Minimum Wage Ninja

"My name is Maximum Decimus Meridius, Commander of the Armies of the North, General of the Felix Legions, loyal servant to the true Emperor Marcus Aurelius, father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife, and I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next." stated Maximus in the movie Gladiator. "That's great, but then what are you going to do?" said noone ever. Like seriously, I have no idea what life after early retirement will be like.  All that I know is that my goal is worth fighting for, fourteen hour days at minimum wage is NOTHING compared to real battle.  It is my blessed OPPORTUNITY that I can work those long hours to get to early retirement.  "And then what?" you ask.  And then what!  I'll tell you what, I'll have earned my life.  I will live. Gladiator Movie Clip: Gladiator

I'm not going to pretend to have read or understand the 400+ pages of proposed tax changes.  So I'm getting my information from other news sources. There are a lot of people complaining that the tax cuts benefit the rich more than the poor. They say poor people save like a $100 bucks while rich people save $10,000 bucks or more.  The thing is I don't care if the rich people save a million dollars in taxes.  If it means that I get an extra hundred dollars and don't have to pay it back elsewhere, then that is my gain.  Quit being jealous of the rich, and mind your own damn business.  There is no reason to compare your gains to other people's gains when you are still getting a pretty good gain.  $100 bucks is still many hours worth of work that I am about to save, it pays to look at the actual effect of the tax cut instead of the perceived comparative effect of the cut.

I've been reading articles over at  https://notalwaysright.com/ .  They have a multitude of customer service related stories.  As an ex customer service supervisor for a large retailer, I thought I would enjoy reading these stories.  However I was wrong, the people in these stories are absolutely horrifying.  Just to clarify incase you didn't know, its not ok to lie.  Its not ok to steal.  Its not ok to be unethical or treat people like trash.  That's not to say the authors of these stories are in the right either.  I can't quite put my finger on it, there is something that angers and depresses me while I am reading these stories.  These customers would not be allowed into my life, neither would many of the authors.  I find myself arriving at the uncomfortable conclusion that although many stories are entertaining and nostalgic, I should not read them.  I will not allow this nonsense in my life, not even by just readi...

I've heard that a significant percentage of people who win the lottery end up bankrupt. They simply did not have what it takes to handle the wealth that they were hoping to get. What brings these people down?  Is it a bad attitude that brings these people down?  Is it a lack of resources other than finances?  Is it a lack of a support system?  I don't have the answers, but I do see this as a  serious and important question. This is important because we have all won lotteries.   I've won the time lottery, this being the greatest time in the history of earth to be alive. I've won the genetic lottery, because clearly I'm smarter than the loser who passed me driving down the road this morning. I've won the country lottery, having been born in a country that other people risked life and limb to get to. I've won the physical health lottery, because I can still walk, talk, and take action. Despite all this?  I'm becoming bankrupt...

If you are going to improve your health, then diet as much as you can. If you are going to improve your finances, then make as much money as you can. If you are going to make love then put those illicit movies to shame. There are many losers who try to justify their self destructive actions by claiming that everything should be done in moderation.  But ya know what? When I quit smoking I threw the cigarettes away and never bought them again.  I was wrong to have smoked my health away.  Maybe at one point it was the right choice, but when crap hit the fan I had to discard that which made me weak and unable to deal with the stresses of life.  All the cigarettes had to go.   Because this is important, I will not hold back.

I have heard many people say that you shouldn't try to time the market. So being the contrarian that I am, today I'm going to try and time the market. By the market I mean the New York Stock Exchange.  It should open around nine thirty and close around four or so.  But we'll see. If everything goes as planed there will be six and a half hours to buy as much ownership of companies as I can.  It is a good time to buy no matter which hour I purchase more ownership in.  This is because, as J.L. Collins puts it,  the market always goes up.

I'm guilty of falling into the trap of thinking that people can retire early.  That simply isn't true. Retirement happens when you've earned enough passive income to cover your expenses.  Age has nothing to do with it.  You are now working because you want to, not because you have to. There is nothing early about retirement. This was on my mind due to the recent article that claims because people are living to be over 100 years old, it should be law to push back the retirement age to 70. It is insanity to think that people want to spend their longer lives on working for the man.  Its like they just don't understand what motivates people to live longer lives at all. Here is the reality and I'll say it again, retirement happens when you earn it.  Some earn it as a teenager by being a trust fund baby.  Some earn it in their 20's or 30's.  Some in their 60's.  But don't let anyone take that away from you.  There is no way that I am work...