Over the course of the past 6 months, we've all heard stories of multi-billion dollar "recovery packages" and corporate "bailouts" that have been put in place by our government to lessen the impact created by stupid lending and overly-conservative business practices. But what do we, as the citizens do with this information?
Well, for most folks, we have done one of two things. 1) We have thrown our hands up and said "Okay Obama, here you go. I'm going to trust you because you got given this mess by Bush and his bush-league friends, and I believe that your large government programs will help us out of this mess." Or, like most people I know, say something like this: "Obama and Bernanke are destroying this country. By the time they are out of office, China and Japan are going to be foreclosing on US!"
Okay... As most of you know, I'm a pretty hardcore libertarian. I don't believe in publicly funded education or the FDA, much less a $700 Billion bailout, but sometimes, we've got to do something good with what we've been dealt. We've got to remember to vote--not just nationally, but in our local and state elections as well. These are the people whose governance you're actually going to feel directly.
That said, I often face an inner struggle about how my libertarian beliefs line up with my hatred for the US "free-market" economy. I am fed up with how corporations have no legal responsibilities on an individual level, how the money is retained at the top, and how shareholders have more power than the employees. When profits are down, workers are cut, rather than executive salaries. In order to encourage outside investment, some corporations cut worker benefits or paid time off, and mandate salary-freezes just so that the numbers show that their profits were up this quarter. I'm sure you know all of this! So, hypothetically, in a highly competitive marketplace, this wouldn't matter--the free market would balance itself out.
The problem, however, is that our marketplace is becoming less and less competitive. Local groceries are being forced to close down because they cannot compete with larger Wal-Mart type stores, whose nearly limitless financial backing makes it possible for them to stay open for long periods of time without profiting (enabling them to keep prices low), until they've driven out the competition. Likewise, small banks are being bought up by bigger banks, who can give larger interest rates on accounts, smaller loan interest rates and more practical access tools like online banking--something that some small banks cannot afford to do without extensive corporate financial support.
If you talk to any small business owner, they can describe these issues to you in much more detail and with much more passion. (Trust me...) They'll tell you that in order to compete and profit, you have to cater to a niche market, gain incredible customer loyalty and offer prices on your goods or services that will keep people coming in, even during an economic slowdown. And you have to be willing to work a ton of hours and be willing to make scant wages from time to time.
So, hypothetically, how would I get repeat business if I entered a community already dominated by large, big-box corporations? How would I maintain a steady profit stream and offer incredible competition to the places that would normally be forcing me to close my doors?
In my mind (which is a bit simple, I suppose), I would start with the community. In order to actively recruit business from people in the community, you have to be willing to show the community how much you are willing to give. If that means closing the store on Sunday evenings so that all employees could do voluntary community service, or offering free delivery to widows, orphans, the ill and the elderly, something would need to be done to show commitment to the community. I would run my business like I run my own personal finances-- giving back 10% of my store's income to charitable organizations, churches and mission groups. I would offer discounts to all customers who paid in cash, rather than credit, and would offer weekly freebies to individuals who pledged to do most of their shopping with us.
Next, I would move to the employees. It is important not only to compensate employees well, but exceptionally well. This includes offering full benefits, paid time off, and retirement plans EARLY on in the course of their employment, and being willing to split profits like a team would split profits. As the "CEO" of the company, I would create a rule establishing that at no time can any person make more than double the pay of any other person in the organization. This means that if I were making a salary of $100k/year (full-time), the cart boy and the janitor would each be making $50k minimum (if they also worked full-time). I would establish a salary-based pay scale where everyone would make a predictable weekly paycheck for their efforts. Full time would be 35 hours, half-time would be 20, and quarter time would be 10 hours/week. Any hours over 35 up to 45 would be paid time and a half, and holidays would be paid double in the form of an extra check at the end of the month. I would not allow any employee to work over 45 hours in a week. Because of the nature of the financial structure, increased company success would result in more capital coming in, which would be split evenly among all members of the company, according to time spent at the company. These bonuses would be distrubated annually, based upon how many years an individual had spent at a company (1/2 year being the lowest awarded). So, basically, if the business had been open for 5 years and me and two other employees had each worked there the whole time, one employee worked there for two years, and another for six months, we would divide the money (in this example $50k) based upon the years worked total:
Me-5 years
Employee 1- 5 years
Employee 2- 5 years
Employee 3-2 years
Employee 4-0.5 years
Total: 17.5 years
50,000/17.5= 2857.14/year
Me- (2857.14)x 5= 14,285.70
Employee 1- (2857.14)x 5= $14,285.70 bonus
Employee 2- (2857.14)x 5=$14,285.70 bonus
Employee 3-(2857.14)x 2=$14,285.70 bonus
Employee 4-(2857.14)x 0.5= $1,428.57 bonus
Whoa! That's a lot of money!
Additionally, a commitment would need to be made that no employee would be terminated based upon company financial hardship until the following events had occured:
1) All executive board members (CEO, President, COO, CFO, etc.) must take a cut in pay equal to the lowest full time salaried employee before any low or mid-level employee is terminated.
2) All executive board members must retain this status for at least six calendar months, until financial hardship is overcome.
3) If within six months, the company still needs to eliminate a job, it can do so, but cannot increase executive salaries for at least another six calendar months.
This would give a level of unparalleled accountability to the company by ensuring that everyone had a decent living wage, as well as giving the low and mid-level employees the security in knowing that their employer would rather make personal sacrifices than make lay-offs.
As a final incentive, employees who eliminated all revolving credit accounts (all credit cards and loans with the exception of the house) from their credit report would be given a "debt-free" raise of 5% of their salary, so long as they kept these accounts closed. Members of the team who pledged to exercise an hour a day would be given free access to a full gym, as well as a 5% "good health" raise--incentives to keep our employees healthy, both physically and financially.
Maybe, if we can implement some of these ideas into a new era of corporations, we can finally restore consumer confidence, boost the economy, and help people live healthier, more fulfilling lives and have more rewarding careers.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Friday, July 17, 2009
It's the Little Victories
You know that feeling that you get when you've been biking up a hill for a while, and you finally reach the top? What about when you're working out, just counting down the minutes until you can lay down on the floor and just know that you did something good for your body? Or what about resisting temptation by turning down that cheeseburger or milkshake, and ordering a cup of steamed veggies instead?
You know what I'm talking about. It's these "little victories" that seem to give us a sense of accomplishment and fulfillment. It's saying to yourself, "How much more can I push?", or "How little can I spend this month?" and then DOING THEM.
Shandus is much more of a planner than I am. Her lists and post-its keep her organized and on track for all the things that she plans to do in a day, and gives her a sense of accomplishment when she's done them. I have never been like this. I often think about all the things I have to do, pick one of them, and work on it for a little while, never really getting that much accomplished. I HATE this about myself. I am essentially setting myself up for failure by giving myself big goals without establishing small ones to achieve along the way. Here's a hypothetical example. Suppose Shandus and I were to write out two lists--one about getting in shape and the other about paying off student debt (because these things seem to have become the focus of our blog to date). Her list would look like this:
To Do-
1) Wake up and do ChaLEAN Extreme Burn Basics 1 at 6:15.
2) Drink Strawberry Yogurt Soy protein smoothies for breakfast with Ryan at 7:30.
3) Go to work, ensuring to pack my lunch and two snacks.
4) Eat snack 1 at 9:30- Peanut Butter Sticky bar.
5) Lunch at noon- Crispy Fish Tacos.
6) Eat snack 2 at 2:30- String Cheese.
7) Come home from work and eat dinner.
8) Make sure to tally up all calories consumed for the day and write them down.
9) Try out a new workout dvd while Ryan is at work.
Debt-
1) ATTACK smallest debt first while paying minimum on all the rest.
2) Put a line through that debt on our fancy "Debt Attack Board".
3) Repeat steps 1 and 2.
On the other hand, mine would look like this:
1) Workout and get ripped.
2) Eat right so I can lose weight.
3) Go to work and make money.
Debt-
1) Pay it off till it's gone so that we can save up to buy a house and be rich.
Well NO WONDER Shandus is so much more diligent about finishing tasks than I am! While she has all these little victories during the day, I am MUCH more concerned about the end result. While Shandus is DOING the things that make you healthy and fit, I am more concerned about THINKING about them. Instead of celebrating the little victories, I put too much stock in the end of result. After all, the expression "means to an end" has no meaning if you aren't concentrating on any "means" and still expect to get to the end.
Now of course, I know what I've got to do to get fit and become debt free, but sometimes it's the actual ability to write that down and formulate a written plan that keeps you on track.
I think that if you really want to accomplish something, you have to take it one day at a time. And I think that's what this whole blog is really all about. Because eventually, if we keep eating right and exercising regularly, we'll be fit. And if we keep paying off debt and living below our means, we'll be rich. As Dave says, "If you wanna be rich, do what rich people do. If you wanna be skinny, you better not ask for advice from a fat guy."
So, pull out those yellow pads. It's time to write down your plan!
You know what I'm talking about. It's these "little victories" that seem to give us a sense of accomplishment and fulfillment. It's saying to yourself, "How much more can I push?", or "How little can I spend this month?" and then DOING THEM.
Shandus is much more of a planner than I am. Her lists and post-its keep her organized and on track for all the things that she plans to do in a day, and gives her a sense of accomplishment when she's done them. I have never been like this. I often think about all the things I have to do, pick one of them, and work on it for a little while, never really getting that much accomplished. I HATE this about myself. I am essentially setting myself up for failure by giving myself big goals without establishing small ones to achieve along the way. Here's a hypothetical example. Suppose Shandus and I were to write out two lists--one about getting in shape and the other about paying off student debt (because these things seem to have become the focus of our blog to date). Her list would look like this:
To Do-
1) Wake up and do ChaLEAN Extreme Burn Basics 1 at 6:15.
2) Drink Strawberry Yogurt Soy protein smoothies for breakfast with Ryan at 7:30.
3) Go to work, ensuring to pack my lunch and two snacks.
4) Eat snack 1 at 9:30- Peanut Butter Sticky bar.
5) Lunch at noon- Crispy Fish Tacos.
6) Eat snack 2 at 2:30- String Cheese.
7) Come home from work and eat dinner.
8) Make sure to tally up all calories consumed for the day and write them down.
9) Try out a new workout dvd while Ryan is at work.
Debt-
1) ATTACK smallest debt first while paying minimum on all the rest.
2) Put a line through that debt on our fancy "Debt Attack Board".
3) Repeat steps 1 and 2.
On the other hand, mine would look like this:
1) Workout and get ripped.
2) Eat right so I can lose weight.
3) Go to work and make money.
Debt-
1) Pay it off till it's gone so that we can save up to buy a house and be rich.
Well NO WONDER Shandus is so much more diligent about finishing tasks than I am! While she has all these little victories during the day, I am MUCH more concerned about the end result. While Shandus is DOING the things that make you healthy and fit, I am more concerned about THINKING about them. Instead of celebrating the little victories, I put too much stock in the end of result. After all, the expression "means to an end" has no meaning if you aren't concentrating on any "means" and still expect to get to the end.
Now of course, I know what I've got to do to get fit and become debt free, but sometimes it's the actual ability to write that down and formulate a written plan that keeps you on track.
I think that if you really want to accomplish something, you have to take it one day at a time. And I think that's what this whole blog is really all about. Because eventually, if we keep eating right and exercising regularly, we'll be fit. And if we keep paying off debt and living below our means, we'll be rich. As Dave says, "If you wanna be rich, do what rich people do. If you wanna be skinny, you better not ask for advice from a fat guy."
So, pull out those yellow pads. It's time to write down your plan!
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Shake, shake, shake!
Last night, Ryan and I did Burn Circuit 1 of ChaLEAN Extreme. It was amazing! I can tell I'm going to love this program. I woke up feeling pumped and a little sad that today is a rest day (meaning I don't do a workout today).What really made last night special, though, was that we tried Shakeology for the first time! What's Shakeology, you ask? It is, in the words of the Beachbody site:
a nutritional protein shake that provides a wide spectrum of healthy nutrients in a low-calorie formula. Whether you use it as a meal replacement for weight loss or simply to ensure your body gets all the nutrients it needs for optimal health, Shakeology takes all the guesswork out of nutrition.
Each serving contains over 70 ultra high-quality ingredients conveniently located in one glass, to deliver nearly all the nutrients you need to maintain a healthy diet. It's good for you -- and good for everyone -- because everyone's diet is deficient in some of the key nutrient groups packed into just one Shakeology serving:
a nutritional protein shake that provides a wide spectrum of healthy nutrients in a low-calorie formula. Whether you use it as a meal replacement for weight loss or simply to ensure your body gets all the nutrients it needs for optimal health, Shakeology takes all the guesswork out of nutrition.
Each serving contains over 70 ultra high-quality ingredients conveniently located in one glass, to deliver nearly all the nutrients you need to maintain a healthy diet. It's good for you -- and good for everyone -- because everyone's diet is deficient in some of the key nutrient groups packed into just one Shakeology serving:
- protein from whey, which gives you 8 essential amino acids that help you build muscle, lose weight, support brain function, and keep your skin and bones healthy.
- Vitamins and minerals that support optimum health.
- Antioxidants that boost the immune system and help reduce free radical damage that can lead to heart disease, heart attacks, blood pressure, and stroke.
- Phytonutrients support immune function and have anti-inflammatory properties.
- Prebiotics support digestive and immune health.
- Digestive enzymes help in the digestion of foods and increase the absorption rate of those foods for optimum health.
If you want to learn more about Shakeology, or any other Beachbody products, check out my site: www.beachbodycoach.com/coachshandus
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Bringing on the Burgers
I've always LOVED food. Growing up, nothing sounded better to me than an evening at home, grilling out and watching movies in the den, or going out to eat larger-than-life seafood portions after church on Sundays. And as I got older, the trend continued. My high school years were not spent doing school work (much to my regret when applying for college), but stuffing my face on Casa Blanca, Olive Garden, Soul Burger, Cheeburger Cheeburger, Aroma's, King's Buffet and Greenbrier's. I really, really enjoyed spending time with friends over a big bowl of cheese, basket of onion rings, or sipping coffee and milkshakes. Life was good when I was nomming down on a Sonic BLT and sipping a fresh, raspberry iced tea. Just thinking about it makes me start salivating. So, it probably comes as no surprise that all of that food would eventually start coming back to me in the form of a large muffin sitting atop my skinny jeans.
It was my sophomore year of college when I really started noticing my weight gain. I had always been a bit heavier in middle school (mainly due to the fact that I was about 5 feet tall and sat on my butt all day), but when high school came and I started growing and becoming more active, I lost most of the excess, always keeping a little gut and love handles. But this was different. Instead of gaining weight in the love handles and gut, I was starting to gain in my face. My cheeks were beginning to become more full, and I grew a beard just to hide how round my face had become. I mean, most people wouldn't have called me fat, but tight shirts and days out at the pool seemed a bit intimidating and embarassing for me.
I wouldn't say that most of my issues with this weight gain had to do with asthetics. I just felt tired, couldn't really focus on tasks at hand and was a bit more irritable than I had been in years prior. I hadn't felt that way before. At first, I attributed these changes to entering college, a demanding courseload and the stressors of being away from home, but soon, when the semester was over and I was back at home for Christmas, I realized that these feelings of irritability were not going away.
When I went away to England last summer to study at Cambridge, I really let myself go. Beer and I had become best friends (since I was legal overseas), and I drank a few every night to suppliment my high-fat British meals of Fish and Chips and Yorkshire Pudding. I hit my all time high weight of 185 in the middle of the trip, and had the hardest time staying awake through all my classes (even though the professors were world renowned!).
When I got back, I felt like Free Willy. Pants that I had left at home no longer fit, I had to move from small shirts to medium (which were tight), and I had to use an ice pick to poke new holes in my belts. This was humiliating.
About a month after my return, I decided to start cutting back on my food intake. I made a commitment to myself to lose ten pounds before the wedding, and to walk to class every day instead of driving (at least until winter, where it often gets below zero). Needless to say, this took a while, but on November 22, the day of my wedding, I was down to 175.
The honeymoon came and went, and my wife and I were celebrating our new lives together by lots of queso, margaritas and nights eating out. Before Christmas, I had gained a few pounds, and after the belly-stretching holidays, I was back up to 179 while my wife stayed thin as ever!
This was so discouraging! Thankfully, my wife's brother gave us a gift certificate to a local vegetarian store, where we loaded up on healthy foods. This prompted us to give the vegetarian lifestyle a bit of a try. While weight loss came slower for my wife (whose weight is pretty stable), I dropped about 15 pounds in a two month period, bringing me back down to 165, my pre-college level.
Unfortunately, my energy was still down. I looked into the mirror, and I didn't see that same guy I saw when I came to college. There was no muscle, no definition. Just flab, and lots of it.
This brings us to now. My wife and I have decided that this is not how we want to live. We not only want to eat healthier, but we want to be in the best shape we can be in. After all, are we not just managers for these bodies that God has given us? It's so interesting to me that some people will spend countless hours working on building up their finances or fixing their cars, but have no regard for their own bodies! We say things like: "It's not in my family genetics", or "God made me this way", and completely disregard that we have the power and the duty to take what we've been dealt and do wise things with it. Remember the parable of the talents (Matthew 25: 14-30, Luke 19:12-28)? The master entrusted his slaves with money, and was proud of those who did smart things with it to come out better than when they started, and rewarded them appropriately. On the other hand, the slave who hid it in the ground and gave it back to the master saying: "This is what you gave me." was punished and was stripped of all he had. I think the same thing can be said about our bodies. God is the master, giving us possession of our bodies for a temporary time. Should we do nothing, returning to God (at our deaths) what he gave us to work with, or should we invest in ourselves and work to create a body that is better suited to do his work?
The truth is this: losing weight and getting in shape doesn't just change the way you look; it changes the way you feel. And when you've restored your energy by exercising, your body and mind become better suited to do the things that matter most, including serving the Lord.
All this behind us, I would like to take this time to put on paper a few of my personal fitness goals, as well as where I'm coming from. And, of course, I'll keep you posted every step of the way.
8th Grade- 5'1"- 160lbs.
9th Grade, Semester 1- 5'2"- 165lbs.
9th Grade, Semester 2- 5'7"-145lbs
10th Grade- 5'9"- 145lbs.
11th Grade- 5'10"- 150lbs.
12th Grade- 5'10- 155lbs.
Summer after 12th grade (working out)- 5'10"-175lbs.
Freshman College, Semester 1- 5'10"- 170lbs.
Freshman College, Semester 2- 5'10"- 160lbs.
Sophomore College- 5'10"-165lbs.
Summer Abroad- 5'10"- 185lbs.
Junior in College, Semester 1- 5'10"- 175lbs.
Junior in College, Semester 2- 5'10"-170lbs.
Summer- NOW- 5'11"- 163lbs.
Goal Weights- December 2009- 155lbs.
May 2010- 170lbs. (maybe some muscle again!)
It was my sophomore year of college when I really started noticing my weight gain. I had always been a bit heavier in middle school (mainly due to the fact that I was about 5 feet tall and sat on my butt all day), but when high school came and I started growing and becoming more active, I lost most of the excess, always keeping a little gut and love handles. But this was different. Instead of gaining weight in the love handles and gut, I was starting to gain in my face. My cheeks were beginning to become more full, and I grew a beard just to hide how round my face had become. I mean, most people wouldn't have called me fat, but tight shirts and days out at the pool seemed a bit intimidating and embarassing for me.
I wouldn't say that most of my issues with this weight gain had to do with asthetics. I just felt tired, couldn't really focus on tasks at hand and was a bit more irritable than I had been in years prior. I hadn't felt that way before. At first, I attributed these changes to entering college, a demanding courseload and the stressors of being away from home, but soon, when the semester was over and I was back at home for Christmas, I realized that these feelings of irritability were not going away.
When I went away to England last summer to study at Cambridge, I really let myself go. Beer and I had become best friends (since I was legal overseas), and I drank a few every night to suppliment my high-fat British meals of Fish and Chips and Yorkshire Pudding. I hit my all time high weight of 185 in the middle of the trip, and had the hardest time staying awake through all my classes (even though the professors were world renowned!).
When I got back, I felt like Free Willy. Pants that I had left at home no longer fit, I had to move from small shirts to medium (which were tight), and I had to use an ice pick to poke new holes in my belts. This was humiliating.
About a month after my return, I decided to start cutting back on my food intake. I made a commitment to myself to lose ten pounds before the wedding, and to walk to class every day instead of driving (at least until winter, where it often gets below zero). Needless to say, this took a while, but on November 22, the day of my wedding, I was down to 175.
The honeymoon came and went, and my wife and I were celebrating our new lives together by lots of queso, margaritas and nights eating out. Before Christmas, I had gained a few pounds, and after the belly-stretching holidays, I was back up to 179 while my wife stayed thin as ever!
This was so discouraging! Thankfully, my wife's brother gave us a gift certificate to a local vegetarian store, where we loaded up on healthy foods. This prompted us to give the vegetarian lifestyle a bit of a try. While weight loss came slower for my wife (whose weight is pretty stable), I dropped about 15 pounds in a two month period, bringing me back down to 165, my pre-college level.
Unfortunately, my energy was still down. I looked into the mirror, and I didn't see that same guy I saw when I came to college. There was no muscle, no definition. Just flab, and lots of it.
This brings us to now. My wife and I have decided that this is not how we want to live. We not only want to eat healthier, but we want to be in the best shape we can be in. After all, are we not just managers for these bodies that God has given us? It's so interesting to me that some people will spend countless hours working on building up their finances or fixing their cars, but have no regard for their own bodies! We say things like: "It's not in my family genetics", or "God made me this way", and completely disregard that we have the power and the duty to take what we've been dealt and do wise things with it. Remember the parable of the talents (Matthew 25: 14-30, Luke 19:12-28)? The master entrusted his slaves with money, and was proud of those who did smart things with it to come out better than when they started, and rewarded them appropriately. On the other hand, the slave who hid it in the ground and gave it back to the master saying: "This is what you gave me." was punished and was stripped of all he had. I think the same thing can be said about our bodies. God is the master, giving us possession of our bodies for a temporary time. Should we do nothing, returning to God (at our deaths) what he gave us to work with, or should we invest in ourselves and work to create a body that is better suited to do his work?
The truth is this: losing weight and getting in shape doesn't just change the way you look; it changes the way you feel. And when you've restored your energy by exercising, your body and mind become better suited to do the things that matter most, including serving the Lord.
All this behind us, I would like to take this time to put on paper a few of my personal fitness goals, as well as where I'm coming from. And, of course, I'll keep you posted every step of the way.
8th Grade- 5'1"- 160lbs.
9th Grade, Semester 1- 5'2"- 165lbs.
9th Grade, Semester 2- 5'7"-145lbs
10th Grade- 5'9"- 145lbs.
11th Grade- 5'10"- 150lbs.
12th Grade- 5'10- 155lbs.
Summer after 12th grade (working out)- 5'10"-175lbs.
Freshman College, Semester 1- 5'10"- 170lbs.
Freshman College, Semester 2- 5'10"- 160lbs.
Sophomore College- 5'10"-165lbs.
Summer Abroad- 5'10"- 185lbs.
Junior in College, Semester 1- 5'10"- 175lbs.
Junior in College, Semester 2- 5'10"-170lbs.
Summer- NOW- 5'11"- 163lbs.
Goal Weights- December 2009- 155lbs.
May 2010- 170lbs. (maybe some muscle again!)
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Oh, Uncle Benjamin... Where'd you go?
I found myself in a rut. I was innocently walking from dinner at the Curb Cafe one night (when I still attended Belmont), and saw this table set up handing out free t-shirts. These were AWESOME t-shirts, so I decided to stop by to check them out. The man behind the table yelled, "Sign up here, and you'll get one of these shirts, and build your credit so that you'll be able to buy a house and a car right after you graduate!" "Whoa!", I thought. "A crack at the good ol' American Dream is as easy as signing my name on a piece of paper?"
My first Discover bill arrived in the mail about thirty-six days later, just thirty days after my card arrived. It was a beautiful card too-- a piano with a warm orange glow, perfect for a pianist like myself. I wanted to show the card to EVERYBODY; the barista, the guy at the guitar store, the awkward store manager at the Posh Boutique in Hillsboro Village, the server at P.F. Chang's, and the list goes on. So, of course, I was a little bit shocked when my bill arrived after that first month. It was so nice to hear that sound of my card running through the machine, to buy things with a mere swipe of a card and a MY BILL WAS THREE HUNDRED DOLLARS!
So, after the initial shock wore off, I managed to make a transfer from my savings account, pay off the balance, and calm down. I put the card back in my wallet and vowed to take it easy next month. About a week before my birthday, I got something in the mail from Discover. I opened it, knowing full well that it couldn't be my bill-- it was too early in the month! Guess what? A free $50 iTunes gift card! This was awesome! These people really WERE my friends!
I charged and charged until I completely depleted all of the savings that I had worked hard for in the eight months before I started college working three jobs, and then charged some more. And then, soon, I went from paying off my balance in full every month and getting gift cards to paying minimum payments and getting phone calls. This wasn't fun anymore.
I decided that Discover was no longer my friend. I could not go on any longer racking up more and more debt with a company that wanted my money more than it wanted to give me free stuff. Enter Capital One. With its promise of "No Hassles", I was determined that I could use this card without risking my financial security. These must be really nice people, like they appear to be in the commercials, and they were there to help me build a future. The only problem was that this time, I had no money in savings to pay off the bills, and my job only paid me about $150 a month. So, as you might suspect, my positive relationship with Capital One only lasted about two months. Then, I was stuck.
With $65,838 of student loans, $2637 of credit card debt, no hope, and two pretty cards in my pocket, I felt like this crack at the American dream was nothing more than the stuff of pipes. I had been promised a nice house and a nice car as a result of using my piano key Discover Card. I had been promised a "hassle free" life by Capital One. Instead, my paychecks were already divided amongst those whom I owed money, and nothing was MINE anymore. I was being trained. I had the stuff, but it was all theirs. And later, I'd have the house and the car, but they'd be the property of the bank.
When I looked at the life I was creating for myself and my fiancee, I didn't see any way I could be happy living like this. I imagined winning the lottery, making it big as a rockstar and selling millions of albums worldwide. I imagined selling the next great American novel, or inventing the next Chia Pet--anything to get me out of this rut. My dreams were no longer tangible goals, but merely things that I hopelessly reached for in order to imagine a life where I wasn't behind, over burdened, and overweight (which I'll get to later).
Enter Dave Ramsey.
I remember this moment very clearly. I was in a dorm room in Cambridge, England, doing a bit of studying when my fiancee (now wife) called me on Skype to chat. On the other end of the video chat was a girl who looked about like I felt at that moment--hopeless and worried. She had taken my advice to do one of those "90 Days same as cash" deals on a new laptop, and was now over her head in credit card debt, that like me, had crept up over a matter of months. She was crying, telling me how she didn't know how people could live like this and that she felt really overwhelmed and discouraged. I tried to comfort her, telling her that people lived like this all the time and that eventually she'd get it paid off. But my words of encouragement weren't helping. It was evident that I had no plan of action, and that my words were empty. Besides, it's not like I was the Lao Tzu of financial security. She calmed down a bit, and started talking to me about this guy, Dave Ramsey, and how he'd helped people get out of debt by motivating them to work hard and sacrifice. She directed me to the blog of one of her friends, who had pledged to pay for her first house with cash, and I was floored. I thought, "I remember this guy! He's that Financial Peace University nutjob!" I used to make fun of the people at church who would talk about how much they had changed their lives for the better by becoming debt free. "Why would you ever want to pay for a house with cash? What about equity? Tax benefits?" But then I remembered something... the same people who talk about equity and tax benefits are the ones who talked to me about free t-shirts, iTunes gift cards and a life in debt. Maybe this guy knew something that I didn't. Maybe I should give it a try.
That day, I made a decision to free my bride-to-be of the debt burden she was facing by paying off her credit cards with leftover money from my student loan. This was STUPID, I know, but at the time, it seemed like the right thing to do. So, since Dave Ramsey only accepts Debit and she didn't have any more minimum payments, she was able to save up, buy us a kit, and sign us up for a class that we would finish right after we said our vows.
From the first class, I was blown away. It seemed strange that all this time, I had been living without a plan. But now I had one. My view of debt completely changed, I cut up all my credit cards, payed off all my balances, and cancelled them one by one. And as they offered me higher credit limits, lower interest rates, and more cashback rewards, I just laughed and told them that I thought debt was dumb and that I was no longer playing. I thought, "This is fun."
Through this whole experience, Shandus and I have made a few goals that we plan to achieve before we die. We believe that these will greatly bless our marriage and help to change our family tree.
1) Get out of debt (student loans) in less than 2.5 years.
2) Get into a house in less than 6 years (paid for with cash).
3) Become multi-millionaires by the age of 40.
4) Fund our children's educations.
5) Endow a scholarship.
6) Bless our parents with the financial security they deserve.
7) Help educate others about the importance of a debt-free lifestyle, and how it can radically change lives!
It's weird how liberating having a plan can be. But if normal is broke, I WANT to be weird.
My first Discover bill arrived in the mail about thirty-six days later, just thirty days after my card arrived. It was a beautiful card too-- a piano with a warm orange glow, perfect for a pianist like myself. I wanted to show the card to EVERYBODY; the barista, the guy at the guitar store, the awkward store manager at the Posh Boutique in Hillsboro Village, the server at P.F. Chang's, and the list goes on. So, of course, I was a little bit shocked when my bill arrived after that first month. It was so nice to hear that sound of my card running through the machine, to buy things with a mere swipe of a card and a MY BILL WAS THREE HUNDRED DOLLARS!
So, after the initial shock wore off, I managed to make a transfer from my savings account, pay off the balance, and calm down. I put the card back in my wallet and vowed to take it easy next month. About a week before my birthday, I got something in the mail from Discover. I opened it, knowing full well that it couldn't be my bill-- it was too early in the month! Guess what? A free $50 iTunes gift card! This was awesome! These people really WERE my friends!
I charged and charged until I completely depleted all of the savings that I had worked hard for in the eight months before I started college working three jobs, and then charged some more. And then, soon, I went from paying off my balance in full every month and getting gift cards to paying minimum payments and getting phone calls. This wasn't fun anymore.
I decided that Discover was no longer my friend. I could not go on any longer racking up more and more debt with a company that wanted my money more than it wanted to give me free stuff. Enter Capital One. With its promise of "No Hassles", I was determined that I could use this card without risking my financial security. These must be really nice people, like they appear to be in the commercials, and they were there to help me build a future. The only problem was that this time, I had no money in savings to pay off the bills, and my job only paid me about $150 a month. So, as you might suspect, my positive relationship with Capital One only lasted about two months. Then, I was stuck.
With $65,838 of student loans, $2637 of credit card debt, no hope, and two pretty cards in my pocket, I felt like this crack at the American dream was nothing more than the stuff of pipes. I had been promised a nice house and a nice car as a result of using my piano key Discover Card. I had been promised a "hassle free" life by Capital One. Instead, my paychecks were already divided amongst those whom I owed money, and nothing was MINE anymore. I was being trained. I had the stuff, but it was all theirs. And later, I'd have the house and the car, but they'd be the property of the bank.
When I looked at the life I was creating for myself and my fiancee, I didn't see any way I could be happy living like this. I imagined winning the lottery, making it big as a rockstar and selling millions of albums worldwide. I imagined selling the next great American novel, or inventing the next Chia Pet--anything to get me out of this rut. My dreams were no longer tangible goals, but merely things that I hopelessly reached for in order to imagine a life where I wasn't behind, over burdened, and overweight (which I'll get to later).
Enter Dave Ramsey.
I remember this moment very clearly. I was in a dorm room in Cambridge, England, doing a bit of studying when my fiancee (now wife) called me on Skype to chat. On the other end of the video chat was a girl who looked about like I felt at that moment--hopeless and worried. She had taken my advice to do one of those "90 Days same as cash" deals on a new laptop, and was now over her head in credit card debt, that like me, had crept up over a matter of months. She was crying, telling me how she didn't know how people could live like this and that she felt really overwhelmed and discouraged. I tried to comfort her, telling her that people lived like this all the time and that eventually she'd get it paid off. But my words of encouragement weren't helping. It was evident that I had no plan of action, and that my words were empty. Besides, it's not like I was the Lao Tzu of financial security. She calmed down a bit, and started talking to me about this guy, Dave Ramsey, and how he'd helped people get out of debt by motivating them to work hard and sacrifice. She directed me to the blog of one of her friends, who had pledged to pay for her first house with cash, and I was floored. I thought, "I remember this guy! He's that Financial Peace University nutjob!" I used to make fun of the people at church who would talk about how much they had changed their lives for the better by becoming debt free. "Why would you ever want to pay for a house with cash? What about equity? Tax benefits?" But then I remembered something... the same people who talk about equity and tax benefits are the ones who talked to me about free t-shirts, iTunes gift cards and a life in debt. Maybe this guy knew something that I didn't. Maybe I should give it a try.
That day, I made a decision to free my bride-to-be of the debt burden she was facing by paying off her credit cards with leftover money from my student loan. This was STUPID, I know, but at the time, it seemed like the right thing to do. So, since Dave Ramsey only accepts Debit and she didn't have any more minimum payments, she was able to save up, buy us a kit, and sign us up for a class that we would finish right after we said our vows.
From the first class, I was blown away. It seemed strange that all this time, I had been living without a plan. But now I had one. My view of debt completely changed, I cut up all my credit cards, payed off all my balances, and cancelled them one by one. And as they offered me higher credit limits, lower interest rates, and more cashback rewards, I just laughed and told them that I thought debt was dumb and that I was no longer playing. I thought, "This is fun."
Through this whole experience, Shandus and I have made a few goals that we plan to achieve before we die. We believe that these will greatly bless our marriage and help to change our family tree.
1) Get out of debt (student loans) in less than 2.5 years.
2) Get into a house in less than 6 years (paid for with cash).
3) Become multi-millionaires by the age of 40.
4) Fund our children's educations.
5) Endow a scholarship.
6) Bless our parents with the financial security they deserve.
7) Help educate others about the importance of a debt-free lifestyle, and how it can radically change lives!
It's weird how liberating having a plan can be. But if normal is broke, I WANT to be weird.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Before and After
When I used to write, there was always some sort of pretense that I had to do so professionally, or with some sort of bold, resounding voice that I could maintain from post to post. It really didn't work--I'd get burned out after pouring out story after story about people who I didn't know, situations I wasn't involved in, or attempting to write something overly poetic or literary. I was lying to myself, lying to the people who would read my blog, and was trying to be someone who I am not.
That behind us, you might be left wondering why I'm back in the blogosphere, giving this thing another crack. The truth is, I don't know. Over the past year, I've gone through a bit of a makeover-- getting married, accepting new responsibilities, learning how to manage my finances, cutting red meat from my diet, starting a daily exercise regimen, and the list continues. But up until this point, most of my efforts have been focused on the preparatory aspects of it all; the neverending series of "what's next" and means to an end, and I have not allowed myself to seperate from it all to enjoy what's happening RIGHT NOW.
So, here we are.
That behind us, you might be left wondering why I'm back in the blogosphere, giving this thing another crack. The truth is, I don't know. Over the past year, I've gone through a bit of a makeover-- getting married, accepting new responsibilities, learning how to manage my finances, cutting red meat from my diet, starting a daily exercise regimen, and the list continues. But up until this point, most of my efforts have been focused on the preparatory aspects of it all; the neverending series of "what's next" and means to an end, and I have not allowed myself to seperate from it all to enjoy what's happening RIGHT NOW.
So, here we are.
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