Tuesday, January 13, 2009

financial advisor

i never thought that i would meet with any type of financial advisor or planner, but i caught up with a buddy of mine who just happens to be in that line of work today. so, over coffee and numbers out of my head, we talked about my plan in the 3-5 year timeframe, 10 year timeframe, and beyond.

i have to say that it all seemed pretty worthwhile. not only was i exchanging ideas with someone supposedly in the know, but he's in the no-fee business, which means that he gets paid by the people he refers me to. now, i know what you're thinking, he's no more than a headhunter for insurance, mutual fund, retirement, etc. companies.

well, that may be so, but i'm willing to listen. there's a couple of reasons that i believe this guy. one, my wife has known him for more than ten years and if he decides to simply make money by passing us around, we'll call his parents. two, for him to be successful, and i again believe that he is, he should be building long term relationships. there's no point in selling me something this year for a few hundred bucks profit if i'm just going to kick you to the door next year. you see, time is on his side -- if he's got clients in their 20s and 30s, chances are that he has 30-40+ years to make a little money from us year after year.

anyway, after our first meeting, he's going to build a report for us to consider where we have holes and what we can do to fill them. stay tuned.

Saturday, January 3, 2009

more p2p lending

so, i just signed up on the trading platform that lending club offers. this allows you to trade debt. instead of being a lender, you turn into a trader and can buy and sell debt (at discounted rates) and thereby instantly monetize your investment.