This is not a comprehensive essay on tax implications and strategies, but is merely a starting point for your consideration in choosing the right account for you.  Of course, you should consult your tax professional before making any drastic changes to your finances.

Traditional Brokerage

• No tax deduction for investments
• You pay capital gains tax when you sell your investment (assuming you made money on it)
• You pay income tax on dividends (annual payments made to stockholders by the company you own)

Tax Defferred

• These come in several forms:
  • IRA’s – Limited to $3,000 per year investment for most investors
  • 401(k) – only available through your employer
  • College Saving’s Plans – self-explanatory (this may qualify for tax-free dispersal…talk to an advisor about these before you sign up)
  • A hodge-podge of options for Small Businesses, public employees, and Self-Employed people that we won’t discuss here
• Invested money is tax-deductible (reduces your taxable income)
• Penalty-Free withdrawals start at age 59 1/2.
• You may incur penalties with early withdrawal
• All withdrawals are taxable at your current income tax rate (in the year it’s withdrawn)
• Basic premise is that you reduce you save on taxes now, and pay income tax on the money as you take it out during retirement, which will theoretically be when you are in a lower tax bracket, thereby saving on your tax burden

Tax Preferred

• A rather generic term for vehicles like:
  • Roth IRA’s – similar investment limits as IRA’s
  • Roth 401(k) – Pretty rare, although they’re becoming more popular
• You get no tax deduction for investing, but your income comes out tax-free
• No tax on growth or dividends
• Must be 59 1/2 to withdraw penalty-free
• Premise is that you may make more money later in life, resulting in a higher tax bracket, or taxes may go up (hey, it’s a liberal administration…it’s bound to happen) and that  you’re better off shouldering a tax burden now, while you have plenty of other deductions, like business expense, mortgage interest, college loans, etc, than later in life when you will likely not have those deductions

A truly comprehensive financial plan for life goals and retirement might include money going into each of these.  If you’re just getting started, pick the one you find most accessible, and that meets your goals.  Keep in mind that most 401(k) accounts do not allow you to invest in the market as you choose, but limit you to a selection of funds approved by your company and their brokerage provider.  We’re also not going to touch on employer-directed accounts, like pensions, here . . . since who gets those anymore to begin with?  And they basically don’t matter . . . since if you’re lucky enough to have one, you can’t do much with it anyway.  Stick around for the next post in this series, discussing basic types of investments.

My worldview on economics is a unique complementary clashing of my previous career as a Financial Advisor, and my experiences of learning to view God as my provision, and not money or a job.  Naturally, I see financial situations as something interesting to figure out, but I also know that many times, there simply is no natural solution, and that God must work things out for us.  And I think you’ll see this reflected in much of what I write as we begin this journey.  And I think that’s a great thing to call it.  I wrote in a previous post about my family’s financial hardships, and we’re just now getting the big pieces back together in our financial plan.  We’re making these financial and investment decisions as I write them . . . so I can’t say for sure what turn these posts will take, but I hope you find them interesting.

I’ve spoken with many Christians who shy away from “investing,” viewing it as a tool of Satan’s influence on the economy, or a testament to man’s prideful ascension to worldly prosperity, at the cost of his soul.  They distrust companies, and assume that either Obama or crooked CEO’s will steal from them whatever they invest.  And while Obama will probably do his best to screw up the economy, I think it’s mostly out his control.  The Bible, itself, tells us that God wishes to us to “lend and not borrow.”  I believe that this is a mandate of God’s view of prosperity – don’t go into debt, invest money in profitable ventures, and give liberally.  Even in the parable of the talents, the master was angry that the wicked servant didn’t at least put the money in the bank to earn interest.  God wants the church today, as he wanted Israel in the Old Testament, to be the center of blessings for the world.

I’m writing this as sort of a beginner’s beginner tutorial.  Basically the same way I’m explaining it to my wife, as we go through the process together.  Whether or not we intend to buy stock, bonds, mutual funds, or some other investment vehicle (more on those in the next post), we need a brokerage account.  This is the “holder” for whatever type of investing you do.  Most types of investments (and all types that we will be considering) can be housed in a typical brokerage account.  There are tons of investment companies out there, and we need to consider a few things to decide which account is right for us.

First of all, there are two options in determining HOW we want to invest.  You can use a Financial Advisor or a trusted Broker, or use a discount service, like ETrade, Scottrade, etc.  There are pros and cons to each, but it boils down to 2 issues:  Are you going to educate yourself on your investments enough, and monitor them closely enough, to go it alone, or do you need a little help?  Since I’ve got a decent amount of investment knowledge, and I want to save on transaction costs on what will initially small investment amounts, we’re using a discount service.  Also of consideration is what type of investing you want to do.  Were we planning on developing a long-term savings, with little trading, we’d probably go Mutual Funds, and probably use a Financial Advisor to find just the right mix of funds for us.  We plan on buying common stocks and being moderately active traders. (Again, in my next post, we’ll be discussing what each type of investment is and which will work for you).  The breakdown follows:

The Financial Advisor

• Get expert advice on your investments before you put your money into it
• Benefit of a second pair of eyes watching your investments
• Professional planning / diversification should help diminish your risks
• Advice on tax-friendly accounts (IRA’s, Roth’s, etc)
• Con: Pricey Transaction Fees (up to $35)
• Con: Unless you have a large amount to invest, some aren’t interested in your business, or won’t give the service you’re paying for
• Con: Typically push Mutual Funds and managed accounts
• Con: Guilt (maybe it’s just me . . . but I hate withdrawing money from an account when a Financial Advisor is making his living with it being there)

Financial Advisors can be a mixed bag.  If you get a good one, he or she will make your life and finances much better off.  If you get a bad one, you might as well start a fire and throw your cash in.  Most career advisors are good though, and unless you want to become an expert in market strategy, it wouldn’t hurt to enlist the services of a good one, if you can afford it, or if you have enough money to get their attention.  Avoid insurance products in most cases (insurance and annuities), and be very specific with your advisor about what your goals are.  Also, I strongly recommend asking a LOT of questions.  You’re giving a substantial portion of your net worth to these people, you NEED to know things like:

• How long have they been in business (steer clear of rookies, who will usually push you towards investments that make them the most money)
• Do they have a clean U-4 (sort of like a complaint report for financial advisors).  You can see your advisor’s U-4 at the FINRA Broker Check.
• What types of returns have their clients gotten over the last year
• What types of clients do they normally service
• Do they have clients that will give them a recommendation

Using a Financial Advisor can be a great tool in managing your investing.  But just do your homework before you go, and it helps if you check with friends and family and see what their experiences have been.

Going It Alone

Your other option is to basically do your investing on your own, with no insight, other than what you can glean from the news and market publications.  I think it’s a fine idea for 3 people:

1. Financial Professionals, or people with an advanced understanding of investing principles
2. People who want a “play” account, with disposable money, that they don’t mind losing.  This would be in addition to a serious “planned” brokerage account
3. Small-time investors who just want to get started, who may not invest regularly (or invest small amounts very often), and who are concerned with costly transaction fees.

I fall into categories 1 and 3.  And I have the feeling that many of you fall into one of those categories as well.  Investing doesn’t have to be scary.  And you don’t have to pay exorbitant fees to someone because of it.  We’ll be discussing soon how to go about picking your first investment.  But let’s wrap this up with a few choices for opening up your account.

• Etrade – low cost transactions, $500 minimum account value to open, and a great mobile app with streaming market data make this a very attractive solution.  Also has some professional market tools for reasonable pricing, or available for free to frequent traders.
• TD Ameritrade – Has great research, and similarly advanced trading tools as Etrade.
• Scottrade – $7 trades!  Not much else.  Local branches also . . . but why?

Financial Advisors

They come in all shapes and sizes, and some independent ones are better than the big named companies.  Go in with a list of important features for your account.  Want online trading?  Many independents may not provide that.  Also, ask if online trade fees are less than fees if you call and have your broker execute the trade (they should be).

• Merrill Lynch
• Ameriprise – very planning focused.  If you need help getting started, I would suggest starting here
• Morgan Keegan – owned by Regions Bank.  If you’re a Regions’ customer, their bank brokers generally are very good at helping get just the right products for you.  Some interesting online tools are available also.
• Bank of America – yes, they have investing too.  If you’re a BOA customer, this may be a comfortable place to get started

To finish up, I strongly encourage to not underestimate the importance of WHERE you do your brokerage, despite the fact that you’ll be able to purchase the same things from anywhere.  Do your research to find the right account and service for you.  Meet with a few advisors, to find the one that suits you best, if you choose to use one at all.  And be encouraged that as God blesses you for being a good steward, he will also lead you in making these decisions of what to do with that money.  We prayed together about whether we should invest, and how we should begin doing it.  We went with ETrade because it offers some great tools, decent pricing, and it is a name that we felt most comfortable with.

In closing, I’ll leave you with some places to avoid…despite the fact your high-school drop-out friend might be selling for them:

• Primerica
• Woodmen of the World
• Insurance Agents in general (despite the fact they want you to believe they can do it all . . . just no)
• World Financial Group and Investment Advisors International

These places typically allow anyone with the money to get licensed to bill themselves as “Financial Advisors” and invest all your money.  Many of them give horrible advice, in order to focus on more costly and illiquid insurance based investments.  World Financial Group is basically an MLM company that sells investments, also.  Chances are, after they’ve taken your money, they’ll also try to convince you to become a “Financial Advisor” as well.  The responsible people working at these companies just distribute canned advice, but some actually believe they’re smarter than career brokers out there, and will sell you all kinds of crap.  Avoid at all costs.

It was weird that I would end up looking at two most ideal apartment buildings I had been considering for years, all on the same day. I met up with the realtor after a quick trip to the grounds and we took a look inside. The current occupants hadn’t moved out so I got to see how it would look completely furnished. Weirdly enough, for a one bedroom it actually felt cramped, as opposed to the airy studio I had just seen before. It was clean and carpeted though, but still, there were some areas that were rusting and painted over. No washer/dryer hookup either, and for this they were valuing the unit at over $262,000. Dude, please, it was next to a train station for crying out loud. It’s nice, but it ain’t THAT nice.

I knew what was going on though. The owner didn’t really want to rent it, he wanted to sell it, but was having trouble finding buyers. So I’d be the guy who’d fill the apartment for the time being until the owner finally found someone stupid enough to buy, then my righteous bon-bons would be tossed outta there faster than you can say pizza delivery. The only way to head that off was to take the option to buy, but for that price I’d never consider it. I wouldn’t even have my own parking space, much less a garage, which I’d have to put on a waiting list for. I also had to fill out an application and be interviewed and approved by the co-op board before I could officially move in.

I thanked the realtor for her time and said if I was interested I’d contact her.

The next day I got an email from her to let me know the apartment had been taken, for which she apologized but said that these apartments do tend to go very fast.

You get the feeling I’m being snowed by a lot of folks these days? Was not any potential renter subject to board approval before he could dive into his new digs? So… what… they found another renter, checked his credit and got him board approved five minutes after I left? Really?

Well you know, that’s it for me. Totally done with apartment hunting now. I actually didn’t have the money to move yet, but since these two happened to be apartments I’ve been looking at since forevers, it was nice to finally get some major questions about them all answered on the same day and move on. Now I can focus on saving my money instead, and when I have enough to pay down a deposit and a broker’s fee, then I can start looking hardcore until I find a castle worthy of my sound mind and well sculptured presence. 

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So there were all these openings resulting from union concessions and people retiring that I basically had the pick of whatever assignment I wanted, right? But since the notice went out and gave absolutely no information on these openings whatsoever, I stopped by Personnel and spoke with the manager.

“Yeah, hi, I was hoping I could find out more about these job openings, since there was no info given about them in the email?”

“What are you interested in?”

“Depends, I’m pretty flexible right now, so I could work in any assignment depending on the type of work involved. I’m working a night tour currently, so if there’s any night shifts available I might be interested in that too, that way I don’t lose any night pay just by transferring.”

“Actually we do have a few night positions available. Let me take your info down and once we get more info together I’ll let you know what positions might be a good fit. Since you’ve been here a few years you should have seniority over most of the other people also looking to be transferred, so you’ll be in pretty good shape to get whatever new position you decide to opt for.”

He took down my info, made sure my name was put on the list and said another notice would go out in the next few days that would outline all the new positions and what they entailed.

The next day it occurred to me that I should let him know about my college degree in computers, in case there was an opening in our Information Systems division. So I sent the personnel manager another email to let him know about my background in computers. Shortly afterwards I received this response:

Thank you for your email. Your request was given careful consideration, but all the positions have now been filled at this time. We will be hiring new staff in the fall and it is anticipated that another round of transfers will take place then.

Um, what? Over 20 positions were all filled already, in the space of a day? Really? And how long did you take me into consideration, the ten seconds it took for me to walk out your door before you took my info and threw it in the trash? Numbnut.

Around the same time I happened to learn my agency was chasing people who had retired off the job and bringing them back to work part time jobs, when those jobs should have been going to people like me full-time. It was a way to make an end run around the union concessions that had been made, which stipulated that a certain part of the workforce would retire early in exchange for having their positions filled by civilians who could work for less money. So now they get their full pensions as well as a part time salary, while the rest of us with weaker and weenier unions get hosed.

Nice. I had a feeling this was coming too, but I never thought the guy was going to blatantly lie to my face like that. If somebody ever BEGGED to have sugar poured into his gas tank, it’d be this snot monkey.

Ah well, there are at least some good news to come out of all this, and it’s that Mr. No-Personality will be carving out office space for himself instead of taking my desk, and that it would also be a few more weeks before he finally gets assigned here. My guess is that he is putting it off as long as he can in the hopes that something else comes up, but if not, he’ll just hole up in a corner somewhere and play Everquest all day. The best kind of supervisor I could ask for really: one who hides and stays out of my way.

As for the screw-over, I could fight this, but it’s pretty hard to top what I have now. The night pay accounts for $400 of my monthly salary, but my hours still fall mostly during the day, so it never feels like I’m doing a graveyard shift. Not many people can say that either. The job is easy and the workload has been getting lighter, the hours are good, the benefits are excellent, it’s just the office politics and my coworkers’ inability to engage in… intellectually stimulating conversations that tends to gum things up for me. I can understand now why there are those who never want to work in an office and would rather be out in the field working alone than deal with all the politics and BS within. And then of course there’s the fact that there is absolutely no career or promotional path for this job whatsoever.

But… for now it suits me. I would hope though that it won’t be my lot in life to drift through this job without ever making a real difference:

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I made an appointment for a viewing last Saturday and drove to the apartment grounds on what turned out to be a spectacular summer day.  There was a bagel cafe across the street and the aroma of coffee filled the air.  The trees whistled and the birds sang, while in the distance a blue ocean beckoned and fed the stream that led into the park next door.  Yep, I could definitely get used to living here.

I met up with the realtor and the moment we stepped inside, the magic ended.

As the door opened, a narrow stairwell immediately presented itself which I had to walk down. Wait, this apartment is lower level??

The descent into madness begins.

The apartment was right by the bottom of the stairs, pretty convenient I guess, but also a recipe for noise, noise, noise:

A basement studio at a garden apartment? Seriously?

Is that a doorbell??

The door swung opened and I took a look inside. The studio was big, very air and roomy, and I could tell even with furniture there would still be plenty of space to maneuver around:

This is an apartment they said was practically ready for me to move into…

Can you say, doity?

The windows were simply tragic.  Not only was it blocked by slabs of concrete, but they looked ancient:

Cobwebs filled the window in the bathroom.

The main window above the sleeping alcove.

They used tape to cover the screen holes???

After I almost gagged from daring to look outside the windows, I moved on to the kitchen:

If you wanna look inside you better ask yourself: Do I feel lucky?

I kept thinking a tentacle would reach out and strangle me if I got too close.

Gas stove. Boom.

Now on to the bathroom!

Ew.

Ewwwwwww…

Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwww!

Ok, that’s  quite enough now.  The realtor then showed me the laundry room, which was literally down the hall.  The apartment was next to a storage area too, so if you opened the door and looked to your right this is what you would see:

So this is where they keep all the stolen merchandise!

Right after the storage area was the coin operated laundry machines:

No hot babe washing her lingerie to be found here.

You want me to wash my stylish Old Navy shirts in THAT??

After we went back outside and I got a chance to suck in the fresh air again, the realtor informed me that the apartment was being offered for $100 less a month, that there would be no broker’s fee annnnnnnnd I would get first month’s rent free.  I get the impression that they were having a little trouble getting this unit filled.  Uh huh.

I’ve gone apartment hunting once or twice in the past, and I remember one time when I went to a place with two of my coworkers to check out a small one bedroom.  The place was filthy, but my coworkers kept walking around and going ooooooo and ahhhhhh, this is so awesome!  They thought I was being a snob because I refused to live in such a dump, especially one where the landlords were 80 something year old folks who would probably forget they were even renting it to me and call the police one night thinking I was a burglar.  That would have been awkward.

But anyway, checking out this place made me think of that time.  The studio was hands down a complete and unmitigated disaster area.  No amount of cleaning would ever make it sanitary, especially considering I had allergies too.

But was I being too snobbish?  Was I asking for too much to want to live in a nice, cozy apartment that was clean, roomy (and preferably above ground?)

It was really tragic to see such a horrific looking place in such a beautiful area.  Right now I live in a decent apartment with my folks that was clean, had carpeting, a washer/dryer, all those basic amenities that I tend to take for granted, even though it’s in a less than ideal area (as in, next to a train station and a water tower and an army of day laborers that infest our streets  like a plague.)  Regardless, an apartment like this was so hard to come by that we all breathed a collective sigh of relief in finally discovering an apartment that didn’t look like something out of Dante’s Inferno.

I don’t want a luxury apartment for crying out loud, I just want one that’s clean, but apparently just being clean enough is considered a luxury as well. 

Ah well.  I’m still glad I went to check it out at least.  I had been looking at that area for so long that it was nice to finally rule it out and focus my attention elsewhere, and maybe eventually find a place that will turn out to be even better.  And if that makes me a snob, so be it. 

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I’ve made no secret of the financial hardships that I and my family endured just a few years ago.  I never spoke much of the bad times. . . but they were pretty bad, wreaking havok on our marriage, and bringing us, and me in particular, to our knees (finally.)  And God delivered us in ways that could only be described as miraculous . . . practically giving us a house and property for next to nothing (seriously . . . our house payment is half of what my last car payment was), and bringing us to a place where, although we still have a pretty tight budget, we can pay all of our bills on time.  16 months of unemployment makes you appreciate little things like that.  One question that went through my mind all the time was something along the lines of, “Why are you doing this to me God?!  I pay my tithes, I’ve given . . . I live my life for you, and they’re coming to repo my car tomorrow!”  I got pretty angry.  And attempted, in vain, to try to make something happen for myself . . . improve my life on my own.  God, again, didn’t allow me to do that, and everything I tried came crashing right down around me.  I got pretty bitter . . . and then, with my pride and ego finally broken, I asked a life-changing question:  “God, please show me the sin in my life that is bringing this destruction on me.  Please show me where I’m wrong.”

And I saw the truth:  a fool and his money really are soon parted.  I had the idea in my head that being a “good steward” of the money God gave me meant that I had to pay my tithes . . . give every once in awhile, when I felt like, and . . . well . . . and that’s pretty much it.  Otherwise, I lived my life for 3 things:  the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.  Now, saying those words brings to mind all kinds of debauchery that was simply not the case with me.  I spent my money . . . and when I ran out, I just used credit cards.  If I wanted something, I got it.  I withheld myself from nothing.  Expensive clothes, the coolest new gadgets, top of the line computers, the nicest apartments in town.  Those things are fine, I suppose, if God has blessed you with the income to acquire them in a financially and spiritually responsible way.  I just used credit cards.    I made decent money, but not enough.  I occasionally felt guilty . . . or at least stressed . . . to have so much debt.  But when I got it paid down some, I just charged it right back up again, as soon as there was space to buy something I wanted.  God HAD to bring me to a place where I couldn’t depend on my job, credit, or anything else for provision . . . only Him.  And while it was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to go through, it was the most profitable.

I’ve said before that I find myself defending a “prosperity gospel” that I don’t totally agree with, in order to the defend a truth that I do believe in: Biblical teachings on prosperity.  I think we’ll find that if we’re handling money in unGodly or irresponsible ways, God can’t bless that.  But while a fool and his money are soon parted, a Christian will find that he and God’s money are quickly drawn together.  I’ve found myself recently pretty disheartened with my job, when promised raises and benefits didn’t materialize.  But when I began to give freely to God, and trust in him for my provision, I can honestly say I’ve been pretty shocked to see money coming in, business projects coming in, and God’s provision working in my life.  I’m not rich, and may never be, but I know, KNOW, now that I never have to worry again about making ends meet.  God provides for those of us who follow him in our money, as well as our lifestyle.

On that note, I’m pretty excited to have a whole string of posts about finances and financial planning coming out soon.  Before my current position, I was a financial advisor for several years, and have real practical knowledge about finance (my degree is in Finance, by the way), as well as many more hard-learned lessons about managing our finances in Godly ways (still learning!).  And who knows…maybe I’ll even make them into their own blog soon.

We’ve always had some “For Pay” features, but they’ve never been put right out there as main features of our site.  Soon, you’ll be able to subscribe to features such as – your own personal domain name (instead of name.thelimitless.com) for your blog’s address, advanced site-building tools and themes, increased storage space, and the ability to place your own ads on your page, or share in the ad revenue your page generates!  We’ll be keeping you updated as these features come online.  Thanks for blogging with us!

I had only been on the job for 3 months, and I was pretty green in the gills and naively thinking I could change the world then, only to get quickly smacked down by reality and a stupid dweeb of a supervisor. The whole experience had left a bitter taste in my mouth ever since.

In all fairness, I don’t think he intended to be malicious, he just wanted to cover his wide trailer, but I didn’t appreciate how he had talked down to me in his droning, Ben Stein voice when it happened. There were probably a dozen ways he could have handled it better and instead he chose the worst way, leaving me with a “friendly” reprimand on my record not even 3 stupid, fricking months into my job. He was unfriendly, uncomfortable to be around with, and micromanaged the most mundane things that had absolutely no relevance to the work we did. To top it off, the dude had no personality at all, I mean seriously NONE, almost as if he had been born without a soul. Ben Stein has nothing on this guy.

That’s why I was glad when he transferred out to what he must have thought were greener pastures. We went through a cocktail variety of supervisors since then, until the last one retired in a hurry and officially left us without a manager again. I ended up taking the supervisor’s desk, since there was no other place to sit, and carved out a little corner for myself in our section that kept me comfortable and boss-free for 2 years.

Recently however, they phased out Mr. No Personality’s position, forcing him to come back to our department once again, although not our specific area (yet). He had clearly done everything he could to avoid getting transferred back to our section, but it looks like the clock finally runs out this week. Judging from the look on his face every time I see him, I can see his untriumphant return as our manager is going to be a real pleasure.

When he does come back, one of two things may happen. He may play it smart and have maintenance carve out some office space for himself, or he may pull rank and evict me out of the desk I’m using now. The reason this is a big issue is because I work with 4 other coworkers, and they all have desks and computers to use. I would have to go back to standing around and waiting for someone to either take a meal break or go home before I finally had a desk that I could access and work on, this despite the fact that I’ve been here 9 YEARS. I swear it’d be like high school all over again, just floating around, never finding a group or a spot where I could finally feel at home.

Yep, this is gonna be fun. Of course, after several years on the job I’m not so green in the gills anymore, and Mr. No Personality will find I’m not the pushover I used to be when I rip his soul-less dweeb monkey’s face off the minute he starts in on me. There’s a reason why nobody wants to oversee our section ya know.

Ironically enough, while there’s no place for him to go, a wave of early retirements that began last week have opened up over 20 new positions for me to potentially choose from, depending on how my seniority compares to others vying for the same job. I know absolutely nothing about these openings though, the hours I’d work, what the people I’d work with are like or what the job entails, only that they’re now looking for people. This is the first time in several years that new openings in my department finally presented themselves, so it’s not something I can just blow off either.

Honestly, the thing that has always held me back from vigorously pursuing opportunities like this was my night pay. My night pay accounts for $300 of my monthly salary, and because a contract concession forces me to work two days a month without pay for 6 months, just the simple act of transferring to another assignment would incur a loss of over $500 a month in income, at least until December.

I hate the thought of losing that much money a month, but if it there was ever a time I could stand to lose it, that time would be now. I no longer need to worry about any debts cramping my finances, and the loss of night pay would just mean I’d have to wait a little bit longer before getting enough cash together to put down for a new apartment and move out. What’s a few months and a few dollars really if it means finally getting out of a job I have loathed for 9 years?

Assuming of course the new job I get doesn’t turn out to be even worse than the old one.

Tomorrow I’ll try to find out more info about these openings and see what’s what. I have to admit the timing of these recent events is pretty curious, and I wonder whether it might be a sign that I finally need to go? After 9 years, as much as I’ve whined and complained about my work, I’ve still gotten pretty comfortable in my job and resistant to change. Facing the great unknown thrills me in a way, but it also frightens me too. I’ve been conditioned to believe that nothing good can ever happen to me when it comes to life changing events like this, and if I do wind up working a job someplace else, I fear it will be ten times worse than what I’m doing now. I wonder if it’s better to deal with the devil I know than charge into the great unknown, even if the devil I DO know ends up forcing me to give up my desk.

I guess I’ll know more by this week’s end what will happen. Heck, I’ve already experienced one life altering event by finally becoming debt-free, so why stop there?

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In the due course of history, a man is empowered with the capacity for life and liberty when he is financially beholden to neither men nor entities. These truths are self evident in their own right, that without freedom from debts and liabilities men are deprived in the profoundest of ways from pursuing that which would ensure their happiness and well being. It is hereto realized and understood the egregious deception by which principalities have sought to strip us of the very power that has been so rightly bestowed to us by our Divine Creator.

Acknowledging then the oppressive currents of those who have entrusted themselves to the cause of evil, I hereby declare my free and total financial independence, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence to utilize these newfound freedoms for the noble cause of truth, justice, and charity.

In other words, I paid off my school loan.

That concludes the triple play of payments I’ve been making to get myself completely out of debt, starting with my credit card (which went as high as $8,000), then my car loan, and finally my college loan, which had been a boil on my boom booms for 11 years.

It couldn’t have come at a better time either. The VERY day I made my last payment on my school loan, my job started a 6 month period where I have to work two days a month without getting paid, a concession my union made because they’re a bunch of spineless baboon heads that are only good to take my money so they can organize picnics I never get invited to.

But anyway, regardless of that temporary cut back, the world is my oyster now, and that my friend is truly a miracle. Not too long ago I was $20,000 or more in debt, and now it’s all but gone. This is the LORD’s doing, and it is marvelous before our eyes. From here on out, I can just keep on saving until I build myself a decent nest egg and use that to go back to school for a masters, buy a new car, and/or put a down payment for a nice house in another state (some place very, very far away from New York). I’m not sure exactly what I’ll do by then, but one thing I do know is that I will NEVER, EVER (with the possible exception of a mortgage), go into debt again. The feeling of owing money to whomever was to me the worst feeling in the world, and I thank God for this tremendous gift of financial freedom, given to me on the 4th of July, of all days. From now on I will be the head, and not the tail, and I will lend to many nations, but I will not borrow thereof.

And now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go collapse into bed for some well deserved rest, then get ready for muchos BBQ food, fireworks and good times.

Happy Independence Day!

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