Monthly Archives: February 2024

Making Bets

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Gambling seems to be everywhere these days.  The commercials for betting apps inundate my TV.  With the Super Bowl in Las Vegas (the casino capitol of the country) this year, the number of things you could bet on seemed to be never-ending….right down to the color of Taylor Swift’s shirt.  Casinos are popping up in shopping malls.  Sports betting is an app on your phone.  Lottery tickets are available from a vending machine at the convenience store.  It’s pervasive.

Betting on things is generally not the best idea.  It’s definitely not a solid plan for a stable income.  You should never bet money that you can’t afford to lose.  The lottery is a tax on people who are bad at math.  The odds are always stacked against you.  Yet that doesn’t stop me from occasionally buying a Power Ball ticket and dreaming of what I would do if I won several million dollars.  It’s not an investment strategy.  It’s a source of entertainment. I don’t do it often, and I go into it knowing I’m probably going to lose.

There are ways to make bets that are not necessarily detrimental.  One year I used my income tax refund to buy some stocks.  I picked a few companies whose products I used and bought 10 shares of each.  One of those companies was a DVD rental by mail company called Netflix.  Those 10 shares cost me $170, and I sold them several years later for a few thousand dollars.  That was a good bet, which funded the installation of central air conditioning in my house.  I don’t remember what the other stocks I bought at that time were….because they were not good bets.

There are more educated, less risky ways to bet on things.  My retirement fund is largely in stocks, but it is managed by people who do that for a living—people that do research and keep things balanced appropriately for where my risk level should be at this point in my career.  It’s definitely beyond my skillset.  But there is still some risk involved in anything that involves the stock market.  There’s still some level of betting involved.

One of the smartest bets you can make is to bet on yourself.  Every time you pursue something new, you are betting on yourself.  Maybe you are taking a new job.  Maybe pursuing a new degree or certification. Maybe starting a business. Maybe something as simple as cooking a new recipe for the first time. Every time you attempt something, you are betting on yourself.  You won’t always succeed.  But you are taking the risk and putting yourself out there. And the person who bets on themself is miles ahead of the person who is afraid to try.

Regardless of what color shirt Taylor Swift wore to the Super Bowl, there are good bets and bad bets.  But betting on yourself is ALWAYS a good bet.

What is Your Goal?

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I almost never mention my first husband.  It was a short marriage that ended decades ago, so it somehow seems like part of a different lifetime.

He and I differed on one very important issue, and I think that is what ultimately drove us apart.  We had different financial goals.  Or at least a different order in which we wanted to pursue them.  All of my life I had two primary goals: earn enough money that I don’t have to be dependent on anyone else, and own my home.  When we married, I had finished my Master’s degree and was started on my career as a financial aid professional.  I had achieved goal number one.  But I was living in a rental apartment.  A year after we got married, we moved to Chicago.  I continued working as a financial aid advisor (this time at a law school—I found my niche!).  He started attending law school.  Within a year of our move to Chicago I was looking at condominiums.  I still wanted to own a home.  He didn’t agree.  He claimed he didn’t want to make that kind of commitment to Chicago.  And that was the beginning of the end.

Ultimately, we divorced.  And a year later I bought a condo in Chicago. A studio was all I could afford, but who needs a bedroom when you have a 27th floor lake view?  It was all mine. And I loved it.  My home, my mortgage, and my rules. After only three years, I sold that condo at a 25% profit.  I moved back to Pennsylvania and started working for Penn State.  And as soon as I was able, I bought a townhouse.  I’ve bought and sold my home two more times since then, and now I know that I’m in the home where I plan to stay for a very long time.  I’ll probably even manage to pay off the mortgage in full.

What I learned over the years is that when the real estate market is strong enough, you don’t have to commit to a home forever unless you want to.  It is possible to sell a home after only a few years without taking a loss on it.  Real estate is more than just a place to live…it’s an appreciating investment.

My first husband still lives in the suburbs of Chicago with his wife and kids.  Ultimately, he did make that kind of commitment to Chicago. We just didn’t have the same goal at the time when it really mattered.  Everyone has their own financial goals. And before you too far into a relationship, it’s important to be clear with your partner what your goals are, and hopefully they will match up with each other’s.

Owning a home and being self-supporting were my goals.  My current goal is retirement at age 60.  Some people have a goal of saving a certain amount of money.  Some have a goal of being debt-free.  Others have a goal of starting their own business.  Your goal is the thing that is important to you.  And everyone’s goal will be a bit different. What is important is that you have a goal and you set your sights on working toward it.

What are your financial goals?