3 posts tagged “money”

This is a very special installment in the "drops to freedom" series, detailing my journey to become debt-free. Yesterday, I was called into my boss's office and handed a generous bonus that I was not expecting. Needless to say, I cried like a little bitch. It was deposited into my account this morning and although I would love to blow it shopping, I will send it all to my evil student loan provider today. The even better news is that I think this payment will bring me significantly closer to my goal and I may now only have 5 or 6 big drops to make...I'll report back a little later after I have had some coffee and spend a little time with a calculator. In any case, I AM SO STOKED RIGHT NOW!!! The end is nigh, suckahs!

I am so thankful for this gift, it's hard for me to even put it into words...in fact, I have to stop or I'm going to start crying again. Amazing how debt can be such an emotional thing, huh?

UPDATE: The payment I sent today was large enough that I now only have 6 more installments to make, in as many months, to be completely 100% debt-free and finished with my student loans!!! OMG, I need a drink.

Lately, I have been trying on the persona's of people I pass on the street. Imagining myself as "the car salesman," or "the stressed-out mom," or even "the middle-age affluent gay man." I have been trying people on and imagining their lives as my own, because I'm still not entirely certain what I want mine to be. It is fun to imagine myself in other people's shoes, and if I would enjoy residing there permanently.

There has never been a period in my life when I have felt more certain that I can truly be whatever I want. Some of the possibilities I'm trying out: PhD student at Berkeley, Receptionist, MFA student at SFSU, museum employee, general laborer, Carpenter, and Author. Furniture maker is, of course, a consideration - though I have already mulled over every possible scenario to make that work.

When I see what I would describe as general laborers - guys in Carhaart jackets, often with paint splatters, and exhausted expressions upon their faces - I am envious. In the pro column, there is the obvious - the great physical satisfaction of really having "worked." In the con, of course, the related injuries and permanent damage.

In trying out the life of a PhD student, I have imagined myself at Berkeley, studying the History of Asian Art (again), but this time spending 8-years on it. Unfortunately, there isn't a separate Master's program - you do them both together. I would have considered this path more seriously, but for the time commitment...I don't know if I can promise nearly a decade to the State of California. Which brings me to the obvious - going back to school in Hawaii. Unfortunately, this is somewhat of a non-option. Trust me.

More education is still a serious consideration - even if I am unsure of the logistics. If I devoted that many years, and then got out, only to discover it's still hard to find suitable work; at least I'd have the satisfaction of knowing I pushed my brain toward it's highest potential; and that is it's own reward, right?

More practically, I could take on a cushy receptionist position at a Consulting Firm I just temped at near the Six Apart office. 40k/year + benefits, a fully-stocked kitchen with personal chef who will prepare anything upon request, cool co-workers, lots of natural light in the reception area, and a ping pong table in the courtyard.

I am not thrilled by this prospect, but it has it's merits. Namely, I could pay off my remaining student debt in less than a year, and with the many mindless hours I could write a book, or at least read a few of them... Something to consider. Another track, still in the corporate world, is the possibility of becoming an Executive Assistant. It's a more stressful position, but pay is 85-100k/year + benefits. Naturally, this is an appealing option in that I could pay off the loans quickly and perhaps, pick up some land on the Big Island or a related investment. With this job, it's all about who you are working for - it can be very Devil Wears Prada, but it isn't always like that.

If my decision is to remain in the corporate sector for awhile, I'm going to have to decide. Go for the money - or go for the low stress job. There are merits to both, but lately I have been thinking I should just go for the money, since I will likely hate both positions equally.

These are just a few of the options I have been trying on, and I must say - I quite like window shopping.

Perhaps this has been reposted all over the place but it is the first time I've seen it (thanks satoshi) and is definitely worth sharing. (I'll be back later on to post my project for art group this week.)

A few days ago, a man from a slick new magazine about business sent me an e-mail. He wanted me to do a column for him about what was "new, hot and exciting -- or terrible -- in business today." The only catch was that he did not want me to complain about the rich. This is what I sent him:

Here is what's new and hot and exciting (or terrible) in the world of money today:

The average wage of the American worker adjusted for inflation is lower than it was in 1973. The only way that Americans have been able to maintain their standard of living at the middle and lower ends has been to send more family members to work and to draw down savings or go into debt or both.

The most sought after jobs in the United States now are jobs in finance in which basically almost no money is raised for new steel mills or coal mines, but immense sums are raised to buy companies, recapitalize them -- which means pay the new owners immense special dividends and other payments for going to the trouble of taking over the company. This process results in fantastically well-paid investment bankers and private equity "financial engineers" and has no measurably beneficial effect on the economy generally. It does facilitate the making of ever younger millionaires and an ever more leveraged American corporate structure.

An entire new class of financial entity has been created called "the hedge fund." It is new not in the sense that there were not always funds that hedged by selling short or buying assets uncorrelated with other assets. The new part of this phenomenon is that it is based on a demonstrably false premise: that these entities can consistently outperform wide stock indexes. They have not and cannot, and yet their managers and employees for a time are paid stupendously well.

As with the private equity function, the main effect is to siphon money from productive enterprise into financial manipulation. Or, to put it another way, to siphon money from Main Street to Greenwich or Wall Street.

Starting MBA's at hedge funds, which are basically gaming enterprises, get paid multi-six figure sums. Starting teachers in the state of Florida get paid $28,000 a year.

Here's what else is new and exciting (or terrible) in money: there is real poverty among the soldiers who fight our wars. There are fist fights to get children into $30,000 a year kindergartens and pre-schools in the right neighborhoods in Manhattan. There are 40 million Americans without health care insurance. There are almost 40 million baby boomers with no savings for retirement. There is a long waiting list for Bentleys at the dealership in Beverly Hills.

There are soldiers' wives selling blood to buy toys for their kids. There is a man selling non-functioning body armor who threw a $10 million Bat Mitzvah for his daughter.

In Brentwood, where the houses start at $3 million, the housewives complain about what a terrible country America is. In Clinton, South Carolina, where the textile mill closed fifteen years ago and there is real hardship, the young men still believe in America and their fiancees at Presbyterian College wait for them while they fight in Iraq.

This is a small part of what's new and exciting (or terrible) in America in the world of money right now.