A Few Random Thoughts on Money, Investing, Etc.

1) In my adult working life I cannot remember a time where stocks were this robust and positive. That suggests to me - a "buy and hold"guy - that it may be worth taking some earnings. And if not now, when?

2) Most financial anxieties can be resolved by holding more cash.

3) The easiest way to get more cash is to work more.

4) Diversification is good, but often misunderstood and misused. For instance, I once heard of someone who diversified by investing in a series of different Target Date funds. Also, diversification can easily justify buying or holding unwise investments (bitcoin, gold, etc).

5) Getting married is probably the best financial decision one can make, provided it's a good marriage.

6) The easiest mistake to make is to buy too much house or spend too much on housing (particularly in CA)

7) I think the financial advice world undervalues individual stock purchases for the same reason doctors often prescribe overly cautious medical approaches. They don't want poop on their face. But remember, it costs nothing to hold onto a stock (unlike a mutual fund or ETF, which although they might have small fees, always have some fees). And also, it's not difficult to identify Blue Chip stocks. And also, it's kinda fun to own a company. I'm not saying invest all your money into a single stock, but many folks caution against buying any single stock at all. And while there is risk a company can take a shit like Enron, it's also possible a company can go gangbusters - look at stocks like McDonalds, Home Depot, Apple, or Disney where you get an outsized return on investment within a certain time period.

8) Finances, like a lot of things, are about developing good habits. I don't have the patience to budget, so instead put into place a forced savings amount each month. Its worked for me. The best habit is to live on less money than you make. In that case, 100% of the time you will be okay.

9) If you know nothing, absolutely zero about investing and don't want to learn it, probably just regularly putting money into a Target Date fund, holding a cash pile, and buying a house when it makes sense is going to set you up fine.

10) Being unemployed sucks worse and does more harm than most people think. The idea behind unemployment insurance is to not be pressured into taking a job that doesn't meet your skillset, but I think it's probably better to get whatever job you can while you are looking for a better job if for no other reason than to keep your mind occupied and your sense of self worth higher. Plus, you might learn something or meet interesting people. Then again, I've never been any type of Executive where is seems like different rule sets apply.

11) Buying shit like clothes, gadgets, toys etc rarely gives me the pleasure I expect whereas with buying experiences like travel, good restaurants, parties, etc., I have almost never regretted even when it wasn't necessarily pleasurable. If that makes sense.

12) You don't get to take it with you, although you do get to give it to people you love.

13) I'd personally like to become more generous.

14) The only kind of debt payment that doesn't make me want to shoot myself in the face is a mortgage, but I suspect maybe it should.

15) If investing gives you anxiety, so should inflation.

16) Many tough decisions become easier when framed by a longer timeline. That is: will this current choice be good for me in 5, 10, 20 years, etc.

17) My real estate agent called money "just numbers in a bank account" getting transferred into home value, but if you need to eat or more likely, buy a new car or pay for daycare, you can't exactly sell the study or a portion of the master bedroom to pay for it.

18) The time to ask for a raise is not when you need it, but when you have leverage. The hard part is identifying when you have leverage --  most regular people are not good at it.

19) I'd bet planning for "best case scenarios" gets people in more trouble than planning for "worst case scenarios."

20) Eating well and exercising is cheaper than the health costs of not.

21) You will have health costs that far exceed what you think you should pay. Plan accordingly.

22) Remember when you buy stuff, you also need to buy space to hold it.

23) Anxiety and frustration may be a sign you are doing things wrong, but it also might be a sign you are growing and learning.

24) Developing avenues of money-making not tied to your labor is a good expenditure of time.

I guess I had more thoughts on this matter than I thought when I sat down to write this post.