Unsolicited Advice From a 38 Year Old (on a boat)

Hello Sophisticated Spenders!

Well, I am officially 38.

Shout out to my mom (the Crystal Creator) for being such a great mom and for creating me.

This year I just wanted to thank you guys for reading my blog and listening to what I have to say about life and finance in general.

This is the neighborhood I grew up in.

Not many people from that neighborhood graduated high school.  Not many people went to college.  Not many women are engineers.  Not many women have been day traders on the US stock exchange.  Not many African Americans have graduated from The Ohio State University.  Not many people who get certified to become fitness instructors ever teach fitness classes.

Nothing has happened by accident.

It took me 7 years to get my electrical and computer engineering degree.  I flunked out of college twice.  I’m a product of the Chicago Public School System!  I got evicted from my first apartment.  Instead of giving up, I kept pushing.  I got laid off twice!  I only closed on 2 homes (and 1 rental lease) when I was a realtor.  I flunked the Patent Bar 3 times before I finally passed on the 4th try.  I failed the written Group Exercise exam on the first try too.  (And don’t get me started on boyfriends.)

(Click here to read about all my jobs)

I am lucky.

Even though I was a failure (on paper), I know how real estate and day trading works.  I multitasked my a$$ off to eventually graduate college while working full time.  I currently multitask my a$$ off working full time, blogging, teaching Zumba and INSANITY and traveling.

It’s not easy but I wouldn’t trade this journey for anything.

I love sharing all of my victories and failures with you.

I make $0 off this blog and I LOVE it!

I love learning and reading and sharing.

I love hearing from you and learning from you.

I hope you’ve had as much fun reading my blog as I had writing it.

Here’s to 38 years of ups, downs and many many more to come!