What up, what up!
Happy New Year! Lol…
It’s me J$ – remember that guy?? Mohawk rockin’, FIRE wielding, personal finance nerd who went rogue and forgot all about his blog?!
Sorry about that. The rumors are false though as I am still very much alive, just living more in the “real” world than the online one :) I also don’t nearly think about money as much as I used to so I don’t have as much to say about it!
But lately a few things have reminded me of the joy of finance so I’m going to furiously try to type it all out before life pulls me back in again…
The best gift money gives you is not having to think about money.
Whenever I think about money this is the part I think about the most. How when you’re IN IT you’re solely focused and grinding and just spending all your hours being scrappy and hoarding as much as you can going for “your number”, but ironically once you hit it money drops wayyyy down on the priority list. At least if you’re doing it right, in my opinion. There are certainly millionaires and billionaires and trillionaires who most definitely want MORE no matter what goals they hit, but I am not one of these people. The only thing I want more of is tacos! Mmmm…
But once you activate “not needing any more ” status, life gets exponentially easier. Yes because you can afford stuff and don’t have to work as hard, but also just in mental energy alone. Whenever something breaks down, or you’re shopping for gifts for someone, or you simply just want to order WHATEVER YOU WANT off the menu without having to worry about being able to afford it (like tacos!!) you can do it! And don’t have to ask permission! This alone is one of the best reasons to save and invest early.
The other – much bigger benefit, of course – is because you then get to choose 100% for yourself what you spend your time on. AKA Freedom. And this is the part I’m reminded of at least three times a week when someone asks me what I do “for a living” as I’m standing there giving away free clothes left and right!
I used to say I was “retired” and just doing this on the side (I tried once saying I was FIRE’D but then they felt bad for me and asked if they could help me find a job! Lol), but now that the “side” project is no longer on the side and it’s become a 40-hour week “job” just without pay, I now say I run my Free Closet as a job. Just without pay. It doesn’t save me from still having to answer a million questions on how I can afford to do so, but it’s great for reminding me of all the hard work Past J. Money put in in order to get Present J. Money to this stage here! What a guy! So I always welcome the interrogating :)
Speaking of this “new” project, it actually turned 1 year old last month!! And we’ve since hit over 50k items of clothing and essentials given out!! Crazy!
And remember how I was looking for a van or truck of some sort to have a “mobile closet” vs running it out of my minivan (which I still have! And you were right it grew on me!) ??? Well, none other than fellow blogger Gwen from Fiery Millennials stepped in and generously donated her huge Cargo Van to me so I can continue to do more good in the world!! How awesome and beautiful is that??!
[This is Gwen – who I love to embarrass :)]
And I can tell you that just from this action alone you know she is on her path to Freedom as well, forfeiting $5,000 she could have easily made selling it. Sure she got a tax deduction from it (of course – we’re still money nerds!) but I’m sure 2006 Gwen would not have been as gracious as 2026 Gwen :) Money opens up a world of opportunities like being able to give away money when you want to!!! lol…
Which brings me to the 2nd thing I’ve been working on lately…
The Arsenal of Good
Do you remember that goal I had where I wanted to donate $20/mo to 100 local organizations? Well I made it up to around 16 or 17 organizations I want to say, but recently decided to change my giving strategy back to *direct giving* for even more impact. No doubt spurred by my latest Free Closet project.
I cancelled 12 of the automatic donations (always automatic so you never have to reconvince yourself to give every month!) and redirected these future funds ($240) right into a new “community fund”, aka savings account, where I now distribute it to *individuals* I think could best benefit from it. It’s been great because it doesn’t “cost” me any more money than I’ve already allocated to it, but now I have an Arsenal of Good I can deploy at any given point in time! Some towards people who shop my closet each week (mostly unhoused friends), but also to young entrepreneurs trying to get projects off the ground where money is the only thing holding them back.
In the few months I’ve started this I’ve given out three no-interest micro-loans totaling about $2,000 (one to a baker, one to a photographer, and another to someone to fix their car for more employment opportunities). It’s been so fun exploring and keeping my eyes and ears open!
And the cool thing with these micro-loans is that the repayments will keep funding The Arsenal so I can continue to loan out more and more over time… And if they default? Well, that’s how it goes sometimes. I have no intention of ever fighting to get it back, it’s more about the responsibility and holding yourself accountable aspect. You tend to want to succeed more when you have skin in the game!
*****
And lastly in the world of J. Money’s errr… money, I may or may not have invested in some pretty risky investments lately!
“You need some Sexy on the side”
Someone once told me this years ago and I’ve never forgotten it. Having some “sexy” on the side basically means that you should do the smart boring stuff at least 90% of the time, but then make sure to save a little bit for fun too to stay sane! Whether in life, or career, or finances, or whatever. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy and all that…
In that line of thought (and also because it’s fun to try something new!!) I invested $10,000 into three private companies over the past year+ that I have an “edge” in. I.E. I personally know the founders who all have insane track records. Two are in the VC (venture capital) world so I’m just begging to lose money, haha, and the third is with my old friend Ethan from Digit days who retired when he sold it, and then came out of retirement exploding with energy and wanting to BUILD again! He just launched the first product a few months back – HIRO Finance – and is having fun doing all the things he once dreamed up but which technology couldn’t do yet. Now with AI a lot of it is possible!
I don’t expect all of them to take off, but if just one does it’ll definitely pay off. And it’s just fun getting off the bench for a bit and being sexy again!
So that’s what I’ve been up to lately…
Thanks for being here whoever’s still left here, and hello to all new readers giving the blog a chance!! Sorry you found me during the end of my blogging career, lol, but hey – we got an archives of 1,800 posts if you want to start from the beginning and pretend it’s 2008 all over again! I’m sure most of the stuff there is still accurate today as money is essentially the same now as it was thousands of years ago:
Spend less than you earn, bank the rest, enjoy your freedom.
The trick is just staying motivated!! So keep reading and watching financial content out there, and then start experimenting and seeing what sticks! All you need is one or two things to go right and then you can pour fuel on the FIRE (sorry – I had to…)
And I’ll be here rooting you on, virtually and in spirit 🙏
Update on that AI company I started with Nate last year… It’s been added to the Resume of Fails!
Update on our general finances… it continues to climb, due to the 90% unsexy! AKA Index funds! I barely remember to keep our net worth updated, but I’m always glad when I do so it forces me to pause and reflect and change something if something needs changing… But I’ve long stopped budgeting😱
Update on my three boys – they are now 7, 11, and 13!! CRAZY!! It’ll really be a logistical challenge next year when we have one in elementary school, one in middle school, and one in high school (!!!)
Get blog posts automatically emailed to you!
So glad to see you back and share what you’ve been up to.
Can’t believe your boys are so.big and that you still have the mini van!
Great to see you back in the house, J$! The community missed you. Kudos to Gwen for the killer donation!! My fun $ is as Schwab, where I do stupid stuff like trade options and bet on interest rates. I could lose it all, and it wouldn’t matter. Fun stuff!
Love it :)
@Jay – Haha thanks! Without the Minivan I actually wouldn’t have been able to start my free closet as that bad boys holds A LOT!! :)
Hehehehe thanks for the shout-out (I think!). 2006 Gwen could definitely not afford to give away a mostly functioning vehicle, given that I was 15 and desperately trying to save all my babysitting and lifeguarding money for a car! Now J$ is feeling emotions back! So glad Walter is working well for you. My neighbors are delighted the van is gone…… At least, the first van is ;)
Ooooooh you always have something up your sleeves over there!! It really was the best gift at the perfect time – I’ll owe you forever for it 🙏
Loved emails showing up TWICE this week! You started me tracking my net worth every month and it was a huge part of staying focused and motivated. My investment account does that for me now but you def helped build my discipline over the years! The internet is overrun w/ “finance bros” these days and thankfully you’ve never been that! Stay in touch – there’s plenty of us still out here I’m sure!
Thanks ReseAnne, that means a lot 😊
Just popping in to say “I was so happy to see you in my inbox”!
Missed hearing from ya but yeah, life.
Glad to hear things are going well on your end!
Until next time
Oh, and HECK YEAH to tacos dude!
🤙🤙
Keep the uber random posts coming J and keep the outrageous positivity flowing in your community,
Cheers
Thanks dude! Miss hearing about what YOU’RE up to over there! What are you up to these days? :)
Great to hear from you J$!!! Equally great to hear things are going amazing! You started my path to FI around 2015 and I’m getting dangerously close! Thanks for all you’ve done and continue to do
Ooooooh cool!!! I want an email please once you hit it! Or better yet – a guest post so you can share all your secrets with everyone :)
Good to hear from you, J. Money :) :)
Thanks buddy!
So delighted to read an update. And inspired to read about how you’re using your freedom to be generous and connect with others. Love the microloan concept. I think many people don’t want free money; they want opportunity. And that’s what the microloans are – an opportunity. What a gift. Keep doing good work and spreading good vibes!
You know it! 👊
Love the community micro loan idea and the impact it should have locally – how do you come across these folks looking for some funding?
I actually just pay attention when people are talking or telling me their ideas or what they’re up to, and then I kinda of ask nonchalantly about what their hold ups are and if it’s money and I think they’re a good candidate I’ll just run it by them and most of the time they’re shocked, lol… I rarely give to anyone who straight up asks, I like to be the one to bring it up if/when I think it makes sense.
Although I will give $20 micro-loans/gifts to my homeless friends at times when asked, and not once has anyone paid me back (as to be expected) except last week!! One guy I lent to over a year ago made it his mission to pay me back and once he got a job – and housing, woo! – it was one of the first things he did :) I kept telling him it’s fine and not to worry about it but it was a matter of pride for him and was great to receive it (and get it ready to go out again!)
oh – another thing I’ll do is see what my friends are posting on socials… that’s where the car loan came in. She was having a rotten day and just sounded super sad and when i DM’d her asking why she told me all about her car issues and that she was stuck because she needs it for work but doesn’t have money to get it going which is why she needs work! it’s a catch 22 oftentimes so i floated the loan idea by her and after thinking on it for a day or two she accepted :) so again it’s really just about paying attention and then getting curious and asking people about their situation more in depth 👍
Hey J!
Great to see your post this morning. Husband & I are old and retired, lived below our means before it was popular. Now we are in the strange position where our guy at Schwab is always on us to spend more money! We give away $$ through donations to local groups, but you have us thinking about more creative ways to spread money out into the universe. Thank you and keep up the good work —
Sheryl
(who long ago sent you the cemetery mailbox photo)
I remember that photo!! I hope i’m just as cool when I’m dead 😂
The micro-loan/direct giving route gives a powerful punch… both in the feels and the direct impact it has. And nothing says you can’t still keep doing what you’re doing but just siphon out a bit towards a more “riskier” investment, if you will ;)
Great to hear from you, friend. I’m delighted — but not surprised! — to hear about your continuing good works in the community. Semper FI(re)!
I need to get back to at least semi-regular postings on my own site. But the trouble with life is that it’s so damn DAILY.
You always make me smile, friend :) I miss you. And your daughter!
Glad to hear you’re doing more good than ever and taking full advantage of your FI status in the most unselfish way.
Cheers!
Leif / tafkaPoF
Leif! My man! long time! I’m sure you’re still out there kicking ass and living it up too :) Always nice to hear from you 👊