As I mentioned in my last post, I took a low- to no-stress part-time job earlier this year. It doesn’t pay baller money. But, then, that wasn’t really my objective. Rather, the intent was to earn a little money so that I could kick down the road the can that is my needing to withdraw from our FIRE fund in a down market. To date, it’s been (in conjunction with a fun side gig I have) a resounding success.
After I was offered the part-time job, my supervisors explained that they hoped that I’d serve as a mentor of sorts to my coworkers, most of whom are far younger than me. That was something I was really interested in.
I’m pretty sure that my supervisors had nothing specific in mind when they mentioned the mentor thing to me. Probably just for me to serve as a general mentor, who could draw on lotsa life experience. And I admit to thinking then that my mentoring might in part—or maybe in whole—be along those lines. Personal finance and/or FIRE might be part of what I talk to them, but it wouldn’t likely be a focus. Just something that might come up.
Option all
But once on the job, something curious happened. On my first day, I saw one of my coworkers (whom we’ll call X)—who’s currently a college student—looking at a website that had all sorts of numbers/information on trading options.
What the what?, I thought. What’s this kid doing looking at that stuff?! Intrigued, I asked him as much.
X responded that he’s interested in options and had at some prior point started trading them.
Huh. Now that’s interesting, I thought. I also discovered that X is a finance major.
At this point, I wanted to know more. Was X highly experienced and knowledgeable about (trading) options (something I’ve always considered highly complex and risky)? Was he being bankrolled? Was X a thrill-seeking risk-taker? Or, was he just a kid who didn’t know he might be out of his depth and also didn’t know about far lower-risk means to build wealth?
After pressing him some more, I concluded that X was at least a bit—and likely a lot—out of his depth and that he had little clue about far lower-risk means to build wealth. Or about investing and personal finance generally.
For example, X knew next to nothing about tax-advantaged employer-sponsored and individual retirement plans. Ditto for the specific tax advantages and Roth vs. traditional flavors. It might therefore go without saying that X hadn’t ever opened up a retirement account. As for saving generally, X didn’t necessarily seem irresponsible with money. But it appeared that he could use some guidance as to (wise) choices he might make.
Teach your children well
Now, wasn’t this convenient, I thought! The perfect opportunity to serve as a mentor. And as to personal finance and investing no less! Whoooeeee, was I excited!
I began by talking to X about his paycheck, taxes, and our employer’s retirement plan (which includes Roth and traditional versions). X understood some of what I was explaining, but not everything. Probably because I didn’t explain it well enough. But in some cases because it was somewhat over his head. So, I tried to break down subjects into more digestible portions. I also sent X links to blog posts, articles, and podcasts that he might check out. Not a ton, but enough to allow him to build a solid foundation of knowledge.
The next time I saw X, I asked if he’d looked at what I’d sent him. He responded that he’d started reading/listening to some of the sources, but not many.
I was a bit discouraged. But my spirits quickly leapt . . . because X started asking me questions. Lotsa questions. Aaahhhh!, I thought. He’s genuinely interested in this stuff. A willing and excited student!
I answered X’s questions and fed him more information, which simultaneously raised his eyebrows and got the motor of his brain whirring even more furiously. More questions followed. After our shift ended, I was pleased. Very pleased.
When I got home, I smiled thinking about what had transpired. But then I thought maybe it’s time to introduce him to FIRE—a subject about which I’d just skirted around the edges—and weave into it what we’d spoken about, and what I really wanted to get to. That’d be tough to do while at work. So, I emailed X and asked if he might be interested in coming to my place on a Saturday morning, where we could go into some depth on things.
Now, I gotta say, if I was a college student, and some old geezer like your humble blogger asked if I wanted to spend my Saturday talking about personal finance, I’d probably say “thanks but no thanks.” Or, “I’ll have what he’s smoking.” Or, “uuummmm . . . yeah, no.” Truth told, I’d wonder what planet this old-timer was living on that he thought I might take him up on the offer.
But this kid? X not only accepted the offer, he asked if another of our college-student coworkers could come over, too. Wow!, I thought. I giddily replied, “absolutely!”
FIRE ‘course
And so it was that I held court for more than two hours on a Saturday, with two college students listening to me blather on and on . . . and on . . . about subjects ranging from a general description of FIRE to safe withdrawal rates, to tax optimization. You know, spice of life stuff.
I saw some yawns (it was a Saturday morning, and these were college-age students, after all), but no one fell asleep on me. And I got lots of questions. Now, I’m not sure how excited these kids were after the session. But me? I was ecstatic.
It was five days before X and I had a shared shift. The day before it, X emailed me to let me know that he’d just opened up his first IRA and asked what funds I thought he ought to invest in. Aaahhhh! He took action! I was elated. I replied that I’d talk specifics during our shared shift.
Almost as soon as our shift started, X sidled over to me and started asking questions. Lotsa questions. Some about ground we’d covered, and some new. X was so into all this that he actually wasn’t as attentive to his job responsibilities as he should have been. I brushed that off because, frankly, it was better for X to be asking me questions and processing the information than him crushing it on this particular shift.
Obviously thrilled about all this, another coworker working on that shift—someone of a certain age, like me—who’d also seen/heard X and me talking personal finance on past shifts offered to handle various tasks that I or X might otherwise have taken care of. He said to me, “it’s more important that you talk to X.” Wow! How generous of him, I thought.
X and I spoke for almost the entirety of our shift. I could see the fireworks going off in his head. And I was thrilled.
To infinity and beyond
X and I have a long way to go. There’s still a ton we’ve not discussed (although almost all of it is covered spectacularly well in the blogs/articles, podcasts, and other sources that I sent him and very much hope that he reads). It’s also clear to me that X still doesn’t fully understand or appreciate everything we’ve discussed. And he still appears a bit too interested in taking big risks with more dollars than I think he ought to.
But it doesn’t seem to me at all that X is anywhere close to wanting to put all his chips on trading options, and/or in focusing on other risky ventures. If I had to guess, when I’ve finished giving X his basic education and he’s truly absorbed the content, X likely will lower his expenses, put about 75% of his savings into sound investments, and use the remaining 25% to engage in riskier wealth-building activities. That, to me, is a fantastic result.
So, it appears that I yanked X off of a road that not only had a good chance of failure in the short-term, but by way of that failure could have ruined the rest of his life. Or at least made it a lot more financially difficult. And I may instead have placed him gently onto another road that has a far better chance of resulting in sustainable wealth building, of X reaching FI well before he turns 40, and of him and (if he had them) his kids having a rich life.
I couldn’t be happier. And that alone made my taking the part-time gig totally worth it.
And in the end . . .
Dear Reader, I have high hopes for X. And the other coworker whom I started talking about FIRE to. I’m pretty sure they’re gonna do great. Well, unless they have some bigger problems that some college students apparently have.
This is a great story! Good for you! And X!
Thanks!
Great story, X is a lucky guy and its nice to see he’s willing to accept sound advice. Wonder if he had any exposure to financial literacy, while growing up?
Good question. I’ve never asked him. If I had to guess, the prior exposure was minimal and maybe not great, but probably not bad on the whole.