December 16, 2005

• I remember writing a little something about the lawyer who did my will, because that’s one of the great things about Xanga is the sharing of information.  Now I want to introduce you to Nelson Rutherford.  Don’t you just love his name?  It was given to me by Jim Cavanaugh, the guy who did my will.  They go back.

  
  

  So, I went to Nelson to have him do my taxes.  And because I had this stock portfolio as my only source of income, and because I didn’t know much about stocks, I was anxious to have him look at it.  Turns out he also does financial advice.  I’m probably saying that wrong. 

  
  

  Anyway, as I’m sitting in the waiting room, waiting to meet him that first day, I hear his thunderous footsteps coming down the hall, fast.  I am fooled because he is my height, not much heavier than I, and generates an unusual mix of positive — You know what it’s like?  It’s like going to the tax doctor.  He’s totally open-minded.  He enjoys people, at least he seems to enjoy me.  When I start talking he throws up his hands, goes to his ten-key, grabs a pen and turns to a fresh page on his yellow-lined legal pad, reining me in.  I sit, quiet, taking comfort in the line-up of assorted pencils and pens, at the ready.

  
  

  When he looks at my portfolio and my last year’s taxes and the money I’ve been borrowing from my line of credit with the house, he says I’ll be broke before I’m 70. 

  
  

  I tell him about how the blogging turned into writing and how the support group turned into volunteering and how those have come together lately.  He hands me this card and says “Call her.  Get a job.”

  
  

  Life’s weird like that.  I kind of knew I’d end up going to an agency,  because I got nowhere on my own.  Not even one interview did I generate with my resume.  But my stocks did pretty well for a couple years there, and then I thought I was going to buy and sell houses.  And then I got all caught up in the writing.  But I had a really shitty year.  I owned Merck, for one thing.  Why doesn’t that sucker die?  I’ll tell you why, because pharmaceuticals have their asses covered like I never knew.  Docs have the insurance companies holding one ball and the drug companies holding the other and the FDA holding the whip.  Just my opinion.  I probably shouldn’t have sold Merck.

  
  

  My biggest holding, PG, is going nuts (it’s most of my portfolio) CLIMBING [see me jumping for joy] and he’s telling me to sell it and pay off the house.  My broker is telling me to hang on and let the stock enjoy it’s rise. ”Why sell when it’s a buy?”  He’s also telling me to get a job.  These guys are being firm, now that I’m keeping the house.

  
  

  But, as Nelson was crunching the numbers, I was realizing that there are tricks to dealing with all this; that I was smart to borrow the money at 5% rather than selling the stock in a down market, especially since the house appreciated so much.  The problem is that it’s an adjustable and the rates are up.   I have a lot to learn about all this.  What about the interest I can write off which will off-set the capitol gain, not to mention the loss on Merck?  The big problem with my good stock that’s going CRaaazy is that it was worth next to nothing when I got it so there’s huge capitol gain.  Help!!!! Now I’m studying up on capital gain and how to off-set it.  I have to figure this out fast.

  
  

  I called the woman who owns the agency.  I’m supposed to bring my resume and two pieces of ID, Wednesday.

  • 12:14 pm
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