President Trump

Nov 8, 2016

I will be the first to admit I never saw this coming. I still believe Trump is a terrible human being and if he runs the country like a business then he will put profits ahead of people. There will be lots of angry people and those people will find out what they have to lose. With that said I have to admire what he has accomplished.

One year ago, no one thought he had a chance. News pundits and comedians alike watched gleefully as he entered the race, ready for zingers and eye catching headlines. They salivated and hung on to every politically incorrect statement made and every lie uttered. They predicted over and over again that his campaign would end. They said it would end after insulting the family of a gold star military member, they were wrong. They said it would end after claiming John McCain was not a hero because he was captured, they were wrong. They were wrong when he demeaned women, the disabled, and minorities. Trump was able to sustain his campaign despite doing what would have been career enders for others.

Trump did not lose out on too many votes from those he insulted. Among Latinos he won 29% of the vote. That meant despite threatening to build a wall, deport millions, and repeated insults, almost a third believed he was a better candidate than Clinton. Clinton took the lead on black and women voters but those margins were less than predicted. The same was true of young voters. Trump did extremely well with whites and those without a college degree, far exceeding what was predicted. He even converted historically blue states, the complete opposite of what the pundits had thought. In the end he solidified far more voters than he scared away.

At this point the Democratic party will have to reassess their position on the country. They had the most qualified candidate on the ballot, the support of a popular sitting president, more unity within the party, celebrity endorsements, more campaign money, and an opponent who was terrible on paper and the Democrats still lost. Democrats had squandered every advantage and had taken their electorate for granted. There were too many empty promises, too little accomplished, to put more Democrats in power. Working class whites, men and women were for a Trump. The margin of difference was huge.

Not only did Trump win the presidency, republicans also won the house, senate, and soon the supreme court. This is a glowing sign that the American public disapproves of everything they see happening. Trump has attacked a number of sitting politicians and it will be interesting to see how he runs his administration.

Trump is either the hypocrite in chief or a master tactician. Every insult he hurled at his opponent can be said about him. He attacks Clinton's charity despite using his own charity to enrich himself. He talks about Bill Clinton's affairs despite being married 4 times, numerous sexual assault cases, and bragging about groping women. He complains about the system being rigged and potentially not conceding so that his opponent could not make such a claim when he won. It was as if he had put his opponents in the defensive so much that they could not attack him on those same flaws, his flaws arguably were much more severe.

We are in unprecedented times ahead. The stock market has crashed, news organizations and many people are struggling to come to terms with the results, and xenophobia is likely going to spike. As a minority there is a chance that I will suffer or witness hostility yet to come. But I am not leaving, not running away to Canada. This is my country, my home, and I will define what it is to be American.

Trump is a terrible human being. He has accomplished a great deal but his message of anger and hostility is frightening. The times ahead will be uncertain.

Self Reflection Sunday

Oct 30, 2016
Self Reflection

Another week down and just like that it's the end of October. Time sure flies by quickly. This past week had more high points than low points.

To start off I won best speaker at the Toastmasters meeting, a proud moment considering I was up against a veteran in the club. It was close but I edged him out because he unfortunately had stumbled on a part of his story. That just goes to show that even the experts make mistakes. Due Rio scheduling conflicts I will not be able to attend the next two meetings.

I purchased additional stocks to keep myself on track for investing. Goal is to invest 30% of my income. I have logged my thoughts on buying shares of Ford and why I think it's a good buy. I will eventually compare my personal picks to the S&P 500 and the robo-investing with Wealthfront. I'm currently eyeing another stock to buy but will need to do more research to see if it's worth it.

This week I also received my refurbished LG v10. I have to admit that I was worried to get a refurbished phone but so far the phone has behaved splendidly. It is much faster than my old phone and holds a charge longer. It even fits into my phone cradle in my car so I don't have to buy a replacement. I'm not out of the woods yet though. One of the major issues that other owners experienced with This phone was a bootloop issue that renders the phone useless. The bootloop is a hardware issue that I am hoping was addressed during the refurbishing process but I will not know for sure for several months. Most users report the issue occurring at around the 11 month mark. If this phone last at least 1-2 years then I would be content.

I continued my inertia and got myself to workout 3 days this week. The wife says she notices the difference which is a big motivator.

On the down side I only analyzed 5 more properties, less then my goal of 10. My aging laptop is likely on his last leg and his performance is hindering my own. For now I cannot get a new laptop and I'm considering going to the library to do my research.

Contributed a little to the world that week by giving food to a homeless man. I want to contribute more to charity but I have not been doing a good job. I even forgot to use Amazon Smile instead of regular Amazon.

Goal this coming week is to trudge on. I keep working out, investing, and spend some time in the library.

Stocks and Phones

Oct 28, 2016
Financial Safety

Stocks
Picked up a few shares of Ford Motor Company stocks. Ford stocks recently had a decline due to a massive recall. This meant that shares are available at a discount. The company had higher operating profits than predicted, and can carry this momentum forward. The shares are trading at 5.5 P/E ratio and 5% dividend/yield. Which means the stock is a bargain price stock and it pays roughly 5% returns if you hold the shares. Ford has been around for decades now and it's unlikely to go away any time soon meaning these shares are likely safe for years to come. Although the recall hurt Ford's revenue, Ford is not  the only company recently having recalls. Toyota, Honda, and Volkswagon has had major recalls in the last few years.

Phone
I was so tempted by the release of the LG V20 that I almost bought it. There was a promotion with T-mobile where trading in an old phone will net you $200 of bill credit, a free set of premium headphones, and free tablet. I jumped at the opportunity since my old phone was worth about $30. I went to the store, put a pre-order on the phone, and walked away excited. But as I got home, it started dawning on me what I had just done. The retail cost of the LG V20 was $769, the headphones had a $149 value, and the tablet was only free if you signed up a data plan at $10 a month. Even with trading in a phone, the cost of the LG V20 would be $579, after activation fees and taxes, it would be over $600. The headphones, although nice, were not a necessity, as in I would never have bought them if it was up to me. If I could sell them online, perhaps I could get $100 for them.The tablet was not actually, and therefore I was not willing to spend more money on it. Best case scenario, the new LG V20 would have cost me $500 ($600 for the phone - $100 selling the headphones). The phone was a thing of beauty, and it was difficult but I had to call to cancel the order.

Instead I opted to get a refurbished LG V10 for $249. I was able to discount the price even more by signing up for an Amazon credit card which gave me $40 of credit, plus used my Discover Card to pay the balance with a 5% cash back. This puts the net cost of the phone at just under $200. The V10 is still a nice phone, not nearly as shiny but an upgrade from my current phone.

Toastmasters Tuesday - Gestures, Body Language, and Facial Expression

Oct 25, 2016
Social Group

Food for Thought (Presented at Toastmasters with the goal of emphasizing gestures)

I presented today at Toastmasters, this group is so amazing. I walked in feeling so dead, drained from a busy work day, and having stayed up the previous night to write and prepare a speech; but the people and the energy of the group raised my spirits. I always walk out feeling more alive than when I walk in.

My goal today, in addition to giving a speech was to work on my body language including gestures and facial expressions. I learned from previous speeches to move around the room as I emphasize different points. I started my speech in the middle of the room, on the first paragraph I moved to the right side, on the second to the left side, then right, then back to the middle to conclude. This helped to break up the speech into easily recognizable sections. I also made good eye contact with the audience, and watched them as they watched, so I can gauge their reaction to what I was saying. I was also commended on having good facial expression When I described the food in the speech, I wanted the audience to be able to taste what I was eating. When I was disappointed, I wanted them to see the sorrow in my eyes. I will continue to bring these positive techniques into my future speeches as they are effective way of conveying an emotion.

Some things that I will improve on in the future primarily had to do with the use of gestures. I learned that when I do not know what to do with my hands, I tend to clasp them together and cover myself like a fig leaf. When they are not acting as a fig leaf, they cover my belly. When I hit a pause where I am trying to give an example, I also tend to wave my hands as if trying to pull the thoughts from inside me and present them to the audience. These are nervous gestures, and it was recommended that I should start getting comfortable with just keeping my hands at my sides. I will need to start practicing in a mirror an watching for the habits.

I learned about how I did through my evaluator. She had evaluated me  by isolating each component of body language, gestures, and facial expressions. I thought this was a really effective way of presenting the information, it creates an easy opening and closing statements when presenting the evaluation to the audience. This was a similar technique to one she often employs which breaks down into "what I heard", "what I saw", and "what I felt". What I heard includes positive phrases such a great use of imagery and negative ones like excessive use of filler words. What I saw encompasses body language, gestures, and facial expressions. My goal was to emphasize body language, gestures, and facial expressions which was why she gave more focus on this point for my speech.  What I felt has to do with the overall feeling after the speech was done. What were the highs and lows of the speech.

Today was a great experience and I got some great feedback and a ribbon for best speaker of the night. I am excited to learn from this club each week and I always feel more energized walking out than when I first walk in. My written speech is as follows:


Food for Thought

Savory butternut squash, succulent shrimp dumplings, mouth-watering ribs that just slides off the bone with each bite. I love food, it may be the only thing in this world I love as much as my wife… but don’t judge me wrong, me and food, we have a history, and I have known food for a long time. But to understand where I am coming from, you must understand what food really is. Food is family, food is love, food is an adventure. 

Growing up, mom and dad had always worked in restaurants, where they learned to cook very well. That meant despite our modest upbringing, we always had good food and the family gathered together every night to have a wonderful dinner. Mom always made the best soups, dad made the best noodle dishes. During the holidays we would have the entire family come together, mom and dad would go all out and make the most wonderful feasts, with boatloads of seafood, roast duck, steam fish, and more. We never had much of anything, but we always had good food and good company. When I left for college, I remember having to fend for myself. I was forced to cook for the first time, and I was terrible at it. I knew I hit my low when I made ghetto spaghetti, which is a mix of top ramen with ketchup packets from McDonalds. I know what you are thinking, and it’s not nearly as tasty or healthy as it sounds.  No one wanted to join me for that meal, it was a sad and lonely time. I had to get serious about cooking and eventually through trial and error and more errors, I was able to make pretty efficient use of a rice cooker, a microwave, and a George Foreman grill.

As I graduated from college to grad school, my cooking skills graduated as well. I brought that ability with me to Hawaii where I met my future wife. For our first date, I made her ribs from scratch. I remember at the time I did not have any tomato sauce for a base, so I had to improvise using ketchup. But this time, it ended up much more successful. I am pretty sure that was when she fell in love with me. My wife introduced me to a number of local favorites from the islands. Like Poke, diced sashimi style fish often mixed with a medley of flavors cut from Hawaiian big eye tuna. You will never have fresh tuna the way you can from Hawaii. And Pipikaula, seasoned slow cooked smoked beef,  so so flavorful. Food in Hawaii was amazing, and to this day it is one of the things we miss about the islands. When we left the island to move  to California, I had to show my wife some of my local favorites, like taco Tuesdays…which are tacos you enjoy… on a Tuesday.

Great food can take you on an adventure to new and exotic places. You can try the best hot dog cart in New York to fine dining. To point you in the right direction, you can pick up the Michelin guide.  The Michelin Guide is a highly coveted list of the best restaurants in the world, to even be mentioned is to be honored.  Restaurants are rated out of 3 stars. 1 star means the food is great. 3 stars mean it warrants a trip to the country just to try the food. One those restaurants which I would love to try one day is situated only a couple hours away, the French Laundry located in Napa. Chef Keller at the French Laundry presents incredibly technical cooking with fresh seasonal ingredients and wine parings along the backdrop of wine country. This charming restaurant has been described as perfection at every bite and its 9 course meal can last 3-4 hours. But before you can step foot inside, you will need to prepared to fork over $310 for the Prix Fixe (wine not included) and wait around 2 months praying for a reservation. One of my goals in life is to visit one a 3 star Michelin restaurant, and I think the French Laundry will do. Alas, it will be quite a while before I can visit here. Although my days of ghetto spaghetti  are over, my student loans unfortunately are not. 

I love food. I love savoring each bite of butternut squash, shrimp dumplings, and mouth-watering ribs. I love how food can bring together family and how it can be used to show how much you care and love for someone. And I would love to go on an adventure to sample all the great food this world has to offer.

Self Reflection Sunday

Self Reflection Sunday
Oct 23, 2016

It was a tiring week, worked 7 days in a row, was toastmaster at the last event, and still need to prepare a speech for Tuesday. 

Toastmasters was a thrilling experience. It was the first time I had to coordinate a meeting.. The meeting itself was different, we had to host it at a local Round Table Pizza joint rather than our typical place. Everything was different, from the setup of the room to the acoustics to the lighting. I had always appreciated how well former toastmasters spoke and how expertly they directed their meetings, I wanted to live up to their example. I took notes the week prior on a how a veteran had conducted their meeting, and I crafted my own jokes and descriptions. Prior to the meeting, it was difficult to get speakers to confirm their roles. It took multiple emails to the group and to individuals, and by the time the meeting came around we only had 2 of the 3 speakers we normally have. But the show must go on, and I worked with what we had. The speakers who did show were great, and they were inspiring and funny with a speech about Elon Musk and another on the seriousness of high school drop outs. My prepared jokes were only half successful, I learned that jokes need to be interspersed throughout the meeting rather stacked together. I kept the meeting going with some help form veteran players, and breathed a sigh of relief when it was all over.

I did not analyze properties this past week, work was too draining. Too often I was not able to find energy at the end of the work day to continue. I will not relent though, I will continue to look at more properties this coming week. I must look to my parents for inspiration. They have worked 7 days a week for the last 40 years. I have no desire to work in a job the way they did, but I do hope they pass onto me that level of commitment.

On the up side, I did work out 3 days and I continued with my investments. More chances to learn in the days to come.

Self Reflection Sunday

(Img Source)

Oct 16,2016
Self Reflection

I love the classic story a Christmas Carol. I will always remember the 3 ghosts that appear in the story, the ghost of Christmas past, present, and Yet-to-Come. It has inspired me to write this post in it's honor.

Past
This past week I was successful in working out for 3 days. It was not easy as the rainy season has started so running outside was not an option, I am afraid of getting pneumonia (just look at what happened to Tiny Tim). I do not have time for pneumonia, and my medical coverage is minimum, so I also do not have money or coverage for pneumonia. Instead, I opted to workout at the nearby fitness center. Not quite as enjoyable as being outside but it will have to do.

I was less successful with the property analysis, again due to computer issues. I was able to conduct 50 analyses, but I was not done until today. No real estate team yet, I will have to double my efforts on that front. I will also need to learn how to generate capital for that initial down payment, most of the properties will require 20-25% down payment before the bank will lend out money. Also interest rates are much higher on a rental property than a primary residence, I will need to see if I can attempt to buy a second home, then rent it out. 

Present
I have decided. I will be making a phone and laptop purchase this year, preferably around Black Friday when the deals are out. I realized that the time lost due to my phone and laptop crashing is substantial, though I will still need to gather the funds to make the purchase. Most likely I will be buying a refurbished laptop and an older model phone to save money.

On another financial front, I have started looking into investing with Wealthfront. Wealthfront does robo-investing, where you take a short survey to determine your risk tolerance, and they create a portfolio for you to invest in with automatic adjustments. All the asset allocations are dictated by an algorithm or a computer. Typically I would never use a funds manager because the management fees of 1-2% is much too high. Repeated analyses have shown that index funds will beat mutual funds because the mutual funds eat away any earnings that may have been generated. The reason I am investing with Wealthfront is that the first $10,000 you have in it will be managed free. This means that if the fund is truly able to beat the market, then I will keep all of the earnings. After the initial free managed amount, then the management fee goes up to 0.25%, or less than a quarter of what most funds managers may charge. That 0.25% only applies to any amount above the free managed money. So if you have $10,000 managed free, and $15,000 portfolio, then your management fee is 0.25% of $5,000. If you are interested, you can use my link (Maslow's Wealthfront) to get an additional $5,000 managed for free.

The bank that handles my student loans sent me a letter recently, they are going to increase my interest rate. The interest rates increases roughly every 3 months, and has risen from around 2.85% to 3.75%. Each time that the interest rate increases, I have to reassess whether it is more worth it to pay down the student loan or invest the money. After a few rough calculations, paying back student loans at 3.75% is almost the same as generating 6.5% returns on investment for short term stocks and 5% returns on long term stocks held over a year. Typical stock returns are around 8% so we are getting real close to a break even point. The primary difference would be that paying back student loans is a guaranteed savings, which makes it very attractive. By my calculations, if the interest rate exceeds 4.75%, then it will be better to pay off the student loans. Here's to hoping the interest rate holds steady for a while.

This past week I was able to celebrate a friend's birthday. It is always good to be able to take time away from the debt and worries to be around friends even if just for a few hours. I also attended a Toastmasters International Humorous Speech Competition, and listened to some exceptional speeches. Each person had their own style and it was great watching and listening to them perform. I am proud to announced that members of my club took home 3rd place in evaluations and 1st place in speaking. Both speakers are incredible at what they do, and I look forward to learning from them.

Yet-to-Come
My life financial goal is to become financially independent, being able to work a job but not having to because I have revenue streams available. I would very much like to retire well before age 60 when my 401k and Roth kicks in, but I do have them just in case things turn sour.

For this coming week, I will workout for at least. I was also able to workout today, finally putting me ahead of schedule. I had not been starting my workouts until the middle of the week so starting early should give me more options later on. I will continue to analyze 10 more properties and learn to invest more. Finally, this week I will be the Toastmaster at my local Toastmaster's club. It will be my first time, and I am excited for the opportunity.

Lesson Learned

Oct 15, 2016
Financial Security

Looks like my shares of Goodrich Petroleum are literally worthless. The company had recently went into bankruptcy with about 90% of their debt eliminated (wish I could do that with my debt). I had bought their shares for a penny each, thinking I would be in good position to hold stock once the company emerges from restructuring. However, I did not read the bankruptcy agreement, especially important was the part where the company would cancel out all previous shares. Thus when the company emerged from bankruptcy, shares went from a penny a piece to zero a piece. In the future, I will not invest in bankrupt companies without looking more carefully what the condition for restructuring are. Fortunately my second purchase did not go through, so instead of losing $4 I am out $2. Looks like that will have to be a tax deduction.