Money

For better or for worse, I've been reading and thinking a lot about money today. I've noticed that ever since I was thus gainfully employed, there are whole days where I have somehow devoted all my time in thinking about something money related. I just get into this attitude all of the sudden, and then I need to just keep reading and keep doing stuff in Excel until I figure something out. It could be tinkering with my budget, applying for (the right) credit cards, 401K fund shopping (even though I'm not even participating yet), or learning more about IRAs, CDs, MMAs, my own student loans and creating some crude models out of that information.

Truth is, I don't have much at all (which is depressing considering how much I make). I overspend, frequently. And that's really embarrassing to admit, considering everything I know about saving/investing. I freaking studied investor and consumer behavior in school, but I still fall into the same heuristics and the same American consumerist ways. I know I have time. I'm only 22 after all (almost 23!). But the math in my mind keeps guilting me with "Man, if you just started now, like TODAY, you could be a millionaire by the time you're 65."

Feeling like this today has a lot to do with this guy. He's really smart and really practical and really reasonable, and he'll tell it like it is (he has a post that's titled "Cook at home, you lazy ass!" HAHA). And this site really is useful, and I hope all of you (since it's geared toward all of you) will get a chance to peruse some of his basic posts. But if you spend all this time reading posts and contributing to forums like I do (because I have the time to do that now), I think it gets kind of overwhelming.

The good news is, usually I go on this smorgasbord of money thinking, then the next day, I just let the decisions I made take its course, not worrying about it again...The problem is this is when I overspend and not realize I undermine the decisions I've made if I don't stick with my budget. As in, I can't invest somewhere if I can't save anything. Sometimes I think I'm fine with paying such high taxes (I screwed up my exemption number I think because I'm paying about 30% of my income! I am far from a tax bracket where that's appropriate I think.), because then when I get a refund next year it'll be like I was forced to save that money if I scooch it straight into a high-interest savings account at ING. But then there's all that opportunity cost.

Anyway, that's the details. Point is, I wish I was better with my money, most especially because I actually know how to do that. I just don't do it!