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Stock Market and Me - A Walk Down Memory Lane

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So learning about the stock market started at a young age for me.  Officially, I started having money in the stock market some time in junior high school. It first started by going to a bank getting introduced to the investment side of the bank branch.  And from there I started investing in mutual funds that tracked the index, bond funds and monthly income funds.  At that time, the idea of investing in stocks sounded scary (and in hindsight, rightly so as trading costs were high, and with the capital I had, it wasn't enough to have diversification). Then in 2007, cashed out of the stock market to purchase property.  While it seemed logical at the time, the timing of the purchase was right before the housing market crashed - making the property I bought suffer a huge loss on paper.  This would cast a big shadow and would delay my (re)-entry back into real estate. From that point on, for quite a few years, I had stayed mainly in the stock market as my go to...
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Gambling at a Casino. The House Has the Odds

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So at one point in my life, I did an experiment.  What if I tried to make $200 every day at the casino.  It shouldn't be hard right (given in the past, when I was playing for fun it was easy to leave the casino up)… To make a long story short - this was a failed experiment.  The house always has the edge.  You will hear stories of people making a lot of money on one night.  But what you don't hear or see is that the next night or the night before they lost twice or thrice that amount.  It is quite a vicious cycle and not something to fool around with. Very few people actually turn a profit in the long run.  In this 10 month long experiment, I have only met one person out of hundreds who actually had a positive record (when you are there 6 to 8 hours a day, and 12 hours+ on the weekend, you see a lot of people).  I would dare to say the time I spent at a casino in these 10 months is probably more than a lot of folks in their lifetime. ...
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Establishing an Emergency fund

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If you are reading this and it is applicable to you, it means you are no longer a little boy/girl with no responsibilities.   You are going to have certain financial obligations and if not fortunate, medical expenses to cover for. One thing to establish is an emergency fund, in case a big expenditure comes up out of nowhere.   The actual amount to keep varies.  The rule of thumb it to keep an emergency fund that is at least 3x of your monthly expenditures (so if you spend $2000 a month, then you should save at least $6000.  Similarly, if you spend only $1000 a month on average, then save $3000). With an emergency fund established, you get a couple things: Piece of mind.    With a little cushion, even if you get laid off and lose your main source of income, you can survive a couple months. More piece of mind.    If an unexpected expense comes up, you won't be stressed out because you have the money to pay for it Opportunity. ...
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Work Benefits - Choosing the 'Right' Gym Membership

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Gym memberships...  Keeping healthy and working out is important.  If your employer offers you membership into a super fancy gym (say it would cost $100 a month that the company would pay for - but you get taxed on this .. aka $240/year cost to you) vs. giving you money (say $800 a year), which one would you take?   Some would take the super fancy gym, but do you really need all that is offered there to keep yourself healthy?  A 'regular' gym membership is about $30 a month.  Comparing the two,     Going with the fancy gym plan = Costs you $240 (assuming 20% tax)     Going with regular gym = You get back $440 a year So think a little bit about what you really need before you sign up for it.
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Year 1998 - Track your income and expenses… and look at it!

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My personal belief in how I was able to achieve a net worth of $500,000 before 30 was by being diligent and keeping track what I get and what I spend, and then periodically looking at this and evaluate how I am doing.   I started tracking expense in just an Excel spreadsheet, and over time started using software like Microsoft Money, and now Quicken.   Overtime I started keeping a pretty detailed account of what I spent.  I keep every single receipt.  I use credit cards mostly and very little cash so I can download the statements directly.  Whenever I use cash, I try to update my records the night of.  For kicks, I also keep an inventory of my assets (aka home inventory).  Now, this might be considered by some as overkill (and some might think I just have too much time on my hands, but I just call it detail orientated :P).  The net though is writing things down (and reflecting on it) is one of the tricks that seem to have worked for me t...
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