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.

Bon Jovi Said it Best. Halfway There...Living on a Prayer. Killing Debt! Dave Ramsey Baby Steps are the Trick/Tip/Secret/Magic/Strategy

Oh, they're halfway there
Oh, living on a prayer
Take my hand
And we'll make it I swear
Oh, living on a prayer.

This is my July update on our debt payoff. It has been exactly 24 months since we started our path to debt freedom and we are now HALFWAY THERE! We started with exactly $100,332 of total debt (including the mortgage). As of today, we have paid off $50,230. Only $50,102 left to go. About 24 more months from now and I will be 100% free from all worldly debts, never to go there again. At the time we started (August 2008), I figured it would be possible to pay off everything in about six years. I was thrilled with that calculation because we still had about 14 years left of the mortgage. After tightening some belts and re-crunching numbers, I came up with a four year (48 month) plan to total freedom. So far, so good. I must stay focused to continue at this pace. While I never want to wish time away, I can't wait for that day to come. As I told my wife that day in August 2008, take my hand and we'll make it I swear........

My TMMO Forum Link to Keep you Motivated. Dave Ramsey Total Money Makeover Baby Steps: Best, Most Effective Debt Free Plan

Dave Ramsey's website is a great source of advice and information to keep you motivated and on track to paying off debt. I frequently read the forums because I like to see how others are doing.
Click HERE to check out the TMMO forum.
Dave Ramsey Total Money Makeover Baby Steps Plan: I am making great headway on eliminating my debt and owe a ton of my success to following Dave's plan (although not exactly as written). My next post will probably be a July update on my progress.

Keeping Up With the Joneses. Turtle Power!

Random Ramblings from a debt eliminator (me).
Am I the only one without a 46" LCD TV?
Am I the only one who doesn't have a DVR?

Am I the only one who doesn't own a riding lawn mower?
Am I the only one who doesn't have power windows & locks on my truck?

Am I the only one still with cable TV (no dish).

Am I the only one who doesn't have an iPhone/Blackberry cell phone?

Am I the only one who doesn't turn on the A/C when it hits 80 degrees?

Am I the only one who walks through the house continuously shutting off lights?

Am I the only one who washes the car in the driveway?

Am I the only one who gets coffee from the kitchen? (what's a Starbucks?)

Am I the only one who keeps the house a little bit chilly in the winter?

Am I the only one who brown bags it for lunch?

I KNOW MY NEIGHBORS DON'T!!!

Emergency Fund Wisdom from a Wise Reader.

This post is from a loyal reader (anonymous) who commented on my emergency fund post. This one's for you (whoever you are).

Anonymous said... Good post! Have you noticed how the financial experts disagree as to how much of an EF you should have? I've seen most recommendations ranging from 3 months, to a full year.Some "experts" have even bumped up their recommendations considering the fact that, when laid off, the average American takes something like 9 months to find another job lately. ("in this economy" - are you sick & tired of hearing that phrase lately, or what?) We've got 9 months of "required expenses" in our EF. I've got ours broken down into "required expenses/bills" and "optional expenses," realizing, like you, that we can eliminate certain expenses if we need to. In the "optional" column, we have one cell phone bill, $200 of the grocery bill (family of 5), the extra mortgage payment we make each month, IRA contributions, and $400 of other items (but not church giving - that stays in the required column!). Placing the IRA funding in the optional column bugs me. I would never want to stop contributing the full amount to our IRAs, but realize that, if faced with a true emergency, we might cut back on that and revisit our retirement plans when/if emergency is over. What are your thoughts on retirement contributions? Make them "required" or keep them "optional"?

We have, however, decided to take $3,200 from the EF to pay off the car this month, since there are only 9 months left on our car payment. Why keep the car payment when we've already got the money sitting in the EF that's been designated for the car payment should we find ourselves in an emergency? ;) We've decided several times before that we were going to pay it off earlier, but each time we said "OK, pay off the car with the next car payment," we had a true "mini-emergency" come up before the next car payment (like a $1,000 plumbing bill!). So I started to think we were jinxing ourselves every time we said "hey, let's pay off the car this month!" I know, that's silly...but still.... Well, now that we are down to the 9 month mark on the car payment, we have no excuse!

Now - on to the mortgage, which is now below $58K and at least two-thirds of each payment we make is now applied to principal (not interest!) - woohoo! We get to watch that mortgage balance drop like our 401K/IRAs did in 2008! hehe - bad joke, but sometimes you have no other choice than to find the humor in the situation ;) that year sucked, eh?

I love reading your stuff - will try not to stay gone for so long again ;)

Thanks Anonymous! I hope you have a blog of your own because you have some great stuff to say.

The Committed One.

There's No Oil Spill at the Campground. Camping 101.

My family loves to go camping. We have a 24ft self-contained camper that is just big enough for our family of four. Camping allows you to leave everything behind (stress, bills, daily routines) and unwind. To me, there is nothing more relaxing and stress free than spending a weekend in nature's wonderland. My camping days are basically broken down into three categories: coffee, food, & beer. I always wake up early while camping and really, really enjoy that first cup of coffee. I sit outside on my lawnchair and listen to the most peaceful sounds of singing birds. Once my wife and other camping buddies wake up, my focus becomes all about breakfast. I am normally a cereal guy, but while camping I turn into a Paul Bunyan breakfast kind of guy. Massive amounts of food for breakfast. Bring on the pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausage, hashbrowns, & toast. One of the best things in life is the smell of breakfast cooking at a campground. It is also kind of fun to watch the other campers next to you cooking their breakfast just to see if they're out-doing you. Once breakfast is over, it is time to do some more relaxing. We will sit around for a while and plan out the day. Usually we come up with some sort of entertainment for the kids to break up the day to avoid boredom. Sometimes we plan putt putt golf or go cart racing, but it may just be a pick-up touch football game or volley ball. Part of camping fun is having our group start a game and then have a bunch of other campers wander over and get involved. Once the entertainment is done, it is time for some more relaxing. Usually we do small lunches (a sandwich) because we were so stuffed from breakfast and anticipate a kick-butt dinner. Beer time while camping is anytime after noon (Bloody Mary's start at breakfast for some people). The girls usually mix up some sort of fruity cocktails but I pretty much stick with beer. Dinner may include any of the following: steak, chops, burgers, dogs, brats, chicken, kabobs, etc. While camping, dinner is an event. It can't just be a quickie thing, everyone gets involved with some sort of cooking task. From start cooking time to clean up time, it is a couple hour process. I love fires. I love building it, starting it, and watching it. Fire puts me in a totally relaxed trance (or maybe it is all the beer). Sitting around the camp fire with family and friends is really what camping is all about. No worries. Of course, everything I have written so far is the ideal camping day for me, but what would camping be without RAIN! Yea, it usually rains quite a bit when we camp. We drained Lake Delton (Wisconsin Dells) a few years ago. I am notorious for being the rain god of camping. Campgrounds should pay me to stay away. Rain at first glance really stinks while camping, but in reality it creates the most memories. Nobody remembers the perfect weather days, but we will talk about walking in ankle high water around our camper for years to come. Wicked storms while camping turn into fun times (several years later, of course). Attitude is everything while camping. Enjoy whatever is thrown your way. You'll be dirty, wet, & smelly, but so is everyone else....embrace it.

Where's My Holiday State Tax Bailout Refund?

Holidays are my weakness. The Memorial Day holiday came and went leaving me with a little less spending money. It is WAY to easy to spend money on these long weekends. I just get so far away from my normal day-to-day process that I seem
to spend money everywhere. Between the graduation gifts, alcoholic drinks, camping fees, and kick butt food for the grill, the cash disappears pretty quickly. I guess I need to budget in a "holiday fund". As I came out of the three day weekend, I felt fat, hungover, and broke. I did have a lot of fun, however! When it all comes down to it, holidays are meant to get together with family & good friends -have fun & create some memories. I guess you can't put a price on memories. Lets see, if I save two dollars a day until the Fourth of July, my holiday fund will have $64............

Kill-A-Watt Device Helps You Save Money on Electricity.

I bought a Kill-a-watt electricity monitoring device about a year ago so that I could really see where I was wasting money. This cool device will tell you just how much electricity each appliance or device is using. Is that old refrigerator costing you a ton? All those chargers plugged into the wall will surprise you on how much electricity they are using EVEN when you are not charging anything. Check to see how much juice those Christmas lights are using. I soon became a Kill-a-watt junkie and was checking everything in my house & garage. After making a few adjustments to what I kept plugged in, I figure this little device paid for itself in about 2 months. The big payday came when I adjusted my pool pump to run about 1 hour less each day. The savings really add up when you calculate it over time (months/years). I highly recommend everyone getting one of these to open your eyes on electricity usage. When you are done using it (not that you will ever be totally done), let a neighbor or friend borrow it to help them save some money.

The Best Vaccuum Cleaner I Ever Rated! This Hoover is #1 Value and Performance Leader.

Our old Hoover vacuum cleaner had seen better days and we were tired of using vacuum bags so the other day I did some research to find the best vacuum cleaner I could at a good price (around $100). After reading many reviews, I settled upon the Hoover Elite Rewind Bagless. This would be our first ever bagless model. I found the best price for a new (non-refurbished) unit on Amazon.com. It was $92.51 with free shipping. I ordered it and it was promptly shipped and received in about 3 days. My wife had just finished vacuuming with the old one when FedEx delivered the new Hoover. She assembled it (just putting the handle on) and tried it out. She immediately called me at work and said "Oh, my goodness, I can't believe how much stuff it picked up AFTER I had just vacuumed with the old one". She was very happy with how well it performed and really liked the cord rewind feature. When I got home, I had to try it out. I re-vacuumed the room that she already had done only I went much slower than she did. It again picked up a ton of dust even though this was already vacuumed several times already. Wow, vacuuming is almost fun when you can see how much you're actually picking up (I'm sure that feeling will wear off quickly). Overall, we really like this new vacuum cleaner and hope it is durable enough to last for several years.

Recycling Aluminum Cans for Money AND Love.

I have fond memories of when I was a kid out collecting aluminum cans. I used to walk the ditches behind my grandparent's house because they lived on a busy road. Back then (late 70's/early 80's) it seemed like everyone littered...it was no big deal. I would find pretty much anything you could imagine tossed in those ditches. Lots & lots of empty beer cans as drinking and driving was pretty much the norm. I started a beer can collection and probably had about 50 different cans that were pretty cool. Some cans were made out of tin and some from this new fangled aluminum can. The aluminum ones would be tossed into my giant Hefty bag after crushing them with a good stomp. I would keep gathering cans all summer and toss them into an old giant metal drum that my dad had behind our shed. I don't remember how much money I used to get when we eventually took the cans in for recycling but I do remember how excited I would be when we we driving to the recycling place. MONEY, MONEY, MONEY. I couldn't wait. I probably recycled cans until I was about 13yrs old, then it just didn't seem cool anymore.

Time lapse to 2009. During a beer drinking session with my neighbor, I commented on how ridiculous it was that we threw all our cans in the recycling bin to be picked up every week AND we paid for this privilege. The recycling company made money from the monthly fee and they also made money off of those aluminum cans. Hello, Bueller...Bueller. The next day I grabbed a big old Hefty bag and started tossing in our empty beer cans (and soda). I then went out and bought one of those nifty (and fun) wall mounted can crushers. The kids couldn't wait for the next empty can, they loved to crush. I saved cans for about a year until I just got tired of looking at the eye-sore of big black bags sitting by my wood pile. I took the cans to the local recycling plant and they kindly gave my $30. I went right over to the grocery store and picked my "free" (minus my $30) two cases of beer. What a country! Free beer.....well not really, but it felt like it. So now when my wife asks if I've been drinking, I just reply: No, I was out recycling.

How Much Emergency Fund Do I Need? Transform Debt to Wealth.

The rough economy the last few years has really brought many Americans back to the basics. Back in the day, people used to actually have money sitting in the checking account (or under the mattress) "saved for a rainy day". That whole emergency fund idea kind of went by the way-side when the spending/investing era took off (mid 80's). Sometime around the collapse of the Berlin Wall, people decided that it was foolish to save money in a liquid account for emergencies. It was so popular to just spend it and enjoy yourself (after all, money was so plentiful), or go for the "big gains" in the stock market. Wake up call---jobs are scarce, debt is huge, housing market tanks, oh no! When a real financial emergency does happen, you may need several month's worth of expenses to be available. Most financial experts agree that at least three to six months of expenses are necessary but how much that means for you is the question. First, you need to know how much you really spend each month. You'll need to track each expense daily for several months to get a good idea of just how much you spend. Keep a running log and don't forget the little spends (magazines, coffee, vending machine snacks, etc.). Once you have a good idea of how much you spend each month, figure out how much of that you would actually HAVE to spend if a real emergency took place. For example, even though you might have spent $800 a month on groceries, if a financial emergency took place you could definitely cut way back if needed and maybe only spend $500 or less. Add up all the "needs" and get the cut-throat total. Multiply this by whatever makes you more comfortable (3-6 months) and you will have a good idea on just how much money you need to save in the emergency fund. Keep saving until your fund is fully funded...making sure to keep it liquid. DO NOT TOUCH this money for anything except a full blown emergency! No, Christmas is not an emergency.
I was once a non-believer in accumulating an emergency fund. I figured that if the worst happened and I was really strapped for cash, I would just have to pull out the old credit card (dust it off) and live off it temporarily. But now that I have drank enough debt-free kool-aid, I am a believer in having a fully-funded emergency fund available as MY BAIL-OUT. I've seen the light at the other end of the tunnel and no, it's not from the locomotive coming towards me.

Where is my Alabama State Tax Refund Delay.......2010 Just Like 2009!

Still waiting on your state tax refund? I'm not, but many in Alabama still are. I don't live there but I do have relatives who do. They are getting quite used to the fact that their state tax refunds never seem to show up. How frustrating that must be.
There are several states that would be on the brink of collapse if they were actually corporations. California, Illinois, New Jersey...the deep in debt list goes on. Fiscal responsibility needs to be at the top of the "must have" list when deciding who should be the governor running the state. Some of the governors have never even been in financial control of their own households let alone multi-billion dollar industries/state. If they have never had any real experience running a successful organization (budgeting), do they really need to be running the state? I promise to stay away from the political aspect on this blog, but come on people....WAKE UP! I vote Dave Ramsey for Governor of common sense.

Saturday Night Live Deals With Debt. How to Retire Early.

This video from an old Saturday Night Live skit is pretty much all you need to know about personal finance. Too funny, truth is always funnier than fiction. Click on the top left arrow to start.

The Simple Life to Stop All Creditors.

If I were going to sum up the whole "live debt free and prosper" theory, I would do it by simply saying "SPEND LESS THAN YOU EARN. That's it, simple huh? Too bad so few actually do it. You've all heard the saying "it's not how much you make, it's how much you keep", so why hasn't it sunk in yet? Figuring out all the logistics involved with spending less than you make is the difficult part. Keep your life simple by not getting involved in all the shell games (credit cards, zero percent interest, etc..) that make it seem like you really can afford that new something or other. If you want or need something, pay cash and move on. What's that, you don't have enough cash to pay for it right now? THEN DON'T BUY IT, you can't afford it. Credit cards are designed to allow you to spend money that you don't yet have. It is a trap, steer clear. Don't try to out smart the credit industry, it's like playing with snakes...eventually you'll get bit. I bet everyone knows someone (or is someone) who is flat broke but has a 46" LCD TV, a $100 cell phone plan, expensive rims on the car, etc.. Notice anything wrong with the situation. Pay yourself first, then you can spend the rest of your cash on your needs/wants. So simple, yet so difficult.

Why Dave Ramsey? Is John Cummuta a Scam? Where's Suze Orman?

I often talk about Dave Ramsey's plan to become debt free, but I also think that another guy's program is really pretty good. John Cummuta has a plan that has gone by several different names over the past 15 years (currently it is called "Transforming Debt into Wealth")Update: Now calling it the Debt Free Bible.

I actually enjoy listening to Cummuta's audio book more than I do Ramsey's. I guess I follow a hybrid of both of their programs and have changed a few things that fit my situation a little better. Both Ramsey & Cummuta have VERY similar backgrounds, stories, and books. Below are some highlights of each and some differences:

Dave Ramsey's Baby Steps:
1) $1000 in Savings - Mini Emergency Fund

2) Pay Off All Debt (except the mortgage) using the debt snowball

3) Save for Fully Funded Emergency Fund (3-6 months of expenses)

4) invest 15% into 401k or Roth IRA

5) College Savings (529 accounts)

6) Pay off home early

7) Build Wealth & Give

John Cummuta's Transform Debt into Wealth:

Stage 1: Stop Using Credit - Operate 100% on cash
Debt is not a useful tool in building a successful life, credit makes things cost more, so why would you want to use it?

Stage 2: Pay off ALL your debts, including Mortgages.
Simultaneously with a cash-based lifestyle, we'll begin eliminating your debts. The first step in that process is the creation of what Cummuta calls your Accelerator Margin (TM). This is an amount of money that will help you accelerate your debt-elimination.

Stage 3: Focus All available cash on wealth-building
After your debt is paid off, it's time to start the first step of the wealth building phase. That first step is create an emergency savings fund.

Some differences are that Dave Ramsey says to create an emergency fund first where Cummuta says to pay off all debt before saving an emergency fund. . Another difference is that Ramsey separates the mortgage from the rest of the debts and says to pay that off at a later time, while Cummuta says it's all debt so it all needs to be eliminated.

I enjoy listening to Dave Ramsey's podcasts from his daily radio show. He is much more accessible than Cummuta and seems to be more on the up and up. Cummuta has a good program but has very questionable marketing tactics and many people think he is a borderline scam artist. I have never purchased anything from him (the program was a gift) so I really can't confirm or deny his practices. I would highly recommend starting either one of these programs asap. Both will get you the desired results...DEBT FREE...but only if you stick with it and persevere. Is John Cummuda a scam? No, Commuta is legit, but the plan is not much different that Ramsey's. Can you pay off house in 2 years? Not likely. Who is better, Dave Ramsey or "John Cummuta"? Both have value. What is best way to eliminate debt? Don't acquire any more, pay off the existing. Is the Debt Free Bible a scam? "Debt Free Bible" is Cummuta's newest name for his program. Oh yea, what about Suze Orman....I don't know-sorry. Is she a lesbian? Who cares.

Debt Elimination Secret Update. Getting Out of Debt: See Dave Ramsey/Cummuta/Suze Orman

My debt elimination update is a secret only because about 6 people will view this (my hit rate is not too good, huh). Here is my update for May:
Drum roll please.........

Total debt as of May 9th is $53,616.

On August 1, 2008 we owed $100,332. We have payed off $46,716 in 22 months! My new DEBT FREE date is August 1, 2012. Only 27 more months until the house is paid off and we are totally debt free (how weird is that?). The Dave Ramsey plan does work.
It is like every other thing worth doing...it takes time and consistency. You need to be committed to stay on it for the long haul. I keep thinking about how I will feel once all debt is gone and everything I earn goes to my future and not the bank/creditors/~~drug dealers~~. Just kidding on the drug dealers (although credit is consumer cocaine). Dave Ramsey is right when he says that following the program is not complicated, but it is difficult. It's difficult because it takes dedication, commitment, perseverance, and a bunch of other long words. Stay the course and to the victor goes the spoils. Don't ever try and keep up with the Joneses, they're BROKE!

Free Money!!! Ebates is Cool as Swag.

I finally used ebates last week for the first time. I have bought things online for many years, but I never have used ebates to get money back. Ebates is a really easy way to get a little money back when you buy on their approved sites (many, many sites). I used it for Travelocity and ebay and will get back about 1% on each purchase. I recommend using it for all qualified purchases because...why not! I meant to use it several times in the past few months but kept forgetting to go to ebates site first. I wonder just how much money I lost out on over the last few years by not participating in this. It is really about the easiest thing you can do. Give it a look, you will love it too. Click to check it out! Some purchases at certain sites will get you 15%-20% back. Hey, I like free money......

Retire Early One Cup at a Time.

Oh how I love my morning cup of coffee. From the second I stumble out of bed, coffee is the first thing on my mind. I look forward to it. So simple yet so satisfying. Coffee is an automatic for me every morning. If for some reason I were to skip it, my whole day would be a bit off kilter. You need to make investing the same way, it needs to be automatic! Don't just do it when you get the urge, make it an automatic process via your paycheck or bank account. It needs to happen at the least monthly if not weekly. If you are not taking full advantage of your employer's 401K and employee stock purchase plan then you are squandering a huge opportunity. Do it today! Take 20 minutes (about the same time it takes to drink that coffee) and figure out how to sign up. Do it for you! You can't afford NOT to! Time flies...don't delay. Twenty years of consistent investing will put you in position for a comfortable retirement. Think long term about building your nest egg and short term about getting your coffee, bacon, & eggs.

The Riches of Babylon Can Be Yours for the Low, Low Price of ........

The Richest Man In Babylon by George S. Clason. Read this book!!! Actually, don't read it, listen to it. I highly recommend that anyone who is searching their way through a financial mess or just without a plan should listen to the audio-book "The Richest Man in Babylon". This is one of the greatest books I have ever read/heard. I have probably listened to it in entirety at least 5 times. It gets better every time I listen to it. It is set in ancient Babylon and tells the story (several stories) of how people went on to become wealthy by following simple rules. It was written over 50 years ago but it's advice is timeless. I would say that it is very similar to "The wealthy Barber" in the way that it gets the point across. Very cool book.

Get Rich Slowly...Just Like the Yankees. Spend Time, Not Money.

Baseball is very much like investing. The most successful teams usually play the game very methodically & slowly. This week, an umpire criticized the Yankees & Red Sox for playing their games so slowly. In fact, the three slowest teams from last year (Yankees, Red Sox, & Dodgers) are probably three of the most successful teams. Coincidence? Probably not. Getting rich slowly is the only proven way to actually get rich. You need to be very methodical and disciplined in order to invest to get rich in a time span covering 25+ years. If you try to do it quickly, you are much more prone to making mistakes that will set you back. I would much rather be slow and successful than quick and mediocre. Take the time to analyze your investment decisions and take the slow, proven approach. Index funds are slow and boring but they are consistent and successful. Automatic investing is boring but successful. Be a bore! Be a Winner! Go Cubs!

Disney World Tips, Tricks, Secrets,...Touring Plans!

The magic of Disney was a great Spring Break! We just got back from a week in the sun at Disney World. The family all had a great time and everything about the trip worked out great, start to finish. We drove the 1200 miles to Orlando and it was smooth sailing all the way. No traffic, no construction, no problems! We stayed at the Port Orleans-French Quarters resort in Disney. It is an absolutely beautiful resort. We went to all four Disney parks and had a blast in each of them. Epcot was my favorite as I really loved strolling through the World Showcase. Hollywood Studios has the best rides, The Magic Kingdom is an absolute classic, and Animal Kingdom is a beautiful, scenic park. We NEVER waited in line more than 15 minutes for ANY ride at any of the parks! We rode all the "A" rides at least twice before noon and then again in the evening. The key is to get to the park early and get your fastpasses as soon as you can. Then keep getting a fastpass as soon as the time allows you to. Don't worry about the expiration time on the fastpass, they let you ride it ANY time after the start time. At one time at Hollywood Studios I had four sets of fastpasses saved up. There were lines for the "A" rides that were 80-100 minutes long but we walked right in with our fastpasses doing the happy dance. You need to get to the park at least 40 minutes before it opens and immediately go to an "A" ride, get a fastpass first, then ride it. Then go to the next "A" ride and there will be no wait, ride it, then it will be time to get another fast pass for an "A" ride. Have a plan (called touring plans) and you will have a great time at any of the parks. We (family of four) stayed at the Port Orleans resort for 6 nights, got 6 day tickets to the parks, and got a $500 Disney cash card for a grand total of $2370. The cash card lasted us until the last day (used it mainly for food). We spent about $350 for gas and hotels on our way to and from Florida (from Illinois). Now it is time to get back to nailing the debt.

I Need Some Feedback, Please.

This post is for you, the reader, to help me. Please, let me know what you think about my blog. How's my writing? I need feedback in order to get better. If this is your first time on this blog, please read all my posts (or at least as many as you can while still staying awake). Let me know what is good, what stinks, and what you suggest I do to improve my writing skills. I hope everyone who reads this will at least leave some constructive feedback. Thanks!

Debt Elimination Secrets are for Losers! Need a Little Black Book?

Here's an update on my debt freedom path. I have paid off $41,526 dollars of debt in 20 months. We are on target to pay off all our debt on Dec 2012. To be free of the $100,332 of debt will be a pretty unbelievable feeling! It CAN be done! To anyone who is just starting out trying to become debt free, I just say to you-BELIEVE. Stick to it. Don't get side tracked or discouraged. In these 20 months, we also bought a $6000 camper (paid for) and will be going to Disney World in a few weeks ($3000+ paid for). We are still living relatively well, just watching where we spend, cut back on several things, and keep a tight budget. In a little less than three years from now, we will be doing the Snoopy dance and living in our paid for home.

The Recession is Officially Over! (Or People Living Beyond Their Means).

We went to the mid-west mecca Wisconsin Dells over the weekend and there were a gazillion people at the waterpark. WALL TO WALL people! Trust me, the Dells is not cheap. I guess there is not too much to do at the end of February in these parts so everyone heads to the Dells. Consumer confidence looks to be heading up so people are loosening up the purse strings. The stock market has stabilized and retail sales are heading north. Oh what a difference a year makes. This time last year the stock market was at a decade low and nobody was spending money. We will be at Disney World during spring break so that will be another recession busting indicator. Yea, I know, I'm supposed to be paying OFF debt.