I haven’t made any posts for a while, mainly because I have stopped tinkering with my computers for the moment. Partly because I’ve been busy, partly because I’ve done all I can without spending a bit of money to buy some new bits. (See below)
(From above) The money problem is more or less at an end. I have a job. Amazing! I have entered the wide world of records management. I work as a technical support person for a company called Oneil Software, we make software to store and manage records for records management companies. I have spent the last few days in training and I have many more days of training to go. If you belive people around the office it takes years to fully grasp everything that it can do and I’m starting to see how that is possible. Very interesting. One of the biggest things I have to learn about isn’t simply the software, but the whole industry of records management which I am starting to find very interesting also.
Since this blog is supposed to be about things that I’m interested in, in general, not just technology, I figured I might start making some posts about a couple of my other interests such as finance and soon to be records management. I’m considering mentioning music and movies but I think that might be a little too far away from what I want to write about. As in, it’s not really contributing to my or others knowledge base. (Not that much of this rant is contributing to much anyways).
So, part 1 of my finacing saga: In anticipation of my first pay check (first one for a few months at least) I have opened a savings account with ING Direct. A mighty 3% interest. That should be just enough to cover inflation right? So far I have $10 in there, which is ok because they have no minimun balance. There are no fees or other bullshit that puts me off most banks. I hate paying fees unless you’re really getting something out of it. The main drawback to this account, which is fine if your money is properly organised, is that it can take several days to transfer money from it to whatever account you use for your everyday banking (at another bank). So this is for sort of medium ~ longish term savings I guess. Money that you are not going to ever need immediately.
So, once I start getting paid I can start thinking about setting up automatic transfers to sort out my money as it comes in. I can’t do anything about my 401k for a few months, which is good because it can give me some time to learn about it. They don’t really have anything like that in New Zealand and I like to know all the ins and outs of something before I start using it / buy it. Be it a new mouse, stereo or something I pour thousands of dollars into.
I also just read a great thing in a blog I read www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com. It is not as literal as the URL makes it sound, but he has some interesting posts and some interesting ideas on finance and psychology of saving and spending. He likes to rant a lot. I do like a good rant. This “great thing” that I mentioned was actually in the newsletter I signed up to. He says this: “You guys may remember that, earlier this year, I used social psychology to gain 5lbs in one week (yes, gain). I used public commitment — a public bet with friends, combined with frequent updates that they could all see on a wiki, to actually gain 15lbs over the entire bet. Plus, some trash talking that made them feel like small children and me like a dominant, Zeus-like figure. I won, duh.” He goes on to say how you could apply that to your finances: “Make a public bet with your friends that you’ll save 10% of your money for the next 3 months. If you don’t, you have to give it all to them (or donate it to charity)”. How about that eh? Imagine doing that yourself. I bet (no pun intended) that if I did that I’d do everything I could to save that 10% so I could save it for myself rather than give it away (not that I don’t like giving to charity). Anybody up for something?
The interesting part is how you can use the same principles to lose weight, stop smoking, or gain weight.
The interesting part is how you can use the same principles to lose weight, stop smoking, or gain weight.
So, if all goes well there should be another post about what I’ve learned about records management, and maybe you will learn something. Maybe.
