While I like to consider myself adventurous, I’m not really one to take huge risks. In fact, every time someone asks me if I have a desire to go bungee jumping or skydiving I tell them the same thing; “Heck no!”. The way I see it there are really only two outcomes to skydiving. You fall for a minute or two and land safely, or you die.

“But Ninja,” they’ll say, “The feeling of the wind blowing past your face is incredible”. I bet it is, but if I want to feel wind on my face I’ll just stick my head out the car next time I’m driving. Big risks just aren’t my cup of tea.

I read the other day that “careers” are things of the past and the typical employee nowadays change jobs every two or three years. Not so much the case for this guy. I got my current job fresh out of college, and 4.5 years later, I’m still here. Unless someone calls me up out of the blue one day and offers me a six figure position, I probably will be here for a while longer. (those of you that have six figure job openings feel free to offer me one )

I like to pretend that I’m pretty risky when it comes to my retirement investments. Bonds are for wussies. I’ve got so freakin’ long until I retire, I’m stocks all the way baby. But even though all my investments are in stocks, they are still in relatively conservative funds. I don’t have an actively managed account. I don’t own individual company stocks. And I don’t buy and sell according to market fluctuations. Instead, I invest in three pretty boring Vanguard Mutual Funds (VTSMX, VGTSX, NAESX for those that care). Nothing too exciting about that.

About six months ago, I started getting antsy. I wanted to do something I’ve never done before, but I just couldn’t figure out what that “something” should be. Then it hit me. I need to buy three iguanas….

Oh who am I kidding. I didn’t buy three iguanas, or one for that matter. I just wanted to throw you a little curveball .

Sadly iguanas are not in my immediate future, but what is in my immediate future is a new business venture. Six months ago I had an idea (hopefully a good idea). Since I don’t have the required skills/knowledge/abilities to make this idea a reality, I had to hire people to do it for me.

Never in my life have I made a couple thousand dollar investment in something that wasn’t at least moderately safe. I wish I could go in to more details about the business, but for now I have to keep things hush-hush (I probably shouldn’t even be writing this post…haha). Not knowing if I just made the best or worst investment of my life is both extremely exhilarating and incredibly scary (kinda like skydiving I suppose). Two weeks from now I will find out if this six-month journey was one worth taking. Wish me luck

What risks have you taken lately?

P.S. A handful of you know what this venture is. Please be respectful and keep your lips locked. If you want to ask me any questions shoot me an email, DONT put it in the comments.

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I honestly believe I have the most engaged readership of any personal finance blog out there. I mean, I write a silly blog post about tax deductions and it gets over 70 comments. It’s insane. It makes me happy. And it makes me want to keep writing.

Sometimes I sit back and think to myself, “Why the heck have over 2,000 people subscribed to my blog?” I’m clearly a terrible writer and I’m obviously not the most financially savvy of the PF bunch. Why do people keep coming back?

Then it hits me. You don’t come to PDITF for my contributions, but for the contributions of the PDITF community. It often only takes a few minutes to read one of my posts (this one included), but it can take 10 times as long to read through the comment section.

A few weeks back I wrote a post titled “What kinda debt you got“. It quickly became the most commented on post in PDITF history. That says to me, you all don’t mind getting vulnerable and sharing a little bit of the “ugly” side of your financial situation. Heck, even some of you long time creepers came out of hiding and contributed to the dialogue. Thanks creepy lurkers!

Since this went so well last time, I figured it’s only fair to give you all a chance to tell the other side of your story. We know how much debt you have from the post a few weeks back. Now it’s time to get vulnerable and talk about how much you’re bringing in. I shared this in my budget just a few days ago, so now it’s your turn.

How much do you make per year?

Remember this isn’t a contest. I don’t care if you are making more money than you know what to do with, or if you’re an underemployed college graduate living with your parents. This isn’t about who makes more. It’s about finding out where your peers are and getting a realistic feel for where we stand against the masses.

You should also probably include your age and general geographic region for context. If it makes you more willing to share, don’t be afraid to fill out a fake name or email in the comments section to keep your identity anonymous (even from me).

I was browsing a friend’s Facebook profile yesterday and they shared this image…

Since I really don’t want to hear about the sex life of the two or three thousand of you that will read this post, let’s put a little spin on it shall we? How about you describe your financial habits with a movie, song, or tv show title instead.

Make sure you follow the title of your choosing with the financial habit it describes. For example…

• Fast and the Furious or Gone in 60 Seconds: How I spend money when I see a cool pair of shoes.
• Lord of the Rings: How I felt when I dropped some serious cash on my wife’s engagement ring.
• UP: My net worth.

You get the point? Okay, good. Let your creative juices flow…

If I walked in to a Nordstrom and found a pair of shoes I liked, but decided the $100 asking price was too much, do you think they’d sell ‘em to me for $80? Not a chance. Most US retailers don’t negotiate price. If you aren’t willing to pay the sticker value, you best start looking elsewhere. In Korea, however, that couldn’t be farther from the truth.

Today I am going Skiing… no I’m not playing hookie from work, it’s Saturday here. I made sure to pack warm for my time abroad, but I never even thought about the possibility of hitting the slopes during my stay.

Fortunately I had a good jacket, warm pants, thermal socks, and some sunglasses. I had pretty much all the gear I needed for my mountain day, everything except gloves and a beanie that is. Looks like I had some shopping to do.

Just about every street in Korea is littered with street vendors. They sell everything from fried meats to paintings. Football jerseys to fake purses. If you are looking for it, a street vendor has it. Oh! I even had a woman approach me asking me if I’d like a “massage”. Something tells me she wasn’t just offering a massage if ya know what I mean. Sorry lady, I’m happily married and prostitutes aren’t my thing.

During my epic journey to find some decent gloves and a beanie –tuques for all you Canucks– I realized a few things about myself…

1. I get terribly uncomfortable when the vendor hovers me while I’m looking through their various products. In fact, I get so uncomfortable that my visceral reaction is to put down whatever I’m looking at (even if I want it) and just walk away. I know they mean no harm, but I prefer shopping without something looking over my shoulder telling me “This one very nice, I give you good deal”.

2. I have no idea which vendor I should go to. Every street is lined with dozens of booths. How do I know which one I should go to? It seems like they all sell the exact same things. I get overwhelmed by the options and start loosing interest and motivation to keep looking. (It’s kinda like when you are super hungry but there are a million restaurants nearby and you can’t pick which one you want to go to.)

3. How do I know if the product is legit? Obviously the quality of a beanie is not of great importance, but gloves are a different story. If they don’t insulate well and are not completely waterproof, they’re as good as garbage. I tried on a million different types of gloves, but since none of them are made by North Face, Burton, or REI it’s impossible for me to know if they’ll actually do their job on the mountain. I ended up buying a pair, sure hope they don’t suck!

4. Lastly, the most important thing I learned about myself during my Korean shopping extravaganza was that I absolutely suck at negotiating. Well that may not necessarily be true. I negotiate advertising rates for my blog, I negotiated the purchase price of Girl Ninja’s engagement ring, and I will definitely negotiate like a boss when it comes time to putting an offer in on a house. But I absolutely suck at negotiating small, petty, and already affordable things.

I found a pair of gloves that seemed pretty decent. The asking price was $25. I knew in my head (and from what everyone else tells me) I could easily knock a few bucks off that price. But guess, what. I gave the lady $25 and walked away with some new gloves. So what if I could have negotiated her down to $20 or $15. I got a good deal, and she probably got more than she was expecting. It’s a win-win. Besides, those same gloves at Target or Sports Authority probably would have cost $40, not to mention the vendor here in Korea probably NEEDS that $25 a heck of a lot more than I do.

How can I love negotiating so much when it comes to larger transactions, but clam up like a little kid when it comes to trivial things? Am I the only person that sucks at negotiating with street vendors? Should I let emotions (sympathy) be a part of the negotiating process, or just try to get the best deal possible?

I don’t know if tipping is as popular across the globe as it is here in the good ol’ USA, but it seems like I can’t even fart without owing someone money for doing so. When we think of tipping, we typically relate it to the dining out experience. I haven’t been to a restaurant that DOESN’T allow tips. In fact, some states are allowed to pay their wait staff less than the federal minimum wage since it’s assumed the tips they get during their shift will more than make up for their two dollar hourly wage. New Mexico being one of them.

But today’s post isn’t about tipping at a restaurant. Unless you have really crappy service, you should tip. No debate there. Let’s not forget, however, that the restaurant industry is only one of the many industries where tipping is common.

What about take out? When you order a pizza and opt for “pick up” the receipt still has a tip section on it. Same is true for Chinese food and just about every other take-out place known to man. Are you suppose to tip at these places to? I don’t. Never have, and don’t plan to start any time soon. I’m already paying a mark up for the food, so why would I “tip” when there hasn’t really been any additional service included? It doesn’t make sense to me. That said, I do feel really awkward as I put a big fat ZERO in the tip line while the cashier is watching me….not awkward enough to not do it though

Or how about taxis and shuttle services. Instead of tipping a percentage of the bill (like I do at restaurants) I typically just throw in an extra few bucks as I’m getting dropped off (regardless of a $10 ride or a $50 one). I don’t know why tipping drivers is essentially mandatory though. Have you seen the markup on mileage? It can cost upwards of 8 dollars a mile for a cab ride in some cities. You are DEFINITELY paying a premium for the service, so why should we tip too? I guess it’s because a cabbies hourly wage must be pretty rotten? While I don’t necessarily enjoy tipping for this service, I do it because I feel like I have to.

I avoid bellhops and concierge services at hotels like the plague. I’ll always carry my own bags if it saves me a few dollars. That said, one of the service industries I am most thankful for is housekeeping. Leaving a hotel slightly disheveled in the morning, only to come back a few hours later to a pristine oasis, is one of the greatest things ever.

For the majority of my life I never tipped housekeepers. Probably because they are like phantoms that sneak in and out without being seen. It’s pretty hard to tip someone you’ve never physically interacted with. Now that I’m a little wiser, I do my best to leave a few bucks on the end of the bed each day to let the housekeeping staff know I appreciate their service; not to mention their willingness to clean the toilet after I eat one-to-many California Burritos.

If you live in a major metropolitan city, and frequent the downtown area, I’m sure you’ve seen your fair share of street performers over the years. While their acts come in all shapes and sizes; from robots, to jugglers, to musicians, magicians, dancers, and acrobats, they all have one thing in common. They have a bucket and a sign requesting compensation for their performance.

In January Girl Ninja and I saw some pretty incredible street performances in San Francisco. But now I feel like a total douche, because I realized we only compensated one of them. I’m not saying we should tip every street performance we witness, especially if you think it sucks, but if you were entertained, you should probably throw a dollar in the hat…especially if you stuck around for the whole show. Remember, street performers aren’t performing to entertain you. They have one objective and one objective only…get paid.

Alright, those are all the industries I can think of where tipping is at least somewhat expected. Am I missing any? Do you tip for take out? Why do we tip cabbies when we are already paying a premium for the service provided? Do you go out of your way to avoid tipping (like I do when I refuse bellhop service at hotels)? What percentage of street performers do you actually compensate (I probably only do 10% of the time, when it should be more like 80%)?