A Personal Investing Primer

“The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.”
Among friends and relatives, I have gotten the sense that that different people’s knowledge of personal finance varies greatly. The purpose of this primer is to address the common questions about common investing issues and also to help me think through these issues (particularly the employee option tax issues and my own investment philosophy). When there is an issue that I don’t know much about or that another resource already treats very well, I admit what I don’t know and/or provide links. There are lots of online resources on each of these topics individually, but curiously none that unify this set of issues. Since worrying about money is a chore rather than a meaningful life hobby, I hope this guide will help you streamline your time spent on chores so that you have more time to waste.

• Employee Option Grants
• Employee Stock Grants
• Retirement Investing – Start in your 20s!
  
• When you leave a company
• Choosing a brokerage
• How should I set up my portfolio?

Note: It is really curious that I have not found any online resources that discuss all of these topics, however informally, even though I know there are many people who face financial decisions similar to mine. I have to believe that at least part of the reason is because financial advisers are in the business of selling their time, not financial literacy and self-sufficiency.