[HUMMERcustoms.com/TAZ]

Destroyer, Sir if I may use Sir. It is not My practice to be rude to anyone on here and I will not start with You. But, Your suggestions for financial planning lends an air of expertise of which I will not bother with asking what Your qualifications are. You do at least seem to have learned the basics of what will go up in value and what will not in the area You bring up.

My good Sir, it is a great acomplishment in life to have made investments that meet Your personal goal and I'm sure they have made you happy. But, different people have different goals in life and therefore are intitled to invest there money in a situation where it appreciates or doesn't. Many investors have thought themselves so very wise. Ask the Hunt Brothers about cornering the silver market.
It really seemed like a good idea at the time one of the brothers were later to be heard saying at one of the sales in which they liquidated property to cover all the longs they had purchased to proceed down that path of personal interest as far as investing is concerned. So mainly in My humble oppinion it is up to the person who made that money to use it in a manner that makes life more interesting and happy for them and not to make You or I happy or to please You and I.
Personally I am able to do most what ever I want as i have invested in ways that have made me happy and My CPA as well. Oh and My financial planner seems to be fairly happy as His bill would indicate I would be if I had paid Myself that much. Nice thing is I can afford to pay Him that much because he earned it by advising Me and making money to earn it. So would you say that is an appreciable asset or a depreciating asset as far as He is concerned. I cannot keep up with all the opportunities out there so that was My answer to that problem. All My decisions have not been rosey as a man would be a liar if He said they all had been good ones. My portforlio is so varied that if one area of the financial world is down I'm most likely making it up on the other end somewhere. Also My personal overhead as far as living is quite meager and surprise most and I keep it that way so that if all the investments I have turn belly up i can go out and get a job to buy food and pay utilities. So I understand investment quite well and never went to school to learn it. I watched people at an early age that had the ability to make money make money for them and not have to do allot but, make the right choice at the right time or just be plain ole lucky.

Now that brings Me to another point and that is that most success not all but most is just happening to be in the right place in the right time and has nothing to do with smarts or knowledge. Allot of it is paying attention though.

I'm glad you do have a handle on how to invest in a way that makes you happy but, the only advice i would like to share is the investment that is right for You may not be right for someone else and vice-versa.

The nice thing about My situation as is many on this forum is that like me they can afford and have already invested to the point where they can be comfortable buying a depreciating toy because they have done so well with buying appreciating investments. I decided at 20 I wanted to retire at 40 which i accomplished with God's blessing. I'm 48 but, found retirement was not as fun as I thought it was going to be. So every few years i start a company and keep it or when the offer get's right I sell it. I have 5 right at this time but, in 30 days could be 0 who knows what lies ahead. So that is now My hobby as much as an investment strategy. There are many many on this forum who are in the same position. True there are the ones who work hard and reward themselves with a nice new or used H2. But, I learned a long time ago that if You do not reward Yourself with a play toy you will loose motivation before You have actual caught Yourself doing so. It is a mental balance that a truely successful person learns to find and it cannot be taught but, has to be aquired.
So I have My new H2 paid for and when I finish customizing it next month I will have over $100,000 in it. Why? Because I can, due to the investments I fortunately made. The nice thing is that because I became interested in this customizing stuff i started a company with a very fine young man and His wife that by nothing i did except just have an interest in the area and is running away like a wild fire. So now the show H2 has become an appreciating investment through the business it brings in but, was not meant to be. So was i smart? No, I was at the right place at the right time. Now I have to buy another new or used H2 to lift it so that We can do that side of the customizing so people can see We do more than bling as well and it will be My daily driver if the shop does not take it away from me for business. If so i will buy another. Why? Because i want one to drive and i cannot help that they keep trying to make me money as an investment. So i will continue to buy one till i can have it for Myself and go off road it with all these good people on this forum when they go to MOAB or where ever.
Destroyer, Sir i hope i have been able to shed some light on the reasoning as to why You can have a toy and still be a good investor and financial provider for Your family.
The people i admire are the ones who love the H2 so much they are willing to work a second job to own one. To me that is not wasteful and not a mark against their character, Oh no just the opposite. They have shown the ability to have a dream and find a way to make it happen with the best possible means available to them.
When I won My state Hummer title last winter, with the H2 We now have so much invested in, the person i felt most proud of there was not myself but, the woman that stood beside her Husband just beeming with pride that he had an H2 yet did not even place in the contest but, She was teared up proud because he was willing to work 2 jobs she told me, so that His family could have something that nice and safe to ride around in with there 2 very little children. No I was not so proud of what I won as I was of that man and the pride and admiration I saw in His wife's eyes of Him just providing them with a dream and great safety as she put it to go out on special occasions to eat, church, or a trip what ever it was. She said We do not drive all the time as We love it and do not want to wear it out to fast. They know it will most likely be the only one they will ever own and like a great rootbeer float You want it to last forever. He asked me if i would work with Him and help Him dress His ride up more and that is how i got into the customizing deal without wanting to. The best way i could help the guy was get things for Him at dealer or distributor cost because He did not have the ability to do much at a time. So i got Myself into a business I never dreamed of being invovled in with a great partner, Dragon.
Now I feel sorry for Him as He keeps telling me he is going to win the state title from me and I appreciate his confidence and the local Hummer owners tell Him it is not going to happen but, He BELIEVES. It is the best part of the human character, to believe and motivate Yourself. His wife told me that he does not ever touch the family money for the H2 even when She has agreed. No He is not rich and maybe the best investment He has is His home and His H2 but, the really great investment is the happiness He has brought to His family and the memories that they will always have because of His sacrifice to invest in a deprecialble toy monetarily but, an appreciable toy for His family for which the happiness cannot be measured.

Oh My credit score is a few numbers from perfect and bounces off perfect on different occasions. Can hurt Your numbers if you do not have some debt and also if You get to many of these card companies running your credit to much will draw number down as well. it does not look good on report to have to many hits on it for credit check. I have credit card companies call Me and ask to let Me have cash advance no interest for life if I follow a certain little rule. They hope that i will use it to purchase with, which I do not and they hope i will miss a payment and int. goes to 19% which I will not as i have a program to see to that. Is it a liablility to take it and make prin. payments only? Put the money in CD's at 3% to 4%. To me no brainer take the money and let their money make money for Me in CD's. You have to be careful not to have to many or it hurts your numbers.
Many ways to let money do all the work for You. Make money make money for you!!!

Peter i think I have some time left on my carfax unlimited i will have to check. If You would PM Me with details i would be glad to get a report and fax it to you.

TAZ