Judith Eastman
Civilian
Grandma
Posts: 2,593 Likes: 84 
Rank: Civilian/other
Position: Civil Servant
Species: Human
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Post by Judith Eastman on Mar 10, 2020 1:30:41 GMT
[Eastman-Williams Family Home, Summit, New Jersey - July 2378]
Judy smiled with satisfaction as the meat sizzled on the grill in the backyard of her suburban home. While Thomas was away with friends, and her adult sons Gerald and Lawrence in their homes elsewhere, Judy still had Max, and 12-year-old Anna, assisting her at the grill on this hot summer day.
"Annie, just remember not to interfere too much in the big-people conversation," Max reminded his daughter.
"Do you just want me to stay in my room, dad?" Anna asked.
"We want you to do whatever you think is right, mini-me," Judy replied. "You can eat with us, sit with us, but don't take over the conversation."
"I won't, mother. I'm not you or anything," Anna snapped back, with full argumentative mode engaged.
"You're just like your mother; you know that?" Max asked rhetorically. Indeed, their already similar facial structures, hair color, and complexion were only punctuated by the fact that they were both wearing green dresses today.
At last, Judy heard a ring at the doorbell. The corgis sprang up to bark.
"Just a minute!" she hollered.
Leaving the grill, the aging war veteran walked across the living room to open the front door.
"Sven! Good to see you!" she greeted. "Lunch is almost ready."
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Sven Aune
Security & Tactical
[TI23]
Posts: 378 Likes: 23
Rank: Lieutenant Commander
Position: Chief of Security. Combat Engineer
Species: Human
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Post by Sven Aune on Mar 10, 2020 1:47:45 GMT
Eastman-Williams Household
Sven was wearing a summer like shirt, large, but still cling to his massive muscles, and was a summery shade of light pink accompanied with khaki shorts and slip on shoes. He had pressed the doorbell and heard the corgis go into a fit of welcoming barks. He smiled.
The young man was looking towards securing a future for himself and Judy had offered to help him navigate and learn the vast field of investments. He had been saving money for this and now was time to take the calculated risk.
A smile grew across his face as Judy opened the door.
”Judy.” he said moving in for a side hug.
“Thanks for having me!”
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Judith Eastman
Civilian
Grandma
Posts: 2,593 Likes: 84
Rank: Civilian/other
Position: Civil Servant
Species: Human
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Post by Judith Eastman on Mar 10, 2020 2:11:53 GMT
[Eastman-Williams Family Home]
Judy graciously accepted the hug.
"Believe me, the pleasure is mine," she answered, as she motioned for the young man to come with her to the backyard.
"You'll remember Max, of course, and Anna is here - a little bigger and a lot smarter."
Max, in blue jeans and a green polo shirt that matched the women's dresses, nodded his hello. Anna stepped away from the grill and closer to her mother.
"Hello," she greeted, to Judy's satisfied nod.
"The food is going to be ready in just a few - it would've taken longer if not for mini-me helping us out - and then we can start talking about finance. There's lesson #1 for you: financial decisions should never, ever be made on an empty stomach."
Anna flushed a little red at Judy's nickname for her ("mini-me"), but still took with pride the notion that she had actually helped.
"We have patties, skewers, hot dogs, chicken breasts, and eggplants, a real feast," Max bragged.
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Sven Aune
Security & Tactical
[TI23]
Posts: 378 Likes: 23
Rank: Lieutenant Commander
Position: Chief of Security. Combat Engineer
Species: Human
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Post by Sven Aune on Mar 10, 2020 2:16:48 GMT
Eastman-Williams home
The sizzling meats and veg was certainly appealing and Sven smiled at Anna.
“You helped cook all this food? That’s amazing. One thing I’ve come to expect from the Eastman-Williams, is ya’ll put on the feast.”
He looked towards the grill. “It smells amazing and I think I like rule #1 so far. How ya been Max?” He said walking towards the table laid out.
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Judith Eastman
Civilian
Grandma
Posts: 2,593 Likes: 84
Rank: Civilian/other
Position: Civil Servant
Species: Human
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Post by Judith Eastman on Mar 10, 2020 2:26:00 GMT
[Eastman-Williams Family Home]
"I'm doing well, thank you," Max answered with a smile. "It's summertime, which is never easy as a parent, but I'm doing well."
"You're underselling it," Judy told her husband. "Thomas is 16 now, so he's out driving his friends around, and if the thought of that doesn't scare you, it should. We've also had pool parties for both him and Anna here, and we have to fit the grandchildren in somewhere. We love 'em, but it's hectic."
Max began to unload meats from the grill onto large plates, ready for Anna to carry them.
"How have you been?" Judy asked Sven as the youngster obediently helped out.
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Sven Aune
Security & Tactical
[TI23]
Posts: 378 Likes: 23
Rank: Lieutenant Commander
Position: Chief of Security. Combat Engineer
Species: Human
|
Post by Sven Aune on Mar 11, 2020 16:19:58 GMT
[Eastman-Williams Family Home]"I'm doing well, thank you," Max answered with a smile. "It's summertime, which is never easy as a parent, but I'm doing well.""You're underselling it," Judy told her husband. "Thomas is 16 now, so he's out driving his friends around, and if the thought of that doesn't scare you, it should. We've also had pool parties for both him and Anna here, and we have to fit the grandchildren in somewhere. We love 'em, but it's hectic."Max began to unload meats from the grill onto large plates, ready for Anna to carry them. "How have you been?" Judy asked Sven as the youngster obediently helped out. Sven considered what was said and a smirk grew across his face. He remembered what it was like to be 16 and drive his friends around. "I hope he isn't getting into too much trouble. And pool parties. That's a lot of work. Unless you had it catered. But I think I know you both well enough that you provided all the food and entertainment."He took a breath. "Life is chugging along. I'm tired of being shunted around all over the place. Starfleet has me hopping, busy fortifying installations damaged and or destroyed from the war. It's easier to bring walls down than it is to reinforce existing structures." |
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Judith Eastman
Civilian
Grandma
Posts: 2,593 Likes: 84
Rank: Civilian/other
Position: Civil Servant
Species: Human
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Post by Judith Eastman on Mar 11, 2020 18:53:37 GMT
[Eastman-Williams Family Home]
Judy nodded, understanding that feeling.
"It's unglamorous work, but at least they're getting it done," she remarked. "No one ever wants to repair facilities, or fund repairs. It's not glamorous, it's not sexy, but we both know it's essential work."
As more and more food filled the table, and at last they took their seats, Judy thought to add more to that.
"And there's an analogy to be had about the financial markets," she philosophized as she took a hamburger bun, layered a patty, lettuce, tomato slice, and mustard on it, and placed it on Anna's plate. "The sexy stocks, the ones the media, her classmates, and taxi drivers are all talking about, those stocks are usually not the ones you want to buy. In fact, when I hear Tom and Anna talk about an investment, I know that's a bubble."
"That's a little hurtful, mom," Anna pointed out.
"It is, but it's not just you. When anyone who doesn't actually understand the market, whether that's mini-me, or her friends' moms, or my boss, or most people, is talking about a stock, that's a bubble."
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Sven Aune
Security & Tactical
[TI23]
Posts: 378 Likes: 23
Rank: Lieutenant Commander
Position: Chief of Security. Combat Engineer
Species: Human
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Post by Sven Aune on Mar 12, 2020 2:48:46 GMT
The food smelled absolutely delicious and he felt a tingle of delight thinking about the feast he was about to enjoy. The large man took a steak, and some cooked seasoned sausage, with coleslaw and some baked beans before sitting down. He placed his napkin on his lap.
“Ya, that’s what I had read. Do the opposite of what the vast majority of the investing population is doing. And stay away from the so called “hot” sweet investments. They usually aren’t.”
He cut a piece of steak before continuing, “Anyway, I managed to put some money aside and I bought a condo. I spent some time fixing it up and I just got a renter in it. The question is, how much of the net income, after mortgage do I put back into savings for another property? And how much do I set aside for repairs?”
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Judith Eastman
Civilian
Grandma
Posts: 2,593 Likes: 84
Rank: Civilian/other
Position: Civil Servant
Species: Human
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Post by Judith Eastman on Mar 12, 2020 3:18:29 GMT
[Eastman-Williams Family Home]
Judy and Max both nodded.
"Well, it's not so much a fractional thing as it is an absolute sum. You want to have a rainy day bucket of funds set aside, either as a savings account or something you can easily convert to cash, and you want that bucket to be a couple of months' worth of rent - less if it's somewhere comically expensive like the City."
Judy motioned in the general direction of New York, making quite clear which city was "the City".
Then, she helped herself to a skewer, while Max, who'd finished off a sausage in a bun, took over.
"Do you have someone local who can check in on the property if something goes wrong for you?" he asked. "It's been our experience that you can trust tenants with paying their bills, not destroying the place, and that's it. For everything else, you need to either be there, or have someone."
Judy took a pause from her eating to contribute.
"We have a building, 8 units, in California that we bought around the time Anna was born. With that size of a place, we actually hired someone to deal with things, a lovely guy. I'd interviewed people for the job when I was about... 7, 8 months pregnant, which was a bit of a trial by fire."
She returned to eating, as Max went into damage control for that statement.
"Judy isn't saying you need to make the property manager's life miserable on purpose, but if you're not going to be there full-time, you need to make sure you can trust them," he explained.
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Sven Aune
Security & Tactical
[TI23]
Posts: 378 Likes: 23
Rank: Lieutenant Commander
Position: Chief of Security. Combat Engineer
Species: Human
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Post by Sven Aune on Mar 12, 2020 3:27:53 GMT
Sven nodded. “Yes, I do have a property manager. It’s almost like a coop thing where small renters like myself pay a smaller fee to have this young couple to do repairs and work needed on our homes. It’s their business and I liked the model so I figured I partner with them.”
He took a bit of the steak. It was so juicy and flavorsome.
“Oh, this is like heaven in my mouth!”
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Judith Eastman
Civilian
Grandma
Posts: 2,593 Likes: 84
Rank: Civilian/other
Position: Civil Servant
Species: Human
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Post by Judith Eastman on Mar 12, 2020 3:53:01 GMT
[Eastman-Williams Family Home]
"Maybe we should tell you who was in charge of the seasoning," Max replied to the praise on the steak.
As the couple looked at their daughter, the answer to that was clear.
"I had a little help," Anna added proudly, sitting up very straight.
"Anyway, this brings us back to what you do with your income - you reinvest it into something different. The entire market, as a whole, grows by a steady rate, I think about 4% every year, and you want to ride on that wave, to the extent that you're able," Judy explained. Then, she began a demo, taking a hamburger bun in her hand.
"If you'll pardon the analogy, it's like the food: you want to have all of it, but you can't have a little nibble off every single item, so you make your sandwich. You have one patty, a slice of eggplant, a little mustard, a tomato slice, a lettuce leaf, a strip of turkey bacon, a dash of pepper, and there you have it. Not diversifying is like having bread in a bun."
Judy took her majestic burger and had a bite of it.
"There's really no comparing it."
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Sven Aune
Security & Tactical
[TI23]
Posts: 378 Likes: 23
Rank: Lieutenant Commander
Position: Chief of Security. Combat Engineer
Species: Human
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Post by Sven Aune on Mar 13, 2020 1:17:38 GMT
“Well, you did a phenomenal job. Anna.” He cut another piece and his attention returned to Judy. He smiled at her analogy. It was so apropos.
“So, you’re saying that I should put the money I make from the rental into other funds, like stocks and such? There are so many and it’s so complicated with it being interspacial now. Ferangi exchange commission and all that. It’s daunting.” His face fell and he looked worried.
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Judith Eastman
Civilian
Grandma
Posts: 2,593 Likes: 84
Rank: Civilian/other
Position: Civil Servant
Species: Human
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Post by Judith Eastman on Mar 13, 2020 1:32:28 GMT
[Eastman-Williams Family Home]
Judy raised a brow from behind her burger. She'd infused za'atar (a mediterranean herb), garlic, and olive oil in the patty, to great effect.
"It doesn't have to be," she replied, taking a pause from the eating. "Investing properly can look like a full-time job, because it is. There are funds out there with people and algorithms that study and choose investments for a living, and you can buy into those."
She took another bite, a pause from speaking.
"If you will, a fund is like a pizza, with various toppings selected by someone, and buying into a fund is like buying a slice of that pizza. You can choose from all of the different pizzas on sale, to your taste."
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Sven Aune
Security & Tactical
[TI23]
Posts: 378 Likes: 23
Rank: Lieutenant Commander
Position: Chief of Security. Combat Engineer
Species: Human
|
Post by Sven Aune on Mar 13, 2020 1:38:15 GMT
Sven chewed on that.
“How can you trust if these people have your best interest at heart?”
This spoke to some deep rooted trust issues he was still working through. “If I pick and diversify how I want, no one is responsible but me. But there is too much. I can’t possibly know or figure it all out.”
He took a deep breath and followed up with a sip of lemonade.
“Did you make this too. Anna?”
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Judith Eastman
Civilian
Grandma
Posts: 2,593 Likes: 84
Rank: Civilian/other
Position: Civil Servant
Species: Human
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Post by Judith Eastman on Mar 13, 2020 2:50:31 GMT
[Eastman-Williams Family Home]
"The lemonade is Dad's," Anna answered, looking towards their lemon tree.
And then, it came time to return to seriousness.
"Well, why do you trust a chef to cook you a good meal? Why do you trust a journalist to report the news? Why do you trust the quarterback of your college's football team to play to the best of his ability? Why do you trust a Captain, or First Officer, to lead you well?" she asked.
"Well, the reason these people, and fund managers, do what they do is that this is their job, and if they don't do it, they won't get paid in the future. If a fund manager doesn't turn a profit, she's not going to get new investors, which means her best interest is for you to make money."
She returned to her burger.
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