I sold my stock positions

[Branko]

I did. I already had around 6,5k in different indexes. I was driving as fast as possible. What I didn't understand is that I was driving in the slow lane... I was betting on 10% per year and investing as much as possible, which is only making me more and more dependant on ny salary. After reading TFL and unscripted I no longer feel comfortable with frugality, saving and buying and holding. I want my money back, because I want to have financial backup for what I am going to do next. Which is taking control of my life. Just thinking about where i was headed makes me shudder. I want to own my time. There is so much I want to do. There are people I want to be with. I want to have dogs and I want to have a family in the future. But I don't feel comfortable having these things if I don't have time for it. My father wasn't around much in my life, because he had a 12h per day job, which wasn't even paid a lot. My mother worked hard all her life for an average pay. They've built a lot with their labour and with bank loans. But they are old and broken. It makes my heart break. We love eachother, but we never really had time to be together, to work on our family, to go travel together. I didn't get to build things with dad.

Ehh... I'm rambling. It's just that these books really got to me. I look back on my life, and I see things in a new light. I came to realisations, to new conclusions.

It's time for me to move forward. It's time for me to make a change. I have skills, and I love to learn. What I need most is time. And my job not only steals my time, but also stifles my energy for learning and creativity.

I want to quit this year, as soon as possible. I just have to take care of some things and establish a plan for what I am doing after my resignation.

Here is to 2021

 

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[ZF Lee]

I did. I already had around 6,5k in different indexes. I was driving as fast as possible. What I didn't understand is that I was driving in the slow lane... I was betting on 10% per year and investing as much as possible, which is only making me more and more dependant on ny salary. After reading TFL and unscripted I no longer feel comfortable with frugality, saving and buying and holding. I want my money back, because I want to have financial backup for what I am going to do next. Which is taking control of my life. Just thinking about where i was headed makes me shudder. I want to own my time. There is so much I want to do. There are people I want to be with. I want to have dogs and I want to have a family in the future. But I don't feel comfortable having these things if I don't have time for it. My father wasn't around much in my life, because he had a 12h per day job, which wasn't even paid a lot. My mother worked hard all her life for an average pay. They've built a lot with their labour and with bank loans. But they are old and broken. It makes my heart break. We love eachother, but we never really had time to be together, to work on our family, to go travel together. I didn't get to build things with dad.

Ehh... I'm rambling. It's just that these books really got to me. I look back on my life, and I see things in a new light. I came to realisations, to new conclusions.

It's time for me to move forward. It's time for me to make a change. I have skills, and I love to learn. What I need most is time. And my job not only steals my time, but also stifles my energy for learning and creativity.

I want to quit this year, as soon as possible. I just have to take care of some things and establish a plan for what I am doing after my resignation.

Here is to 2021

Thanks for sharing!
That being said, stocks aren't a SCRIPTED enemy as long as you know what stocks to choose, and have a plan on how to buy and sell them at ideal times...like trimming a pumpkin patch.

MJ has already written some stuff on that and the Paycheck Pot in UNSCRIPTED . I personally follow William O'Neil's CAN-SLIM framework for picking decent stocks (eg pick stocks with good profitable quarters, business moat, institutional support) as well as checking for a healthy TA chart.

Of course, that means lots of research. But I guess that's the heart of Fastlane...to actually take control of finances and whatever you put money to work at.

And of course, if you really need to focus more time and money on a Fastlane or side business, prioritise that first.

I generally don't like indices as they have included TOO MANY tech names like Tesla...and like we are seeing now, as the Treasury rates pick up, the tech stocks get battered and bring down the indices with them. I might as well 'make my own index' by picking my own stocks.

(see Joe Greenblatt's 'You Can Be A Stock Market Genius" book)

 

[Branko]

Thanks for sharing!
That being said, stocks aren't a SCRIPTED enemy as long as you know what stocks to choose, and have a plan on how to buy and sell them at ideal times...like trimming a pumpkin patch.

MJ has already written some stuff on that and the Paycheck Pot in UNSCRIPTED . I personally follow William O'Neil's CAN-SLIM framework for picking decent stocks (eg pick stocks with good profitable quarters, business moat, institutional support) as well as checking for a healthy TA chart.

Of course, that means lots of research. But I guess that's the heart of Fastlane...to actually take control of finances and whatever you put money to work at.

And of course, if you really need to focus more time and money on a Fastlane or side business, prioritise that first.

I generally don't like indices as they have included TOO MANY tech names like Tesla...and like we are seeing now, as the Treasury rates pick up, the tech stocks get battered and bring down the indices with them. I might as well 'make my own index' by picking my own stocks.

(see Joe Greenblatt's 'You Can Be A Stock Market Genius" book)

Thank you for the kind response. I know stocks are perfectly fine tool to supplement your wealth If you have it to begin with. And I even enjoy investing and I will probably invest again in the future. But before I started learning about all this, I thought that the stock market was my only option. I had a diverse portfolio, but the problem is that investing IS the basket I put all my eggs in, ironically. I was liquidating all my money, and dreaming of one day having invested enough, to be 'rewarded' the time I so desperately crave. But I see now I was making a mistake and keeping myself broke.

I don't have enough money to invest in order to make a difference and create wealth, at least not fast enough to still hold on to my youth. I wasn't going to become financially independant any time soon. Most importantly, by diligently saving, and investing, I made myself dependant on my income. I could only honour my plan and continue investing if I kept making money. And that means selling my time. Time I could spend developing my freelance business.

So now I sold my stocks, I knew it was the right thing to do, because I litteraly didn't have to think twice and actually felt in control for the first time. It felt like an executive decision. And when the time comes to quit my job, I will have a bit of a cushion or a runway, to be able to afor to learn and grow my business, without feeling desperate, or being afraid of having to find a job again, because I wont be able to pay rent.

So I am very happy today.

 

[Einfamilienhaus]

Ok, now you are free from your devilish Index Fund with annually 10% plus to your 6.5k.

Any business ideas? Have you proofed this idea before?

 

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[Branko]

Ok, now you are free from your devilish Index Fund with annually 10% plus to your 6.5k.

Any business ideas? Have you proofed this idea before?

Hello. Thank you for the reply, and the challenge. Yes, I have ideas for freelancing, definitely. Over the years, I have accumulated quite a few skills, and I am continuing to learn and practice everyday. I have a lot of creative skills to help people and businesses with marketing and promotion. I can create videos and images and animations, or 3d renders of products. I am learning web design and development currently. The funny thing is that during my employment in the first job and the second job, I did all kinds of creative solutions for the companies I worked for and that I work for now.

In the first job I created a beautiful 75 page product catalogue with 3D renders and photoshop. I used InDesign to make the layout and in the end we printed 3000+ copies for fairs and for sending them to resellers across europe.

In that same company I created promotional and marketing content for social media. And redesigned the whole website using CMS.

In this new company I use 3D design and rendering to create product visualization for clients to help convince them to make a purchase. And I create technical drawings using AutoCAD.

I also used to work in a video editing company for a little while and I used to make travel videos when I was younger.

I have passion, I have drive, energy, ideas. And I had no problem convincing my employers of the value of what I do. I learned now, that I sold myself short and that I was and am being a bargain currently. I was afraid of negotiation, and I was desperate when I went to the interview.

But I am done, I swear. I am done selling myself short and being taken advantage off.

The way forward for me is to learn selling, and to learn business. I want to choose web design, because it incorporates all the things I like doing such as video and image editing, maybe even 3D images. I also want to focus or specialize on small to medium size companies from my industry. Small time engineering companies creating products. I see a lot of potential there. Its something I would be interested in.

Right now, Today lets say, I don't have a solid plan. But I have solid ideas. I will also honor my contract, for the sake of my collegue, because he is a very good person, and we work well together. So in the next few months, I will learn as much as possible about freelancing, about running a freelance business, while I hone my programming skills and save as much as possible.

After that, I am quitting and I am not going back to a job. I am going to fight for myself as if death is the only option.

I am excited for the future for the first time in a while. And I am very grateful for this forum, to be able to express my thoughts like this, so thank you for your question.

One thing is for certain, I will have to learn more and harder than I ever had and I will have to work harder than I ever had. But that's okay, because I know why.

Branko