The Dave Ramsey Christmas Way. Pay for a Debt Free Christmas with Cash!

This is our third cash only Christmas. Since 2008, we have buried the credit card and have used cash only for Christmas. January is a much more enjoyable month since I get no mail from the ~~evil~~ credit card companies. Commit to the program and you have no choice but to improve your situation.
If you follow the Dave Ramsey plan, you will build wealth much quicker. Merry Christmas to all!

December Debt Free Update. Pay Off Mortgage the Dave Ramsey Way.

Here is my December update. Currently, I am on Dave Ramsey's Baby Step 6 (Pay off the home mortgage). Two years & 4 months into my four year plan...things are so far going as planned. We have $41,166 left on the mortgage and then we will be 100% debt free!!

Here are the 7 Baby Steps:

1. $1,000 to start an Emergency Fund (Done)
2. Pay off all debt using the Debt Snowball (Done)
3. Three to six months of expenses in savings (Done)
4. Invest 15 percent of household income into Roth IRAs and pre-tax retirement (Doing 30%)
5. College funding for children (Part of #4's 30%)
6. Pay off home early (In Progress)
7. Build wealth and give! (Can't Wait)

By August 2013, We will be on to baby step 7. Time flies when you're having fun!

Repairing my 2005 Chevy Silverado's Sticky Accelerator Pedal. Throttle Body Carbon Cleaning.

My 2005 Cheverolet Silverado's gas pedal felt like it was sticky. I had to press the pedal a little harder to get it to accelerate from a stop. I did some online research and discovered that it was actually not the pedal but the throttle body. The throttle body develops a buildup of carbon around the outside and sort of seals itself closed.
It is less than a twenty minute project to get to the throttle body and clean it with the throttle cleaner. Quick & Easy (& cheap). I bought the cleaning spray at Autozone for under $3.

Human Body FactsThat May Surprise You. Your New Year's Resolution

1. A human being loses an average of 40 to 100 strands of hair a day.
2. A cough releases an explosive charge of air that moves at speeds up to 60 mph.
3. Every time you lick a stamp, you're consuming 1/10 of a calorie.

4. A fetus acquires fingerprints at the age of three months.
5. A sneeze can exceed the speed of 100 mph.

6. Every person has a unique tongue print.
7. According to German researchers, the risk of heart attack is higher on Monday than any other day of the week.
8. After spending hours working at a computer display, look at a blank piece of white paper. It will probably appear pink.
9. An average human drinks about 16,000 gallons of water in a lifetime.
10. A fingernail or toenail takes about 6 months to grow from base to tip.
11. An average human scalp has 100,000 hairs.
12. It takes 17 muscles to smile and 43 to frown.
13. Babies are born with 300 bones, but by adulthood we have only 206 in our bodies.
14. Beards are the fastest growing hairs on the human body. If the average man never trimmed his beard, it would grow to nearly 30 feet long in his lifetime.
15. By age sixty, most people have lost half of their taste buds. By the time you turn 70, your heart will have beat some two-and-a-half billion times (figuring on an average of 70 beats per minute.)
16. Each square inch of human skin consists of twenty feet of blood vessels.
17. Every human spent about half an hour as a single cell.
18. Every square inch of the human body has an average of 32 million bacteria on it.
19. Fingernails grow faster than toenails.
20. Humans shed about 600,000 particles of skin every hour - about 1.5 pounds a year. By 70 years of age, an average person will have lost 105 pounds of skin.

How to Save Money on Heating Bills in Winter. Top Ten Tips to Save Money and Reduce Energy Bills

As the temperature drops, the heating bill rises. What can you do to save money this winter? I WILL NOT be one of those people (maybe you) who keeps the thermostat at 65F or less during the day (while at home). No way! The minimum temperature that I will keep it at during the day is 68F....and that is a bit chilly.
I usually stay around 69F while the wife tries to nudge it up to 70F. Here are my top ten ways to reduce heating costs and save you money - in no specific order (I realize there are MANY ways, these are just a few of the less expense ways).

1. Get a programmable thermostat. This is very easy to install and keeps you comfortable. No longer will you wake up to a freezing house and have to tip toe to the thermostat to turn it up before you jump in the shower. I turn it down to 50 at night. Cost = $30 but will pay for itself

2. Seal around all windows and doors. If you can feel the cold air coming in around the windows & doors, well...that's just bad. Caulk is cheap. Cost < $3

3. Use your oven...to cook. Open the oven door after baking (shut it off first) to let all the "paid for heat" out. Cost = Free..sort of

4. Change you furnace filter every month. A clogged or semi-clogged filter makes your furnace work way too hard. Cost < $5 month.

5. You, Shrek, and Onions....LAYERS. Multiple layers of clothing will keep you nice and toasty. It's not a fashion statement but it works. Cost = FREE

6. Let the sun shine in. Open the shades during the sunny time..close them to insulate afterward. Cost = FREE

7. CFL's Baby. Ok, I know these don't save money on heating bills but this is a huge energy saver. I reduced my overall electric bill by about 15% by using cfl's. They are getting much cheaper and will pay for themselves in several months. Cost = 10pk for $12

8. Keep the garage door shut. You garage acts as an insulator from the outside ONLY when the door is closed. Shut it every time you leave, even if only for a few minutes. Cost = FREE

9. Check your ducts for leaks. Are you heating your crawl space? Check those ducties. Tape up the seams if necessary. Cost = $5 for duct tape

10. Shut the damn door. Why does it seem like that's all I ever say during the winter? OK, I don't say Damn, but I do say "shut the door" about 10 times a day. It drives me nuts when someone just stands in between the door while holding it open talking to the person inside. Either go in or out...just shut the door. Cost = FREE

2005 Chevy Silverado Repair: Thermostat Problem & Coolant System. Replacing.

My thermostat has been stuck open for about the last 18 months on my 2005 Chevy Silverado. Today was finally the day that I fixed it. Anyone who has ever worked on their vehicle knows how much of a pain in the rear that it sometimes is to get to the proper parts/bolts/nuts/etc. Chevrolet/GM is not stupid, they make repairing their vehicles as difficult and time consuming as possible for two good reasons.
One reason is because most people will not even try to do it on their own. The other reason is so that their service centers will be able to charge for more hours to repair it. Well foohy. I did it myself and saved about $100. The thermostat (with built-in gasket) can be bought at an auto parts store (I went to Autozone) for about $12. The biggest pain with replacing the thermostat was getting to the nuts to take off the housing. I had to remove several other parts in order to be able to reach the nuts with my socket. I drained a little coolant and also spilled a bit on the ground. The whole process took me about 90 minutes but it was my first time so if I had to do it again I could probably do it in 45 minutes. My engine light is still on, but I think it will go off after driving about 15-20 minutes (it re-checks itself every 15-20 minutes or so). (edit..it went off in 15 minutes) Before I replaced the thermostat, my temp gauge wouldn't register above 180F and it took quite a while for my heat to warm up. Now, my gauge is at about 205F once the engine is warmed up. The service division is about the only thing that keeps most auto dealers in business. Ford just announced record earnings, is Chevrolet next? Not if I have anything to do with it.

Hot Stock Tip of the Day! Buy/Sell/Trade the Market in Penny Stocks & Day Trading

Just say NO. The allure of the "strike it rich" with the penny stocks is very tempting. I tried this once (actually twice). Several years ago I figured I could buy some cheap, cheap stocks that were about to break out (??) and then sell them quickly for a nice profit.
I did my research, bought on the dip and had some early success. All I was looking for was about an $80 profit on each stock and to buy/sell about 5 stocks a month.
My math told me that I would make about $400 a month profit, just enough to pay for my car payment. I realize this was not day trading, but it still gave me a big rush. I started to realize that I had a problem when I had about six stocks in my portfolio that were still going down. Even though I had sold many stocks for $75-$100 gains, these six stocks were at such a loss that they totally offset my gains. I eventually sold the losers and took the tax write-off against my capital gains and the whole experience was a break even. The only one who made money from my penny stock experience was the brokerage house. It was fun but not very wise. As William O'Neil from Investor's Business Daily always preached, buy great companies at good prices and not bad companies at cheap prices. Lesson learned.

How to Sell Gold For The Best Price. Cash For Gold/Best Place to Sell Gold without Envelope Scam.

I had a few old gold chains that I used to wear many, many years ago just sitting in a dresser drawer. I really was never going to wear them again so about 1 year ago I figured I would sell them at one of those "Cash for Gold" places. Procrastination led to TODAY..I finally did it. As the price of gold is at an all-time high, I finally took those chains (and a few old broken pieces of jewelry my wife had) to the Cash into Gold place.
I really didn't know what to expect. This place is one of those strip mall stores with the huge window sign saying "We Buy Gold" or "Cash for Gold" that probably just went into business about a year ago (they're popping up everywhere). The business was called Midwest Gold Buyers. I walked in and was pretty amazed that all that was in this place were two desks and a big wide open space. I was the only customer there. The lady working there was polite & informative, but I soon realized that this was one of "those" places. You know, the kind you read about that gives you next to nothing on what your gold is worth. I had two gold chains (necklaces), a ring, and a bracelet. The largest chain was "gold filled" so she said she couldn't take it and the bracelet had specks of small diamonds on it so since they don't pay anything for diamonds she would have to reduce the weight. The grand total she quoted me was $50. I said thanks....but this is the first place I stopped at and wanted to go to another place to get a quote. She then quickly upped my quote by 20% (wow, a whole $10 more). I told her maybe I would be back...yea right. This place probably paid about the equivalent of those places where you put your gold in an envelope and mail it (My Gold Envelope, Cash 4 Gold, Elite Gold Buyers, Empire Gold Buyers, Money4Gold, GoldPromise, US Gold Buyers, All-American Gold Buyers, Gold Stash for Cash......endless). There was another place about a mile away that advertised in my newspaper that they are the best place to take gold jewelry and basically make fun of how little those "Cash for Gold" places pay. It is a dinky little pawn shop looking place. It really isn't a pawn shop, they are really a coin type store but it had the feel of a pawn shop. I went in there and it was hopping. The place was wall to wall people (it was really small so about eight customers made it full). They totaled up all my jewelry and gave me a quote of $149. I said...let's do it. They handed me the cash and I was happy. I highly recommend you do a little research and get at least two quotes if you are selling any gold jewelry. The places that have been in business for many, many years are probably going to be more legit than the cash for gold-here today, gone tomorrow, place. The gold envelope scam thing is really a joke. Don't be that dumb. If you want to convert you gold to cash, it pays to shop around.

Brita Water Filter Review. Cheap, Clean, & Good Tasting H20??

I ordered a Brita water filter pitcher last week from Amazon.com and received it yesterday. I was anxious to try it out and see if it would make my water taste like bottled water. I was tired of buying bottled water because of the expense and the inconvenience.
I followed all the instructions (soak the filter in a cup for about 15 minutes & then empty out the first two pitchers). The hardest thing about setting up the pitcher was trying to get the lid on right. I admit it...I was trying to put it on backwards! It looked like it should have went on that way but it was just a tiny bit off. I struggled with the lid for about 10 minutes until my 9 year old son came in the house & said "it goes the other way". Duh. I asked him how he knew that & he just said "I looked at the picture on the box". Makes sense. Anyway, my tap water isn't bad but it tastes like tap water...a bit chloriny. The result: Nice improvement. It took out all the chloriny taste (yea, I know chloriny is not a word) and tastes more like bottled water (although not exactly). I am pleased with the pitcher and the results. I drink a lot of water (60 oz or more a day) and this will save about $15 each month versus buying bottled water. The filter costs about $6 and will last about two months. Two thumbs up on the Brita Water Pitcher.

Brita Water Filter Pitcher is on the Way. Does it work? Brita 42556 Grand Pitcher-The Taste will tell.

Yesterday I ordered a Brita water filter pitcher from Amazon.com. I am tired of buying bottled water so I finally decided to give the Brita filtered pitcher a try. I read the reviews and saw some less than positive comments on the pitcher but am hoping I have one of the good experiences.
I ordered the Brita 42556 Grand Pitcher because I wanted a large capacity (80 ounces).
I understand the filtering process is slow and some people find the lid comes off too easily but I am willing to try this in hopes of eliminating the expense and inconvenience of buying bottled water. I will give a review of the pitcher once I receive it.

How To Kill Fruit Flies. These Things Are Driving Me Crazy

Fruit flies are everywhere! They fly by my face, hover above my food, and seem to multiply by the hour. How do I kill these things?
After searching the internet, I guess my best bet is to eliminate them by trapping them. Right now I have two cups, a bowl, and a water bottle with apple juice and banana peels sitting on my kitchen counter. One by one, slowly they're landing in it and basically drowning. These pesky fruit flies are worse than gnats.
The lifespan of a fruit fly is about 10 days but they lay eggs and new ones are born so quickly. If I start typing weird it is probably because I tried swatting one and bumped my keyboard again. I eliminated any fruit in the kitchen (except the fridge) but these crazy things just kind of buzz around like they own the place. Oh well, I guess it could be worse as I hear the bed bugs in the hotels are becoming a huge problem. Maybe I couoidw jib dejhb....

There are 293 ways to make change for a dollar...and other silly facts.

No piece of normal-size paper can be folded in half more than 7 times.

Blueberry juice boosts memory

When cats are happy or pleased, they squeeze their eyes shut

The elephant is the only animal with 4 knees

Every human spent about half an hour as a single cell

Each year, about 500,000 detectable earthquakes occur in the world. About 100,000 of those can be felt and about 100 of them cause damage.

The tongue is the only body muscle that is attached from one end only. .

We, as humans, forget 90% of our dreams

The percentage of people dreaming in black and white started decreasing after the spread of color TV

Approximately two-thirds of people tip their head to the right when they kiss

Just days before the World Cup of 1966 in England, the trophy was stolen and then later retrieved by a dog

Some Chinese believe that swinging the arms cures headaches

Coffee drinkers have more sex than non-coffee drinkers. They also enjoy it more.

The city of Portland in Oregon was named after a coin toss in 1844. Heads for Portland and tails for Boston.

A queen bee lays 1500 eggs a day

No president of the United States was an only child for his parents

Pumice is the only rock that floats in water

The African cicada fly spends 17 years sleeping, then wakes up for two weeks, mates and then die.

The vibrator was originally used as a medicinal treatment for female "hysteria" during the 19th century

Reno, Nevada has the highest rate of alcoholism in the U.S., Provo, Utah, the lowest.

The Declaration of Independence was written on hemp paper. Hemp doesn't contain THC and won't make you high.

In ancient Rome, when a man testified in court he would swear on his testicles

80% of all pictures on the internet are of naked women

250 to 300 million cell phones are being used in the U.S.

In South Africa it is a law that single ply toilet paper must have 500 sheets in the roll

Your foot is the same length as your forearm

In the US, Americans eat about 18 acres of pizza a day

If you plug your nose you can't hum.

Diamonds are not that rare, De Beers creates an artificial scarcity by stockpiling mined diamonds and selling them in small amounts

As of May, 2010; 1.2 Billion people still defecate in the open

In Victorian times, prostitutes wore pubic wigs

Charlie Chaplin once won third prize in a Charlie Chaplin look-alike contest

On average, a woman’s heart beats faster than a man’s heart

The United States hold the record for the highest divorce rate in the world

Other than humans, black lemurs are the only primates that may have blue eyes

Names in Iceland's phone books are listed alphabetically by first name not by last name

Cats can hear ultrasound

The skin of the average woman weighs 3 kilograms, while that of the average man weighs 5 kilograms

Dutch, on average are the tallest people

Kissing is healthier than shaking hands

Jaguars are frightened by dogs

There are no cemeteries in San Francisco, CA (excluding the federal National Cemetery at Lincoln Way)

Married men tip better than unmarried men

India never invaded any country in her history

Natural pearls melt in vinegar

Licorice (or liquorice) and avocado are among the food that sets the mood for love making

An olive tree can live up to 1500 years

The dial tone of a normal telephone is in the key of "F"

Cleopatra married two of her brothers

There are 293 ways to make change for a dollar...see the movie going the distance

The tradition of brides carrying a bouquet of flowers started with the brides trying to hide their body odor

Buttermilk does not contain any butter

Before toilet paper was invented, French royalty wiped their bottoms with fine linen

Bishop Eddie Long Has Some Issues To Deal With. Gay Sex Accusation-Swaggart/Baker/Flagg

So Bishop Eddie Long has a few things going on in his life right now. He is the head of the Georgia Megachurch New Birth and has been accused of having sex with several young men from the Longfellows Camp he ran. This scandal reminds me of all the Jimmy Swaggart and Jim Baker episodes. When will these so called "men of God" learn? Do they think they are above the law?
Sex scandals are always big time news so when they involve Priests/Pastors/etc, it becomes viral. Jesse Jackson didn't learn and neither did his son Jesse Jackson Jr. When these "big shots" want something, they think they should get it without repercussion. Mr. Long, good luck.

Walt Disney World Vacation Packages Save Money. Hotels by the Resort in Florida are a Discount but not a Deal.

I was thinking about our awesome trip to Disney World we took earlier this year and felt the need to write more about it. My old school of thought was always to stay in a hotel off Disney property to save some money.

This year, we booked a Disney package for Port Orleans-French Quarters. It also included a $500 Disney card. Now while discounted/cheap Disney tickets don't really exist, this $500 card made the whole trip much more enjoyable. We used it for almost all our food and some souvenirs. Bought some great beer/drinks at Epcot with it as well. We didn't go on any Disney World tours, but we saw so much Disney in those six days that it was unnecessary. The very convenient Disney bus service was timely and relaxing. Next trip to WDW will definitely mean a stay on Mickey Mouse property. Surprise the kids with Disney World passes and you will enjoy a lifetime of great memories.

Transforming Debt into Wealth by John Cummuta-Scam?. Handling Debt to become Debtfree

John Cummuta review is often talked about on my blog because I find him interesting. Many people believe his program is one big scam. His program isn't a scam (because it works) but his marketing ethics probably are very questionable.
His program, unlike Dave Ramsey's, has many questionable practices regarding purchasing. Many people have commented that they were scammed into paying for the "free trial" when they could not cancel/return the program.
His title "Transforming Debt into Wealth" is somewhat misleading as well. A lot of people assume that it shows them how to turn their debt into a positive thing-wealth. It basically is just saying how to transform your thinking and actions into a way that eventually will pay off all debt and then you can start to grow your wealth. It also has some "testimonies" that have people saying they paid off a 30 year mortgage in 2 years....right (maybe if they only had 10 years left out of the 30).
I do like Cummuta's presentation and theories, but I would never pay for his program. It is so similar to Dave Ramsey's program that I would just avoid the trinity debt and wealth seminar. It does not involve a mortgage elimination program, just focus and dedication. Your handling of debt has gotten you into this mess, now is the time to begin prosperous living. Both are great debt elimination strategies and will allow you to pay off your mortgage very early. Credit card elimination is the key...stop using the credit card today. Your credit diet needs to be one of starvation.

Slow Cooked Tastes So Much Better. Debt Elimination the Right Way...Crock Pot Time Machine?

Doesn't food that was cooked in a crock pot taste and smell so much better than microwaved food? There is something about that long wait that makes the meal so much more rewarding.
The same goes for wealth. If it takes a while and you really earn it, it will be much more rewarding than the instant gratification of some sort of windfall. Doing the Ramsey Baby Steps is really like you are eliminating debt and growing wealth via the crock pot. It smells great, tastes even better, and is there to stay. You know when you have one of those "I wish I would have done that years ago" moments? I can pretty much guarantee that you will say that when you do start your debt elimination program. You definitely will never regret doing it....so get out the old crock pot and change your future.

September Debt Payoff Update. UPDATE February 2013

On August 1st of 2008, we were in debt of 100k. This total included our house, cars, & credit cards. As of September 1st 2010, the total has shrunk to $46,550 (house only). I have been gazelle intense the whole time and it is great to see the total debt shrink.
Thankfully, consolidating credit card debt has not been needed (paid it off a while ago). Your debt reduction strategy needs to happen today and the best way to pay off debt is QUICKLY. Still on track to pay off mortgage early and be totally debt free by August 2012. How will that feel??!! Dave Ramsey's plan works....but is entirely up to you to execute it. *********UPDATE!******** Ok, so it it February 2013 (time flies). WE ARE 100% DEBT FREE!!!!!! House and everything paid off. Total paid in about 4.5 years was a tad over $100,000! The Dave Ramsey plan WORKS! Sent the final house payment over a week ago and received a paid-off confirmation letter from Citi Mortgage. *******************

Is Suze Orman for Real? Does John Cummuta Transform Debt To Wealth? No Information Here, Just More Fun Facts You Can't Live Without.

The average bed is home to over 6 billion dust mites.

Just twenty seconds worth of fuel remained when Apollo 11's lunar module landed on the moon.Ten tons of space dust falls on the Earth every day.

Every year the sun loses 360 million tons.

If you attempted to count to stars in a galaxy at a rate of one every second it would take around 3,000 years to count them all.

Ernest Vincent Wright wrote a novel with over 50,000 words, none of which containing the letter "e."

There are 333 toilet paper squares on a toilet paper roll.

Singapore has only one train station.

The Eiffel Tower has 2,500,000 rivets in it.

The Eiffel Tower has 1792 steps.

It takes about 20 seconds for a red blood cell to circle the whole body.

Every year, the Moon moves a further 3.82cm from the Earth.

Every minute in the U.S. six people turn 17.

There are more than 1,00 chemicals in a cup of coffee.

Blue and white are the most common school colors.

On average, a 4-year-old child asks 437 questions a day.

The tip of a 2cm long hour-hand on a wristwatch travels at 0.00000275 mph

There is about 200 times more gold in the worlds oceans, than has been mined in our entire history.

Human hair and fingernails continue to grow after death.

Termites eat wood twice as fast when listening to heavy metal music.

The cockroach has a high resistance to radiation and is the creature most likely to survive a nuclear war.

The best web based conference calling services, student loans consolidation, and term life insurance quotes are always just a click away.

Should You Pay Off Your House/Mortgage Early?? Your Home is a Bad Investment, Pay it Off Early to Lose Less.

I often hear people refer to buying a home as a good investment. They usually say it is one of the best things you can do to virtually guarantee a long-term positive gain. I disagree. The other day at work, I had a discussion with a co-worker about this.
When I told him that I felt the sale of your home is almost impossible to generate a profit on, he looked at me with his "stupid face". I gave him an example: A couple bought a home for $150,000 and 30 years later sell it for $300,000. I asked if he felt they made a $150,000 profit (he said yes). I then told him that typically they would have paid about twice the original loan amount by the time it was paid off (interest). So the $150,000 mortgage eventually came to $300,000 after principle & interest (no, I didn't use a mortgage interest calculator). They also paid 30 years worth of real estate taxes ($100,000 worth???). They also spend $25,000 or so in upgrades over the years (flooring, remodeled kitchen & bathrooms, etc). They also spent thousands on landscaping & yard maintenance. How much did they spend on refinancing the mortgage trying to get the lowest mortgage rates?
Now if an "investment" is supposed to MAKE you money, how does paying $425,000+++ for something that eventually is sold for $300,000 count as a good investment? To me it is cheaper than renting but definitely not a good investment. All you do is "lose less".
I do agree that it is definitely possible to make money in buying rental property. In that case, the renter basically pays off the mortgage and when all is said and done you will own the asset. Time to go mow my money losing grass.....

Christmas? Why am I talking About it in August?

The major Christmas shopping season is four months away, do you have a plan? How much money will you need to have saved by then? Are you on target to have the money or will you be swiping the old credit cards? NOW is the time to plan for this. We have a Christmas Club account at our local bank that automatically withdraws $20 a week from our checking account and deposits it into our Christmas Club account.
After 52 weeks, we end up with a little over $1000 in the account which is enough for the kids' and family's presents. Make it automatic and it is much less painful. If you don't have some sort of automatic savings account for Christmas, start today by figuring out how much you plan on spending and divide that by 15. That is how much money you will need to save each week from now until the Christmas shopping season. Don't let this sneak up on you. Christmas spending is not an emergency, it happens at the same time every year! Let this be a CASH ONLY Christmas. We made the last two be cash only and it felt great. I remember that icky feeling I used to have every January once the credit card bill came and realized the we overspent and had no way to pay the balance in full. Paying interest made me sick. Be proactive. Start right now! You will have the best Christmas ever!

Wealth 101. Never, Never, Never Give Up! Success is Just Around the Corner.

A list of Abraham Lincoln’s Failures:

Lost job, 1832

Defeated for legislature, 1832

Failed in business, 1833

Elected to legislature, 1834

Sweetheart (Ann Rutledge) died, 1835

Had nervous breakdown, 1836

Defeated for Speaker, 1838

Defeated for nomination for Congress, 1843

Elected to Congress, 1846

Lost renomination, 1848

Rejected for Land Officer, 1849

Defeated for Senate, 1854

Defeated for nomination for Vice-President, 1856

Again defeated for Senate, 1858

Elected President, 1860

Money Secrets of the Wealthy.

The wanna be's are always looking for the "secret" to becoming rich.
They figure there HAS to be a magic pill that will change their world and make them money hand over fist. Maybe they can even google the answer. Wrong. There is no secret! The only answer is called common sense. The answer is: Spend less than you earn...consistently. Wait, you mean your not accepting that answer? No, really, that is it. That answer is not sexy. It's not glamorous. How fast you can turn your financial life from icky to wealthy depends on a lot of factors. First factor is how committed to it you really are. Are you really willing to give up all the conveniences and enjoyment of your old stupid ways? If so, you may have a chance. Are you really willing to stick with this "new life" for the next (#?) years? Can you really kick stupid to the curb? Will you be able to be an adult and delay gratification? Dave Ramsey's plan shows you the way but it is you at the wheel. Will you stay the course and get there or will you pull over at the nearest roadside attraction? Why is it called "common sense" when it is in fact so rare?

Useless Knowledge You can use.

Interesting Facts

For Your Warehouse of Useless Knowledge

1,525,000,000 miles of telephone wire a strung across the U.S.

101 Dalmatians and Peter Pan (Wendy) are the only two Disney cartoon features with both parents that are present and don't die throughout the movie.

111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321

12 newborns will be given to the wrong parents daily.

123,000,000 cars are being driven down the U.S's highways.

160 cars can drive side by side on the Monumental Axis in Brazil, the world's widest road.

166,875,000,000 pieces of mail are delivered each year in the U.S.

27% of U.S. male college students believe life is "A meaningless existential hell."

315 entries in Webster's Dictionary will be misspelled.

5% of Canadians don't know the first 7 words of the Canadian anthem, but know the first 9 of the American anthem.

56,000,000 people go to Major League baseball each year.

7% of Americans don't know the first 9 words of the American anthem, but know the first 7 of the Canadian anthem.

85,000,000 tons of paper are used each year in the U.S.

99% of the solar systems mass is concentrated in the sun.

A 10-gallon hat barely holds 6 pints.

A cat has 32 muscles in each ear.

A cockroach can live several weeks with its head cut off.

A company in Taiwan makes dinnerware out of wheat, so you can eat your plate.

A cow produces 200 times more gas a day than a person.

A dime has 118 ridges around the edge.

A dragonfly has a lifespan of 24 hours.

A fully loaded supertanker travelling at normal speed takes a least twenty minutes to stop.

A giraffe can clean its ears with its 21-inch tongue.

A giraffe can go without water longer than a camel can.

A goldfish has a memory span of three seconds.

A hard working adult sweats up to 4 gallons per day. Most of the sweat evaporates before a person realizes it's there.

A hedgehog's heart beats 300 times a minute on average.

A hippo can open its mouth wide enough to fit a 4 foot tall child inside.

A hummingbird weighs less than a penny.

A jellyfish is 95 percent water.

A "jiffy" is an actual unit of time for 1/100th of a second.

A jumbo jet uses 4,000 gallons of fuel to take off.

The cheapest Insurance quotes and mortgage rate quotes are not always on the internet

A male emperor moth can smell a female emperor moth up to 7 miles away.

A man named Charles Osborne had the hiccups for 6 years. Wow.

A mole can dig a tunnel 300 feet long in just one night.

A monkey was once tried and convicted for smoking a cigarette in South Bend, Indiana.

A pig's orgasm lasts for 30 minutes.

A pregnant goldfish is called a twit.

A Saudi Arabian woman can get a divorce if her husband doesn't give her coffee.

A shark is the only fish that can blink with both eyes.

A quarter has 119 grooves on its edge, a dime has one less groove.

A shark can detect one part of blood in 100 million parts of water.

A skunk can spray its stinky scent more than 10 feet.

A sneeze travels out your mouth at over 100 m.p.h.

A toothpick is the object most often choked on by Americans!

A walla-walla scene is one where extras pretend to be talking in the background -- when they say "walla-walla" it looks like they are actually talking.

A whale's penis is called a dork.

About 3000 years ago, most Egyptians died by the time they were 30.

About 70% of Americans who go to college do it just to make more money. [The rest of us are avoiding reality for four more years.]

According to a British law passed in 1845, attempting to commit suicide was a capital offense. Offenders could be hanged for trying.

Actor Tommy Lee Jones and former vice-president Al Gore were freshman roommates at Harvard.

Al Capone's business card said he was a used furniture dealer.

All 50 states are listed across the top of the Lincoln Memorial on the back of the $5 bill.

All of the clocks in the movie "Pulp Fiction" are stuck on 4:20.

All porcupines float in water.

Almonds are a member of the peach family.

Almost a quarter of the land area of Los Angeles is taken up by automobiles.

America once issued a 5-cent bill.

America's first nudist organization was founded in 1929, by 3 men.

Ancient Egyptians slept on pillows made of stone.

An animal epidemic is called an epizootic.

An average person laughs about 15 times a day.

An iguana can stay under water for 28 minutes.

An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.

Armadillos are the only animal besides humans that can get leprosy.

Armadillos have four babies at a time and they are always all the same sex.

Armored knights raised their visors to identify themselves when they rode past their king. This custom has become the modern military salute.

Aztec emperor Montezuma had a nephew, Cuitlahac, whose name meant "plenty of excrement."

Babe Ruth wore a cabbage leaf under is cap to keep him cool. He changed it every 2 innings.

Babies are born without knee caps. They don't appear until the child reaches 2-6 years of age.

Baby robins eat 14 feet of earthworms every day.

Back in the mid to late 1980's, an IBM-compatible computer wasn't considered a hundred percent compatible unless it could run Microsoft's Flight Simulator.

Bank robber John Dillinger played professional baseball.

Barbie's measurements if she were life size: 39-23-33.

Bats always turn left when exiting a cave.

Ben and Jerry's send the waste from making ice cream to local pig farmers to use as feed. Pigs love the stuff, except for one flavor: Mint Oreo.

Bird droppings are the chief export of Nauru, an island nation in the Western Pacific.

Blueberry Jelly Bellies were created especially for Ronald Reagan.

Bubble gum contains rubber.

Camel's milk does not curdle.

Camels have three eyelids to protect themselves from blowing sand.

Canada is an Indian word meaning "Big Village".

Cat's urine glows under a blacklight.

Cats can produce over one hundred vocal sounds, while dogs can only produce about ten.

Charles Lindbergh took only four sandwiches with him on his famous transatlantic flight.

Chewing gum while peeling onions will keep you from crying.

Clans of long ago that wanted to get rid of their unwanted people without killing them use to burn their houses down - hence the expression "to get fired."

Cleo and Caesar were the early stage names of Cher and Sonny Bono.

Columbia University is the second largest landowner in New York City, after the Catholic Church.

David Prowse was the guy in the Darth Vader suit in Star Wars. He spoke all of Vader's lines, and didn't know that he was going to be dubbed over by James Earl Jones until he saw the screening of the movie.

Did you know that there are coffee flavored PEZ?

Dogs and cats consume almost $7 billion worth of pet food a year.

Dolphins sleep with one eye open.

Donald Duck comics were banned from Finland because he doesn't wear pants.

Dr. Samuel A. Mudd was the physician who set the leg of Lincoln's assassin John Wilkes Booth... and whose shame created the expression for ignominy, "His name is Mudd."

Dr. Seuss pronounced "Seuss" such that it rhymed with "rejoice."

"Dreamt" is the only English word that ends in the letters "mt."

Dueling is legal in Paraguay as long as both parties are registered blood donors.

During your lifetime, you'll eat about 60,000 pounds of food, that's the weight of about 6 elephants.

Einstein couldn't speak fluently when he was nine. His parents thought he might be retarded.

Emus and kangaroos cannot walk backwards, and are on the Australian coat of arms for that reason.

Eskimo ice cream is neither icy, or creamy.

Even if you cut off a cockroach's head, it can live for several weeks.

Every person has a unique tongue print.

Every time Beethoven sat down to write music, he poured ice water over his head.

Every time you lick a stamp, you're consuming 1/10 of a calorie.

Facetious and abstemious contain all the vowels in the correct order, as does arsenious, meaning "containing arsenic."

February 1865 is the only month in recorded history not to have a full moon.

Fingernails grow nearly 4 times faster than toenails.

Fortune cookies were actually invented in America, in 1918, by Charles Jung.

Gilligan of Gilligan's Island had a first name that was only used once, on the never-aired pilot show. His first name was Willy. The skipper's real name on Gilligan's Island is Jonas Grumby. It was mentioned once in the first episode on their radio's newscast about the wreck.

Giraffes have no vocal cords.

Goethe couldn't stand the sound of barking dogs and could only write if he had an apple rotting in the drawer of his desk.

Hang On Sloopy is the official rock song of Ohio.

Hershey's Kisses are called that because the machine that makes them looks like it's kissing the conveyor belt.

Honeybees have hair on their eyes.

Human teeth are almost as hard as rocks.

Human thigh bones are stronger than concrete.

Hydroxydesoxycorticosterone and hydroxydeoxycorticosterones are the largest anagrams.

Hypnotism is banned by public schools in San Diego.

"I am." is the shortest complete sentence in the English language.

If a statue in the park of a person on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle; if the horse has one front leg in the air, the person died as a result of wounds received in battle; if the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes.

If NASA sent birds into space they would soon die; they need gravity to swallow.

If you bring a raccoon's head to the Henniker, New Hampshire town hall, you are entitled to receive $.10 from the town.

If you have three quarters, four dimes, and four pennies, you have $1.19. You also have the largest amount of money in coins without being able to make change for a dollar.

If you toss a penny 10,000 times, it will not be heads 5,000 times, but more like 4,950. The heads picture weighs more, so it ends up on the bottom.

If your eyes are six feet above the surface of the ocean, the horizon will be about three statute miles away.

In 1980, a Las Vegas hospital suspended workers for betting on when patients would die.

In 1980, there was only one country in the world with no telephones - Bhutan.

In 1983, a Japanese artist made a copy of the Mona Lisa completely out of toast.

In 1984, a Canadian farmer began renting ad space on his cows.

In 75% of American households, women manage the money and pay the bills.

In Bangladesh, kids as young as 15 can be jailed for cheating on their finals.

In England, in the 1880's, "Pants" were considered a dirty word.

In England, the Speaker of the House is not allowed to speak.

In every episode of "Seinfeld" there is a Superman somewhere.

In Kentucky, 50 percent of the people who get married for the first time are teenagers.

In Los Angeles, there are fewer people than there are automobiles.

In most advertisements, including newspapers, the time displayed on a watch is 10:10.

In space, astronauts cannot cry, because there is no gravity, so the tears can't flow.

In the 1940s, the FCC assigned television's Channel 1 to mobile services (two-way radios in taxicabs, for instance) but did not re-number the other channel assignments. That is why your TV set has channels 2 and up, but no channel 1.

In the great fire of London in 1666 half of London was burnt down but only 6 people were injured.

In the last 4000 years, no new animals have been domesticated.

In the movie "Casablanca," Humphrey Bogart never said "Play it again, Sam."

In the White House, there are 13,092 knives, forks and spoons.

In Tokyo, they sell toupees for dogs.

Isaac Asimov is the only author to have a book in every Dewey-decimal category.

It takes a lobster approximately seven years to grow to be one pound.

It takes about a half a gallon of water to cook macaroni, and about a gallon to clean the pot.

It was discovered on a space mission that a frog can throw up. The frog throws up its stomach first, so the stomach is dangling out of its mouth. Then the frog uses its forearms to dig out all of the stomach's contents and then swallows the stomach back down again.

It was once against the law to have a pet dog in a city in Iceland.

It was once against the law to slam your car door in a city in Switzerland.

It's against the law to burp, or sneeze in a certain church in Omaha, Nebraska.

It's against the law to catch fish with your bare hands in Kansas.

It's impossible to sneeze with your eyes open. (Don't try this at home!)

Ivory bar soap floating was a mistake. They had been overmixing the soap formula causing excess air bubbles that made it float. Customers wrote and told how much they loved that it floated, and it has floated ever since.

John Lennon's first girlfriend was named Thelma Pickles.

"Kemo Sabe" means "soggy shrub" in Navajo.

Kotex was first manufactured as bandages, during WWI.

Lee Harvey Oswald's cadaver tag sold at an auction for $6,600 in 1992.

Leonardo Da Vinci invented the scissors.

Lightning strikes about 6,000 times per minute on this planet.

Like fingerprints, everyone's tongue print is different.

Lincoln Logs were invented by Frank Lloyd Wright's son.

Lorne Greene had one of his nipples bitten off by an alligator while he was host of "Lorne Greene's Wild Kingdom."

Los Angeles's full name is "El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de los Angeles de Porciuncula" and can be abbreviated to 3.63% of its original size: "L.A."

Maine is the only state whose name is just one syllable.

Many hamsters only blink one eye at a time.

Mel Blanc (the voice of Bugs Bunny) was allergic to carrots.

Michael Jordan makes more money from Nike annually than all of the Nike factory workers in Malaysia combined.

Millie the White House dog earned more than 4 times as much as President Bush in 1991.

Money isn't made out of paper, it's made out of cotton.

Montpelier, VT is the only U.S. state capital without a McDonalds.

More Monopoly money is printed in a year, than real money printed throughout the world.

More people are killed annually by donkeys than die in air crashes.

More people use blue toothbrushes, than red ones.

Mosquitoes have teeth.

Most Americans' car horns beep in the key of F.

Most cows give more milk when they listen to music.

Most dust particles in your house are made from dead skin.

Most lipstick contains fish scales.

Mr. Rogers is an ordained minister.

Murphy's Oil Soap is the chemical most commonly used to clean elephants.

No word in the English language rhymes with month, orange, silver, and purple.

Non-dairy creamer is flammable.

Nutmeg is extremely poisonous if injected intravenously

On a Canadian two dollar bill, the flag flying over the Parliament Building is an American flag.

On an American one-dollar bill, there is an owl in the upper left-hand corner of the "1" encased in the "shield" and a spider hidden in the front upper right-hand corner.

One in every 4 americans has appeared on television.

One of the reasons marijuana is illegal today is because cotton growers in the 1930's lobbied against hemp farmers -- they saw it as competition. It is not as chemically addictive as is nicotine, alcohol, or caffeine.

One quarter of the bones in your body, are in your feet.

Only 55% of all Americans know that the sun is a star.

Only one person in two billion will live to be 116 or older.

Only two people signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4th, John Hancock and Charles Thomson. Most of the rest signed on August 2, but the last signature wasn't added until 5 years later.

Our eyes are always the same size from birth, but our nose and ears never stop growing.

Over 1000 birds a year die from smashing into windows.

Owls are one of the only birds who can see the color blue.

Pamela Anderson Lee is Canada's Centennial Baby, being the first baby born on the centennial anniversary of Canada's independence.

Peanuts are one of the ingredients of dynamite.

Penguins can jump as high as 6 feet in the air.

Pinocchio is Italian for "pine head."

Playing cards were issued to British pilots in WWII. If captured, they could be soaked in water and unfolded to reveal a map for escape.

Polar Bears trying to blend in with the ice will sometimes cover up their black nose with their paws.

Pollsters say that 40 percent of dog and cat owners carry pictures of the pets in their wallets.

Q is the only letter in the alphabet that does not appear in the name of any of the United States.

Recycling one glass jar, saves enough energy to watch T.V for 3 hours.

Reindeer like to eat bananas.

Research indicates that mosquitoes are attracted to people who have recently eaten bananas.

Rubber bands last longer when refrigerated.

Sherlock Holmes never said "Elementary, my dear Watson."

Sigmund Freud had a morbid fear of ferns.

Since 1896, the beginning of the modern Olympics, only Greece and Australia have participated in every Games.

Slugs have 4 noses.

Some ribbon worms will eat themselves if they can't find any food.

Some toothpaste's contain antifreeze.

Spotted skunks do handstands before they spray.

"Stewardesses" is the longest word that is typed with only the left hand.

Studies show that if a cat falls off the seventh floor of a building it has about thirty percent less chance of surviving than a cat that falls off the twentieth floor. It supposedly takes about eight floors for the cat to realize what is occurring, relax and correct itself.

Sylvia Miles had the shortest performance ever nominated for an Oscar with "Midnight Cowboy." Her entire role lasted only six minutes.

Texas is also the only state that is allowed to fly its state flag at the same height as the U.S. flag.

The airplane Buddy Holly died in was the "American Pie." (Thus the name of the Don McLean song.)

The average American drinks about 600 sodas a year.

The average American will eat about 11.9 pounds of cereal per year.

The average bank teller loses about $250 every year.

The average person falls asleep in seven minutes.

The average person has over 1,460 dreams a year.

The average person is about a quarter of an inch taller at night.

The average person's left hand does 56% of the typing.

The Baby Ruth candy bar was actually named after Grover Cleveland's baby daughter, Ruth.

The band Duran Duran got their name from an astronaut in the 1968 Jane Fonda movie "Barbarella.

The blesbok, a South African antelope, is almost the same color as grapejuice.

The Boston University Bridge (on Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts) is the only place in the world where a boat can sail under a train driving under a car driving under an airplane.

The characters Bert and Ernie on Sesame Street were named after Bert the cop and Ernie the taxi driver in Frank Capra's "Its A Wonderful Life".

The combination "ough" can be pronounced in nine different ways. The following sentence contains them all: "A rough-coated, dough-faced, thoughtful ploughman strode through the streets of Scarborough; after falling into a slough, he coughed and hiccoughed."

The company providing the liability insurance for the Republican National Convention in San Diego is the same firm that insured the maiden voyage of the RMS Titanic.

The condom - made originally of linen - was invented in the early 1500s.

The cruise liner, Queen Elizabeth II, moves only six inches for each gallon of diesel that it burns.

The Earth weighs around 6,588,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 tons.

The Eisenhower interstate system requires that one mile in every five must be straight. These straight sections are usable as airstrips in times of war or other emergencies.

The electric chair was invented by a dentist.

The elephant is the only mammal that can't jump.

The first Ford cars had Dodge engines.

The first known contraceptive was crocodile dung, used by Egyptians in 2000 B.C.

The first toilet ever seen on television was on "Leave It To Beaver."

The giant squid has the largest eyes in the world.

The glue on Israeli postage stamps is certified kosher.

The highest point in Pennsylvania is lower than the lowest point in Colorado.

The housefly hums in the middle octave, key of F.

The international telephone dialing code for Antarctica is 672.

The katydid bug hears through holes in its hind legs.

The "L.L." in L.L. Bean stands for Leon Leonwood.

The longest one-syllable word in the English language is "screeched."

The longest recorded flight of a chicken is thirteen seconds.

The longest word in the English language, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis. The only other word with the same amount of letters is pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconioses, its plural.

The Main Library at Indiana University sinks over an inch every year because when it was built, engineers failed to take into account the weight of all the books that would occupy the building.

The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket.

The moon is moving away at a tiny, although measurable distance from the earth every year. Do the math and you will clearly see that 85 million years ago it was orbiting the earth at a distance of about 35 feet from the earth's surface. This would explain the death of the dinosours; the tallest ones, anyway.

The most common name in the world is Mohammed.

The name for Oz in the "Wizard of Oz" was thought up when the creator, Frank Baum, looked at his filing cabinet and saw A-N, and O-Z, hence "Oz."

The name Jeep came from the abbreviation used in the army for the "General Purpose" vehicle, G.P.

The name Wendy was made up for the book "Peter Pan."

The national anthem of Greece has 158 verses. No one in Greece has memorized all 158 verses.

The Neanderthal's brain was bigger than yours is.

The oldest known goldfish lived to 41 years of age. Its name was Fred.

The only 15 letter word that can be spelled without repeating a letter is uncopyrightable.

The only nation whose name begins with an "A" but doesn't end in an "A" is Afghanistan.

The only two days of the year in which there are no professional sports games (MLB, NBA, NHL, or NFL) are the day before and the day after the Major League All-Star Game.

The penguin is the only bird who can swim, but not fly.

The Pentagon, in Arlington, Virginia, has twice as many bathrooms as is necessary. When it was built in the 1940s, the state of Virginia still had segregation laws requiring separate toilet facilities for blacks and whites.

The phrase, "It's all fun and games until someone loses an eye" is from Ancient Rome. The only rule during wrestling matches was, "No eye gouging." Everything else was allowed, but the only way to be disqualified was to poke someone's eye out.

The phrase "rule of thumb" is derived from an old English law which stated that you couldn't beat your wife with anything wider than your thumb.

The placement of a donkey's eyes in its' heads enables it to see all four feet at all times.

The praying mantis is the only insect that can turn its head.

The Ramses brand condom is named after the great pharaoh Ramses II who fathered over 160 children.

The reason firehouses have circular stairways is from the days of yore when the engines were pulled by horses. The horses were stabled on the ground floor and figured out how to walk up straight staircases.

The Sanskrit word for "war" means "desire for more cows."

The "save" icon on Microsoft Word shows a floppy disk, with the shutter on backwards.

The saying "it's so cold out there it could freeze the balls off a brass monkey" came from when they had old cannons like ones used in the Civil War. The cannonballs were stacked in a pyramid formation, called a brass monkey. When it got extremely cold outside they would crack and break off... thus the saying.

The sound of E.T. walking was made by someone squishing her hands in Jello.

The starfish is one of the only animals who can turn it's stomach inside-out.

The state of Florida is bigger than England.

The term "the whole 9 yards" came from WWII fighter pilots in the South Pacific. When arming their airplanes on the ground, the .50 caliber machine gun ammo belts measured exactly 27 feet, before being loaded into the fuselage. If the pilots fired all their ammo at a target, it got "the whole 9 yards."

The three best-known western names in China: Jesus Christ, Richard Nixon, and Elvis Presley.

The United States Government keeps its supply of silver at the United States Military Academy, West Point, New York.

The United States has never lost a war in which mules were used.

The verb "cleave" is the only English word with two synonyms which are antonyms of each other: adhere and separate.

The very first bomb dropped by the Allies on Berlin during World War II killed the only elephant in the Berlin Zoo.

The word "Checkmate" in chess comes from the Persian phrase "Shah Mat," which means "the king is dead".

The word "modem" is a contraction of the words "modulate, demodulate." (MOdulate DEModulate)

The word "samba" means "to rub navels together."

The world population of chickens is about equal to the number of people.

The worlds oldest piece of chewing gum is 9000 years old.

There are 293 ways to make change for a dollar.

There are 336 dimples on a regulation golf ball.

There are over 52.6 million dogs in the U.S.

There are more plastic flamingos in America than real ones.

There are only four words in the English language which end in "-dous": tremendous, horrendous, stupendous, and hazardous.

There are only thirteen blimps in the world. Nine of them are in the United States.

There are two credit cards for every person in the United States.

There is a town in Newfoundland, Canada called Dildo.

There wasn't a single pony in the Pony Express, just horses.

Thomas Edison, lightbulb inventor, was afraid of the dark.

Tigers have striped skin, not just striped fur.

To escape the grip of a crocodile's jaws, push your thumbs into its eyeballs -- it will let you go instantly.

Two-thirds of the world's eggplant is grown in New Jersey.

Until 1796, there was a state in the United States called Franklin. Today it is known as Tennessee.

Until 1965, driving was done on the left-hand side on roads in Sweden. The conversion to right-hand was done on a weekday at 5pm. All traffic stopped as people switched sides. This time and day were chosen to prevent accidents where drivers would have gotten up in the morning and been too sleepy to realize that this was the day of the changeover.

When opossums are playing 'possum, they are not "playing." They actually pass out from sheer terror.

When snakes are born with two heads, they fight each other for food.

When the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers play football at home, the stadium becomes the state's third largest city.

White Out was invented by the mother of Mike Nesmith (formerly of the Monkees).

Who's that playing the piano on the "Mad About You" theme? Paul Reiser himself.

Wilma Flintstone's maiden name was Wilma Slaghoopal, and Betty Rubble's Maiden name was Betty Jean Mcbricker.

Windmills always turn counter-clockwise. Except for the windmills in Ireland.

Winston Churchill was born in a ladies' room during a dance.

Women's hearts beat faster than men's.

You blink over 20,000,000 times a year.

You can only smell 1/20th as well as a dog.

You'll eat about 35,000 cookies in a lifetime.

You're born with 300 bones, but when you get to be an adult, you only have 206.

You're more likely to get stung by a bee on a windy day than in any other weather.

Your heart beats over 100,000 times a day.

Your ribs move about 5 million times a year, everytime you breathe.

Your right lung takes in more air than your left one does.

Your stomach has to produce a new layer of mucus every two weeks otherwise it will digest itself.

Money/Debt Quotes to Think About.

Sometimes it helps to read some wisdom from the past. Here is a small collection of quotes about money/debt that may make you think. Enjoy!

The safe way to double your money is to fold it over once and put it in your pocket.
- Frank Hubbard

There is a very easy way to return from a casino with a small fortune: go there with a large one.
- Jack Yelton

It is an unfortunate human failing that a full pocketbook often groans more loudly than an empty stomach.
- Franklin Delano Roosevelt

The only reason a great many American families don't own an elephant is that they have never been offered an elephant for a dollar down and easy weekly payments.
- Mad Magazine

A bank is a place that will lend you money if you can prove that you don't need it.
- Bob Hope

If you think nobody cares if you're alive, try missing a couple of car payments.
- Earl Wilson

A man in debt is so far a slave.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Rather go to bed supperless than rise in debt.
-Benjamin Franklin

Debt is like any other trap, easy enough to get into, but hard enough to get out of.
-Henry Wheeler Shaw

You load 16 tons, and what do you get?
Another day older and deeper in debt.
St. Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go.
I owe my soul to the company store.
-Merle Travis

Midnight Heat! Where's the Lemonade Stand?

HOT, HOT, HOT! The weather in the midwest has been scorching for the past month. We have had the A/C running all month with no end in sight. ComEd (electricity) must be making a killing.\
My electricity bill last month was $165, the most it has been in years. The humidity has been brutal and the temperature has been 85 or higher all month. The swimming pool has been getting plenty of use this year, unlike the cool summer we had last year. I don't really mind these hot days, but please sprinkle in a few cool ones in between. Oh well, the cold beer tastes even better.

Swimming Pool Fun in the Sun......Might Just Bleed you Dry.

This post is for all you swimming pool owners. Does it seem all you do is pour money into your pool? All those chemicals the pool store tells you to buy will cost you a fortune. Don't do it! I rarely use anything in my pool (7 yrs old) except plain old chlorine bleach. Yes, the same bleach you buy at Wal-Mart to get your laundry white. That's about it...bleach. Do I ever buy "shock"...NO. Do I buy algaecide....NO.
Keep your water at a range of 1-3ppm of chlorine and the other junk is not necessary. Click HERE to got to a Pool Forum to learn how to do this. The pool store will try to sell you all kinds of totally unnecessary stuff to help THEM, not you. Buy a $10 water tester at Wal-Mart and some laundry bleach, that's about all you should ever need. I usually pour in about half a gallon of bleach each day (cost is around $1.25 a day). If your water has low or high ph levels, use baking soda or muratic acid to correct it. Don't buy the expensive pool supply junk, it is the same thing. I run the pump about 8 hours a day and my pool stays sparkly clear. Time for a swim......

Cool N Save Unit to Reduce Cooling Costs. Scam or Real (Living With Ed)

The Cool N Save is a system that will supposedly save you money on your air conditioning costs? It is an intriguing concept that deserves a look. Basically, the unit hooks up to your outdoor water spigot and sends a very fine mist around your A/C condenser. The mist is supposed to cool the air by up to 30 degrees which will in turn allow your condenser to work less hard to cool. I have done some research online to get first hand responses from people who have used the system and the reaction tends to be mixed.
Most people who used it said that it was cheaply built and quickly clogged. It also was not giving off a big enough area of mist to be very effective and may leak....seems to be more frustrating than it is worth. The best route is probably keeping your home cooler by not using the oven, keeping blinds/shades closed, and making sure the doors are not left open so long (darned kids). Do your own research, but I say skip the $90 expense of this item and use the money to buy some Popsicles.