Market Up - Will It Last?

The Dow had an up 400 day, mostly on the news that the Fed was going to inject $200 billion of liquidity into the market.   This gave hope to many investors that the worse might be behind us and that it was time to get back into the market.

I kept my money on the sidelines.  I'm not sure how this Fed action at all solves the fundamental problems that caused the market to tank in the last few months.  We are heading into a period where we need to pay for the excesses of the last few years.  We can delay it, and that is what the Fed seems to be trying to accomplish, but in the end, someone is going to have to pay up.

The market reacted to relatively weak news, and this stimulated others to jump in not to miss the boat.  But when the smoke clears people are going to realize that the fundamentals just aren't there.

Take this opportunity to get rid of any stocks that you have been wanting to get rid of for a while.  Days like this don't come by too often and you have to take advantage of them when you can.

New Job and Expectations

I’m about three months into my new job.  Like any job there are some good and there are some bad, but I will be honest and say I’ve been frustrated at my job much more than I should be considering I am in what should be the honeymoon phase.

I think my biggest problem is probably a mismatch in expectations.   This is something crucial to get right whenever you start a job and it is something that I unfortunately did not do well here.

This company has the exact opposite problem I had at Microsoft.  Microsoft moved too slow for me; this company moves to fast.  I was expected to come in and start making some pretty big decisions and contribute right from the start.  For someone in my position, who has to understand the product, technology, and process to do his job effectively, this put me in a very awkward position and quite frankly hurt my credibility.   I needed time to get my bearings and learn the ropes.  It would have been foolish of me to come in and start making changes left and right.  Even with what I know now and the problems that are evident, it is clear that some people aren’t open to changing things.

Managing expectations, it is something everyone has to do well in every job.  It is even truer the higher you go up the food chain where expectations become big and every missed expectation is magnified.

This is probably something you really need to nail down before accepting the job.  I’m usually pretty careful about this and I would argue I was even with this job.  There are some things you just can’t know before you really start a job, but you should still do your best to get a lay of the land.  I suggest you do the following (which I did)

1.  Ask what your success criteria will be in 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, 1 year


2. Who will be assigned to help you learn the nuances particular to any company


3. Do you have any immediate deliverables?


4. Who will help you with those deliverables if your ramp up time is longer than expected?

It is my strong suggestion that you limit your responsibility and deliverables immediately after starting a new job.  Biting off too much when you start can be frustrating for all involved.  I have to say this is one thing that Microsoft did well when I started.   I literally had no responsibility the first month I got there.   In about month and a half in, I was expected to deliver my first deliverable and even then it was small and manageable.  Only after I went through my first full cycle (about 6 months in) was I really expected to drive and deliver.

A Refocusing

I've done some deep thinking this weekend about a lot of different things.  One of the things I thought a lot about was this site.

I started this site out with the stated goal that I wanted to take my money and find some way to double it within a year.  As any regular reader has realized, this journey has been sidetracked for any number of reasons, most notable of which is that my situation in life has changed considerably in the five months since I started this journey.  Back then, I had all the time in the world as I was voluntarily unemployed and was rather enjoying it.  But being the workaholic that I am, I admit I was itching to get a new job and start on the next challenge.

That challenge came much sooner than I could have expected, and it flipped my world upside down causing me to move back to LA.  So here I am now, three months later, and barely made a dent in my Double Journey.  So what now?  Do I pretend that I can find some way to do this in the few months that I have left?  Do I just abandon the whole idea and move on?

Well, I can't just quit.  And to be honest, I really do like blogging and  running this site.  I've learned a few things, even learned a few things that have helped me at work, and I plan to continue this site.  However, I probably need to refocus the site.  I need to come to grips with the fact that short of taking the money and betting on black, I'm not going to find a way to do this in the time frame I originally laid out.

So I will keep doing what I've been doing.  I'm going to continue to blog and I'm going to continue to find ways to try and make money.  I'm just not going to put on an artificial time line of a year to go do it.   Is it going to take me two years, five years, ten years?  I'm not sure.  For those who have come along with me so far, please continue to do so.  I will find some way to make this happen, and I could still use all the help and encouragement I could get.  I'm just not going to make it my main focus.  I've actually done well in terms of making money by not trying to make money.

All my life I've focused on working hard and doing a great job with the belief that money would take care of itself.  So far, it has.

Life Without TV

I am in the market for a new TV. I'm one of those people when I buy something I analyze it to death to make sure I get a good deal. It's what I did when I bought a fridge, and it is ten times worse now that I'm trying to buy a TV.

Here is the thing, despite the fact I want to get a really nice TV, I probably don't need one. I've gone over two months without any Cable TV and while I sometimes miss it, I have definitely found other things to occupy my time. It's been rare when I sit around and think, "Gee, I have nothing to do now. I wish I had a really great TV."

And the thing is, I not only save money not buying the TV (and not buying something is as good as earning that money), but I don't pay for cable. I would probably get satellite and I would get an HD setup since I would have a HDTV. That would cost me somewhere in the neighborhood of $70 a month. Something I could definitely afford but doesn't hurt me not to spend it.

Now that I think about it, I actually don't spend much more money living in California vs. Washington. My rent is $1700 per month. That is about $300 more than a similar place in Washington. Add to the fact that I do not pay for water, trash, gas, a second parking space, or anything else other than electricity and the gap narrows even more.

Taking the Train

I plan on taking the train in the morning. The Pasadena Gold Line, the train I will take, is pretty convenient as it is about a 5 minute walk for me in the morning. It takes me to downtown where a bus that goes directly to my building is waiting for me. As the cost is only $1.25, it is pretty cheap for me to take the train. When you take into account that gas is running $3.50 per gallon, and it looks down right cheap for me to take the train.

Up until now, I haven't done it. It's amazing the excuses one will come up with to try and avoid doing something. First, it was because I had to walk 5 minutes. Then it was that the times weren't all that convenient. Then it was that nobody in California takes public transportation. In the end, it was just a change to my routine that I wasn't quite ready to make. It's amazing how we are such creature of habits. It affects all aspects of our lives. It just makes sense for me to take the train. It will save me money, and for the most part it will even save me time.

Speaking of this, I am starting to think L.A. public transportation gets a bad rap. I took the LAX fly away this past weekend. It travels from Union Station to LAX for only $4. Seriously, that's dirt cheap and very convenient. Way easier than getting someone to take me to the airport.

How Imporant is an Ivy League Education?

I got a comment yesterday on my post on How to Get Into an Ivy League School. In it, the reader was stressed about trying to get into an Ivy League school despite the fact that he has started "late" as he is almost done with his Freshman year.

Before I go answer that question specifically, I really want to touch on something. In no way should you feel stressed about getting into an Ivy League School. Let's just be clear, it is very hard to get in but not getting in does not mean the end of the world. The vast majority of people who apply do not get in and they go on to live perfectly happy lives. I firmly believe that you can get a fantastic eduction no matter where you go, it is up to you to make the most of it. It is true, that most of my friends who have attended Ivy League schools have gone on to have great careers but you should not confuse correlation with causation. Most of these people got into an Ivy League school because they are just the type of person who would succeed in any environment. Just keep that in mind.

So despite my own words which may suggest that I've greatly benefited from my Ivy League degree, please keep those words in context. You will do fine in life so long as you are smart and driven. It does not matter what school your diploma comes from.

OK, now that I got that out of the way, let me answer this person's specific question. You have nothing to worry about. I personally didn't take any AP courses my Freshman year. I only took one my Sophomore year (that was basically all my school offered to Sophomores). I did however take every honors course that my school offered in the respective grades.

I'm no expert on the subject, but I heard of people who botched up their Freshman year, and recovered their Sophomore and Junior years to still get in. From the sound of it, my reader is doing well in the classes he is taking, so this is not a worry. If you show good progression and you take the hardest courses you can your Sophomore and Junior years, I think you have nothing to worry about. So don't sweat it. Do well in the classes you are taking now, and make sure you take the hardest courses you can going forward. To balance it out, you should be sure to be involved in as many extra-curriculars this year to show that you were committed to making an impact in other ways this year, not just academically. Best of luck to you.

Bought a Fridge

So I had to buy a refrigerator for my new apartment. Despite living on my own for the last decade or so, I've actually never owned a fridge. There was always one in every apartment I rented. This unit didn't have one, so I had to go out and buy one.
It actually took me a real long time to decide what to get. You see, I'm just not use to buying big ticket items. There are very few times I've ever spent over $500 on any one purchase. I had considered just getting a cheap fridge and saving the money. Why get a good fridge when this isn't a real permanent option and I will in all likelihood move within a year?

The counter argument of course is that I hate buying things that I get rid of after a short time only to replace it with another item. You end up spending way more money than if you were to just buy the better item in the first place and you are incrementally happier with that purchase for the life of the product.

This is part of the reason that this journey will prove and has proven so difficult for me. I am not use to buying things and getting rid of them quickly. I do things for the long haul, and this short time frame is just foreign to me. Well that and the fact that I barely have any time to sleep much less think about how I'm going to make money.

Somehow I managed to equate the stock market with buying appliances.  I really must be some sort of finance geek.