Calm during the Madness

Today I forced myself to get out for a brief walk in the park to give my body some much-needed exercise. The scenery did not disappoint! I’ve been writing a fair amount during my quarantining due to Covid-19 in NYC and social distancing, but today I needed a break. I hope the picture I took at my local park makes you happy!

Fly High! RDP: Sunday

Can’t is a word that I often said.

Can’t is a word that was stuck in my head.

Can’t was a cop-out,

A way to get by,

While letting life,

Pass me right by.

But what if I could,

Asks the engine inside.

What if I found,

I could no longer hide?

Then what would happen?

Would I look up at the sky?

Would I grab the opportunities

That were passing me by?

Would I fly like an eagle,

Or soar like a bird?

Or would I be afraid

They would think I’m absurd?

But if I’m like a bird

I belong in the sky.

Not stuck on the ground,

So eager to fly.

My wings are not broken,

They’re simply afraid,

But now I must try

For what I was made.

 

 

RDP: Flounder

Flounder. That’s an interesting word. I’d like to say that I’ve pulled up my bootstraps and fought my way through this with a smile on my face. Honestly, floundering is something that is hard not to do. At this moment it seems like the Big Apple is unrecognizable. I look out my window and it looks like a New York City I don’t know. It’s…devoid of people and energy. It’s…not NYC. I can only hope that everyone is at home re-configuring their lives and succeeding in the best way possible. Truthfully, this is the first time that I’ve gotten myself to the page. It’s a whirl of craziness even though everything is so still. Thousands and thousands of New Yorkers have all of the sudden become unemployed and the city is doing it’s best to accomodate all of that. It has put a massive strain on the infrastructure of the city, and we are all struggling to get through. We have quickly become the location with the highest amount of cases in the US and times are very uncertain. The interesting thing is, we will not be defeated. NY’ers…are tough, diligent, strong, and courageous. It’s been incredible, the way that the community has shown love during this time. I’m proud of my co-workers and proud of my city. NYC strong. We can do this. It may be dark now…but it will be light in time.

Photo credit: Alexis Azabache. Follow Alexis on twitter: @alexazabache1

A Misty Moonlit Walk in NYC

A Misty Moonlit Walk in NYC

A Misty Moonlit Walk in NYC

Designing Your Money

Piggybacking on my last blog entry about how you compartmentalize your money…how do you design your money to work FOR you? There are so many ways you can get the most out of your dollar. I don’t mean to sound like a penny pincher, but how you use your money and where you place it can have a big impact in the long-term on whether it makes money for you or whether it stays the same amount. Think about it: do you really want to continue to trade your time for money for your whole life? Or do you want to put your money to work while you work, or while you’re on vacation, or while you’re at your kids’ baseball game, etc.? I like making money while I sleep. Soooo….that begs the question…how do you do that? There are a multitude of ways!

Banks have designed a system that really works for them. They loan you money or give you credit to use, and you get the assistance you need to pay whatever bill it is that you owe with that money, whether it’s groceries, school loans, you name it. They also must fund their own business, so they make it work for them by giving you the money in return for extra money on top, aka interest. If you’re able to pay your bill back in a super timely manner, the interest you pay would be lower than if you take a long time to pay back the money. Now that’s a smart transaction for them. You get something from them, and they get something from you. They’re making money in their sleep. They’re not spending time working for the interest, but they’re making money regardless. You can use that model, too. You can, in a way, be your own bank! It’s called peer to peer lending.

I had no idea about peer to peer lending until about a year ago. There are many platforms that you can choose from, but the two most popular ones are Lending Club and Prosper. As an investor with peer to peer lending you can log on to the platform and search through the available loans. They are graded in slightly different fashions on each site, but mostly some form of A,B,C,D,E, and HR, with A being the lowest interest rates but the customers with the best concoction of information (credit score, income, percentage of credit used, rating, etc.) and HR being the highest interest, but considered the more risky loans to invest in. In my next blog I will go into more detail about how this process works and what strategy (so far) has worked for me.

This is what I consider designing your money. Instead of simply earning it, you’re creating a system in which your earnings make you more earnings without trading your time. It’s a gradual process, but it’s interesting. I highly encourage you to think about how YOU think about your money, and how you utilize it to its full value. Keep following my blog for more information weekly, and enjoy your day!

Ciao for now, and as always, please consult a certified financial professional for all of your big financial decisions. I’m simply here to enlighten and help, but I’m not a financial advisor.

Designing Your Money

Piggybacking on my last blog entry about how you compartmentalize your money…how do you design your money to work FOR you? There are so many ways you can get the most out of your dollar. I don’t mean to sound like a penny pincher, but how you use your money and where you place it can have a big impact in the long-term on whether it makes money for you or whether it stays the same amount. Think about it: do you really want to continue to trade your time for money for your whole life? Or do you want to put your money to work while you work, or while you’re on vacation, or while you’re at your kids’ baseball game, etc.? I like making money while I sleep. Soooo….that begs the question…how do you do that? There are a multitude of ways!

Banks have designed a system that really works for them. They loan you money or give you credit to use, and you get the assistance you need to pay whatever bill it is that you owe with that money, whether it’s groceries, school loans, you name it. They also must fund their own business, so they make it work for them by giving you the money in return for extra money on top, aka interest. If you’re able to pay your bill back in a super timely manner, the interest you pay would be lower than if you take a long time to pay back the money. Now that’s a smart transaction for them. You get something from them, and they get something from you. They’re making money in their sleep. They’re not spending time working for the interest, but they’re making money regardless. You can use that model, too. You can, in a way, be your own bank! It’s called peer to peer lending.

I had no idea about peer to peer lending until about a year ago. There are many platforms that you can choose from, but the two most popular ones are Lending Club and Prosper. As an investor with peer to peer lending you can log on to the platform and search through the available loans. They are graded in slightly different fashions on each site, but mostly some form of A,B,C,D,E, and HR, with A being the lowest interest rates but the customers with the best concoction of information (credit score, income, percentage of credit used, rating, etc.) and HR being the highest interest, but considered the more risky loans to invest in. In my next blog I will go into more detail about how this process works and what strategy (so far) has worked for me.

This is what I consider designing your money. Instead of simply earning it, you’re creating a system in which your earnings make you more earnings without trading your time. It’s a gradual process, but it’s interesting. I highly encourage you to think about how YOU think about your money, and how you utilize it to its full value. Keep following my blog for more information weekly, and enjoy your day!

Ciao for now, and as always, please consult a certified financial professional for all of your big financial decisions. I’m simply here to enlighten and help, but I’m not a financial advisor.