May 18, 2017 Reflection (Personal Finance)

1. How useful did you find writing blog entries for every class?
I found it quite useful! I enjoyed writing blog entries. It allowed me to reflect on what had happened in class that day. In addition, it allowed me to think about what I wanted to focus on for the future. Beyond this class I think I might continue blogging/journaling in order to keep going.

2. The number one concept I have learned to date is...
Budgeting! I'm honestly so glad I started budgeting. While I've learned an amazing amount about where to invest my money, budgeting is what made this class for me. 

It's#1 because...
At the beginning, it was difficult and I ended up spending more than I could save. By the end, though, I found a system that worked for me and ended up saving a LOT more!

3. My biggest takeaway from the PF classes in April and May is...
Confidence is key. Now, I have a newfound appreciation for Personal Finance. The books we read in class have no doubt strengthened my confidence. And even though this slightly trivializes the subject, I've begun treating it like a game. I challenge myself to save more money than I spend. I compete with myself to earn more money than I lose. It's fun. 

May 16, 2017 Reflection (Personal Finance)

CME is over. My team did the worst. I don't quite know how to feel about that. I'm glad that I was able to get a better understanding on trading futures, but at the same time I feel bad that we did so badly. As I write in my CME summative assignment, it's lowered my confidence while simultaneously increasing the amount of experience I have.

On another note, May has been an amazing month for my budget. Because it's my birthday month, I've gotten a lot of gifts from my friends and family. As a result, other than the most basic food, I've been spending very little. The most I've spent is on groceries, to be honest. I'm glad I've been budgeting - this has raised my confidence.

May 12, 2017 Reflection (Personal Finance)

I wasn't here on Tuesday -- I was taking my AP Calculus exam. Tuesday marked the very last AP exam I will ever have to take. It was a bittersweet feeling. I'm glad that I'm done, but it's also a bit sad. I've found that I actually quite enjoy taking exams.  

At home, I have been reading The Behavior Gap. I think I'm actually enjoying this more than I did Millionaire Teacher. I'm not exactly sure how to explain it. Richards focuses a lot on what I as an individual can do. In contrast, Hallam focused on the errors of others and what people can learn from them. Both have their pros and cons, but I like the more personal feel of Richards's writing.

May 9, 2017 Reflection (Personal Finance)

I know you like to listen to rock  music. Have you heard Cage the Elephant? I recently heard a song called Ain't No Rest for the Wicked, and I really enjoyed it. I actually heard it from a TV show, but I can't remember what it was called. I think you might like it!

You said hello to me in the hallway today, and said it wasn't possible for me to learn something while walking. I disagree - even though multitasking doesn't allow people to fully focus while learning, I think for what I was doing, I was fine. I don't need to learn how to walk - I already know how. I was placing more focus on the video analyzing Reservoir Dogs That's pretty darn interesting. Learning the motivations behind directors and novels is really cool to me, despite being a STEM kid.

May 5, 2017 Reflection (Personal Finance)

We got a new book today! I'm looking forward to reading Behavior Gap. Learning about things that Mr. Hallam might have missed will help me get a better understanding of finance. That goes for most financial planning books, actually. Each one will help me in a way the others haven't. After reading just 19 pages in our 20 minute reading time today, I can tell I will really enjoy it.

One thing I like so far about this book is that Mr. Richards puts me as an investor first. I'm paraphrasing, but a line in the book said to think about my own goals instead of following everyone else. It's easy to get caught up in the bandwagon phenomenon, buying because others are buying, selling because others are selling. This is not a wise investment strategy. I should invest based on what I am attempting to achieve.

May 3, 2017 Reflection (Personal Finance)

Investing with CME is not going well. We've lost more than $3500 and seem to be making the wrong investments. The problem I'm having with the stock market is that it pretty much is a guessing game. How am I supposed to know when to buy and when to sell? What if the stock goes up after I sell or goes down after I buy?

This is why investing is scary and I feel like shying away from it. I have the opportunity to graduate debt-free from college. The money I make after that I can keep for myself. If I invest it, how do I make sure I don't lose too much? Investing is long term, I get it, but it's very discouraging. 

April 28, 2017 Reflection (Personal Finance)

Let the the CME High School trading challenge begin! Today, we're going to start investing our virtual $100,000 in a virtual stock market. I know this challenge is mostly about finance, but I can't help but appreciate the technology and the network behind the CME website. The numbers on screen reflect real market numbers. We can 'invest' in real commodities, index funds, and metals. It's very well laid out. It feels real, and it's exciting!

Here is what I'm writing to try and convince my group to buy the following futures:

1. The S&P 500 is a good future to invest in because, as we've discussed multiple times in class, it takes into account the entire stock market. It's a good idea to invest in this because the return of this fund is based on the entire stock market, and not just one or two stocks.

2. Currency - I think that the Mexican Peso is worth investing in because it's at a low price and its current trajectory seems to be up. I know our mantra is to buy low, sell high, and I believe this is a good combination of both.

I discussed with my group and we ended up buying them! I hope I made the right decisions :)