Now, I’m Mr. B (Dr. B actually, but whatever) – college professor, hungry artist (but no longer starving), and renter of an apartment in the great state of Texas.

So, since this past July, I’ve packed up all my belongings in the house I own, moved nearly 1,000 miles away, and started a new job and a new life in TX.

The Threat of Lifestyle Inflation

I spent six years living the life of a poor graduate student, barely struggling to make ends meet on an absurdly low stipend. Times were very tough, and I admit that there were days (weeks? months?) of very low morale. My wife and I survived by being necessarily frugal: clipping coupons, evaluating and re-evaluating every purchase, and by walking/biking most everywhere we went.

Those days are rapidly falling behind us. On October 1st, I received my first real paycheck. It’s actually the largest paycheck I’ve ever received, and I admit that there was temptation to go out and celebrate by… spending money. Ironic, huh? At least, it should be ironic, but that’s how we’re programmed – when we receive a a raise, a windfall, or some other general increase in income, we tend to also increase our general spending. That’s called lifestyle inflation. Hey honey, I just got a raise at work, let’s buy that king-size bed we’ve wanted… (or) …let’s trade in our car for a new one… (or) …let’s go buy one hundred pet ferrets! Well, you get the point.

We’re not rich by any stretch of the imagination. It’s just that my old salary was so low that I’ve had a 500% increase! In reality, we’ve gone from far below the poverty line to roughly the median income for our new city. Still, we’re living off of a single income (my wife isn’t working at the moment), but that one income is larger than our two previous TA salaries combined.

Old Lifestyle

Last March, after I received the job offer, I hung up the phone with my new employer and ran in circles out of pure jubilation. After the initial excitement wore off, my wife and I shook hands and agreed upon one critical issue – despite the new job and the increase in income, we would do our best to continue living like the poor grad students that we were. In that sense, we defeated lifestyle inflation before it even had a chance to begin.* Okay, I admit: we did go stuff ourselves silly that night at our favorite restaurant (Indian food… yum!), but we didn’t go on any shopping sprees or buy any big-ticket items.

Before landing the new job, I had many sleepless nights worrying about what the near future held for us. I was approaching the end of my doctoral studies and the job market for my field (in the Arts) was rapidly drying up. We were in the midst of The Great Recession, and it was taking its toll. Jobs that had already been announced were closing their searches for budgetary reasons, and many colleges started hiring freezes, forbidding any new faculty positions from being filled at all.

Unnerved doesn’t even begin to describe how I felt. The sheer thought of having spent ten years in college/grad school just to watch the job market collapse was enough to make me feel like vomiting. Still, I was ready to accept my Fate, and I was willing to find any job just to pay the bills.

Despite my credentials as a candidate, I feel very lucky to have actually landed a job in the middle of The Great Recession, and my heart goes out to all hardworking people who have either been laid off or are having difficulty finding any job. There is always hope.

I distinctly recall fighting throes of anxiety and doubt last fall. I even recall trying to suppress feelings of anger at how abysmally low my paychecks were compared to how hard I had to work. I remember the bitterness and the resentment, and the feeling that I was somehow trapped.

Then something miraculous happened – I took a walk. My wife and I liked to take daily walks around various neighborhoods in our old town, and this walk was no different than any other. It was a lovely day in the early fall. The leaves were already starting to turn hues of yellow, orange, and brown, and there was just a hint of crispness in the air.

We walked through several neighborhoods, many of which contained beautiful houses. We surveyed the new cars in the driveways, the manicured lawns, and yes, the occasional boat. I remember reflecting on how unfair it was; despite my hard work, these people were likely bringing home more each month than I was in a year. While I wished no ill will upon them, that’s still a hard pill to swallow.

Out of the blue, I had a wonderful and liberating thought, and I wrote about it last year. The thought was this: maybe I’m not the one who is trapped at all. Sure, these people bring home a ton of money, but many of them are likely slaves to their lifestyles. Maybe they’re in debt up to their eyeballs, or perhaps they are slaves to jobs they despise and live life in a routine – get up, go to my dreaded job, come home late, make dinner, vent to my spouse, and go to bed. Rinse and repeat.

That day, I realized that there is a certain kind of freedom that one attains through poverty. Please note that there is a huge difference between being poor and being destitute, and I’m only referring to the former. My mistake was in fostering a mindset that focused on what I did not have and could not have rather than focusing on the things that already made my life rich. I had fallen into the classic, grass-is-greener mindset.

It hit me in an instant that I had a great life. My income sucked, but I enjoyed my work. My wife and I shared a single car, but it’s all we need (and it’s paid off). I was able to pay all my bills (barely), but I had a roof over my head. We’ve lived without a television for so long that I’ve practically forgotten they exist. We were even able to save our pennies and splurge occasionally on the few material items that do bring us joy, such as good chocolate, whole-bean coffee, and good wine.

In other words, I finally understood that, basic survival issues aside, the only ingredients one really needs to attain happiness are: a loaf of bread, a jug of wine, and thou. (Omar Khayyám)

Now that I’ve received my first real paycheck, I don’t ever want to forget those humble feelings.

*(P.S. Okay, I lied. There has been one tiny bit of lifestyle inflation. We now buy organic ketchup instead of the regular kind. We think it’s delicious! Hopefully, it’s not a crack in the dam.)

As some of my readers (both of you) may remember, I’ve been on the job market for some time now, furiously and desperately trying to land my first job as a university professor. Times have been tough. My wife and I have been scraping by on laughably pitiful salaries as graduate teaching assistants while I finish my dissertation and send out application after application to any and all available positions. We watched in horror as the recession took its toll – most universities announced budget cuts and hiring freezes, and the already-dwindling number of faculty job openings in my field (within the Arts) completely dried up.

Finally, that search is over. As of yesterday, I accepted an offer for a faculty position in the great state of Texas.

If you will forgive me this one sophomoric bout of glee: OMG! Holy crap! I got a job! No more Ramen noodles and plain rice! What a monumental relief! OMG!

Ahem. Pardon me.

The Longer Story

I knew since my second day of college that I wanted to teach at a college or university. I applied to college as a pre-med major, but quickly switched to the Arts. Yes, I knew that by dedicating my life to a career in the Arts, I would likely severely limit my potential to earn income. I also knew that I would severely increase my chances at finding happiness and fulfillment in my career (nothing against the medical field, I just knew it was not for me).

A full decade has gone by since I made that decision. Countless hours of practice and study have gone by. Years of frugal and careful existence as a graduate student and teacher have passed. I’ve jumped through flaming academic hoop after hoop – all to rigorously prepare me for life as a college professor… I think.

Then I emerged at the other end, ready to claim a hard-earned job and a paycheck that totaled more than 8k a year. Yes, I’m ready to admit that now – my teaching assistantship stipend totaled an amazingly pitiful $8,000 a year. Ouch. Granted, my tuition was covered, but it’s still difficult to live on a salary that totals fewer than five digits. If you had a salary at all, I hope it was higher than mine. Though I do my best to stifle any bitterness, i confess that I feel some rising bile to think that other graduate students at my university earn upwards of four times my stipend… and complain about how low it is. Grrr!

Imagine my dismay when, at the end of my decade of toil and poverty, the recession rears its ugly head and the list of available jobs in my field disappears practically overnight. The prospect of NOT getting a job grew from a passing thought to an accepted certainty. I admit that it became more and more difficult to fend off despair. There I was, having spent (or wasted?) nearly all of my 20s in a hard-fought attempt to get an education and earn the highest degree available in my field, and for what? To watch my dreams fade beyond sight? To take a job paying minimum wage just to survive?

Don’t get me wrong – I’m certainly not above doing whatever it takes to keep the bills paid and the mortgage current, and would have gladly accepted a job stocking shelves or waiting tables just to make ends meet. If that were to come to pass, I would only wish that I hadn’t spent so much time getting an education when my Bachelor’s degree (or even my high school diploma) would have sufficed.

How It Happened

At the end of February, I got a phone call out of the blue from this university. They wanted to bring me in for an on-campus interview. What? Are you kidding?! I practically somersaulted down the stairs after I hung up the phone. The sheer prospect of actually getting a job in my field after all these years of preparation elated me.

The interview went well, obviously. I certainly enjoyed mingling with the students and faculty. My teaching demonstration was well-received, and I left the entire interview feeling like I did the best I could. I had no regrets, nor did I feel like I made any obvious blunders.

Almost exactly one week later, on Friday the 13th actually, I got a phone call. My phone did not recognize the number, and like a moron I had forgotten the area code of that city. So, thinking it was a telemarketer, I answered the phone with a coarse Hello?!

No, it wasn’t a telemarketer, and upon realization of who it was, I sheepishly and rapidly changed my tone. The following line from the department Chair made my ears ring with dulcet tones: We would like to offer you a faculty position at the rank of Assistant Professor at our university. How glorious! How wonderful!

I accepted immediately, but the department Chair chuckled and told me to take the weekend to think it over, and I could give them my final decision in a few days. I said, That’s fine, but I’m planning to accept the position. I almost guarantee it!

So, yes, dear reader. I finally landed a job, and it’s during a time when there are literally no more jobs open in my field. For the past few days my emotions have sent me on a roller coaster through glee, relief, jubilation, and humility.

The Role of Karma in a Job Search

About a month ago, when all seemed the most dire and bleak, I came to a decision. I decided that if I could not have a job in my field, I would at least try to help other people I knew in a similar situation. I started monitoring job vacancy lists for openings in related areas. Whenever I found an opening that seemed to fit a friend or colleague of mine who was also seeking a job, I sent them a link to the announcement.

This continued for a couple weeks, and I sent at least a dozen announcements to friends in related fields. Lo and behold, my phone call with the on-campus interview notification came in out of the blue. Coincidence? Yeah, maybe, but perhaps karma played a role, too.

Shortly before I left for the interview, a good friend who is also on the job market approached me and asked if I would consider writing a letter of recommendation for him. Sure, no problem. I wrote and dispatched four letters for him to various colleges.

On the same day that I received the job offer, he called and told me that one of the places where I sent a letter contacted him about an interview. Again, coincidence? Perhaps, but maybe not.

My main point here is: don’t dismiss the role of karma in a job search. Even if you don’t necessarily believe in the idea of karma, no one can argue that the desire to help others is harmful. Any act of generosity that you provide for another person will ultimately help YOU, even if it only manifests itself in a feeling of fulfillment or satisfaction. If you want to receive, be sure to give as well. Though I’ve landed a job now, I’m still scouring the job vacancy lists for opportunities for my friends.

Now that I’ve landed a job, I get to look forward to packing up and moving. There are a lot of issues that my wife and I need to cover, such as whether to try to sell or rent our house. Hmm, I suppose these are issues for another post!

What are my goals? First, to sell my house without a real estate agent this year.

This is my ideal goal. I’m currently finishing my graduate studies and am on the job market for next fall. Provided I get a “real” job somewhere, I want to sell my house without paying a hefty fee to a realtor.

How will I do this? Starting in January, I plan to read several books on the FSBO process, probably beginning with something like Home Selling for Dummies.

Goal Breakdown (SMART Approach)

• Specific – I have only one house to sell, and I plan to learn the ropes necessary to sell it legally and efficiently. After reading several books and websites, I will list my house on Iggys House.
• Measurable – Either I am able to sell my house independently, or not. Part of that is out of my control. If not, then I certainly will have learned a lot in case I try to sell a house again. No matter the outcome, I will write articles on the overall process.
• Achievable - It’s in my best interest to learn as much as I can before I begin the process. For me, the action will begin with a trip to my public library. I will buy or borrow other books. The goal of selling my own house is achievable, though the final decision does not rest in my hands.
• Realistic – Selling the house on my own will save me thousands of dollars in realtor fees. Even if it fails, it won’t break me financially. Since I have no desire to buy and sell property as a career, I feel this is a realistic goal.
• Timely – I have until mid-August to sell the house on my own.

Goal Two

Whether I am able to sell my own house or not, I am also going to establish a “moving” fund. Many jobs in my field offer a benefit package to help new hires relocate, but some of them do not. Just in case, I plan to save $1,500 of future income as reserve money to help pay for costs involved with moving hundreds/thousands of miles.

I will do this by saving $200 every month from January through August. That will give me a total of $1,600. Hey look, I even have a $100 buffer.

If my job actually provides a “moving” package that covers my costs, I will dump my accumulated contents straight into my Roth IRA.

There are many exciting months ahead!

Worst Decisions

1) Checking Only

For several years of my early adult life my finances were extremely simple – my girlfriend (now wife) and I only possessed a single checking account with a debit card. We were poor students, so we did not have much anyway, but any income we earned went straight to the checking account. Most of our purchases went onto the debit card, and we spent zero time keeping track of exactly how much cash was currently in the account. Sounds like a recipe for disaster, right?

Thankfully, it wasn’t. Despite our low incomes, we were naturally thrifty enough not to ever bounce a check or create any overdraft. I feel like we dodged a bullet!

Unfortunately, we gave up several years of potential interest by failing to have some type of savings account.

2) Waiting to Start a Retirement Fund

I was 27 years old when I opened a Roth IRA (I’m now 28). While it could have been much worse (I could have waited until I was 45!), I still wish I had started saving for retirement sooner. In my early 20s I was far too poor to maximize my contributions, any little bit would have helped. By waiting until I was 27, I gave up several years of compounded interest.

3) Excessive Spending – Computers

I’ve always been a sucker for new toys, especially computers. I did not own my first computer until 2000, but ever since, I’ve been hooked. In those years I tended to purchase a new computer every year or so. No matter how new a computer I had, after about six months I’d start getting an itch, and ogling at sites such as Newegg and Zipzoomfly would ensue. Soon thereafter, a new processor or hard drive (or both) would be on my doorstep, and I’d find some way to justify it to myself.

Computers are still a hobby for me, but my viewpoint has changed. I no longer care about the “high end” hardware, and refuse to spend more than $100 on a processor. My wife and I have a few computers between us, and the average age is roughly 3.7 years old. A couple of them are prehistoric computers that I refuse to let die. Six or seven years ago I would have been mortified to say such a thing.

Thankfully I’ve never had that kind of itch about more expensive toys, such as new cars! Yikes!

Best Decisions

1) No Student Loans

How can I say this without smiling? I am now at the end of my doctoral degree, and I have made it ALL the way through my education without borrowing a single dollar in student loans!

How did I manage to do so? As an undergraduate, I opted to attend a decent state school instead of a more prestigious (and expensive!) private college. Secondly, I maintained scholarships that covered my tuition. Third, I worked in the college bookstore, which provided me with a $400 credit each semester that (usually) covered all of my textbook purchases. My meager salary went toward meals and housing.

As a graduate student, I’ve been lucky enough to have a teaching assistantship that has covered ALL of my tuition, plus provide me with a stipend. Finishing my formal education without a mountain of student loan debt is in itself a dream come true.

On the other hand, if I could do it again, I would take out as much money in subsidized, deferred-payment loans as I could. Why? Because I would stick it all in a CD, earn interest on it, and pay it all back as soon as I graduated. Suckers.

2) Only One Vehicle

My wife and I used to own two cars. While it was convenient, it also meant that we spent more on repairs, on insurance, and at the gas pump. In 2005 we decided to downsize to one car and buy a couple of good bicycles. It was a hard adjustment – we even spent two weeks pretending that we only had one car before we actually downsized, just to make sure that we wouldn’t kill each other.

The end result? We got used to it quickly, and the bikes have paid for themselves several times over in reduced fuel expenses. Plus, we get more exercise.

Our plan probably won’t work forever. If we have kids, we’ll more than likely have to buy another one. In the meantime, I must admit that it’s quite satisfying to zoom down the bike path past a line of stopped traffic during rush hour.

3) Taking an Interest in Money

This is critical – my life changed forever when I consciously decided to take an active interest in my finances. I even remember the day it happened. On October 8, 2006 I received an e-mail from a friend informing me about E-Loan’s 5.5% APY savings account. I almost disregarded it, but something made me surf to the website. I did a quick calculation to see how much money I would earn per month if the contents of my checking account were in the savings account. I was dumbfounded and furious (at myself). How could I have waited this long to open a decent savings account?

From that point, my interest grew (pun intended). Of course, the E-Loan rate has dropped, but I’ve since opened several other accounts in order to “chase” the highest rate. I also opened an account at Vanguard, starting a Roth IRA plus some non-IRA mutual funds.

Then came the realization that I could earn money from credit card rewards, so I tossed my well-worn debit card into the sock drawer and applied for several credit cards, creating a usage plan for maximum rewards.

I even started this website. Naturally I hope it is useful to you, dear reader, but it certainly helps me maintain my interest in money.

How about you? What are some of your financial successes or blunders?

Guess what? I don’t care. Ever since I simplified my setup, more of my spare cash is going into a diversified set of mutual funds. Since fretting about savings rates will do absolutely nothing to actually change them, I’ve decided not to worry about them at all.

In fact, dropping interest rates have encouraged me to invest more money into mutual funds. Sure, there is more volatility involved, but the potential returns are much higher, especially over the long term. Aside from my modest emergency fund, I don’t plan to touch my small hoard of cash for the next few years. Therefore, I will stick that hoard into some mutual funds and try my best to forget about it until at least 2009.

The moral of this tale is to keep your eye on the big picture. The market has ebb and flow, but fix your sight on the horizon. Though savings rates may now be the lowest they’ve been for years, they will rise again. After all, it’s in the banks’ best interest to offer high rates because there is more money to be made.

No matter what happens in the short term, keep this in mind: the path to (eventual) financial freedom may be windy and arduous, but two simple tricks will keep you on track:

1. Save a little money every month. Whether it’s 5%, 10%, or 25% (wow!), reserve a small amount of your income as an investment. Make it automated for best results.
2. Take that reserved money and invest it into a low-cost mutual fund, such as an index fund (or perhaps a Target Retirement Fund – which is often a pre-packaged portfolio of index funds.). Put as much as you can into a tax-deferred (or tax-free!) account, such as an IRA.

Let the Fed slash and burn. As long as you keep those two principles in mind, you are bound to come out ahead.

Why Simplify?

First of all, why bother with simplifying? Right now my wife and I currently have six (6) different active savings accounts, two checking accounts, and mutual funds with two different companies. While that may not be unwieldy compared to some people, my wife and I are both busy graduate students. When we’re both not madly prepping a lesson, furiously grading papers, or panicking over an upcoming exam, we enjoy spending time with one another, accompanied by a bottle of red wine. Neither of us wants to worry about money management during our “downtime.”

Setups

Since I have mutual funds at Vanguard already (and I prefer them over American Funds), consolidating my finances there seems logical. This morning I decided to start transferring part of our savings to the Vanguard Prime Money Market Fund (VMMXX).

Here is our old primary setup:

As you can see, there are a number of savings account all tied to our primary checking account. The benefit of a setup like this is that I can push/pull money to whoever offers the best rate, but as we saw with FNBO, highest rates do not the best account make.

Here is the new setup-in-progress:

In the new setup, I plan to keep a simple “emergency” fund with roughly six months living expenses. This money will quietly sit in an FDIC-insured savings account. In my case I chose E-Trade to host the emergency fund, largely due to their lightning-fast transfer speed.

Anything extra that I have will be split between various funds at Vanguard. The liquid assets will go to the Prime Money Market Fund, medium-term savings will go to non-IRA mutual funds, and long-term savings will go to our Roth IRAs.

The new plan is simple and (I hope) effective. Time will tell, and I’ll be sure to post updates.

To Close, or Not to Close?

The new setup begs the question – do I close the old savings accounts? No, I think not. I plan to leave the bare minimum required to keep the account open, which is only $1 in most cases. What I like about the new setup is that any part of the old setup can potentially exist at any given time. Let’s say that HSBC runs another promotional special at 6% APY. I can “push” new money there within a few days.

In the end, I may lose a few dollars of interest by not always chasing the highest rate, but the time I’ll save managing and updating accounts is worth it to me. Plus, my wife likes the plan. And as a wise man once told me, “Happy wife… happy life!”:-)

Nonetheless, I know that InterestingMoney has finally hit the Big Time. You know how I can tell? I received my first advertising inquiry from one of those shady “payday” loans sites. Sigh, websites grow up so fast…

Here is an excerpt from the e-mail:

I’ve recently looked over your site and believe that your reader-base and visitors might be a possible advertising venue for us.I am interested in traditional link advertising as well as using link “blurbs” on certain pages of your site, or on certain articles – perhaps even submitting articles. This includes but is not limited to purchasing a post also.

Hmmm. Having never received an advertising inquiry before, I took the bait:

Thanks for contacting me. I am open to advertising inquiries.

Traditional link ads – Yes
Link “blurbs” – Yes
Purchasing posts – Probably not

Let me know what specifics you have in mind, and I’ll give you a quote.

A reasonable enough reply, if I can say so myself. Shortly thereafter, this is the reply I received. The bold is my emphasis:

Thanks for getting back to me! The site in question is [edited].

Most of our customers are making ends meet on a small budget and require short-term loans and may not even qualify for more traditional loans. I appreciate that your stance on our industry may be negative, but assure you that we are not out to editorialize or sway you in any way.

{snip}

I am ultimately interested in getting an article/paid post up that links to our site. I’d be happy to provide a post/article (with your approval, of course)….

Aye, there’s the rub! I suspect that these types of e-mails are fairly generic, with a canned response whenever someone expresses interest. I will not name the particular company that contacted me, but after searching for reviews for this company, I found many a website that spewed the exact same hashed review that was obviously written by an advertiser.

No thanks. Call me idealistic, but I will not be bought! Sure, this is a financial blog, and I’m interested in at least covering my web hosting fees, but there are some things that are worth much more than money. Integrity is one of them. I absolutely refuse to publish anything on InterestingMoney written by an advertiser.

In the end, I did reply to the guy:

I am willing to write an original review of at least 250 words of [said shady payday loans company]. All content and editorial privilege will be mine. In my review I will explain why I strongly discourage the overall use of payday loans, but will thoroughly cover your site and not demonize your company personally.

Then I quoted an outrageous price for the review. Of course, I never received a reply from the guy. I’m sure he’s busy dealing with dozens of poor saps who are more than willing to publish a pre-fabricated article for a handful of dollars.

Me? Forget about it. I’m not against the idea of a paid review, so long as the reviewer has the liberty to express a negative opinion if that is what the product/service merits. And if you notice, I did not even negotiate with him for a typical “sponsored” link, as I disprove of the service he’s offering and probably could not sleep at night knowing that I am potentially sending customers into that debt trap. Sure, I’m bound to lose some advertising revenue, but I don’t care. The money is not worth it.

Yes, I’ll say that again. The money is not worth it. Whew, that took a lot of effort, coming from a financial “blogger.”

One of my friends recently told me that he did not have any money saved – any money that he receives is immediately spent that month. Now, my friend is not in dire straits. He’s in his 20s, single, and has a modest income. One look at my friend’s designer shoes and ever-changing wardrobe will reveal where much of his money is going – he enjoys fine food, clothes, and various electronic gadgets.

I have nothing against living The Good Life, but to live a luxurious life at the expense of one’s future is not only foolish, but downright scary. Accidents can happen, and if life takes an unfortunate turn of events, my friend has no source of emergency income. Plus, he’s missing out on the great power that is compounding interest.

No matter your station in life, all it takes is $1 to open a high-yield savings account, most of which offer 5% APY or more and are FDIC insured. You can even do it online, from the comfort of your own home. Two examples are:

• HSBC Direct Savings – 6% APY until April 30, 2007 (5.05% APY thereafter)
• E-Trade Complete Savings – 5.05% APY

Of those two, I prefer E-Trade for its fast transfers (see my comparison of three savings accounts).

Automatic Transfers

Both of these accounts offer the ability to schedule transfers to/from the savings account. Automatic transfers are a couch potato’s best friend. With this tool, you can set how much money you want to send to savings at varying amounts of frequency. When paired with reducing one’s frivolous spending, this is a powerful tool.

Here is a screen shot of E-Trade’s automatic transfer option:

Starting small, if you simply schedule a transfer of $10 on a monthly basis into a savings account earning roughly 5%, that’s at least $126 saved per year. Continue socking away $10 per month for ten years, and you’re looking at something closer to $1,544 saved. That may not seem like much, but given the small investment, it’s a significant return. Plus, it’s money that you could have just frivolously blown on coffee.

For a much better return, try this: if you tell yourself, “I will choose to dine out one less time each week,” and schedule a transfer of $10 a week into an account earning roughly 5% interest, that’s at least $504 saved in the first year. Keep that pattern going, and after ten years it could yield $6,172 or more. That’s a nice chunk of change!

As you can see, it pays to invest even a little bit of money regularly. Set up an automatic transfer and forget about it. Just make sure you have enough money in your funding source (such as a checking account) to cover for the automatic investments, otherwise overdraft fees will completely negate your investments.

In the short term, I would like to focus on ways to keep more of the hard-earned money in my possession. Within the past year I got married and bought a house, so I have suddenly found a new level of financial maturity thrust upon me out of necessity. I’m still a newcomer to finance in general, but I would like to document and share my learning process with others. Perhaps even a few people will gain wisdom from the benefits I discover… and from my mishaps.

Either way, it will be fun. See you around.