Well, first of all – it’s not like I am rolling in cash from this business. Sure, the hourly rate is high but the scale of escorting is as long as a day. You only have 24 hours you can work. Take away sleep, getting ready, gym, personal commitments, anything else that gives you a fun life – I’m not making 6 figures from this job. It’s more of a side hustle.
I have a normal 9-5 job which pays the bills, feeds me, gives me money for holidays, all the normal stuff. But what about the side hustle money? Where does that go? It may seem quite boring to you but every dollar I make goes straight into the stock market. I invest the money I make. I pay my future self!
It’s actually another passion of mine – financial planning and money management. I find it really fun! And I tend to keep it quite simple. I use to invest in complicated ETFs, mutual funds, and stocks but honestly there is a much better way.
I read some books by John Boggle, the founder of Vanguard. People that follow him are called “Bogleheads” – weird I know).
What did I learn? As an individual retail investor, you are NEVER going to beat the market. People go to school for this shit and still underperform the market over the long term. So keep it simple – just buy the market!
So that’s what I do now. I fired my financial advisor (who was taking 1% in fees which over the long term can end up being $100K+). They weren’t beating the market so why give them a cut? I sold all my individual stocks in my retirement accounts (if you sell in your regular brokerage account you’ll have to pay capital gains taxes anywhere from 15-30% to the US government). Nope!
I then bought VTI which is the total US Stock market ETF. You can buy others as well. VOO is a popular one that contains all the stocks in the S&P500. VTI has all large cap, mid cap, and small cap US stocks so it is more diversified. Diversification is like having a well-balanced buffet for your investments—it’s the idea of not putting all your financial eggs in one basket. Instead of concentrating all your money in a single investment or asset, diversification involves spreading your funds across a variety of investments. VTI essentially buys every stock in the US market weighted by their market cap.
I also put some in VXUS which is all international stocks minus the US. It has performed lower than VTI over many years but if the US goes to shit, international might be a smart bet as well.
But wait, there’s more! The Boglehead philosophy isn’t about picking the right funds – buy the market remember so you don’t have to pick the right funds. But you also need the right mindset. Instead of getting swept up in the frenzy of market news or get rich quick ideas of grandeur, Bogleheads have nerves of steel. They understand that investing is a marathon, not a sprint, and they’re in it for the long haul.
The market goes up and then it goes down and then up and down and so on forever. But over the long term the US and world economy keeps growing. It has to because the population keeps growing. If you buy the market (which is reflective of the economy), your investments grow over time.
It’s works well for me. Now go read something else about sex!
Wesley James - Premier Companion 