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This is not my house, but it's close.

If you recall way back in Oct of 2007 we decided to sell our condo and not buy a house.  I remember how hard that decision was. I didn’t want to be “a renter”.  But I had enough good sources telling me that buying a home in 2007 was a bad idea.  It’s easy now to look back and say “duh, 2007 was almost as bad as 2008 for buying a home”.  But at the time not buying a home because of bad timing was like telling people the sky was falling, anyone who had a stable job desire could qualify for a loan for just about any amount they wanted and move in to a brand new home in a matter of days.

Anyway, now I have this stigma that follows me around.  Some people get it but most don’t.  They still see this big “renter” sign on my forehead and just assign all those stereotypical things that we’ve been taught go along with “renter”.

When we moved in my wife was so excited to be in the new neighborhood.  She made a huge batch of cookies and took plates to all our new neighbors.  Most of the had seen the “for rent” sign out in front but they didn’t say anything, they just smiled and took the cookies.  One neighbor was rude enough that when my wife introduced herself the first thing she responded with was “Aren’t you guys renting?”  As if renters can’t bring their neighbors cookies.  It’s been almost 4 years and that neighbor still won’t talk to us or even look us in the eye.  Since then when a new neighbor moves in and starts talking with us about home owner issues it always comes up and half the time we get the “Ooooooooooh… You’re ‘renting’.” and the subject gets changed.  The other half of the time we get to tell our reasons and they look at us like “Man, I wish I had been that smart”.

So I was wondering about it the other day.  4 years worth of rent, that’s a lot of money.  Was it really the right decision?

Math time.

What I’ve paid – 48 months times $1200 = $57,600

What my neighbor has paid – 48 months times $2521 = $121,008

Right there that’s some pretty decent savings… But wait, there’s more.

What do I own for my $57K – Nothing

Where does my neighbor stand with his $121K paid?  Principal paid – $15,809. Balance on home – $304,191. Home value – $219,000

Wow, that’s worse than I was expecting.  No wonder so many of our neighbors have lost their homes.

But there’s still one thing.  Freedom.

I can move any time I want.  My neighbor? He’s stuck there until his value comes up about $80K or until he decides to walk away from it and ruin his credit.

I guess that’s worth having this “renter” stigma that follows me around.  That’s a small price compared to what I could have paid in order to have that “homeowner” stigma.

So my stake has a big farm.  Actually the church owns a really big chunk of Saratoga Springs and it’s all farmland.  But they have this small strip of it that’s probably about 10 acres or so that they set aside for the wards.  Each ward is in charge of what they do with their lots.  Our ward this year just announced that anyone that needs extra garden space can sign up and get some garden space down at the stake farm.

We like fresh produce as much as the next family so naturally we signed up.  Turns out that only 4 families from our ward signed up and we ended up with a whole section to share with one other family.  Each section is 40ft by 160ft.  That’s bigger than the grass that I mow at home.

So far we have spent about 20 hours planning and digging and planting and watering and we’re almost a quarter of the way done getting it all planted.  And I’m sore.

But there’s something about farming (gardening) that just feels right.  I don’t know if it’s because I live almost 70% of my waking hours in front of a computer screen but standing in the middle of a field watching the sun go down as I dig neat little rows in the dirt is really an amazing experience.

Bill gates posted a really interesting picture to Twitter today.  http://twitpic.com/4cc7up.  Take a look at that picture.  Here’s the richest man in the world (depending on how his stocks are valued compared to Warren Buffet and the Walton kids. And that guy in Mexico) and he’s just sitting on the ground with a bunch of people who have probably never heard of him.  I wonder if they have any concept of just how much money this man and his wife control.

I wonder how often this happens to me.  I know some rather successful people here in Utah and have bumped into them in public on occasion.  Usually I’m with people who don’t know who we just bumped into and they don’t ever really grasp it.  I remember bumping into Ray Noorda back in the day and had I not already know him I would of thought he had less money than me.  He was a real down to earth guy.

But then I think there’s the time when I was a waiter at the Olive Garden. There were two LDS people on the staff and we were both working in the same section that day.  In walks newly ordained Apostle Jeffery R Holland and his family.  She picked up his table and was acting quite calm and collected about the whole thing.  So I had to stop and ask her “Do you know who you are waiting on?”  She didn’t.

And that got me wondering, who else has crossed my path that I should have recognized and didn’t.

So how can I know who I should know but don’t?

At one point or another we have all sat next to that guy in the diner that we haven’t ever seen before but somehow ended up talking with him for half an hour.  I imagine he has met quite a few people over the years who he already knew but didn’t recognize.  And I imagine it works out pretty good for his networking.

What if you or I were to try that?  You know, just sit down and start talking with people. Introduce yourself, talk about the other person, ask some good questions to understand what that person does, explore things you have in common.  I bet that more times than not you end up with a good contact to put in your rolodex.  And I bet that on occasions you even meet someone who you already know, know of, or want to get to know better.

Of course this is all just speculation.  Only one way to find out.

1 year ago I started my own made up diet/weight control program.  Basically it was just this: No eating after 6:00 PM.

That worked well for about 3 months. I slowly lost about 10 pounds.  Then I plateaued. Until August I didn’t lose any more weight.  Not until I tried a handy little iPhone app called LoseIt.

LoseIt helps you set goals and track calories intake and burn.  In the next 3 months I lost an additional 12 pounds.

Then came the holidays.  November was hard but I managed to only put on 1 pound with Thanksgiving.  Then came Christmas and the New Year.  I managed to put on all 12 of those pounds in just under 2 weeks.  I didn’t even have to try.  They just magically appeared.

So. Now the resolve. I work at MonaVie during the day (fantastic place to work by the way) and MonaVie just launched (today) a new weight management product. And I have a 1 month’s supply. So I’m working really hard and avoiding all those things I’ve pigged out on during the holiday.  I’m only 2 days in and I’ve already lost back 3 of those regained pounds. So if you happen to see me wavering in my resolve please give me a little encouragement.  I’m really Jonesin for an EMV right now.

Every Penny Counts

My wife and I have been struggling to recover from the debt we incurred when we closed down a business venture a few years ago.  We were starting to think we weren’t going to be able to make it.

Then about 3 months and 6 days ago were were given a tough choice to make.  We could either settle our single largest account or let it go to a legal firm for collections which could only mean one option at that point.  I have always been against that option and so has my wife.  So against all odds we accepted the settlement offer.  We had 3 months to come up with more than we would have normally paid in almost 2 years on that account.  It was a great offer considering it was less than a third of what was owed on the account but still, it seemed impossible.

“How can we do this when we can’t even make the minimum payment?” I wondered  several times out loud.  “We’re really just buying a few more months until we have to do the unthinkable.”

But we sat down and made a list of every possible option we could think of for generating some additional income.  Sell the car, sell old school books, cut out this expense, cut out that expense, skip a payment or two on this thing and that thing, get extra student loans, apply for as many grants as we could think of, do some small design jobs, find some larger design jobs, make some crafty things to sell to neighbors and friends, etc, etc, etc.  Our list of what we could see as possible income was a little more than what we would need but the odds of those things panning out was still a long shot.  Ok, long shot is a little mild. It was downright impossible without some major influence from Heaven.

Immediately we cut all our spending on anything that wasn’t essential to live.  Then we started working on the additional income.  Well one miracle after another they started to pan out.  One old client from said failed business venture even called out of the blue asking for some work that could only be done by myself and my former partner.  I definitely didn’t see that one coming.

Well the deadline was last Thursday. And we made it, barely but we made it.

The most amazing part of it all is to see how the impossible can be possible when you think about money a little different. And when you get a little divine help.

So there are a number of things that I have always thought about money and our society but I think I finally know them now.

1. In our society we are taught to think about money and jobs to make us part of the system. We contribute by putting in our time and consuming every bit that we can. We have been taught to purchase things  on credit that cost more than what we bring home in a single paycheck.  We focus on our credit rating because we are taught that without good credit, we can’t do anything or go anywhere in life.
2. Well, it’s all lies.  Consumption doesn’t help build the economy.  Especially consumption that uses credit to exist.  It doesn’t create happiness.  It doesn’t create stability or security. It creates dependence and slavery. It’s the opposite of freedom.
3. Buying into the whole “go to school, get a degree, get a good job, retire when you are 62.5″ that’s just ludicrous.  It just doesn’t make sense.
4. Credit is stupid.  Buying on credit is stupid. Thinking you need a good credit score is stupid.  Did you know that people will still accept cash?
5. Here’s the way I see it now:  Make a list of needs. Make a list of wants. Save for each.  Save a large amount for emergencies (at least 10% of income).  A budget isn’t about tracking where the money has gone. It’s about planning and not buying until you have the money budgeted or set aside for that purchase.

So here’s my challenge.  Now that this painful experience is over I am going to live by my budget and only buy things with money that is sitting in my bank account.  I don’t really care what my credit rating is because honestly, I don’t plan on ever needing it again.  I’ve proven to myself that when you create a goal and honestly strive to reach that goal, you can accomplish what you have previously thought impossible.

Related articles

• Stop Being a Slave to Debt (and Banks) (frugaldad.com)
• 10 Reasons to Have Multiple Income Streams (money.usnews.com)
• Budgeting For Mistakes (getrichslowly.org)
• MICHELLE SINGLETARY: Rainy Day Planning (kitsapsun.com)

I had a professor in college that was always telling us to find the “So what?”.  When we wrote a paper, it had to have a “so what?” or he would make us start over.  I have really tried to make that a part of my communication because I have the tenancy to make a story longer than shorter, to ramble on little bit, to give three examples when one would suffice.

I’ve been able to do pretty well with it in speaking I think.  As long as I don’t have to tell a story to lead up to something I can keep it short and to the point.  And I make sure that I’m not talking just to talk. I talk when I need to say something.  I have several friends that I consider close friends that I haven’t really spoken to for months at a time.  It’s not that I don’t want to talk to them, it’s that I’m busy and they’re busy and I don’t have a “so what?” to go talk to them about.  But when I do it’s a good but often short conversation.

I think the “so what?” idea especially applies when I’m chatting with someone over IM during working hours.  I know I’m busy, and the other person is probably busy so I keep it short and to the point.  But then I have this one friend that I see every month or so and I chat with him once or twice each week, sometimes less.  But in all that seeing and chatting I can only think of one “so what?” in the last year that he has wanted to talk about when he starts chatting. And it drives me crazy.  Not crazy enough to lecture him on it but crazy enough to write a post about it.

So here’s my “so what?” for my friends, family and colleagues:

I love to hear from you but please have a “so what?” if you are going to chat with me.