Risk taker, rule breaker.

by Ninja on February 1, 2012 · 24 comments

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.

image credit

{ 24 comments }

Incoming (another clever title)

by Ninja on January 31, 2012 · 168 comments

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).

{ 168 comments }

I’m half Korean

by Ninja on January 30, 2012 · 50 comments

Today or tomorrow –not exactly sure– marks the half way point of my nearly two month business trip to South Korea. Figured I’d spend a little time today reflecting on my experiences.

Six Foot Two Inch White Guy:

I guess I fall on the taller side of the height spectrum being 6’2, but when my Dad is 6’5 and my little brother is 6’7, I’ve never really felt that tall. That was until I stepped off the plane and entered Incheon Airport. I guess I’ve never really realized just how much of a melting pot America really is. No one stops and stares in America at someone for being Asian, or Black, or Hispanic. We are so accustom to diversity, we don’t even think twice about it.

South Korea is a different story. I stick out like a sore thumb. It’s really odd being the only person at a restaurant with Blue Eyes or Dirty Blonde hair. In fact, I had my feelings of “that guy doesn’t fit in here” confirmed when a random Korean citizen came up to me and asked if I was an American. When I told him “Yes.”, he asked if I would take a picture with him (which I did). Definitely the minority here :)

Subway rides really are THAT crazy:

I remember years ago, passing around a video I saw on YouTube of a bunch of people trying to cram on a train in Japan. Here’s one such video…

I guess I’m kind of naive because I always figured the video was fake. Boy oh boy was I wrong. I had to take the train one day and everything in that video happened on my ride. There is no such thing as personal space when it comes to public transportation here. Hop on an American bus or train and you know that every other seat is going to be open because  Americans hate sitting next to each other. Definitely not the case here. In fact, the dude next to me on the train was so uncomfortably close to my “no-no” zone I’m pretty sure I’m pregnant. At least I was entertained by the other American on the train who was having a mild panic attack due to the claustrophobic conditions.

There is no guessing in Korea:

I’ve done some time in Canada, Aruba, Mexico, France, and Germany. While I only speak English, I was at least able to reason my way to what some of the local words meant. It doesn’t take a genius to guess that “aereopuerto” means “airport”. But how in the hello am I suppose to reason my way to 닭고기 meaning chicken? If it isn’t in English, I’m out of luck. Sucks having to hope they can speak my language, when I should be the one speaking theirs (I am trying to learn though). This was the sign that welcomed me off the airplane, something tells me it was probably something important to know…

Cold does not equal snow:

I love skiing. I haven’t been able to do enough of it over the last eight years since San Diego is obviously not known for having epic powder sessions in the winter months, or ever for that matter. On one of my weekends I decided to go be adventurous and hit the slopes Korean style. Hyundai Sungwoo Resort was the closest mountain and I figured it would be worth a go.

It’s been really cold here (Suppose to be 2˚F on Wednesday) so I assumed the mountains would have plenty of snow. I got to the resort, put my skis on, and started treading my way to the chair lift. I was pumped for a day of skiing. It wasn’t until I got to the top of the chairlift and looked at my surroundings that I realized the resort was all man-made snow and the neighboring hills were completely snow-free. I died a little inside. I would have never taken the trip had I known I’d just be skiing the Korean equivalent of Big Bear (the closest skiing to San Diego). Here’s a shot I took from the top of the lift…

Food:

I have stepped out of my comfort zone and tried some of the local Korean dishes like Spicy Beef Bulgogi, which was actually pretty good. I was also told I had to try some Kimchi while I was here. I gave the Kimchi a shot, but after a few bites just couldn’t convince myself to keep eating. It wasn’t so much the taste that bothered me, but more the fact that I was eating fermented vegetables. Psychologically freaked me out :( .

I have, however, had some incredible Italian and Turkish food. Oh and what would a trip to Korea be without getting some Mexican food…haha. Took me a while to track a place down, but I was super pumped when I found myself some steak fajitas. Oh and to make it worse, check out my view from the Mexican joint….

Street vendors: 

Everywhere you go there are  a million street vendors selling just about anything and everything you can imagine. It seems like some of the most common items I see for sale are American sports team jerseys, mink blankets, scarves/beanies/gloves, leather jackets, custom tailored suits, and fake purses. American money is highly desired here. So much so that one of the places I bought something from refused to take Korean Won when I offered it. Kinda weird being in Korea and not being able to use Korean money everywhere.

The most incredible thing I’ve seen so far is a painting a local vendor did that is so realistic and detailed it looks like a picture. Homeboy’s got some mad paintbrush talent and I’m seriously considering hiring him to paint something for me. Check out his work…

That about wraps it up for now. I still have another 3.5 weeks in this place so I’m hoping to take a tour of the DMZ and do some shopping in Seoul before I head back for the states. While it’s pretty cool here (both figuratively and literally), I think Germany takes the cake for coolest business trip location so far :)

{ 50 comments }

Let’s be not boring today :)

by Ninja on January 27, 2012 · 45 comments

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…

{ 45 comments }

Deductive reasoning (this title is kinda clever)

by Ninja on January 26, 2012 · 73 comments

First off, thanks for helping me host an awesome conversation yesterday about charitable gifts and taxes. Y’all were polite and cool-headed, even if you didn’t necessarily agree with the person that commented above or below you. Well played everyone, well played indeed.

Anywhoozle, yesterday a reader suggested that anyone who lists charitable gifts on their taxes is not donating out of the goodness of their heart, but for the selfish benefit of receiving a tax deduction. I can understand why the commenter thinks this.

Truth is, the deduction benefits probably do encourage charitable giving. I mean when was the last time you gave $1,000 to a business or organization that didn’t qualify for a deduction? If you’re like me the answer is almost never. Sure I give $20 here and there to a homeless person, or I might give $100 to a friend for a missions trip, but I honestly don’t think I’ve ever just walked down to my local coffee shop and been like “Hey you guys do awesome work and I want to support the business, here’s $500.”

So yes, I guess most of us probably do only give substantial financial gifts to charities that allow us to deduct that gift from our tax obligation, but ultimately I have to disagree with the sentiment.

I might be wrong, but I’d bet most people donate because they want to help someone or something out, not because they’ll get a deduction. It just doesn’t make financial sense. If I’m in the 25% tax bracket and I give $10,000 to charity over the course of the year, my maximum benefit for making that contribution would be $2,500. Why the heck would I give someone $10,000, so I can save $2,500? It clearly would be to my benefit to never make the contribution, write Uncle Sam a check for an extra $2,500, and keep the remaining $7,500.

And that is exactly the point I want to make today.

Why do people get so jacked up on tax deductions like they are best thing ever? I mean people were telling me to keep my student loans because I could deduct some of the interest on the loan. They literally were trying to convince me to keep paying $2,000 a year in interest to Sallie Mae, so I didn’t have to send the government $500. I bet some of you with mortgages have probably had similar garbage preached to you, “Don’t pay off the mortgage, you’ll lose the deduction.”

Don’t get me wrong. I love me some deductions. If you are eligible, take ‘em. Just don’t do something stupid and give Person A $5,000 so you can avoid giving Person B $1,000… Unless of course you have so much freakin’ money you like wasting it, then by all means waste to your heart’s content.

Have you been told to keep a debt around longer than you wanted because of the tax deduction? Do you regularly give significant financial gifts to non-qualified businesses or organizations? Have you ever given a gift, purely for the tax benefit?

{ 73 comments }

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