Pretty Good Progress for 1 Year

Last night, my wife reminded me that it was exactly one year ago that we got into our car accident.

It was hard to imagine with it being in the windy and cold 40’s yesterday while a year ago we were cruising with the top down in the sunshine — it just doesn’t seem like it was the same time of year.

But honestly, it’s one of those points of reference that I’m able to immediately go back to. When I think about all of the things we’ve accomplished since then, it makes me feel pretty good.

No, I’m not going to go all wishy-washy here and talk about how a near death experience changed my life for the better. Hardly.

It wasn’t a near death experience in my head — my thoughts as we were sliding sideways (and backwards) towards the guardrail were:

• Please don’t let another car hit us.
• Why aren’t we slowing down - my foot *is* on the brake!
• There’s plenty of shoulder for us to stop before the guardrail.
• Oh crap — this is going to hurt!

When the car finally hit the guardrail, and stopped, it turned out that we didn’t hit any other cars and there really wasn’t enough of a shoulder. Oh yeah, we weren’t hurt either.

Since then, going back to my reference point, the thing that I notice that has changed the most, physically, is the exterior of our house. It’s all new — and somehow we managed to pay for it too.

On the inside, we tore out a ton of plaster, fixed a plumbing problem, and threw out tons and tons of junk that we had sitting in a storage unit (to the tune of $140/month).

Financially things have been nothing but positive, with the credit card debt eliminated and my 401k finally maxxed out.

Over this last year, things even got comfy enough that I threw in the towel and stopped working so much (outside of the office).

Quitting the hockey team was the first big step — dumping a long time difficult and frustrating client was the next. Can’t tell you how nice it was on Sunday to return from a weekend away and not have a single business related email in my inbox. Not one.

That’s been a huge change for me — and in just one year.

Posted on May 13th, 2008 at 8:58 am by Brainy Smurf
Life, Accident, Success | No Comments »

Picking Up the (Payment) Pace

We’re well into the month of May now, and after my April in the clouds financially, let’s see if I’m on track again…

I ended up going back to my tried and true weekly payment system. I’d never done it with the auto loan before so I tested it out with a couple of e-payments initiated through my checking account last month. Success.

To meet my original goals for 2008, it basically came down the fact that I had to set aside $2000 per month in order to meet them all by the end of December.

I’m sticking to that plan, and though it seems as if I’m far ahead of schedule, having wiped out the credit card debt, I’m actually not far ahead at all. In truth, I’m actually behind.

There are almost 8 months left in the year and the total cost of my goals is still a little over $16k. It’s going to be tight.

The current strategy is to split the $2000/month right down the middle with $1000 going towards the auto loan and $1000 towards savings in the ING Direct account. Any extra I’m comfortable parting with will go towards the mortgage.

So, I’ve completely automated the auto loan side of things. Each Wednesday, I have $150 being transferred from the checking account to Toyota. In addition, I increased the regular $289 that Toyota pulls from my checking account on the 15th of each month to $400. Together, my monthly payment is now $1000.

At this rate, the auto loan will be eliminated sometime in the Fall. Not exactly as soon as I’d hoped, but it’s a sure thing at this point and I like that aspect.

For the other $1000, I’ve got $75 being transferred over to ING each week on Tuesdays.

True, this only adds up to $300 worth of automatic transfers each month but I’m transferring in the remaining $700 on a manual schedule based on when payments from my side business come in.

Of late though, the side business hasn’t brought in nearly $700 so the remainder is coming from my regular paycheck after the mortgage and all of the bills have been paid.

So far this month, if I include the $75 transfers already scheduled, I’ve accounted for $800 — partly in thanks to the economic stimulus check. Making up the remaining $200 from the paycheck I’ll receive on the 22nd shouldn’t be an issue.

That will put me right on track — and I should also have some left over to attack the mortgage principle as well (to eliminate PMI).

Hopefully, a month from now, I *really* will be ahead…

Posted on May 12th, 2008 at 12:50 pm by Brainy Smurf
Finance, Mortgage, 2008 Goals, Savings | No Comments »

Judgement of Character

A guilty pleasure of mine is the television program Survivor.

This season I think I may have missed one episode — and it only snuck by me because of some wacky scheduling on CBS because of March Madness College Basketball.

Last night was the finale where they crowned the winner — Parvati outlasted Amanda to take the $1 million prize.

For those that aren’t familiar with the show, when the game gets down to the final two contestants, their peers (and former rival contestants) are permitted to directly ask them a question (or in some cases, just vent).

Based on the contestant’s answers, these eliminated players get to determine who wins the game. Usually it’s just a fluff/spite fest full of uncomfortable moments. If anything, the final episode of each season is usually the worst (not to mention the least climactic). It’s just not great television.

But on last night’s episode, one of the contestants, Eliza, really ripped into both of them by saying things that I think a lot of people feel, but rarely express.

For the record, Eliza was never a popular player (this was her second run on the show). She’s one of those people whose face can be read in an instant — she doesn’t seem to have the ability to be subtle, it’s all out there all the time. Not exactly a great character trait.

So when she gets her chance to speak to the remaining two players, she vocalizes her feelings. She calls Parvati a “mean person”. A person who very openly insulted her, put her down, talked behind her back, and was, in essence, downright rude for really no reason.

Essentially, this was the unpopular girl telling the popular girl, “You know what? You might think you’re so awesome, but you’re a real jerk. You hurt me, and I want you to know it.”

I know people like that. There was a guy in middle school, Rick, who would just walk right up to me and say out loud, “Why don’t you have any friends?” It was bizarre. I didn’t have a real answer, other than a befuddled, “What?” But he kept doing it. Day after day.

I was embarrassed.

Why was I his target? I mean, how do you answer that? I had friends. Did I have to justify it to him? Why should I have to justify anything to this prick?

At the time, I just couldn’t figure it out… He sat at a lunch table of sports losers. You know, the guys that could recite the 1927 NY Yankees batting order or tell you how much Charles Barkley weighed on any given day. Real important stuff.

At the same time, these were also the guys who always wore sweatpants in gym class and never actually participated in any of the “sports” we were forced to play. To them, talking about sports was what mattered, not actually participating in them.

They threw like girls. The kicked with their toes. They couldn’t sink a foul shot.

In the grand hierarchy of social order in our school, I was easily 200 seats ahead of this guy. What was his problem?

Plain and simple, he was a prime example of a mean person. He carried it into high school even — at which point we were segregated and herded like cattle based on our academic, athletic, and artistic talents so thankfully we never really crossed paths again.

Back to Survivor — for the second remaining contestant, Amanda, Eliza calls her really disingenuous. You know, the type that smiles at you, moves in for a hug, and says something like “Oh, it’s so great to see you!” with a slightly ‘off’ tone of voice.

There’s being polite, and then there’s going over the top, and that’s called insincere. Amanda was the type that would turn on the tears to get a reaction. She’d bat her eyelashes and frown. On a genuine person, both would be very meaningful expressions, but on her, it was so openly fabricated. And Eliza called her on it.

Relating, again, to my own experiences, I can’t stand when kids say “thank you” like robots. You know what, if you don’t mean it, don’t bother saying it. I’ll be a lot less offended — and I don’t think I’m alone.

Even better, most cashiers these days… I know that they have a “script” to stick to, but please, don’t bother saying “Have a nice day” if you’re going to say it like you really couldn’t give a crap how the remainder of my day goes. Just don’t bother.

Perhaps it’s just me, but I find it more polite to say nothing rather than saying something I don’t actually feel. A slight smile will do. No, not a smirk. A smile. Thanks. Oh yeah, no eye rolling either…

In the end, it was Eliza’s vote that determined the winner of this season. I’m sure the show was edited heavily to make it look like Eliza debated longer and harder than she actually did on whom to award with the million dollar prize — the mean girl or the phony girl — but in the end, she chose Parvati (the mean one) to be the winner.

In the same situation, I think I would have done the same. Rick, from my middle school days, certainly wasn’t fake. He was just a mean-spirited loser. Sad that someone like that could be rewarded for it. Society… ugh.

That’s the part that sucks about many of these reality elimination shows… When you get right down to the end, you’re left with two people who don’t really deserve it. Erik and Cirie should have been the final two, at least I like to think so, but between them, there wasn’t enough meanness or fakeness to get it done… Hey, even Eliza would have been more deserving…

Posted on May 12th, 2008 at 8:21 am by Brainy Smurf
Rants, Life, Television | No Comments »

Home Improvements : Sewage Rerouted

The plumber came out yesterday morning and did his thing to fix our basement sewage problem.

When I arrived home, after the bank incident, I took a trip down to the scary basement to see the fine workmanship.

Eh, it looks alright.

He tucked the new pipe real high and tight among the floor joists, which was nice, and he connected to the main sewer line in a convenient spot — all he had to do was unscrew a cap on the cast iron pipe to make the connection so I don’t think they’ll be raising the estimate any either.

Speaking of the estimate, I think they should actually lower it.

See, what is blatantly apparent to me is that they went out of their way to unnecessarily remove as much copper piping as possible — all the way up to the kitchen sink trap. They then replaced it all with plastic.

Hmmm, think that has something to do with the fact that scrap copper commands over $3.50 per pound these days?

Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on how you look at it, we’ll be out of town this weekend for a wedding, so the sludge clean up will have to be put off for another week.

Hopefully, by then, the standing water will have evaporated and clean-up will be less of a project…

Posted on May 9th, 2008 at 2:10 pm by Brainy Smurf
Rants, Home Improvements | 1 Comment »

Debts Falling; Assets Rising…not so much.

I can’t really say that I’m good at making money. I also can’t say that I’m very good at saving money either. Neither is one of my strong points.

I am, however, confident in saying that I’m very good at paying down debts.

Yeah, I know, making money, saving money, and paying down debt should all go hand in hand, right? For me, I’m not sure why, they just don’t. Yet.

Through my quest of paying down debt, I think I’ve mastered the secret of delayed gratification — I’ve put off a lot of things that I certainly wouldn’t have in the past. And now that I’ve got my debt under full control, I still find that I’m able to walk away from the things I want. That’s progress.

Where am I going with this?

Well, April was a pretty mundane month for me. I knocked just $1722 from my debts.

I know, I know, that’s a boatload of money but when you compare it to the previous 5 months (when I was still paying down my credit card debt), it’s not really very impressive:

NOV '07       -$3285
DEV '07       -$4798
JAN '08       -$4859
FEB '08       -$2521
MAR '08       -$3924
APR '08       -$1722

See what I mean? I’m hoping April was just a speed bump and that I can eliminate the last of the auto loan at a comparable rate.

And then, hopefully, I’ll figure out the “saving money” idea and see my savings increase by thousands of dollars each month…

On a related note, does anyone else look at their numbers and wonder where on earth the money comes from?

The idea that I actually have nearly $4000 of disposable income each month to send towards debt is unfathomable. My take home pay doesn’t even approach that?!

Granted, I’ve had at least one 3 paycheck month in the last 6 months, and I was still earning a decent income for my job with the hockey team back in November and December…. Add in the big refund from my tax return… I guess if I spread all of that around, it adds up…

Sure, the numbers don’t lie, but they certainly can be deceiving…

I’m definitely not in any position to set up a budget with $4k of monthly expenses though the number may indicate that I could…

Posted on May 9th, 2008 at 7:11 am by Brainy Smurf
Finance, Savings | 1 Comment »

Driving Off the Lot in a Used Sub-Compact…

Tonight I stopped by the bank on the way home from work — you know, the drive up ATM…

Well the car in front of me was one of those beat-up used sub-compacts like in the catchy FREE CREDIT REPORT .COM commercials.

Seriously, it was even the same color.

I didn’t pay them too much attention until they peeled out after completeing their transaction… Real winners, let me tell you.

I mean, the squealing tires immediately solidified their “coolness” in my eyes.

So I pull up to the ATM and their receipt is still in the machine. Now usually when this sort of thing happens at a gas pump or something, I just grab it, crumple it, and tuck it into my pocket.

But due to their obnoxious behaviour, I took at look at the receipt.

Wow.

Can you imagine? I had to look at it twice to make sure I was reading it correctly. Yep, 95 cents.

I mean, I’ve run my checking account down pretty low, but never this low.

I also thought it was kinda funny how the little advertisement up top is for “Debt Consolidation”. My receipt advertisements are never for stuff like that — usually it’s BoA’s “Keep the Change” program.

I wonder what the balance threshold is to get the “Debt Consolidation” header… Under $1 perhaps?

Anyway, little things like this make me feel even better about my current financial standing.

Posted on May 8th, 2008 at 7:00 pm by Brainy Smurf
Life, Television | 3 Comments »

Keeping Mum: Unsound Financial Advice

Earlier this week I came upon a couple of acquaintances discussing some sort of financial matter. I didn’t get all of the details, but it was apparent that one was giving the other some advice.

It was sad to me in that it was the one who is openly terrible with money doling out the advice as if they had all the answers — and the receiver appeared to be accepting it as sound guidance.

I didn’t say anything. Though I wanted to, it really wasn’t my place.

But it did get me thinking…

Was this person seeking financial advice blind to the obvious fact that the “expert” advising them didn’t have their own financial house in order?

Sure, their exterior might look well-off, but it’s a paper thin veil. We’re talking onion paper. Yeah — it’s that sheer.

Perception is a strange thing.

Do they really want to follow such a lead? I know I wouldn’t.

Perhaps I was just over-analyzing the conversation…

Posted on May 8th, 2008 at 7:05 am by Brainy Smurf
Life, Finance | No Comments »

Dreams of Grandeur: Three Car Garage

Well, I made a big mistake this morning… See, over the past few years we’ve had some major work done to the exterior of our 100+ year old house. New roof, new siding, new doors, some repaired brickwork, a new porch, basically — short of an addition — we’ve done it all.

But one thing has been neglected — the detached garage. (insert scary fanfare here)

Though it’s a two car garage and that would indicate that it was built in the 70’s or 80’s, I’d venture to say that it was actually built in the 1940’s based on the knob and tube wiring throughout which I disconnected in the summer of 2007. It was probably a huge status symbol back in the day.

Now? Not so much.

It’s a junky looking thing. An eyesore. A 400 square foot wood framed rectangle built on a slab with cheap, dented, and rusting metal doors, a boarded up window (where the roofers tossed a brick on to my BMW), tons of peeling paint, and crumbling asphalt shingles. As you may have guessed, it’s not nice to look at.

To its credit, it does have really nice copper gutters which, unfortunately, the previous owner painted. Really, it doesn’t have much going for it. The elephant in the, um, yard.

It’s dirty and old. One bay has the BMW in it. The other bay has a couple of lawn mowers, a snowblower, my airplane, the garbage can, and an assortment of other lawn tools. There is no possible way we could fit another car in there.

Right now, we have 3 cars. Once we have children, I’ve a feeling we’ll even have four cars. Ridiculous, I know. Growing up, I remember when we only had one car and it got the job done — now, for some reason, I feel the need to have four… It’s hard to justify. Impossible, really. I digress…

So, obviously, I’d like a larger garage — something that, at the very least, could fit all three of our vehicles, and if possible, all of the lawn equipment as well. We’ve got enough property to expand, and if need be, we could always add one of those pre-made sheds they bring over on a wide-load truck for the lawn equipment. I don’t really like those, but it would certainly free up some space.

So I did the Google and typed in “3 Car Garage“, you know, to get a few ideas. And the ideas were definitely there…

Check this beauty out:

This could totally work. I mean, honestly, it would be nicer than my house, but at the same time, it wouldn’t overpower the house either.

I hate that, you know, when you see a raised ranch style home being towered over by its garage. This is unquestionably a large structure, but my house (which isn’t a raised ranch) would still be an entire story taller — and it’s in the same style as my house with the gabled roofline.

Basically, it works. I can picture it already.

Zoning, however could be a problem… I’ve heard horror stories about people trying to build two story garages in town. It’s one of those things were it can only be done if you know a guy, who knows a guy, who knows yet another guy.

Price? Well, obviously that would be a problem as well.

I’ve no idea how much something like this would cost to build, but when I put my mind to something, I usually get it done.

It kind of reminds me of how in high school I joined Columbia House to get 12 CD’s for a penny without even owning a CD player. Just the fact that I had a CD collection made me feel the need to save up and buy a CD player — which I eventually did.

Relating to the present, I’ve got three cars… See where I’m going with this?

The main problem I foresee is sticking to this goal long enough to be able to afford it — either way, something like this can’t possibly be realized for a number of years, if ever…

It’s okay to dream though, right?

Posted on May 7th, 2008 at 6:27 am by Brainy Smurf
Home Improvements, Motivation | No Comments »