Creative Loafing

Hope

2011-01-17T08:06:00.001-05:00

Today is Martin Luther King Day, 2011. I have the day off, but after waking up around 5, I knew that I would not be sleeping in today. There had been a couple of posting ideas brewing in my head last week so, I’ll try and share one of them today and another later.

The first thought came from “suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope” from Romans chapter five.

I have several close friends who have gone through some really difficult times. Because I love them, it hurts to see them go through this. I want to say something, anything, but I feel awkward so I often remain quiet and simply listen. I really have no idea how it feels for them right now. But, I have had two dark periods in my life so, even though I do not know how they feel, I am familiar with how suffering hurts.

I think that Paul, the author of the verse, is encouraging us to look beyond our current state to what comes after. Because even though right now it is hurting both physically and mentally, God will redeem this by producing within us something that otherwise would not have been possible: a new character – a new us.

This would not be the path I would chose. But this does not mean that God cannot redeem this path of suffering, hurt and loss and exchange the ashes for beauty.

This gives me hope.

“We must accept finite disappointment, but we must never lose infinite hope" – Dr. Martin Luther King.

Accountability

2011-01-12T17:52:00.001-05:00

“We must reject the idea that every time a law’s broken, society is guilty rather than the lawbreaker. It is time to restore the American precept that each individual is accountable for his actions.”

Ronald Regan

Will the real Jesus please stand up?

2011-01-11T18:13:00.001-05:00

“We have come so far from reflecting the rebel Jesus in our art and cultural engagement that we do not recognize Him when He surfaces. I still wrestle with the fact that Jesus hung out with prostitutes not simply to tell them what they were doing wrong, but to love them where they were. He was in the world, and His agenda was to love. He was not looking for reasons to be offended. He was not looking for reasons to stay home, safely out of harm’s way. We weren’t set apart in order to live apart. We were called God’s own so we could confidently go into the world.”

Dan Haseltine
Jars of Clay

Quote

2011-01-10T20:22:00.001-05:00

“It doesn’t take a majority to prevail, but rather a tireless minority keen to set brushfires in the minds of their neighbors”

Samuel Adams

Church Member or Disciple?

2011-01-03T06:38:00.001-05:00

Last month I was going to lunch when a question formulated in my mind: Do I really love God more than my wife and two daughters?
Since it was only me in the car, I was truthful – no. After I realized that I had not been stuck by lightning, there was a sense of “release.” For once, I was being honest with myself (and with all of you). God already knew the answer prior to asking.
This did, however, present an interesting problem, because all of a sudden I could see the wall that had been separating me from God. It was as if He was asking “I bet you didn’t see that before?”
The first sermon of the year hit me square in the chest – it was from Luke 14:26 – “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.” Those are red-letter words, which means this was Christ speaking to those in the large crowds who were following him. Maybe he was saying it to thin them out a bit. In the context, hate/love is a literal device to contrast two extremes, not a commandment.
The timing of this message was not coincidental.
In closing, I have noticed a few of my friends choosing words for their new year. Not a resolution, but a word that will guide and direct their choices and behaviors throughout the year. I have found my word. For 2011, I choose “Disciple.”

After the Holidays

2011-01-02T07:14:00.001-05:00

Cindy asked if I had experienced any of the post holiday “let down.” She was asking this as we brought the boxes down from the attic, took down and repackaged the decorations.

I realized that just two weeks ago was what I remember was a “day of business.” A day that was filled with violin recital, a birthday party, a jazz gig, a cable installation and looking at lights. The week before was Christmas and we were on the cusp of a major snow fall. All of last week was filled with family guest and parties. I was off last week and I had successfully achieved a state of “what day is it anyways” mentality.

Now, with guest are gone and decorations removed, routine is about to reinsert itself back into life. Today I think I do have just a twinge of the post season blues, but there is also nervous anticipation about what 2011 will bring.

I feel ready to jump back into the work fray. I am purposefully intending to bring a better work/life balance this year. Also, I propose to better my craft. Who knows where this will lead?

Welcome 2011

2011-01-01T08:19:00.001-05:00

Even though the Gamecocks did not pull out a victory on New Year Eve’s Chic-Fil-a Bowl, we had a great evening shared with friends and family.

Both girls went to a church lock-in and had a blast. Although I would have loved to sleep-in this morning, I am so appreciative of the many chaperones who helped make this event possible.

The lock-in makes for a new years tradition: instead of black eyed peas and collards, we lay low and sleep.

Nine more months until College Football starts…

Closing out 2010

2010-12-31T07:29:00.001-05:00

Hi there, it’s me.

I find it funny to look at my last post that was about being able to post again…and here I am, six months later. I could not even scratch up an additional post while on vacation. Go figure. I think that it is really a statement about being busy.

For me, I feel that I killed my blog when I tried to turn it away from why I started it anyways – a way for me to journal what is going on in my life. I over reached.

I also put more time into my Facebook social life. It is far easier to come up with a snarky status than it is to write a post.

In closing out the year, I did complete reading/listening to the Bible with Daily Audio Bible. The Old Testament had a big impact on me, especially the minor prophets. I look forward to continuing the journey tomorrow morning.

Life seems to be moving so quickly that sometimes it is all I can do just to catch my breath. For 2011, I would like to be more responsive and less reactive. This applies not only to my relationships with my wife and kids, but also to my work. I want to apologize less for verbally throwing up on the people who mean the most to me. I would like to be proactive instead of being a procrastinator.

That’s about it.

Ah…to post again!

2010-06-06T22:06:00.001-04:00

It seems like a long time since December of 2009. Only what, six months ago? And here I am, June 2010. Last time, I found something inside that really got me writing about our trip through Financial Peace and many of the lessons that we had learned.

Now, I am sitting outside on my camping lot in Myrtle Beach, SC. This week, I brought my family to Pirateland Campground, a location that played prominently in my childhood. And now, I get to share this with my kids.

I will ask them “hey, go see if that bridge is still there” or “go out on the beach and see if a creek separates this campground from the next” and off they go on some mission. I’ll tell them stories of how the old pool use to have a diving board and was much deeper.

Spending time with your family is important. Making memories even more so.

24N24 – Completed

2010-05-09T08:58:00.000-04:00

My initial Season 1 viewing schedule was wrong, and I noticed it when I finished my first disc a little before 3:00 am. Each disc was nearly three hours long, and with six discs, the total time was closer to eighteen hours than the original sixteen that I had anticipated.

I changed the plan to watch two discs in three viewings with a two hour break after disc two and a four hour break between disc disc four and and five.

I got home from work about 6:30 and went straight to bed. I was afraid that I would not get any shut eye, but amazingly, I did. Cindy woke me at 11:40 when the alarm clock went off.

The six hours was a lot easier than I thought. Maybe it was the anticipation of knowing that I had a whole day ahead of me and this was just the beginning.

At 6:00, I took my first two hour “sync break.” The show was already at 08:00. During the break, I made breakfast for my family and saw them off for their weekend trip.

The next six hours was considerably more difficult and I felt my head nodding from time to time. I ran out to grab some take out lunch and finished up before three.

During my second break, I had the opportunity to go and congratulation a friend of mine for graduating Regent Law school. By that time, I think I had a thousand yard stare. On the way back, I stopped in a very busy Starbucks for a venti Ice Coffee. No sleeping during the breaks.

The final six hours started at six. By this time, I was ahead of the 24 time (which was now at 16:00), and so it was catching up to me, instead of the other way around. This was by design so that I could conclude the show at midnight. I took a quick “sync break” before the last episode so that I stated at 23:19 and ended right on time.

What was it like watching an entire season of 24 in one day? When watching them on broadcast TV, I often lost details of story arcs because the time compression is so tight. A minor character is introduced who suddenly disappears and three weeks later, you are trying to remember what happened to them. In the continuous viewing mode, the story makes a lot more sense. However, it also servers to point out that the show does not really happen in “real-time.”

For example, at 18:59, Jack and Walsh are in an empty field walking down a hill. When 19:00 starts, a shot of the sun establishes that it is going down, and we pick up with Jack and Walsh now walking in darkness. So, between 18:59 and 19:00 we completely skipped dusk – it was as if someone had flipped a switch.

It also seemed that the writers had trouble knowing what to do with Jack’s wife and daughter once they were rescued at noon. They go to a safe house, which is compromised, the mom gets amnesia and thinks that the daughter is dead and both characters wonder around for the next several episodes. Once the Palmer story resolved around the 21:00 mark, it seemed like there was some difficulty knowing how to keep him around for the next several hours.

I think that one 24N24 is enough for me. It is something that I can now scratch off my bucket list.

Old Man Hip

2010-04-28T07:09:00.001-04:00

I am looking forward to my 42 revolution around the sun. 42 is one of those numbers that, well, make certain geeks snicker: after all, we know it to be the ultimate answer to life, the universe and everything.

Now, if only we knew the question.

The problem is that the body does not quite have the same resiliency as it did, say, 41 years ago. I have some issues with my left hip that adds just a little pain to about anything that involves moving.

I went to my first physical therapy session, an evaluation of what was going on. It always takes me a little while to warm up to someone, but, getting to know someone while they are touching you doesn’t help.

Luckily, I survived with my dignity intact, but with some astute observations made that I was not aware of: my posture is horrible. I always thought I had relatively good posture (didn’t we learn this in marching band?). I suppose sitting in front of a computer 60 – 75% of the day does not help. In my heart of hearts, I know the issue with my hip will heal; I just need to be patient with the process.

What do I want for my birthday? Simple – A homemade sheet cake that has the words “Don’t Panic” written in big, friendly letters.

That, and maybe a Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster.

24N24

2010-04-10T11:27:00.001-04:00

On May 8th, Cindy, Katie and Megan will be out for the weekend, so I will have the ranch all to myself. What to do?

I have always wanted to do a 24N24 marathon – watch one season of 24 in a day. I would choose a day, and then begin watching a season and start the marathon at the same time that the show begins.

Using my trusty IMDB, the seasons of 24 start in the following hours:

Day 1	12:00 AM
Day 2	8:00 AM
Day 3	1:00 PM
Day 4	7:00 AM
Day 5	7:00 AM
Day 6	6:00 AM
Day 7	8:00 AM
Day 8	4:00PM

I think Day 8 is safely out, as it is the current season and will not be completed until May 24th. And because of the nature of the Marathon, I think I will rule out Day 3.

What scares me about the ones that are starting after 6:00 AM is going through the night without nodding off and falling asleep. I think that I would have enough momentum to go from 12:00 AM to 6:00 AM, and the 9:00 PM back to 12:00 AM seems doable.

Day 1 it is.

The next thing to consider is the timing. On broadcast TV, the episodes are 1 hour with commercials. On DVD, they are about 40 minutes. 40 * 24 = 960/60 = 16 hours. That takes 8 hours off of the marathon. If I started at midnight, I would finish around 4:00 pm.

But, is that in “the spirit” of a 24N24? There would be something cool about start at 12:00 and finishing the next day at 12:00!

Since the actual viewing time is 16 hours, I’ve broken that down into four blocks. I worked out the start and finish of the season matches up with the show and placed in 8 hours worth of breaks (Food, get out of the house, cat nap, etc.)

So, here is my initial schedule:

Again, I am taking anyone who wishes to sponsor me with caffeine products (coffee, five hour energy) and if you want to drop by and watch a block or two (or three or four) feel free!!

Perseverance

2010-04-10T10:05:00.001-04:00

This morning, I woke up at 6:30. Cindy and Katie were getting ready to head off to Suffolk with the Ponies and Megan was still fast asleep.

Time to get up.

I went downstairs and made some coffee and remembered what had come from Amazon the day before: my blue ray version of Lord of the Rings. Not the Peter Jackson version, but the Ralph Bakshi animated film.

For me, this film holds a special place. I discovered LOTR in high school, and this film was something that I longed to see, but, it mostly showed at midnight movies. By today’s standards, the animation is not clean, but, put it in the context of 1978, the animation was absolutely fluid thanks to roto-scoping.

Coming in just over two hours, the film ends at roughly the same point as Jackson’s Two Towers. There was never a second film. I wonder if one was ever seriously planned?

The jewel of this disc, however, is the documentary. It is really neat to get into the head of an artist who was trying to do something that we take for granted today – make animation for adults.

One quote that Bakshi made was

Perseverance is something you get if you are doing something you truly love. And perseverance is something you don’t have if you don’t care about what you are doing.

This speaks to me, as I am realizing how much I want to truly understand and create via computer programming. It is almost like I had been in a fog for years where I was focused on the delivery, but not the craft. I had fallen into taking short cuts and bad practices and had done it so often that the end justified the means.

Over a year ago, I stepped away from a management gig because I wanted to program. But, I did not want to write software in the same way that I was previously. I challenged myself to learn and grow. You know what? There are a lot of talented people out there who share much of what they know and who can teach you new ways of doing things.

You have to just invest the time. Find your passion, and persevere! Don’t ask to be taught, go and learn!

As J.P would say: “Develop with Passion!”

Tolerance is a cop out.

2010-03-31T20:24:00.001-04:00

A friend of mine shared an incident where his son shared certain cornerstones of the Christian faith with a friend at school. When my friend received the phone call, the word “tolerance” came up.

My friend responded with “Tolerance is a cop out.”

Crickets on the other side of the phone.

He went on to explain “Tolerance means that I can tolerate what you say, but still hate your guts.” Jesus’ teachings went way beyond tolerance. He instructed us to “Love our Neighbors in the very same way we love ourselves.”

Strive to move beyond tolerating your neighbor: love ‘em.

An American Hero

2010-03-19T05:56:00.001-04:00

I apologize for reposting this obituary, but this hits really close to home.

Navy SEAL Chief (SOC) Adam Brown was killed in action in Komar Province, Afghanistan on March 16, 2010. In true “Adam Brown Style” he died a true hero, placing himself in the line of fire to protect other members of his unit. Adam’s Special Ops Assault Team was assaulting an enemy compound, an operation Adam had performed many times. The U.S. Forces were engaging the enemy in a fire fight, when a portion of the U.S. soldiers were pinned down by very heavy fire from the enemy compound. In an effort to protect his men, Adam charged the enemy and was firing on the enemy from a better vantage point, drawing fire away from his pinned down comrades. His selfless action relieved the fire on his men, but it unfortunately resulted in Adam being struck by enemy fire. One other member of the American Team was wounded, but Adam’s heroic action saved the other men. The enemy compound was captured and all enemy combatants were killed in the action.

Adam was a 12 year veteran of the United States Navy, with several tours of duty overseas. He is survived by his wife and two children.

Source

I first met Adam when he and his wife took our Financial Peace class. He was a small group leader and a shining light of Jesus on his team.

My heart aches over this.

Embarrassing Moment

2010-03-09T20:33:00.001-05:00

I like to take a break at lunch and get away from the office. For several years, I have scooted over to the nearby Barnes and Nobles to enjoy a cup of coffee and a quick read.

What irritates me, however, is people who talk loudly on cell phones. It never fails that when I score a comfy chair, someone in the chair next to me makes a call and talks. Sure, it’s America, and I take the high road and just grin and bear it.

(I am very tempted to get another chair and sit directly in front of them and stare slightly to their left…when they ask what, I’ll just say “I’m thinking”).

Today I brought my laptop into the cafe and pulled out my ear plugs. Believe it or not, my favorite white noise is bird song. So, plugging in, I lost myself in nature’s melody.

But something was wrong, it was really soft, so I turned it up. still a little soft…oh there it is…another volume control on the media player. There we go…cranked up nice and high.

I dig into whatever I was reading and about ten or fifteen minutes pass by when I feel a tap at my shoulder. Looking up, I see my good friend and co-worker Laura pointing at the volume control. I take my earphones out to say “Hi” when I realize that I had plugged my earbuds into the microphone jack.

Who is the obnoxious guy now!?

The Card Game

2010-02-08T06:32:00.001-05:00

I watched The Card Game on Netflix Watch Now last night. If you do not subscribe to Netflix, you should! Subscribe to their lowest tier and you get access to thousands of movies (and growing) that is available to stream directly to your computer.

Want to watch it on your TV? Then pick up a Roku Movie Player.

The Documentary

This past week, we had our “Dumping Debt” lesson in FPU, so this documentary really had resonance. Here are some things you may not know about banking practices:

1. Free Checking – Once upon a time, you paid for checking. Then, they came up with the idea of “Free Checking.” By now, you should realize that nothing is “Free” – they moved the fee. Where did it go? Over draft fees. Before “Free Checking” if you bounced a check, you not only paid the bounced check fee, but you had to go contact the merchant and clear everything up. With Over Draft protection, they will cover you up to three of five hundred dollars. This “loan” is not labeled a loan, but a convenience – therefore it does not fall under the truth in lending terms. The rate on the overdraft convenience is 460%. Very competitive with Pay Day Loans.

2. Over Draft Protection – Was the banks response to Pay Day Loan industry, whom they were failing to compete with.

3. Prioritized Clearance – The bank uses sophisticated software that will clear high charges first in order to drain your account. If you go into overdraft, that same software will start to clear out the lesser charges next. This way, you can pay $50.00 for a $4.00 coffee.

4. 0% Credit Cards – Like Free Checking, 0% Credit Cards and No Annual Fees is another gimmick. However, Credit Cards are far less regulated than banks. They simply moved the annual fee to another fee structure.

4. What is my Interest – The founder of Providian, when presented with a credit card offer, admitted that he could not tell what his actual interest rating would be after the introductory period.

5. Universal Default – If you are late on a bill unrelated to your credit card, your credit card holder can raise your rates. Its called Universal Default.

6. Adjusting Loan Limits – Credit Card Companies can adjust your credit card limits and reset their terms – just because.

7. It hurts the poor – This really got me – those who are able to take advantage of credit cards are doing so at the expense of those living close to the edge. The reason that the product exists is to make money for the company. Those who are poor or living close to the edge are being raped by these companies. I agree, they should not be using them, but, that’s another subject. I might write more about this.

8. Congress’ Legislation did not go far enough – To put it bluntly, I side with Chris Dodd on this one –The Obama Administration did not want to do anything that would hurt the soundness of the banking industry. The banking industry is built on top of fees and until that is regulated that industry will continue to screw the consumer.

9. Housing – The reason that we are in the economic situation has a lot to do with the housing market. Did you know that people were refinancing their homes with sub-prime mortgages to pay off their credit cards just to go and run them up again?

But What about the Free Market?

I believe in the free market and capitalism and generally think that regulation is a bad thing. Most of the times, the Market will adjust and drive out the things that are harmful.

Not so in this case. In this case, the banks have done a good job at marketing their product. What other product do you approach with bended knee? Oh please, please give me credit.

The component of Capitalism that is missing from this formula is Moral Restraint (again, I need to write on this too).

This American Way of using Debt is unsustainable by the consumer. At least, that’s what I found to be true for me.

That’s why I quit. I am out. It’s not a win-win game, and don’t tell me about your Free Points and Air Miles that you get.

It’s a game of they win, you loose. I am not going to play their game. I quit. I am out.

The borrower is slave to the lender. – Proverbs 22:7.

Creating a Budget, Part 3

2010-02-08T06:03:00.001-05:00

This is a series for creating a budget using Google Docs. Part One and Part Two describe creating a basic budget form.

In Part Two, we completed our Google Document Budget Spreadsheet. Now, you should test out the formulas that we entered and make sure that everything is working.

Go ahead, take some time to fill in the numbers. Don’t worry, if this is your first budget, it will not be accurate for about the first three months. After that, budgeting becomes second nature.

Allocating Your Income

Congratulations! You have just completed your first Zero Based Budget! You have spent EVERY penny on paper, on purpose before the month has begun. You want to do this every month. Cindy and I recommend that you start about mid-month so that you can forecast all of the monthly variables (such as Valentine’s Days, birthdays and kids needing clothing).

Next, we want to allocate your income over the next month. Life would be simple if we could get one paycheck at the start of the month and we could execute on the budget, but most of us get paid on a varying cycle.

In my household, we have only one regular income, which occurs bi-weekly. The biggest category on my budget is the mortgage. If I pay for my mortgage out of one paycheck, it will leave very little left over for other necessities, so, I am going to take half out of each paycheck.

With your Spreadsheet open, we are going to add to our column headers:

I have added a Pay Date, an Income and an Allocated Column. The Income Column and the Allocated Column are going to save the same purposes as cells B2 and C2.

Next, just like in the budget side, we are going to merge cells. However, instead of two columns, we are going to merge three:

Finally, we are going to add a formula to the allocated cell at F2: E2 -SUM(D3:D26).

Note: When you merge cells, you address the values in formulas using the left most cell. That is why we use SUM(D3:D26) instead of SUM(F3:F26).

Complete the new columns by adding formatting to the headers. If you have any other income that occurs on other dates, add another set of columns.

I copied and pasted the columns from D – F, but I had to re-enter the formula because the cell references where not correct. Make sure you enter some values to test that the Allocated values are working correctly.

Making Sure it all Adds Up

The last thing that I want to add to this are columns that will help me to determine that I have allocated everything correctly.

The formula for the first row is as follows: =B3-SUM(D3:G3). To translate what this is doing: subtract the value of cell B3 from the Sum of Cells D3 and G3 (technically, this says to sum all cells between D3 and G3). I am going to place this formula into cell J3 and then will copy this all the way down to my last category:

I’ve also created a header.

Now the completed spreadsheet looks like this:

Just a note – I do not use Google Docs for my spreadsheet – I use Excel. I have found that entering formulas into Google and copying cells is not as forgiving as Excel, but, as a free alternative, Google Docs is pretty good.

I hope that this series helps you get a very simple way of creating a zero based budget and allocation plan.

Picasa 3.6.0: Coolest Thing I Have Seen Today

2010-01-30T09:58:00.001-05:00

If you are like me, you have tons of electronic photos that you have been snapping for the last 10 – 15 years. Do you use a photo organizer?

If you don’t, give Picasa (from Google) a try.

I opened up Picasa looking for a “photo stitching” tool to help me with my Panoramic photos. There wasn’t one, but, I was prompted to update the software.

Following the software, I noticed my hard-drive spinning, and Picasa was stating that it was “scanning.” However, the “scanning” was under a new tab labeled “people.”

Picasa was scanning our photos looking for faces. Once you tag a few faces, it starts to build an album.

And it really works…notice how it is accurately picking out my daughter even at different ages in her life:

Now, that is cool!

Christmas 2010 Challenge

2010-01-29T00:00:00.000-05:00

Today is January 29th, 2010. By now, you should be getting your credit card statements from last month’s Christmas extravaganza. Time to pay the piper, right.

Here is my Christmas 2010 Challenge: Ditch the Credit Cards and pay Christmas 2010 in cash!

Go Green! Choose Paper over Plastic!

This year, Christmas comes in December. That gives you about 11 months to figure out how much you want to spend next year and then save for that amount.

And…the best part of all, no piper to pay in January 2011!!

Oh No!!!!

2010-01-28T21:37:00.001-05:00

The last time I used a credit card was in November of 2006. Seems that now, I have more emergency savings, more investments, more college savings and NO DEBT.

But my credit is a C. Dag Nab It! I was going for an F!!!

Read Blogs? Get a Reader!

2010-01-28T06:11:00.001-05:00

I went through several years of keeping all of my favorite blogs booked marked in one of “My Favorites” folder. I would simply wake up in the morning, grab some coffee and some cheerios and see what was going on in my little slice of the super highway.

Then, I noticed something called a blog reader. A blog reader, or aggregator, is a tool that is specifically designed for capturing data coming from a blog, or RSS feed. With it, not only can you keep up with your favorite sites, but, you can check out what is getting released this week at Netflix.

My current favorite is “Google Reader.” I like it because it is a web based reader. That way, when I am on vacation, I can still keep up. And, because it is from Google, you have excellent searching capabilities if you ever want to catch up again.

But be warned, my simple list of sites has grown! I can’t possibly read them all.

(HT to Marjie B. for the inspiration to write this)

A Sucker Born Every Minute

2010-01-28T06:02:00.001-05:00

I think I will jump right on this!! Seriously, do you think they need my social, or, anything else?

Get A Check Up!

2010-01-27T18:27:00.001-05:00

It is that time of year again to get a check up: on your credit report.

There are three credit reporting agencies – Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, each of these reporting agencies must give you an annual report. But, you have to ask for them

Don’t Get Fooled

There is a lot of money being made by companies that will sell you a credit report. Watch out, if they start asking you for a credit card number, you are NOT at the free site.

Go to AnnualCreditReport’s web site. From there, you can get started. Once you have requested the report, some might want to sell you a FICO score as an add on. Just say no.

What to do with the Information

Your credit report is your credit reputation. You want to make sure that it is accurate. For example, this year, a Walmart credit card has mysteriously appeared on my report. It wasn’t there last year.

I used an online dispute form. According to the FTC, they have 30 days to prove that this is mine. I know it’s not mine, and I even called the GEMB, who had absolutely no record of me in their system.

Make sure it is right.

How often?

You can order 1 report from each of the agencies once a year. There is nothing stopping you from ordering all of them at once, however, I recommend doing this once every four months.

That way, you are checking your credit report all year round.

Enjoy the free benefit courtesy of the FTC.

Handy Man Saturday

2010-01-23T11:15:00.001-05:00

I came home from grocery shopping with Cindy this morning and was greeted by my oldest daughter. She informed me that her lock was broken on the door to her room.

As parents, we instantly switch to the “what did you do to screw it up” mode. It turned out everything was fine, but the latch was not aligning with the strike plate. The door would close, but you could effortless push it open.

Here is my time patented trick for fixing an interior door that can be pushed open.

1. Get about three or four magazines and a screw driver.
2. Loosen the screws on the butterfly hinge that is mounted to the door jamb.
3. Put the magazines under the door to push it up a little.
4. With the magazines still under the door, tighten the screws.

Nine times out of ten, this will fix the problem (and, gave me a chance to show the kids some of my mad handy man skillz).

Why I Quit Reading the Bible

2010-01-20T06:36:00.001-05:00

It seems that, along with loosing some weight, being a better husband, a better father, I always make a New Year’s resolution (or change, or commitment) to read through the Bible during the calendar year.

For those who have taken this on, and have succeeded, I salute you. I usually start to trickle off somewhere during Leviticus (if I make it past Esau’s lineage).

Why do I quit?

There are some parts of the Bible that, honestly, don’t seem to make a difference in my day to day life. Just saying.

But, that’s not the real reason I quit. The real reason is that I have set myself up to fail in this task. I have taken this on as a resolution, a task to be accomplished somewhere between the time I wake up and go back to bed.

What is the Right Reason?

I have a lot of ideas about God, who He is, what He likes, what He dislikes. The problem is, most of my ideas are formed around what others have said about Him.

Something that I am learning is how much God loves me. Not in the Grand Daddy kind of way, but in the Daddy kind of way. He loves me enough that he disciplines me, He places new challenges in front of me. Sometimes, He leaves me alone, so I can learn the experience of making mistakes on my own.

The Bible tells me what God has said about Himself.

I want to discover more about Him. I want to allow Him to shape who I am, by surrendering my pre-conceived notions of what our relationship should look like.

Tools for the Journey

I have discovered Brian Hardin’s Daily Audio Bible. It is a 30 minute podcast that started five years ago. The format is idyllic: soothing music and nature sounds combined with Brian’s mellow voice create an image of sitting outside with a cup of coffee and a good friend reading the Bible. Every week, Brian changes versions of the Bible, and it is an excellent way for you to determine which one you like best.

Currently, Brian is reading out of Genesis, Matthew, Psalms and Proverbs. It takes about 20 minutes, and the remainder is spent with brief comments on a passage, promotion of the web site, and callers with prayer requests.

I listen to this in the evening, prior to going to bed. In the morning, I am reading out of Genesis (I just made it past the lineage of the Edomites). After having heard the passages read the night before, the text becomes much more real and alive.

Additionally, I have joined a smaller group of men who have committed to get together on a weekly basis for a para-biblical study (Elderidge’s Fathered by God). We are committed to praying for one another and building each other up in the Lord.

Instead of just reading the Bible alone, and quitting, I am moving along side others to walk with me. Maybe the real, real reason I have quit in the past because I have tried to do this alone.

I hope that with companions along the journey, I can spend this year in the Bible (even if I don’t get all the way through it!).

Ringers - Where There's A Whip, There's a Way!

2010-01-17T07:54:00.000-05:00

I tried to watch Ringers: Lord of the Fans last night and it was...horrible. Except for two clips of bands that had done covers of some of the music from The Hobbit and The Return of the King.

I especially liked No More Sundays version of "Where there's a whip, there's a way."

Creating a Budget, Part 2

2010-01-14T06:33:00.001-05:00

I started a series on creating a zero-based budget using Google Docs. Part one can be found here.

Today we are going to complete the header and the categories of the budget. Before we are complete, you will see how to add a formula and how to format the spreadsheet cells.

Back To Google Docs

Open your web browser and navigate to the Google Documents web site. After signing in, select your spreadsheet that you started during part one.

When we left off, we simply froze the top two rows, which will become our headers. Let’s fill those in now:

In cell A2, enter the text “Categories” by typing directly into the cell.

Cell B1 and C1 will contain the values “Income” and “Allocated”.

Income is the total amount your family brings in during the period that the budget covers. This your “Net,” or after tax. We will use a formula to calculate how much of your income has been allocated.

Next, add values for the categories into the cells starting at A3:

You can directly key in the values, or, you can try to copy and paste the values from the table above into the spreadsheet.

Next, I will “merge” the cells starting at B3 and C3 to form one cell that spans both columns.

Select cell B3 and move your mouse over to cell C3 while still holding the mouse button down. With both cells selected, release the mouse button (both cells should remain in the selected state) and then select the Merge Button on the toolbar (third button from the right). Both cells should now be merged together.

Repeat this for each of the categories. Save your work.

Formulas

One of the reasons that I like using a spreadsheet is that I can enter calculations and formulas that will do everyday simple math. I have come to realize that if I am going to make a mistake with the budget, it will be because of simple math.

I can have a spreadsheet automatically add a Range of Cells by using the following formula: =SUM(B3:B26). This formula will give us the total amount that has been entered into the categories. We can subtract our Income by modifying it to =B2 - Sum(B3:B26) which will give us the amount allocated.

To test the formula, I am going to enter 2000 for the income value and then add numbers to the categories. Allocated value should be calculated as I enter numbers.

Save your work.

Formatting

Another thing that I like to do is format my spreadsheets. This is completely up to you, but the things I like to do is

	Format the Numbers as Currency
	Color the Headers
	Add Lines
	Bold the Headers

Don’t forget to save your work. Now, you are ready to “play” with the numbers and start your first quickie budget.

There is no Plan B.

2010-01-12T19:42:00.001-05:00

A brief break from financial peace in order to bring you a trailer that looks amazingly better than I would have imagined.

Creating a Budget, Part 1

2010-01-12T06:03:00.001-05:00

On Thursday, January 14th, our next Financial Peace University class will start. Classes are starting in your area, so go online, enter your zip code and get signed up.

The word “Budget” registers in the same part of your brain as the word “Diet.” We lovingly call it the dreaded “B” word, because most people hate the concept of living on a budget almost as much as they hate the thought of starting a diet.

It’s not that bad.

In fact, I can promise you that you will find that you give your income more muscle when you use a budget: you really have more of it than you think.

Today, I will show you how to begin creating a spreadsheet using Google Docs.

Budget Basics 101

In our household, Cindy and I run a zero-based budget. To date, I am not aware of any software that takes this approach. For example, for many years, I tried to use the budgeting system that you find in Microsoft Money. It did not work for me.

The best software tool that I have found is a spreadsheet. Although I personally use Microsoft Excel, you can use the spreadsheet that is freely available on Google Docs.

Next, you need to realize that the ONLY portion of the budget that you really know is your income. If you are like me, I had no idea how much I needed per month for gasoline and groceries. Knowing that you don’t know, be prepared to make adjustments to your first three months of budgets often.

Finally, start with a large set of categories. You will not be able to put money in each category, but this will give you something to think about.

Getting Started With Google Docs

Google Docs is a set of free software applications that allow you to store and edit documents online. You will need to create an account with Google. After you have created your account an logged in, you are going to select “Spreadsheet” from the “Create New” drop down.

A spreadsheet is a tool that allows us to create rows and columns.

Today, we are going to create a “quickie” budget. This will simply have our categories, the total amount of income per month and the amount that we are going to spend in each category.

Once you have created a new spreadsheet, you will have a blank slated:

You will notice that, between row 1 and row 2 there is a slightly thicker separator. This is how Google Docs indicates that the first row is “Frozen” to change.

Because I am going to want to add additional information into the header, I will freeze the first two rows instead.

This will separate the Header Information (row 1) from the data information (row 2) and beyond. To do this, select the Tools Menu, then Freeze rows and finally, Freeze two rows.

From the file menu, Save your work. Congratulations, you have created a spreadsheet in Google docs!

In part two, we will create the categories and header sections and I will show you how you can have the spreadsheet do all of the math for you so that everything stays balanced.

Baby Step 7 – Build Wealth and Give

2010-01-11T06:37:00.001-05:00

The final step is not a period to the process. It is not a finish line that you pass and suddenly, you are fabulously wealthy. Wealth building is the natural result of doing smart things with your money.

But, this is not why we are passionate about having financial peace. We are not doing this to become future millionaires. We are doing this because of what God has done in our lives throughout the last three years.

Giving?

In one of the lessons, Dave says something that comes off funny: broke people cannot help broke people. Even while I laughed, I wondered if this was true. I have seen people who are natural givers – unfortunately, I was not one of them. There was always something that would come up in my family that would need attending. I simply could not afford to help.

But was this a financial issue, or a heart issue?

Cindy and I discovered that in Baby Step 2, once our budget was working, there was more than enough money in our household to meet our needs. When we started, there was always “too much month at the end of the money.” Now, we had money left over at the end of the month – and everything was paid.

Throughout this process, God was changing my heart. I had made stuff my god –and acquiring more stuff a chief form of worship. I am not sure when or where I realized that I did not have the desire for bigger or better, smaller and faster. I found something all together unexpected: contentment.

I am content with where I am, and with what I have.

Open Hand Policy

The international sign of anger is a clenched fist. I will be embarrassingly honest by telling you that I held my money with a clenched fist. In this process of finding financial peace, I realized that I had opened my hand and started trusting God with my money.

As this happened, He would test us by placing people in our path with needs to see if we would give. Whether through anonymous giving or contributing to special calls for help in church, this has brought a new found joy in our walk with God.

In the last paragraph, I made a purposeful mistake – it was never my money, it was always Gods. When I would hear fellow Christians say that, I would but on a good smile and say nothing. Ok, I was saying something like “Right!” behind that smile, but I was using my inside voice.

Here is another area where God has changed me – God said in Psalm 50:10 “and I own the cattle on a thousand hills.” I believe it was Larry Burkett who added “and he owns the hills too.” I am just the steward of this stuff. Once I got this straight in my mind (and in my heart), God was able to open my hands.

We are Debt Free

Over the years, I have dropped a few posts about this program. I am sure my family thinks we are nuts, but there is a reason for our passion.

It freed us from chains we were unaware of.

Our marriage is flat out better. We talk more, we plan more. Cindy doesn’t stress out over money. I don’t spend everything we make. We are preparing for our retirement and our kids education. If I die today, Cindy will be taken care of because I have life insurance that will replace my income. And we are giving in ways that will never show up on our tax returns.

We express our gratitude to God by returning our time back to Him through coordinating FPU classes at church.

All of this because of seven very simple and logical steps. That, and also because God showed us what His word says over and over again about owing money: Debt is Dumb.

Baby Step 6 – Pay Off Your Home Early

2010-01-06T06:07:00.001-05:00

Today is January 7, 2010 – Happy Birthday Dad!

Week 12 of FPU is entitled Real Estate and Mortgages. This is the class that I wish I had taken back in 1996, prior to my first home. I have recently taken a step towards this goal, but I feel it is a drop in the bucket.

Even though Dave uses the 100% down plan, this is the only area where Dave doesn’t get angry if you incur debt as long as your mortgage falls within these parameters: 15 year fixed, with payments no more than 25% of your monthly take home pay.

There is no short cut to paying off your mortgage except for big hairy payments. However, if you know how, you can still buy a house that will not own you.

How Much House Should I Buy?

In 1996, I was twenty eight years old. Cindy and I had recently returned from Okinawa where I was stationed with the U.S. Air Force at Kadena Air Base. By God’s leading, we moved to the Hampton Roads area of Virginia where Cindy took a job teaching in the Norfolk Public Schools.

We rented an apartment our first year: it would be foolish to buy a house until we knew the area a little bit better.

Our first stop was at the bank to be pre-qualified for a loan. This process simply told us how much the bank would loan us for the purposes of purchasing a home. I remember Cindy and I looking at each other with our jaws on the floor – they will loan us HOW much!?

We were young, and in love and very excited that the bank thought we were worthy/capable of such an amount of money. Now, shopping for a house became an exercise of finding a home we liked that was less than the amount the bank would loan us.

Ah, youth.

House shopping with a Payment in Mind

In order to avoid become house poor (i.e., your house is too much of your budget), you want to aim to have a mortgage payment that is no more that 25% of your total take home pay.

If I had known that, I would not have looked for how much the bank would loan me. Instead, I would have looked for how much I could pay (and still save, get out of debt, eat…you know, life).

Calculating a monthly payment is easy. The following formula and example is taken from the FPU Members Workbook.

Rate	15 Year	30 Year
4.5%	7.65	5.07
5.0%	7.91	5.37
5.5%	8.17	5.68
6.0%	8.44	6.00
6.5%	8.71	6.32
7.0%	8.99	6.66
7.5%	9.28	7.00
8.0%	9.56	7.34
8.5%	9.85	7.69
9.0%	10.15	8.05
9.5%	10.44	8.41
10.0%	10.75	8.78
10.5%	11.05	9.15
11.0%	11.37	8.52
11.5%	11.68	9.90
12.0%	12.00	10.29

The formula is:

Sales Prices / 1000 = #1000 X Factor = Monthly Payment

For example, if you bought a house for $150,000 on a 15 year fixed of 6.0%, your monthly payment would be $1,266.

$150,000/1000 = 150 X 8.44 = $1,266

The problem with this formula, for me anyways, is that it is still starting from the loan amount. I want to start from 25% of my take home pay!

Did you know that you can work the formula backwards?

Still using the numbers from the workbook, let’s say that 25% of our monthly take home pay is $1,266. How much of a loan would you be able to pay?

Monthly Payment / Factor X 1000 = Sales Price

$1,266 / 8.44 X 1000 = $150,000.

Instead of the bank telling you how much they will loan you, you will know if the house you want to buy is going to be a blessing or a curse to your monthly budget.

Death of a Refrigerator

2010-01-05T06:36:00.001-05:00

Thanks to all the sympathies from my Facebook Friends over the recent passing of our beloved refrigerator.

In Baby Step 3, FPU members are taught that they are to fully fund a three to six month of expenses emergency fund. For us, saving this amount took a long time because we went all the way to six months.

Something happens to you when you save for those emergencies: your definition of emergency slightly changes. We joke that we want to have an Emergency Fund for the Emergency Fund.

I wanted to document a real life experience that is not uncommon to what you have faced before and tie it back to what Cindy and I have learned through FPU.

At Least It’s Cold Outside

Yesterday, Our blessed refrigerator, that conveyed from the previous owners nine years ago, went on to her great reward. The Maytag Man came out and pronounced her DOA – massive compressor failure.

We had noticed on Saturday that things were beginning to melt in the freezer and that the refrigerator was getting warmer. We placed items in ice coolers and others on the porch. At least it would be cold this week, barely topping 36 degrees.

After church on Sunday, Cindy took me shopping for new refrigerators. She already knew what she was looking for: side by side, white with the textured finish, no digital read-outs. Sure, we opened every other refrigerator, but, that is how she shops.

Ask for a Bargain

Sunday’s shopping spree was not really about shopping – it was reconnaissance. We wanted to know how much a refrigerator would cost (anywhere from $600 to $2200). Between the features that we were looking for and the measurements of the refrigerator nook, we eliminated most units that cost over $1000. The one we settled on was at Lowes for $799 (they also offered free delivery and take away).

After the repairman left on Monday, Cindy took the EFCB (the Emergency Fund Check Book) to Lowes and went through the purchasing process.

Week 8 of FPU is called That’s Not Good Enough, and we learned not only where to look for bargains but also how to ask for one. Cindy told the sales person that she did not need financing and was going to be paying cash for the purchase: would she sell it for $750.00? Yes! With Taxes, Titles and Tags, Cindy bought the refrigerator for $787.50.

Cindy’s only regret was that she did not ask for a bigger bargain!

But was it an Emergency?

Certainly we had a need for a new refrigerator, but, it is not what I would call an Emergency. However, fortunately, we were able to go and purchase one with cash. Would we have been able to ask for a bargain if we were just putting in on the credit card?

What if, like most Americans, we had just finished putting Christmas on those same credit cards? Instead of having a fun afternoon on Sunday, spending time with my wife, there would have been a lot of stress and anger.

And that, my friends, is life. As the saying from the 80’s went - “Stuff happens.”

The question is, are you prepared? Do you have a plan?

Visa certainly has a plan: their plan is that you don’t have one.

And guess who will always be there to catch you in your emergencies?

Baby Step 5 – Kids College

2010-01-04T06:23:00.001-05:00

I have to confess that we did not do a good job saving for our girl’s college fund. It can be attributed to not having a plan.

Sometimes, we try to do a little bit of everything and we end up not getting anything accomplished. This applies to life, relationships and money. I believe that this is why the Baby Steps have worked so well for us – it tells us that it is ok to wait until we are able.

Now that budgets are second nature, the debt is paid off, there is an emergency fund and retirement is taken care of, we can now move on to the next step: saving for the kid’s college.

DOC – Debt after College

Cindy and I have developed a mindset that debt did not bring us any blessings. We do not want our kids to graduate college and begin their lives with a big student loan. The average four year college student has a student loan debt of $19,237. Dave often quips on The Dave Ramsey Show that people keep their student loans for so long that it becomes a family pet.

We have begun speaking to our kids about college. Under our plan, we are aiming to pay for 75% of their in-state college expenses (living in the dorm, eating on the campus meal plan). The other 25% we expect them to earn. This can be a combination of scholarships and/or work. If they go on to graduate school, they will need to pay for that 100%.

Saving With Tax Favored Plans

There are several plans that you can save for your kids college. One is the Educational Savings Account (sometimes called an Education IRA).

In 2009, you can save $2000 per child after paying taxes. This means that the money will grow TAX FREE, and when you draw on it for college, you will not have to pay the taxes on the increase. If you have a child who is young, this is the best way to start.

If you have a shorter amount of time to save, you may want to consider certain types of 529 accounts. Certain types means that it leaves you in control of the mutual fund at all times (it does not freeze your options or automatically change investments based on the age of the child.

Functionally, the ESA and 529 are the same. However, all ESA operate the same while there are different flavors of 529, so be aware when you go shopping.

You don’t want to save using insurance, savings bonds ore pre-pay college. Each of these vehicles have poor interest rates as compared to the available mutual funds inside either the 529 or ESA.

Because Cindy and I started late, our ELP helped us set up a couple of 529 that we funded with money that we had been saving in a standard savings account.

How Much?

There is a worksheet in the FPU book for determining how much you will need to save for Kids College. This section is taken directly from that worksheet.

In order to have enough for college, you must aim at something. If you save at 12% and inflation is at 4%, then you are moving ahead of inflation at a net of 8% per year.

Step 1: In today’s dollars, the annual cost of the college of your choice is:

Amount per year	$20,000
X 4 Years	$80,000

Step 2: To achieve that college nest egg, you will save at 12%, netting 8% after inflation. So, we will target the nest egg using 8%.

Nest Egg Needed	$80,000
Multiply by Factor	.003287
Monthly Savings Needed	$262.96

The 8% Factors

Child’s Age	Years to Save	Factor
0	18	.002083
2	16	.002583
4	14	.003287
6	12	.004158
8	10	.005466
10	8	.007470
12	6	.010867
14	4	.017746

Your ELP Can Help You

When Cindy and I went to have our Roth IRA accounts established, we also set up the 529 for our girls. The ELP was able to do both tasks and it cost us nothing out of pocket.

Once again, time is the element that can give your savings muscle. Maybe you have more time than we had, so 100% savings may be a gift that you can offer. However, make sure that you are in the correct baby step. If you are in Baby Step 3, you can increase your cash flow by deferring your contributions.

When age appropriate, begin speaking to your children about college. My homeschooled girls were wondering if they even WOULD go to college.

I think they will thank you one day for not giving them a new family pet.

Baby Step 4 – Planning for the Golden Years

2010-01-03T08:57:00.001-05:00

Most people have the will to win, few have the will to prepare to win.

-Bobby Knight

In FPU, we teach that members should put retirement investments temporarily on hold while they get out of debt. Once they have a three to six month emergency fund, it is time to actively prepare for those golden years.

53% of Americans have less than $25,000 in retirement savings. 43% of those people are over 55. 30% believe that they only need $250,000 or less in total retirement savings.

Guessing Game

If you are of my generation, you probably can remember the concept of company’s having Pension funds. Those days are largely over, and many companies offer some type of Employee directed retirement plan, such as 401k or 403b.

Before taking FPU, I was simply enrolled in my company’s 401k. They offer a “match” of 1/2 up to 6% (e.g. 3%), which, as most of will say, means free money. I was given a prospectus of the various funds and was asked to distribute my contributions over the funds.

I had absolutely NO IDEA what I was choosing, so I just guessed.

FPU Members are given two classes on Investment: Of Mice and Mutual Funds (week 9) and From Tuition to Fruition (week 10). Between these two classes, we learn the differences between a Mutual Fund, a single stock, Growth Stock Mutual Funds, Roth Investments, IRA, 401k, 403b…whew! It’s enough to make your head spin.

If you want to know why you should take FPU, I point to these two classes (along with the Insurance class, Clause and Effect).

What We Did

In January 2009, Cindy and I finished Baby Step 3 and were ready to begin our investments. We knew that 15% of our income would go towards this step. I restarted my 401k through work with a phone call to HR. I had them pull 6% our of each paycheck. Next, I contacted an Endorsed Local Provider (ELP) to begin investing in mutual funds that grow Tax Free (Roth IRA).

The Dave Ramsey ELP program is a certification program that the person who you go to operates the same way that Dave recommends. There are ELP for Investing, Real Estate, Tax Services…the list goes on.

We went to a Investing ELP, who set us up with American Funds. Every month, 9% of our income is automatically withdrawn and invested. Cindy and I were not charged a penny for this (well, directly, anyways, I am sure he gets something from American Funds). Once we had the accounts set up, I haven’t seen the ELP since.

How Much?

How much will you need to be able to retire with dignity? There is a simple formula that you can use, which I will explain. This formula comes directly from the FPU Workbook (page 142).

If you save at 12% and inflation is at 4%, then you are moving ahead of inflation at a net of 8% per year. If you invest your nest egg at retirement at 12% and want to break even with 4% inflation, you will be living on 8% income.

Step 1
Annual Income (today) you wish to retire on:	$50,000
Divide by .08
Nest Egg that will be needed:	$625,000

To achieve that nest egg, you will save at 12%, netting 8% after inflation. So,we will target that nest egg using 8%:

Step 2
Nest Egg Needed	$625,000
Multiply by factor	.000436
Monthly Savings Needed	$272.5

The Factor in step two is the “8% Factor” that matches your age and years to save:

Your Age	Years To Save	Factor
25	40	.000286
30	35	.000436
35	30	.000671
40	25	.001051
45	20	.001698
50	15	.002890
55	10	.005466
60	5	.013610

Ready…Aim…Fire

I believe that the work book is good for giving you an Idea of what you will need, as opposed to being like 30% who believe some large number will do it for them. Run the formula again and change age brackets. See what happens if you wait? The Compound Interest Kung Fu will not be working for you.

For us, this formula was not as depressing as I thought. Rather, it gave us a goal. Once you finish the first three baby steps, the goals become less immediate, and more long term. I need to know that I am heading in the right direction.

How about you?

Welcome to the new Decade

2009-12-31T18:56:00.001-05:00

I had not really thought there was a problem with ushering in the new decade until my pal Rick made a quick note about it the other day.

Rubbish. The year 2010 is the last year of the decade, not 2009. The year 2009 is the NINTH year of the first decade of the 21st century. We have another year to go.

Rick is a smart guy, and the logic is sound. I tucked this away in the back of my mind.

It came back again at lunch.

Paying Back Money

I caught part of a Talk Radio show while driving to lunch. The host was having an amiable disagreement with the caller. The hypothetical situation used to prove the host’s position is as follows.

If you owe someone $10.00, you can’t stop at $9.00. You are still short a dollar.

That makes sense, but something did not sit well.

Music

And this is where it hit me. Let’s say that some kind soul gave you an ITunes gift card and you are buy some songs. You download “Another One Bites the Dust (Queen),” “Cars (Gary Numan)” and “You May Be Right (Billy Joel").”

How do you tag these songs that came out in 1980? Are these hits from the 80’s or sounds of the 70’s?

It’s A Floor Wax, It’s A Desert Topping

Perhaps this is not really and either/or situation, but rather, is rooted in the context of how we are use the term decade. Maybe they are not, as Rick points out, the same set of 10 years, but still we frequently use the term interchangeably to refer to both periods.

It’s enough to make your head spin round and round (“right round, like a record baby*”).

See, I told you he was a smart guy!

*Dead or Alive - 1985

Spending Habits

2009-12-30T07:05:00.001-05:00

There are three things that you can do with money: spend it, save it or give it away. Going along with yesterday’s theme, knowing what we can do with money is another teachable moment that we can pour into our kids.

While you are enrolled in FPU or reading The Total Money Makeover, you are going to spend money. Unlike a diet, you simply can’t starve yourself past a weigh-in. You need to “un-learn what you have learned” and develop a game plan to not overspend and derail your budget.

I think the best way to accomplish this is to choose paper over plastic.

You will spend more with Credit Cards

I remember the first time in 2004 when a local McDonald’s installed a credit card machine in front of the register. I am old enough to remember when McDonald’s stopped taking checks! For many years, McDonald’s operated on a cash-basis. If all you had in your pocket was enough for a Big Mac, fries and a Coke, that is all you could buy. Today, you can add an Apple Pie because it all goes onto the card.

McDonald’s discovered that people spending went from $4.50 to $7.00 once they started accepting plastic. Dunn and Bradstreet also discovered that, on average, you will spend 12 – 18% more when using your credit card.

Why? Because of that wonderful brain in your head.

You brain will register something when you spend with cash: loss. Swiping (or waving) a card, your brain doesn’t registered that you had to give something up in order to make a purchase. Researchers at Carnegie Mellon summed it up this way: “Credit cards effectively anesthetize the pain of paying.”

Even if you are paying with a Visa Debit Card (which I use), you still spend more, but not as much because you know that it is directly tied to your bank account.

Going Green!

When FPU members start getting their house in order, I like to recommend that they start mixing cash back into the equation. Cindy and I waited nearly seven months before we got to this point.

Here is a scenario that you are likely to encounter. You are in the grocery store and you go through the check out. Your total is fifty dollars over what you budgeted for Groceries.

What do you do? If you are paying with your debit card, you swipe the extra fifty – it’ll come from somewhere.

Cindy played that scenario out for many years. We had a number on the budget, but, if we did not honor that number and over spent anyway, we did not have a budget. We had a theory. What she needed was something with here in the store that said “you need to put something back.”

Cindy uses an envelope system that she will put cash in each payday. She will cash a check that covers the Groceries, Sundry (things that you buy at the Grocery Store, but you do not eat), Restaurants and Blow Money (more on that later) categories. The teller is given instructions that states the denominations that she wants. Once the cash has been dispensed, she places the correct amount into corresponding envelopes.

When Cindy shops at the grocery store, she always pays out of the envelopes. Sometimes, this means that she can’t get an item this week and something has to go back. We also use the envelopes whenever we go out to eat – If there is no money in the restaurant envelope, we stay home.

Blow Money

Every budget needs a little wiggle room, or you will always find yourself constantly moving money between categories. Blow money is a concept that recognizes that need for wiggle. There might not be money left over in the Restaurant Envelope, but, maybe we could use some blow money and go out to eat after all.

We’ve taken the concept a little further, and divide the blow money between the two of us. You can do whatever you want to with your blow money. Most of mine seems to go to Starbucks.

How much should you be putting aside in blow? It should be Baby Step appropriate. If you haven’t saved up for Baby Step One, and both you and your spouse are giving each other $125 in Blow Money, that’s not Baby Step appropriate.

Learning how to spend within your budget is a key behavior that needs to be developed. Watch out for things that might make you overspend – start spending with cash so that you don’t bust your budget.

Teaching Your Kids Compound Interest Fu

2009-12-29T07:39:00.001-05:00

I love movies. I especially love movies that come from left field and are simply awesome. For me, The Matrix was that type of movie.

The idea that we are all human batteries, living life in an imaginary world is creepy. However, being able to download any type of learning into the brain was the stuff of Cyberpunk. I loved it.

There is one scene where the main character, Neo, awakens after having martial arts fighting skills downloaded and exclaims “I know Kung Fu.”

Let’s teach our kids about compound interest.

“But Chuck,” you say, “There are so many other things I need to teach the kids, and I am sure that they will learn all of this in High School Economics. I don’t even understand it myself.”

Raise your hands out there if, at anytime in your adult life, you have uttered this phrase “I wish I would have started this when I was 20.”

Ok, now that I have lowered my hand, I can keep typing.

Make it Real

I love reality shows. This is the first year that we let the kids watch Survivor with us, and they were amazed that you could actually win a million dollars.

Did you know that most millionaires in America are “First Generation” rich? They did not win it on an Island, they did not hit the lottery – they did a lot of little smart things over a long period of time.

Booyah, as Russell might say.

What is Compound Interest?

Very simply put, it is magic. Seriously. If I was to take five dollars and put in in the cookie jar every day, I would have at the end of the year $1825. You can simply multiply 365 times $5.00. You can then multiply that out by the numbers of years you plan to invest in the cookie jar.

Instead of putting it in a cookie jar, let’s put it into something that has an interest rate associated with it. The cookie jar has a 0% interest rate, and is a lousy investment tool.

However, a mutual fund that averages 12% since it’s inception is a very nice tool. But, what does that mean? You multiply the $1825 by the interest rate (assuming yearly interest for ease of math) and you would have an extra $219.

If you take that $219 and put it back in your investment, instead of taking it home, next year you will not have interest on $3650 ($1825 times two years), but $3869. The second year, your interest would be $464.28.

Rinse, lather and repeat. It just keeps growing.

Drinking at Five Bucks

Consider my earlier post, I picked on Starbucks Coffee because I like their product. I can easily drop two to five dollars a day on any of their drinks and not bat an eye. I simply annualized the money to show how much you could put back into your wallet for the sake of increasing cash flow.

Taking my previous example, instead of putting five dollars a day and calculating interest on an annual basis, let’s do real world. You would normally save that five dollars and invest it on a monthly basis. In addition, interest is calculated on a monthly basis, not an annual basis.

So, let’s invest $150 a month between age 16 and 76. Working a part time job, do you think they could save $150 a month (hint…yes)?

Total Money Invested	$109,500.00
Total Interest Earned	$19,722,690.93
Total Future Value	$19,832,190.93
$1,000,000 Year	2046
Age your sixteen year old will be in 2046	52

You can play around with these numbers using any financial calculator. The reality of the stock market is that we have bear markets (when stock market is down 20%) and bull markets. That’s why the age of your investment tool and the average rate it has returned since inception is so important.

And…what if I am half wrong?

I Only Wish…

Seriously, I wish that I had known this when I was sixteen. I got my first job at eighteen working at a gas station and then moved into ushering theaters. I was making minimum wage and could make more than $150 a month. I had some friends throwing boxes at UPS and the rumor was that these guys made great money.

The thing about compound interest is that it is a slow cook over time. Time is your enemy. An early start changes everything.

Even, possibly, changing your family tree.

New Years Resolution

2009-12-29T06:31:00.001-05:00

Are you finding any of my latest post interesting? Want to learn more? Then pick up a copy of The Total Money Makeover. Want to go deeper? Then find a Financial Peace University class in your area.

The class that I am teaching starts on January 14th at Atlantic Shores Baptist Church at the corner of Kempsville and Centerville Turnpike in Virginia Beach. My best buds Ron and Sheila will be teaching a class on Sunday nights starting on January 10th.

Child care is provided through the church.

Each class is comprised of 13 lessons:

Date	Lesson
Jan 14	Super Saving
Jan 21	Relating With Money
Jan 28	Cash Flow Planning
Feb 4	Dumping Debt
Feb 11	Credit Sharks In Suits
Feb 18	Buyer Beware
Feb 25	Clause and Effect
Mar 4	That's Not Good Enough
Mar 11	Of Mice and Mutual Funds
Mar 18	From Fruition To Tuition
Mar 25	Working In Your Strengths
Apr 1	Real Estate and Mortgages
Apr 8	The Great Misunderstanding

If you have taken FPU before, remember, you are welcome to visit any lesson. Just bring your work book in with you. If you haven’t taken the class before, you can visit any one of these classes as my guest. Please contact me via Facebook or this blog so I know to expect you and can arrange child care.

Hope to see you there!

Baby Step 3 – Three to Six Months Emergency Fund

2009-12-28T00:00:00.000-05:00

Baby Step 3 is an exciting step to start. Once you have gotten to this step, it means that you have paid off all of your debts, except the house.

For some, it was just a matter of minding the store. Getting a budget in order and executing on that budget – telling your money who is in charge.

For others, it was very hard. You had an uncommitted spouse, maybe you are a single parent or maybe the hole was really, really deep. But you made it.

Expenses or Income?

Hopefully, you have called into “The Dave Ramsey Show” and screamed “I’M DEBT FREE!!!” Now, it’s time to roll up your sleeves and get to work on your next goal.

You and your spouse will need to decide if you are going to try and cover three or six months (or in between). You will have different factors to consider. In our case, we leaned more towards the six months – I have the larger salary and work outside the home. Cindy teaches private lessons and teaches our kids in home school. If I am out of work, then I will have to be able to cover the family expenses for the amount of time that I am trying to get another job. We both feel comfortable with that amount.

The mistake that is sometimes made is that people try and save three to six months of income. That’s not necessary. If you have suspended investments, you need to keep in mind that you want to get them plugged back in within 24 months of unplugging.

Hopefully, by now, you know what your expenses are because you have many months of budgets behind you. You know where your money goes and exactly how much you need to live.

Where to Keep It?

I made a mistake when we got to Baby Step 3 – I was “walking like Gomer Pyle on valium” through the first four months. One day, it hit me that the next step was investing 15% of our income into retirement. After a committee meeting, we adjusted our budget so we were putting 15% of our income into the Emergency Fund.

This knocked it out in short order.

Where we put the Emergency Fund was important also. You need to be able to draw on it at anytime without penalties, and that led us to a Money Market Account.

We opened one online when rates where better than CDs, and even today, the rates are still better than a standard savings account. We have check writing privileges and can transfer money into and out of the account.

But, don’t be concerned about the rates. The Emergency Fund is not an investment, it is insurance.

Don’t get fancy looking for a bigger, better deal.

The Long Road

It does take awhile to get to Baby Step 3. The average time it takes for an FPU member to get to Baby Step 3 is 18 – 24 months. This is not a race – it takes time. And, there will be setbacks along the way: life will happen.

And when life does happen, pay minimums on your debt snowball, rebuild the Baby Emergency Fund and then pick it up again.

But the rewards are so worth the effort!

Breath this thought in for just a minute – You and your family are DEBT FREE! The money that comes into your household does not have anyone else’s name on it.

It does not have Chase’s, Capital One’s, Sallie Mae or GMAC’s name it. It simply has your family’s name on it.

What does being debt free do to your Marriage? What impact will it have on your Kid’s lives as you teach them these principals? How neat is it going to be when a single mom at church needs $200 to keep the lights on and you can just walk over and stroke a check without thinking about it?

Breath it in!

Hole to Shovel Ratio

2009-12-27T00:00:00.000-05:00

There is a part of FPU that is very hard for me: when you have members who have a “hole to shovel” ration problem. This simply means that their income alone is not going to get them out of their current debt situation.

The reason that this is difficult for me is because more often than not, these members have lost hope and some have simply resigned themselves to their current situation.

What can they do? It’s time to get creative!

Old Fashion Garage Sale

This is one of my favorites because it can be played several ways. In my last class, I had a member hold two garage sales and she unloaded over $1000 worth of Japanese Furniture. This wasn’t your typical garage sale where you are nickel and diming over old clothing, but she came back to class absolutely GLOWING!

Garage Sales might not be your thing, but, how about selling stuff on Craig’s List or EBay? It is amazing what you can unload.

What about combining the two? My neighbor has collected quite a few bicycles from garage sales and fixed them up and resold them. By low, sell high!

As Dave would say, “Sell so much stuff, the kids think they are next!”

Part Time Job

Sometimes the answer to getting more money to pay off debt is to look at taking a part time job. It might not be a permanent solution, but if it helps you pay of debt, the sacrifice is worth the time.

A guy in one our classes went to Sears to pick up part time work for the holiday season. They asked him to come on full time as a manager. You never know what opportunities are waiting for you!

Finding Your Career

Have you ever had a job where you worked a lot of hours (50 – 70) but made crappy money? Or, where you are salaried for 40 hours, but have to work nearly 60 hours a week (and none of those extra hours are ever paid out)?

Is that a good employer? It might be time to have a talk with them to adjust the compensation to reflect the work. If not, you might need to really consider your position. I would never recommend that you quit a job, especially if you do not have something to go towards. But, you might want to start putting out feelers.

But, what if you are in the wrong field all together?

I recommend that you check out Dan Miller’s site, 48 Days. It is based on his book “48 Days Till the Work You Love.” In the book, the author is not showing you how to get “another job,” but about finding the work you love (your calling). This is another book that I highly recommend, but it is not a book you can just read. You have to work your way through it.

Awesome Victories

When couple start off in this situation, they often just don’t know what they are going to do – they feel hopeless. It is really awesome to see ideas spark in their heads as they go through FPU and say “Hey, I got nothing else to loose” and try some of the crazy ideas we discuss.

It is really inspiring to me when you see these very same couples complete the thirteen week course winning!

Does Your Stuff Own You?

2009-12-26T07:40:00.001-05:00

When new members come into FPU, they come just as they are. The class is a judgment zone free: we’ve all done silly things with money (some with more zeros than others).

The first time I heard Dave Ramsey say “Hi, my name is Dave, and I like stuff” I knew I was going to like this guy. You see, that is exactly who I am: I like stuff. And, if it is computer or home theater related, I like it even more.

I did not even know I had a problem with stuff, after all, I could afford it. But that was a form of denial. I was living with just enough “manageable debt”, with less than $1,800 in a savings account (and feeling good about that), no retirement plan (other than randomly picked investments in my company’s 401k) and no savings towards the kid’s college (unless you counted about $600 in a savings account).

My stuff was owning me and was preventing me from doing what I knew I should be doing.

I needed to change.

I Can Make The Payments!

The last time I bought a car, it was a 2002 Pontiac Grand Am. It was my second car that I had bought from a dealer, and I was by no means an expert at negotiations. Most likely, I had a nice red “Sucker” written across my forehead. I just didn’t know it at the time.

I remember taking the test drive, falling in love with the car on the test drive and emotionally buying that car within twenty minutes of being on the lot.

I was nervous about buying the car because I new how much I could afford to pay each month (I had just finished paying off another car, so I knew I had that much). However, some creative financial magic must have occurred in the back room and the payments where right on target.

I drove off the lot with a brand new car whose payments were not much higher than the car I had just paid off.

The Cost of Opportunity

What I had really done was just committed to five years of $400 payments for a vehicle whose value would drop about 70% in the first four years.

Think about what $400 a month injected into your budget would help you accomplish? What if you had financed two cars? Breath in what an $800 dollar monthly raise would feel like!!

If you have watched the video Drive Free, Retire Rich on Dave’s sight, you might think as I did “sure, I can invest $400.00, but, would I really do that?”

Maybe not right now, but, wait until you get to Baby Step 4 – Retirement. You are going to start putting away 15% of your income to retirement. Do you like to give? 10% is a lot easier when your paycheck doesn’t go to GMAC. Think you can’t pay cash for next year’s Christmas? Think again!

You can only spend a dollar once, and it is gone. You have to choose what you are going to do with it. But, once it is gone, you loose the opportunity to spend it elsewhere.

I want my FPU members to begin thinking about spending in terms of opportunity cost. I really want them to break the “I can make the payments” mentality, because that mindset has not helped them out so far. I want them to get the most out of their budgets by not taking on more payments (aka debt).

Live like no one else, so later, you get to live like no one else.

Increasing Cash Flow

2009-12-25T00:01:00.000-05:00

I hope that FPU members get it in their hearts that operating with debt has not brought them blessings. If not, why are they coming to FPU? When they come through our door I hope they are open to making some changes.

Paying off debts is not easy, it takes “purposeful intention.” You did not intend to wander into so much debt – it just happened over a period of time. You are most likely not going to wander out of it either. You will need to get really focused and a bit radical.

I want you to get radical about increasing your Cash Flow! There is always the part time job, but, before we go there, let’s take a look at some other areas.

Habits

I pick on coffee drinkers because I am one. At one point, I would visit my local baristas about five times a week. My drink of choice was an extra hot, non fat, no whip mocha. A medium ran me nearly five dollars (ok, four dollars and some change, but let’s round up because math is hard for me, remember?).

Spending $25 a week does not seem too bad. I get paid biweekly, and really, I cannot live without my coffee. I can afford this luxury.

Then I annualized how much I was drinking - $1300 a year. In coffee!!

I could increase my cash flow to pay of debts simply by decreasing how much coffee I bought.

Short Term Loans to the Government

Another area that I mentioned earlier was by looking at my tax refunds. I was getting $5, 000 dollars back from the Government. It was like Christmas day when that refund was deposited into my bank account. Once I started my total money makeover, I saw that I was sending the Government $5, 000 TOO much and they were just giving it back (without interest).

I divided that amount by each paycheck to figure out how much was going out extra and adjusted the claimed exemptions on my W4 until I got close to that amount with out going over.

With simple paper work, I increased my cash flow to go to the debts.

Retirement and Kid’s College Savings

The last thing we did, and possibly the hardest, was stopping the retirement investments. 401k, Roth’s – everything. Yes, we lost the company match for nearly two years.

(If we were investing for our kid’s college at the time, we would have stopped that as well).

This single action not only increased our cash flow to pay off debts but it also helped us to fund the Baby Step 3 Emergency Fund and to buy a used Toyota Sequoia with cash.

Live Like No One Else

“Live like no one else, so that tomorrow, you can live like no one else” is the motto that helped me to make these life changes.

Today, we are investing 15% of our income to retirement. I NEVER would have been able to do that before while making payments on new cars.

We are not only cheerful givers to our Church, but we also look for opportunities to give outside of the Church. Cindy and I would hear of a need, but have nothing to give. Now, we are often able to find that extra bit in our budget.

We are also funding the kid's college starting this past February. I realize that we are late in getting started, but we are making some headway!

And yes, I am enjoying coffee (all though, today I prefer a tall Americano, and with my Barnes and Nobles membership card it cost $1.99).

I have not, however, decreased my exemptions on the W4. I will keep as much as I am legally allowed to keep.

It can be done!

Addendum

If you are adjusting your W4 withholdings, you might want to investigate the IRS Withholding Calculator. Personally, I found that it went a little too high for my liking.

Also, according to DR, your Human Resources should be able to help you to achieve the right balance. Be sure to listen to the caller (there is a subtle “VCR” control on the page).

Baby Step 2: Pay off your Debts

2009-12-24T07:37:00.001-05:00

Now that you have the baby emergency fund in place, and have committed to stop spending using credit cards, it’s time to start paying off your debts.

To accomplish Baby Step 2, tear off another sheet of yellow paper and list your debts excluding the house. The order that you list the debts is important. You want to write them down based on the amount owed (smallest to largest) and not based on the interest percentage.

It’s Not Mathematical

Earlier, I think I alluded to the fact that I really do not mathematically trust myself – I unapologetically will use a calculator to accomplish very simple task. However, I do know that the longer you take to pay of something the more you will pay because of the interest.

Shouldn’t the mathematically correct order be based on the interest rate?

It would be if we were concerned with the math, which, honestly, we are not. We are concerned with behavior. When you reinforce good behavior with immediate results something happens – you begin to believe that this stuff is going to work.

And, once you believe, brother, trust me, you start having a new kind of hope with your finances.

It’s a Snowball

We want to target the smallest debt to try and get a quick win and give you some positive traction. Pick up your debt list and add a column called Minimum Amount and fill in what the debtors indicate is the minimum amount that you need to pay.

While paying off your debts, you are going to pay the minimum amount on all of your debts with the exception of the smallest debt.

The smallest debt, you are going LOOK for extra money in your budget (now that it is listening to you) and add that to your smallest payment. Here is the mental picture – you want to get laser focused on paying off that smallest debt and knock it off.

Once the smallest debt is paid off, you are going to take the amount you were previously paying on the first debt and then apply that to the second debt.

Each time you pay off a debt, the amount of money that you have to pay the next debt off increases. It’s like building a snowman – you start with a tiny snowball, but every time it flips over it grows bigger and bigger.

And this stuff works!

BS 1.6 – The Dreaded “B” Word

2009-12-23T06:10:00.001-05:00

Please note – FPU only has 7 Baby Steps. I have added the “sub-steps” because I feel that they are important to the overall process.

It’s Our Money

Prior to succeeding with FPU, there is a mindset that married couples have to have – they are not a Joint Venture. A JV is when two companies join for a common venture in order to maximize resources. Your marriage is NOT a Joint Venture. But, if you listen to the words that they use, it makes you wonder:

“Her money, my money”

“His paycheck, my paycheck”

“My account, his account”

God declared you one. That includes everything: it’s our money, our paychecks and our accounts. I have to die to this every time I start to think that I can do whatever I want to do with money. Cindy and I have a trust with each other that is based on three years of doing this program – I will not break that. It doesn’t mean that those attitudes do not slip in, it means that I have to recognize those thoughts and adjust them.

Singles generally do not have this problem. However, they generally have to find some means of being accountable so that they do not spend everything.

Let the Money Know Who Is In Charge

Once we have agreed that all of the money belongs to us, budgeting becomes easier. Most people absolutely HATE the term budget because to them, it represents restrictions and the inability to simply be spontaneous.

Let’s define what a budget really is: it is a imperfect instrument that you and your spouse agree to that tells your money who is in charge.

I like that definition. Why? Because I included the word “imperfect.” No matter how well you budget, something will come along to wreck it – that’s what is known as Life (thank goodness for that Baby Step 1, right?).

Also, I like it because Cindy and I have to agree to it. I generally prepare the budget, but I leave flex room in it for Cindy to tell me about what other family needs exists. We symbolically pinkie swear that we will keep to the plan.

Go Spend All of the Money

Making a budget is not complicated. You really do not need computer software – you need several pencils, a calculator and a yellow pad.

At the top, you write sum up all of the income generated in the family. Along the side of the paper you write all of the categories where you usually spend money (gas, food, entertainment). Finally, you put money in each category until you have no money left.

You spend all of your money on paper prior to the month beginning. Now, that is just the plan. You have to have another page on your budget that tells you when you are going to spend the money.

Along the top, where you have your total income, make some more columns. These columns represent when you get paid and you are going to write the total take home in these columns. Finally, you divide your categories between the total number of payment columns, making sure that you do not overspend your take home.

Easy Cheesy Math that you learned by the time you where in the third grade.

Unexpected Benefits

Here is a secret that everyone in FPU learns– your first budget…it isn’t going to work. That’s ok, because a budget is imperfect: you probably never really thought about how much you need for gas.

But once you get to your third month, things make a lot of sense. In fact, I noticed that I was drinking half of my budget in coffee. Starbucks didn’t taste quite as good once I saw this, and I added a category for Starbucks onto the budget so that I managed how much I consumed.

The first budget, Cindy and I panicked simply because we had too many categories and was trying to fill all of them up with what we wished we made, not with what was actually needed. Now, we know what we spend on Food, Restaurants and Gasoline. And, sometimes, yes, we have to “rob” one category to supplement some spontaneous opportunity (in our minds, Red Robin is a valid spontaneous opportunity). We simply decrease that category and increase the other and we are done. We both agreed to change what we had previously pinkie swore to not change (this is known, in FPU parlance, as an emergency budget committee meeting).

Because of the level of communication that takes place when executing on our budget, that trust I spoke about early has developed between us. It did not exist before: we had some really great fights when we discovered that there was too much month left at the end of the money.

And once we started telling our money what to do, it stopped talking. It stopped saying “Good bye.” On average, most people “find” money in their budget and feel like that they have been given a raise.

That’s really cool, because this getting out of debt thing that we go to FPU for in the first place is going to require that we tell the money who is in charge.

Online Tools

Several of my FPU members have really liked using the Gazelle Light Budgeting Tool. It is simple, but it also helps with the math (I still stink at third grade math).

If you are better with addition and subtraction, these forms may be helpful. The instructions are on the form – just a hint though, you do not have to fill in every category. There is also a form for Irregular income as well.

BS 1.5 – What’s the Deal with Credit Cards

2009-12-21T07:55:00.001-05:00

When I start an FPU class, I make one simple assumption about everyone who is in the class – they are sick and tired of being sick and tired when it comes to money.

I liken it to going to Weight Watchers – you are there to loose Weight! WW has a specific plan that has been successful for many, but, before you can blame WW for not working, you have to do the program.

The assumption for FPU is that if you are in the class, you have some kind of hole that you are standing in a financial hole of some size. It might be big, or small.

When you are standing in a hole, and you want to get out, you have to stop digging. The Credit Card is just one of the many shovels that people use to dig their hole.

I am not mad about people using Credit Cards, and I would certainly not judge you personally for using yours, but I was never able to succeed at the level I am now by using mine. My name is Chuck, and I like stuff (“Hi Chuck!”).

The number one reason for using the credit card is that it now represents a financial “security” blanket. The couples coming through our class have one or more credit cards just in case of an emergency.

And here’s the tie back to Baby Step 1 – If you had $1000 saved up, would that cover most of your average emergencies? Flash forward to Baby Step 3 – If you had 3 – 6 months of expenses saved aside as an Emergency Fund, would that cover your average emergencies as well as some of the more unexpected ones, such as getting laid off?

The Credit Card as an emergency money is, in my opinion, a crutch against doing the hard part – saving money for a rainy day. It allows you to spend more freely, as studies have shown that our brains operate differently when paying with cash than paying with a credit card.

When a class member cuts up a credit card they have just committed to the class in a way that will help them succeed. The admit that, like myself, they like stuff…and the credit card has not helped them get ahead. In fact, like Proverbs 22:7 states, they are actually a servant to the bank that owns the credit card. The collection practices violate federal law on a daily basis and, as you can read right now, the Banks are scrambling to adjust the interest rates on existing clients prior to new laws going into affect next year.

What’s in my wallet? My Visa Debit Card and Money!

For those who liked my Grits

2009-12-20T18:19:00.001-05:00

Grits are a definite Southern dish. I figured that I would keep changing how I prepared my Grits until my Yankee Wife liked them.

Originally, I was going to name this “North Augusta” Grits in honor of Old MacDonald’s Fish Camp, where I first learned that Grits simmered in Milk is delicious. However, I think I will call them Yankee Grits in honor of my wife.

I always use Quaker Quick Grits. If there is another brand, I’ve never even looked at them. Then, follow the direction on the box in relation to serving sizes. Around here, I usually just fix four servings.

While you are waiting for your water to boil, place about an Inch of a stick of butter into the water. I never measure this part, but go on feel. Also, salt. Salt is tricky, but I think when it comes to Grits, you have to have a little bit more than you would think. However, the golden rule of salt applies – you can always add more, but you can never take away. So, until you get the hang of it, you can always add Salt to your serving.

By the time the water boils, the butter will be melted. Once the water is boiling, pour in the Grits. You might want to take the pot off the burner, and you will want to stir as you pour. This will help to keep the Grits from clumping up. Turn the stove down (I usually go all the way down to low) and stir some more (actually, this is usually one long motion). Once you are sure that the water/grit/butter combination is not gonna boil over (a regular happening…not to worry, it will just smell like something’s burning) put a lid on the pot.

This is a great time for a cup of coffee and something to read.

Technically, Quick Grits will usually cook in about a minute. I like to let them get just a little firm, so I will stir from time to time. Once they get to the consistency that I like, I will add the following:

A little bit of milk (maybe a quarter cup, but you can play around with this). Too much milk and it will taste like milk. But, once you find the sweet spot it makes them rich tasting.

Two slices of American Cheese. The first slice is for taste, the second is for those you love.

Finally, a little more butter. Cover the pot and let the cheese get soft. Then, stir it up and you should have a bit of yellow color going on. You should be ready to go.

Serve hot to the ones you love.

Bon Appetite.

Baby Step 1: $1000 Emergency Fund

2009-12-20T16:32:00.001-05:00

I wanted to go through the Baby Steps that we teach in Financial Peace University. Prior to starting the baby steps, you do want to make sure that you are current and begin paying minimum amounts do. Why? Because we are going to try and accomplish Baby Step 1 as quickly as possible.

Baby Step 1 is getting $1000.00 “Starter” Emergency Fund.

When I first started teaching FPU, I did not really appreciate all of the various backgrounds that people are coming from when they start the course. For some, BS1 is just an automatic step, but for the rest, this can sometimes be a rather challenging process.

Small changes in priorities can make big changes. I am talking about cash flow. You want to adjust things so that you get more cash in your hands.

I like to ask people do they like getting their Tax Refund Checks. It’s kinda of a baited hook question. I know that there are those who take FPU where they are dealing with Tax Issues, but the vast majority answer “Yes” to my question. When I tell them that by adjusting their W4 they will get more cash flowing to them instead of the government, I get one of two responses:

1. The Tax Refund is my Built In Savings Method (that’s ok, it was mine for a while, but I am going to show you a better way).

2. Wow, Really?

In 2008, I gave myself a $200 a month raise by adjusting my W4. Sure, last year I did not get anything back, but hey, at least I was able to use that $200 to help fund my Emergency Fund.

The other area that I like to challenge folks on are the services that they are subscribed to. Prior to Tivo, the idea of paying for recording TV was laughable. Now, we can’t live without these conveniences. If it’s not Tivo, then its XM-Radio, or the Newspaper or, wait for it…Cable TV.

Cable TV is my personal favorite only from personal experience. Most people forget that TV comes over the air for free! However, we get tons more channels with Cable (or satellite or fios) along with a myriad of premium channels. I think the Boss got it right “57 Channels and nothings on.” Doesn’t something bother you somewhere deep down inside that you are paying for so much, yet watch so little?

Here’s my story: on Inauguration Day 2009, we cut Cable TV to our home. It was a radical decision, but it has paid off in spades: $1212.40.

We were paying about $104 with Cox Cable (2 HD DVRs, 2nd Tier programming (which we were told we needed to have in order to get HD) and no premium channels.

Now, I am not saying that I will NEVER have Cable TV again, just not right now. You see, if you choose to live like no one else today, later, you’ll get to live like no one else.

By changing your actions, behaviors and spending habits, you can get that $1000 dollars. I have had members hold huge garage sales, empty out those coin jars and many other ideas. Just get to it…make it happen!

Feeling Good and Violent

2009-12-18T18:05:00.001-05:00

I wonder if Netflix’s suggestions knows the real me:

What’s your Representative Doing?

2009-12-18T06:44:00.001-05:00

This post is not meant to be the ramblings of a Conservative Republican, but, do you know what your representative in congress is doing? Every night, we hear about Congress doing this or that, but have you ever thought about that there is only one person you really care about? That’s right! The representative from your district. That representative is the person speaking FOR YOU. Even if you did not vote for the person, they are still representing you before the house.

So, what is your Representative doing?

Each member of Congress has a web site. I highly recommend getting on your Representative’s email list. My Representative, Randy Forbes, sends out regular emails about his position on the issues.

Here is an example from his email that came last night:

Opposing $447-Billion in Federal Spending

Congressman Forbes voted against the conference report on H.R. 3288, the Fiscal Year 2010 Omnibus Spending bill that funds six departments of the federal government. The bill increased spending by $50 billion over last year's budget, and increased the base funding for the departments by 12 percent at a time when American families are being forced to cut back.
The legislation passed by a vote of 221-202.

Calling for Answers on Decision to Try Terrorists in the U.S.

Congressman Forbes joined with fellow members of the House Judiciary Committee and Armed Services Committee in cosponsoring resolutions of inquiry, H.Res.920 and H.Res. 924, to force Attorney General Eric Holder and the Department of Defense to release documents related to the Administration’s decision to try 9/11 conspirators in federal court in New York City. Congressman Forbes said "The American public deserves to know the potential ramifications of relocating and trying terrorists in the United States."
H.Res.920 failed by a vote of 20-13.

Restoring Fiscal Responsibility in Washington

Congressman Forbes voted in favor of repealing the Troubled Asset Relief bailout program (TARP), and directing any unspent or new bailout towards reducing the national debt. House Majority leadership proposed an increase of the national debt limit this week as a result of increased government spending.
The Motion failed by a vote of 190-232

Trombonist under Fire

2009-12-14T06:29:00.001-05:00

Taken from the article Civil War Bands and their Music.

Performing under fire became commonplace for bands under the command of General Philip H. Sheridan. Sheridan loved music and took a personal interest in his bands. This was shown in the equipment, mounts, and uniforms he accorded his bandsmen. To pay for these privileges, his bands performed at the front during battle playing the liveliest airs in their repertory.

At Dinwiddie Court House, Sheridan massed all his musicians on the firing line with the order to "play the gayest tunes in their books .... Play them loud and keep on playing them, and never mind if a bullet goes through a trombone, or even a trombonist, now and then." General Sheridan paid tribute to Army bands when he remarked, "Music has done its share, and more than its share, in winning this war."

Fall FPU Class Completed

2009-12-12T07:17:00.001-05:00

I am so proud of our FPU members from the 2009 Fall Semester – they got it! We had members from all stages of life, including a couple that was engaged. Can you imagine starting your marriage over again and being able to work a budget. Not just Budget Theory, but really telling your money what to do? Those two are going to be able to give like no one else later in life!

I was balancing my emergency fund this morning. I keep it in a simple money market account. Not very sophisticated, I know, but, very liquid in case I need it for, you know, an emergency. I haven’t had a credit card in about three years now – and like cable TV, I haven’t missed it. At the start of the FPU semester, I ask the class “Why do you have a credit card?”

Having a credit card for an emergency is generally the number one answer (full disclosure – that was my answer, too). I like to follow up and ask, “So, if you had $1000.00 that you could get to pretty quick at anytime, would that cover most of your emergencies?” People usually nod agreement, but really, we know that it will cover the $1000 or less emergency.

As I am balancing my account, this was what was going through my mind. I can see the interest deposits and the withdrawals that were made through out the year. This past year, we had a total of $653 dollars that we could not, for one reason or another, cash flow. Or, as Cindy likes to say, $653 that did not go onto a credit card.

Thanks to learning how to budget our spending, I was also able to budget our savings. Without that skill, I would never have been able to save six months of expenses. Like loosing weight, it is not easy, but, it is a worthy goal.

I am excited for our FPU class. At the close, I ask them what was the most important thing that they learned. Without fail, budgeting and spousal communication about money is the number one answer.

I love this class!

Thank God We are Weak

2009-12-09T07:17:00.001-05:00

If life were stable, I’d never need God’s help. Since it’s not, I reach out from him regularly. I am thankful for the unknowns and that I don’t have control, because it makes me run to God.

Francis Chan
Crazy Love

The best part of giving a gift…

2009-12-02T07:19:00.001-05:00

Is wrapping it.

During those moments when you are picking out the right paper, hunting down another roll of tape and finding the scissors you are thinking about the gift recipient.

When you fold the paper so that the seam is perfectly centered, you imagine handing the gift over to your loved one.

Creasing the corners so that a tight and neat end is formed just right, the curious look on the face of the receiver plays in your mind as they try to guess what might be underneath the paper.

Once the gift has been wrapped and placed underneath the tree, you envision the smile of delight as the paper falls away.

Don’t wait till the last minutes to wrap your gifts. In a moment, the paper will be discarded into the bin, and with it, the anticipation of the giving.

Enjoy it, don’t rush it. Make the time.

Merry Christmas.

Christmas Express

2009-12-01T22:08:00.001-05:00

Yesterday, I ordered a rather large (and cool) gift for Megan from Amazon. It qualified for FREE shipping (but, it would take 5 – 7 Business Days).

The package just arrived.

So, if you are ordering from Amazon and your purchase qualifies for FREE shipping, take it.

Of course, YMMV.

How to cut Cable, Go OTA and combine Hulu with PlayOn

2009-11-28T16:54:00.001-05:00

Ever since I’ve received my “cease and desist,” how have I been holding up? After all, I am getting all of my TV “OTA” (over the air). To be honest, I've amped up my usage of Hulu. Hulu allows you to stream, for free, Television programming from various networks (most notably absent is CBS). However, amid rumors that Hulu will start charging, I have been playing with building a low cost DVR.

The purpose of the post is to to show you that you CAN cut cable if you, like I discovered, find that your normal viewing habits consist of programs that you could get for free with an antenna. I unsubscribed from my local cable provider last year after coming to hate paying fees for underused HD DVRs and programming.

Parts List

Here is what you will need:

1. Hulu – Currently, this is free. Create your account and begin adding shows. They will start showing up in your queue the next time the program airs.

2. PlayOn - PlayOn lets you watch Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, CBS, YouTube, CNN, ESPN and more on your TV. It is a service that runs on your PC and streams video to your DLNA enabled device. If you want to try before you buy, PlayOn has a 14 day trial offer.

3. A DLNA Enabled Device: This is how the video goes from your PC running PlayOn to your Television. There are many devices and PlayOn supports Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and Wii. Personally, I have had luck using my Archost TV+.

Setting Up

Honestly, this is pretty easy. Make sure that your computer that will run the PlayOn software meets the requirements. The User Guide helps to get through most of the bottlenecks in setting up.

I have found that, on Vista and Windows 7, I have needed to allow my DLNA device to access the PC running the service. Generally, that PC will tell me that it has detected a device, however, sometimes I have to go into Window Media Player and set up the sharing. Windows 7 was a little different, and these instructions helped me get going.

So, How Is It?

The User Guide recommends that your PC is wired in, but, I have been using a PC that is connected wirelessly to my network (G band). My XBox is connected to the 57” TV and is also connected wirelessly and, to be honest, the setup is nearly always perfect. Upstairs, on my Archos TV+, there is a love/hate relationship. When it is good, it really works well. However, sometimes there is a popping and stuttering that I can sometimes get rid of by pausing the stream for a little bit and letting it get buffered.

I had been using this setup more and more, even prior to getting the C&D from Verizon.

What I like most about PlayOn is that it has a very expansive mod-community that has freely available plug-ins. I’ve become addicted to the Scripts plug-in and the OPML plug-ins. These plug-ins even allow me to legally watch content from shows that are normally on cable (for example, HGTV).

Also, PlayOn is really good with their updates. They are frequent and address problems in an acceptable time frame.

Pricing

If you did not already have an DLNA device, then it might be a little expensive getting setup. However, I was paying about $80 for cable. That could quickly turn into an Xbox or Playstation (I would probably lean towards the Playstation simply because it has built in networking and is a BluRay player). The XBox 360 requires you to purchase a wireless adapter. However, you probably can get killer deals off of Craig’s List or your local Pawn Shop.

A Dress

2009-11-27T18:02:00.001-05:00

Cindy and I stole away for lunch and a movie. After getting many recommendations for “Blind Side,” we chose that film. There were several themes in the film, but the one that caught me was how Sandra Bullock’s character just brought Michael into her family without conditions. It was touching.

Afterwards, we decided to stroll through Dutch Square Mall. I wonder how many times in my life I’ve walked through that center hallway. The Cromer’s Monkeys and the Barrel of Fun are long gone. Even the center stage Santa display looks thrown together.

Cindy wanted to go into Dress Barn and I, well, I didn’t. I told her she could find me in the Game Stop. I really thought I was going to be in there for a while, but this particular GS has that Funky Mall store smell that drives you to leave as soon as possible.

I left and found a bench outside of Dress Barn and waited. It was 4:00 in the afternoon and Santa had several visitors. 4:10 came and still no Cindy. There was a Game Stop newspaper insert on the bench and I flipped through, halfway interested, but, not really.

4:15. Ok, I’m going in. It didn’t take long to get through the door before the little “Ding Dong” announced that a customer was entering the store. Ugh, I hate the attention.

Scanning the store, I found Cindy outside of the dressing room looking at herself in the mirror. She was stunning in a little black dress that she had found. So often, I just see her as my wife Cindy, wearing every day clothing. But, caught off guard and I saw this attractive, petite lady.

Cindy was ecstatic about the dress because it was placed on the 70% off rack. I had no problem buying it because a) She looked great in it, b) She wanted it for her cousin’s wedding next summer and c) I spend way more than that on a single video game.

At the register, it rang up full price and the sweet deal turned sour. Cindy, not in the least married to the dress, was prepared to leave. I wasn’t. Pulling some of my best Dave Ramsey skills, I asked for a bargain. The best the manager could give me was 20%. Ok, not bad, but not 70%. We left.

A few steps out of the door, we were talking about the dress. I was really hoping Cindy would buy it, but she was more in love with the deal. I was more in love at how fabulous she looked in it. After a few back and fourths, she decided that she did like the dress.

She went in to purchase it and I walked over to the Game Stop to look at the outside displays (the smell was holding me out). Suddenly I hear Cindy calling my name and I turned. With her was the manager who shook my hand. She told me that she was really touched at how my face dropped when we left, and that she had given Cindy the 20% discount plus an extra 10 dollars. I was stunned that the manager came out to tell me.

So, we didn’t get the “best” deal, but, Cindy got a great dress and we got a neat story.

Election Ads

2009-10-28T22:16:00.001-04:00

With the Virginia elections right around the corner, the Campaign Ads are in full force. Most of them, I tune them out because they are utter nonsense. Really, imagine trying to sell any other product the way that Politicians sell themselves.

There is one type of ad that really cracks me up. If a candidate has served in the military, inevitably the line “he will fight for Norfolk they way he fought for America” just makes me giggle.

So, let’s carry this out. Literally.

Say the politician has been elected and sworn in. Then, one day things aren’t going so well for him. Now, it’s time to fight for Norfolk the way he fought for America…Out comes the grenade and the pin is pulled - “Fire in the hole” Boom!!

Only a couple of more weeks and we will finally be able to wash the mud off of the TV.

Cease and Desist

2009-10-24T08:01:00.001-04:00

I really thought several times about posting this article because I have to admit, it involves me picking and choosing my morals at the buffet of life.

About a year ago, I discovered that I could download Television programs rather easily using a program called TED and uTorrent. TED acts like the TV Guide on your DVR and uTorrent is the mechanism by which the program is downloaded to your computer.

For the most part, I have kept to downloading programs that are from the major networks. Personally, I had no problems with this. For me, it was akin to my Father-In-Law recording Deep Space 9 and sending it to me when I was stationed in Japan. Justification, maybe.

This setup worked very well until I discovered PlayOn and Hulu. PlayOn acts as a Video Streaming service that will take streams from Hulu and distribute to either my Xbox 360 or my Archos TV+. This became my “preferred” method because I was playing within the confines of copyright laws.

However, PlayOn is sometimes spotty, so I still used the other method as a “Backup.” That is, until I got this email from my internet provider:

Dear ****** Online Customer:

We are writing to advise you that ****** recently received a notification from a copyright owner of a possible copyright violation that appears to involve your ****** Online account (the "Complaint"). The work(s) identified by the copyright owner in its Complaint are listed below.

We are contacting you because our records indicate that the Internet protocol (IP) address provided to us by the copyright owner was assigned to your service on the date and time identified by the copyright owner. While this activity may have occurred without your permission or knowledge by an unauthorized user, or perhaps by a minor who may not fully understand the copyright laws, as the primary account holder, you are legally responsible for all activity originating from your account.

Copyright work(s) identified in the Complaint:

Copyright infringement level: 1
Notice ID: 19168235
Title: Parks and Recreation (TV)
Protocol: BitTorrent
IP Address: **.***.***.*
DNS: pool-**-***-***-*.nrflva.fios.******.net
File Name: Parks.and.Recreation.S02E03.Beauty.Pageant.HDTV.XviD-FQM.avi
File Size: 183265068
Timestamp: 10-03-2009 07:38:14 UTC

Copyright infringement is a serious matter that violates U.S. copyright law and subjects infringers to criminal and civil liability. It also violates our Acceptable Use Policy (http://www2.******.net/policies/acceptable_use.asp) and Terms of Service (http://www2.******.net/policies/tos.asp). If you, or someone using your Internet connection, are engaged in the conduct alleged by the copyright owner, we urge you to stop (and ensure that anyone else who might have access to your Internet connection also stops).

Protecting Your Privacy: The copyright owner has not asked ****** to identify you, and ****** will NOT provide your identity without a lawful subpoena or other lawful process. However, if the copyright owner does issue a lawful subpoena or other lawful process that seeks information about your identity or account, ****** will be legally required to provide the requested information to the copyright owner.

If you have questions regarding this notice or would like to view Frequently Asked Questions about copyrights and piracy please visit us at www.******.net/copyrightfaq.

We appreciate your cooperation on this matter.

Sincerely,

****** Online

I have removed all of the activity from my Network as I do not want to deal with this. Unfortunately, Hulu will become a subscription service in 2010. I believe now, my new goal is to create a Media Center PC.

Unsocialized

2009-10-19T20:52:00.001-04:00

We homeschool our kids.

To be more accurate, Cindy teaches the kids, and I support them in whichever way will not screw them up. My oldest is in sixth grade with her sister a year behind.

I have to tell this story, because I thought it was funny.

At a Pony Club event, one of the girls was talking about her recent break up with a boy. Another girl stated that perhaps they shouldn’t be talking about the subject in front of my oldest because she was homeschooled, and not socialized. This girl did not realize that the broken hearted friend was also homeschooled.

Well, I thought it was funny anyways.

Songs I learned from USC Marching Band

2009-09-16T19:29:00.001-04:00

This weekend is Alumni Band weekend, and to kick it off, I have several posts about my time in the USC Marching Band.

Tonight’s topic – Song Lyrics that have been stuck in my head for twenty years. Not a complete list, but hopefully, fairly clean.

Wild Thing…You make my heart sing…you in the red shirt…wild thing.

At some point, the lyrics of any song will inadvertently get changed. Case in point, while playing the song Wild Thing, a young, attractive student was dancing in the stands along with the song. She was wearing a red shirt, and well, she got worked into the song.

Hummala bebhuhla zeebuhla boobuhla
hummala bebhuhla zeebuhla bop

I think this was from my freshman year (1986) and is from the (then) popular song “Just a Gigolo” as sung by David Lee Roth. We played the song, but, when we came to the scat, we put our horns down and sung the words. Of course, to really sell this, we had to all pronounce it the same way. There was a great TA who was assigned to teach us. I am not sure if his heart was in it, but, to this day, I can still sing along with David.

She was a…

Riding to a from the games on the Trombone bus, there were tons of bawdy songs. I want to say that someone complained once and we were asked to stop.

We all love, the old one

Ok, not sure if those are the lyrics, but it is from the Wizard of Oz show. At some point, we put our horns down while marching in a circle singing these lyrics.

We hail thee Carolina

The singing of the Alma Mater by the USC Marching Band always signified the end of either a practice or a performance. We practiced three times a week and finished with the Alma Mater. When all of the fans had filed out of Williams Brice Stadium, we sung the Alma Mater. In good weather, and foul, hot or warm we never left the field without paying our tribute to USC.

Fantasy Football – Let’s Give a Cheer!

2009-08-31T06:47:00.001-04:00

This is my first year playing in a Fantasy Football league. There was an automated draft last night, and my team is as follows:

I know Warner and Owens, but, I am clueless about everyone else. So, what should I do next?

Friday Morning, Toast and Coffee

2009-08-28T06:55:00.001-04:00

I am up unusually early for a particular Friday when I have the day off. I made that decision in light of the fact that the kids still have home school today.

I’ve scanned the usual suspects in my blog reader, and have sat down to enjoy a bit of writing, reading, toast and coffee.

mmmmm….

Conversation with No one

2009-08-22T15:02:00.001-04:00

I am sitting in Barnes and Nobles cafe, trying to finish a little bit of work left over from yesterday. Nothing strenuous, but, maybe a bit repetitious. The cafe americano is helping pass the time.

When I arrived, I noticed an elderly black gentleman sitting at a table. In front of him, was an empty cup of coffee and a yellow legal pad. He was leaning over, talking to a couple that was situated diagonally from his table.

They were not listening. Standing in line, I took quick, furtive glances to see if he had a blue tooth headset attached, but, if he did, it was not visible to me.

The couple at the table left the cafe, and the man continues to lean over and talk to the now empty space.

As I finished my work (and my americano), he has kept the ongoing conversation. Pausing as if listening to a reply, he chuckles at something that I could not quite hear. He has given directions to Gloucester Virginia, pontificated about the state of the church and shared a memory about going to a water park.

I wonder if I could ever have a prayer life with my Father, like the one this man is having with no one.

A Rainy Day – No Kindle.

2009-08-20T06:34:00.001-04:00

Tuesday was a rainy day. The sky was blue, the air was very muggy, but did it rain. I am not quite sure that it reached the pouring stage, but it felt like it.

In Virginia, we have the annual car inspection, where you pay $16.00 to have a licensed inspector give your vehicle the once around and the official sticker that says you are good to go for another year.

I dropped the car off, and by 10:00, I got the call: I knew the voice on the other side would tell me that I could either pick my car up or…come on, big money, no whammie!!

The tires on the right side of the car failed. The alignment on the car was off (majorly) and it had ruined those tires. He gave me a quote for the alignment, and I hung up. Cindy helped me to call around to the usual tire places to see what to expect, and then I called the garage back. He could beat those prices (and did). When it was all said and done, Inspection, Tires, Balancing, Stems, Disposal, Alignment AND reinspection, I was out $360.00.

That wouldn’t have been so bad had I not just spent $320.00 on fixing the right hand passenger window, which was beginning to slip.

Tuesday was a $680.00 rainy day. However, I stayed dry. One of the line items in my budget is “Car Repairs.” Each month, $30.00 goes over and sits in a money market account, waiting to be needed. Having been used recently, it had not built back up. However, I had been saving for a Kindle (I had made it to $370.00)…and then, there was the emergency fund.

Funny thing about having an emergency fund that can cover you for six months of expenses – once you get it, you do not want to touch it. Thinking long and hard (oh, about a minute), I came to the conclusion that there will always be Kindles. With my Car Repair Money, the Kindle money about $90.00 from the emergency fund, I was able to cover Murphy.

That’s what life is like when you live debt free – you fix what can be fixed, and you delay pleasure in order to save (or in the case of the Kindle, resave) for the items. Here is another bit of insight that struck me – I wanted my emergency fund more than I wanted a Kindle. How weird is that?

Welcome to my Blog

2009-08-19T06:55:00.001-04:00

Prior to Facebook, I’ve kept this little blog going for my friends. It has a small circulation, and the writing is only so so, but, it is definitely will let you know what is on my mind.

And that brings me to point.

I have been ignoring my friends by not writing on my blog. The reason is simple: Facebook. FB is billed as a Social Network, where you reconnect with old friends, post your status and play Farmville. For me, Facebook became my outlook for all of the random stuff that pops in my head, and makes me laugh.

But, I started posting Notes on Facebook. Not many, but just enough to remind me that “Hey, that should really go on your blog.”

So, I am re-linking my Blogger account and Facebook. Come on in, browse past posts (say that 10 times fast).

See Ya!

Annual Trip to Hamburg

2009-07-19T08:45:00.001-04:00

Yesterday, we made the trek from south eastern Virginia to western New York. Not quite the road trip that Jay and Mike are making (cross country, in case you haven’t been following), but, still, it is quite the haul for a family of four.

This year we took our Pony Puller, which would be the Sequoia. It was fun this time because we were listening to Dave Ramsey AND driving in our paid for car that was achieved by following his advice.

We joked that when asked what kind of mileage we should have a funny response:

Miles? We prefer to measure in yards.

Or…

31….31,000 Yards to the Gallon.

This year, instead of talking about stopping at the Monroeville Mall, we actually did it. The mall is significant only in that it was “the mall” for Dawn of the Living Dead. Of course, it looked like a regular mall, and had a fairly lousy food court. However, the novelty was fun.

We arrived in town around 10:45 and enjoyed waking up this morning to a cool Western New York morning.

Six Years and Counting

2009-07-17T07:48:00.001-04:00

Yesterday, the company that I work for recognized those of us who have been with the company for five years. It was actually six years for the ones being recognized, but that was because they did not have a town hall meeting (the venue where such recognitions take place).

Six years is a long time. I had turned thirty-five and was leaving a company that I had worked five years. During those six years, we have gone from nine people to over one-hundred (just in the development shop) and moved locations three times. I miss the days of nine people – it felt much more start up and there was this creative factor. There is still a lot of creativity, but, as a company we have grown up, and sometimes it feels that the creativity got stifled.

I also learned what I am best at doing. I was promoted all the way up to a Director level position. It did not work out for me, and I gave it up after a year and a half. I am at my best when I am learning and teaching and doing new stuff. I still have a manager title, but I am much more hands on the code.

Not wanting to predict the next five, but here’s hoping to see the company at 10.

Governor Sanford and Conan

2009-06-26T08:48:00.001-04:00

Heard on Conan Last night:

I still cannot get over Governor Sanford’s press conference yesterday. Did you watch it? Who watched it? That was unbelievable. At a press conference yesterday, if you don't know, South Carolina governor Mark Sanford admitted having a mistress from Argentina. That’s right. Yea. Then, there was an awkward moment as he waited for someone to give him a high five.

They say he may have broken the law because he left the country without transferring power to his Lieutenant Governor. Apparently Sanford violated South Carolina’s sacred “bros before hos” law.

What a week!

2009-06-26T08:37:00.001-04:00

I have had the house all to myself this week. Cindy and the girls stole off to Maryland for a week of seeing their Aunt, Uncle, Cousins and VBS.

My week was otherwise normal. However, I realize that I really need them. I am looking forward to them coming home tonight!

Audible Note

2009-06-13T09:24:00.001-04:00

If you like to get audio books for long rides, or working in the yard, I suggest taking a look at Audible. Audible has been around for many years, and provides a wide range of support for listening devices.

But, I have one tip for you.

Find the book that you want, add it to your cart. Then, go to Amazon, find the same item and purchase it. Amazon uses Audible and the price will usually be five dollars less.

Or, you can skip the step above, and use Amazon directly. Either way, you are getting a great service and a slightly lower price.

D-Day Remembrance

2009-06-06T09:46:00.001-04:00

It’s 9:21 on Saturday Morning, June 6th. It was during this hour that my Grandfather, Marvin Morton, stepped onto Utah Beach.

They had been in their landing craft since about 3:30 waiting for the word. A few hours earlier, members of the 82nd and 101 Airborne parachuted behind the lines. When the word was given, it took several hours for the men to leave the Transport ships and hit the beach.

Unfortunately, the Landing Craft that had been sent ahead to act as markers to the LZ had been sunk. The LC that carried the troops landed south of the target.

On one of the first boats was the only General to land at Normandy. He was a veteran of several wars, son of a president and nephew to the current president. Brigadier General Roosevelt wore not helmet and carried his cane off of the boat. It was said that men feared him more than the Germans.

He decided that, instead of going back to the original LZ, they would establish the beach head right were they stood. This decision saved many men that day: the original LZ was heavily defended.

South of Utah, at Pointe du Hoc, a group of Army Rangers scaled the cliffs with ropes and ladders to take out the gun emplacements capable of hitting Utah and Omaha beaches.

1st Lt Richard Winters, of Company E (Easy), 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division devolved (aka – the Band of Brothers), led a group of men to take out artillery located at Brécourt Manor. The battery “had initially been reported to be 88 mm guns firing onto causeway exit #2 leading off Utah Beach and disrupting landing forces of the U.S. 4th Infantry Division advancing inland on this route.” It turned out to be much more than that – it was four 105 mm howitzers connected by trenches and defended by a platoon of soldiers. Winter’s attacked the positions, and as a result, there were less guns pointing at Utah.

Decisions were made and heroic actions were performed on June 6th, 1944. Actions that saved many soldier’s lives of the 4th Infantry Division, including my Grandfather’s.

Twitter – I still can’t get into it.

2009-06-06T08:31:00.001-04:00

How I gave my Guinea Pig a Purple Nurple

2009-06-03T22:15:00.001-04:00

It was, of course, quite by accident. I did not start off trying to accomplish this task, but the result was the same, none the less.

The kids came in last Sunday in a panic. They had taken Butterball, our guinea pig, outside and they had found a tick on him.

I went to the Horse tackle box, and grabbed our “official” tick pulling tweezers. Sure enough, there was what appeared to me, an engorged tick.

Have I mentioned my eye sight is getting worse with age. And, I just had a birthday.

So I went to work trying to rid the pig of the tick.

Until I started suspecting it wasn’t a tick.

I asked for a flashlight so that I could get a better look. It wasn’t a tick, and google confirmed, it was a teat.

So yes, I gave my guinea pig a purple nurple. Thanks kids!

Got Xbox?

2009-06-02T07:06:00.001-04:00

This week, the E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) is happening in Los Angeles. On Monday, Microsoft held it's annual press conference about what the future holds. Here are some of the highlights that I thought were cool

1. Social Networking comes to 360 - Facebook and Twitter applications will be coming to the dash board

2. Music - Last.fm will allow you to access millions of streaming songs (I love Pandora streaming through my blu-ray player).

3. Instant HD Movies- You will be able to access 1080p HD in an instant (e.g., no waiting for half the movie to download). I had told my father-in-law that blu-ray/HD wars will be but a blip because I knew this was coming.

4. Shared Movies (XBox Live Party) - I posted on Mot's Blog that we ought to get together for a shared Star Trek movie. Well, we might actually be able to do that. It appears that you will be able to share a movie with another Xbox Live User and it will coordinate the viewing. That, plus a microphone, and we can make our own MST3K Track.

5. Project Natal - Remember when the WII came out? How it had these new controllers that allowed you to use natural movements in order to control your screen avatar? Project Natal takes it one step further - NO CONTROLLER. Your body IS the controller. It combines an RGB Camera, depth sensor, multi-array microphone and custom processor running proprietary software all in one device. It tracks your body movement in 3-d while responding to commands, directions and even a shift in emotion in your voice.

The "vision" video that is demonstrated is very cool and shows the possibilities when this is delivered (2010?). Have you gotten your Xbox yet?

17 Years

2009-05-27T06:41:00.001-04:00

I probably write the same thing every year, but today Cindy and I celebrate 17 years together. Recalling our 15th, it seemed like we had reached a milestone, now, I am just amazed at how long 17 years is. Putting it in perspective, I told Cindy that she was 17 when she left New York for South Carolina to start college.

We have two anniversaries: the marriage and the wedding. We married earlier than planned so that she could get added to my order to go to Okinawa. I recall standing in line of the JOP in Panama City, Florida. In front of us were two kids barely 18, behind two adults barely sober. And there we were, Cindy in a white dress and me in my Air Force uniform. Two of my AF buddies, Airman Balbas and Hoag witnessed for us.

Traditionally, Cindy and I have fallen out of celebrating our anniversary, but, I hope to change that. Even if we just go out to a nicer than usual dinner alone, I want to do something for her to mark the occasion.

After all, she deserves a medal for living with me for this many years ;)

5-25-77

2009-05-26T06:40:00.001-04:00

Happy 32nd Birthday Star Wars! It's funny that I woke up thinking about this particular date, and then looked in my blog reader and found this trailer: 77.

Be advised, this trailer is not for little ones hanging around as there is a brief "coming of age" scene (really, no pun was intended).

Last Trek Post (maybe)

2009-05-21T06:32:00.001-04:00

I am very thrilled that we have a fresh Trek, so much that I want to see the next episode. I have "Ain't It Cool News" in my blog reader, and they just posted an interview with JJ Abrams.

But there was only one moment in the movie where I actually asked Chris to do a little bit of the Kirk we know and it was literally just one, silly little thing, but it’s this moment later in the movie where Spock is telling Kirk the statistics of how unlikely it is for their plan to succeed and it’s the first time in the movie that Spock calls Kirk Jim. Young Spock calls him Jim.

And then the response that Kirk has is he says “Spock, it’ll work.” And I actually asked him to give that reading of just “Spock” a little bit of the Kirk we know, because it was the first time that it felt like… “Jim” and the first time that Jim said “Spock” in that way, it just felt familiar and it’s a subtle little thing, but again Chris did a great job.

Blog Etiquette

2009-05-19T19:04:00.001-04:00

In case you haven’t noticed, there is a way to say something under your breath in a post. All you have to do is use the “strike through” and you can say anything just about anything.

For example, you could say that Congress woman Nancy Pelosi was lied to by the CIA~~, but she apparently was the only one~~. See, I just said something under my breath. Or, you could interpret that as carte blanche to say whatever your want. It’s ok. Just put a strike through and it’s all “did I do that?”

Trekkie

2009-05-18T19:57:00.001-04:00

My pal Todd published his thoughts on the new Trek film. As I was commenting, I realized that “New Trek” has tainted “Old Trek.” I include “Wrath of Khan” in that.

Yesterday was a rainy day in Chesapeake, Virginia. After church, I got comfortable and watched Trek II and III. The thought struck me that the writing was very laborious. Don’t get me wrong, I still liked them, but there is so much more potential.

I also was reflecting on my three Trekkie encounters (not including Mot). The first was at the Richland Public Library. I honestly cannot remember how old I was, but I think I must have still been in high school. The second was the 25th Anniversary Marathon. Jay and I drove from Columbia to Atlanta. We found that the fans ranged from nice to down right rude. Lastly, Jay and I met in Raleigh, NC, for a full on convention – complete with William Shatner. As far as his wife knows, he was delivering blueprints for his dad (or was it mine?).

I have come to the conclusion that I am a closet Trekkie. I would love to come completely “out of the closet” but there is something that restrains me. I still say that TOS is my favorite, because I grew up on that. I read all of the James Bliss novels, had the Alan Dean Foster set, and saw each show at least a dozen times. Of any of the future endeavors, TNG was the best. I could never really get past the “grit” of DS9, although I loved the Sisko character. Voyager was lost on me. I started watching it while in Okinawa on cassette tapes mailed over by my father in law. Enterprise had a lot of potential, but it never sparked for me.

The Birthday Marathon

2009-05-17T07:51:00.001-04:00

Thank you for the 4th Annual Birthday Movie Marathon suggestions. I took one of the suggestions and am running with it: 80's Fantasy Movies. Here is the line up:

Programming a movie marathon is always tricky, so, I thought that you couldn't go wrong with a comedy at the end.

And, I got my birthday present yesterday: A Samsung BD-P3600 Blue Ray Player! And, I found a deal on Best Buy.com - Purchase a Samsung Blue Ray Player, and get "Star Trek: The Motion Picture Collection" Blue Ray Disc(s) for $19.99. I watched ST:TMP with commentary by Michael & Denise Okuda, Judith & Garfield Reeves-Stevens and Daren Dochterman. Awesome quality.

Star Trek II: The Second Viewing

2009-05-15T06:28:00.001-04:00

Since last Friday, I have been trying to talk Cindy into going to see Star Trek. Ok, I also wanted to see it again. Last night, after the kid’s piano recital we caught the 9:20 showing. That’s right kids, mom and dad were out late last night.

I noticed several things this time.

1. 9:20 doesn’t seem like a bad idea. However, getting home around 11:30 and getting up at 5:45 am doesn’t make for a good combination.

2. The Sky Dive Sequence. The trailer shows three bodies plummeting towards some obstacle. As a spoiler, I will tell you who they were – the guy in blue was Kirk, the fellow in yellow was Sulu, and the dude in Red was some no-name security guy who has the explosives to demolish the obstacle.

Guess which one dies?

3. Scotty’s prank – Scotty describes an argument with a professor about transporting a melon between two planets. Not satisfied with transporting fruit, Scotty beams the professor’s prized pet beagle (who has yet to materialize). The professor? One Admiral Archer…Admiral Jonathan Archer of the first U.S.S. Enterprise.

So, today I will pay the piper for the late night outing, but we enjoyed the time together.

Boldly Going to 11

2009-05-08T18:21:00.001-04:00

Nigel Tufnel:	The numbers all go to eleven. Look, right across the board, eleven, eleven, eleven and...
Marty DiBergi:	Oh, I see. And most amps go up to ten?
Nigel Tufnel:	Exactly.
Marty DiBergi:	Does that mean it's louder? Is it any louder?
Nigel Tufnel:	Well, it's one louder, isn't it? It's not ten. You see, most blokes, you know, will be playing at ten. You're on ten here, all the way up, all the way up, all the way up, you're on ten on your guitar. Where can you go from there? Where?
Marty DiBergi:	I don't know.
Nigel Tufnel:	Nowhere. Exactly. What we do is, if we need that extra push over the cliff, you know what we do?
Marty DiBergi:	Put it up to eleven.
Nigel Tufnel:	Eleven. Exactly. One louder.
Marty DiBergi:	Why don't you just make ten louder and make ten be the top number and make that a little louder?
Nigel Tufnel:	[pause] These go to eleven.

I was really worried about over-hyping Star Trek in my mind that I would be let down and disappointed. Why not? George Lucas released a less than satisfactory prequel to Star Wars. Indiana Jones’ last adventure probably should have remained in the “gee…wouldn’t it be neat to do another Indy movie?”

But Trek, what can we say about Trek? The TNG films have been, how shall I say this, very unadventurous (I liked First Contact the best).

The TOS crew had a hit-miss pattern with the even movies being the better of the six. Although Khan is the best, I really enjoyed Voyage Home (I remember seeing this with the guys at o’dark thirty at the original Dutch Square theaters).

For years, there had been some rumors of a “Starfleet Academy” movie, recasting all of the TOS characters. I never thought it would work. A few years ago, the rumor resurfaced, but this time, JJ Abrams was associated with it. I like JJ’s work on Lost and Mission Impossible 3. Fringe, which he produces, is very good TV, much in the vein of X-Files.

What was really neat in the movie was that each character “emoted” the original performances. I use the word emote just to indicate that the actors weren’t imitating – they blended the characteristics into their acting and made it their own. I loved seeing little bits of Shatner’s Kirk showing up in Pine.

The movie itself looks NOTHING like any previous Trek. Perhaps what it needed was someone unconnected with the previous incarnations to really spin it off. I have seen the future, and, it has a lot of lens flares.

There was a moment when Spock looks over at Kirk and says “I have been and always shall be your friend.” I choked up. What can I say?

Trek almost here

2009-05-07T06:38:00.001-04:00

Is it too big to fail?

Trekkies Bash New Star Trek Film As 'Fun, Watchable'

Revenge of the Mockingbird

2009-04-30T20:33:00.001-04:00

So, the Mocking Bird that inhabits the Bradford Pear outside my bedroom read my blog, and decided that he/she needed to start his/her song at 12:30, instead of at two.

Thankfully, my Heroes help deaden the sound.

Dear Cable.

2009-04-29T07:12:00.001-04:00

Last January, I took the plunge and called the cable company to disconnect my Cable services: Digital Cable (third tier), High Def Programming (only available on the third tier and above), two HD DVR and an approximately $150.00 bill. That bill does include my high speed Internet connection of about $50.00.

I can remember when mom and dad first subscribed to Cable back in the eighties. The company was Columbia Cable Television (CCTV), and it came with a handful of channels (TBS, MTV and Nickelodeon were my favorites) and a remote control that was tethered to the cable box. I have no idea how much it cost, but, comparing with the four channels we got "OTA" (over the air) it was amazingly cool. The quality was vastly better.

About a year before we disconnected, we elevated our services from the bare basics ($9.00) to the full Monty. We disconnected Direct TV and started enjoying watching commercials for Direct TV telling us how superior it was to cable. For the first month or so, I was in love with Cable. I could come home and just watch for hours. Discovery HD was my favorite. But, after the courtship, we kinda just got use to each other. Days would go by without even turning on the TV. But Cable didn't mind. She dutifully recorded my shows onto the DVR and I watched them when they were convenient for me. Ironically, I was mostly watching Network Television (you know, the stuff that comes for free OTA).

Then I bought a laptop. I discovered TED and uTorrernt and xTvi and learned how to download the same network programming that I was paying $100 dollars a month. Using Roku digital video player and my Netflix account I had access to a vast library of programming. Then, Netflix went and joined up with Microsoft to allow Xbox Live Gold Members the ability to stream Netflix to their Xbox 360 units. With my Xbox 360 and my Archos TV+ (great price from Circuit City) I can stream my downloaded media to either unit (this translates to upstairs and downstairs). Finally, this week I discovered PlayOn which allows me to stream HULU content to either the Xbox or Archos. This has allowed me to decrease the amount of shows that I have to get from Ted and uTorrent. Also, I feel a bit gray about downloading TV bit torrents: I keep it to stuff that I can get OTA.

So my TV life has been ok ever since writing my "Dear Cable" letter.

Hearoes

2009-04-28T06:38:00.001-04:00

Do you still follow Heroes? Yeah, me too. But, this post isn’t about the Monday night show about flying congressmen (hey, wouldn’t that really be cool in real life). Instead, it is about mockingbirds.

To be more specific, the mocking bird that lives in my bradford pear tree. Yes, that’s right, the very one that is next to my bedroom. The location is only pertinent due to the fact that Max (my name for the bird) decides to sing at 2:30 am. Everyday. Like clockwork.

Thankfully, I have little foamy ear plugs that you can roll into a tight tube and then insert into your ears. As the foam material returns to its normal shape, it provides a barrier to Max’s serenades. Fortunately, I had a pair to spare for my wife (who also has been woken by the miscreant).

These little foamy ear plugs have become our hearoes.

What ever happened to Tyler?

2009-04-25T08:44:00.001-04:00

Three years ago, I posted a bit about Tyler Lindsay and his brother, Ryan, and sister, Christina. His family, Navy people, were stationed out in Washington. But this hasn't stopped their musical ambitions.

Recently, Mama Lindsay posted some videos of the kids on You Tube. I thought I would share them with you. Keep your eyes out for these kids.

Jazz Wonder

Update On Tyler

What a Relief

2009-04-22T20:23:00.001-04:00

With Easter just having passed, and a lot of yard work to do, I have had plenty of times to think about my beliefs. Do you ever have these long dialogues with yourself as you work through some things? I do. Even to the point of imagining that I am speaking to someone else. If I am not careful, my thoughts become very audible as I speak out loud to an imaginary friend.

What I have to admit to myself, is that I sometimes get caught up in pride. That somehow, I have God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit pretty much figured out, and I leave it at that.

The part that is still an absolute mystery to me is how some people are just *absolutely* in love with them. And I wonder why I don’t feel that way. Perhaps I am caught in my own dogma of having “figured” them out.

Again, just being honest, I forget that Jesus spent his life with the type of people that I would probably not have hung around with. Those “undesirables” were the ones he came for, and they were the ones he built his church with. And, to top it off, I am still a little hung up about the rules. I want to “do” right so that, you know, the world can see my faith.

What a relief to know that I can admit to myself (out there, while cutting grass) that I don’t have God quite so figured out. And, about all those rules…there are only two that really matter: Love God, and Love People. Even the kind that I might not hang with, because He loves them the same way He loves me.

Phew!

English Porn

2009-04-20T17:08:00.001-04:00

I had to write about this, because I am really confused.

Cindy googled “Plural Possessive Worksheets” and got several hits. As she started clicking into them, she noticed that the page was taking a while to render. Then, BAM…there it was: a bevy of women in the Chesapeake area who was ready to help with “Plural Possessive” worksheets.

We thought that it might have been a virus, after all, I had just installed an updated version of our Anti-Virus. Makes sense that we would get a virus. Ran some malware checks, nothing. Everything showing in the green.

As a check, I did some random google searches, including Star Wars, Geeks, Nerf hearder and clicked through. Nothing. But, go back to the Plural Possessive and watch out!

So, let this be a warning to you out there searching for worksheets to help you with English. You might get more than you were expecting.

Birthday Marathon Ideas

2009-04-19T08:20:00.001-04:00

In 2001, for my Birthday, I started to take the day off from work and go to the movies. It was a birthday present to myself. As the girls got older, I started wanting to share with them the day. For my 38th, I did the "Star Wars" Marathon - that was one of the bests. For 39 we had a minithon with Shrek and Shrek 2 in preparation for Shrek 3. Last year, we did the Indiana Jones Trilogy as well as catching Prince Caspian in the theaters.

What will it be for the 41st annual Day of Chuck?

24 in 24 - Try to watch 24 in one contiguous sitting. Not sure this will be Family Friendly.
Star Trek Movies - Trek I - VI. Already, the natives are against me on this one, and I would probably be going it alone. With Jay and a bunch of people dressed up as Klingons, this might not be as much fun.
Lord of the Rings - Extended Editions - I watched the first two over Christmas, and they are still fresh in my mind.
Pixar - In honor of the "upcoming" Up, watch the Pixar Films Toy Story, Bugs Life, Toy Story 2, Monster's Inc, Finding Nemo, Incredibles, Cars, Ratatooie and Wal-E. Nine Films, but I could cut it off after Cars because I did not like the last two.

I am up for any other suggestions.

Town Hall For Hope

2009-04-03T07:25:00.001-04:00

Tired of hearing the fear, doom and gloom that’s filling the airwaves? Join Dave Ramsey for a nationwide town hall meeting and discover what’s happening with the economy, how we got here, and where we’re going. Plus, Dave will answer your questions live throughout the event!
Join us for this free event April 23 at 8:00 p.m. EDT in one of the thousands of venues across the country as we stand together to reignite the fire of hope! Learn more.

The Murtaugh List

2009-04-02T06:44:00.001-04:00

By now, the term “Bucket List” has worked its way into our vocabulary, thanks to the movie of the same name. In the film, two men with terminal cancer decide to do all of the things that they want to do before they “kick the bucket.” Luckily, one of the men has the financial means to allow both of them to accomplish their list.

But what about you and me?

We are in our early forties. We can look forward to, God willing, a long life, but, we also realize that, statistically speaking, half of our life has passed.

We are no longer the group of kids who would stay up all night in the Kirk’s garage watching movies, eating pizza, and (on occasion) smoke a cigar or two.

Which leads me to the title of my post: The Murtaugh List. The name of the list is taken from one of the characters from the Lethal Weapon series, Sgt. Roger Murtaugh, played by Danny Glover. Murtaugh is facing retirement and the good life, when he gets saddle with a new partner, Martin Riggs. Murtaugh’s catch phrase is “I am getting too old for this stuff.” Ok, he didn’t say stuff, but you get the picture.

The Murtaugh List is a list of things that you are getting too old to do anymore. Off the top of my head, I probably could add “Staying up all night watching movies” and “Smoking Cigars” on the list.

What is on yours?

ht to the writers of “How I Met Your Mother” for this hilarious idea.

Weekend Roundup

2009-03-30T07:21:00.001-04:00

Finally took my Pontiac into the shop to listen to that rattling noise it makes when she starts up cold.
Had lunch with a good friend of mine.
Quality time with Katie – Saturday, mom took Megan to a violin concert while Katie and I kicked backed and played video games, watched MythBusters and chowed on some stove-popped popcorn.
Sunday worship at ASBC was really good. Alicia sang “Something About that Name.” From my perspective in the orchestra, it is really a blessing to see how God moves in people.
Dave continued his series on Men and Women communicating.
Said goodbye to the Shrodt family as they prepare to move to the holy land (Columbia, SC). Dave will start as worship leader at Northside Baptist next week.
Took the girls to see “Monsters Vs. Aliens.” Not that great, but good for a few laughs. Is it me, or is Seth Rogan in every other movie?
Last night, around 9:30, something made a really loud noise. I thought it was the wind, but obviously, it was not.
Thought about the Lizard Man for the first time in years.

Town Hall for Hope

2009-03-25T21:19:00.001-04:00

Check it out…

Punctuate This Sentence

2009-03-23T06:52:00.001-04:00

Here is an example from sunday's sermon. The pastor put a sentence up on the screens with no punctuation:

A woman without her man is nothing

So, if you are included, please punctuate the sentence to give different meanings.

A Box of Nothing.

2009-03-23T06:50:00.001-04:00

At ASBC, we are doing a topical series on Men and Women. What is great is that our interim teaching pastor is bringing fresh perspective and presentation to this topic.

He used a great metaphor to illustrate how men think. Our brain is subdivided into little boxes. In one box might be work, in another there might be family, and in another sports. The main point is that these boxes are fairly separated, and generally do not mix when compared to women. Their brains are like the World Wide Web in that there are soooo many touch points between their boxes. But men have one special box, that women do not have. It's the nothing box. So, ladies, when you ask the guy, what are you thinking about, and he says nothing, he ain't lying.

Relaxing-ish Weekend, too

2009-03-23T06:46:00.001-04:00

The title of the post refers to a similar one posted on MMMM, That's Good Coffee. Seems like we both had an extended date planned.

Cindy and I met with our pals, Ron and Sheila, for an overnight stay in "downtown" Virginia Beach. Unlike SC, the cities of the Hampton Roads are more the size of counties. Virginia Beach is the about the size of Richland county, so I usually differentiate between the Resort area, the municipal section and "downtown." Again, with the quotes. About ten years ago, Va Bch decided that it needed a downtown area, so they took some land that had been woods and built large Sky Scrapers there. It is almost funny to drive by and suddenly you are in the middle of these tall buildings, then...boom, they only have two or three.

But the area is really, really nice. Ron's job has him traveling a bit, and he wracks up a lot of points from the Hilton. He was gracious to share those points with us.

We had a late night dinner at the Cheesecake factory, talked for hours, and finally said our good nights. The next morning (a sleep in kind of morning), we met and had a three hour breakfast. Not that we ate for three hours, but we stayed at the table for three hours enjoying the company.

The date seemed to be over too quickly, but, like they say, time flies when you are having fun.

BSG - End to a Good Series.

2009-03-21T19:38:00.001-04:00

Battlestar Galactica completed its mission and finally found earth. I am happy to report that I predicted the nature of the end (if not the exact ending) over two years ago. Not hard to do.

I like when a show has a definite story to tell, and knows when it is time to finish up the story. In the case of BSG, Cylons chasing the humans can only last so long, right?

Waking up at the Hilton

2009-03-21T07:26:00.001-04:00

Saturday Morning. Just finished brewing a pot of coffee in the mini-coffee pot here in our room. Cindy is watching the morning news while I type this out.

This was our overnight get-a-way. Sure, it is downtown Virginia Beach in the Pembroke area, but, it's some good quality "us time." Something that there has been not quite as much of late due to busyness.

Busyness. It can be a real downer on your relationship with your spouse. Once schedules get spinning, sometimes it feels like you are passing ships, exchanging pleasantries. It reminds me that relationships aren't accidental, and requires effort. Otherwise, you start to get a "something's missing" feeling.

After work, Cindy and I left the kids with our friend and then drove to meet out Financial Peace Buds, the Beards, at the Hilton Garden Inn. We relaxed in the lobby, just catching up, and then walked over to the Cheesecake Factory. I've never been there before, but WOW, it was so good. We left there around 11:00 and headed back to the hotel for more fellowship. An episode of The Office, and 30 Rock, then off to bed.

Sleeping in for me, means that it is after 5:30 am. So, at 7:00 am, I declare that I actually got to sleep in. Yes! Getting up slowly, making coffee and posting on my blog.

A good morning, indeed.

Giving	Car Payment
Saving	Car Payment
First Mortgage	Gas & Oil
Second Mortgage	Repairs & Tires
Repairs/Mn. Fee	Car Insurance
Electricity	Clothing
Water	Disability Ins
Gas	Health Insurance
Phone	Life Insurance
Trash	Child Care
Cable	Entertainment
Food	Other Misc