My (Finance) Philosophy

There are a lot of places you can get free personal financial advice. Much of the conventional wisdom goes something like “Save for 6 months of expenses and then invest the rest.”

There are subtleties to this of course. 6 months of leisurely life or just scraping by? Once I start investing, what should I save up to invest in - big stuff like real estate or stocks or bonds or Bitcoin (ha!)?

I have a formula that has revealed itself to me over the years. I am more paranoid than most. I was expecting the world to end for quite some time now and was a bit peeved to see it happen 1 year after I left an extremely cushy job with a fantastic insurance plan. What the hell was I thinking?! That said, I planned for 1 year’s worth of savings. In the intervening year after I left Google I took up some small jobs here and there to supplement my savings and stem my burn rate.

After 1 year of savings, I invest in a bunch of stuff - bonds, stocks, etc. It doesn’t really matter, in my opinion, to pick the right stocks. Pick some and be done. Some people will score big and others will not. In my opinion, finance is boring. Others agree. Observing and trying to beat the market is chasing after fool’s gold.

The biggest departure for me is what to do with money after you’ve hit your savings goal - I’ve stopped investing in the market. I would much rather invest in myself. There are a lot of practical things that one can only learn through spending a bit of money:

Physical Therapy ($1000+)

One of my past massage therapists was also a physical therapist. He was fantastic at recommending me exercises I needed to do in order to maintain strength and avoid injury. Every dollar I spent with him was easily worth 10 down the line. I’m sure my body will change configuration at some point but, for now, many of the exercises he recommended to me back in 2015 are still valuable.

Therapy Therapy ($10000+)

My therapist is awesome and has helped me on my journey to be a more embodied individual. A big portion of the early expenses were covered by Google, but at this point I cover the expenses myself. Having someone to talk to who is experienced + older + and has seen many people with my level of intense (probably) ADHD, and who can customize a way of talking and understanding that fits me…that’s super valuable. Just as the physical therapist’s exercises were very valuable even to this day, I expect that my therapist’s lessons, statements and attitudes will be very valuable for years to come.

Cosmetics ($1000+)

I grew up in a family that devalued aesthetics quite a lot. This past year I spent a lot more time trying to find the right soap for my skin, face and hair. I also spent money on nicer shirts that fit my aesthetic, though they’ve stopped fitting my body - especially the chest area. I’ll probably be spending a lot more in the next few years on cosmetic stuff. I tried out a fat reduction procedure once and it didn’t work at all, so I don’t think I’ll be going for any surgical stuff at this point in my life. Not sure I’m closing the door on it though. I’ve started noticing gray hairs and I might apply some hair dye in the future. I’ll definitely be shopping around to find the best haircut again since Corona knocked out my previous hairdresser.

You’ll live your whole life with your body, your mind and your clothes. Everything else can change. For a long time I refused to believe that I had even a modicum of control over those three things, but that’s about as much control as you get in life. After saving up for the disasters the outside world throws at you, investing in making those three things more stable, nourishing and self-regenerative is worth so much. I still have a long way to go.

I do still try to make my environment beautiful, but that’s often a secondary concern after all of these things.