OT: Taking Risks

Life would be boring without risk. If you analyze risk versus reward ahead of time, you can win.

Dude, every day of life is about calculating risk, not whether or not to take them.

Buying life insurance, a risk.
Not buying life insurance, a risk.
Starting a business, a risk.
Keeping your same shitty job, a risk.
Etc., etc., etc.

It isn't about whether or not to take them, it is about knowing how to calculate them so you can benefit from them more often than not.

I've been way too conservative in my risk taking (practically none). So I'm looking to up my risk taking in my personal life and career. Like Bruce Dickinson needing more cowbell I need more reward. I'd like to play with strippers more (increase risk there, too). I'm not sure that's possible within my budget right now or maybe I lack creativity, lol. I'm trying to sort out a way to fix that.

Truthfully the riskiest thing I do is commute to work on the freeway. I my age, I think traffic trauma or a traffic fatality is my greatest risk factor on a regular basis.

I don't really see this hobby as risky. Not at all. Keep in mind I haven't tried extras nor OTC yet.

Your question is kind of too vague.

ETA: I do live kind of recklessly as in I have really no emergency fund, no savings, no retirement savings (I cashed out in 2008). So as I near 40 I realize that needs to change. Coincidentally I have a meeting with a financial advisor tomorrow afternoon.

ETA: no life insurance for the wife (she mentioned this). Risky. I need to address that, too. I always meant to re-visit that.... some self reflection is in order.

I decided to take a risk a couple months ago increasing my education studying certain investments and spent money signing up for courses to study online.

I calculated if I can average a 10% return in my 401k, easier said then done, I will be potentially be a millionaire in 15 years. Even if I fail to increase my returns significantly, I thought it would be better to study and improve my knowledge. Kind of like people don't hesitate to spend money for college because they know it beats a high school degree in earning potential. I could switch jobs too but there are lots of risks there.

especially at my age of 66 life is a risk. my dream is to die in the arms of a beautiful woman.

The bad thing is that I now believe Ican easily average 10% a year if my money was not stuck in a 401k account but I need to quit my job in order to do that. I will gain experience in small accounts in the meantime. Would I quit my job and gamble on another job if I thought I could earn an extra million over 15 years? That is something I've wondered about. If I can average 30% a year in my smaller accounts, I might consider quitting my job just so that my 401k funds can grow like I want them to. This is all easier said then done. I have yet to be successful but I am learning.

i've spent 2millon on living..., stupid things like collecting cars, things, trinkets and crap and 35 years of marriage... (the first few were good)... and baaaaaddddd investments.... and since separating and then divorce... whatever i have spent on these wonderful ladies has been sooooooo wonderful. absolutely wonderful. :)

I'm coming up on 75 years. I don't play the stock market but I don't wear condoms either.

Never really been a risk-taker - my fear of failure is stronger than my lust for success - I think we're born w/ certain personalities and are also shaped by our experiences to either be risk-takefes or cautious.

In economics I've heard it mentioned we're born w/ a "financial personality", some are natural born entrepreneurs and some are natural born savers - growing up I was very good at saving my $$$, really good, and I was *very* careful w/ it - as I've gotten older (currently 47) I've loosened up a bit and not as fearful/cautious but still kinda a glass-half-empty kinda person and tend to worry the outcome will be bad/fail vs having confidence it will all work out.

So there, a long ass post that didn't answer your question LOL.

I risk shitting at McD's

Maybe risk taking is not quite the risk term. Maybe more deliberate action? Or maybe more diligence and persistence? I'm trying to finish my education (investment in myself) there see what I can do to get more income or at least multiple streams. I mean, this is a walmart, service, and gig economy, right? So maybe embrace gigs and multiple revenue streams as the new normal? Multiple houses, too, so I can move around the country as needed for gigs and work as they present themselves? I'm trying to embrace the *new normal* and think outside the box rather than just sit here with my thumb in my mouth or up my ass. Less victim less entitlement. More Rand "movers & doers".

I think where the conservatives & libertarians say hard work they really mean hard work and diligence (focused hard work, with specific goals and steps and incremental progress.) Pounding the pavement for the same dirt pay in an office or a cubicle (At least I have an office with a door) day in and day out isn't what I think they have in mind, because after 18 years of that, I'm no better off or worse that when I started. Fk this.

This year was different, been clubbing for about 6 years. Average spend between 5 and 10k in previous years, 2016 was close to 30k. I'm older, 60+ never clubbed when I couldn't afford it. So I'm accepting more $ risk now. Travel to and from the club is a greater risk, the clubs I like are all over an hour from me.

I'm gonna take a risk and become a strip-club manager

:)

Papi, any way you look at it, it's not a risk if you know from the outset that you'll end up screwed!

;-D

Papi, can I get free admission to the VIP ?

The biggest risks I took in 2016: (1) Traveling thru Guatemala and Honduras; (2) Fucking a couple strippers bareback.

I'm too old to take any significant financial risks. However, in 2017 I'm planning on traveling to Egypt and Israel, and I will probably fuck a few more strippers bareback.

@Dominic77
I meant to be vague. Wanted to read replies in general, regrets, or future goals.

@Papi
Insightful answer.

I myself am taking huge risks with my finances and have yet to make it positive. Strip club going...Okay I can tolerate those expenses/losses, but I've become somewhat of a gambling addict playing blackjack. In hindsight, I'd be better off if I stuck to the plan I make prior playing or stick strictly to my win/loss goal, but Nooooo I keep fucking off money. I hope to curb the feeling that is keeping me at the table past my predetermined guidelines.

I no longer take financial risks with my retirement funds, preferring to preserve capital, rather than seek large gains. The risks I still take? I gamble; we swing, sometimes without condoms; I like down and dirty clubs where I am a racial minority; I drive too fast; I sometimes drink and drive; I took a 20 foot fall skiing the trees this weekend. I went "oof" when I hit the ground.

Oh ok. It is interesting reading the posts of the gamblers on this site. Whatever gambling gene that some people have where they get a euphoric high from gambling and winning -- I do not have it. I just get anxiety while wagering, I think about the money when I hold it, thinking "this could be gone," so I'm more inclined to that the money with me, back, and go home.

I'm definitely a "cut my losses while I'm ahead/behind" -sort of a guy. I have no trouble walking away. Sometimes that's good. But sometimes I think that mentality limits me, reward-wise.

Like when I hold $100, I know that's half a day's wages for me. So I know it would sting too much to lose it / blow it, knowing how long I had to work for it. I have a hard time getting past that thinking.

As I mentioned I've typically been a cautious person and not a risk-taker, so gambling is def not for me - I have never gambled and it has never interested me - I tend to be kinda a "all or nothing" person thus in large-part why I have never tried illegal drugs nor gambled (besides I never really had a curiosity for it) b/c if I do something and enjoy it I tend to go full-board vs in moderation.

I would assume the avg gambler loses more than he wins so I don't bother w/ it - plus we've all heard stories of many people that have lost it all, so not worth it to me particularly w/ my "all or nothing" personality

Well the most fulfilling financial risk will always be investing your own money, time, energy, and talents together. You don't have to go solo, best is with a community of close associates which you have built up.

Investing in things traded on the stock market if just glorified casino gambling, promoted by those who have an interest in it.

If you invest in yourself and in your own associates, the downside is limited and the upside really isn't, but no matter what, you never really lose. You learn to trust your own judgments and you see how you operate under pressure and how you work with other people.

SJG

i'm still trying to figure that all out.

I take a risk everytime I stick my dick inside a stripper. YOLO!

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/med…

--> "GOOD GENES

A man with good genes signals to females that he may be a good reproductive choice. Along with physical attractiveness, other signs of good genes include creativity, a sense of humor, good facial symmetry, muscularity, or risk-taking behavior. Men often attempt to out-compete one another to demonstrate that they are high in testosterone and likely to pass on positive characteristics to their children." --> end quote

^^^ Interesting. Risk taking is a desired masculine trait. Maybe I should fake it 'til I make it.

^ maybe that explains why bad-boys get more pussy

^ Agreed. Don't forget fearlessness. They left that out of the article. Fearless + kindness. That combo is hot, according to the ladies. That's important.