So I was handed $50 dollars today. This has got me into a lot of serious thinking, which, even considering that it is something like 20% of my current liquid assets, usually wouldnât happen. Not that Iâm careless with money, but I always say âI donât have any income,â so I canât do any of the smart financial things to do with savings. And since I donât have any debt (lucky me), thereâs not really any rush, as my situation isnât degrading with time (although, if you think about it long enough, youâll realize compound interest works both ways). I read Steve Pavlinaâs â10 Reasons You Should Never Get a Jobâsome time ago (Iâm not sure exactly when) and definitely agreed witheverything he said. For a long time Iâd been trying to figure out whatwould be my ideal job. Nothing ever seemed to fit, so seeing not onlya way I could get by without one, but seeing an example of it reallyinspired me to focus on being successful on my own terms (job orotherwise). So Iâve been a bit of a liar in that I do get income, in bits and pieces for random things, but I do end up with money from time to time. Thatâs not the point Iâm really trying to make (though Iâll say more about this in a bit.); however, the point is I really should have recognized this income a long time ago. It doesnât come from a regular job, itâs not much, itâs irregular, but I donât even know how much it has added up to, or what kind of investment I could have had if Iâd done something more useful with it, or what terms I could have dictated in my life if Iâd paid attention.Thatâs really the shame in all of it, as one of my friends has recently become really financially aware, started a blog, and got mentioned in the New York Times (front page even). Sheâs been pushing everyone she knows to be financially aware, and Iâve been fairly content in my non-emergency situation and my lack of much to manage or have awareness. Thatâs really the lie, that Iâm doing alright just because Iâm not in a financial crisis; everything but dead isnât very good and shouldnât be the goal, in finance or anything else.So, in honor of my link love for her, and inspired by her post about what to do if someone gave her X dollars right now, Iâm going to figure out something financially smart (like opening a good account somewhere, or investing account, or whatever turns out to be the most useful) and do that. Iâm not going anywhere financially right now, but Iâd like to be; this is the way to start. Iâll keep all of you reader(s) up to date with what I do with it, and the rest of my somewhat stagnant assets.Go start something yourself. Health isnât just not being dead.
Note: This entry imported via Facebook's Note feature from my old website, much is expected to be broken.