See Jane Get Rich

Destination:  Millionairehood

Departure: 2008 – Age 24 

Arrival: 2028 – Age 44

Speed: Aggressive.

 My blogging friend Don and I decided to buddy-up and join J. Money’s Millionaire’s Club.  It is an e-club for prospective millionaires.  The only requirement is that you make the committment and list the steps you will take to achieve your goal. Right now, since I haven’t landed a job yet I have no idea about my earning power but I am going to estimate conservatively and give myself 18 more years to achieve my goal.  I plan to become a millionaire by doing the following things:

1. Develop multiple income streams.
2. Diversify my career.   
3. Invest wisely for retirement.
4. Live below my means.
5. Give back to the community.  

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 I used GoDaddy for the domain registration even though I absolutely hate their commercials with the same old tired “sex sells” formula.   I already had an account with GoDaddy and I liked their prices. Be careful when dealing with GoDaddy for backordering domaings.  They have some really really shady practices.  For backordering domains, GoDaddy = Super Shady.  Whenever I make a GoDaddy purchase I always Google “GoDaddy Coupon Code” or something to that effect to find coupon codes that work.  The “Extra Discount” shows how much I saved because of a coupon code I found online right before checkout. 

I use Word Press hosting because in my PF blog reader days I found Blogger to be too cumbersome when you wanted to comment on someone’s post.  I still find Blogger incredibly annoying and difficult to use when commenting, but I love that commenting on other Word Press sites is easy as pie. 

Here is what my blog is costing me a year:

 So, how much did your blog cost?  If you are using a free service, do you think you will upgrade in the future?  

It was a tough decision to make but I decided to cut my internet.  First and foremost, it is sucking up a lot of my time.  One of my personal goals this year was to watch less youtube and not play around on the internet.  One month in, I realized that I am not doing a very good job.  You see, I have a huge addiction  appreciation for foreign movies.  I watch movies in at least 10 different langugaes.  So, its time for the stick.  Second, it is really not a necessity for me.  I am at school at least three to four days so I can check my email and blog.    

But, it will hurt.  A lot.  In late September, I got my internet connection for the first time  in all three years of law school and I told myself that I would cut it if it got to be too much of a distraction.  It has. 

Do you consider the internet to be a necessity or a luxury?  How do you control your internet use?

Update on the Externship

My externship work is going well.  See my post Getting in the Game for more details about my externship site choice.  I am learning a lot and I am in the process of reworking my resume and cover letter to apply for a regulatory position within the organization.  My boss told that me that managers hate to hire lawyers because after getting one or two years of experience they leave the position quickly in pursuit of better things.  

I went straight through undergrad to grad school and then to law school.  I have no professional experience other than working for Big Law firms during the summer.  For the first time, I am working outside of a law firm context with non-attorneys.  It is a whole new world for me.   Here, are a few things that stood out to me.

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Okay, let’s break down why January 2010 was the most expensive month of my life. 

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December 2009

I finish all my exams and arrived home for my winter break.  The very next day, I start my holiday job at the big box retail store.  The Other Child (OC), my older sibling, was back at home because the OC quit a training program/job after six months and was about to launch an entrepreneurial effort.  The OC spend all its time at home researching and doing various things for this new business.  You know, the business that was going to be the one that succeeds.

 Bum my parent and I spoke again about the loan.  Bum was not going to cut off the Other Child completely as I desired before the OC’s business took off…which could be a number of years.  But, after having a $0 tuition bill for the last two semesters I would have to pay $9k in tuition for my final semester of law school.  That was going to hurt me financially.  But, I can’t stand by and do nothing while Bum struggled with credit card debt. 

I decided to help Bum out by giving a loan of $15,000 without any of the earlier conditions  for three reasons. 

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November 2009

I go home for Thanksgiving and my parent Bum and I have a face-to-face talk.  Bum wants a loan to pay off all the credit card debt.  By this time, Bum has estimated the figure to be about $15k and the interest rate are in the high teens but no specific figures are disclosed to me.  I get frustrated about the lack of disclosures provided to me as a prospective lender, but I realize that this was a great opportunity to get rid of the Other Child from Bum’s financial picture once and for all.  

 So, I go in for the (financial) kill:

My Offer to Bum

• (1) $15k loan with no interest rate with repayments according to an agreed schedule. 
• (2) Complete disclosure of all debts and interest rates with documentation.  
• (3) Sign a contract agreeing to the terms. 
• (4) Must completely and utterly stop financially supporting the Other Child. 
  • First violation: Loan will have a 5% interest rate and interest will be immediately due. 
  • Second violation: Interest will increase to 10% and the interest will be immediately due. 
  • Third violation: The loan is in official default and all money must be returned immediately. 
• (5) Every term except for #4 dealing with the Other Child is negotiable. 

Bum’s Response?

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September    

In September, I was talking to Bum about money when Bum just happen to mention Bum has some money on Bum’s credit card that needs to be paid off.

Wait.  Hold up.  Did you just say credit card debt?  Whaaaaaatttttt?

I was blown away.  Bum is not someone I would think of when I think of the stereotypical person with credit card debt.  Bum doesn’t go shopping that much.  Bum eats out once in a while.  Bum’s biggest purchase most recently was a new hybrid paid in full through a HELOC.   Bum makes very good money.  But, Bum has two children who was still relying on Bum for help. 

So, my next question was: What exactly is all this credit card debt from, Bum?

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I love my parent.  I only have one so my parent is even more special to me.  Let’s call this solo genderless parent “Bum,” not to be confused with Mum or Dum…er…Dad.  Bum lost Bum’s spouse when I was born.  Losing a parent is very hard but with Bum my life is full and I have never felt like anything in my life was missing. 

I love my Bum.  Bum loves me.  Bum is smart, hardworking and kind.  Bum has been there for me all my life.  I share my Bum with the other child, er, sibling.  I don’t like my sibling.  I do not yet have a pseudonym for the other child so we shall refer to this genderless solo sibling as that “Irresponsible Get Rich Quick A—hole” until I come with another name.  Or maybe, I will just call it the “Other Child.”  I think that will work too. 

I keep telling myself this sibling of mine is really adopted, but so far all evidence has been to the contrary.  For one thing, the sibling looks just like Bum.  Bum really likes science and math and the Other Child likes and excels in all that too unlike to me.  Bum and the Other Child are both concerned about how they are perceived by others whereas I am not.  Once, I wore sweat pants everyday to law school for one entire semester.    

That’s it.  That’s my family.  Now, you know that if I am talking about my family and since this is a personal finance blog the next post will be about me lending money to one of these two characters in my life.  Guess which one?

Yesterday, I got the chance to see the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center in the Concert Hall from the Presidential Box.   It’s good to have friend’s interning at the White House!  The Presidential Box only had 12 seats and of that 10 were being used.  Everyone else seemed to be actual White House staff. We were super excited and had a great time.  We were the last to leave the box and I wanted to take a picture of the sign that said “Presidential Box” outside and my friend wanted to take a picture of her going into the Presidential Box.  By this time the Presidential Box attendant left so we were clicking away and that is when the less-than-ideal-moment of the night happened. 

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