I Think We Need A Change...

Photo courtesy of Forgotten memory



As you know if you've been around us for even 5 minutes, we've been at this for almost 2 full years now! September 13th - which also happens to be my birthday - will make it official.





Within those 2 years we've picked up a lot of personal insight and we've also tweaked a number of techniques to find a more 'custom' fit than most of the major programs provide. We took all of the info and then applied our personal filter to it based on our beleif system, our financial situation at the time, and our decisions based on just how aggressive we wanted to be at the outset. Once we got the hang of it we essentially just let it run it's course without much change. Sure there was a streamlining process that we had to go thru but it mostly happened as a result of our weekly budget meetings and in very small increments.





But now I'm coming to a place where I feel we need a change in strategy. And I'd prefer for it to be a MAJOR change! At times I question if we are somehow too 'comfortable' with the pace we've settled into lately. Quite honestly there are times where I dont feel very "Gazelle Intense" at all about what we're doing.





And then when you couple with that the fact that we are quickly becoming role models through the ever-extending reach of this blog, Facebook and Twitter it becomes a challenge sometimes to manage a balance between what we're doing as a household vs. what we want to empower you to do as a person/family.





The bottom line is that I feel the need to possibly change the way we are approaching our debt. I'm looking for a way to make it 'fresh' again to us in spite of the fact that we've accomplished so much and are now at our virtual halfway point in the journey.





I'd love to hear ideas from any of you who have felt this same way and done something about it! Please leave me a comment below or hit me up on Twitter with your suggestions!





See ya next time,

@W




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How I would save GM… The Great Auto Lotto of 2009!

Photo courtesy of jhoweaa

GM is a car company right? So how would I save a car company? I would sell it’s cars! Put on your thinking caps boys and girls, it’s time to do some math!

Our Government has committed roughly $50 billion to bail out this automaker. So let’s say the average GM car cost $26k…

($50,000,000,000 divided by $26,000 = 1,923,076 brand new cars)

Let’s keep the math neat by rounding the figure to 1.9 million… that’s a lot of cars right? So then the question becomes, “Who would those cars go to?” And I would answer that question easily, “The GOVERNMENT… duh!”

In my scenario essentially, the government just contracted out GM to operate their entire fleet of vehicles. Everything from FBI cruisers, surveillance vehicles, even the *motorcades of Diplomats and elected officials can be covered by this $50b ‘contract’. (*President Obama already has a stable of tricked out limos produced by Cadillac, a GM brand, so there ya go!)

Next question: “What if the government doesn’t need all 1.9 million vehicles for it’s own use?” Answer: They raffle off the excess vehicles to the public… after all WE did pay for this bail out with our own money right? Any US citizen with the means could essentially enter a lottery to get a crack at the leftover inventory of vehicles. They could buy as many tickets as they like to increase their chances of getting a brand new vehicle for a DIRT CHEAP price.

For example if the government used 1 million of the vehicles to replenish/upgrade it’s stock of fleet vehicles, 900k would be left. Again, to keep the math clean, let’s say that 300k have a price range of $0 - $10,000. They would be raffled off at $100 per vehicle. That would equal $30 million instantly pouring back into the economy. Then let’s say that 300k have a price range of $10,000 – $30,000. These would be raffled off at $500 per vehicle. The proceeds would equal $150 million for this group of vehicles! Then lastly, we have a final group of 300k vehicles with a price range of $30,000 to $50,000. The raffle price for these would be $1000 per vehicle because of the premium/luxury nature of the lines offered at this price. This group would bring in $300 million.

Now keep in mind this is just a basic experiment and it only takes into account one raffle ticket sold per vehicle… but as I said earlier, the buyers could buy as many tickets as they like. The total revenue from the scenario we just did comes out to $480 million, and THAT does not take into account taxes, tags, and freight charges on the vehicles themselves – which again goes back to the government. I would also add a stipulation for any raffle winner that they could sell their current vehicle for no more than equal value of the raffle ticket they purchased! This would again, instantly create a secondary car market and most likely DOUBLE the figures I just gave at the very least.

And what’s more, GM isn’t the only auto company in need of this type of “bailout”. This would serve as the perfect catalyst to reinvent both the US auto market and the overall rules of engagement for the consumer they sell to.

Now, I’m sure some one reading this is going to ask, “What’s the point of the Government spending $50 billion on this example just to make back a minimum of $480 million?!” But to that I ask this question: “What’s the point of the Government bailing out GM with $50 billion and having no plan other than to ‘keep it afloat’ operationally while the company still slowly bleeds to death in this economy?!”

GM is a car company… and something needs to be done with the cars right? I don’t care how much you say you don’t like American made cars… if you could get a brand new one for $100 to $1000 you’d be down for it!

What would you do?
@W

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What the HECK are you DOING?!?!

Photo courtesy of Whysteriastar


The title says it all... it's the number one question I get from family and friends when they ask how we're doing with "the debt thing".

Four years ago, my financial routine was as follows: To spend nearly all of my money on multiple pairs of the same sneaker in the same color, a PlayStation game or two, and the latest DVD release from Best Buy for that week. Once those major priorities were taken care of I'd make sure I had enough money left to cover breakfast, lunch, and dinner from McDonald's, and enough gas money to get me back and forth to work. No savings, no 401k, no responsibility. I didn't even know HOW to budget, let alone consider following one! But me? Man, I was living THEE LIFE! ...Right?

My how life has changed! Before we started this journey to evict our debt, I was barely making a salary above $40 Grand... but flash forward to today and we've paid off $46.5k! (Stop it, you're making that face again.)

So what changed? In short, it's a simple phrase but in practice it's anything but simple:

"Live like no one else, so that one day you can LIVE like no one else."


Over the next few posts I'm going to introduce you to what that really looks like in my everyday life.

In the next episode: "You want me to do WHAT?!?"

@W



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Suze Orman: Your Loss is Her Gain...

Photo courtesy of Glennia


"I'm proud that I make money, that I work hard, that I've created what I've created. But I can tell you this: I haven't hurt one person getting here." - Suze Orman

Oh really Suze?

I usually don't do this. I usually don't 'go after' someone in the public eye. But Suze Orman has pressed my final button, so I just have to get this off my chest.

Orman is considered to be the most recognizable personal-finance expert in the world. And quite possibly the most polarizing as well.

Now anyone who follows this blog knows that I'm a fan of Dave Ramsey's methods for eliminating debt and managing your finances. Not because I have a 'thing' for Dave, but first and foremost because he uses the Bible as a foundation for the principles he teaches. There is proven truth to what he says... he doesn't sugar-coat it, he doesn't water it down.

Suze on the other hand seems to "play to the crowd" a bit too much for my liking. She wont tell you what you NEED to hear all the time, because it may alienate you from being endeared to her.

I just read an article about her on Time.com called "The Queen of Crisis". I highly recommend checking it out. But I digress...

My biggest problem with Suze is that she's not afraid of credit. She wants credit to be your friend in turning your woes into wealth.

Last week I caught the 2am replay of Oprah. (Please don't ask...) Suze Orman was the guest of honor and she was answering every one's "tough" questions about this economy and their money. Questions like: "We're getting married this summer and we want to spend no more than $50,000. After our expenses each month we have about $500 leftover. How can we afford to make this happen?"

Suze told them that they couldn't afford it, but she then went on to tell them HOW they could afford it!

Oh, and how about the couple that wanted to remodel their kitchen and bathroom by taking out a $76,000 Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC)? Suze said "Go for it!"

Whaaaa? Excuse me? Have you seen property values lately?

To me this is reckless! While we're facing the worst economic situation in the last 80 years, The world's foremost financial expert is on a show with possibly the widest viewership into the 'average American home' and she refuses to be a voice of reason against the mentality of trying to afford what you cannot afford?! Really? At a time like this?!

In the quote at the start of this post, she says she hasn't hurt one person getting to where she is... but I beg to differ. With advise like the variety she gave on Oprah, I shudder to think how many people she hurt in that hour alone. How many people did she just empower to continue to run their finances into the ground?

Ok, and one last question...

Why does she charge $80,000 per speaking engagement? Is her advice really that valuable? As I said before when it comes to the economy, our loss is apparently her gain.

Till next time,

@W



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OPEN GYM...

photo courtesy of susanhardman

Today I thought I'd do something new... open up the floor for whatever personal finance topic you might want to discuss. Got questions on budgeting? Ask away. Need advice on how to get started? I'm at your service.

Feel free to either email me your question or comment, or simply post it yourself in the comments section.

That's all to it, so lets PLAY!

PS: Today only as an added bonus, the first person to hit me back will get a free slurpee on the house! Nah scratch that, free slurpees for everyone!!



@W

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