Category Archives: Ideas

random ideas that pop in my head…

Are We Losing Our Ability To Think Independently?

by

I see so many people repeat what they’ve seen on TV like it’s fact, that it got me wondering if we are losing our ability to think independently or really even think for ourselves at all?

Case in point, a friend that I know works in the financial industry.  He told me exactly how he perceived what caused “The Great Recession” and I agreed with his logic.  Now just a month ago, he’s telling me and entirely different story because he was a documentary on it.  Well, a documentary versus living through it with connections to what was happening… hmmm.

Here is a man, that actually was part of the financial system, saw and heard what was going on, but since seeing the documentary, changed his tune and blamed it all on the banks.  It really was more than that banks…

Oh sure, there were some unscrupulous lenders, but if you think that they were all like that you are sadly mistaken.  I think that it was mainly the construction of the complex derivatives that caused the problems and made it so the rating companies didn’t have a clue (nor did the companies peddling the stuff), but I digress…

The thing that kills me is my buddy, who was much closer to the financial downturn I ever was, basically forgot what he lived through and instead change his entire mindset based on a documentary!  Like those documentary creators were unbiased and were in the middle of what was going on more-so than he was…

It reminds me of the “Jedi mind trick” from Star Wars.  “Believe what you watch, you will” says Yoda…

The thing is we’ve all been influence by what we watch on TV.  I know that after watching certain movies I get pumped and want to work out.  I’ve even acted out a few dangerous scenes when I was younger with friends (ah, those teenage years).  Now that I’m older I realize how incredible stupid that was of me to do.

I wonder how much of our life is misguided by fantasies and make believe magic that we watch on TV and the movies than reality.  Most of us look up to actors, not really innovators in our country that improve our lifestyle.

The real question is how do those of us in the middle get back on a productive and reality based track again (if we were ever on that track to begin with)?

Perhaps less TV and less online time is the answer?  Perhaps trying to think outside of the box a bit (or a lot) more?

Hard to tell, I’m still experimenting myself…

MR

 

Evolving Ideas to Make Better Financial Solutions and Experiments

by

I find that my ideas are continually evolving instead of being cast in stone (or near stone), and this works fine for me.

Ideas cast in stone

Some people see their idea before they even start to write their thoughts down.  It’s fully formed and they carve out all of the smallest details before they even take their first action.  Kind of like the way Mozart would do his compositions in his head and playing on the piano before writing it down to paper.  Beethoven was a direct contrast to Mozart, and although I’m no Beethoven, tend to follow a similar path with my ideas.

One of my most successful ideas that I’ve had on this blog is my “Lunch Dividend Experiment“, but this is not how the idea started!  The real formation of my Lunch Dividend Experiment began as a thought in a post called: “Paying an Adult Allowance“.  And to be honest, it actually went through a few other posts before the name “Lunch Dividend Experiment” was the title that I decided to stick with.

Another example of an idea that is still evolving for me (albeit much slower than the comparatively simple “Lunch Dividend Experiment”), is an article that I wrote called: Skipping The Inheritance, Creating Income Streams For My Kids.  This idea is still a work in process although I have invested some money for them into growth and dividends stocks.  I’m not really crazy about the length of the title, I need to simplify it and compress the ideas into a more actionable plan, but at least it’s a start.

The thing I find is that initially my ideas are not very clear, but usually somewhat original, or at least in my opinion, clever.  I’ve noticed that I was more forthcoming with such ideas when I started blogging, but then scaled back, perhaps because I wanted to be more professionally, or perhaps it was because of a few other bloggers that didn’t get it.  For instance one of my thoughts was called “Paying Off Your Mortgage is Like Working at a Second Job“, in it, one particular blogger tried to take the post in an entirely different path.  Instead of following the increased cashflow, the blogger focused on basic financial and tax specifics that were obvious.  This blogger missed the forest for the trees in that the amount of discretionary income in my pockets increased by over $1,000 once my mortgage was gone and I became totally debt free!

I’m determined that next year, I will no longer let such comments pollute the idea and crux of the posts that I create.  And so, I will again try to become more financially creative in my thoughts and experiments.

Here’s to the New Year!!!

MR

The Week Before The New Year

by

There aren’t many magical times in the year, but the week before New Years is one of them.

Why?  you might be wondering…

Reasons the Week Before New Years is Special:

  • This most productive time straddles the two holidays Christmas and New Years!
  • Most people have this time off because of two holidays being so close together.
  • This is an incredible time when many see friends and family not typically seen.
  • While this is a resting period when many parents play with their children in new games and other activities.
  • The week is a paradox of time, where people are both more restful and more active mentally at the same time.
  • This is the time when planning for the next year happen

Okay, above I mentioned the paradox of time, which is the entire basis of this post!  I find it fascinating that many of us take off the time between Christmas and New Years, and during that time we rest the most and at the same time we pull out of the ether our entire plans for the following year!  If that’s not magical, then what is?

At  the end of year 2010, I decided to keep it loose and just let what happens happen…  In one sense that experiment was an incredible flop in that I didn’t really did get any traction on any of the loose goals that I half imagined that I would undertake.  But on the other had it was a great success in that I’ve been able to take a very deep analysis of my life and the way that it’s being consumed by time.  This has enabled me to realize that I do have room to improve it.

In 2011, I’ve come up with what I consider some interesting new ideas, many of which I’ll choose and track in the coming new year.  So while I physically rest on my couch writing stuff on my laptop, I’ll be thinking hard creatively and in a goal oriented fashion!

So hopefully this “week before the new year” will be a magically productive time for me creatively!

MR

Having Stock Dividends Pay Money For Allowance

by

Once my son and daughter turn 18 (or 21), I will stop paying them allowances.

It’s not that they were bad, or that I will have a sudden change of heart with the matter, it’s just that they’ll be adults then and traditionally that’s when such things stop.  But in ways isn’t this almost like a punishment for becoming an adult?  Perhaps at some subconscious level, it deters kids from wanting to strive out on their own, becoming totally financially independent from their parents?

Money Gift

After talking this over with my son last night, we decided to change the way that he receives his allowance.  While the details are still being ironed out, basically we going to take most of his money from his saving account and invest that amount into one or more dividend paying stocks.  The idea is that I will still pay him an allowance, but the dividend from these stocks and a portion of the money from his allowance will go into buying more stocks (along with Christmas & Birthday money along with any earned money that he might receive).  We are still working out the details, but the idea is that if we do it right, we should be able to accumulate enough stocks that pay a dividend to provide him a passive dividend stream when he turns twenty-one.  Ideally the amount would be at least $21 per week, which would match the current allowance program that I have my kids on.  Of course, I’m hoping for a higher amount to offset taxes, but who knows, only time will tell.

So what are the benefits of such a Dividend Allowance Paying program?

  1. My kids continue to receive an allowance, but instead of me paying for it out of my earned income, they will pay themselves via the passive income received from dividends.  This is one of those “the gift that keeps giving” kind of ideas.
  2. They start to learn about investments and the power of dividends and passive income at an early age.  Hearing about passive income and actually receiving passive income are two different things entirely.  Until you have passive income, it’s just a money myth.
  3. They will be able to gain investment experience, learning that stock prices go up and down with time, and experiencing recessions.
  4. The learn the concept of having your money work for you.  This will help them visualize money as a tool.
  5. I may gain kids that can talk to me about stocks, we will grow closer as we will have more in common.

Of course I can always follow a different path and invest in dividend yielding mutual funds too.  But since I not that crazy about the fund fees, for now I think I’m going to stick to individual dividend stocks in the short-term.

I really like this idea and one that I’m excited about along with my son (my daughter’s to young to get excited about it yet).

Bests,

MR