Kiaser
Senior Member
Cash: $ 43.05
Posts: 209
Joined: 12 Apr 2006
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I've been here a few weeks so I guess I'll make it formal.
Hi, I'm Brant. I'm 25 years old and, besides owning my own business, I'd say I've just started learning about investing. Yup, even git me one of dem Investing for Dummies books! (sorry, poor try at muneepenee language).
My greatest financial decision:
I started up my own IT business over 4 years back with no money or loans and since day one it's been money-positive. Instead of a single employee (me) on-call on-site only service that is started as, it's grown today to a multiple employee business with a storefront for IT business service/support, computer repair and sales, co-location hosting, and even a LAN gaming center. I still do "work" at the business instead of just running it, but this is because I enjoy to do so (and hey, that's one less salary to pay if I do some of the work).
Besides that I've been ignorant about investing till this point. I've always been good with money (ability to save and make good purchasing decisions) but I've just been clueless about the investing side of money (retirement, real estate, stocks, etc).
My worst financial decision:
At age 23 I bought a Dodge Viper. At that point in time I had no debts, I had a bit saved up in a checking account, and I was making nearly $2500 a month OVER my budget of living. I know the money would be better spent invested elsewhere, but I can still kinda defend this purchase. First of all, I was just 23 with no kids, marriage, or financial obligations. So if there was ever a time to put money into an extravagant car then that was it. Secondly, my life consists of working on my business, eating, sleeping. I needed the "play" part of a complete life, and the Viper takes care of ALL of that in one swoop. I'm not a frivolous spender so instead of buying new entertainment equipment, clothes, furniture, vacations, weekend spending, etc, I have the Viper. I've paid for the entire car under 3 years, and all additional money I receive (as well as have left over from not having a large car payment anymore) can go directly to investing cause I don't "need" anything else. So, I know it's the worst financial decision, but it makes me happy and I get pleasure from it (which I'd relate closely to the "love or money" topic).
My reason to learn about investing and be on these forums are simple. Everyone I know personally that have invested money (whether it be a home, stocks, retirement plans, etc) have done so when I haven't, however they did not take the time to properly educate themselves on the best scenario of doing so. I've seen friends buy houses that didn't do research on what loans to get, or made horrendous mutual fund choices inside of retirement accounts, and I don't want to be in the same boat. Currently I'm establishing multiple retirement accounts for myself in effort to get that part of investing set in stone and a done deal so I don't have to worry about it ever again. I'm also preparing for a home purchase (mostly for equity) in the next year/year and a half. My emergency funds are in good shape, but they reside in a checking account as of now which I tend to change over to a money market soon. But the overall goal of my investing learning is to, little by little, make my money work for me and eventually turn any "work" I do into a "hobby".
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Fri Apr 28, 2006 4:59 pm |
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Andrew
Admin
Cash: $ 467.10
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Joined: 02 Nov 2003
Location: Texas
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Congrats on your business successes. I can relate a bit on the car, while I'm sure I didn't pay as much as you, the first car I bought, a Mustang GT, was a bit of a splurge. Glad to have you here!
Last edited by Andrew on Fri Apr 28, 2006 10:41 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Fri Apr 28, 2006 5:57 pm |
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Kiaser
Senior Member
Cash: $ 43.05
Posts: 209
Joined: 12 Apr 2006
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quote:
Originally posted by Andrew
Congrats on your business successes. I can related a bit on the car, while I'm sure I didn't pay as much as you, the first car I bought, a Mustang GT, was a bit of a splurge. Glad to have you here!
You'd be surprised, I've seen old Gen I Vipers go for low 30k's in excellent condition.
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Fri Apr 28, 2006 9:40 pm |
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Safora
Full Member
Cash: $ 13.80
Posts: 67
Joined: 13 Apr 2006
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Hey Brant. Nice to meet you. It's nice to see another beginner around here. I just got into this myself and there is so much to learn.
Your business sounds fun. What gave you the courage to work for yourself?
quote:
Originally posted by Kiaser
So, I know it's the worst financial decision, but it makes me happy and I get pleasure from it.
I have to say I would have had a hard time turning down the viper too since that is my dream car.
Given your financial situation and lifestyle, buying the care doesn't sound like that bad of a decision. It doesn't appear to have kept you away from meeting your financial goals. Yes, you could have started investing sooner, but would you have anyway? You have to have some things in your life that make you happy and if you can afford a viper then enjoy yourself...and stop feeling guilty. 
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Sun Apr 30, 2006 3:51 am |
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Kiaser
Senior Member
Cash: $ 43.05
Posts: 209
Joined: 12 Apr 2006
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quote:
Originally posted by Safora
Hey Brant. Nice to meet you. It's nice to see another beginner around here. I just got into this myself and there is so much to learn.
Your business sounds fun. What gave you the courage to work for yourself?
quote:
Originally posted by Kiaser
So, I know it's the worst financial decision, but it makes me happy and I get pleasure from it.
I have to say I would have had a hard time turning down the viper too since that is my dream car.
Given your financial situation and lifestyle, buying the care doesn't sound like that bad of a decision. It doesn't appear to have kept you away from meeting your financial goals. Yes, you could have started investing sooner, but would you have anyway? You have to have some things in your life that make you happy and if you can afford a viper then enjoy yourself...and stop feeling guilty.
I've been doing IT work since I was 13 yaers old (I grew up in a small town, 15k population, and I was well known as the "computer kid") mostly setting up networks in the lawoffices, schools, and doctors offices. I just kinda taught myself throughout the years. A friend of mine and I were really into computer gaming, and I guess when the computers would break we couldn't stand to have someone else take a long time to fix it so we would attempt to, and over time we learned that way.
After high school I did odd jobs (bartending and being a waiter) and then finally went to college. I stayed at college for about two semesters and then called my old gaming friend up and asked him why we never officially started up an IT business. The next day I packed up and left school, and since that day we've been money positive in our business. I was young with not much to lose (and had a few thousand saved up to live off of if the business didn't make money) so it wasn't so much of having to build up courage to start a business up (I wouldn't be too much of a wuss to try to do so with financial obligations like marriage, mortgage, etc).
If you ever want to learn about Vipers then just ask. I spent the better part of two years researching Viper models and year differences, and I've got that down.
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Sun Apr 30, 2006 7:13 pm |
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wanrenqingkong
Member
Cash: $ 0.50
Posts: 17
Joined: 12 Jun 2006
Location: China
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welcome
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Mon Jun 12, 2006 8:18 am |
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