Sunday, August 12, 2012

Self Investment

投資 (toushi) - Investment

When I was in high school, I would tell my friends that I would own a Porsche by the time I was 50. Though it may be laughable now, it seemed like significant achievement at the time. To be fair, Ann Arbor isn't exactly the biggest city in the world and a Porsche was a pretty rare sight when I was a kid. Honestly, all I knew was that they were fast fancy rich people cars and didn't have the slightest clue what one actually cost. Regardless, that was the dream.

Fast forward ten years or so. At the ripe age of 26, my bank account is fat enough that I could walk into a Porsche dealership and pay for a 911 Carrera in cash. Or rather, I could have until I payed tuition for the fall semester earlier today, a hefty $26k plus change. Over the next two years, this MBA will continue to rock the bejeezus out of my finances and leave me with tens of thousands of dollars of debt instead. I've made my peace with this and just have to look at it as an investment in myself.

Those who know me know that I am conservative with my money. It's that attitude that has let me save up as much as I have, despite not having a particularly high paying job. I've gotten better in recent years about being willing to bust out the wallet in pursuit of a good time, but the next two years will be a real test. I've never owed money to anyone and, quite honestly, the idea does not sit well with me at all. But if I let the debt get the best of me and don't make the most of these two years, it will have all been pointless. So my personal goal for the near future is to find that balance: have the time of my life here at Berkeley while still being responsible with my finances. I'm confident that I can make this work.

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