Projects
When a blogger starts his/her “Financial Freedom” journal, there will always be a number associated with it. Whether it is 2 million net worth or 1 million net worth, there is a final financial goal. But I don’t necessarily think that a simple number can represent the type of “financial freedom” I am going after.
I don’t want to stop working, rather, I want to work on something meaningful that gets me going everyday. I don’t want to work for anybody else and whatever I am doing is not only fulfilling but also generating enough income so I don’t have to go back to the barn to be milked by “employers” again.
Yes, I can achieve this by saving and investing until I reach A Number, whether it is 2 million or 1 million. However, there are two problems associate with this picture:
- Before I reach the million dollar net worth, I still have to bust my ass for someone else and let that person (or corporation) take a big chunk of what I earned just because I am an employee.
- Will 2 million dollars really last forever? One can only withdraw 4% - 5% in order to maintain the original asset value, otherwise, the money runs out after certain amount of years. 4% of 2 million dollars is only $80.000. That’s not going to buy me much considering the inflation. I want to do better than just making capital gains from stock funds.
Capital gain is certainly good, but I want to generate profits and income. So one day, I don’t need to depend on any employer. And there are millions of possibilities!
Although I don’t have a goal (a specific number to be exact), but I do have a plan:
Know my bottom line:
After helping my parents to start a kitchenware business and settle a legal case, I don’t have much “flexible money” left. So I have to work around with what I have. As of today, I have $421 in my savings account, $15,343 in my bond funds and $11,043 in my stock funds. Yep! The list is short and sweet…
This year’s projects
I am starting 3 projects this year:
- “Free-The-Cow Project” Site: mainly to keep a financial journal, collect information, get reader suggestions/feedback and test out online advertising.
- Open an online store to sell kitchenware. I’d like to help my parents to market their store, also to test the e-commerce route. If the poof chair guy can make 6 figure income a year, I want to give it a shot too
- Fix –it and Flip-it Project. I believe in real estate investing and certainly wouldn’t leave this option out. I plan on buying a ugly home this fall and learn how to flip a house to make a profit.
The Budget Game
Every business needs money to start with, whether it is an online store or flipping a home. My homework? I need to sit down and figure out how much I need and how much minimum I have to save in order to start the 3 projects this year. Know what budget I will need so I can start budgeting.
Study, Research And Learn
Knowledge is money. It is such a sweet wisdom especially in the real estate business. You gotta know what you are getting yourself into. So my main assignment in the next a few months is to learn and research. Find out what tool I need to use to create online store. Research the local real estate market. Learn the principle of flipping. Talk to people, networking, find the dream team to work with me, etc…. This is going to be exciting!
Just Do It!
Too many of us have great ideas, but few act upon them. And even fewer people succeed after having good ideas and act upon them. Nothing is worse than sitting at home and be a couch potato. I am never a couch potato. But I am a cow who is being milked by others and making money for other people. So my situation isn’t any better than the couch potato. Even if I have 99 failed projects, I only need one star project. So let’s get the projects started!
Performance Report
I also log my performance once a month to track my progress in saving, investing, and making money activities. Check here if you are curious about the numbers.