Archive
My So-Called FiLife: Sam Grobart
Up until about a few years ago, my financial discipline resembled something like this.
It wasn’t that I was rich, mind you, just profligate. Indeed, if I had been rich, it wouldn’t have been much of a problem. Instead, I slapped down the Amex/Visa/Carte Blanche with wild abandon. I made sure I had enough in my bank account to cover the rent, the cable bill and my bar tab, and then promptly stopped thinking about money.
But then, in relatively rapid succession, things happened, as things often do. First was the whole marriage thing, followed by a jump into the wonderful world of home ownership, and culminating (so far) with the birth of a big, bouncing baby girl last year. Within three years, I had gone from being footloose and fancy-free to quasi-responsible.
And during that time, I wound up working as an editor at The Wall Street Journal and Money, which was convenient: I needed a crash course on mortgages, term life insurance, 529 Plans and a ton of other things, and many of the people who work there eat and drink those subjects for a living.
So I got wise. But I’m not a Jedi yet. I’ve only been at this thing (being responsible) for a couple of years now, and there are still issues I need to tackle. I hate my bank, for example, and want to get the hell out of there. I have 401(k) plans and IRAs scattered around like Wilt Chamberlain has children. I’m renovating the bejesus out of a new apartment in Jackson Heights, Queens. Oh, and I’m also trying to play with my kid, go out to dinner with my wife, watch way too much TV and help build a new personal-finance website too.
While I do want to master my money, I want to do so in a way that doesn’t take over my whole life. Do I know some stuff? Sure. Do I need some help too? You betcha. But I’m figuring that between what I know and what everyone else can bring to the table, we can actually get our respective financial houses in order–so that we can get back to doing the things we really want to be doing.
- Comments (1)
- Add a comment »
(1) Comment
I can relate to the sudden transformation from spending with abandon to being fiscally responsible. I’ve never had any debt (I’ve always paid off credit card bills in full each month) but it’s only in the past five years that I’ve really focused on saving for the future. I’ve given myself a crash course in investing, in 401(k)’s and IRA’s and in saving account rates, and my education seems to be paying off because I am now on pretty solid financial footing. But I too have a lot to learn and am excited to have a website for thirty-something people like me to figure all of this out.
