Neville's Financial Blog

Many people want to be “rich” in the future so they can do things like: Travel, buy nice cars, support family etc…who wouldn’t?

I believe “rich” means many different things to different people. Here are a few materialistic wants I feel would make me “rich” :

• Being able to travel to Dubai and lodge, dine and recreate in the Hotel Burj Al Arab for a week with family and friends in a 3-bedroom suite.
• Being able to buy a $40,000 car without really denting my disposable income.
• Being prepared and able to buy a $300,000 home in cash.
• Have enough disposable income to comfortably shop at Nordstrom and other higher-end retailers with a personal shopper.
• Be financially prepared for all the unexpected expenses life throws my way.
• Eat Ramen Noodles when I know I can easily afford a 5-star meal.

I’ll share a joke:

“The American Dream is a German Car an Italian wardrobe and a Swiss bank account. “

I think the fun of becoming rich is getting there. I like a good challenge. So until I can do all of the above without breaking a financial sweat, I will be working my a$$ of to achieve it.

An anonymous poster left a post (here) on my site which partly stated:

“….if you had a business degree, then it would possibly be easier for you to obtain financing to finance your entreprenuerial dreams.”

Perhaps a guy in a suit who lives at the bank from 9am-5pm might think a simple business degree makes me a better entrepreur, but there is a way around this. Here are a few of the people I have met who have become extremely successful without the initial help of a bank:

• James Flores – CoFounder of Ocean Energy – He started his oil/gas exploration company when he had no money. He borrowed from family friends and maxed out close to 30 credit cards totalling over $120,000 at 26% interest.
• Robert Sek – Started an internet company with a relatively small investment. Rapidly grew his company and used the profits to invest in larger ventures.
• Tim League – Founder of Alamo Drafthouse chain of movie theater/resturants. Needed several hundred thousand dollars to convert a parking structure into a movie theater. He used his $50,000 of savings, his wife convinced her parents to re-finance their house, they got a small-business federal loan (which almost anyone can get) and they maxed out 26 different credit cards.
• Family Friend 1 – Built up small savings from working, then started buying/selling condos. From there he has moved onto multi-million dollar commercial properties and full apartment complex’s.
• Family Friend 2 – Was working an everyday job when he landed a small government contract for an environmental cleanup. Reinvested profits and the business grew into a multi-national environmental cleanup corporation with operations in almost every state in the U.S.
• Family Friend 3 – Worked an engineering job for many years, intelligently saved his money and bought his first piece of commercial property. He now owns a highly successful real estate company.

As you can see, the bank did not play a crucial role in the beginning of these lives. In a case such as Tim League’s, I think his borrowing methods actually drove him harder to succeed. If he didn’t succeed, he would have lost his family money, lost his savings and absolutely obliterated his credit score.

So even if a business degree can make you more qualified for a loan, there are always ways around it.

Went to Nordstrom to pick up a pair of shorts and some new sandals for summer. Nordstrom is VERY pricey, but if you are looking a few nice items for longterm use, I suggest buying from them for a few reasons:

1.) Service. Nordstrom’s legendary customer service has never failed to meet and beat my expectations.

2.) Return Policy. There is none. There is no time limit or reason for return needed to return an item. You can take a beaten up, dog-eaten pair of 10 year old jeans purchased from them and get a refund or exchange. Seriously.

Now, just remember, don’t buy EVERYTHING from them, just a select few high quality items from your wardrobe.

My excursion to Nordstrom cost me:

• J.W. Nordstrom Khaki Shorts – $32.50
• Cole Haan Leather Sandals – $145
• Shoe shining stuff - $6
• Tax - $15.14
• Total – $198.64

Eat your heart out Budgeting Babe :)

I’m no “Taxamatician” (yes, that was a joke), but isn’t a tax refund simply a REFUND of money you overpaid?

This CNN article entitled 5 Ways to Spend Your Refund shows the sentiment in America to blow your refund. According to my knowledge, this is equivelant to:

Buying $5 worth of candy with a $10 bill. When the cashier hands you back $5 in change, you think, “Hey! Free money!” and go spend it.

When you overpay for your taxes and then get some of it back, you aren’t “getting” free money. If you are going to blow your tax refund, blow it on something CRAZY like paying off debt or starting a new savings account!

So I am going ahead with my plan to buy $100 worth of $1 scratch-off lottery tickets to test the averages. I will take pictures and tabulate the results by the end of this week.

My total net worth has slipped a little as my Ameritrade portfolio has been under some stress lately. These are all longterm holdings, so no selling is in sight (except maybe Syntel). Check it out:

Dynegy (DYN) – Just a few weeks ago I went up to a nice profit from a 25% loss, but it’s all slipping back now. This stock will be held onto for approx. 5 years.

Fortune Brands (FO) – Has steadily moved between a 6% and 11% gain since I bought it. I personally idolize this company for its diverse array of subsidiaries. Check out some of their well-known brands: Fortune Brands Website.

General Electric (GE) – A pretty stable stock that I plan to keep forever. I doubt this stock will go anywhere fast, up or down. It’s meant to be the “rock” of my portfolio.

Syntel (SYNT) – They are issuing a $1.50 per share dividend on March 31st which will add up to a nice $270 infusion into my account. If the stock hits above $25 I will sell. I have made money on this stock in the past.

Over the years I have finally taught myself to remove all emotion from stocks. Whether they are up or down for the day, I don’t even flinch. As I plan to hold these for many years, small changes no longer interest me. My heart used to speed up everytime I would log in to check my sotcks, I have finally developed a thick skin!

I am in an Asian Studies class, and we have recently been discussing savings habits in Asia. I’m not sure about the recent facts, but many Chinese families save anywhere from 30% to 50% of their income!

This article shows that most Japanese households save roughly 29% of all disposable income.

Could you for one second imagine if EVERYONE in America saved 30% of disposable income? After the economic bubble burst a few years ago, layoffs would not have hurt as much. Most people would be able to stop working for several months while they find new income streams. Many people would be able to live 6-12 months soley off of “rainy day” accounts without having to touch their longterm savings or children’s college funds.

Savings allows your money to pile up, and if you do not properly manage the urge to splurge, you will end up blowing it in all the wrong places.

I will only spend money on something if I can truly afford it. If something costs $1,000 I can obviously afford it (look to your right). BUT…Notice I do not have $1,000 in my designated spending account. Therefore, I will not buy the product even though I am capable of it.

Too many people THINK they can afford something just because they currently have the money to buy it. Wrong!

Since January 1st, 2005 I have made $2,213 out of my $11,000 goal for April 31st, 2005. Need to step this up! I’ve got less than 2 months and the goal is only 20% complete so far.

My investment account topped $1,000 after I distributed my work paycheck into different accounts. When it does this I usually put $500 into my stock portfolio, but I am holding off right now as other projects are in the works and may need some captial. The permanent savings account has reached the $6,000 mark and looks like it may need a new home. It is sitting there gaining some paultry interest rate.

I got my paycheck from work today, and I immediately stashed it away with the following percentages:

Investment Account – 35%
Permanent Savings – 35%
Spending Account – 20%
Bill Account – 10%
So out of a $271 paycheck I get to spend only 54 bucks on entertainment etc.

Current Financials:
General Account – $ 1,654
Spending Account – $ 85
Investment Account – $ 1,085
Bill Account – $ 327
Permanent Savings – $ 6,052
Stock Portfolio Value – $ 9,278
Total Liquid Assets – $ 18,481 (+240)

I set a goal for 2-28-2005 to have made $3,500 since January 1st 2005. The goal was not met. So far I have only made $1,942 since January 1st, that isn’t good enough.

I have a new goal coming up set for 3-15-2005 which looks like a challenge, especially since I have only 15 days left to accomplish it. It states “Have a third, steady, side income.” I currently have my online business and my job as steady sources of income. I will not count web design and other small projects as a steady source of income. 15 days to come out with a new business that brings in good profits month after month, can I meet the goal?

As for the February goal of making $3,500, it was made to keep me on course to making $11,000 by 4-31-2005. At the rate I am going I will only make half of that.

I’m still a full time student right now, but that is no excuse not to meet these monetary goals! Taking a look back to see why I didn’t reach that goal I noticed a few things:

• I didn’t fully exploit the money making power of Resumite.com
• Didn’t set up a 3rd, steady income. My current online business and job put together cannot make much more than they already are.
• No shorter term stock trades. I do not claim profit on a stock unless I sell it. All my current holdings are long term. My last goals were met through big gains in stock.

On the other hand, I have another article in the Daily Texan, this time on personal finance and savings for college students. I will post the link tommorrow.

My portfolio is currently valued at $9,217 with Dynegy (DYN) and Syntel (SYNT) up today, but Fortune Brands (FO) slipped.

The amount of my money invested is $8,550, so I am currently at a 7.8% gain in my portfolio. Not bad, not great, but better than what I would get in a bank account! All of these stocks except Syntel are longterm, so I’m not going to draw any profits or cut any losses in the near future.

My 2-28-2005 goal of making $3,500 was made in order to meet my 4-30-2005 goal of making $11,000. Unless I come up with two grand in the next 6 days, it looks like I won’t meet it.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: I need more income! I realize I have school which keeps me extremely busy, but I need to form another steady stream of income that is very low maintenance like my current online business. It brings in between $500 and $1,000 per month with less than 20 minutes of maintenance per day.

Resumite.com is my other potential income stream, but takes a large time investment. Even with all the craziness of school I must still dedicate some more time to opening side businesses like in the past to meet my $11,000 goal!

Lots of money yet low maintenance…seems too perfect, but it’s possible. I need to keep thinking!