Just in case you’d like to know. Nelson.
Category: Miscellaneous
Playing with money
This is not financial advice and, as it may soon be apparent, I know nothing about investing. This is just what I do with my money, and it’s worked out pretty well so far.
I keep the bulk of my savings in no-risk, insured, low-yield accounts. I add a little more to these savings every month. To prevent me from doing anything stupid, I set a threshold (just in my mind; not with any financial device) that the account can never go below. And as the account grows, so does the threshold. As an example, let’s say that the account has $11 at one point, and I set the threshold every $5. At that time, I can never let the account go below $10, but if I really want to, I can take out up to a dollar. If the account goes up to $17 at a later time, I cannot let the account go below $15. I like this system. The most savings I can lose is $5.
The only times I will be able to go below the threshold are when buying a house or a spouse. I wouldn’t even go below it to buy a car at this point. My retirement savings are not included in this discussion, but yes, I’m planning for that too.
For a while, I kept my savings in an online savings account, but recently the interest rate made sense for me to put a chunk of it in a CD. I don’t have to worry about being penalized for taking money out of it, because the amount put in the CD was all protected by my artificial threshold anyway, so it’s nothing I’ll want to touch. I’ve kept some out in my regular savings account in case a better rate comes along before this one-year CD is up.
Now of course not all of my money is savings. So what do I do with the rest of it? Well, first I spend it on monthly payments like rent. I also have miscellaneous non-monthly expenses, like gifts, travel, and car maintenance. But, even after all that, there’s still some left. It’s not always a lot, but I can have fun with it. I can decide to blow it on something that won’t turn into cash, like entertainment or gadgets. Or, I put it into high-risk, yet potentially high-yield investments.
Recently, I decided to go for a couple of high-risk investments.
First, when I was in Vegas to see Blue Man Group, I of course had to “invest” in some slots. They turned out to be high-yield at first, but also high-risk as when I reinvested what I earned, I didn’t get it back. No big deal; I walked out with about the same amount I walked in with. It’s a good thing I used a player’s card; a coin in/out statement is in the mail to help me prove losses for taxes.
With all the crazy financial stuff that’s going on right now, I got inspired by a thought from Mike and decided to throw some extra cash into a more socially acceptable form of gambling. Tonight, I opened up an account on E*TRADE. I was able to fund it instantly from my bank account, but unfortunately these funds won’t be available for investing purposes for four business days. Let’s hope the stock market freaks out just a little longer.
So we’ll see what happens in four days. After about five minutes of research, I know what I would buy tomorrow, but that may change over the next few days. After that, I’ll just let it sit and see if this crisis fixes itself. If it doesn’t, well, I can only lose what I put in, which is extra change anyway.
Vegas
As previously Twittered, I’m going to visit Las Vegas on the weekend of the 27th. I have a ticket to see Blue Man Group at the Venetian. I’m in the poncho section, so it sounds like my seat will be pretty close to the action. This will be my third Blue Man show (I’ve been to New York and one of their traveling shows), and I’m really looking forward to it. I already know I like Blue Man, and based on other Vegas shows I’ve seen (Mystère and KÀ), it will probably be the best yet.
I’m mostly going to Vegas for the show, practicing my “do what you want” advice. I wanted to see the show, so I bought a ticket, even though I didn’t take the time to coordinate the trip with others. It will be a short trip (arrive in the afternoon, show at 7, leave at noon the next day), so the only other attraction I’m planning on seeing is the Bellagio fountain, which I have missed on my two other trips to Vegas. I really like fountains, so I’m actually just as excited about the free fountain show as I am about Blue Man.
After hitting up the fountain at the Bellagio, I’ll probably just walk into the lobbies of the various hotels/casinos until I get bored or run out of money. If you have any other suggestions for things to check out in Vegas (on the Strip so I can walk, and preferably free), let me know in the comments.
Wysz: Where is he now?
Sometimes when I’m up late, I think of college, when I had the sleeping “schedule” of, well, a college student. “This is just like when I was in school,” I think, as if nothing about me has changed. But I have changed. I didn’t want to spend a lot of time on this blog entry since I’m in the middle of doing something, so after thinking for a few minutes, I wrote out a list of things that are different about me now compared to when I was in school. I deleted most of the list, because it really boiled down to one thing:
Now, fear of failure or embarrassment does not stop me from trying.
A few years ago, I only tried something if I was relatively sure I could succeed, or at least not fail horribly. I spent most of my time alone in my room.
Interior decorating FAIL
I see that the TV can move up and down, but does the stand drop into the floor or something when you want to open the door? I found the picture here.
Why I was browsing DIY:
For as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to own a house. When I lived at home, I liked doing stuff like cutting the grass and other home maintenance tasks. When I had cable, I watched HGTV and fantasized about having my own homeowner projects to deal with. Even though the concept of home ownership feels like a distant dream at this point, I still read about houses online and occasionally walk through hardware stores.
Mission statement
OnlineHaircuts.com is pleased to announce its mission statement:
OnlineHaircuts.com intends to revolutionize the personal grooming space, leading the bleeding edge of cutting edge web technologies.
Disclosure to investors:
This visionary statement cost us over $50,000 in consulting fees, but if it doesn’t gel, we may cut it. Just FYI.
Something to look forward to
I really haven’t been able to eat much since last Wednesday due to a sore throat. I’m not getting better yet, but I’m already making a list of things I want to eat when can. Here’s what I’m thinking:
- “Shabuway Original” at Shabuway in Mountain View
- Double Meat, Animal Style from In-N-Out Burger
- Pizza Margarita with tomato sauce and garlic breadsticks with ranch dressing from Amici’s
- Potstickers from Trader Joe’s
Have other suggestions? Leave a comment.
Brief moment of panic
I’ve had a sore throat since Wednesday night and it hasn’t gotten any better, so I’m seeing a doctor about it in a couple of hours. Since I cannot speak, Beah offered to call and make an appointment for me. She got transferred to an “advice nurse,” who asked me several questions, including: “Any white or yellow patches in the mouth?”
I told Beah to wait a second while I checked. I went to the nearest mirror and pointed a flashlight into my mouth.
Oh no. My tongue was completely white.
I ran my tongue under my teeth as I got a closer look. The whiteness drained away. I’m such an idiot. I was drinking milk.
Morning snack
My family is visiting today so I’ve been cleaning off my desk at work. I found a pack of M&Ms in the process and started eating them. Check out what I found inside the bag. I wonder if it’s worth anything.
I ate it. Wasn’t as good as a regular one.
It’s all about the delivery
I came up with a new joke format last night. (At least it’s new to me). Here’s an example:
Me: Reid, what do you call a meteor that hits the ground?
Reid: I don’t know, what?
Me: A meteorite!
If you deliver it well, it will take your audience some time to understand that you simply gave the definition of a word, and then used the word as the punch line.