It’s not often that I wake up at 5 in the early morning dawn…
but today I did. I have some freelance stuff to complete. It’s now done finish
and completed. And I am just waiting for more… I really began to be addicted to
the work. It was far from being easy to get use to the job, but once in, I am
in and ready to make some cold rough cash!
The best part of being a freelancer is the: after waiting
over 30 days to receive payment, well, the really best part is: pay me within 2
weeks or you’ll have to deal with a small claim! I feel like a boxer in the
ring! Ready to PUNCH whenever the occasions present. JUST BE READY! And gees, I
might be a pretty cutty scary damn thing because well, it worked. At least this
time. I am going to tell you all about how to freelance really soon and how to
deal with the shita that might and will certainly present by itself among the
way. Because shita is my specialty!
Being a freelancer is not easy, especially when trying to
combine freelance to a regular full-time job. In my case, I don’t really have any
choices; I need to create a good cash reversed because by the end of September,
my full-time contract will end. I am currently waiting for payments that were due
for MAY. Yeah, I know. In my case, nothing is really easy, but as I was reading
the Globe and Mail and reading the story of the Nikita Chloe Wolman. You can
read it too right here. She’s an attorney and has lost her job in Beverly
Hills. She has over 100k in student debt and might have lived the vida loca in
Beverly Hills. She must be living off. And unfortunately, I guess that while
being an attorney, you have the attorney lifestyle.
The lifestyle part is very dangerous. I wouldn’t have the
portfolio I have if I wouldn’t have control my expenses. My wanted to fit in
too much, people take wrong money decisions. By wanted to be somebody, people
spend thousands on MBAs. I personally don’t need any of that shita. And I am
not afraid to push down what I don’t want in my life and I am ready to fight
HARD for what I really want. It’s a matter of education too. Being from a well
fair background certainly doesn’t help in the process. Being well off created unnecessary
needs. Like the big car, big apartment, designer clothes and etc. etc. etc.
Being plastic is soooo boring. While listening to the Desperate housewives of
Vancouver, I couldn’t help it but find those women, at a point, despite being
pretty, being so plastic, overdone, overrich, overplastic. And somewhere, so
desperately boring, unreal, fake.
Life is all about choices. If you make the wrong ones, you are
going to fail. Going to the best schools, holding the MBAs of the year won’t
ever make a change on how you are successful in life. Universities are money s@ckers.
Take McGill University right here in Montreal. A real joke. Those types of
institutions want make us to believe that while attempting their programs, we’ll
become somebody, the big cash will just show up like that. Come on.
I feel sorry for Chloe Wolman, but at the same time, she has
to assume her decisions.
People like her, and I know I am judging super hard – are
from the freak universities junkees show. If you are stupid enough to spend
thousands and thousands away for an education, well, at the end, it’s no
surprise that you’ll pay the price. It’s all about values and the society of
today is totally missing the point. Don’t come after and cry ohhh I have $100
000 in student debt!
I have close to 100k in debt too and I have no problem living
with that. I assume myself and my decisions.
Another problem is that people are way too naïve and gave have
way too much confident in the systems and institutions while they should just
stay as far possible and use only what they need.
Relying on other people than yourself is a big no-no. See, I
am pretty sure that somewhere, Chloe Wolman employer could have keep her, but
they preferred to keep the big bucks for themselves. Selfishness is everywhere,
even here on this blog. Never forget that.
A masters degree in Financial Economics at the University of Toronto costs about $35,000 for Canadian students. The average starting salary of graduates is $70,000. How much do you make?
ReplyDeleteHi Sunny-Thanks for highlight an important concept when it comes to investing: Risk. This Chloe women would have never,never gotten a student loan if she knew she could not discharge in in bankruptcy court. Now because of her stupidity of taking on student debt and not understanding the word risk she is financially ruined. Let's take two cases:
ReplyDeleteCase 1: You graduate from highschool enter the workforce work min wage for 35 years, saving 10% of your income and you earn annual returns of 6-8%. Your nest egg will be 2.45 M
B) You go to college for 4 yrs, amass a student debt of 50 Gs. You find a middle class job. You start investing AFTER you have repaid your debts, assuming returns of 6-*% /yr, and assuming you save 10% of your net income you end up with a grand total of 700-1.2 M at the end of 35 yrs.
See what debt an do to you..it can make you a slave to THE MAN.
Sorry for the bad publishing, I have no time to fix it. Every do what they want. Chloe might be very smart, she followed her dream, there's nothing wrong with them.
ReplyDeleteBut personally, I find of an excessive freshness institutions who charged like hell on the back of students, in the promise of a good future.
that big job of 70k is not guarantee and your getting MAX tax on it. Does it really worth it at the end?
Myself, I did some studies, I did what I wanted to do in life.
I don't make 70k a year, but I am happy and I don't have any hassle. I can live being laid off. Like big FINGER to the outside word. No one is going to have control over me.
I hope Chloe will find a job. She's pretty, an attorney. She should have no problem to married a rich rich man. I wish her luck.
Sunny, you seem more like an 80 year old woman that a 30 year old. We are in 2012, not 1960.
ReplyDeleteYes it cost money to go to university, yes there's no guarantee you get a job when you get out, but do you stop living because of it.
Lots of people earn lots of money going to University and the world as we know it wouldn't function without them. Think about it the next time you have to see a doctor, the next time a nurse helps you in the hospital,that teacher that taught you in school, the mechanic that works on your car, the lawyer that helps you with your small claim, etc. I think you get the message.
Going to University is not only about money, it's quality of life, working for pension, benefits, stability, vacations, etc.
You can't compare yourself to the average canadian or american person, you have no family and no responsibilities and can't afford much luxuries in life. I much rather have student loan debt than margin account debt because no one can take away my education, but stocks as we all know can crash without warning anytime; then what do you have to fall on.
Nothing guarantees your house will be worth more in the future although history shows that it will, but than again, nothing guarantees your portfolio will be more in the future. At least, the house was used for living, raising a family, not worrying about landlord and having privacy. What good is the money in your portfolio doing for you now.
You say people are crazy paying lots of money for education in order to get a better life, get a nice paying job, settle down in a neighborhood and raise a family. All you've been doing is moving around from places and jobs like a yoyo.
Saving for retirement is all nice and everything, but let's not forget that life is meant to be lived, and don't sacrifice your 30's just to build up a small nest egg for your 60's not even knowing you'll still be around then.
One hundred thousand might seem like a lot of money now, but in 20 years from now, it won't be worth that much. If you need 10k in dividend to live today, more than likely, you'll need 20k in 20 years from now.
My wife starting income was 50k, today she's earning over 65k. When you have an profession, your salary goes up with the cost of living. She also has 5 weeks vacation per year and a pension fund.
If you would be earning 100k a year, what would you do with the money, save it all up and live on 10k a year; or would you do like most and buy yourself some luxury and still be able to save some. Saving is all nice, but what's the point if you're never going to spend. To me living a live just to save to be able to retire early is not much of a life. Why don't you just stop working now and go on welfare.
You need purpose in life and I would like to see you stop working now and try to live on 10k a year. Not enough money to do anything and all that time with nothing to do, no kids to take care, etc. Working is not only about money, it's a big part of our social life and it's feeling of accomplishment when you achieve some goals.
Sorry for the long responds, but one thing is true, life is not about money, but if you happen to earn a lot either doing something that you love or not so much, why not go ahead and spend some and enjoy life. Go on that vacations with your kids while they're young, go camping, go to that concert you want to see, enjoy a week of relaxation at the cottage, etc.
Anonymous, I'm trying to imagine a life of flipping burgers for 35 years. What if the person that went to college invest 15% of his earnings as he is earning more. If you want to be extreme and pretend the college student could live on bare necessities like your minimum rage job, why couldn't he put 50% of his money into saving after tuition is paid off as he will more than likely be making double minimum salary. But the point is not all about money, would you rather be the teacher or the janitor at the school.
Hi Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteYou are absolutely right when it comes to living your dreams and not living to count your nickles. I was pointing out that the generation Y wants to have it all, like the Choloe women. However when they get into the job market with their fancy degree, reality smacks them in the face. I'll use myself as an example: I have three degrees: A BA, a Bachelors in Education, and a diploma specializing in Education Hard of Hearing students. I was fortunate enough to have a scholarship for my BA, but for my Bachelors degree in Education I had to pay $10,000 (for room/for tuition). I'm thankful to the good Lord for at least giving supply work everyday. Grand total I make in a year is 34Gs. Which has allowed me to invest(and yes I still live @ home with my folks). I know many teachers on OSAP and have debts three times the size of mine who are making the min interest payments on their debts(because they need some money to live and because their are no teaching jobs at the moment). So their debts accumulate, and when they get married and buy a house-thats right you guessed it more debt. When interest rates go up by just a couple of percentage points you get to what I call Engame-where you can't service the interest on your debts.
I agree with you on one point: Sunny is paying a premium for slow growth dividend paying companies. We have to remember through 1950's-now the median rate of interest was 9%. When interest rates start to creep back up the premium that dividend paying stocks will command will go out the window.
I enjoyed reading your thoughts/comments.
Mark
Yeah BUT... since the debt are for investment purposes, I am getting a tax credit for it. So I am not totally out of the window...
ReplyDeleteIts not anytime soon that interest rate going to increase anyway. The economy is way too weak and its not anytime soon its going to get better.
So seem like all the factors, once again, are playing on my side.
80 years old woman...
ReplyDeleteI guess I am an old soul. People of today are way too much superficial. A cottage? A house? Designer clothes? A 32' flat screen TV? And what else? A new car? Its a question of values and how you been raised and if you like yourself more than what marketing want you to get to give you the sense of well being.
I prefer to have the freedom of doing what I want rather than being a system slave.
I am like a old hippie girl. And I like that :)
There's nothing superficial about owning a house. As for a 32" TV flat TV, it's called progress. You're probably typing from a laptop and not a big desktop computer with those big heavy monitors also. If a person makes more money and are able to buy more expensive clothes or eat out at the restaurant, that doesn't make them superficial.
ReplyDeleteI can just hear your parents saying we didn't have color tv in our days and we listened to the ball game on the radio. We didn't have public transportation, we had to walk to school, etc... Advancement in society doesn't make a person superficial.
Owning a cottage is just as much of an investment as owning stocks. If you bought a quality cottage at a good location at a decent price, chances are it will be worth more in the futures and you get to enjoy your summers in it in the meantime. If you overpaid, just like you did for some stocks, you have to wait longer.
If you believe it's not anytime soon the economy is going to get better, well than your stocks won't go up anytime soon either as they go hand in hand. The only one making money is the bank collecting interest. Getting a small tax break on the interest part doesn't offset the risk being taken.
A couple of questions for you, what is your goal besides being able to live on dividends. What will you do if you don't have to work. You won't have enough money from your dividend to travel and do other stuff. Are you just going to sleep, eat and spend all day in an apartment. And if you would win 1 million dollars, what would you do with the money...
People say "no one can take your education away from you". Well if you do not work in that field for even a couple of years then you will find it hard to find employment in that related field.
ReplyDeleteThis makes your education almost useless except showing employers you have some smarts.
Do not forget Derek Foster. He had a commerce degree, I believe, and never had a good job except teaching in Asia for a couple of years. He retired at 34, has 5 kids and a wife. He is 40 now, and just sold his house and his family is traveling by RV for a whole year across Canada. Dividends are still rolling in for him.
Sunny, needs to choose investments better than she currently does. She is still ahead of you and definitely ahead of me in investment income. I bet Sunny is going to live a better quality of life in the next couple of years than she is right now.
Things are not good at JE, they might be the next to cut their dividend
ReplyDeleteLiving on dividend is like an impossible dream. Its not anytime soon I will be able to exclusively live from my portfolio.
ReplyDeleteIf its ok for you to live in your artificial richness, with a flat TV screen, fancy education etc, that's your problem. Its just reflect your poor judgement, that's really all.
Derek Foster never had a good job of his life. From what I remember, he never made a 40k per year by working. I am even tempted to say he never made more than 30k or even 25k.... So forget about it!
Feel absolutely free to do whatever you want with your money and move on.
I had been holding JE since a long time now and the stock never decreased its dividend.
ReplyDeleteREAD THIS:
"As regards fiscal 2013, given the published growth forecast and results to date, management can confirm that there is no need to reduce the dividend within the Company's planning period. Accordingly, Just Energy reaffirms its $1.24 dividend."
There's been over-trading on JE. And those people fooling around.
Don't worry about JE.
Derek Foster is an exception that was able to retire on his investments. He made is money on some small bets at the right time, not a diversified portfolio and he now also makes money selling books and public speaking. Some people where able to retire by winning the lottery, but the chance of that happening to you are not great.
ReplyDeleteThe majority of people, whether dentist, lawyers, teachers, secretary, doctors, mechanics, hairstylist, accountants, electrician, contractors, plumbers, you name it, they all went an got an degree. Did every one that graduate get a job, absolutely not. But then again, not 100% of the people have a roof over their head; not 100% stays married, not 100% of them have healthy children, etc.... If you stop doing stuff because there's a chance of failure or imperfection, you want be doing very much in life.
Just because you don't work in your field, doesn't mean you didn't gain knowledge from your studies. Life is an learning experience.
Derek also chose to buy an RV and SUV to travel; does that make him superficial. Lots of people like Derek can afford to buy an RV, a fancy car or a bigger house and are not saddled with debt. Saying they're superficial is not knowing them.
I do agree, that lots of people are in debt over their head owning those luxuries, but who are we to judge. Sunny uses the banks money to try to earn more money, these people are using the banks money to enjoy themselves while they're younger. Who knows, Sunny might reach a portfolio of 1 million and die shortly afterwards.
There's always 2 ways of looking at things, That young couple that's in debt over their head that had the nice swimming pool for the kids to enjoy, that took the family to disney world, that had their kids in sports, etc.. if they go bankrupt after 10 years, they enjoyed themselves with money that belonged to the bank; they did things they might not had been able to do if they lived within their means.
And than you have that other couple that lived within their means, get set to retire and one of them die, get sick or they get divorced and can't enjoy their money anyways.
You have people stressing about debt and you have others stressing about their investments.
Life is not black and white, you need to find a balance.
How is living from job to job, from province to province any better? How is working 2 or 3 jobs at a time like you did any better. How is living in a province you dislike to get a temp job any better. That's what uneducated people have to do, work twice as hard to make money and have no stability in their life.
ReplyDeleteYou don't have any goal in your life, just save money.
Being able to move around from province to province is name flexibility. I can go anywhere I want for work. Working 2-3 jobs is only at my advantage. And the advantage today is that I have money to do whatever I want. I am all about that everything. I have not one, but many universities diploma, and I am much more educated that you may believe, even if I don't exactly sound like it sometimes LOL. ;)
ReplyDeleteLife is an adventure, not just a boring 9-5. I had been laid off, you may wish to kick my ass too, but you have to face the fact that I am a pretty fighter. I am much more than just money, I am doing much more than just investing, I am not an open book, I don't write about EVERYTHING.
And you must admit, this blog is pretty AMAZING.
You shouldn't be too critical of Ms. Wolman. There are some notable differences between universities in Canada and the U.S. First off, unlike in Canada, it matters where you go to school in the states. Going to the right school can affect your earning potential or whether you get hired. Secondly, Canadians get a more affordable education, on average, than there American counterparts. Ms. Wolman attended law at USC, which is well respected.
ReplyDeleteA well respected school, but is she being well respected? Not at all. She's laid off, and probably won't be able to find a job in her field and now she's stuck with a 100k student loan debt. Sometime, wanted to be somebody is just not the right thing.
ReplyDeleteand on top of that, from my understanding, she's Canadian, why in hell a Canadian would go lives in the US, cheating on her country. She got was she deserved.
She has all the blame of the world to carry on her back. I hope she's strong.
I have the right to criticize her, she's the one who decided to go public with her story. She has to live with the consequences.
Lesson learn: Its not because your an attorney that you are necessary very bright.