First thing, check out the Carnival of Personal finance over at Smart Money Daily. Jon has a great blog, and I think you should check it out.

Also, if you like podcasts (these are down-loadable mp3 shows), then check out the ladies over at More Hip Than Hippie.
I am a conservative, and we get a bad rap when it comes to environmental stuff, but I really like what they do at More Hip. They talk about their families, money, and healthy stuff. Pretty cool.

Now, onto today’s thoughts:
I really, really need to start eating more healthily. I am over-weight, and I hate this. I consider myself an active guy, but man, can I eat! I have sleep-apnea, and I know that part of it is caused by my weight (not all of it though… I had it when I was thinner, just a mild-er-ish case) SOO… that leads me to my newest goal. Combing frugality with weight loss. I think that I am going to shop an buy the cheapest stuff I can that will also be healthy, and when I want to buy something that is not good for me, instead of looking at it like a “health” decision, I will look at it as a “financial” decision. SO, when tempted to buy a box of cookies, instead of going “hey, that’s not good for my belly”, I will go “hey, that’s not good for my WALLET.” Why this new approach? Because, when it comes to money, I have TONS of discipline. When it comes to food…well, I just weight TONS.

Debt Re-Payment Progress: NONE… Why? Well, just waiting until end of month for bills to come in, pay-check to come in, subtract former from latter, and pay-off debt then. On holding.

Filed under: Debt Story
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Well, I have heard just about all the complaining I want to hear about the price of gas. Here is the deal. Do you have 20 bucks in your wallet? If you were thirsty, could you find a clean glass of water? If you wanted to stay up and read a book tonight, could you flick a switch and have light? If you took a poop, do you own a toilet that would flush? Well, if you answered yes to these questions, then you are better off than any of the following people:

3 BILLION people live on less than 2 dollars A DAY
1.2 BILLION people live on less than 1 dollar A DAY
1.3 BILLION people have no access to potable water
3 BILLION people have no access to proper sanitation
2 BILLION people have no electricity

Hey, I hate paying 3 bucks a gallon as well, but check this out. I live in a place where I make a nice living, my kids are well fed, they have great health care, and I not only can afford to live well, I can actually afford to SAVE money. We are a blessed, blessed, blessed nation. So, stop whining about the gas price. Is it high? Well, yes and no… check out this chart I found which shows, that while gas is at an all-time high in “nominal” price, it is nowhere near its “inflation-adjusted” high.

Sometimes, it makes good since to back away from a situation and really, really analyze it. Does it stink that it costs me a few more bucks to hit the 7-11? Do I cringe every time I fill up and it costs 60 bucks? Sure. But take a step back. THINK about all of the blessings we have.

This post was inspired by a frustrating conversation I had with a lady at our local gas station. She went on and on and on about the gas prices. “This is ridiculous…Look how high these prices are…Somebody should do something…” Meanwhile, she was filling up her 2005 LEXUS SUV. Now, I have no problem with folks owning nice things. I hope to someday own my own jet. The problem I have is someone complaining about gas, when there are people dying in New Orleans, starving to death in Sub-Saharan Africa, and suffering with AIDS in S.E. Asia. Grow the freak up! The world is bigger than your stupid soccer-mom universe.

Rant Over!

By the way, I am in no way insinuating that American “culture” is “better” than the “culture” of any other country. I am just saying, that financially, we have it pretty darn good. Also, if you want facts on poverty and potable water, just google “percentage of world with potable water.” I think you will be humbled and shocked. Also, I am aware that certain governments have created the very hard-ships under which their citizens suffer.

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Well, I just feel “stuck.” I know that I will be able to pay-off my complete debts by the end of this year, but I just do not see how I am going to make my 10/10/2005 deadline. We just do not make enough income. Seriously, my wife has one more check of roughly 2200 bucks at the end of September, and I will have 6 checks for a total of about 3300 bucks. That is a total of just 5500 dollars income between now and then. Our remaining debt is 5,478.66. So, that would leave us less than FIFTY dollars to live on. Hmmm…what to do, what to do. We can search and find some more stuff to sell, but only about 500 dollars worth. The good news is , all of our major bills are paid through the end of September, and many will not be due until the 15th of October. I am glad that I do not owe any other debts, and I know that I will be paid off in December, but I really wanted to make this October dead-line. Any suggestions? I’m “stuck”.

Oh yeah, I use lots of “-” in the middle of compound words. Why? I don’t know. I also use “…”, too.

Also, here is a good post from Five Cent Nickel.

Filed under: Debt Story
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Alright, advice time. Here are 10 things you can do TODAY that can radically change your financial present and future.

1. Get organized. Go through that stack of bills, clean out your filing cabinet, balance your check book. GO…DO IT RIGHT NOW!

2. If you do not have free online bill pay, get it now. At 12 bills per month, times 37 cents per bill, that is more than 50 dollars a year on stamps! Would you pick up a 50 dollar bill if you found it laying around? I would. (I use Wachovia. While I do not like their loan department, I love their online banking and bill pay) Be sure your billpay is FREE. Do not pay for this service, as many banks offer it FREE.

3. Check your cable or satellite bill. Be sure that you watch all of the channels you pay for. We cancelled just 1 part of our package (duplicate local channels) and saved 60 bucks a year.

4. Go to your child’s room, and clean out their closet. If you find any items that are in great condition, but are too small for your child, sell those items on ebay. People pay more money for nice, name-brand children’s clothing than they do for ADULTS. (We made over 700 bucks in 1 month doing this.)

5. Do you listen to CD’s? Well, gather them up, rip them to your hard-drive, and sell the ones you don’t need anymore. COME ON! It is 2005! You don’t need those stacks and stacks of old CD’s. Clear the clutter, and make some cash. (We made 200 bucks a few years ago selling CD’s that we never even listened to.)

Okay, now you are organized, your kid’s closet is clean, and you have some stuff selling on eBay.
The next few items have to do with saving money on practical purchases.

1. Okay, I just like ONE grocery store, our local Kroger. I hate our local Wal—-. It is nasty, dirty, and their service is non-existent. SO, I shop at Kroger. Are their prices a wee bit higher? Yes, BUT, if you buy sale items, and sale items only, and you use coupons, you can come out WAY ahead of Wal—-. So, the first tip in this section is: Get a small notebook you can carry in your pocket, and create a “Grocery Price Book.” Then, when you go shopping, note the regular and/or sale price of items you want to buy.

2. ONLY buy items when they are on special (unless, of course, you are just beginning and you have items that you must have.) Please note, most grocery stores run their sales in a 12-16 week cycle. SO, after some time of keeping a Grocery Price Book, you will learn when your favorite items are on sale. Then, you can stock up.

3. This is a strange one. I am a dude, but I like to grocery shop. Here is the deal. I set aside about 2 hours, and I go to Kroger, and just chill and shop. I take my Grocery Price Book with me, and I go up and down the isles. I know the place better than the manager. I can tell when just about any item has gone up or down in price. (In fact, we just got a new Kroger, and I knew immediately that they had changed the “permanent” price for certain goods.) So, this tip is: Instead of dreading going to the store, make it a mini-vacation. There are no windows, no clocks. I think the best time to grocery shop is like 10 AM on Tuesday morning. Take an early lunch, wife is at work, kids are at school. Shop for 2 hours, have lunch, wind down.

4. Buy brand-names only if you just cannot stand off-brand items. I have found that MOST off-brand items are just as good as name-brand items, BUT, I do have my limits. I am sure you do to. However, be sure that you really don’t like an off-brand BEFORE you reject it. I have found that I like some off-brands BETTER than name-brands.

Off-Brands I Like BETTER? Kroger Butter Beans, Pickles, Paper Towels, and Bathroom Cleaner
Name-Brands I MUST have? Hunt’s Ketchup, Jif Peanut Butter, and Lipton Rice Sides.

(Oh yeah, I HATE off-brand soup. I want me Campbell’s!)

5. Clean out your fridge and your shelves. Knowing what you have and don’t have will go a long ways towards helping you know what you need to buy. How many times have you purchased a gallon of milk, only to get home and find 2/3 of a gallon still in the fridge? Plan, Plan, Plan!

Hope these 10 things help. I know that none of them are all that original, but I think we all get a wee bit hectic, and we allow ourselves to become disorganized. Getting and staying organized will help each of us conquer our particular financial challenges.

Man, what a lame last sentence…

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***Well, I managed to change the oil in the old F150***
Cost
Oil: 6 dollars
Filter 3 dollars
Time: 1 Hour (WHY?)
Because the stupid oil cap broke when I unscrewed it..
Replacement Cap: 5 dollars
Total cost: 14 bucks
Well, I could have taken it somewhere locally, but I enjoyed getting the old hands dirty. I don’t think I can do the accord on my own, because the bumper will not go over the lip of the ramps. I have a mechanic friend, so I will ask him.

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