Well, not really.
I actually watch more news now than I used to... or at least as much anyway. I just don't watch the same news.
Back when I worked for myself, I would always have Fox News or CNN on in the background. It would be blaring away with the important stories of the day and give me ample opportunities to look over and take in the "breaking news item" that I just could not miss. Eventually this just became the background noise that I need to concentrate when I work and while I had the news "on" I rarely cared about it because the signal to noise ratio just plain sucked.
Both Liberal and "fair and balanced" news companies both sound the same; "Bush did this, bush did that. Terror is coming... Run for your life! The world is ending!"
Recently something happened. I started watching Jon Stewart and Steven Colbert on Comedy Central and I was steeping myself in the steady stream of stock news at CNBC.
So Am I getting the "right" news or even, for that matter, am I getting "news" at all?
I think I am.
I think the quality and impartiality of my news is far better today than I ever received while watching Bill O'reily or little Wolfie Blitzer spouting off about some middle eastern this or "vegetable lady" that. Did you know that between CNBC and Comedy central, you can get all the real news and color commentary you need?
CNBC really only breaks a story that I need to know about, If a plane crashes I know it. If a terror plot thickens, I'm aware... The thing is though - they only do it once. I don't hear the same fifteen minute loop for the next three days. The CNBC audience is money driven. They need to know about world and national events, but only because they make stocks go up or down. Knowing that a hurricane is deadly will move stocks, knowing that the star reporter is having a hard time standing in the wind... well, that doesn't happen much.
As for John Stewart and Steven Colbert... They say more truth with a smirk than Billy O'Reilly can in an entire show.
Stocks.
So, for those of you who don't know, I'm deeply into stocks.I watch CNBC every time I pass by a tv... Cramer is on the radio when I drive in to work... my Yahoo page has about a hundred stock symbols embedded in it and about a dozen stock site RSS feeds.
In short, I love this stuff.
I thought that I might pass on to you that while the stock market has been a bit down lately, it's still the best way to make money over the long haul. In fact, theory goes that you really should buy when everyone else is running for the door. (which I try to do... though I'm mostly "all in" at any one time, so I'm "buying" all the time)
I learned about three years ago that the "professionals" are hardly concerned with my income... Brokers care about "churn" in my account. That means that they make a commission every time I buy or sell something, but they make no money if my account just sits on a profitable stock.
Interesting conundrum for them...
So I looked at my brokerage account and saw the amount of money my broker made and compared it to the amount of money I lost. It was around that time that I decided that I could lose money as well as he could, maybe even better, so why did I need to pay him to help?
I began to invest for myself. In the first year, I pulled in a 140% return... Wow. I was floored. Now I know this is not normal. I'm not expecting it every year. In fact, this year I'm down about 10%. Nowhere near what I lost with the "professionals" but still down. In fact, my losses for my account are right around what they made in fees one year when they were in charge. but hey... who's counting.
I'm superstitious, so I'll knock on wood every time I discuss stocks. (I'm knocking on wood now)
So, in short. If I have one suggestion for you. Learn about stocks. Go buy books on it. Basic books that will teach you the fundamentals. Read the books. Make a fake stock portfolio on my.yahoo.com and follow it every day. It's OK to lose money in this fake portfolio... just learn why you lost it. Join a stock club. Watch CNBC. Read the financial section. It's really, really fun after you get into it.
If you have a hot stock tip, leave it below. ;-)
Sadly, I qualify to save the earth.
Probably not going to mean much to those reading who are a bit younger than myself. but this is what I was always thinking while I was playing video games... you know, the ones where the graphics were not lifelike and actually required some kind of imagination to see the aliens.
If I had invested all the quarters that I spent on Microsoft stock, I'd be a millionaire right now.
I'm serious.
If I had invested all the quarters that I spent on Microsoft stock, I'd be a millionaire right now.
I'm serious.
Gasp... July update.
So far so good. We've been focused on some pretty big things at work... really trying to move the needle in a significant way. For once, I really think that there is a very good opportunity to (again) get some truly worldwide recognition - this time for a pretty simple idea that my team and I had about a year ago that could(should) be very, very big.
(very long time coming - all of which I'll explain when I get this muzzle removed.)
Of course, the last push on this project has been less than helpful to the progress of my mission to clean up my life. I have been moving forward, but have hit nowhere near the milestones that I was hitting late last year - I hope to get back to that kind of focus again soon. Additionally, one of the items that I really was trying to "fix" was my ridiculous propensity for working myself into the grave - funny how easy that was to sink back into.
On to life outside the office... Work has started again on the new house - getting the last bits ready so that It could be occupied. While rental income over the last year would have been nice, there has been no way that I could rent the house out in the condition that it was. As it stands now, we are thinking that we'll just move in to the other house and continue the development while we are there. That way at least I can rent this house out and reduce the monthly drain. Downside to this is that I'll probably have a taxable event that i'll have to figure out... drat.
One bit of very good news: I'm finally debt free with the exception of house payments. I've been eating at my savings over the last three years due to the last start up that i worked at... Long story short, (my old boss, who shall remain nameless) had promised the world if only I would only work for a much lower salary than I was worth. Did anyone get the world? Yea... just not the people who earned it, and certainly not me. Of course, there were promises of great wealth, but in the end I made much less than I spent to live and I've had to rebuild that base over the last year.
Done!
Whew.
Feels good.
Very good.
So, next things on the agenda will be huge... largely because if we do move from one house to the other, we'll have to get rid of a lot of the remaining "junk" that sits in the garage, the house, etc. I'm even thinking about losing some things that I really love (but NEVER use). Namely, one or both of my motorcycles. I really do enjoy them, but it's a crime that they sit while I work and when the weekend comes, I'm too tired/busy to ride anyway. Take the money that I could get from a sale and throw that into the right stocks and I could be a lot farther ahead in a very short time.
One last note.
I have an idea (patent applied for) for a great diet. I don't think that this will be unhealthy and I'm sure that it would be nutritious enough, affordable and most importantly, easy to remember.
I get $5 a day to spend however I like on food that I get outside the house. I can buy and eat anything that I like - until noon. After noon, regardless of the meal, I get to eat only soup. I can stock up on soup to eat at home.
I should be able to cut costs, remember to implement a simple plan and stay healthy at the same time. keeping in mind that I never eat lunch prior to 12:00, this means soup for a majority of the day. This is great because soup is usually two to three hundred calories per serving and is almost always good for you. Also, having no limits on what I can eat means it's easy to find a meal, but with only five dollars to spend per day, I'll likely not be able to stuff myself.
Thoughts?
(very long time coming - all of which I'll explain when I get this muzzle removed.)
Of course, the last push on this project has been less than helpful to the progress of my mission to clean up my life. I have been moving forward, but have hit nowhere near the milestones that I was hitting late last year - I hope to get back to that kind of focus again soon. Additionally, one of the items that I really was trying to "fix" was my ridiculous propensity for working myself into the grave - funny how easy that was to sink back into.
On to life outside the office... Work has started again on the new house - getting the last bits ready so that It could be occupied. While rental income over the last year would have been nice, there has been no way that I could rent the house out in the condition that it was. As it stands now, we are thinking that we'll just move in to the other house and continue the development while we are there. That way at least I can rent this house out and reduce the monthly drain. Downside to this is that I'll probably have a taxable event that i'll have to figure out... drat.
One bit of very good news: I'm finally debt free with the exception of house payments. I've been eating at my savings over the last three years due to the last start up that i worked at... Long story short, (my old boss, who shall remain nameless) had promised the world if only I would only work for a much lower salary than I was worth. Did anyone get the world? Yea... just not the people who earned it, and certainly not me. Of course, there were promises of great wealth, but in the end I made much less than I spent to live and I've had to rebuild that base over the last year.
Done!
Whew.
Feels good.
Very good.
So, next things on the agenda will be huge... largely because if we do move from one house to the other, we'll have to get rid of a lot of the remaining "junk" that sits in the garage, the house, etc. I'm even thinking about losing some things that I really love (but NEVER use). Namely, one or both of my motorcycles. I really do enjoy them, but it's a crime that they sit while I work and when the weekend comes, I'm too tired/busy to ride anyway. Take the money that I could get from a sale and throw that into the right stocks and I could be a lot farther ahead in a very short time.
One last note.
I have an idea (patent applied for) for a great diet. I don't think that this will be unhealthy and I'm sure that it would be nutritious enough, affordable and most importantly, easy to remember.
I get $5 a day to spend however I like on food that I get outside the house. I can buy and eat anything that I like - until noon. After noon, regardless of the meal, I get to eat only soup. I can stock up on soup to eat at home.
I should be able to cut costs, remember to implement a simple plan and stay healthy at the same time. keeping in mind that I never eat lunch prior to 12:00, this means soup for a majority of the day. This is great because soup is usually two to three hundred calories per serving and is almost always good for you. Also, having no limits on what I can eat means it's easy to find a meal, but with only five dollars to spend per day, I'll likely not be able to stuff myself.
Thoughts?
Birthday
The 24th was my birthday.
Sue and I were in San Francisco for the weekend, we went at the tail end of a business trip out to California. Actually both the weekend and the business trip went well. We gave a presentation that despite technical problems went very, very well. (Don't say that Macs never crash... I had a bit of a problem with "parallels" virtualization software that caused my screen to wig out.)
Anyway... If you feel like sending me a gift... here is my Amazon wish list ;-)
Sue and I were in San Francisco for the weekend, we went at the tail end of a business trip out to California. Actually both the weekend and the business trip went well. We gave a presentation that despite technical problems went very, very well. (Don't say that Macs never crash... I had a bit of a problem with "parallels" virtualization software that caused my screen to wig out.)
Anyway... If you feel like sending me a gift... here is my Amazon wish list ;-)
Hard times
I feel almost guilty writing this. I've had so much good fortune over the course of my life. Most of it undeserved. There are countless thousands who don't have even the modest means to buy a meal that I might take for granted on a random tuesday night. People who count pennies and plan where each one goes.
I've not been careful about how I spend lately. I spend willy-nilly...
As the months go by, I hope to get this under control. If you have a suggestion on what I should do to get things under control, let me know by posting a reply to this message. Currently, I use Quicken - but I've got to be honest, I'm way too lazy to spend time entering checks, detailing expenses, etc. I'm looking for a method or way that I can follow a set of rules and thus almost automatically control the spending.
First thoughts might be:
1. Limit myself to a certain amount, say $100.00 a week. I can spend it anywhere I want, but I don't get more until sunday and I don't carry my cash card.
2. Get a "petty cash credit card" with a low limit and only use that card.
3. Limit the size of item that I can buy, say 10.00 only... including food purchases, etc.
4. Ask "do I need this" prior to every purchase and force myself to look at some guilt inducing picture if I say yes. ;-)
5. Only allow a purchase if I go back for it on a second trip. (no impulse buys)
6. only purchase online so that I can easily track from one place.
Again, I'll welcome any suggestions that you have.
I've not been careful about how I spend lately. I spend willy-nilly...
As the months go by, I hope to get this under control. If you have a suggestion on what I should do to get things under control, let me know by posting a reply to this message. Currently, I use Quicken - but I've got to be honest, I'm way too lazy to spend time entering checks, detailing expenses, etc. I'm looking for a method or way that I can follow a set of rules and thus almost automatically control the spending.
First thoughts might be:
1. Limit myself to a certain amount, say $100.00 a week. I can spend it anywhere I want, but I don't get more until sunday and I don't carry my cash card.
2. Get a "petty cash credit card" with a low limit and only use that card.
3. Limit the size of item that I can buy, say 10.00 only... including food purchases, etc.
4. Ask "do I need this" prior to every purchase and force myself to look at some guilt inducing picture if I say yes. ;-)
5. Only allow a purchase if I go back for it on a second trip. (no impulse buys)
6. only purchase online so that I can easily track from one place.
Again, I'll welcome any suggestions that you have.
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