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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! >
OT: Wall Street and Personal Finance
OT: Wall Street and Personal Finance
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12gagedan
112 posts
Aug 05, 2011
8:14 PM
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Dear List,
I must admit, I am a nerd. My day gig is currently centered around the use of capillary electrophoresis as a means of assessing biological therapeutic purity. I have studied blues music and the harmonica fairly obsessively most of my adult life. My other hobby is bourbon. I seek out and taste as many as I can, keeping notes, and carrying almost snobbish airs. I've never really given "MONEY" a ton of thought.
A few months ago (perhaps it was precipitated by my 35th birthday) I picked up a book at Costo called, "the smartest 401k book you'll ever read" Silly, yes I know. Upon reading this, it occurred to me that I really had no idea, and no plan regarding my finances or retirement.
So, like a true nerd, I embarked on a "geeking-out" book-buying/reading/new hobby. For the record, I don't really like it. Reading about economic figures is painfully boring to me.
But, the experience has been very eye-opening. Just as many of you have started on harp with little to go on, and then sought out info from all directions, I wanted to steal a thread and encourage you to study economics and personal finance. It sucks. It's boring. It seems hopeless. I agree. I read a few pages every night to help me sleep (seriously).
However, there is a whole machine that's in place to make money off of you. They know you don't really know what you're doing. The days of pensions are just about gone. It's in your hands, so how much is your time worth if it's spent getting a handle on your ability to possibly retire (or maintain a longer-than-planned retirement) in comfort?
I'm about 6-7 books deep, and I've learned a lot. I haven't put much into practice yet, but I'm getting close. Unsolicited advice is just that, unsolicited, so please don't assume I'm telling anyone what to do with their money. I'm just telling you all (if you haven't already) TO think more about it, and perhaps do some reading.
"A Random Walk Down Wall Street" was one of the best I've read. Also, that first, simple, short book seems to have been right on the money. The same conclusions are drawn and backed up with copious statistical data, by all the long boring books I've read. Daniel Solin is the author of the first book.
It's very easy to get caught up in our current economic/national cluster F. Things aren't going well, and I'm sure some of you will want to respond with, "I'd like to invest, but I'm out of a job and I can't afford the mortgage." My point is that education and a bit of work are the keys, whether it be towards re-training, landing a job, blowing the harp, or watching your finances.
"The Millionaire Next Door" was also worth reading, and offers some really great perspective on our collective American consumptive lifestyle.
Anyway, do with this thread what you will. I wish my best to you all, and I hope you are prosperous in whatever you do.
thanks,
dan g.
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KingoBad
812 posts
Aug 05, 2011
9:21 PM
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Just learn about the time value of money. Let it work for you and not against you. Don't go into debt for something you can't leverage for something. Save 20 percent of everything you make, no matter how painful. Start as early as you can, it is almost never too late to start.
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Danny
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BronzeWailer
208 posts
Aug 06, 2011
2:47 AM
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Right on guys. "Random Walk" is a classic, ny intro to the suject many years ago, and easy to read. There are often big conflicts of interest between Wall Street and small/large investors as it can be a zero-sum game. Thankfully, this is not true for the harp world!
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