I Miss My “Guaranteed” 15% Return (or Better) Every 6 Months

Gen Y Finance Guy Financial Markets, General Information, The JOB 29 Comments

Last week I was reading a post by fellow a blogger and unfortunately did not bookmark the post. And to make matters worse, I don’t remember which blog it was (first thank you to the blogger for the inspiration for this post, secondly this post is going live a few months since reading that post). However, the post was talking about how even people who work in Finance don’t make the best decisions when it comes to their finances. It reminded me of a story that I would like to share with you all here. Back Story I used to work for a public company a little over a year ago that offered an “employee stock purchase program” or ESPP for short. The program allowed …

You already own your own business, even if you have a Boss???

Gen Y Finance Guy Career, Income Streams 21 Comments

So like many of you I have a JOB! Yes, I do own a consulting business in the digital marketing and analytics space (which I shut down so I can put more focus and attention on this blog), but I also have a day job in Finance. And before I ever had a business (I have had several), I had always thought of myself as an EMPLOYEE and had aspired to one day own my own business and break away from working for “THE MAN.” At least that was how I looked at things until I had the pleasure of meeting Charlie, who provided me with a whole new framework. One weekend, at a conference for a previous employer, I got the …

Freedom Fighter Interview

[Guest Post] Freedom Fighter Interview #2 – Steve of Think, Save, Retire

Gen Y Finance Guy Financial Freedom, Freedom Fighter 14 Comments

Today we have the 2nd of a series of interviews. During this series we will be show casing other Freedom Fighters from around the world. I am excited to introduce you to our second guest, Steve from Think, Save, Retire. Read Steve’s awesome story below. And if you would like to be featured in the Freedom Fighter interview series then be sure to check out the Guest Posting page for more information (it’s open to anyone that is willing to share their fight for freedom: Time Freedom, Location Freedom, and Financial Freedom). Now I will turn it over to Steve… 1. Who are you and what do you do? What is your story? How are you fighting for your Freedom? My name …

Sell Into Strength - Investment Rule #2

Sell Into Strength – Investment Rule #2

Gen Y Finance Guy Financial Freedom, Financial Markets, New Rules, Options, Words To Live By 6 Comments

Over the course of the coming weeks and months I will be laying out the investment rules that I live and die by. These are rules that I have developed over the last ten years as both a retail and professional investor and trader: Rule # 1: Buy into weakness. Rule #2: Sell into strength. Rule #3: Reduce cost basis. Rule #4: Keep investments small. Rule #5: Keep 80% of total invested capital in ETF’s and up to 20% in individual names. Rule #6: Choose duration over direction. Rule #7: Manage your winners. Rule #8: Manage risk at order entry. Rule #9: Increase your # of occurrences. Rule #10: Make investments with a probability of profit > than 50%. Selling …

Yolo

[Guest Post] Freedom Fighter Interview #1 – Brandon Clay

Gen Y Finance Guy Financial Freedom, Freedom Fighter 16 Comments

Today we start the first of a series of interviews. During this series we will be show casing other Freedom Fighters from around the world. I am excited to introduce you to our first guest, Brandon Clay from Trading Story. Read Brandon’s awesome story below. And if you would like to be featured in the Freedom Fighter interview series then be sure to check out the Guest Posting page for more information (it’s open to anyone that is willing to share their fight for freedom: Time Freedom, Location Freedom, and Financial Freedom). Now I will turn it over to Brandon… Freedom Fighting as a Podcaster My name is Brandon Clay. And I am a Freedom Fighter. Sometimes it takes someone …

A Dogs Perspective on Frugality, Fun, & Finance

A Dogs Perspective on Frugality, Fun, & Finance

Gen Y Finance Guy Random 6 Comments

Do you ever realize how happy your dog is just being “present?” I think we could all learn a thing or two observing how a dog takes time to smell the roses (among other things). I often wonder what is going on in my dog’s mind. My wife and I will even go so far as to ask him questions and then answer in his “voice.” You would only understand if you had a dog, and if you don’t have a dog, I probably sound a bit out of my mind. But stick with me here… Dogs have really got it figured out. They live a very low-stress life and get excited over simple things like walks, Frisbee, dog beaches, …

My Rich Uncles

My Rich Uncles Got Me Into Commercial Real Estate

Gen Y Finance Guy Real Estate 40 Comments

For the past six months, we had been thinking that our next big move would be to pick up a 2nd rental property. We were pretty set that we would do this sometime between September of 2015 and March of 2016. Living in Southern California, we were looking at investing in something with a price tag between $200K and $300K. This price range would require a down payment between $40K and $60K (assuming 20% down). Then you have closing costs which I would estimate at another $3,000, which is a bit on the low end, but that’s because we have friends and family in just about every step of the real estate transaction. In order to make this happen on …

April 2015 – Detailed Financial Report #4

Gen Y Finance Guy Monthly Financial Reports 24 Comments

The year is officially 33% complete.  I can honestly say this is the post I get most excited about writing each and every month. (Mr. CEO here – One thing I want to say right now before we get too far, is that THIS POST….THIS VERY POST is our 50th post. WOW!!! Can you believe it!? Time is absolutely flying by) WOW! That is amazing that we are already on post number 50!!! (I love those little !!!!!) These reports are a way for me to track my progress and stay accountable to my goals. But it’s also one of the many ways I try to humanize finance for all of you reading this blog. By the way, in case you …

Net Worth

Increasing Your Net Worth And The Role Of Income

Gen Y Finance Guy Financial Freedom, Net Worth 21 Comments

There was a time in the not too distant past that my entire focus was on growing my income.  These days I am more and more focused on building my net worth, which in theory should build my income (or at least my future income). I have read in many personal finance books and blogs that it is net worth that matters more than anything, especially since the government taxes you on your income and not your net worth. In 2015 I plan to increase my net worth by about $69,000 before any appreciation from real estate, stocks, options, dividends, and interest income: Max out my 401K with the new 2015 limit of $18,000 (picking up an extra $500 this year) …