I cancelled my order for the Dean Cadi when I logged on and saw that it had like a $10 price drop. I am not sure I'm going to get it. However, I'm watching the price on it. It's falling even further. This is a guitar with an $869 list price.
The way musical instrument list prices go is that those are suggestions, at best. Most people know that's not what you pay for the thing. Some of the better guitars are tough to get much of a discount on. For instance, the maximum authorized publishable discount on Fenders is about 36%.
When I taught guitar, I worked at music stores. Generally speaking, on most good name brands, the cost to the seller is about 55% of suggested retail. The lesser the name brand, the smaller the percentage of suggested retail represents the actual cost. For instance, a poorly regarded brand might cost 45% of the suggested retail. This gives the seller an incentive to stock the item because they have the potential for greater profit margin. Or, it allows them to give the appearance of a deeper discount to move the inventory faster.
So, when I see a guitar going for less than half of suggested retail, it sends up all sorts of (good) flags for me. Usually, this doesn't mean that the retailer is taking a loss. What it usually means is that the manufacturer got stuck with an overproduction and has to get them off their books. The Yamaha bass I have was a $700-ish instrument and it got blown out for a little over $200. If you keep your eyes open, you can get these deals where you're paying pretty much what the components would cost if you tried to build it yourself.
The Dean is obviously in that boat. It's dropped another $16 since I first ordered it. There are 4 of them left and it looks like they're coming directly from the manufacturer. It's just one color, one model, and even the other colors of that same model are still retailing in the mid 400s.
If they give this thing away, I'll buy it. Otherwise, it's not a guitar I particularly need. I think it's an insanely good axe for this sort of money, but if I never got one, I'd live a perfectly content life. $300 spent on this guitar is $300 less to spend on a guitar I really do want. I wouldn't even be mildly interested at a price in the mid $400s, though. If this thing gets down to 2 units left, I may pull the trigger, may not. We'll see what the price finally settles on, but it looks like it's dropping by about $8 a day to try and get rid of the remaining inventory.
Now, the other question that this brings up is, how wise is it to buy guitars sight-unseen? Isn't playing the guitar a tactile experience? Isn't it risky to buy an instrument you've never played?
Well, yes, it is. But like most things in life, there's a cost tradeoff. The manufacturers were better off in the old days when they sold their products through dozens of little tiny mom and pop stores in your hometown. Those stores had good sales people who, usually, knew enough to try and help you get a really good guitar. Trouble is, you didn't get much of a discount when you bought. In fact, a lot of those mom and pops sold at full retail.
What's good for the manufacturer isn't always good for the consumer. The consumer wants to pay 36% less and the only way that's going to happen is with mail-order or internet sales.
The quality of most instruments these days is pretty good, which means your odds of getting a clunker are pretty low. Also, in the old days, you got your guitar and if it played poorly you had to take it to get it "set up" by a guitar technician so it would play well. These days, almost all guitars are set up pretty well at the factories and play well straight out of the box.
Also, frankly, most players aren't really that affected by a good, versus a great instrument. I know enough to appreciate a great instrument, like a Melancon. Most people aren't. Also, although I'm far from a great or even good guitar player, I'm pretty accomplished for a hacker (studied applied classical guitar in college, taught for 3 years.) Even though I can appreciate the good stuff, it doesn't really let me play any better. A $400 mexican stratocaster sounds about as good in my hands as a $3,000 Melancon.
People want cheap. Most players, it just doesn't matter. Most guitars are a good bargain for the money. So, mail-order / internet works just fine for most people, most of the time.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Of Guitars and Dreams
The guitar has always loomed large in my world. For as far back as I can remember, I wanted one. I had a few junky ones at various times in my youth. I didn't really learn to play until I was 16 and just grunted it out using a book called "the Beatles Complete" that I borrowed from my friend, Stu Kemper. He had a Vox Spitfire, which was an Italian made-knockoff of a Fender Stratocaster. I never really played his guitar, but I envied him that he had it. For my High School graduation, he and his parents got me my own copy of the Beatles Complete. I learned how to play guitar using that book.
For my high school graduation, my Dad gave me $200 so I could buy a cheap acoustic guitar. It was playable, much nicer than anything I had before. Not the greatest guitar, but not the worst. I was proud of that thing. Played it a ton. Took it halfway around the world with me to Korea. I still have it today.
Once I had jobs and some money of my own, I bought guitars. A brief list would include, at least, the following:
1. Gibson ES-335 (1969-ish)
2. Fender Precision Bass (Maybe 1974?)
3. Gretsch Chet Atkins (Probably 1960-ish)
4. Ibanez Deluxe 59er (the "lawsuit" les paul)
5. Aria pro II Urchin
6. Some random Ibanez something or other.
7. Kramer Pacer Deluxe
8. Takamine Acoustic/Electric Classical Guitar
9. 2 Gibson Les Paul Standards
10. A Gibson Les Paul Custom
11. 3 Different Melancon Guitars
12. A Taylor 410CE
13. I owned another Taylor CE at one time, but don't remember the number. 210?
14. Two Modern Fender Stratocasters (Made in Mexico)
15. A Yamaha BBGS something or other bass.
16. A Fender Strat Plus
I have almost none of those guitars, today.
This holiday season, my financial state is a little better. I got another bass (a mexican Jazz Bass) and another guitar (a Dean Cadillac.)
It never ceases to amaze me how much more affordable most guitars are today, versus when I was a kid.
You have to wait and watch, but you can get professional quality instruments for next to nothing these days.
That Yamaha Bass cost just a tad over $200. The Dean Cadi? Less than $300. (A Dean Cadi for those who aren't familiar, is their attempt at a Les Paul. It has, among other things, a set neck, maple top, mahogany body, etc. They're made in Korea, but frankly, Koreans make good gear these days.)
Even the standard Mexican Fenders are good guitars. When I was a kid, I distinctly remember that a Fender Stratocaster cost about $450. The Mexican Fenders are every bit as good and you can get them for around $450, brand-new.
One thing that sorta sucks is that the used gear is a LOT more expensive these days. The coolest guitars I owned were the first ones I owned, because you could get some great guitars if you didn't mind used ones.
The Gibson ES-335, the Chet Atkins and the Lawsuit Les Paul are all regarded as amazing instruments today.
To get a new ES-335, it's probably over $2,000. The new Chets retail for about $3,000 and they're not as good as when they were made in the USA. The Lawsuit Les Pauls (so-named because Ibanez was sued by Gibson and then subsequently stopped production) were essentially Les Paul clones, but with bolt-on necks.
So, I guess what has changed is that in the old days, if you kept your eyes open and had access to a few hundred bucks, you literally could buy the very best guitars money could buy, even if you had a minimum wage job and lived with your parents. These days, you really can't do that. E-bay has ruined that.
But what the internet taketh away, the internet also giveth. You have to be hip to it, but things like the Dean... adjusted for inflation, that would have cost $130, maybe, back in 1982. You absolutely could not buy a new, professional-quality instrument for $130 back then. You can only find deals like that by scouring the net.
Also, these days, a lot of countries are making really good guitars using CNC machines. So, although the best guitars are still made in the USA, the majority of players will probably not be hindered by, say, playing a Mexican Stratocaster or something like the Dean Cadi. (Though full retail on the Dean is still about $900, and the discounted retail price is about $470. So, you have to find this stuff on a screamin' sale.)
I do love guitars, though. I hope my son continues to be interested. I doubt I'll ever buy any more high-line gear for myself, but I'd gladly buy it for him if / when he shows he's ready for it.
For my high school graduation, my Dad gave me $200 so I could buy a cheap acoustic guitar. It was playable, much nicer than anything I had before. Not the greatest guitar, but not the worst. I was proud of that thing. Played it a ton. Took it halfway around the world with me to Korea. I still have it today.
Once I had jobs and some money of my own, I bought guitars. A brief list would include, at least, the following:
1. Gibson ES-335 (1969-ish)
2. Fender Precision Bass (Maybe 1974?)
3. Gretsch Chet Atkins (Probably 1960-ish)
4. Ibanez Deluxe 59er (the "lawsuit" les paul)
5. Aria pro II Urchin
6. Some random Ibanez something or other.
7. Kramer Pacer Deluxe
8. Takamine Acoustic/Electric Classical Guitar
9. 2 Gibson Les Paul Standards
10. A Gibson Les Paul Custom
11. 3 Different Melancon Guitars
12. A Taylor 410CE
13. I owned another Taylor CE at one time, but don't remember the number. 210?
14. Two Modern Fender Stratocasters (Made in Mexico)
15. A Yamaha BBGS something or other bass.
16. A Fender Strat Plus
I have almost none of those guitars, today.
This holiday season, my financial state is a little better. I got another bass (a mexican Jazz Bass) and another guitar (a Dean Cadillac.)
It never ceases to amaze me how much more affordable most guitars are today, versus when I was a kid.
You have to wait and watch, but you can get professional quality instruments for next to nothing these days.
That Yamaha Bass cost just a tad over $200. The Dean Cadi? Less than $300. (A Dean Cadi for those who aren't familiar, is their attempt at a Les Paul. It has, among other things, a set neck, maple top, mahogany body, etc. They're made in Korea, but frankly, Koreans make good gear these days.)
Even the standard Mexican Fenders are good guitars. When I was a kid, I distinctly remember that a Fender Stratocaster cost about $450. The Mexican Fenders are every bit as good and you can get them for around $450, brand-new.
One thing that sorta sucks is that the used gear is a LOT more expensive these days. The coolest guitars I owned were the first ones I owned, because you could get some great guitars if you didn't mind used ones.
The Gibson ES-335, the Chet Atkins and the Lawsuit Les Paul are all regarded as amazing instruments today.
To get a new ES-335, it's probably over $2,000. The new Chets retail for about $3,000 and they're not as good as when they were made in the USA. The Lawsuit Les Pauls (so-named because Ibanez was sued by Gibson and then subsequently stopped production) were essentially Les Paul clones, but with bolt-on necks.
So, I guess what has changed is that in the old days, if you kept your eyes open and had access to a few hundred bucks, you literally could buy the very best guitars money could buy, even if you had a minimum wage job and lived with your parents. These days, you really can't do that. E-bay has ruined that.
But what the internet taketh away, the internet also giveth. You have to be hip to it, but things like the Dean... adjusted for inflation, that would have cost $130, maybe, back in 1982. You absolutely could not buy a new, professional-quality instrument for $130 back then. You can only find deals like that by scouring the net.
Also, these days, a lot of countries are making really good guitars using CNC machines. So, although the best guitars are still made in the USA, the majority of players will probably not be hindered by, say, playing a Mexican Stratocaster or something like the Dean Cadi. (Though full retail on the Dean is still about $900, and the discounted retail price is about $470. So, you have to find this stuff on a screamin' sale.)
I do love guitars, though. I hope my son continues to be interested. I doubt I'll ever buy any more high-line gear for myself, but I'd gladly buy it for him if / when he shows he's ready for it.
Friday, December 30, 2011
New Year's Resolution
2011 is done, and it was the toughest year in recent memory. It ended on a high note, though. It wasn't all bad, either. I did survive it. Looking back, a lot was going on.
1. A little more than a year ago, I decided I was going to go back to school for something. I pretty much ran down every option and in the end, settled on going back for a law degree. This is really a bucket-list thing. I have wanted to do this for a long time. Always figured I would. It just took me a long time to get around to it. So, I got everything together, got accepted and finished my first semester. By the time I'm making 2013 resolutions, I'll be halfway through Law School.
2. The business was in rough shape at the start of 2011, and it was touch and go for the first part of the year. Our luck got a tiny bit better. Not that much, but some. We're still alive for 2012. In 2013 and 2014, we retire an absolute mountain of debt. It'll free up almost $28,000 a year that is currently being used for debt service. So, maybe a little bit of sales growth, but what we really need to do is just mostly survive. I have some decisions to make regarding the business. We'll just have to see how it goes. However, if we can continue to slightly improve our sales, survive the year and pay all our bills, that'll be a major victory right there.
3. On personal finances, that's really not that different than my business goals. Survival is job 1. I also retire a bit of personal debt in 2013 and 2014. When that's paid off, that'll free up almost $14,000 a year. It's sort of staggerring to think that even if nothing else changed, that the end of that debt service would mean another $40,000 a year or so. Coincidentally, forty large is roughly the cost of putting a kid through school.
4. Logan has shown more interest in learning musical instruments. I've started teaching him both guitar and bass. Will probably have him dabble a tad in piano, too. I can take him a pretty long ways in guitar. I can take him a little ways in bass and keys. Right now, I'm showing him how to play Beatles hits. (Twist and Shout on Bass and I Want To Hold Your Hand on guitar.)
5. Outside of music, I still consider being Logan's father to be job 1. He's doing great in sports. He's doing great in school. Really making me proud. I just want to be there to help him along with whatever he decides to do.
Next year will largely be a continuation of last year, but I need to redouble my efforts to eat better and work out more. I'm at what I consider the absolute upper limit of an acceptable weight range. I also think I'm REALLY stretching the definition of "acceptable".
So, sometimes the name of the game is survival and that's sort of where I'm at, now. Things aren't that bad. Just can't handle too many whammies in the coming year. Hoping for a smoother ride than what I've seen previously.
Resolutions? Here they go:
1. Work out more. Some physical activity at least 4 days a week. Between the rower, the gym and even... oh... lacing up the shoes and running outside, there are more than enough activities to keep me busy. I also have to get used to the idea that 20 or 30 minutes is vastly superior to no activity. For the past decade, I've had trouble accepting that a workout of less than 60 minutes counts.
2. Eat better. Less takeout. Less frozen, preprepared foods. And although this flies in the face of my perfect pizza goal, I want to eat a lot less carbs. I've been scared of my carb intake since the movie, "fat head".
3. Survive, survive, survive with the business. Come out ever so slightly stronger. At the end of 2012, we should have our balances paid down to the point that we can consider early payoff of some of those notes. There's a few things I could do to cut down on expenses, too. I'm paying $200 a month for cell service for 4G nationwide plus the ability to tether a computer nationwide. Now that I'm not in the Navy anymore, that's a waste. I could be getting by on a $45 a month plan.
4. Improve the business' marketing efforts. At this point, I have to admit that we should be recovering much more strongly than we are. It all starts with marketing. I'm one of the guys who believes that nothing happens in business unless something gets sold.
5. Personal finances, keep truckin'. I have a car payment that's probably too big for my income. I also have a term-loan that gets paid off late in 2013. Those go away, and I have a lot more resources to work with. And when the car is paid off, I'm getting a prius. I'm going to put a "coexist" bumper sticker on the back, too.
6. Keep supporting Logan in what he's pursuing, so long as it is positive. Mostly, that's sports, but I'm hoping that music is going to be something he at least dabbles with. If he stays obsessed with bass, I want to help him become the best bass player he can be. It also means that if he doesn't want to play baseball anymore, I'll accept and support that decision. I fear that's where this is headed. The shame of it is that he's one of the best baseball players in the entire city. He just doesn't realize it. However, he could use the time to work on basketball or swimming if he did drop baseball. I think it's a shame, but this is one of those things where what I think is only so important. Games should be fun and I fear that baseball is becoming something that isn't fun for him.
Also, the medium-term picture is looking a lot more interesting than the short-term picture. By the time 2014 comes to a close, I hope to have all these accomplished:
1. Another small business started. I still have a few ideas, but am not entirely sure what the other business will be. It'll be something, though. I won't ever have all my eggs in one basket again.
2. JD Finished. Bar Exam passed. Law practice started. I'm not going through law school as an academic exercise. This is sort of like another small-business in a way.
3. Current business on stable, strong footing. Zero debt.
4. All term-debt (other than mortgage), business and personal, retired.
5. Re-join Highland Meadows. Logan will be a teen, then. I want him to be able to golf well and enjoy the pool during the Summer. He may have to spend a lot of time unattended.
1. A little more than a year ago, I decided I was going to go back to school for something. I pretty much ran down every option and in the end, settled on going back for a law degree. This is really a bucket-list thing. I have wanted to do this for a long time. Always figured I would. It just took me a long time to get around to it. So, I got everything together, got accepted and finished my first semester. By the time I'm making 2013 resolutions, I'll be halfway through Law School.
2. The business was in rough shape at the start of 2011, and it was touch and go for the first part of the year. Our luck got a tiny bit better. Not that much, but some. We're still alive for 2012. In 2013 and 2014, we retire an absolute mountain of debt. It'll free up almost $28,000 a year that is currently being used for debt service. So, maybe a little bit of sales growth, but what we really need to do is just mostly survive. I have some decisions to make regarding the business. We'll just have to see how it goes. However, if we can continue to slightly improve our sales, survive the year and pay all our bills, that'll be a major victory right there.
3. On personal finances, that's really not that different than my business goals. Survival is job 1. I also retire a bit of personal debt in 2013 and 2014. When that's paid off, that'll free up almost $14,000 a year. It's sort of staggerring to think that even if nothing else changed, that the end of that debt service would mean another $40,000 a year or so. Coincidentally, forty large is roughly the cost of putting a kid through school.
4. Logan has shown more interest in learning musical instruments. I've started teaching him both guitar and bass. Will probably have him dabble a tad in piano, too. I can take him a pretty long ways in guitar. I can take him a little ways in bass and keys. Right now, I'm showing him how to play Beatles hits. (Twist and Shout on Bass and I Want To Hold Your Hand on guitar.)
5. Outside of music, I still consider being Logan's father to be job 1. He's doing great in sports. He's doing great in school. Really making me proud. I just want to be there to help him along with whatever he decides to do.
Next year will largely be a continuation of last year, but I need to redouble my efforts to eat better and work out more. I'm at what I consider the absolute upper limit of an acceptable weight range. I also think I'm REALLY stretching the definition of "acceptable".
So, sometimes the name of the game is survival and that's sort of where I'm at, now. Things aren't that bad. Just can't handle too many whammies in the coming year. Hoping for a smoother ride than what I've seen previously.
Resolutions? Here they go:
1. Work out more. Some physical activity at least 4 days a week. Between the rower, the gym and even... oh... lacing up the shoes and running outside, there are more than enough activities to keep me busy. I also have to get used to the idea that 20 or 30 minutes is vastly superior to no activity. For the past decade, I've had trouble accepting that a workout of less than 60 minutes counts.
2. Eat better. Less takeout. Less frozen, preprepared foods. And although this flies in the face of my perfect pizza goal, I want to eat a lot less carbs. I've been scared of my carb intake since the movie, "fat head".
3. Survive, survive, survive with the business. Come out ever so slightly stronger. At the end of 2012, we should have our balances paid down to the point that we can consider early payoff of some of those notes. There's a few things I could do to cut down on expenses, too. I'm paying $200 a month for cell service for 4G nationwide plus the ability to tether a computer nationwide. Now that I'm not in the Navy anymore, that's a waste. I could be getting by on a $45 a month plan.
4. Improve the business' marketing efforts. At this point, I have to admit that we should be recovering much more strongly than we are. It all starts with marketing. I'm one of the guys who believes that nothing happens in business unless something gets sold.
5. Personal finances, keep truckin'. I have a car payment that's probably too big for my income. I also have a term-loan that gets paid off late in 2013. Those go away, and I have a lot more resources to work with. And when the car is paid off, I'm getting a prius. I'm going to put a "coexist" bumper sticker on the back, too.
6. Keep supporting Logan in what he's pursuing, so long as it is positive. Mostly, that's sports, but I'm hoping that music is going to be something he at least dabbles with. If he stays obsessed with bass, I want to help him become the best bass player he can be. It also means that if he doesn't want to play baseball anymore, I'll accept and support that decision. I fear that's where this is headed. The shame of it is that he's one of the best baseball players in the entire city. He just doesn't realize it. However, he could use the time to work on basketball or swimming if he did drop baseball. I think it's a shame, but this is one of those things where what I think is only so important. Games should be fun and I fear that baseball is becoming something that isn't fun for him.
Also, the medium-term picture is looking a lot more interesting than the short-term picture. By the time 2014 comes to a close, I hope to have all these accomplished:
1. Another small business started. I still have a few ideas, but am not entirely sure what the other business will be. It'll be something, though. I won't ever have all my eggs in one basket again.
2. JD Finished. Bar Exam passed. Law practice started. I'm not going through law school as an academic exercise. This is sort of like another small-business in a way.
3. Current business on stable, strong footing. Zero debt.
4. All term-debt (other than mortgage), business and personal, retired.
5. Re-join Highland Meadows. Logan will be a teen, then. I want him to be able to golf well and enjoy the pool during the Summer. He may have to spend a lot of time unattended.
Monday, December 19, 2011
Financial Plan for the Rest of My Life
Funny, but was trading e-mails with a new friend, Stevie, and realized that 2014 isn't all that far off, really. I mean, yeah, it's a ways, but not like it's that far away. I guess I wasn't thinking about it that much.
2014 is the year I am done with all my fixed-term debts (other than mortgages), of which I have quite a few. (Long story, but basically, a business growing at 40% per year, combined with debt to accomodate the growth, combined with an abrupt decline in business.) Basically, it's a lot of money.
The thing that occurred to me yesterday is that when the debt is paid off, I can join the country club again. I was a member for 2 years once my biz got good, but had to resign when things took a downturn.
This is something I'll really enjoy, myself, but I really want it for my son. We are within walking distance to the club. So, on Summer days when he is bored out of his mind, he can join a friend or two and walk the course or hang out at the pool. I won't ever have to worry about him starving since they at least have food there.
He'll be around 13 when the debt is all gone. That's probably a good age for it. Until then, I'm not sure he'd get much out of it other than the pool.
Well... talk about first-world problems. "I worry about the welfare of my son because he doesn't belong to a country club right now." I know it's a stupid thing to worry about. I just think it'd be nice if he got to where he could golf well (unlike his father.)
Really, if I just lived like I do, now, and devoted that debt-service money to various projects, I could end up really accomplishing most of what I set out to do in life. I could pay my son's way through school. I could pay off all the family homes.
This doesn't account for the fact that if I start a law practice, that I should also get additional income from that. Plus, the biz usually throws off a windfall once or twice a year that's not accounted for. So, I think my plan is pretty realistic.
I think the tough part about being middle aged is that you become acutely aware that there are only so many years left. When I think back on my life, these first 40-something years represented a lot of time.
17 of them were just being a kid. Not really doing anything productive, but just sorta being there and taking up space.
Then, though, when I think of the ground I've covered, it's encouraging. I did 4 years in the Army. 4 years of undegrad. Taught guitar for 3 of those years. Then... uh... more undegrad, but while working in information technology related areas at the start of 13 years in Fortune 500 I.T. Since 2004, I've been an entrepreneur. Now, I'm embarking on a law career. I haven't given up the entrepreneur thing, either. So, for the first time, I'm not changing careers so much as adding a second one.
That's a lot of ground to cover in 30 years. I don't see any reason why I shouldn't be able to cover similar ground over the next 20 years. However, really, that's sort of how it breaks down. I've already done more of my life than I'm likely to have ahead of me.
Presuming I work until I'm 70, that leaves me just a couple of decades, after law school, to do whatever I'm going to do with my life. (Also, working until I'm 70 is one of the reasons I chose to study law. It's a career you can do well into old age. In fact, there are situations where a seasoned 68 year old lawyer might actually be the one you want.)
Still, when you talk about decades, that's a lot of time. You can change your life, entirely, multiple times. It's enough time to do a lot of stuff.
A lot of things are easier, now. Like most folks, I started life with absolutely nothing. So, the first 20 years of being out on my own I had to spend a lot of it just building capabilities. I lived in crappy apartments or houses, went to night school. Worked a job. That didn't leave much time for starting my own business, etc.
So, I think I can do a lot more with a couple decades than I did with the first three. However, my time isn't infinite, and that is sort of a bummer.
Maybe I'll be like Colonel Sanders and hit my stride when I turn 65. Who knows. I am not counting on it, though. I have taken about as good care of my body as I did my 10 speed bicycle when I was 12. Bad diet, not enough exercise. Yeah, there's time to change that and I do work on it. However, I'm thinking that if long life is a reward for good healthy habits, I better plan on keeling over at my desk at 70.
Still, all in all, not bad. I have a realistic plan to meet all the financial goals I would have set for myself, and then some. Yeah, eventually I run out of time, but hey, we all do, sooner or later. Much better than not-having a way to get where you hoped you'd be.
2014 is the year I am done with all my fixed-term debts (other than mortgages), of which I have quite a few. (Long story, but basically, a business growing at 40% per year, combined with debt to accomodate the growth, combined with an abrupt decline in business.) Basically, it's a lot of money.
The thing that occurred to me yesterday is that when the debt is paid off, I can join the country club again. I was a member for 2 years once my biz got good, but had to resign when things took a downturn.
This is something I'll really enjoy, myself, but I really want it for my son. We are within walking distance to the club. So, on Summer days when he is bored out of his mind, he can join a friend or two and walk the course or hang out at the pool. I won't ever have to worry about him starving since they at least have food there.
He'll be around 13 when the debt is all gone. That's probably a good age for it. Until then, I'm not sure he'd get much out of it other than the pool.
Well... talk about first-world problems. "I worry about the welfare of my son because he doesn't belong to a country club right now." I know it's a stupid thing to worry about. I just think it'd be nice if he got to where he could golf well (unlike his father.)
Really, if I just lived like I do, now, and devoted that debt-service money to various projects, I could end up really accomplishing most of what I set out to do in life. I could pay my son's way through school. I could pay off all the family homes.
This doesn't account for the fact that if I start a law practice, that I should also get additional income from that. Plus, the biz usually throws off a windfall once or twice a year that's not accounted for. So, I think my plan is pretty realistic.
I think the tough part about being middle aged is that you become acutely aware that there are only so many years left. When I think back on my life, these first 40-something years represented a lot of time.
17 of them were just being a kid. Not really doing anything productive, but just sorta being there and taking up space.
Then, though, when I think of the ground I've covered, it's encouraging. I did 4 years in the Army. 4 years of undegrad. Taught guitar for 3 of those years. Then... uh... more undegrad, but while working in information technology related areas at the start of 13 years in Fortune 500 I.T. Since 2004, I've been an entrepreneur. Now, I'm embarking on a law career. I haven't given up the entrepreneur thing, either. So, for the first time, I'm not changing careers so much as adding a second one.
That's a lot of ground to cover in 30 years. I don't see any reason why I shouldn't be able to cover similar ground over the next 20 years. However, really, that's sort of how it breaks down. I've already done more of my life than I'm likely to have ahead of me.
Presuming I work until I'm 70, that leaves me just a couple of decades, after law school, to do whatever I'm going to do with my life. (Also, working until I'm 70 is one of the reasons I chose to study law. It's a career you can do well into old age. In fact, there are situations where a seasoned 68 year old lawyer might actually be the one you want.)
Still, when you talk about decades, that's a lot of time. You can change your life, entirely, multiple times. It's enough time to do a lot of stuff.
A lot of things are easier, now. Like most folks, I started life with absolutely nothing. So, the first 20 years of being out on my own I had to spend a lot of it just building capabilities. I lived in crappy apartments or houses, went to night school. Worked a job. That didn't leave much time for starting my own business, etc.
So, I think I can do a lot more with a couple decades than I did with the first three. However, my time isn't infinite, and that is sort of a bummer.
Maybe I'll be like Colonel Sanders and hit my stride when I turn 65. Who knows. I am not counting on it, though. I have taken about as good care of my body as I did my 10 speed bicycle when I was 12. Bad diet, not enough exercise. Yeah, there's time to change that and I do work on it. However, I'm thinking that if long life is a reward for good healthy habits, I better plan on keeling over at my desk at 70.
Still, all in all, not bad. I have a realistic plan to meet all the financial goals I would have set for myself, and then some. Yeah, eventually I run out of time, but hey, we all do, sooner or later. Much better than not-having a way to get where you hoped you'd be.
Sunday, December 18, 2011
It's a Wonderful Life
2011 is almost over and frankly, I don't think I'll miss it much. This was a tough year that started off bad and ended on a pretty good note. I think 2012 is going to be much, much better overall.
I started the year with the business in shambles. I was in big trouble. By March, it looked like I may have to declare bankruptcy. However, by May or thereabouts, I had finally gotten the ship turned around. We're still not out of the woods, but on much more solid ground than any time in recent memory.
I feel pretty confident that the business is going to survive. That we'll pay off all our debt by the end of 2014. That this will continue to be a profitable business with a lot of upside potential.
2014 is the target date for my next business enterprise. I have no idea what it'll be, but I know I don't want to have all my eggs in one basket ever again.
The other big thing is that I decided in the first part of this year to enroll in law school and lo and behold, I actually just finished my first semester. I'm having a blast. I really enjoy it. It's a little tough because they deliberately schedule your first year classes to make it inconvenient for you to do anythng but school. (They actually ask that you do not work at all during your 1L year.)
2L and beyond, it gets easier to try to schedule your classes with a few weekdays off every week. I will shoot to try and schedule all my classes 3 days a week, and if at all possible, 2. That'll let me focus on building up my business again. In a way, law school came at the right time. My business needs time to heal, to lift itself up off the mat. To slowly improve our finacial position.
Being in law school gives me something else to obsess about as the business works though the long process of recovery.
Logan? Still, my pride and joy. This year, he made the Junior Cats travel basketball team. He's still playing travel baseball. He was absolutely insanely good at football this past year. What a phenomenal athlete and awesome little guy. I just love him. He has always made me proud and every year he manages to make me even prouder, yet.
So, what can I say? My life is pretty good right now. I'm not rich like I once was. Sold off the guitar collection and the four wheelers. Singed, but not burned.
On the upside, I have an awesome business, and enjoying a fantastic time in law school and have the best son I could ever have hoped for. Life is really, really good.
So, here's to a great 2012. 2011 ended on a pretty high note. However, I have every reason to believe 2012 will be even better.
I started the year with the business in shambles. I was in big trouble. By March, it looked like I may have to declare bankruptcy. However, by May or thereabouts, I had finally gotten the ship turned around. We're still not out of the woods, but on much more solid ground than any time in recent memory.
I feel pretty confident that the business is going to survive. That we'll pay off all our debt by the end of 2014. That this will continue to be a profitable business with a lot of upside potential.
2014 is the target date for my next business enterprise. I have no idea what it'll be, but I know I don't want to have all my eggs in one basket ever again.
The other big thing is that I decided in the first part of this year to enroll in law school and lo and behold, I actually just finished my first semester. I'm having a blast. I really enjoy it. It's a little tough because they deliberately schedule your first year classes to make it inconvenient for you to do anythng but school. (They actually ask that you do not work at all during your 1L year.)
2L and beyond, it gets easier to try to schedule your classes with a few weekdays off every week. I will shoot to try and schedule all my classes 3 days a week, and if at all possible, 2. That'll let me focus on building up my business again. In a way, law school came at the right time. My business needs time to heal, to lift itself up off the mat. To slowly improve our finacial position.
Being in law school gives me something else to obsess about as the business works though the long process of recovery.
Logan? Still, my pride and joy. This year, he made the Junior Cats travel basketball team. He's still playing travel baseball. He was absolutely insanely good at football this past year. What a phenomenal athlete and awesome little guy. I just love him. He has always made me proud and every year he manages to make me even prouder, yet.
So, what can I say? My life is pretty good right now. I'm not rich like I once was. Sold off the guitar collection and the four wheelers. Singed, but not burned.
On the upside, I have an awesome business, and enjoying a fantastic time in law school and have the best son I could ever have hoped for. Life is really, really good.
So, here's to a great 2012. 2011 ended on a pretty high note. However, I have every reason to believe 2012 will be even better.
Friday, December 9, 2011
Changing of the Season
My boy is already amped that Winter is here. We don't get to ski much around here and it's not great skiing, but he loves it. Starting in January, we'll go skiing every other weekend up to Mt. Holly. Brighton is only an hour away, but it's crowded and small with a lot of tow ropes. Mt. Holly is another hour, but it's worth it for the less crowded slopes and slightly better runs.
Someday, I'll take him out west, or at the least, up to upstate New York, so he can ski on bigger runs in a bigger place. This year, I'll keep getting him private ski lessons every time we go. Started that later than I should have last year. Basically, hire a ski instructor for his first hour on the slopes, then let him do whatever the rest of the day.
Me? I'm a terrible skiier, and once I get tired, I start falling down. Combined with law school studying, I think I'm going to spend a lot of time in the lodge. I'll ski a bit, but it's really nice to turn Logan over to that instructor for an hour. The kid loves skiing so much, we close the place down every time we go up there.
I wish there were another Sylvania kid who loved to ski. It'd be nice if Logan had a buddy to chase around the slopes. It would also relieve Dad of some of that obligation.
2011 is almost in the can. From the beginning, it looked like a year to be endured, not particularly enjoyed. A lot of good things happened. Logan had a phenomenal season in football. He made the Jr. Cats travel basketball team. I got a scholarship to Law School and am wrapping up my first season.
Finances continue to be challenging and will be for the next 2 or 3 years. The business is still struggling under the mountain of debt we took in back when we were growing at 40% per year before the downturn. We won't be finishing off any of it in 2012. However, if I can survive the next 12 months, that'll set us up for wiping it out in 2013 and 2014. What a difference that'll make in life. $4,000 a month in debt payments isn't that big a deal when you're talking about a business that's grossing just shy of a million a year. But when sales plummet by more than half, it gets to be a burden.
Life will be so much better, later. It's not too bad now. I try to remind myself that life was never meant to be easy. It always involved its challenges. People have to go through their own little trials and tribulations. It's our nature. However, as long as the debt collectors aren't bothering me, I can raise my boy and I have the prospect of brighter days ahead, that's really what its all about.
Someday, I'll take him out west, or at the least, up to upstate New York, so he can ski on bigger runs in a bigger place. This year, I'll keep getting him private ski lessons every time we go. Started that later than I should have last year. Basically, hire a ski instructor for his first hour on the slopes, then let him do whatever the rest of the day.
Me? I'm a terrible skiier, and once I get tired, I start falling down. Combined with law school studying, I think I'm going to spend a lot of time in the lodge. I'll ski a bit, but it's really nice to turn Logan over to that instructor for an hour. The kid loves skiing so much, we close the place down every time we go up there.
I wish there were another Sylvania kid who loved to ski. It'd be nice if Logan had a buddy to chase around the slopes. It would also relieve Dad of some of that obligation.
2011 is almost in the can. From the beginning, it looked like a year to be endured, not particularly enjoyed. A lot of good things happened. Logan had a phenomenal season in football. He made the Jr. Cats travel basketball team. I got a scholarship to Law School and am wrapping up my first season.
Finances continue to be challenging and will be for the next 2 or 3 years. The business is still struggling under the mountain of debt we took in back when we were growing at 40% per year before the downturn. We won't be finishing off any of it in 2012. However, if I can survive the next 12 months, that'll set us up for wiping it out in 2013 and 2014. What a difference that'll make in life. $4,000 a month in debt payments isn't that big a deal when you're talking about a business that's grossing just shy of a million a year. But when sales plummet by more than half, it gets to be a burden.
Life will be so much better, later. It's not too bad now. I try to remind myself that life was never meant to be easy. It always involved its challenges. People have to go through their own little trials and tribulations. It's our nature. However, as long as the debt collectors aren't bothering me, I can raise my boy and I have the prospect of brighter days ahead, that's really what its all about.
Saturday, November 5, 2011
What the ****ity, ****ing ****!!!
I generally hate writing or reading about this sort of thing. Horrible things happen every day in the world and wallowing in them doesn't make the world a better place. However, I just found out something that really sucks.
When I first started working a real job, back in my 20s, I was a technical writer for a company in Akron. I had a couple of co-workers who were experienced tech writers who were not just good mentors, but fun to be around. One was named Jan and the other was Lynn Riek. She later divorced and became Lynn Fassnacht.
Thanks to the internet, I got in touch with her once right around the turn of the century. Met her new husband, caught up on the gossip about all our old co-workers. She was just one of those people who made you happy just to be around them. I was thinking now would be a great time to get back in touch with her after all these years.
Lynn was such a sweetheart. I really loved her. If she weren't almost 20 years older than me (and married), I'd have probably asked her out. Of course, that really doesn't make me unique. I don't know of anybody who didn't love Lynn, and I can't imagine anybody who wouldn't have loved her. She was just a sweet, gentle, wonderful soul.
Anyway, I was on Facebook and wondered if she had an account. Did a couple of searches for her name and nothing came up. Went out to Google and found a blog post that said, "...most wonderful coworker named Lynn Fassnacht. On Monday we learned that she had been murdered by her schizophrenic stepson..."
"Lynn Fassnacht" isn't exactly a common name, but there's more than one in the country. So, I did some more searching to see if this was the one and when I saw her death notice on a board for North Texas State University (where she once attended), I realized, yes, it was her.
Apparently her psycho stepson stabbed her to death one day.
Not a lot to say about it. It was a stupid, needless death. Personally, I think we should have a lot more instutitions and we should be institutionalizing a lot more people than we currently do, both for their own good and the good of society. Of course, that's neither here nor there at the moment.
I just can't believe it, though. Lynn, murdered? Not like this sort of thing ever makes any sense, but in this case, it certainly doesn't. She wasn't the type of person who ever said a cross word to anybody. At least when you have people who are confrontational, who don't do what it takes to avoid trouble, there's a certain sense to things, but not this time.
I guess if I were a more creative person, I could find some way to relate this to studying the law, but I'm just not that smart, I guess. Middle age is a strange time because now is really when folks start dying. I just heard that a classmate, Donnie Bishop, passed away recently. Never knew Donnie to say a mean thing to anybody, ever. A relative via my Dad's marriage, Jon McCall, died last year. At this age, nobody should be dying, but statistically speaking, it's inevitable that some folks do. It's just a shame when they go.
When I first started working a real job, back in my 20s, I was a technical writer for a company in Akron. I had a couple of co-workers who were experienced tech writers who were not just good mentors, but fun to be around. One was named Jan and the other was Lynn Riek. She later divorced and became Lynn Fassnacht.
Thanks to the internet, I got in touch with her once right around the turn of the century. Met her new husband, caught up on the gossip about all our old co-workers. She was just one of those people who made you happy just to be around them. I was thinking now would be a great time to get back in touch with her after all these years.
Lynn was such a sweetheart. I really loved her. If she weren't almost 20 years older than me (and married), I'd have probably asked her out. Of course, that really doesn't make me unique. I don't know of anybody who didn't love Lynn, and I can't imagine anybody who wouldn't have loved her. She was just a sweet, gentle, wonderful soul.
Anyway, I was on Facebook and wondered if she had an account. Did a couple of searches for her name and nothing came up. Went out to Google and found a blog post that said, "...most wonderful coworker named Lynn Fassnacht. On Monday we learned that she had been murdered by her schizophrenic stepson..."
"Lynn Fassnacht" isn't exactly a common name, but there's more than one in the country. So, I did some more searching to see if this was the one and when I saw her death notice on a board for North Texas State University (where she once attended), I realized, yes, it was her.
Apparently her psycho stepson stabbed her to death one day.
Not a lot to say about it. It was a stupid, needless death. Personally, I think we should have a lot more instutitions and we should be institutionalizing a lot more people than we currently do, both for their own good and the good of society. Of course, that's neither here nor there at the moment.
I just can't believe it, though. Lynn, murdered? Not like this sort of thing ever makes any sense, but in this case, it certainly doesn't. She wasn't the type of person who ever said a cross word to anybody. At least when you have people who are confrontational, who don't do what it takes to avoid trouble, there's a certain sense to things, but not this time.
I guess if I were a more creative person, I could find some way to relate this to studying the law, but I'm just not that smart, I guess. Middle age is a strange time because now is really when folks start dying. I just heard that a classmate, Donnie Bishop, passed away recently. Never knew Donnie to say a mean thing to anybody, ever. A relative via my Dad's marriage, Jon McCall, died last year. At this age, nobody should be dying, but statistically speaking, it's inevitable that some folks do. It's just a shame when they go.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)