Riparian's Journal

[lilacorchid]

Sounds nice.

[riparian]

Income:
$641 from books (have another one almost ready to go, need to get on that)
$539 from that conference I spoke at ($350 for speaking, the rest reimbursement)
$135 from videos
Total: $1,315

Outgo:
$300 on gas and grocery pocket money
$271 on my boat motor ($88 repair, the rest in new water filter, fuel filter, spare prop, spark plugs, etc)
$16 on the arts
$35 - I invested in a phone for someone who I'd like to have a phone and be able to use it in case of emergency. In return I get really adorable picture texts, which makes me happy.
$16 clothes
$20 on Kindle books
Total: $658

But also like $2-300 on building the rentals.

In a few months I'll need to pay my cell phone/internet and car insurance up again. I finally got Affordable Health Care, effective 6 days ago, and I'll be paying I think $28/m.

I have a book almost ready to go, a cabin almost ready to rent, and a really good idea/foundation for a new website business that will do SO well but be so much work to get started. I think I'm going to try to find someone to pay to do some little internet things that would increase my video money, and also someone to pay to help get the new site up and running when I get there.

I have an article going up on a major website this week that should make me some book money. An article I wrote for another site got a mention on a newsweek blog a couple weeks ago. And a sort of big name writer dissed me for something I had in a literary journal a few months ago. I'm emailing with an editor for a huge publication, but I'm not sure if I can write what they want. So, maybe I have a writing career and maybe it's going well at the moment.

It seems like I could angle for a speaking/consulting career, but I'm not sure if the status and meaningfulness would outweigh the stress.

In the meantime I'm trying to rewrite my methodology section over the summer, turn one of my papers into a journal article that'll hopefully get published, get the garden in, cut wood, conduct research, I've fixed the boat motor a couple times and spent half a day paddling and lining the boat upriver, need to put some time into a non profit that some people and I started, just made a bunch of stuff for my summer fun crafty business, have a great idea for another fun crafty business but where's the time, and I should be fishing and fixing up the smoke house but I'm not. Oh, and those rentals I was building.

I was having super angst there for a couple months! What am I doing with my life?! In a year I'll be done with a masters degree and a huge exciting research project. It seems like from there I could get a doctorate. The thinking makes my brain happy, and being enrolled in a phd program is a way to get to do more exciting research. On the other hand, locally I don't get much feedback from my professors. They're like, "you're doing great! you're so smart!" but most of them don't answer most of my questions. I could just read the books. I think that I might be the sort of person who could go to a fancy school for free where presumably they would actually nurture my young mind, but it would also be exponentially harder, and expensive to be in a different place, and I like it here, and my research is meaningful here. Maybe I'd rather ride a bicycle around Europe or hitch hike around the lower 48 or go to the schools and communities my friends have started? Probably I just want to keep having my quiet life in the woods tho and work on writing something really good. Any guidance?

[riparian]

Why do the things that need done when I could just engage in future fantasy and analysis paralysis on the Internet?

Despite all the things I haven't done, in the last few days I have:
- Had an article published on a major website that got hundreds of social media shares.
- They bumped my pay by more than double.
- An editor emailed me soliciting an article and offering good pay. Woah.
- All of that resulted in maybe $60 of extra book sales.
- I paid someone to do the scary part and the (very steep) roof is done now.
- I just got the proof for an article that's going up on another site soon.

Also I've been thinking about money, which I don't have, but which I imagine I might have in a few months. I might just put it in an index fund? If I did that should I feed it in slowly for dollar cost averaging or just dump it in?

It seems sort of frustratingly boring and slow to just put money in the market when I could invest it in a business. Or self improvement. Or community. But I should prolly do that emergency fund thing for real.

[IlliniDave]

Why do the things that need done when I could just engage in future fantasy and analysis paralysis on the Internet?

Story of my life sometimes.

Also I've been thinking about money, which I don't have, but which I imagine I might have in a few months. I might just put it in an index fund? If I did that should I feed it in slowly for dollar cost averaging or just dump it in?

It seems sort of frustratingly boring and slow to just put money in the market when I could invest it in a business. Or self improvement. Or community. But I should prolly do that emergency fund thing for real.

I'm sort of stodgy on this topic, so I'd say yeah, you probably want to keep a little cash on hand, especially with your rentals and all it seems like it would be pretty convenient.

I'm also an indexer. One of the advantages is that you can get a good deal of diversification in your investments with very little money invested. Unless it's something your feeling stress over, I'd just dump it in whatever you decide to put it in. If it's going to make you lose sleep, divide it up and put it in quarterly or something.

It is slow and boring to start with, no question about that. But at least that way you can pay attention to life rather than herd investments all the time.

There's nothing wrong with starting a business or investing in self/community. But I'd probably try to do both if possible (both some traditional financial assets as well as the skin-in-the-game investments). The more spigots one has, the smaller the impact if one line dries up.

Regarding your other thread/question excluding investing in financial assets as an option for making use of the equivalent of a year's worth of expense money:

From a material perspective I would invest in land, real estate, or in improvements on land I had. Or possibly tools/equipment. Things that would make me more productive in the remaining ways I could increase wealth.

Hard to say from the self-improvement angle. If it were me I don't think I'd make that investment today with more than a small fraction of the money, but that's highly dependent on where I happen to be in life and where I plan to go and where I'm at in my financial trajectory. For another person it may be the best investment of all. You know you much better than I do, so all I would say is that it's a valid option, and I don't think there's a single optimal one-size-fits-all path for the scenario you described there.

[riparian]

Well, nothing much has changed.

I'm still making about $700/month from book sales. I've been making 0-$750/month from other writing.

I'm writing a thesis and thinking about being a grown up and, like, law school or something crazy.

I'm trying to rent that cabin out, but the renters aren't that plentiful. Showed it to a guy today who just got back from Afghanistan. He asked me how I'd feel about him shooting intruders or burglars. Think I'll pass on him out of consideration for the neighbors.

[lilacorchid]

I have been thinking of you and wondering how you are making out. Thanks for the update.

[riparian]

Aw, thanks for thinking about me.

[riparian]

Just checking in to keep myself on track. Last month -

Income
819 from books
40 ish from video sales
290 from a little homecare
250 from other writing

1399 total (higher than normal)

Outgo:
120 ish on gas
82 at sams club (I got a ceramic dutch oven and some socks and xmas gifts)
140 in online shopping - wtf?
160 in university fees
91 in groceries and eating at coffee shops
40 donation to a friends kickstarter type thing
15 at the locksmith

648 total

- I think all my bills (car insurance, phone) are paid up for a year. Except health insurance. I tried to pay that ahead and they sent me back a check.
- Cabins still not finished or rented.
- Global warming is ruining my life, the river is so far from frozen and I'm stuck living in the back of my truck and on people's couches.
- I turned in the first 3 chapters of my thesis and my committee liked it, I passed my comps, I applied for a conference. Almost done with my masters degree. Want to do more research, don't want to do more school, what to do?
- I sold some more articles this month. A little confused about the long view of a writing career. What am I doing?
- I've had health insurance for a long time now and still haven't gotten around to figuring out how to use that. Should probably do that and take advantage of what I can before affordable health care goes poof.
- Haven't made any quarterly tax payments and have awful piles of papers and receipts and stuff.

[Simple Del]

Glad to see an update. I've always enjoyed reading your journal. Hopefully the temperatures drop for you, it has been plenty cold here in the Midwest.

[riparian]

Quick update:

Somehow I made $2k last month from writing.

Travelling and pursuing my passions - living for free in my truck and splurging a little on eating out, but maintaining an okay savings rate.

Defended my thesis, passed.

Saw whales yesterday. Talked to politicians today. Trying to change the world and stuff.

[J_]

Well done Dr? Riparian. Must feel great to accomplish your study! Your cuddle thing has reached our country too. So you are really changing the world. Cheers!

[riparian]

Thanks! It's just an MA, but I'm maybe thinking about law school.

[m741]

Congratulations! I always enjoy hearing about what you're doing. It sounds so exciting compared to office life.

[riparian]

So my semi-ERE income has stabilized a little. Low estimates are:
$500+ from books
$300+ from other writing
$300+ from research

Hopefully very soon that cabin will be rented. Sinking money in it now to make it more attractive to renters, and gonna put it off and just pay someone to finish the other one for me. Totally shoulda listened to everyone who said this was a dumb idea.

My bills are:
$200ish every 6 months for insurance
$500/year for cell phone

And I'm travelling.

[Gilberto de Piento]

How are things going?

[ether]

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[Jin+Guice]

This journal is massively inspirational to me, thanks for sharing.