Today Marks 6 years in my House

Yep, I moved in on September 30, 2002.

I remember it being a crazy busy day at work — I actually didn’t even take a long lunch for the closing.

Drove to the lawyer’s office, signed my stuff, got the keys, did a drive-by of the house on the way back to work (the previous owners were still hauling stuff out to the curb), and then returned to work before my lunch hour was up…

If I were to do it all over again… I’d have taken that day off.

Actually, the entire week. I’m pretty certain that it was a Monday.

In these 6 years, I’ve sunk a lot of money into this house. A really rough estimate would be around $60k. The only thing I can think of that is attached to the house and that hasn’t failed me yet is the water heater…

Yeah, one of the least expensive pieces in a house…

But I wouldn’t classify it all as throwing good money in after bad. Okay, sometimes I think of it like that, but in reality, it’s not like that at all.

Dollar-wise, most of it has been in the past two years in the form of the new roof and siding — combined, their price tag topped $40k. Both have been documented here on PIAC.

Mortgage-wise, though, the movement of money has been like molasses in February…

I financed $131,000. My balance today is $109,089.

The difference is $21,911.

That’s like, well, that’s like a cheap 4-door sedan that’s taken me SIX YEARS TO PAY FOR!!!

When I look at it like that, aside from all of the PMI drama, it really makes me want to throw down and just pay the mortgage like it’s, well, like it’s NOT an auto loan.

I realize that at these early stages of a 30-year loan that there’s a lot of interest working against me. My total payments have probably already exceeded 6-figures…yeah, that’s A LOT of interest…

But even now, 72 months in, looking at it closer, for every $1200 payment, only $230 of it actually hits the principal while $600 goes towards interest. The remaining $370 goes into the escrow account and, well, let’s not get into that… Grumble, grumble…

I’m pretty proud of the fact that this year, 2008, I’m on pace to knock $11k off of the balance on my mortgage.

To think, at this time last year, I’d only knocked off maybe $9k total over 5 entire years…

That averages out to $150 per month.

You can’t even get a Kia Rio with that kind of payment?! What was I doing? (Rhetorical question… I know what I was doing — I was amassing a ton of credit card debt and then paying down that same ton of credit card debt.)

So now, I find myself accustomed to over-paying the mortgage.

That’s a good thing.

Right now, I’m knocking between five and six hundred dollars from the principle each month and it’s comfortable. Just my regular payment and a weekly $75 auto-payment.

For a few months there, I was out of control — knocking thousands off in less than a month. Over the top. I went so far as to use a credit card to finance an extra payment… How crazy is that?

I’m not going to go all out again anytime soon — I had a goal, I met it, but I didn’t get the results I was expecting. I’m over that.

But in doing that, I proved to myself that I am capable of sending that kind of money towards the mortgage.

I’m not saying that I’ll pay down $11k between now and September 30, 2009 but I might. I mean, as the interest drops as the loan matures, it will get easier and easier, right?

Yeah, it will. Add to the fact that I’m on the cusp of becoming truly debt free, well, my month to month budget is in for some changes.

Sure, I say I’ll boost my savings, and I’m sure I will, but I’m also pretty certain that I’ll increasingly overpay my one monthly debt payment in a quest to eliminate it too…

I just need to increase it slowly…

Posted on September 30th, 2008 at 8:46 pm by Brainy Smurf
Finance, Life, Mortgage | 3 Comments »

Earth to Public: Investments Carry Risk

Maybe I’m the only one who reads the fine print or listens to the hushed fast talking at the end of radio and television commercials, but I’m pretty certain that every single financial advertisement says something like, “Remember that investments are subject to risk, including possible loss of principal,” or “Before investing, consider the investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses.”

Even those goofy Franklin Mint commemorative coin commercials mention that the value of their “limited edition” painted coins is NOT guaranteed to increase.

Never any mention of something like, “Don’t worry, if you lose your shirt, the goverment will buy you a new one.”

A woman at work today mentioned that she was worried because of all of these people who do have savings lost them.

I did my best to explain to her that they didn’t lose their savings — they risked their savings — with the hopes that their savings would grow. It just didn’t work out this week — but in the long run, it probably will…

Now, sure, there are obviously some folks out there close to retirement that lost a ton of money. They were risky. As they neared retirement, they should have moved most of their savings towards lower risk investments. They lost their shirts, and honestly, they kinda sorta deserved it.

My own 401k investments shows me that my limited low risk investments haven’t been hammered over the past few months.

And, again, look at the markets today… There’s some value out there, and there is some money out there (though the news would have you think otherwise), and look what’s happening… Things are going up already.

The markets are working.

I’m hoping that everyone takes a chill pill and that Congress passes nothing.

But that’s just me…

Posted on September 30th, 2008 at 12:32 pm by Brainy Smurf
Current Events, Rants | No Comments »

Anyone Else not Working for Rosh Hashanah?

Perhaps this is insensitive of me, but regarding the apparent urgency of a bail-out plan (which I personally don’t support anyway), why again is Congress taking a few days off for some Jewish holidays?

This might not be a politically correct rant, but my trusty almanac tells me that Jews currently make up around 2.2 percent of the U.S. population. A quick “google” indicates that 37 members of Congress are Jewish. The math tells me that that’s just shy of 7 percent.

Either way you slice it, it’s a minority. (Yes, Barney Frank is in the minority. Imagine that?)

Now I don’t know about you, but I have to go to work during the two days of Rosh Hashanah.

I’ve always had to.

Until Israel takes control of North America, I’d assume that I’ll always have to work on the first and second day of the seventh month on the Jewish calender.

And I’d be willing to bet that 97.8% of the workers on “Main Street” and “Wall Street” will be going to work on Tuesday and Wednesday with me, so really, who are the members of Congress working for again?

Or is this just because they had to work a little overtime on Saturday and Sunday?

Seriously, talk about out of touch…

Posted on September 29th, 2008 at 10:21 pm by Brainy Smurf
Current Events, Rants | 14 Comments »

Winter Entertainment Budget Set and Spent

I’m pretty sure that I’ve mentioned that my wife and I often go to professional sporting events.

It’s not that we’re the type that gets all dressed up and excited for our team. We hardly even follow sports.

We certainly don’t want sports on television much, if at all.

I mean, we’ll watch the Super Bowl in it’s entirety every year, but I’m not sure we’ve seen another complete game on tv, well, at least since we’ve been married.

We’re also not the type that have our bumpers littered with team logo stickers. In fact, if you looked at us (or our vehicles), you’d hardly guess that we’re the type to attend well over 50 events per year.

Now, why on earth would a non-sports fan attend so many events? Isn’t that an awfully expensive thing to do if you don’t really really enjoy it?

Well, it was part of a job. Ninety-nine percent of the time, it didn’t cost us a thing. In fact, we made a lot of money doing it!

That’s not really true — it was actually a bit of a perk, we made the money doing other things — but we still had to be there.

Yeah, that doesn’t make much sense, but that’s the way it was.

Anyway, with all of our professional sports projects in the past now, we found that our nights and weekends will be free all winter long.

Too free.

So late last week I ordered season tickets for a local university hockey team. Men’s and women’s.

Though it’s two teams instead of one, it’s not nearly as rigorous as the pro schedule we’re accustomed to (and tired of).

On the downside, though, we won’t be making money while we sit in the stands — a negative cash flow, all the way…

But it will give us something to do on weekly basis all the way through March 2009.

And that sure beats the, “Wanna do anything tonight?” routine we’ve found ourselves in all summer long…

Total cost was $527.

Now, that sounds like a lot, but it’s only a quarter of the cost that our usual comp’ed seats would run us. Not that we ever paid a dime for them…

This is a definite change for us.

Here’s to hoping it’s an enjoyable season… and a decent value…

First game is Friday night…

Posted on September 29th, 2008 at 8:00 pm by Brainy Smurf
Bargains, Finance, Life, Sports | 2 Comments »

Photo of the Week: Wicked Huge Mushroom

Well, it rained on my parade this weekend. Literally.

I really had plans to be at an actual parade today.

And yesterday, the plan was to hit my final agricultural fair of the season.

But, as I said, it rained.

But one neat thing comes from any heavy rain this time of year — wicked huge mushrooms.

It doesn’t matter if you’ve got the nicest lawn on the block or the worst, this afternoon, you’re going to have a few mushrooms in the lawn.

If you’re really lucky, you may even have a few pennies…

So, while my photo this week may not be as exciting as I’d originally hoped, I hope you appreciate this photo of the biggest mushroom in my backyard.

It just felt like something I should share.

And now, staring at it on my monitor, I’m really tempted to go back outside, take a running start, and kick it…

Posted on September 28th, 2008 at 3:08 pm by Brainy Smurf
Photo | 1 Comment »

I’m in the Black, not just on Paper, but for Real!

I did it.

I’d claimed that I was going to finish off the car loan on a slow and steady pace but, this morning, I fell back into my old ways: Red Zone Finances.

It has been driving me crazy for a few weeks now seeing a $1k balance just sitting there waiting to be wiped out.

As today was a pay day, and there are no remaining bills for the remainder of the month, I had the funds available to take action.

This was the first car I purchased where I’d actually made a sizeable down payment. It was also the first car purchase that I had a car to trade-in too.

Even still, back in July of 2005, I financed $15210.32.

Wow — thinking about that now — Scion xA’s were/are really expensive…

But it feels good, you know, now that it’s paid for.

But it’s not just the auto loan that I can put in my rear view mirror…

The original snowball plan that I started back in November 2007, which had a total balance of $23085, and included the auto loan, can now be put to rest. All of it. Done.

I’ve had the “schedule” taped to my desk under my keyboard at work so as to keep it fresh in my mind five days a week.

This morning, I peeled it off and replaced it with a picture of my wife. She costs me *way* less money… And less worry too.

The original end date on my debt plan was set for October 2008. Two thousand dollars per month was going to go towards debt. I thought that was being a little too optimistic when I started, but I stuck to it.

Then, after a few months, I didn’t exactly stick to the plan…

I paid a few of the credit cards out of order…

I “broke up with” my highest paying client that was essentially funding the whole debt payment plan in the first place.

I started putting money into savings instead of towards debt…

I increased my 401k contributions when I couldn’t really afford to…

I even blew through tons of cash on vacation — and that was just a couple of months ago…

And who could forget all of the money that I foolishly threw at the mortgage (which was never even part of the snowball plan)? Yeah — that worked out well… Not.

But even though I strayed way off course, the concept of a year long debt plan got me pointed in the right direction, and look, here we are in September 2008 and I’ve already hit the target. A whole month early.

Okay, fine. A whole week early if you want to be technical about it… Sheesh…

Right now, Thursday evening, the only non-mortgage debt I’m carrying is an $824 balance at 0% on a Chase credit card. Yeah, the remaining balance from that ill advised birthday check I wrote to myself to further initiate the elimination of PMI from my mortgage. (more on that here)

But still… It feels good.

It’s like I’m coming out of the water or something. My top half is dry and warming up in the sun. That pig up in the top left hand corner of the screen, yeah, his snout is dry. Oink!

It blows my mind that, on short notice, I can get my grubby hands on over $5000 (checking, savings, and i-bonds) and the only money I owe is $824 total to a credit card company.

I’m not sure I’ve been on this side of the zero line before. Definitely not in the past 11 years.

I mean, I’m in the black, not just on paper, but for real.

That feels awesome.

I’m not sure I thought this day was even possible when I was carrying $32k in high interest debt on January 1, 2007…

Looking forward to when that $824 balance is gone too…

(Declining markets and home values of late aren’t bothering me in the slightest — neither affect my day-to-day, month-to-month, or even year-to-year finances… Sure, my net worth might be dropping like a brick, but my finances are in better shape than they’ve ever been!)

Posted on September 25th, 2008 at 5:47 pm by Brainy Smurf
Finance, Motivation, Success | 9 Comments »

Interesting Government Visitor to Pants in a Can

So I was looking at my Google Analytics reports early this morning and noticed a new network location listed under the “Visitors” tab.

It’s labeled “Information Systems – U.S. House of Representatives”.

Interesting.

Now I’m sure some out there think I’m going to say something about how I’m horrified that some government employee is wasting our tax dollars surfing websites like Pants in a Can on the clock, you know, using government time and equipment for, well, less than official things but I’m not going there…

Government waste, oddly enough, doesn’t bother me too much.

Looking into it further, their landing page on the site was my post from July 15 titled, “FTC Bait? My Own Mortgage Crisis…”

That had me thinking, hey, cool, maybe the whole PMI/Countrywide dilemma I find myself in is getting a little attention in Washington! Sweet! This could be a good thing…

But then I went another step further and looked up the search terms they used to stumble across my site…

“definition of mortgage insurance, ftc”

Ouch.

I dunno, maybe it’s just me, but you think they’d have access internally to, um, more official sources of reference…

But I can’t say that I’m not flattered that they clicked through to my site.

And I also feel the need to say that I’m thrilled that someone in Washington DC is looking this type of thing up.

Though the media would have you think otherwise of late, mortgage company disputes don’t begin and end with foreclosures…

I’m not looking for a bailout; I just don’t want to be ripped off (any more)…

Posted on September 24th, 2008 at 8:35 pm by Brainy Smurf
Blogging?, PMI - Mortgage Insurance | No Comments »

Man, You Can’t Even Build a Fort in the Car Anymore…

Just read this in the paper this morning — front page news, actually, in the local daily.

I hate stories like this. Sometimes, it makes me wonder how long my own personal rap sheet will be when I have kids.

Now, because I don’t want to draw any more attention to this poor man, I’ve blanked out most of his name. I don’t know, to protect, well, the innocent, in my opinion…

Father Charged with Leaving Kids in Car Playing Game Under Blanket

A Milwaukee man turned himself into police last week after he allegedly left his two young children under a blanket unattended playing a video game in a rental car outside a supermarket last month.

Scott K—–e, 41, was charged with risk of injury and leaving a child unsupervised in public. He made his initial court appearance Friday.

A police spokesman said the boys, aged 7 and 5, were unharmed and their father meant no harm when he tossed a blanket over them so they could play a video game while he went inside a grocery store to buy them drinks.

“He certainly wasn’t trying to smother his kids,” the officer said.

“It was irresponsible on his part, because the children could have been abducted or have had some kind of medical emergency.” .

The man was in town visiting when he took the boys with him to the store. They were playing a video game in the back of the man’s rental car and complained of the sun’s glare on the screen.

K—–e covered them in a blanket so they could play, but while he was in the store, a passer-by saw the children and called police.

When police arrived, K—–e and his children were gone, though police found him through his license plate.

A warrant was issued for his arrest but didn’t allow for extradition. Police said K—–e turned himself in at police headquarters last Thursday. He was released on a $2,500 non-surety bond.

A police spokesman said while K—–e’s actions were unintentional, the charges against him were deserved.

“You can’t leave your kids alone in a parking lot for a period of time,” according to police.

He also credited the witness for calling police after noticing the children in the back of the car.

“Without a doubt they were right to do that. They recognized a serious situation. The kids were being placed in some danger being left alone.”

Certainly not worthy of having your name splashed across the front of a newspaper.

“Worst. Father. Ever.”

That wasn’t the headline, but it may as well have been…

Sometimes I wish people would mind their own business.

I’ve seen first hand old ladies call police in parking lots when they see someone disciplining their child. Taking down plate numbers and things.

Drives me crazy — especially when you *know* that their childhood was identical to what they’re seeing in the parking lot. Actually, it was probably worse.

Now I’m not saying parents should beat the crap out of their kids or leave newborns (or pets) in the car for long periods of time, but kids ages 5 and 7? C’mon…

I walked to school when I was 5. Should my parents have been arrested?

The police can say whatever they like, but I really hate when they make it out like there are potential kidnappers, crack heads, Muslim extremists, and pedophiles lurking on every corner.

It’s just not true.

It’s a gross exaggeration.

Reading and hearing stuff like that makes me sometimes wonder if I should call the police every time I see a kid ride his or her bike past my house. Sometimes, gasp, they’re not even wearing helmets!!!! OMG!

And I should probably whip out my cell phone and call 911 each time I see children running through a sprinkler unattended. They could drown.

Really, it could happen.

But you know what? I’d never do that. Unless there is a real eminent threat, it’s none of my business.

I’ll keep an eye on it myself, like when you see a toddler wander off in the shoe department of Target or something, maybe try to steer them back to their parents, but to call the police? Please… that’s over-reacting.

I can’t tell you how many times my parents left me in the car when they’d run in to the grocery store to pick up a few things.

It was a win/win situation.

They could move faster in there without me and I really had no interest in going in either.

And back then, we didn’t even have video games or DVD players to occupy our time — I locked the doors and looked out the window. Sometimes I surfed on the hump on the floor between the two back seats.

Remember doing that? I’m sure you do — everyone did it. Even when the car was moving! Wheeee!

I was a world class car hump surfer by age 4. Hump of choice — a 1978 Chevy Malibu. Maybe it was a ’79? We could be on an unpaved road and, still, I could easily hang ten… It was awesome.

Nowadays, kids have to be strapped to a car seat until they’re over 55 inches tall. I’m not sure I was even that tall when I went into Junior High…

Now, besides locking the door and staying put, there was just one other rule for waiting in the car: Don’t touch the emergency brake.

Now, at the time, I didn’t know it was called the emergency break, but I did know that I wasn’t to touch that thing between the two front seats. I remember my dad telling me that it would cause the car to flip over — I believed him.

One time, stupidly, while my dad was in a long gone grocery store named Fitzgerald’s buying raspberry ginger ale or something, I pressed the button, and released the break.

The car did NOT flip over.

It didn’t. I can attest to that.

Emergency breaks do not make cars flip over.

But it did move. In a panic, I pulled it back up and the car stopped.

Thankfully, the car didn’t roll far enough to hit another car. It just rolled far enough to make it look like my dad had purposefully parked across multiple spots, like you often see, oddly enough, in parking lots these days.

Ever wonder why it always seems to be a pimped out Mitsubishi parked like that? Like they’re somehow worthy of taking up 4 parking spots? For heaven’s sake, it’s a Mitsubishi…

Sometimes I get the urge to park really close right next to them.

Anyway, yeah, sure, that could have been a dangerous situation. I learned from it.

So when I have kids, I probably won’t tell them that touching the emergency break will cause the car to flip over.

I’ll still tell them to never touch it — after I first let them release it in the driveway or something to scare the crap out of them.

Of course, the neighbors across the street will likely witness this and moments later I’ll be hauled off in handcuffs…

Mind your own business…

(and it’s odd to me that they can issue a warrant for something like this based on third party information, but they’ll do nothing when you call to report reckless driving that you see from the same car every single morning on your way to work… you know, something that actually is a threat to public safety…)

Posted on September 23rd, 2008 at 6:21 pm by Brainy Smurf
Life, Rants, Retro | 6 Comments »

Chasing my Tail: Countrywide’s (Late) Response

What is this, like the tenth time I’ve posted about Countrywide’s terrible customer service?

Sorry, here I go again…

So, tonight, moments ago actually, they responded to my inquiry from September 10th.

Back then, I asked two questions:

1. Does Countrywide acknowledge the Homeowners Protection Act in regards to the automatic cancellation of PMI?

2. At what point will the PMI on my account be automatically cancelled? I’d like a specific date please.

They responded tonight:

Posted 09/22/2008

Reply : Dear Brainy Smurf:

Once again, thank you for your recent Internet inquiry addressed to Customer Service.

Our initial research shows that we can best resolve this inquiry for you by speaking to you in person. To ensure that we fully resolve your concern, we ask that you contact the PMI Department directly at (800) 669-9092.

Thank you for communicating with us electronically; we appreciate the opportunity to be of assistance.

Brilliant! Almost word-for-word, the same response I received last month.

Remember what happened the last time they asked me to speak with them in person?

Yeah, they had no idea why I was calling even though I had a direct line and a name to speak to. Hmph!

They truly have me going in circles.

I’m really tempted to send them a 2-letter response.

“FU”

Posted on September 22nd, 2008 at 10:20 pm by Brainy Smurf
PMI - Mortgage Insurance, Rants | 2 Comments »

Photo of the Week: Obama House

I took this picture over the weekend in my home town here in Connecticut.

It’s been one of my favorite houses since I was in high school — though, back then it didn’t have its latest decoration.

I try not to get too political on here — I think politics have come up maybe once or twice over the past year — but there’s no sense in hiding who I’m going to vote for.

No one. That’s right, I won’t be voting this November.

I can’t vote in the election because I’m not an American citizen.

But that isn’t to say that I can’t support one candidate or the other.

Obama’s my guy.

And it appears that he’s the guy for most people my age — which likely has to do with his stance on war, the environment, gun control, abortion, stem cell research, immigration, health care, the economy, taxes, etc…

That is why I’d vote for Obama if I could.

It’s also why I’ll encourage those who can vote to vote for Obama.

Watching both conventions on C-Span (without any pundits or random talking heads swaying my thoughts), the one thing that was blatantly apparent was the difference in each parties approach and delivery.

The Democrats talked about all the great American things that had happened in the past and that could happen again in future.

The Republicans, on the other hand, spent most of their time talking about all of the things we should be afraid of if we don’t vote McCain.

It’s just a different strategy. And I understand that.

But like my Biggest Loser post — I prefer to be inspired rather than threatened. That’s what motivates me and makes me feel good.

That, and combined with Biden (who seems like a regular Joe to me), the Democrat ticket is just a lot more relatable… More like, well, typical Americans… like I pretend to be, even though I’m not.

John McCain is definitely qualified to be President. I’m not sure anyone out there has ever said otherwise — he’s been around forever, it seems.

I have always found it odd, though, how he’s been supported by the religious right (which I can’t understand — just cause Huckabee drops out, they support the next guy?). I mean, Senator McCain has demonstrated quite well, in the past, that he lacks morals.

I love how people were so quick to pile on John Edwards for infidelity when John McCain did the exact same thing (worse actually). I mean, you’d think the bigger story would be on the guy who’s actually a nominee…

Blame it on being a POW — sorry, I’m not buying it.

I’ve also seen quotes where they say that end of his first marriage was because he was turing 40 but acting like a 25 year old. I dunno, I’d like to think that a potential President of the United States would’ve grown up long before turning 40, but maybe that’s just me.

And seriously, how’d he bury the whole Keating Five thing? I mean, in the grand scheme of national politics, that was a pretty big blunder.

Have people forgotten that too?

McCain can take a great deal of credit for the recession of the early 1990′s. In today’s financial climate, I dunno, I think that’s kind of relevant.

And you’d think a scandal that big would disqualify you from running for President. Apparently not.

Wrapping Cindy McCain into the picture, and again, it’s tough to relate to John McCain. No one in my family is a gold digger and no one has a trophy wife (with a serious painkiller addiction) either.

How about your family?

And I’m still not sure why his poor health isn’t a bigger issue. I mean, remember all the hoops the media leaped through with Dick Cheney and his bad heart?

McCain has had pieces of his face removed this calendar year and there’s barely been a mention… Last time I checked, skin cancer on a 72 year old was a pretty serious issue.

The part of McCain’s platform that makes me laugh out loud every time is when he says the US economy is strong. He justifies it by saying that the US worker is the hardest worker in the world and that’s why we have nothing to worry about.

I’m sorry, but has John McCain ever been to Walmart? Who is he kidding? Unfortunately, these days, it seems that the average US worker is more interested in taking cigarette breaks and talking on their cell phones than actually working.

As for Sarah Palin, well, maybe it’s just me, but Alaska is pretty, well, meaningless. I mean, who are they kidding? That’s like saying that if it weren’t for South Dakota, the country would fall apart. It’s just not true. She “changed” Alaska. Honestly, does a changed Alaska mean much to the lower 48?

Sure, in the Senate, all 50 states are equal. That’s why there is also a House of Representatives, and there, Alaska is irrelevant with just one seat. One. I have nothing against Alaska, or any other small state (Connecticut included), but to claim that any of them greatly effect the US as a whole is just ridiculous.

As for her family life, well, again, I can’t relate.

I’m sorry, the campaign can claim that her family is the “typical American family” but is it really to the point where it’s typical for Mom to have kids within a few months of their daughter?

“Hey, meet your uncle Trigg… Sure he’s only 3 months older than you, but that’s how it is in the typical American family of the 21st century.”

Um, not where I come from…

Oh yeah, I’m not American.

We don’t fire semi-automatic weapons on the weekends either…

Remember when Bill Clinton was deservedly raked over the coals by the RNC for lacking “Family Values”? Conservatives were all over him.

In comparison, can you believe the Republican ticket in 2008? It’s unreal.

That said, I’ll still say that Sarah Palin was a much better pick than Joe Lieberman would have been and he’s supposed to be the guy representing me in the Senate. Grrrrrrr…

My parents are Republicans — at least my Dad is, for sure.

I attribute this to the fact that he shook Bob Dole’s hand back in 1996. Bob Dole’s left hand, I assume. But had it been Dick Gephardt or, gasp, even Bill Clinton, I think he may have been swayed the other way. On second thought, maybe not, he listened to Rush Limbaugh an awful lot too…

I listen to Rush too, though… Who knows?

But this election is different, I think.

In 1996, the first election that I would have been old enough to vote in, I’d have voted for Bill Clinton. No doubt in my mind. Bob Dole was a disabled old dude, and Jack Kemp was a crappy quarterback. Hey, I never said I had a good reason for not wanting to vote Republican…

In 2000, I’d have reluctantly voted for Al Gore. He just seemed a lot more likeable to me than George W. Bush. Though, had he won, I have to wonder how far he would have gone with his whole “going green” mission.

In 2004? Probably George W. Bush — though now I’m embarrassed to admit that.

Most presidents are terrible in their second term.

In fact, in my life time, all of the second terms have been less than stellar, but GWB has taken it to a new level.

Really, what I’m saying is that I can’t claim to support one party over the other.

The Governor of my state is Republican. And terrible. Just terrible.

The Mayor of my city is a Democrat and he’s bumbled things up far worse than his Republican predecessor…

I’d vote to oust both of them if I could…

But I have noticed something about this year’s presidential election — if you’re over 45 years old, you tend to lean towards McCain. Under 45, you lean toward Obama. Party affiliation doesn’t seem to matter so much.

Sure, there are exceptions, but just comparing “groups” on things like Facebook (where the demographic is primarily under the age of 45), Obamaholics outnumber McCainiacs by huge numbers. As of today, 1.8 million to 537k. It’s not even close.

Problem is, will those young people vote? Probably not…

In the end, I can see a repeat of 2000.

John McCain will win the election but Barack Obama will easily have the popular vote. Americans will again fail to understand the dynamics of their own government and through a few supreme court nominees, McCain will set the US up to be left in the dust of other countries (as if we haven’t been left in the dust already…)

Okay, I think I’m done now…

I’d originally just wanted to put the picture up (cause I thought it looked neat) and move on but now I’ve rambled on with a poorly worded, enormously unconnected, disjointed, and somewhat politically motivated, rant-a-thon-a-saurus…

I didn’t even spell check. That’s dumb.

Clicking ‘publish’….. now!

Posted on September 22nd, 2008 at 7:48 pm by Brainy Smurf
Current Events, Photo, Rants | 8 Comments »

Any Interest in a 3.5% 30-Year Fixed Mortgage?

Yeah, me too… And it’s for real — not just some teaser rate. Zero points paid.

No joke. This is not a scam.

Is that even possible in this financial climate?

The answer is, “Yes!”

Of course, there are a few strings attached — like having to sleep overnight outside the bank alongside the drive-up ATM.

But before you get too excited, I should probably also mention that we all missed our shot at it — the rate was only available last weekend.

Here’s the article by Kenneth Gosselin from the September 14 Hartford Courant:

Home Buyers Camp Out For Shot At 3.5% Loan

Maybe you thought you’d heard it all when it comes to people camping out overnight to get a shot at being the first to own perhaps the hot toy or the latest computer game.

But how about a home mortgage?

Twenty-five home buyers with signed purchase agreements — some of them having waited as long as 24 hours — were in line early Saturday outside the new Liberty Bank branch in Wethersfield for a chance at applying for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage at an incredibly low rate of 3.5 percent.

“It’s like winning the lottery,” said Mike Lemos, who was fifth in line Saturday at the Silas Deane Highway branch.

Lemos and his wife, Julie, a real estate agent, were among the 13 who were lucky enough to get a shot at a slice of the $3.5 million program. The remaining dozen were put on a waiting list in case others before them in line don’t get final approval.

The Lemoses hope that the low rate will allow them to afford payments on a $360,000 ranch that’s nearly double the size of their current 1,800-square-foot colonial — and save $100,000 over the term of the mortgage.

“We wouldn’t have had a thought of doing this without this rate,” said Lemos, a securities compliance director at MetLife.

The promotion — intended to call attention to the opening of Liberty’s first branch in Wethersfield — allowed purchases of one- to four-family homes in Wethersfield. Borrowers had to come armed with a signed purchase contract. No points were charged, but closing costs and other fees still applied.

At a time when most lenders are scrutinizing credit and income histories amid the downturn in the housing market and fallout from the subprime lending crisis, the promotion gave borrowers a low rate to help counterbalance lending industry insistence on higher down payments after years of loose underwriting.

A little math reveals the savings for borrowers. On a single-family house in Wethersfield purchased at July’s median sale price of $252,000 with a 20 percent down payment, a borrower would finance $201,600. The monthly principal and interest payment at 5.93 percent — the national average last week for 30-year, fixed-rate home loans — would be $1,200. At 3.5 percent, the payment drops to $905 — a difference of $294 a month, or $105,973 over 30 years.

If the borrowers — many of them pre-qualified, based on credit scores and income — receive final loan approval, they also have to open a checking account with direct payroll deposit and automatic debit for the monthly mortgage payment.

The prospect of sizable savings grabbed the attention of Nancy and Douglas Robertson of New Britain, who were 11th in line. The couple had been house-hunting in the Hartford area, but quickly settled on Wethersfield when they heard about the promotion from their real estate agent two weeks ago. They signed a contract on a $365,000 four-bedroom, 2 1/2 bath split-level near the Rocky Hill line on Labor Day. The Robertsons estimate that they will save between $500 and $600 a month on their monthly payments with the low rate.

Nancy Robertson, a lawyer, said she enjoyed the camaraderie in line, although she could have done without such a long wait.

“But it’s a small price to pay for a once-in-a-lifetime rate on a mortgage,” she said.

Even when 30-year rates were at their lowest, on average, nationally, in June 2003 — at 5.23 percent with 0.6 point — it was well above what Liberty was offering in the program.

The bank took the opportunity to woo those waiting in line. It handed out umbrellas during a downpour Friday night, and later served pizza. Unlike similar campouts at retailers, Liberty brought in a portable toilet, complete with flashlight.

Banks typically trot out promotions when they open new branches in a market as they dig in to build market share. But the promotions are usually aimed at savings, such as high-rate certificates of deposit. But Liberty wanted to do something with loans. The bank chose $3.5 million and 3.5 percent because the branch is Liberty’s 35th.

Robert A. Steele, the bank’s director of consumer credit risk, said the bank expects to “break even” on the loans. But the greater benefit is exposure to the community — and showing the market that the bank has money to lend, even in a tighter market for credit.

Anthony Centurelli, who secured the first place in line, wants out of his condo and saw the rate as the way.

He has a hard time parking his pickup truck in his complex. The $280,000 house he and his wife hope to buy on Folly Brook Road has two garages.

“This came up, and we said, ‘What the heck?’” said Centurelli, a civil engineer.

Well, one thing is for sure — a few lucky families in Wethersfield, Connecticut probably won’t be refinancing over the next 30 years…

Posted on September 20th, 2008 at 7:09 am by Brainy Smurf
Bargains, Mortgage | 4 Comments »

Guilty Pleasure: The Biggest Loser

I admit it. I watch The Biggest Loser on Tuesday nights. All two hours of it. Every week.

I remember when the show first started a few years ago. I didn’t watch it back then.

I often wondered, who would want to watch a bunch of shirtless people go to Fat Camp? I mean, if Richard Simmons isn’t involved, what’s the draw?

Am I right?

But last season, for reasons unknown, my wife and I watched the first episode. I was hooked. Even had a television celebrity crush on Brittany — that’s her pictured. She was one smokin’ fat chick.

Anyway, we watched it religiously through the entire season. It blew my mind to see these huge people morph into, well, people you wouldn’t even consider overweight (though in most cases, they were still a little heavy.)

Then, as with most weekly elimination reality shows, the wrong person won. That left a sour taste in my mouth — the show is stupid.

But this past Tuesday, my wife and I watched the season opener and guess what? I’m hooked again. No television crush this time, I just like the show.

I hate Jillian — not a fan of screamers. I realize some people need that type of treatment to get off their, um, fat asses but I find that I’m more motivated by someone with Bob‘s approach.

The whole thing kinda reminds me of running track in high school. We distance runners would all go up to the weight room and try to hold our own among the fat guys who threw heavy things (shot put and discus). They spent a lot of time in there. We, being walking stick men, obviously did not.

The top priority while in there pumping iron was to not embarrass yourself. That was it. More important than building up some muscle — just don’t embarrass yourself.

They, the chuckers and hurlers, had their own coach who was, well, a yeller. You know, screaming at them and calling them degrading things in an effort to get them to do more. I’d say he got mixed results.

Our coach, Kurt Fioretti, infrequently even came into the weight room, but his approach was a lot more like Bob’s. Always encouraging. He made us think we could do anything — and often times it was successful.

I’ll never forget at an elite invitational meet where I didn’t really belong, way outclassed, and he handed me my race number — you know, the stickers you see some runners stick to their bare legs whenever track & field is on television.

Well, those numbers are seed numbers. If you’re expected to finish first, you get the number one. Second, you get number two, and so on…

He handed me number 3.

“Number 3?! Are you kidding? Have you seen the field?”

“Yeah, I told ‘em you run a 4:09 mile,” he said with a sly grin and a wink.

Now, at the time, the fasted I’d ever run the mile was maybe 4:56. That was a decent time for a high school miler in the early 1990′s, but that kind of pace at this specific meet would put me a distant last.

Just being there, I was at risk of embarrassing myself.

No, make that, I was at risk of humiliating myself and the town name emblazoned across my chest.

I remember lining up at the starting line and having that uncomfortable feeling of those around me wondering who the “new” guy was.

The first lap wasn’t a problem — I’d never had a problem hanging with the studs at that point. The pace was faster than I was used to but I had it in me to stay up front — leading actually.

By the second lap, I knew I was out of my league. I was still leading but there was no way I’d be able to maintain this type of pace.

My coach was running back and forth across the infield so he could cheer me on the back stretch and the home stretch (something he’d never done in the past) mispronouncing my name the whole time, “C’mon Breeny! You’ve got this… Stay strong, you’ve got this Breeny!”

In the end, I didn’t finish first.

I didn’t even finish third like I was supposed to.

I finished sixth with a time of 4:18.

I was ecstatic — I’d knocked 38 seconds off of my personal best. That’s over 12%. That’s HUGE!

After that, I never looked back — and that’s what I see on the show, primarily from those being trained by Bob.

Some motivation, a little encouragement, some shocking results, and then you’re off and running on your own.

It’s a good feeling, even if you’re feeling it vicariously through some really fat people while you lay on the couch with your pants unbuttoned eating ice cream.

I guess what I’m saying is that if you’re looking for a little encouragement for say, hmmm, how about putting more money in to savings, this show is a pretty good start.

No, it’s not about money (though there is the token cash prize at the end), but it’s not really about losing weight either.

It’s more about changing your ways to reach your goals. Some people need to be yelled at Jillian-style, others just need to be encouraged Bob-style. There’s a little something for everyone — just insert your own goal in place of losing weight…

(Now can someone get NBC to speed up the weigh-ins? Seriously, they draw that out for half an hour each episode… Totally unnecessary…)

Posted on September 19th, 2008 at 6:03 am by Brainy Smurf
Life, Motivation, Running, Television | 5 Comments »