- Uop past midnight. 3am feeding. 5am hurts. Back to bed? #
- Stayed up this morning and watched Terminator:Salvation. AWAKs make for bad plot advancement. #
- Last night, Inglorious Basterds was not what I was expecting. #
- @jeffrosecfp It's a fun time, huh. These few months are payment for the fun months coming, when babies become interactive. 🙂 in reply to jeffrosecfp #
- RT @BSimple: RT @bugeyedguide: When we cling to past experiences we keep giving them energy…and we do not have much energy to spare #
- RT @LivingFrugal: Jan 18, Pizza Soup (GOOOOOD Stuff) http://bit.ly/5rOTuc #budget #money #
- Free Turbotax for low income or active-duty military. http://su.pr/29y30d #
- To most ppl,you're just somebody [from casting] to play the bit part of "Other Office Worker" in the movie of their life http://su.pr/1DYMQZ #
- RT @MoneyCrashers: Money Crashers 2010 New Year Giveaway Bash – $8,300 in Cash and Amazing Prizes http://bt.io/DQHw #
- RT: @flexo: RT @wisebread: Tylenol, Motrin, Rolaids, and Benadryl RECALLED! Check your cabinets: http://bit.ly/4BVJfJ #
- New goal for Feb. 100 pushups in 1 set. Anyone care to join me? #
- RT @BSimple: Your future is created by what you do today, not tomorrow"— Robert Kiyosaki So take action now. #
- RT @hughdeburgh: "Everything you live through helps to make you the person you are now." ~ Sophia Loren #
- Chances of finding winter boots at a thrift store in January? Why do they wear our at the worst time? #
- @LenPenzo Anyone who make something completely idiot proof underestimates the ingenuity of complete idiots. in reply to LenPenzo #
- RT @zappos: "Lots of people want to ride w/ you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus w/ you…" -Oprah Winfrey #
- RT @chrisguillebeau: "The cobra will bite you whether you call it cobra or Mr. Cobra" -Indian Proverb (via @boxofcrayons) #
- RT @SuburbanDollar: I keep track of all my blogging income and expenses using http://outright.com it is free&helps with taxes #savvyblogging #
- Reading: Your Most Frequently Asked Running Questions – Answered http://bit.ly/8panmw via @zen_habits #
My Investment Portfolio
I’m not a financial adviser. I haven’t taken any of the classes or certifications that allow me to give investment advice. Please don’t take this post as advice.
This is me, sharing what I have chosen to invest in. These investments are scattered across a few different IRAs and brokerage accounts. Copy me at your own risk.
BAC – Bank of America: I bought this low. When any major bank is low, it’s time to buy. I bought in stages starting at about $5 per share. What I’ve got now has given me a 57% return.
CVS – CVS Caremark: I bought this on the advice of a friend. It’s shown a 6% return over the past few months.
IAU & GLD – Gold ETFs: I wanted a way to get some precious metals into my IRA, so I bought a gold fund. It’s down 7%, but I’m confident it’s going to come back.
MSFT – Microsoft: This is one of the first stocks I bought with my 401k 10 years ago. It’s up about 5% since I rolled it into my current IRA.
PAYX -Paychex Inc: I hate payday loans, but a friend recommended this stock and it has given me a 10% return.
SIRI – Another recommendation from a different friend. I don’t think it will ever hit the moon, but you won’t see me complain about the 60% return, either.
SLV – Silver ETF: Another precious metals venture. It’s down 3% overall, but that’s varying day to day. A couple of weeks ago, it was around $19 per share, so it’s up nicely since then. I predict it will continue to rise.
SYK: Stryker Corp: Another friendly recommendation. This one is down 2%, but the recommender thinks it’s a good long-term bet, so I’ll hold it for a while.
VB – Vanguard Small-Cap ETF: I like Vanguard funds in general. This one has given me a 5% return.
VIG – Vanguard Dividend ETF: This one pays dividends, which is usually a sign of a strong stock. 1% return.
VWO -: Vanguard Emerging Market ETF: If our economy has problems, emerging markets tend to thrive in response, so I’m hedging my bets with this. It has lost 4% so far.
IDMOX – An ING family fund that has served me well. 13% return.
VFINX – Vanguard S&P index fund. 2% return.
RICK – Rick’s Cabaret: A few days ago, I read an article about Rick’s Cabaret losing a lawsuit that made all of it’s New York strippers into full employees entitled to minimum wage. The article mentioned that Rick’s is publicly traded, which amused me, so I bought a few shares.
Those are the positions I have with one brokerage, across three accounts. I didn’t share the balances, but overall, I have had a 10% return on these investments.
Now, I’ll share the contents of my wife’s inherited IRA. This money was entirely in a money market when she inherited it last year. She got nervous and would only let me play with half of it. That half has averaged a 20% return since June 2012, with part of it hitting 29%.
These are all Fidelity funds for a specific 401k program. I have no idea our accessible the funds are to the general public. We are working on an IRA-mandated withdrawal of this money, so it will be moving over the course of years.
PYR INX LFC 2010/2035/2040/2045/2050 – These are targeted date funds. Each of them has had at least a 20% return.
SM&MID Cap Equity – This fund currently has a 29% 1 year return.
That’s my investment portfolio. Some gambles, some amusement, some solid investments. I think I’m doing pretty well. What do you think?
Over-scheduled
- Image via Wikipedia
Wow. I’m having a hard time believing it’s August already. Every year seems to slip by a little faster, but this summer has truly flown by, somehow without anything to show for it. I haven’t gotten any of the yard work or household projects finished. I’ve taken on so much that I can’t do anything but the side hustles.
This summer, I’ve been busy. I teach classes one Saturday each month, I’ve picked up a couple of web design jobs, I’m the webmaster for a nonprofit, and I’ve taken on an affiliate marketing project. Oh, and I can’t forget my 50-hour-per-week day job or the ebook I’ve promised to help prep and launch. With all of these projects, my cash flow situation is better than its been in a while, but my time is seriously crunched.
That’s not even counting the family activities. We’ve had swimming lessons, birthday parties and family reunions…all in the last month.
Our family is seriously over-scheduled. It seems like there is no downtime, which is a situation I’ve always tried to avoid in the past. Somehow, I’ve lost the ability to say “no”. Because of that, I’m now left with the impossible task of trying to scale back. While I can’t abandon my commitments, I need to work towards resolving them all and not taking on more.
[ad name=”inlineleft”]It’s time to scale back through attrition. In a month or two, I should be down to a sane schedule again, and able to tackle the things I really want to do that have been indefinitely delayed.
Everybody takes on too much at times. How do you avoid over-committing?
- Learn to say no. It is okay to refuse to take on more projects. You probably aren’t the first person to turn down the project and you probably won’t be the last. Don’t assume its your responsibility. It is fine to leave it for someone else.
- Prioritize. Don’t prioritize your projects, prioritize yourself. Know what you need to accomplish. Know what you want to accomplish. Deny the things that other people want you to accomplish if the new tasks don’t fall into the first two categories. You need to feed your family. You need to pay your bills. You don’t need to take on the soccer team’s newsletter or volunteer to make 1000 cupcakes for some fundraiser.
- Know your commitments. Most people overestimate how much available time they have while underestimating how long a new project will take. This leaves them double-booked. Take a realistic look at what you are currently doing, even if it means keeping a log of your day for a few weeks. You’ll probably be surprised by what you are already doing.
- Stay organized. If you aren’t keeping track of what you need to do, you’ll end up running around crazy trying to get it all done. Keep a calendar and leave yourself notes. I get daily reminders of what is on my Google calendar each morning.
- Know your limitations. If you aren’t technical, don’t volunteer to build a website. Do your strengths, let someone else deal with the things that are your weaknesses.
It’s entirely too easy to do too much. When every moment of your day has two of more things that need to be done, you’ll do them all poorly. How do you avoid taking on too much?
Homeland: What does it cost to make a hit TV show?
When you are producing your own TV show, you can do whatever you want to cut costs. However, you must realize that making a hit TV show is something that is very expensive to do. You must pay your actors handsomely because they are usually Hollywood A-listers, but your actors are only the beginning of the payroll.
You have a very large staff that works on the show to make sure everything works. If you have ever watched the credits at the end of a TV episode, you know that there are many people working on the show. You must remember that every single person on the credits was paid a salary to work on the episode. You must now imagine looking at your balance sheet and deciding how to pay all these people for each episode.
There are many people who wonder why their TV shows do not look as well produced as others. This is something that is left up solely to money. Homeland has Showtime behind them, and Showtime can afford to pay for the exotic locations and all the effects that are needed. However, there are other shows that have to shoot on a much smaller budget. They use a smaller amount of locations, and they use a smaller amount of effects. This does not hurt the show in all cases, but a lack of money would make a show like Homeland impossible.
When Hollywood was equal parts television and movies, Homeland would have become a movie because of the budget. The budget that is spent on just one episode of this show could be used to make a decent movie. In today’s Hollywood, there are many TV shows that would have been movies 20 or 30 years ago.
When you watch Homeland, you need to remember that there is a ton of money behind every episode. You may not like every episode, but you must remember that the producers and studio paid handsomely to have that episode produced. The money that fuels Hollywood today is off the charts, and we must respect that when every new episode come on the television.
Do you have what it takes to be wealthy?
I saw this quiz and thought it would be fun to liveblog taking it. Yes, I’m lame. I’m going to take the quiz here. I’m copying the questions over before reading the answers and answering each question before reading the next.
1. How optimistic are you?
I have to go with A, the glass is half full, but I like to think I’m more of a “That’s half of a glass of water” kind of guy.
2. When you grew up, your parents were:
A & C. We owned a home, but money was always tight. I’m picking C. We always had everything we needed, so we certainly weren’t poor, but I also didn’t have every video game system in existence.
3. How healthy are you?
A. I can’t complain. I’m borderline on a few issues, but overall, I’m pretty healthy.
4. How smart are you?
I’d bet very few people consider themselves stupid, regardless of evidence to the contrary. I’ll take B, smarter than most, and hope it doesn’t sound arrogant.
5. What level of education did you complete?
B. College. I went to a tech school and took a diploma program. That’s working out well for me, so far.
6. Physically, you are:
A, B, & C. I’m tall, heavy, and pretty darn sexy!
7. What’s your sibling situation?
I have two and I’m the middle child.
8. Are you married?
A. Yes, to spouse #1.
9. Do you have kids?
3 of the little monsters. They are a money-drain, but worth every penny. Most days.
10. Do you exercise?
D. I neither smoke nor exercise. There’s no middle-of-the-road answer to this one. You either hit the gym regularly, or you are a lump on the couch.
11. People describe you as:
B. Persistent. I think the actual word used is “obsessive”.
12. Do you believe a woman’s place is in the home.
A. I may joke about it, but that’s not a choice for me to make.
13. When it comes to work:
A, B & C. I have a day job, but I’m also regularly pursuing side-hustles, including one that is 4 years old and relatively profitable. Since I can only choose one, it’s A, because that’s my primary income.
14. How would you like to jump out of a plane?
A. I want to, but promised my wife I’d wait until the kids were out of the house.
15. Who would you rather emulate?
B. I’m not into an entourage, and have no urge to surround myself with 500 of my closest leeches. Good times with good friends is enough for me.
I scored 39 out of 72, which puts me in “You’ve got a shot at real money!” My financial outlook puts me at comfortable, but not care-free, which is an okay place to be.
What’s your score?
Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-06-26
- RT @ScottATaylor: The Guys on "Pickers" should just follow the "Hoarders" teams around- perfect mashup #
- PI/PNK test: http://su.pr/2umNRQ #
- RT @punchdebt: When I get married this will be my marital slogan "Unity through Nudity" #
- http://su.pr/79idLn #
- RT @jeffrosecfp: Wow! RT @DanielLiterary:Stats show 80% of Americns want to write a book yet only 57% have read at least 1 bk in the last yr #
- @jeffrosecfp That's because everyone thinks their lives are unique and interesting. in reply to jeffrosecfp #
- @CarrieCheap Congrats! #CPA in reply to CarrieCheap #
- @prosperousfool I subscribe to my own feed in google reader. Auto backup for in between routine backups. Saved me when I got hacked. in reply to prosperousfool #
- @SuzeOrmanShow No more benefits? I bet the real unemployment rate goes down shortly thereafter. in reply to SuzeOrmanShow #
- Losing power really make me appreciate living in the future. #
