Late Twenties and Broke

Good morning World! Welcome to Late Twenties and Broke, I’m your host Jonny F. It’s October 28th, and with Halloween weekend coming up quick I think it’s time to get all of October’s events on paper while it’s fresh.

Since this is my first ever net worth post, I owe you some back story. A lot of back story.

-In 2013, At age 22, my job was working 36 hours a week as a security guard. I had to stay up all night from 6pm-6am Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night. I made $11.15 CAD/hour, which was exactly $1 over minimum wage. I wasn’t allowed to bring Tablets or anything like that to work, so the only way to stay awake was drinking ample amounts of coffee and reading books. This is the stage of my life when I read damn near all of Robert Kiyosaki’s books including the Cashflow Quadrant and the infamous Rich Dad Poor Dad. I also read some books by Warren Buffett and the Wealthy Barber.

As I read those classic books, I took action. While I was working as a security guard, I was paying down my student loans (from a bachelor’s degree I never finished) and investing 10% of my puny income into my RRSP. I also bought one solitary share of Tesla for about $200, which has since experienced 1800% gains. Pretty dope. All those stocks I bought are stuck inside a plexiglass zoo exhibit though, until retirement age, due to double taxation laws, because…

-In November 2017, at age 26, I moved to the USA from my frozen homeland of Canada for better job prospects and the stronger buying power of the US Dollar. I came over with a solid job offer and the intent to stack cash and start a new life. I was living frugally and saving up with a purpose. I was pumping 20% into my company’s 401K program too.

-August 2018, I got married to my hometown sweetheart. Paid for the flights, hotel, wedding, and her immigration lawyer. 1st month’s rent on a new apartment and the security deposit. Did I lean on my credit cards? Yeah, a little. Dropped my 401K contribultions to 10%, then 5%. Then 1%. Also, when she got here, she was still waiting for her green card. So legally, she wasn’t allowed to work. Two people, one income. Did I lean on my credit cards? Yeah, til they were maxed out.

-December 2018, I file for divorce and a restraining order. Some things don’t work out. Did I lean on my credit cards? Yeah, luckily I got some new ones to max out.

2018-2020: My total credit card debt fluctuates from $4,000 to $1,000 to $0 and then up to $6,000 somehow.

Wait, how did it get to $6,000???

Well, you see. I’ve always operated on a very lean cash reserve, because I’d rather put my cash to work in the market or pay down debt. Sounds smart, right? I put all my personal expenses on my credit card (It’s the smart thing to do, I get 1% cashback rewards!), while putting my bank account to work constantly transferring cash to my Robinhood account. I didn’t even have a Robinhood account until Covid hit in March 2020. Then I BOUGHT. THAT. DIP!

I bought Norwegian Cruise Lines, Six Flags, Cedar Point (FUN), Dave and Busters (PLAY), and Alaska Airlines. And I did well! I unloaded the Norwegian and Six Flags as a miniscule gain when they weren’t really moving, and the constant headlines about their debt was giving me anxiety. I held most I sold those positions to double down on the good ones. I held them until January 2021, when I sold my FUN, ALK and PLAY for a pretty good return.

Following the “Covid-dip” plays, I got invited to a stock group on Discord. These guys were all about Calls and Puts, which I remembered from reading Rich Dad Poor Dad way back in the day, 8 years earlier. But now, I actually had the capital to to sell puts! I was heavy into Lordstown Motors (RIDE), and rode the wave from $18 to the low $30s. And selling out of the money calls the whole time. In one year, from March 2020 to March 2021, my portfolio was up 100%! Then I bought 200 share of Peter Thiel’s new startup, Palantir.

Does that name ring a bell? I got 100 shares at $39 a pop. Then it sank like a rock to $29 a share, just a dip, who cares. It’s going to the moon! I bought 100 more. Then it dropped to $24. And then my RIDE shares dropped like a rock from $31 to $15 with no signs of slowing. That $3,000 turned into $1,500 real fast. My account was getting bombarded with margin call warnings nonstop those two weeks and I couldn’t transfer money fast enough. I knew RIDE was a crap stock and the hype train was gone. I dumped my 100 shares for $1,543 and ate the $300 loss of capital (and $1300 in potential gains). I’m glad I did, because as I write this, RIDE is sitting at $4.80/share. I avoided another $1,000 loss by getting the heck out of that stock.

My 200 Palantir shares, which I got for $6,600, is down 24% ($1,600). But, I managed to sell some long term calls when the price tanked so I got $1,300 back upfront. I will hold these shares long term and just keep selling long term calls.

No, how did your credit card get up to $6,000??

Oh. Yeah. So, after going being hit with those constant margin calls I realized
1) Margin is high-risk. At least for me.
2) I had nothing in my savings account and that was bad.
3) I would prefer the peace of mind of having $10,000 in savings before chasing stocks again.
4) It was time to bump my 401K contributions back to 10%.

So, instead of focusing on paying down my credit card, I started building my savings. Keep in mind I was starting at $0. At the end of September, my savings account and my credit card kissed at $5,700. At that point, I started paying down my credit card. I knocked it down to $4,200 so far while my savings account is still sitting pretty at $5,700.

Okay, did anyone read all that? Anybody?
It’s time for, drumroll please…my October 2021 net worth update!

Yes, believe it or not, that table I just typed up is my first time calculating my net worth in a few years. Aside from some fuzzy math I’ve done in the shower here and there, wow. Should I change the name of this website? Kidding…

As a 29 year old man, I could be doing a hell of a lot worse, but overall I think I am pretty average or underperforming a bit. Especially by letting my credit card creep up like that.

That’s why I felt it was important for me to start this online journal. I’ve been following guys like Mr Money Moustache online for the past EIGHT years, but somehow my credit card crept up to -$6,000? No way man. I need some accountability, or at least online shame to get me back on track. And since I’ve bought this domain, I have been much more conscious of my spending. The idea of public accountability has been working wonders, even without posting anything.

There you go. My October 2021 net worth update. I only have 2 dividend stock positions right now, but lately I’ve been following the heck out of Dividend Pig. I really want to develop some big positions, but I really really need to stay on my goal of paying off my credit card. The faster I get rid of this credit card debt, the faster I can start dumping my paycheques into dividend stocks worry-free. That’s my plan and I’m sticking to it. (It’s on the internet, it’s gotta be true!)

Until next time, I’m Jonny F and this is Late Twenties and Broke.

Keep your stick on the ice,
-Jonny F