It feels like December (and really, 2015) just flew by. I can't believe the holidays are pretty much over. I had a very small, very quiet Christmas and that's just fine by me. We still cooked a big dinner, drank lots of champagne and opened gifts - can't really complain about that! I got some new pajama pants (just what I need more of...though, I love them and specifically asked for them...but I need another pair of lounge pants like I need a kangaroo living in my condo) a few cool handmade gifts and some new shirts/tank tops.
Honestly, I had a lot of trouble even coming up with a list of things I wanted this year. I have EVERYTHING I need and while I have a few fun/useful wants, they are quite expensive and not something I could ever ask someone to buy for me (namely kitchen equipment and running gadgets, all of which are over $100 and fall into 'frivolous' wants.) I may save up my coins (I have over $100 as of right now) and pick up a few items during the year...or I may invest the spare change in my new taxable investment account (leaning towards investing.)
That's right, people! I finally broke down and opened an individual investment account. I already have DCP, 457 and 403b retirements through work and I also have a traditional IRA, but I wanted something that I could use pre-retirement or for early retirement. Obviously, I have a lot more research to do (I know there are some 'loopholes' that may allow you to roll things over to different accounts and get the money from traditional retirement plans if you're planning on retiring before the standard age) but I wanted to get started...I don't want to wait until I'm 48 to start one (though, saving and investing at any age is a good thing.) I'm starting very small until I get the hang of everything (and fully fund my emergency fund.)
I know many personal finance people would totally disagree with what I'm doing since I'm not maxing out my retirement accounts at the moment (there's no employer match with the 457 or 403b, so I'm not missing out on 'free' money) and I still need to beef up my 6-12 month emergency fund, but I'm excited to see how this goes. I know I could lose money...but I'm ok with that. That's how investments work. I've seen a lot of positive and negative fluctuations in the 10 years I've had retirement accounts, but overall it's been way more positive and worth the risk. I won't hit my goal if I'm stuffing money under my mattress.
Anyway, so much money talk. I'm sure it's soooo boring to read, but I'm pretty excited about it. Having a 2 week break from the office (though, I am working from home) reaffirmed that I don't want to be stuck in a 9-5 until I'm 65. No, no thank you. Don't get me wrong, I like my job just fine and I don't mind being 'stuck behind a computer' (I prefer it to customer service) but I want to do it on my terms. I'm also starting to realize that when I'm alone in the nursing home (because, let's face it, that's probably where I'll end up) I won't care if I owned 'this season's must have shoes' every year...but I will care if I never got out to experience the world and made memories with the people I love (not to mention the fact that if I am in a home, I want it to be as nice as possible.)
Enough about me getting old. I need to get back to work so that I can have at least 5 or 6 days of freedom before I have to go back to work. I'm not allowed to take any days off between January and the end of April, so I better enjoy what little time I have right now (yet another reason for financial freedom!)
No comments:
Post a Comment