Investment
2004-07-31 5:37 a.m.
I feel like such a fucking �adult�.For the first time in my adult life, I�m not in debt. I�ve been working my ass off for 3 years and I can finally enjoy it a bit. Of course, I�m doing my best not to go overboard. Last time I had a good chunk of money at my disposal, I had just turned 21, been in NYC for about 3 months and had some loneliness to deal with (I was far more �taciturn� at that moment, hence �this�). Needless to say, that nice salary is loooong gone.
Last year, I made a total of $12k for the year (most of which came in the last 3 months). The year prior, $8k. It�s a bit tough to live on that in NYC, hence a lot of the drama I�ve had. This year� well, 2 years of keeping at it has finally paid off�
I actually have a fucking diversified portfolio (according to all the shit I�ve read) as of this week. I�m trying to throw $100 at it every week. I�ve been hunting around for high interest savings and reading up on monotonous things like IRA and ROTH IRA.
I haven�t had health insurance since 2001 (which I�ve recently found to be more due to ignorance than unavailability), and I�m damned well due for a doctors visit. Of course, now that my income bracket has risen, insurance isn�t as easy as it would have been the past 2 years.
I have a damned accountant. Well, he�s not damned, he�s my cousin and damned good at what he does (he�s been a CPA for 15 or 20 years or something).
I figure when I move to LA, I�m going to HAVE to get a car, so I�m trying to get myself in order for that note now. I also hope to be able to start investing in property in Chicago by early to mid next year.
What the FUCK?! What? Financial responsibility?!
For years, I�ve been harping on the financial ignorance of a few around me who throw a lot more at sneakers than at investments, and I�ve finally taken my own advice at full force. It�s overwhelming. It�s a lot easier to spend on computer equipment and vinyl with their instant gratification than it is to put money somewhere and watch it grow at .5% - 7% per year.
Patience used to be easy for me, but I do believe living in the Northeast has changed this. It�s a struggle for me not to just take all this money I�m investing, buy a couple dope suits, a new wardrobe (which I�m DEFINTIELY due for, and have been for about 5 years), all the vinyl I�ve missed out on in the past couple years, and hit the town. A couple $200 bottles of scotch, a few VIP rooms, a few first class trips to places I don�t really need to be at the moment. So fucking tempting.
But alas, I�m back on track. My mission has been ingrained in my headmeats for a long time. I do believe I�ve wanted to be where I am since around the age of 7. The only thing holding me from blowing my wad is being back on my original path. Although a friend of mine, who happens to be a fairly high profile fashion stylist offered to take me shopping next week. I�ll have to look at my wardrobe as I�m now looking at things in general. Gradual investment for some short, but mostly long term gains.
Of course I had to splurge a bit and get myself two 17� lcd monitors via good ol� eBay. That�s an investment in my every day conformability. After all, I stare at this 17� light bulb all day, and my office is TINY. (I live in a 450 square foot apartment with 2 other people - you can only imagine how small my office is). So, some more desk space and a clearer picture will definitely be welcomed. The eye surgery will have to wait.
I also put some other wants aside to invest in my girl�s financial well being. I paid off her credit card. She fought it, but I ended up doing it anyways. I mean it�s not like she spent all her loot on bullshit. I didn�t just pay off 4 figures worth of vanity. It took me 7 years to pay off all my records and bullshit, and she deserves to have a better start than me.
My financial investments seem to have finally caught up with my personal investments. I�ve mentioned before that I put a great deal of time and care into every person I come into contact with regularly. While away, I got the opportunity to reevaluate things, as I tend to do every week to month or so, but in much shorter, cloudier spurts. I figured if I put as much attention and care into my health, business and future as I do with the people I know, I should be able to do fairly well. After all, my personal life has always been pretty solid, regardless of how much of a dork I can be at times.
Of course, the �other� shit still builds up as always, but if you have no drama in your life, then you�re probably not living very much. I�ve found that I have far less bullshit lingering around than I used to. I try to maintain a diversified personal portfolio as always. Friends from different walks and stages in life. Learning and living every moment of every day.
My ways have always done very little for short term gain � as a lot of people are generally turned off by me at first. Be it my drunken ways, my strong opinions, my arrogance, my modesty, my apathy, my passion, my insanity, my fa�ade of intelligence, my sense of equality, whatever. But the long term gain has been paying off well. The ones who matter stick around and find out that I�m not so bad, and definitely worth their investment. And as my long term friendships are my most important investment, I plan to keep it that way.