Getting Unstuck - needs and goals

In yesterday's blog post, I mentioned that today I was going to post a listing of our current needs and goals list that we're working on for the remainder of 2008. OK, so here we go!




CURRENT NEEDS

1. New set of tires for my 1995 Jeep Grand Cherokee - approx. $600-700
2. New headliner for my Jeep interior - approx. $200-300
3. I need an eye exam and new glasses - $200-300

GOALS AND WANTS

1. 3-month Emergency Fund: $12,000
2. Dave Ramsey Financial counseling training: $4,000+
3. 10-year wedding anniversary trip: $2,500 (est.)
4. Ball and hitch install on our 1998 Honda Odyssey: approx. $280
5. Used Pop-up Camper $2,000 - 3,500

The current needs that we have should be relatively easy to take care of over the next couple of months. The goals and wants may take us a little longer than I like, but we'll just enjoy the journey as we go through the process!

Getting unstuck - creating forward momentum

In a couple of previous posts, I expressed a few of my current financial frustrations. I have felt "stuck" financially, especially after a devastating tax season, not receiving my stimulus check yet, and unexpected emergency-type expenses. Now that my family is debt free, I feel like I'm having a "wilderness" type experience; a time of testing to see if the Jones family is really committed to being debt free and building wealth over the long haul. I find myself wavering, beating my head against the wall trying to get the financial log jam broken so we can move forward in our family's finances.

I have faith and belief that we will move out of our current financial state soon, but I'm doing some things right now to hopefully get momentum moving along faster. Here's what we're doing:

1. My wife felt that she needed to go back to work part-time to help pay for some of our current unexpected expenses. She started that job about a week and a half ago.
2. Yesterday, I ordered 4 books from Amazon.com that I really want to read some books to help get me "unstuck," mentally. The books I ordered were: The 4-Hour Workweek, Get Unstuck! The Simple Guide to Restart Your Life, Seven Practices of Effective Ministry, and Creating Customer Evangelists: How Loyal Customers Become a Volunteer Sales Force.
3. Over the last 2 days, I have been putting together a picture needs and goals chart; I'm trying to get clear in my mind what our financial priorities are for the remainder of 2008.
4. Since it's the end of the month, I will be working on our June budget. I plan on having my wife work with me on seeing what we can trim out of our budget, and I plan to share with her my needs/goals picture chart. I'd like to post multiple copies of this around the house as reminders to us on what we want to accomplish right now.

Tomorrow, I'll post the list of these picture needs and goals that we will be working toward through the rest of 2008.

Book Review - Thou Shall Prosper (Part 3)

In a previous post, I wrote an brief "overall" review on the book Thou Shall Prosper by Rabbi Daniel Lapin. This book comes highly recommended by both Dave Ramsey and Dan Miller.

In this post, I continue going through each commandment in more detail. Today, we're going to look at The Second Commandment - Extend the Network of Your Connectedness to Many People.


Lapin suggests in this chapter that friendships lead to wealth, rather than the reverse. Here are some of his key points regarding building relationships:

1. Honor the relationship with your parents and learn from them.


2. Health and human companionship do go hand in hand.


3. Try to win friends not in order to influence people for your benefit, but for the sheer joy of forming and maintaining human relationships. This cannot be faked!


4. Find opportunities to make friends - civic clubs, Rotary International, synagogue, church, etc.


5. Forge friendships by creating ongoing obligations. This may seem materialistic, but constantly creating and discharging obligations nurtures and sustains a friendship.


6. Only crowds of people can create wealth - locate yourself in the heart of large populations of people who share your values. Then begin connections.


7. Improving connections enhances wealth creation.


8. Helping others improve their lives helps you improve your own life.


9. Don't be a "wage slave" - be in business for yourself.


10. Be proud of and let people know what you do.


11. Choose your friends and customers carefully.


12. Service doesn't mean servility.


13. Love others, not just yourself.


14. To learn how to serve, learn how to be served.

This book's second commandment could be summarized thus: Make lots of new friends, try to help them, and make sure that they all know how you could help them and that you are eager to do so.

Financial Peace University Update (Session 12)

On Sunday afternoon, we had session 12 of Financial Peace University. We were off last week due to the Mother's Day holiday. Session 12 is on the topic of "Real Estate and Mortgages."

Here's what Dave Ramsey's organization has to say about this 12th session of FPU:


Week 12 - Real Estate & Mortgages

Dave teaches us the best way to buy and sell a house, the difference between 15- and 30-year mortgages, and the best ways to finance a home. Tuck this lesson away somewhere safe for when you are ready to buy or sell a home.

Think keeping your mortgage for a tax deduction is a good idea? Think again! The tax "savings" isn't really worth it in the end.

Key Points

1. When selling a home, think like a retailer.
2. When buying a home, think like an investor.
3. Never get more than a 15-year fixed mortgage. Don't tie up more than 25% of your income in house payments.

The effect of money challenges on the family

Over the last three years, our family has accomplished amazing goals in the area of personal finances:

1. Sold our house at a good price before the housing dip. This enabled us to pay off almost half of our debt right off the bat!


2. Over the next 18 months, we were able to pay off the remaining debt. We became completely debt free on June 15, 2007!


3. My side business (music arranging/typesetting) had its best year ever in 2007. This enabled us to quickly pay off our remaining debt and start saving a larger emergency fund.


4. Paid a large chunk of taxes in April 2008 - fortunately we were able to cash flow this through our larger emergency fund. This completely cleaned us out, though, financially!

Even though we have accomplished these amazing goals, I have found myself completely and utterly frustrated with our financially situation. I know I should feel blessed and excited about the future, but with inflation occurring in food, gas prices, and the overall rise in the cost of goods and services, our dollars are not stretching as far as they did 2-3 years ago! I feel stuck on moving forward with our financial goals when the money coming in is not going as far as it once did.

OK, so with all of these frustrations weighing on me on a regular basis, little disagreements on spending between my wife and I have been occurring more and more frequently over the last several months. Unfortunately, these disagreements are happening in front of our children.

Over the last two years, my wife and I have seen disturbing behavior problems in our oldest daughter. These behavior problems have escalated to the point that we have sought family counseling to intervene in our situation. I know that I'm personally responsible for my daughter's issues right now, especially in my possibly obsessive compulsive patterns regarding our finances. I believe the more I can relax in these areas of personal finances, I will communicate a more relaxed household.

I'll be working on this area of my life for the next several days, weeks, and months to come!

The Leverage of Time and Money

I'll be honest, I'm in a period of frustration dealing with work time and money! After the federal and state government confiscated almost $10,000+ of our income in 2007, I'm sick and tired of being broke, sick, and tired! There's got to be a better way to earn actual hourly income and passive income without giving myself a heart attack!

I'm in the process of rethinking how I'm doing what I'm currently doing and gaining more leverage between my time and money.

One of the tools/mentors that I'm currently looking at is Tim Ferriss, the author of The 4-Hour Workweek, I plan on buying this book in the next few days.

I encourage you to check out Tim's web page link here, and see his You Tube video below. Enjoy!

When will I get my stimulus package payment?

If you're like me, since May 1st, you have been checking your bank accounts or mailbox for your stimulus check. Am I right?

Last night, I decided to visit the IRS's website to see what their official statement was on receiving our payments, and here's what they say:

Economic stimulus payments will be issued according to the last two-digits of the main filer's Social Security number. For joint filers, the payments will go out based on the person listed first on the return. Payments will be made by either direct deposit or paper check, consistent with how people filed their 2007 tax return.

If you have questions after reading the below schedule of payments, please contact1-800-829-1040.

People who use direct deposit also will be among the first to receive the payments starting April 28. Direct deposits will be made daily and completed by the date listed below:


DIRECT DEPOSIT

Last two SSN digits: Payments will be transmitted no later than:
00 through 20 May 2
21 through 75 May 9
76 through 99 May 16


Paper checks will also go out based on Social Security number. For Social Security numbers ending in 00 through 09, the paper checks will be mailed starting May 9 and will continue through May 16. A similar process will be repeated in the following weeks.

PAPER CHECK

Last two SSN digits: Payments will be mailed no later than:
00 through 09 May 16
10 through 18 May 23
19 through 25 May 30
26 through 38 June 6
39 through 51 June 13
52 through 63 June 20
64 through 75 June 27
76 through 87 July 4
88 through 99 July 11


People who file a return after April 15 will receive their economic stimulus payment, but probably later than the schedule shows. A return must be filed by October 15 in order to receive a stimulus payment this year.

A small percentage of tax returns will require additional time to process and to compute a stimulus payment amount. For these returns, stimulus payments may not be issued in accordance with the schedule above, even if the tax return was processed by April 15.

Financial Peace University Update (Session 10 and 11)

On Sunday afternoon, we had to combine sessions 10 and 11 of Financial Peace University due to the Mother's Day holiday this coming Sunday. Session 10 is on the topic of “From Fruition to Tuition.” Session 11 is on the topic of "Working In Your Strengths." Our class seemed to really enjoy Dave's teaching on session 11; it really is a great one!

Here's what Dave Ramsey's organization has to say about these tenth and eleventh sessions of FPU:

Week 10 - From Fruition to Tuition

Dave takes the confusion out of retirement investing. He teaches about the Roth IRA, how much to put into various plans (i.e. SEPP, 401k, 403b), and how to best fund our children's college education. There are many ways to save for college - the ESA, 529 Plan and the UTMA/UGMA Plans.

Key Points

1. Independence in retirement is up to you. Don't depend on Social Insecurity.
2. Fund college education only after you are funding your retirement.
3. If you don't have a will, get one TODAY!

Week 11 - Working In Your Strengths

In this lesson Dave teaches the importance of doing with our lives that which we love. Do you look forward to Monday? If not, how can you work toward that dream job that doesn't feel like a job at all?

Key Points

1. The average job in America is now 2.1 years in length.
2. The key to power in our careers is to first look at ourselves.
3. Plan your work around your life rather than planning your life around your work.

Platinum Tickets - awesome benefits

In yesterday's post, I mentioned that I would be following up, today, with the awesome benefits my wife and I received with our "free" platinum tickets.

Here's all the good stuff we experienced:

1. Walked right into Kemper Arena at 11:15am past a huge line at the front doors!
2. At the check-in table, we each received a "goodie bag" with 5-6 autographed books by Dave, coffee mugs, mints, etc.
3. We both personally shook hands with Dave. We also could have had our picture taken with him if we had brought a good camera! My phone camera was just not cutting it in a dark room!
4. We ate a great lunch of prime rib, roasted red-skin potatoes, green beans, roll, salad, and chocolate cake - it was tasty!
5. After lunch, we sat through a Q & A session with Dave - I could have asked Dave a question, but I couldn't come up with anything creative at the time!
6. We sat in the front, 3rd row during the Live Event; I didn't realize how big a benefit this was until I sat down. Last year, we sat in the nose bleed section!
7. During Dave's 2 breaks, we had complimentary snacks and drinks provided in the Platinum room - awesome benefit. I was stuffed when I left Kemper on Saturday night!

Winning these Platinum tickets made the event a great day of fun for us!

Dave Ramsey Live in Kansas City

This past Saturday, May 3rd, Dave Ramsey was live here in Kansas City at Kemper Arena for his Total Money Makeover Live Event. Kansas City is a huge radio market for Dave, and the crowd really turned out to see him. Kansas City now holds the record attendance to date for Dave's Live events - somewhere between 11, 500 - 12,000! Way to go KC!

This was the second year in a row that my wife and I attended. We weren't originally planning to attend since we went last year, but a number of different changes have taken place, including the following:

1. I became the church staff coordinator/leader for Financial Peace University back in January.
2. My wife and I attended a luncheon with Dave's team back in March, where we were given a plan to promote Dave's Live event in our church. Part of that plan included discounted tickets for church members.
3. Additionally, the church would benefit by receiving a free Financial Peace Leadership Kit (retail $300+) and DVD player if we could get 30 church members to sign-up.
4. If we were able to get 50 or more to register, we would receive 2 free platinum tickets.

My church registered 57 people to attend, so we obtained all of these freebies!!! My wife and I were able to attend using our Platinum tickets, which gave us these great benefits:

1. Lunch with Dave - You will enjoy a catered banquet with Dave in the Platinum room. During the banquet, there will be a Q and A session.
2. Gifts - Guests will receive an autographed copy of The Total Money Makeover, as well as other specialty gifts.
3. Platinum Break Room - During the Live Event breaks, you will have access to the Platinum room for complimentary beverages and light appetizers.
4. Priority Seating - Platinum guests will have the best front and center seating during the event.

Tomorrow, I'll comment on all of these great benefits we received with the Platinum tickets. It was awesome!

It's time to get serious about gas

It's time for this country and our government to get serious about gas prices. We can longer afford the stranglehold that the Middle East, Central and South America have on the United States.

Over the last few days, I have heard a couple of news reports regarding a number of options we could pursue domestically to begin getting control of the current price of oil and our dependence on foreign oil. Here is what is being currently suggested:

1. Federal and State reprieves on gasoline taxes. In the State of Missouri, the State House has already given initial approval of this and, of course, the presidential candidates are all chiming in on the Federal gas tax.
2. One northern state governor (Montana?) is proposing to process coal to create gasoline; apparently this is very doable.
3. A large oil deposit has recently been discovered in North or South Dakota (?). Apparently, this oil deposit may be larger than the one in Saudi Arabia. Of course, the environmentalists have issues with this one. I say, it's time to start pumping some oil!
4. Anwar up in Alaska has a large oil deposit that we can't access due to environmental restrictions.

We need to start putting some pressure on our federal and state governments about taking proactive action to get our current gas prices under control. These gas prices are really beginning to crunch/crush the budgets of middle income and lower income families.

It's also time for environmentalists to get realistic about the needs of the citizens of this country and its overall economy. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few!

Here's what President Bush is proposing, but he's getting stonewalled by Congress:

(In a Rose Garden press conference, Bush recommended a host of economic fixes:)
* More oil drilling in the United States.
* Turning mothballed military bases into oil refineries.
* Passage of the Colombia free-trade agreement.
* Eliminating farm subsidies for multimillionaire farmers.
* Additional investment in alternative fuels and nuclear energy.
* Possibly suspending the federal 18-cent-a-gallon gasoline tax.