The Origins of a Numbers Geek

It all started when I purchased a table at a convention to buy and sell baseball cards at the age of 12. I studied price guides and market trends. The “marketplace” fascinated me and after that I was hooked. Later I worked with my father doing data entry and repairing telephones at his business as well as mowing lawns and delivering pizzas. While delivering pizzas I wore a t-shirt I made with a list of the top ten reasons why I deserve a bigger tip. My tips instantly went up 17%, which I know because I kept a detailed daily log. I suppose that was my first foray into marketing and increased profit margins.

Education

When I got to college I started to trade stocks and options. I remember routinely (once?) leaving my finance class, going to the pay phone, and calling my broker to place trades. Sitting in the classroom was great, but putting my own money at risk taught me much more. I had a dual major in Finance and Marketing and minors in Accounting and Economics. I was the only person in the history of Northern Illinois University to receive two majors within The College of Business. After a rough freshman year, I graduated Magna Cum Laude in four years. While in college I got an internship at Dean Witter and learned more about the markets; at the same time, I spent two years studying improvised comedy at The Second City.

Professional Experience

Post College

I decided to move to New York to try my hand at finance. Based on my grades, education and internships, I thought I would become the next great financier. Not so much. To read the story about my trying to get a job in finance, click here. I wound up working at Interpublic Group as an Executive Compensation Analyst. I learned a ton and it was a great job right out of school.

After Interpublic, I went to work for a boutique management consulting firm called Frederic W. Cook & Co. It’s a miracle I landed that job, as it’s one of the most prestigious Executive Compensation firms in the world. I was able to design pay systems and make presentations to the boards of directors at publicly held companies at the age of 23. Despite my cheap suits, I was taken seriously and learned how to earn respect from those above me.

Following that I worked as the Manager of Finance and Operations at an educational software firm in Chicago and had my own business buying and selling baseball cards.

UBS

For five years I on worked on Wall Street at UBS, a Swiss bank, while living in Stamford, Connecticut. I gained more knowledge and confidence during that time of my career than any other. I was exposed to the inner workings of a global financial services firm with the good, bad and ugly that comes along with it. I began there as a peon non-officer, doing relationship management internally. After that I was promoted to Associate Director where I built a tool that allowed UBS to create custom reports for all employees’ compensation information with the click of a button. Prior to that it would take an average of five hours for an analyst to produce one report. We were able to significantly decrease the time and human error associated with communicating sensitive personal information to employees. That system exists in the same form to this day and supports over 60,000 employees globally.

After completing that project I moved on to be the Plan Administrator for a UBS deferred compensation plan. With 3 Billion Swiss Francs under management and over 1,000 employees, it was a massive initiative aimed at increasing the wealth of our key stakeholders. I was able to get promoted to Director during that time and worked with members of the board of directors on a personal level, increasing the level of products and services offered to our investors.

Finding Debt

Things haven’t always been rosy. For about 3 years in my mid-twenties I went down a dark road. First it started by over-investing in a business that could never deliver the results I expected. Then I made the mistake of over-leveraging myself and lost a ton of money in the stock market. I followed those canny decisions up with not working for almost a year while honing my dating and billiard skills in dimly lit places. When that was finally over and I accepted the position with UBS, I had $40,000 in personal debt, $28,000 in credit card debt, had cleared out my retirement accounts (at the ripe age of 27) and owned nothing more than a 1992 Chevy Cavalier with 120,000 miles on it. The year was 2002. It was not good.

Using many of the methods I now employ with my clients, I took a slow but steady approach to fixing my situation. I analyzed every penny that came in and went out and made sure everything I did helped me reach my goals. First up was the credit card debt. I would pay a little bit each day, sometimes more (if I brought lunch), sometimes less. But I needed to see that progress. Little by little my practice of paying daily helped me realize when I was spending money that would be better utilized reducing my considerable debt. I left no stone unturned, it got easier each day, and I even made sure to save a little extra to take a trip home for a cheap vacation.

After one very tough year the credit cards were gone and I started to ramp up payments on my personal debt. First $1,000 a month, then $1,200, then $1,500 and finally $2,000. I was in control and taking care of business. The paralyzing fear of not knowing how I would pay my bills had vanished and I was eagerly working harder and harder to become debt free. I did catch one break during that time, my grandparents lent me enough money to put a down payment on a condo (the down payment was small but they didn’t care back in 2003). I know not everyone is that lucky. That gave me a monthly payment that was less than my rent, and allowed me to build equity during the housing boom.

At the same time I was getting raises and bonuses annually and putting money into the stock purchase plan and 401(k). My stock portfolios outperformed the market, and that was while the market was doing well. Meanwhile I was still spending the same amount each month as when I first moved to Connecticut. All told, I wound up leaving Connecticut after five years with the condo sold, $200,000 in the bank and zero debt (including the grandparents). It took a lot of hard work, a lot of help and a great time to be working on Wall Street and owning a home. I am very aware that times are very different for everyone today, but the strategies I used and the lessons I learned are fundamentally sound in any environment.

The most important lesson I learned about debt was that money can take away your freedom. It’s not about stuff and keeping up with the Joneses, it’s about being able to pursue your dreams, live where you want, love who you want and take better care of yourself and those around you.

Today

I currently reside in Los Angeles where I live with my wife. I spend my time working with clients on growing their careers through marketing and building their wealth through sound financial principles.