1.21 JigaWatts

30 Years at 5 and ¾

2008-10-01T20:51:00.004-04:00

On the surface, the purchase of a home sounds like a boring and mundane topic, but the decision of buying versus renting a home is one of the most common and problematic questions facing individuals today, so let’s explore it a little.

During this decision making process, you might ask yourself, “do I want to dump money down the drain and pay someone else’s mortgage?” Or, “do I want to dump money down the drain and pay my own mortgage?” These are complex questions, yet the answer is simple. Indulge me for a minute while I illustrate our family’s thought process on the matter.

The wife and I have been going back and forth, struggling with this question for over a year, and not until recently did we come to a conclusion. You see, by trade, I’m a financial guy. Every day I’m building financial models that help support various investment decisions. To illustrate how exciting my life can be, out of boredom, I recently created a model that will help us arrive to at our own investment decision to this timeless question. In building this model, I had to address all of the different variables and assumptions that must be accounted for when purchasing a home: location, investment time horizon, purchase price, down payment, interest rates, taxes, tax shields, capital infusions, exit strategy, buying costs, selling costs, opportunity costs, and etc. You see, everything must be accounted for in your decision because it has a direct impact on the balance in your bank account; failure to do so will have negative consequences and could ultimately lead to your demise, just as these guys.

Aside from these quantitative figures, you might also consider the qualitative aspects as well: how comfortable are you in 1,000 square feet; do you mind living in the “arm-pit” of your community; are you embarrassed to have friends over for dinner because of your current living conditions? Now if you’ve answered yes to any of the above questions, don’t feel too bad, I know what you’re going through and I’ve learned how to deal with them. So there is hope for you too.

By now there are probably a few of you who think I am analyzing this too much, because most people view a home as security, it’s a place where you are able to invite families and friends to enjoy a holiday or special occasion, it helps one feel that they’ve finally started there life, it provides peace of mind, and etc. So, what’s the price tag that is put on this “peace of mind?” Depending on where you live, I’m guessing it ranges from $150,000 to $500,000 and up. Now, be aware that there will probably come a time in every person’s life that has purchased a home when this “piece of mind” turns into a piece of lunacy, just ask this guy...

...scary, huh?

This case is not hard to diagnosis, as he clearly suffers from a severe case of home ownership. It is called home ownership because at this point, the home owns you. Your life and your mortgage are inseparable, until you rid yourself of this disease which can take up to 30 years unless you go for the amputation altogether.

So what is our family’s decision? We have decided instead to own our own lives. See what I mean? Simple.

Submission Holds

2008-09-27T12:54:00.004-04:00

While searching for viewing entertainment, there have been instances that I have stumbled upon mixed martial arts ("MMA"). For those of my readers (probably all two of you by now) that have witnessed this display of pure athleticism and mental toughness and disregarded it as barbaric brutality, I suggest that you to reconsider your position.

MMA consists of a hodgepodge of full contact combat sports: wrestling, boxing, jiu-jitsu, muay thai, etc. Matches can end in a variety of ways: judges decision, knock-out, and submission. The purpose of a submission hold is to inflict maximum pain on a single point of the opponents' body and thus forcing them to "tap-out" or submit. Submission holds, which require a great deal of technical expertise, include, but are not limited to a guillotine, arm triangle, and my personal favorite the rear naked choke.

Having wrestled more than a decade ago and experienced the amount of preparation that goes into a combat sport, I have a great amount of respect and admiration for these athletes and their craft. Unfortunately, long gone are the days of my chiseled abs and stunning features. In a recent anniversary card to the wife, the opening line was,"I'm sorry for not being more attractive." Life takes a toll on your physique, what can I say?

Witnessing these athletes trying to make a living in this sport, got me thinking about my own profession. I work in what one could characterize as a "non-contact" atmosphere, nonetheless I would argue that it carries its own submission holds, be it the occasional 90 hour work weeks, jugling multiple client deadlines, valuing 10 foreign companies in four days, and flying to the opposite side of the country for a three hour meeting.

When I first joined my current firm, I attended orientation in Los Angeles and upon arriving at the building I observed this scene:

When I saw this statute, it actually made me laugh a little and for a brief second I actually questioned whether I was doing the right thing. Was this placed there as a comedic break from the hustle and bustle of daily life, or a warning to all who enter. To this day I'm still undecided.

The environment in which I work is very professional, structured and at times, competitive. Every six minutes of my day must be accounted for and at the end of the year I am discussed in front of the leaders of our national practice and ranked against my peers. This ranking decides who gets promoted, the level of salary increases, and performance bonuses... so no pressure. To some, this environment can be too much, and like the MMA cage battles, some people give in to the pressure and submit, moving on what they would call, "other opportunities." To each their own.

If I were to identify a popular submission hold at my workplace, I think it would best be described as, "death by documentation." What about you? Don't tap-out!

Hilton Head Hilton Head Hilton Head

2008-09-24T19:42:00.000-04:00

My wife and I enjoy our travels, one might say that it is probably the single most exciting thing that we do. We have made it a priority in our family to take at least one family vacation a year...for the rest of our lives. So far, so good. This year however, may be the exception, as we just completed family vacation number two for the year, and are only half way there.

I love the East Coast, in fact, I hope we don't ever leave. Not only are we smack dab in between New York City and Washington D.C., but we are also within driving distance of some of the best vacation spots in the Continental 48. Now, we've lived other places, Las Vegas and San Diego, to name a few, and nothing beats the convenience of living on the East Coast, can't be done, just ask the brother-in-law, Nate Dogg.

I call him Dogg for several reasons: 1) the popularity of a certain artist while going through the early years of college; 2) the name's kind of catchy; and 3) because he always has three to thirteen days of scruff. In fact, him and a friend attempted to create "Beard Month" at the University of Pennsylvania this past winter. It didn't catch on, but by the end of the month he had a beard that even Kimbo Slice would admire.

While masquerading as a PhD candidate at school for just over a year, Nate has been able to drive to Boston and Nova Scotia, hop a $180 flight to Tobago to scuba dive with sea turtles, free load a vacation off of us, and for this Thanksgiving he has decided to ditch the family for $200 flight to Spain (I just don't get his fascination with planes). I think it's great that he's doing all of those things, in fact we would be joining him if it wasn't due to the complexities of traveling with a 23 month-old and the little fact that I actually have to work for a living, but I digress.

In our latest adventure, we decided to revisit my southern roots that have been displaced for last 150 years and travel to the relaxing oasis of Hilton Head, South Carolina. Now, it may not be the Caribbean, but it has nice beaches, 82 degree water and a slow pace. I'll take that any day of the week.

In the months leading up to this vacation I decided that it would be fun to print up some t-shirts to commemorate the experience. Now I know what you're thinking, "LAME," and that is exactly what the wife was saying the whole time leading up to our vacation. Nevertheless I heeded not the opposition and pressed forward only to later convert all of the previous naysayers, and I think they turned out kind cool and exceeded my preconceived expectations. We'll see if we can keep this a tradition going.

Preemptive Strike

2008-09-23T19:49:00.000-04:00

I was talking with my friend back and forth through emails and he sent me his family's blog http://cookiesheets.blogspot.com/. He mentioned that their blog was getting a little "girly," but what can you expect with a name "cookiesheets" for your blog? Are these guys avid bakers?

My wife and I have refused to blog for about two years now while the rest of the people in our collective world have gotten mixed up in the blogging craze. Some people may call this oposition to blog as "rebellious," I think it is probably better described as "laziness." So in order to head off the inevitability of blogging down the road and end up with a blog name like the aforementioned, or some other blog name that lends itself to anything less than awesomeness that it should be, I decided to be a proactive and beat my wife to the punch.

I'm not promising daily (or weekly) posts about the random happenings in our lives, nor rainbows and sugar cookie dreams, but I do promise to be honest while adding a little humor to everyone's routine life (who doesn't like a routine?).