Hello all,
If you have been following my saga at all then you know I'm in the middle of a crossroads in my life and I'm trying to figure out what to do.
I went down to unemployment today and asked them two questions:
1. Can I work a part-time job and if so, how will it affect my check from them?
2. If I become a Real Estate Agent will I stop receiving my unemployment check?
Surprisingly enough, I actually got some good news!
I can work a part-time job up to 32 hours a week, whatever my take home is from that job will be deducted from my "partial" benefits. I bring home $536 now, my partial is $643 so if I bring home $200 from my part time job my partial payment will be $643 - $200 so I will get the $200 from my job plus $443 from the government. The other bonus is that the 4200 each week I don't use will still be in my "pot" and so I can collect more weeks until that pot is empty.
I can become an agent without any repercussions or interuptions in my unemployment until I get a commission check. I had been previously told that once I take the Real Estate Agent's State exam I would be discontinued from unemployment. Also, when I do get that commission it also will not discontinue me, basically I just won't get a check from the government for that week because I got the commission.
So when it's all said and done:
I can get a part-time job to bring in some more cash, I can take the Real Estate Agent's class and test and begin working as an agent without losing my benefits. I can continue to collect until my funds are exhausted and just not get paid on the weeks where I have a commission to claim.
So for once in the last couple of weeks I actually have some good news to report!
Now it's just a matter of getting my wife to see the benefits!
Until next time,
Eric
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Monday, December 10, 2007
Still up in the air
Hello again all,
Just a quick note that i'm still up in the air about which avenue to pursue.
I have to make a decision soon but I just don't know.
The money for the career people isn't making itself known and I don't really think that a developer position is an option at this point.
I would like to be an RE Agent full time but I don't know how we could afford to live for 6 months before the commissions became relatively steady.
Until next time,
Eric
Just a quick note that i'm still up in the air about which avenue to pursue.
I have to make a decision soon but I just don't know.
The money for the career people isn't making itself known and I don't really think that a developer position is an option at this point.
I would like to be an RE Agent full time but I don't know how we could afford to live for 6 months before the commissions became relatively steady.
Until next time,
Eric
Friday, December 7, 2007
What to do? What to do?
Hello again,
I'm still not sure what avenue or combination of avenues I am going to go down.
I'm leaning towards IT Manager and RE Agent part-time at this point even though I really want to start my own business. I just worry about not having enough money to build the business and support my family at the same time.
Until next time,
Eric
I'm still not sure what avenue or combination of avenues I am going to go down.
I'm leaning towards IT Manager and RE Agent part-time at this point even though I really want to start my own business. I just worry about not having enough money to build the business and support my family at the same time.
Until next time,
Eric
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
SEA Orientation
Hello all,
Well, the orientation went pretty much as I was led to expect. They help you create a business plan, marketing plan, teach you about basica accounting, legal business formation and some other stuff about how to get any business started.
One thing I was glad to hear was that the instructors are actual small business owners and not government employees. So there is some real experience talking and not just "theory" from somebody who has been sucking on the government tit all their professional lives.
I didn't turn in my application to get started yet because I still haven't decided if that is the right path for me or not.
Emotionally I am leaning towards being a Real Estate Agent since I my plan and my passion involve Real Estate Investing for my future. The challenge is that the logic isn't there just yet. I haven't figured out how to support my family for the 6 months or so it will take for me to start receiving somewhat steady commission checks.
Logically the forerunner right now is investing the money into the career advisor to help me find an high paying IT Management job and then use the proceeds to pay down debt, save an emergency fund, save an investing fund and then start investing. The downside even logically, is that this plan doesn't fit into my Goals. At most we will be able to pay ourselves $650 a month, which means it will take us roughly 52 months to pay off our debt, save a $15k emergency fund and then save $20k to begin investing with. That doesn't leave much time to turn that $20k investment fund into $15,000 monthly passive income form Real Estate and Stocks by the end of 60 months.
When I run the numbers on becoming an R.E. Agent and be pretty conservative, after 6 months I should be closing on 1 property per week (per the RE Broker I spoke with) and even taking 40% out for taxes/fees/etc... we can still put away $2,000 per month. By doing that even including no income at all during the first 6 months (even though I should see commision checks after 90 days just not really steady until 6 months) we should be able to pay off everything, save that emergency fund and have $20k investment money by the end of month 39. That is a full year earlier then if I was an IT Manager. Plus I will have been in the market that entire time so by the time I am financially ready to invest I will also be knowledgeable enough to invest well. Plus I will have over $3,500 a month or more to put into my investing every month even after I raise that $20k. Doing it this way gives me 21 months to turn $20k into $15,000 per month passive income.
Now I know that since I am emotionally attached to the RE agent scenario it's really easy to make the numbers say what I want them to but it just seems to be more logical to me somehow.
UGH!!
Until next time...
Eric
Well, the orientation went pretty much as I was led to expect. They help you create a business plan, marketing plan, teach you about basica accounting, legal business formation and some other stuff about how to get any business started.
One thing I was glad to hear was that the instructors are actual small business owners and not government employees. So there is some real experience talking and not just "theory" from somebody who has been sucking on the government tit all their professional lives.
I didn't turn in my application to get started yet because I still haven't decided if that is the right path for me or not.
Emotionally I am leaning towards being a Real Estate Agent since I my plan and my passion involve Real Estate Investing for my future. The challenge is that the logic isn't there just yet. I haven't figured out how to support my family for the 6 months or so it will take for me to start receiving somewhat steady commission checks.
Logically the forerunner right now is investing the money into the career advisor to help me find an high paying IT Management job and then use the proceeds to pay down debt, save an emergency fund, save an investing fund and then start investing. The downside even logically, is that this plan doesn't fit into my Goals. At most we will be able to pay ourselves $650 a month, which means it will take us roughly 52 months to pay off our debt, save a $15k emergency fund and then save $20k to begin investing with. That doesn't leave much time to turn that $20k investment fund into $15,000 monthly passive income form Real Estate and Stocks by the end of 60 months.
When I run the numbers on becoming an R.E. Agent and be pretty conservative, after 6 months I should be closing on 1 property per week (per the RE Broker I spoke with) and even taking 40% out for taxes/fees/etc... we can still put away $2,000 per month. By doing that even including no income at all during the first 6 months (even though I should see commision checks after 90 days just not really steady until 6 months) we should be able to pay off everything, save that emergency fund and have $20k investment money by the end of month 39. That is a full year earlier then if I was an IT Manager. Plus I will have been in the market that entire time so by the time I am financially ready to invest I will also be knowledgeable enough to invest well. Plus I will have over $3,500 a month or more to put into my investing every month even after I raise that $20k. Doing it this way gives me 21 months to turn $20k into $15,000 per month passive income.
Now I know that since I am emotionally attached to the RE agent scenario it's really easy to make the numbers say what I want them to but it just seems to be more logical to me somehow.
UGH!!
Until next time...
Eric
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Real Estate Agent?
Hello again,
Well I met with the Real Estate Broker today and was pretty impressed with the gentleman.
He's been in the business for 52 years, his wife has been in the business for 38 years. They really seem to know what they are doing and do things right. He talked alot about the customer and fulfilling their needs and servicing them properly and repeat business and telling them if they aren't making a wise long-term decision. Not about profit, the size of the comission, how much he makes, etc....
He has agreed to personally mentor me and share with me his knowledge and experience. He is specializing in developing relationships, intimate knowledge of a particular market, turning customers into lifelong friends and most definitely not about squeezing every single penny out of every single deal not matter who it hurts along the way.
He does not charge mentorship fees, or marketing fees, office space rental or any of the other nickle and dime kind of crap I have heard about from other agents.
I was very impressed. I still have to talk with my wife and see how she feels about the whole thing and see if I can get unemployment to pay for the mandatory 75 hour class I have to take before I sit for the state exam. Even if they don't, it's only $395 so it won't bust the bank so to speak.
I must also talk to somebody at unemployment about the checks. 1 of the questions I have to answer each week is if I have accepted any commissions from work I did. Something about how it is worded or something I read somewhere makes me think I can possibly keep getting my unemployment checks even after I start working as a licensed real estate until it runs out or until I start getting commissions. But like I said, I don't know I have to find out.
I haven't committed to anything yet and am still not 100% sold on the idea but I do like the idea and think I could/would be very good at it.
I am going to the NJ SEA orientation meeting tomorrow and will see what they have to say about starting a business.
Until next time....
Eric
Well I met with the Real Estate Broker today and was pretty impressed with the gentleman.
He's been in the business for 52 years, his wife has been in the business for 38 years. They really seem to know what they are doing and do things right. He talked alot about the customer and fulfilling their needs and servicing them properly and repeat business and telling them if they aren't making a wise long-term decision. Not about profit, the size of the comission, how much he makes, etc....
He has agreed to personally mentor me and share with me his knowledge and experience. He is specializing in developing relationships, intimate knowledge of a particular market, turning customers into lifelong friends and most definitely not about squeezing every single penny out of every single deal not matter who it hurts along the way.
He does not charge mentorship fees, or marketing fees, office space rental or any of the other nickle and dime kind of crap I have heard about from other agents.
I was very impressed. I still have to talk with my wife and see how she feels about the whole thing and see if I can get unemployment to pay for the mandatory 75 hour class I have to take before I sit for the state exam. Even if they don't, it's only $395 so it won't bust the bank so to speak.
I must also talk to somebody at unemployment about the checks. 1 of the questions I have to answer each week is if I have accepted any commissions from work I did. Something about how it is worded or something I read somewhere makes me think I can possibly keep getting my unemployment checks even after I start working as a licensed real estate until it runs out or until I start getting commissions. But like I said, I don't know I have to find out.
I haven't committed to anything yet and am still not 100% sold on the idea but I do like the idea and think I could/would be very good at it.
I am going to the NJ SEA orientation meeting tomorrow and will see what they have to say about starting a business.
Until next time....
Eric
Monday, December 3, 2007
Pro & Con
Hello all,
So over the weekend I put together a list of pro's and con's for each of the 5 options I am currently considering for the next steps in my Success Journey.
So far there is no clear winner so I've asked my wife to build her own list of pro's and con's for the 5 options and then we will compare them and see if one of our options stands out above the rest.
Also, I just had a phone call from a Real Estate Broker from a listserv that I am a member of. I had posted a message to the listserv asking for general information about this S.E.A. program I am going to the orientation for. This broker saw it and we chatted a little while so he could get a feel for me and then he asked to set up an information interview tomorrow to see if I would maybe want to think about becoming a Real Estate Agent. I hadn't even thought about that even though I am seriously interested in Real Estate Investing as my future business.
I agreed to meet with him to see what he is offering, so this time tomorrow there might be a sixth option to discuss!!
We'll see what happens.
Until next time....
Eric
So over the weekend I put together a list of pro's and con's for each of the 5 options I am currently considering for the next steps in my Success Journey.
So far there is no clear winner so I've asked my wife to build her own list of pro's and con's for the 5 options and then we will compare them and see if one of our options stands out above the rest.
Also, I just had a phone call from a Real Estate Broker from a listserv that I am a member of. I had posted a message to the listserv asking for general information about this S.E.A. program I am going to the orientation for. This broker saw it and we chatted a little while so he could get a feel for me and then he asked to set up an information interview tomorrow to see if I would maybe want to think about becoming a Real Estate Agent. I hadn't even thought about that even though I am seriously interested in Real Estate Investing as my future business.
I agreed to meet with him to see what he is offering, so this time tomorrow there might be a sixth option to discuss!!
We'll see what happens.
Until next time....
Eric
Friday, November 30, 2007
Crossroads already!
As I mentioned in my post yesterday I am in for a new adventure.
I was laid off a couple of weeks ago and have done alot of soul searching recently about who I am and what my future holds and it's been really interesting to say the least.
I find myself with basically 3 options at this point:
1. Continue down the same path and take one of several developer or senior developer jobs that I have been interviewing for.
2. Pay this "career placement" company a bunch of money to market me and eventually find me "the perfect job" as a highly paid IT executive.
3. Start my own IT Services business.
In yesterday's post I had basically decided to hang out my own shingle.
Several events today have caused me to not rethink it but to re-consider some of the other options.
I'm still leaning towards opening my own business, especially since I am investigating this state sponsored program where they train you for running a business, help you find funding and continue to pay the unemployment while you start things up.
There is still much investigation needing to be done but I find it interesting that just when I have a plan of attack basically decided upon, several other things popup and try to dissuade me.
Is it an attempt by fate, the devil or whatever "negative" being that you believe in trying to dissuade me from the correct path for my life?
Is it fate, God or whatever "positive" being that you believe in trying to dissuade me from a HUGE wrong turn in my life?
Or is it simply a coincidence?
Much to ponder!
Until next time.
Eric
I was laid off a couple of weeks ago and have done alot of soul searching recently about who I am and what my future holds and it's been really interesting to say the least.
I find myself with basically 3 options at this point:
1. Continue down the same path and take one of several developer or senior developer jobs that I have been interviewing for.
2. Pay this "career placement" company a bunch of money to market me and eventually find me "the perfect job" as a highly paid IT executive.
3. Start my own IT Services business.
In yesterday's post I had basically decided to hang out my own shingle.
Several events today have caused me to not rethink it but to re-consider some of the other options.
I'm still leaning towards opening my own business, especially since I am investigating this state sponsored program where they train you for running a business, help you find funding and continue to pay the unemployment while you start things up.
There is still much investigation needing to be done but I find it interesting that just when I have a plan of attack basically decided upon, several other things popup and try to dissuade me.
Is it an attempt by fate, the devil or whatever "negative" being that you believe in trying to dissuade me from the correct path for my life?
Is it fate, God or whatever "positive" being that you believe in trying to dissuade me from a HUGE wrong turn in my life?
Or is it simply a coincidence?
Much to ponder!
Until next time.
Eric
Thursday, November 29, 2007
New Plan
Well there have been some major changes in my life recently and it has caused me to rethink a ton of stuff!
So I've decided to start my own business which will be a combination of an online venture as well as a traditional IT Services (Web Design/Development, Network installation, hardware upgrade and repair, etc...) company.
I'm still working out the details and putting the plan together but it's a whole new world!
I'll keep you posted about what is what and when.
Eric
So I've decided to start my own business which will be a combination of an online venture as well as a traditional IT Services (Web Design/Development, Network installation, hardware upgrade and repair, etc...) company.
I'm still working out the details and putting the plan together but it's a whole new world!
I'll keep you posted about what is what and when.
Eric
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Setting Goals
I have tried over the years to set goals for my life.
Most people have.
I have been listening to a tape series by Tom Hopkins called The Official Guide to Success and this morning I listened to his section on Goal Setting and it was like I was learning how to set goals for the very first time, it was amazing!
He breaks it down exactly what kind of goals to set, what time duration, how to organize them, what to do with them once you have written them down.
It was utterly amazing!!!
I have already scheduled time each night for the next week or so to put down in writing my goals, starting 20 years from now and working back to 90 days from now.
I can't wait!
Eric
Most people have.
I have been listening to a tape series by Tom Hopkins called The Official Guide to Success and this morning I listened to his section on Goal Setting and it was like I was learning how to set goals for the very first time, it was amazing!
He breaks it down exactly what kind of goals to set, what time duration, how to organize them, what to do with them once you have written them down.
It was utterly amazing!!!
I have already scheduled time each night for the next week or so to put down in writing my goals, starting 20 years from now and working back to 90 days from now.
I can't wait!
Eric
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Another Cool Quote
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.
Aristotle
Hello & Welcome!
This blog is an electronic version of a concept I just recently read about: The Success Journal. The concept of keeping a Success Journal is basically to keep track of all the good things that you do and that happen to you and around you in your day-to-day life so then when those inevitable "blah" days arrive you can grab your Journal and read a page or two or three to remind yourself just how good you are and more importantly how good you have it!
Since I am a technofile I decided to do a blog instead of a written journal so here we are!
Since I am a technofile I decided to do a blog instead of a written journal so here we are!
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