end of one of them, he says something to the effect of “the average millionaire reads a non-fiction book or two a month…” (after further research, it seems that they read even more than that). I was floored. I thought I was the only one who made virtually daily trips to the library to LEARN, LEARN, LEARN… There are also a TON of millionaire statistics in the book “The Millionaire Next Door” (by: Thomas J. Stanley, Ph.D.) and “The Millionaire Mind” (by: Thomas J. Stanley, Ph.D.).
Other thought processes of Millionaires. 
7 Core Beliefs of Millionaires:
1. Millionaires Believe in Having Balance in their Lives: Millionaires do first things first. They ask themselves, “What is the most important thing that I can be doing right now?”
2. Millionaires Know They Can’t Make it on Their Own: Millionaires leverage the power of the mastermind group. Millionaires surround themselves with other like-minded people to help them achieve far more than they could have done on their own or thought possible.
3. Millionaires Believe They Have No limitations: Millionaires don’t believe that the sky is the limit; that would be silly to believe such a thing. Millionaires believe there are no limits. The only limitations we have are the ones we put on ourselves. Millionaires also understand that all roadblocks to success are mental roadblocks. All problems and solutions rest within our own minds.
4. Millionaires Believe They are the Makers of Their Own Destiny: Millionaires choose to live and run their own lives. They do this by not letting setbacks and unwelcomed circumstances hold them back. Millionaires have a winner’s way of thinking; they go forward with the attitude that “Failure is not an option”. Robert G. Allen has referenced himself many times asking, “Could I do it if a loved one depended on me accomplishing this task or goal?” and you’ll find that the answer is always a resounding YES.
5. Millionaires Believe in Giving: Millionaires believe in the law of abundance. Millionaires know that there will always be plenty to go around. They also know that as they give, the universe will give back to them in greater abundance. Millionaires believe the more they give of their time, talents, knowledge, and wealth, the universe will give back exponentially to what is given.
6. Millionaires Believe That at the Root of Every Problem is a Seed of Opportunity: Millionaires believe they can turn any negative situation to a positive situation. Whether it’s personal, family, or financial; they see problems as an opportunity of improvement.
7. Millionaires Believe in Education: Millionaires don’t believe in having solely college education, they believe also in self-education. The average person reads less than one book per year; the average millionaire reads two books per week. I’m not talking about books such as Harry Potter either, rather, books such as Think and Grow Rich and 7 Habits of Highly Successful People. Millionaires become successful through their reading habits.
ENJOY!
Happy New Year!
0502 days
Happy New Year To All! I hope everyone’s 2010 went well even with all of the peaks and troughs. Well, it has definitely been an interesting 2010 for me. So far so good, though. I can’t really complain. I still have two arms, two legs, and I’m still breathing.
Anyway, I’m just putting in an image just below for the year end Net Worth. Enjoy! Although it does look just like the one in the last post.
Ag's Net Worth 2010
Happy Holidays… (Happy Holidays)… Happy Holidays… (Happy Holidays)…
0517 days
So, it’s that time of year again. For me, it’s snowy, icy, and cold. We’re expecting 2-4 inches tonight, then frozen drizzle tomorrow morning. The good news is that I checked back over the course of the last couple of months and am quite surprised. It turns out that my NET WORTH has been increasing by about $5,000.00 a month. So yes, since May, my NET WORTH has increased by over $30,000. Most would ask… “So what was it that you did…?” Well, the only problem with that cliche of a question is that it’s always wrong. When people all of sudden have a “turn-around” like that, everyone on the outside acts as though it was ONE THING that was done to actually complete the “turn-around”. Well, the fact of the matter is that there were so many things that I did in order for the “turn-around” to occur, that I couldn’t list them all even if I tried. It always seems like magic or luck to an outsider who doesn’t see the big picture.
Here’s just a generic start: I increased the efficiency of ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING that I possibly could… Actually, if you want to break it down into one thing, that’s probably the one thing that I did (as generic as it might sound). All of sudden it’s not so magical or lucky anymore is it…? Either way, look at my progress below (Yodlee.com)… Enjoy…
Ag's Net Worth 12-20-2010
And the Year-To-Date…
Ag's Net Worth YTD 12-22-2010
Improvement On Many Fronts
0577 days
I have been doing some more thinking lately and came to a few conclusions.
- I just came to this one today (hard to believe), but I’m completely pulling out of Lending Club. It really hasn’t done much for me. On the surface level it is an excellent idea. The implementation, however, doesn’t seem conducive to investors. They don’t seem to give you solid statistics. They seem to give you surface statistics. Rather than continuing to change and evolve, it seems they are content with the status quo. The interface is nice, but there are quite a few changes that could be made that would enrich the ENTIRE experience. I haven’t done all of the calculations, but I feel that I have taken a loss. With all of the time that I have invested in finding out how it works and testing it out, it doesn’t seem to be worth my time. After all is said and done, I must admit though, this was NOT my worst investment ever, at least I was able to get just about all of my money back out. Thus, the improvement on this front is the fact that I took a look at it and tested it out and found out that it’s not for me. The returns are not large nor steady enough (especially on top of having to pay short-term capital gains on it).
- I changed my Vanguard Roth IRA holdings from the original STAR Fund to a REIT (VGSIX). I believe this is where “it” will be, for now.
- My T. Rowe Price Roth IRA REIT is also up (minimally, but it’s up).
- My financial situation as a whole has been turning around significantly.
- My company now has a different direction.
Anyway, here’s another look at an updated Net Worth chart (Yodlee.com)…
Ag's Net Worth 10-21-2010
And the Year-To-Date…
Ag's Net Worth 10-21-2010 YTD
Happy Birthday To Me…
0655 days
Well, here’s what I have going through my head at this point in time:
- #1 thought… A huge goal… I have a goal that I set in September of last year (2009) that I am looking to complete in 2014. So there are only a few years to complete it.
- Marriage / kids… Um… I guess that’s a start. I HAVE actually thought about these, but honestly, they’re still SOOOO far away. I’m really starting to think that I’m not really supposed to actually complete this. This is one thing that I will gladly admit that I’m EXTREMELY INDECISIVE about. Ugh…
- Job(s)… Well, my dream job is to not have a job… Sort of a recursive endless thought cycle involved with that one.
- Health… I can definitely be in better shape… I’ve been slacking on this one…
- Finances… A huge change has taken place and I think I’m actually making progress on this one (FINALLY). I have made quite a few mistakes in this area, but they have taught me quite a bit.
- Life (in general)… Has been good to me. I’m thankful mainly for the obstacles and hardships that I have had to deal with and overcome, without which, I would never have become the person that I am today.
- Death… All of those that I have lost along the way. It always brings me back to Earth when I start thinking that one day it could all just end. Most would say “don’t be so pessimistic”, but the fact of the matter is that without that feeling one wouldn’t “feel alive”.
- Just everything in the cosmos… Everything together is “so far, so good”. I can’t really complain…
After all… “Don’t take life so seriously, you’ll never make it out alive”… Might as well enjoy it…
Rules Of The Game: Roth IRAs, IRAs, 457 Plans, Lending Club… Retirement…
0662 days
So the other day I was, yet again, researching all of this financial garbage. The way I see things is that everything is a game. It’s like that old adage, “Don’t take life so seriously, you’ll never make it out alive…” Based on what I have been going through, if you see things as a game, you’ll see things more objectively. Which, in this case, can really only help you get ahead. So… STOP BEING SO EMOTIONAL ABOUT EVERYTHING!
Anyway, since I see it as a game, all of these financial “tools” are just parts of the game. For every game, there is a set of rules. This game is no different. YOU are the token and you move around collecting various “tools” throughout the game. The main issue that most people have with this game is that the rules are constantly changing. For me, that’s one of the things that is the most fun and exciting. There is always something new to be learned.
This week, I learned a few more rules of the game. These include IRAs, Roth IRAs, 457 Plans, and retirement finances as a whole. Roth IRAs, Traditional IRAs, and 457 plans are cool because they allow you to have a tax advantage of some sort. Depending on your situation, these tax advantages can range from being tax-deferred to being totally tax-free. I would encourage everyone who doesn’t have an IRA or some sort of plan to definitely look into them. Technically, your child(ren) could pretty much have their retirement taken care of with a little bit of money before they turn 5 years of age! Look into being a custodian (I think that’s what it’s called) of their account. Once again though, you’ll have to do the research for your particular situation.
I started doing some more research on Lending Club (peer to peer lending) as well. It seems great until you start to see just how dishonest people can get. I have 2 notes that are over 30 days late (one of them is only on the first payment). Granted, I have a little bit over 300 notes, but 2 / 300 = 0.66%. That’s kind of a large chunk and I’m only 2 months into this test (these statistics don’t inspire a whole lot of confidence either). I also went with a riskier portfolio, but I definitely learned my lesson. I was on Lending Club with a PRIME account. The selections that they do for you seem to only take into account the borrowers’ Lending Club “rating.” This means that they “shoot from the hip.” Thus, I made arrangements to get out of the PRIME account and I’m now going to start analyzing every single one that I invest in. However, I can’t get caught worrying about it too much and over analyzing, because then it won’t be worth the investment of time.
Anyway, here’s another look at an updated Net Worth chart (Yodlee.com)…
Ag's Net Worth 07-28-2010
And the Year-To-Date…
Ag's Net Worth 07-28-2010-YTD
Note: The HUGE fluctuations are because of the accounts being added at different times.
More Research…
0674 days
Just finished another book…
- The One Minute Entrepreneur
By: Ken Blanchard
What I Gained From It (WIGFI): Be patient and ask questions to fully understand (even if it means being the devil’s advocate) before coming to a conclusion.
“The World Is Flat” sort of fell off the interest gauge for me. It was too high-level (as opposed to a grassroots level). It was more conceptual than definite results-oriented with definite attributions of events that you can make happen YOURSELF. I’m looking more for ‘knowledge tools’ as opposed to generalizations. I really don’t think I will finish it. I think I was about half way through it before I came to this conclusion. It pretty much said the same thing as “The Four Hour Work Week”, but without definite examples or tools of how you, yourself, could use it other than philosophizing about it. More like a 20-20 hind site look into things or a rehash of historical events leading up to where we are now. I’m looking for things that are in the NOW time period. Anyway, call it a justification of why not to read it, but it probably won’t help me in the position that I am in now.
I also came across another HUGE RESOURCE! This one has such a simple twist though. MAGAZINE SUBSCRIPTIONS! However, the simple twist is that I am able to (I did not know this before) actually check out magazines from my local library. This just added HUGE VALUE to a resource that was already available (the library). My local library allows you to check out books, VHS tapes, DVDs, magazines, and even video games FOR FREE! Oh… And you can also check items out from other libraries in the same “alliance”.
So, that being said, I have started reading Money Magazine, Fortune Magazine, Entrepreneur, and any other subscriptions that I feel will help me pick up ‘tools’.
Tools I picked up this time:
- Taxes seem to be the biggest cost that everyone will incur throughout life
- “Free” magazine subscriptions at the library
- You can take Roth IRA contributions out at any time (not to be confused with a traditional IRA)
- Roth IRA contributions can be moved to pay for a house (any real-estate maybe?) with huge tax breaks (tax-free maybe?) [there may be limits though]
‘Tools’ in my context are little bits (usually of information) that help achieve the goals that you want to achieve.
Changes To Lifestyle (Some Say “Lifestyle Design”)
0730 days
So, I just finished another book:
- The Four Hour Work Week
By: Timothy Ferriss
What I Gained From It (WIGFI): STOP DOING EVERYTHING YOURSELF! Pay somebody else (who’s probably going to do a better job on the project than you) to do it. Do what it is that you want to do!
And started another one too…
- The World Is Flat
By: Thomas L. Friedman
I never thought I would every be absorbing this MUCH information and THIS WELL. There’s was one day where my whole life just changed and I realized that it was possible to do whatever I wanted. Not to get all philosophical and self-help on you, but it’s true… It’s just a matter of FIGHTING COMPLACENCY OFF!!! Complacency is lurking around every single corner. It is the DEATH OF ALL THINGS! The easiest way (formula-wise) that I can say to combat this, is to:
- DO JUST ONE THING EVERYDAY THAT MAKES YOU UNCOMFORTABLE…
It could be as easy as:
- Talking to someone that you’ve never talked to before…
- Going some place that you’ve never been to…
- Basically doing something that you’ve never done before…
At first, you’ll probably feel weird doing them. That is the sensation that you have been keeping yourself from. For me, it was both invigorating and scary at the same time. Once out of the closet though, nothing gets in your way. Once you start doing one thing a day, believe it or not, you’ll probably start to feel like you’re going to run out of stuff that you haven’t done. Trust me, there are plenty of things to do (just about all of them are free too).
Anyway, here’s what I’ve done recently:
- Bought a Crackberry (Blackberry) Curve 8330 (Against Timothy Ferriss’ parameters)…
- Updated the Blackberry’s Operating System To 4.5 from 4.3…
- Calculated some tax rates for my company (overrated)…
- Hired a Graphic Designer (first time for me)…
- Hired an Assistant (first time for me)…
- Found ‘Process Lasso’ and tested it out…
- Asked about Sprint phone plans… (yes, it was a bit uncomfortable because I had no idea what I was talking about)
- Tried updating the firmware on my router (Ended up frying the router, rendering it useless)…
- Bought a variety of new routers to test out (ONE OF THE BEST DECISIONS I MADE THIS MONTH) and then updated the firmware successfully (EXTREMELY scary because I fried the last one)…
- Laid down on the median of a high traffic street for a while…
- And the list goes on…
The other thing is that generally, after the fact, nothing ends up being nearly as scary as anticipated. It’s usually all in your head. Once you get the hang of it, you’ll understand.
Anyway, I’m also in the process of “getting rid of myself”. Making the system work for me. Every time I get an email, I set up a process for it so that next time I don’t get the email. If there’s something I want / need to know (regarding person email information), I can simply look it up in my email (Timothy Ferriss advocates this, believe it or not, that’s actually what I started doing just before I read the book).
Also see my net worth chart below (Yodlee.com)… This is just a progress report for archival purposes. As you can see, there is quite a bit of room for improvement. What you can’t quite see, however, is that just before the huge jumps in assets and liabilities (a result of simply adding my accounts), there was an improvement of about $10K. Needless to say, that is dwindled by the other HUGE amounts (grad school loans, mortgage on investment property, etc.).
Ag's Net Worth 05-18-2010
Anyway, I think that’s it for now, I think I’m forgetting something, but who knows…