Winter solstice is here again.

(Written on the winter solstice. December 21st)

I just realized its the winter solstice. The shortest day of the year. Typically I think about this day and look forward to it. Its beginning of days becoming longer seasons changing. For the northern hemisphere we are experiencing the darkest night tonight. A couple of years ago after purchasing our first home, struggling to feed my baby, having no money, Dr bills, low pay, and I could go on and on. Anyways I looked forward to the winter solstice and even celebrated it. It's the new beginning. Brighter days are ahead. Last year I decided to celebrate the winter solstice differently. It would be the day to leave behind my negativity in my life and celebrate brighter days ahead. So this year I leave my sleepless nights from newborn babies. Some of my laziness. Car loans! Yes I paid that off this year! House payments (I wish) the people who sold our house to us who took things we wanted and just gave it away, and my first new car I bought. It brought a lot of contention into our marriage and I am finally letting it go. Happy winter solstice, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Guess what? Millennials still don't have money

Browsing yahoo news today and saw This article

Hmm. this is interesting.... 

I just found out millennials are in my age group but This is what I see around me in my age group. New cars big houses college educated neighbors with kids. They have to have money right? I mean they show it off like there's no tomorrow. 

According to the article not likely . 

Nearly  3/4 have less than a thousand? 

Older millennials are not much better.

Who are the 33% who have nothing?

Why?

Still shocking to me that I made the top 15%

Why are these numbers so bad? In my not so humble oppinion, because we are always in a competition with our neighbors. Who of us went black Friday shopping? How many of us went further in debt doing that? How many of us were talked into buying that brand new car or truck? How many of us just had to have that vacation, furniture, House, Electronics, or ATV.

We have this "pay for it later" attitude. We feel rich from our possessions yet as with the example above most of us don't even have a thousand dollars!?

Total national numbers with all age groups is still horrible.

It is not an income problem!

It is not a job problem!

It is a money management problem!

Did you know that an average American spends over 280,000 dollars in interest in his or her lifetime?

Did you know the average car payment is 479 dolllars add monthly car insuranse and your looking at paying 550 a month.

That's 6600 dollars a year.

Did you know that the Averge credit card debt per household is around 15 grand? Average monthly payment is 627 dollars a month! that's over 7500 a year!!

It's not a money problem.

It's a money management problem!

Get rid of the car loans, credit card debt. Stop taking vacations you can't afford!

Because guess what?

Slowly more and more if us are fuguring it out and we are not going to be there to help when you fall. Nope we will be there to buy up your mistakes at a fraction of what they are worth. 

Live within your means or your wants and needs will control you.

November's "I can't afford it award winner"

Totally dropped the ball again.

K. There is a few updates from the last time I wrote an " I can't afford it award". Basically Facebook has blocked my way of finding more information on one's personal life that sometimes contradicts the advertisement. Fortunately I was able to find a few things about this month's winner before that happened.

November's winner of the "I can't afford it award" goes to...
This add.

I've write several times that you need to be careful that your needs don't reach to far into your wants. A reliable car is a need. Unfortunately SO many people fall into this trap that a new car with an affordable 400 dollar car payment is their reliable need of transportation. Then you realize your insurance goes up and your state screws you over in registration every year.  Oh and on top of all of this your income goes down have an unexpected medical emergency or lose your job and your affordable payment becomes unaffordable. You fall behind on your payments and the repo guy takes it the day before your job interview! So your reliable car still works...... BUT your finances are not Reliable.
Leasing a vehicle is WORSE! How people fall for this piece of shiz program I'll never understand! You pay the same car payment to RENT a car? You give up so many rights. You have to insure a vehicle you do not own!!! I have very little sympathy for anyone who falls for this! 
This particular person is a young mom who needs a car. Now she needs to get out of the responsibility of a lease! They trap you into thinking it's a great deal. Most financial advisor will let you know they're not.

K alot more to get to during this Christmas season including December's "I can't afford it award". 2016's "I can't afford it award" a few more penny pincher segments on what not to buy and of course if I have time I need to rant on charities.

Avoid Disneyland (penny pincher segment)

So to get started on things to avoid buying when you have no disposable income. Which in my opinion is having any debt with the exception of a home loan says you should not have any disposable income. I would like to share my thoughts from yesterday while I was sitting next to the bear river run in California Adventure.

 Anybody who knows that area knows that is the entrance to the Grand California Hotel. I got to say while I was staring at the entrance watching all of these people entering and leaving the park I was a little jealous. I had two thoughts while sitting there one I might be in that stage in my life where certain luxuries are affordable and worth it. So at least for now every other Disneyland trip will INCLUDE a stay at a Disneyland hotel and two the question came up HOW? How can these people, some young, some old, afford a 400 dollar a night room?

The national wage average is around 50000 a year. That is roughly after taxes and insurance 650 bucks a week or 3300 a month. Average car payment is 479 average student loan payment 280 average rent/mortgage 1350 Average phone bill 71 per person average food bill for a family of 4  800 average monthly car insurance 88 average credit card payment 159 Add that all together that's a grand total of 3577!! meaning an average family cannot even afford an average lifestyle without suplimentation. So again how? Now obviously there are legitimate reasons how such as rich parents putting the trip on a credit card or actually having some hardcore saving skills but not every person staying there can legitimately say they can afford it. They found a way to pay for it but let's be honest they cannot afford it without going into debt which means as I have said it before the risk of relying on social services you and I contribute to.

This brings me to my first PENNY PINCHER "Avoid Buying" segment.

Avoid Disneyland Vacations.

I know....I hear you. Your probably saying, "Are you kidding me!?.....No..... way.."

You have no student loan debt no credit card debt you don't ask your parents for loans and your car is paid off right??

You mean No??

Then at least hear my arguments. The penny pincher segment is to help those who desperately legitimately want to get out of debt and have control of their financial lives.

So why avoid Disneyland Vacations?

#1 Price.
My total vacation was close to 3 grand. That included a crammed room 3 miles away for 5 nights, Disneyland 1 park 4 day passes, gas food and very few souvenirs.
A Disneyland hotel stay would be double that.

#2 Overpriced Souvineers. I understand your going to pay more inside a park. I get that but seriously a pair of mouse ears is 23.99. I bought 3 for a whopping total of 77 and some change. That.....is.....gouging!
I know I know. That's Disneyland for you and you don't have to buy it but remember this segment is for those in debt with no disposable income and what to avoid so you can have MORE disposable income.

#3 Large crouds.
If I am going into debt for something you better believe I want a deal. So here's your deal with Disneyland. You will wake up happy arive there excited and by the time your in the park you might be angry and frustrated. Why? Large cowds. Busses dropping off groups of children. Who crowd up the lines. Locals who have season passes who treat the park like it's a public park. Inconsiderate drivers cutting you off.

That's worth going further into debt on top of debt on top of other debt to experience that?

#4 LOCALS!!
I wish Disneyland would get rid of the annual pass and it's because of the locals. They crowd the lines take up space and have you ever got a good seat at the parade? Chances are a LOCAL annual pass holder beat you to it. They know all the ins and outs. They come for the parade and shows and leave. There are even Locals who will hire out for 20 an hour reserve your spots in line and take care of your fast passes. Disney PLEASE get rid of the annual pass.
Lastly
#5 your a 4th class citizen at Disneyland.

"But Disneyland treats everyone fairly"

Really? 1st class citizens are those who do pay for it. These our your people who stay at the Disneyland resorts or pay extra to get a guide. Getting a guide gets you straight access to the front of the lines, Hotel guest enjoy a private entrance to the park, staying on site (need a nap with all that fun? No problem just walk to your hotel). and other perks that I would need to look further into. 2nd class citizens our your true disabled people and your fakers. Yes there are fakers. They receive special treatment too. Front of the line passes for them and all of they're family and friends. 3rd class citizens are the annual season holders. Perks include 10% off dining and going to disneyland almost any time you want. One lady we talked to was on her 29th time that year. 4th class citizen is everyone else. What do you get? besides fast passes NOTHING. no discounts no line skipping. To me that is unfair. We pay the most yet get nothing in return.

So again avoid Disneyland.


Unless you can upgrade your citizenship.

And be debt free and have some savings!

Is it worth it to be a penny pincher

I've wanted to write my thoughts on this. Is it worth it to be a penny pincher?

It's funny when things were going great in my life such as after taxes or even before my first kid was born I relaxed on pinching my pennies. We would eat out 6 days a week buy clothes hit the road almost every weekend pay extra payments on the car. My wife would get her hair and nails done buy dog food pay vet bills and would not even think twice about doing all of that. We had no kids and those were needs to a young married couple. As we got older our credit cards were eventually maxed out, income went down children were born and it finally caught up to us. I don't know if robbing my child's piggy bank to pay for groceries asking for an extension on our rent or a home refinance program made me feel worst but they all eventually made me realize that something needed to change. If I was going to be independent  (and through my parents choice of not helping me I had nobody) I needed to change. I needed to find out how finances work why mine were not working and through alot of hard work, rearranging my debts finding out how to control debts and most of all inspiration from non other than my heavenly Father I did find ways to save. I stopped spending money I didn't have, I made more, saved a TON, and became with the exception of our house DEBT FREE. I am currently at Disneyland fully paid for vacations using no debt and EARNING and SAVING money while here. So yes it is always worth it to find savings. DO NOT STOP PINCHING YOUR PENNIES!

In my next few blog entries I will explain what to avoid buying and why. If I had known this info, no joke, I would have close to 80 GRAND in my account from savings interest and cash back rewards.

Why I WILL NOT donate to Primary Children's Hospital

Went to panda express today. My meal came to 16.03. The lady asked me if I wanted to round up to 17 and donate .97 cents to Primary Children's Hospital. I said no thanks.

Why?

Glad you asked?

Actually chances are your going to click that back button because this isn't

"What you were looking for"

I'll speed up my post so you can get to that back button faster.

First Panda Express is a corporation I try to avoid but my wife likes it so I go every once in a great while. They are also very greedy trying to keep all profits they can and even cutting expenses so low 1995s contractors cannot live with what they are willing to pay. I know. I used to be one of panda's delivery guys. I don't trust that company with any donations.

2nd primary children's hospital is through Intermountain healthcare. Intermountain healthcare is tax exempt because it is required to provide a service that is more than the value of taxes they would be paying. Millions of dollars worth and although they do that what they don't tell you is that if you have a good standing bill with them and can barely afford it they will tack on interest. Here they are promoting they are a charitable hospital yet only to those with more severe conditions. You could be making 6 figures a year and yet if you show them you cannot afford your bill they will write it off. If your child stays a week or less and you are sacrifice financial purchases all the time and all you want to do is responsibly pay your bills they will allow that.....with 8.99% interest.
Here's my question to PRIMARY CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL

WHERE DOES THE INTEREST GO?

 Does it go into the same charitable fund?
If it does. Your forcing me not only to take care of my bill but others too?

You are tax exempt!!

You received 80% of your overpriced medical bills and you need to tac on an additional 9% On the remaiming 20% I owe!

For what??

Until I get my answer I cannot feel right with donating.

Again I'll say this.

If it feels right to donate do, if it doesn't don't.
These are my and mine feelings not meant to pursuade yours.

Octobers winner

Some times not being able to aford something can be because of time.

You could be a multi millionaire and still not have enough time. Work, family life, maybe a life changing event such as having a baby can take up alot of your time. 

So for this month's "I can't afford it award" I have chosen this add I found on Facebook.

I have some strong feelings when it comes to pet ownership and since i too am out of time (being its a half hour from midnight.) I'll leave it at that.

Dont get a dog if you dont have time for it!

My in laws financial traps.

I knew it would eventually happen and it did.

This weekend.

So for years now I have warned of the dangers of overexerting your finances. Adding a car loan to your budget. Spending too much on vacations. Putting vacations on credit cards. Adding or upgrading your Internet and cable. Spending more than you are earning. Even leaving lights on or not trying to conserve resources that you pay for can catch up to you.
I have several times in the past brought up my in laws as examples of what not to do to your financial situation. Every time we went to visit they seemed superior to all of us "peasants" who could not afford what they could BARELY afford. 60 " flat screen t.v.s, Electric couches with cup holders, refrigerator with a computer built in, new Sinks installed, 2 newer cars (one bought on mothers day) with car loans and even a motion sensor trash can. Not to mention vacations to Vegas California Hawaii Georgia AND treating the "underprivileged" grandkids to an all expense paid vacation to Disneyland complete with 100 dollar gift cards to all 3. While my kids got by with sac lunches and minumul souvenirs. Not to mention we over drafted our bank account while on that trip.

Anyways

For years I would tell myself there would be a day where we would have more financial security than they do. Give it time and keep going. Some day they will be wanting our help. We on the other hand have not even asked for a loan but I have to give them credit. For the first 3 years of our marriage they did a good job at being, uhm whats the word, GRAND PARENTS. Buying our meals and taking us places but unfortunately they have lost their grandparent charm. I can arguably trace that to when they bought the first brand new car and when her daughter moved in.
So to get to my point, here we are. My family has increased in wealth through alot of sacrifice and good financial decisions and they decided to come visit.
We let them use our car we filled it up for them paid for a meal gave them a place to stay and even paid for entertainment! When they left I had to put more gas in the car to take them to the airport. In all I would say we spent around 150 dollars while they saved 250.

So what's my point...

Here it is. Close relatives who spend lavishly and buy things they cannot afford are going to expect you to help them when your times are good and theirs are not. They may even use the "we helped you" card (which they haven't) or the "we paid for you" that one time.

Don't let it work!!

Here are some tips to prevent yourself from being ripped off from your money hungry relatives who love to show off any artificial wealth they can.

1. Treating relatives to a meal is fine. It's also a nice gesture but don't expect them to do the same. Try at least doing it at the end of the vacation that way they don't expect you to pay again.

2. Going along with eating out, go Dutch or chose less expensive fast food places.

3. If your relatives mention they are on a budget take that as a red flag. They may be expecting you to pay for more (like mine did)

5. Unless you have smart financially secure family members coming to visit DO NOT offer your car as an alternative to a rental car. With a rental car they are responsible for gas with yours they are not and if you have relatives like I do they don't realize they should fill the tank to when they began their journey. My in laws left it empty before taking them to the airport. Which meant I filled it 1 and a half times. If they ask tell them your car needs repairs or its in the shop.

6. Do not disclose your wealth. If anything  tell them your struggling also. That way they expect less.

Lastly make note of all the times you "paid" for something just on case they try to make that argument. This is not only to stand up for yourself it's also to remind yourself.

Octobers I can't afford it award teaser.

So I'm starting to go stealth on this blog. May take longer but should be worth it. I have just had one too many times where my wife asks to see my phone and asks what's this picture? Usually its a picture of an add I'm using for the blog and she tells me i have a hard heart and i need to soften it. I'm sorry but I don't see it that way. It's not about having a hard heart it's about learning from other peoples mistakes so you don't keep making them. Stay away from them. History is full of mistakes people have made. We learn from them so we don't make those mistakes again. Even the bible shows mistakes made and we again learn from them. If no one were to write down our mistakes disasters would happen daily. You imagine what it would be like if the air flight industry never wrote down their mistakes? I wouldn't fly. Would you?
So I'm constantly finding these people to over and over let you (that one lucky person who stumbles on my blog) know why you should avoid them.
Enough introduction lets get started.

So 2 years ago while i was injured and on short term disability for 10 weeks i wrote a blog piece called, "Truck owners are selfish"
http://viscarjones.blogspot.com/2014/09/new-truck-buyers-are-selfish.html?m=1

In it I made the argument that trucks are very expensive to operate and unless you had yours completley paid off you were selfish. Your family deserves better. Your wife deserves better. So I'm never shocked when I spot adds with OVERPRICED, yes overpriced, trucks people are trying to get out from under their expensive payments. What does shock me is when young guys who have no financial education buy a truck get married HAVE A KID and even make it through a semester of college before realizing they cannot afford their payment anymore. Now I did capitilize all the letters above and heres why. A hospital bill cost alot!! I know! I have had 4 kids. They are not cheap. If a person is paying a 500 dollar truck payment and 200 dollar insuranse payment, how in the hell is he paying hospital and dr payments!? The answer? In most cases he's not! The government is because guess what. The government does not include vehicles as assets!

Anyways.

The first contestant of October's "I Can't Afford It Award" is this guy

This belongs to a young family. Dad has a wife and a baby. Recently married 2 years ago and already is living the American dream which is artificial wealth through DEBT. Again this is the typical love story today. Guy falls in love with a truck. Buys it. Guy falls in love with girl. They get married and have a kid. Guy loses his job and sells his first love and LOSES alot of money. Eventually they need help. Bishop steps in and pays the mortgage and they get free food! All the while other young married couples are making correct financial decisions and are being stretched to their limits with hostpital bills and baby cost and get NO breaks.

YAY! It's a perfect world!

NOT!!

The next contestant for this month is yet another selfish truck owner.

He can no longer afford the payment but somehow can come up with 5 grand to pay down the balance? This is ridiculous! 

HE HAS TO PAY 5 GRAND TO SELL THIS!

Are you not seeing the problem?

Not all truck purchases are selfish. They're are plenty of inexpensive options that are affordable, reliable, and can get your jobs done.

Avoid car loans. They are traps and they bind you with THEIR rules.

Stay away from them.

Anything and everything

So I've been wanting to just write anything and everything down on this one post. I have been thinking about this for a while. Different topics have floated through my head yet I'm not finding the time nor sometimes the desire to write. So... I'm going to start now and end whenever with whatever topics come to mind.
First of all I have finally done it I quit my job! Yep a year ago I couldn't stop talking about getting out of debt and paying my car off and here I am now debt free car loan free working at home and not necessarily loving it. Hmm. Why? Don't get me wrong I wouldn't change my circumstances at all there are certain stages of life I feel we all should experience and unfortunately I am in one of those stages in life, raising a baby and another not working. Unfortunately  they are bumping into each other. You would think that having independence from financial hardships and not working as much would bring freedom and happiness. Some days it does others not so much. My baby has been clingy and although I may not work my wife does which leaves the babysitting to me. Sometimes the only freedom I have is when the baby is sleeping. This is a big problem when your wish is fulfilled yet you can't acomplish anything because you fear the baby is going to eat something it shouldn't or fall down the stairs and get hurt. Non stop things are spilled messes are made and diapers are constantly being changed
 I'm just hoping that we A. get a babysittero soon or B. My being away from work last long enough where the baby situation gets better to where I can get some of my projects done.

Another subject I've wanted to spend an entire post on is the bragging rights of not having to have a car loan anymore. I wanted to share my experience after my last and final payment was made. First of all let me share what my life was like two  years before my last payment was made. I was down on my luck my cars transmission was shot I was relying on a coworker to get to work every morning and my wife (and I) just had it with everything bad going on in out lives. We first called our credit unio and asked for a car loan  (p.s. this is about the time i came up with the 5000 dollar car loan limit) I asked for 4 grand to buy a car to get me by till I get back on my feet. At first things seemed promising. She said I qualified for a 3% rate and would be calling me with further instructions. She never called back! (Which was kind of a blessing in disquise) when we finally called her back we found out we had some bad credit reporting by our home loan (my fault) after explaining why, she told us again she would give us a call back. After no calls for several days we went into a branch and again let a loan officer know of our situation. He too said he would call us back. Little did we know my home loan restructuring mistake would make a huge impact on our credit score. What once was a valuable 774 score shrunk way down into the 500s. We had bad credit and they were rightfully turning us away. YET! I still feel alot of resentment towards that credit union (which we are still apart of) because yet again he never called us as promised. We called him back and found out we were not approved. At a last ditch effort we went to a competetors credit union and asked them for a loan. Although we didn't get one i have to give the branch manager credit for offering a pathway to an 11% loan which is still better than an in house loan at a used car dealership. To shorten the rest of the story we came home my wife was angry and hurt and she cut up all of my credit cards (which I found out later was not the best idea) I got my car fixed my wife's buisness boomed and I started paying off credit cards at a fast pace. So now the only loan I have is my house! How does it feel? The funny thing is imediately I noticed the difference after my car was paid off. I used to be up to a month behind on bills and when I caught up and still have money in my bank account is an awesome feeling! I own my car! It's mine and I will never have a conventional  car loan again.
I was watching youtube today (which I do a lot of) and instead of searching for any particular genre I decided just to watch anything that came across my front lineup. I saw a video (vlog) that I decided to watch. Not because I was interested in his vlog but because I wanted to find out why it had a million + views. All I saw while watching it was an entitled kid who was married (or had a girlfriend) who had unlimited time on his hands due to? Being independently wealthy? Getting vast amounts of money from YouTube that creates wealth way beyond his means? Or living off his parents and the government that creates a life where he feels he does not need to or want to work and he feels like he has the right to live this lifestyle plus he has a million viewers who feel the same way? I watched another vlogger who was doing the exact same thing. I just skimmed over their videos giving them a generous view which I wish I could take back and all i saw was no responsibility and an endless supply of time and funds to do anything they wanted. Every other video seemed like they were on another adventure at the airport on the plane or traveling somewhere. Occasionally they came back to a nice big backyard with a swimming pool.

Here's my question (and rant for today)

Why are people watching this crap?

Do you not realize they have that lifestyle because you want it. They get paid to do those videos because you wish you could do them. The two I saw had no kids no responsibility and had so much free time on their hands they were coming up with crap to do that even I couldn't come up within my free time.

Stop using your free time watching their free time. It's unfortunate that some people who "have the life" don't have any responsibility.

Do they deserve your view? You work hard for your small paycheck do they really deserve your view?

I don't  mean all youtube channels. I have two in particular that I love to watch. Both don't get as many views but maybe it's because they work? They don't get government funds and one even worked 2 jobs plus did youtube videos and cared for his dying wife.

So here's another story for you. I have finally come to a point in my life where it's time to sell the famous, the one and only fully paid off since I bought it car. Thats right. I haven't done a status update for a while but basically I have completed at least 2 of my 7 goals of life. 1 being no car payments and  2 a house that others would be envious to have. Now if I could own that house and be extremely rich to the point of not worrying about whatever life throws at me that would be awesome but until then I will continue to keep on keepin on like Joe Dirt.

So I finally after moving and having a hectic couple of months I posted my car for sale for 500. For less than 2 average car payments someone can own a car saving them interest and insurance payments!

Anyways ....

After a failed attempt of posting online classifieds I finally found a local facebook  classifieds and posted on there. Imediately I get a phone call. We set up a time and a place to go meet. After a formal buisness type greeting with an entire family the dad and the son take my car for a test drive. They returned and looked very pleased with the way my car handles.

Now before I tell this next part of the story you should know that I have come to a point in my life where I don't need to sell this car. I don't need the money and I will not make an agreement with anyone unless I am comfortable with it.

He proceeds to tell me that my car needs new brakes an oil change and at least a thousand dollars worth of work before he can drive it. At this point I knew the negotiations were on. Really?? For a 500 dollar car that runs and drives, not to mention you have a line of people waiting behind you to look at it, and you still want to negotiate!?! So he offers me 400. After a short chuckle on the inside. I gently tell him in my buisness mannerism that I can't do that. Imediately he offers 450. OK seriously? Is it that important you have to have a discount in order to buy a car?? I tell him again I won't do that and ask him is it really worth the extra 50 dollars to go back to searching for a car when his search could be over. At this point I think I have the sale. They speak some Spanish to each other and the original person I spoke to on the phone says we'll make a decision later.

Seriously??

So on a last ditch effort they all get into their nice Toyota SUV and wait to see if I will cave. They even wait till I've driven almost a half a block before they move.
And I'm not even ranting about the many society benifits they are probably enjoying that I myself have never  taken advantage of.

Anyways I have 2 days to get a few post done. I've been going "stealth" lately. It's so much easier writing exactly how you feel without someone critiquing you. That's why I keep this blog a secret.

More to come.

September's I can't afford it winner

So I'm NOT losing interest in this blog. Problem is I used to write on my work time. In between stops I would write for five minutes and over a course of a day around 45 minutes. Think that's unfair to my employer? Well I don't. I don't think I was paid what I was worth and in some cases my Commission dropped on stops I had done for years. Hostpitals were the worst truly a for profit institution that paid pennies on the dollar while expenocting thousands for their work! One hostpita I serviced paid me around 4 dollars an hour commission equivalent while I owed that same hostpital nearly 2 grand!!
And that is my short rant before announcing our winner of September's "I can't afford it award"

I had 2 contestants this month. One with a SUV I hate and one has my dream truck (or used to be my dream truck) both bought on looks and self gloating and one did at least pan out an investment. At least I could make that argument. Anyways let's get started.

The runner up is a freshly married young guy who's wife became pregnant! Where have I heard this story before?
Here
http://viscarjones.blogspot.com/2015/01/the-january-i-cant-afford-itaward-goes.html?m=1

Or here
http://viscarjones.blogspot.com/2016/05/mays-i-cant-afford-it-award-winner.html?m=1

Or more recently, here.
http://viscarjones.blogspot.com/2016/08/augest-winner-of-i-cant-afford-it-award.html?m=1
(Psh! I'm going to let you in on a little secret... It's not the babies fault your losing your car.......It's yours.... just thought you would like to know)


Seriously young married couples listen carefully! No dogs and no car loans! Your restricting your freedom! Trust me! Continuing on the runner up for September is this add.

And now I have to admit something.

I forgot to save this add.

So you will have to trust me when I explain it. A young couple was selling there newish Toyota Tacoma for around 16 grand. Why? For 1 they are having a baby and 2 they are moving away to college. Does anybody else see the red flags I am? For 1 they a having a baby while moving to college. You know what that means? Medicaid and free baby food. It is as you and I through our taxes are paying for that truck.

The winner of the "I can't afford it award" for September is
This guy

Still don't like Escalades. Used to but over the years they have been tainted by the people who drive them.

Im going to end on that.

Till next month.

Augest winner of the "I can't afford it award"

I have been so busy lately that I've had no time to complete these awards but without further ado and on the last days of this month I present to you the winner of this month's "I can't afford it" award

Before I do let me say this. I DO NOT like donating to the food bank. I hate  how our welfare system caters to those who continually dig themselves into these holes and expect the rest of us to feel sorry for them and the same goes for my own church welfare. I mean sure it's great but there are still those out there that don't have a clue how the financial world works. They arrive out of high school thinking they can be a parent and buy brand new vehicles only to have the government pay for their dr bills while they buy new vehicles!! And yes I have and do continually see this (stories coming soon). I am going to throw it out there that this couple who is selling this brand new 2016 50K vehicle (SERIOUSLY!!!) Have or will in the near future use one or several of those social programs listed above. It could be medicaid to pay for the baby mentioned in the add. It could be church assistance for rent or mortgage or even the food bank for food!! Why would you or I who have waited half our lives to live in a nice house and have sacrificed time away from our families to provide for them give of our food or our money to help these "poor" individuals who obviously need a brand new high priced vehicles!!

Uhg!!

Anyways back to the award.
(Clearing my throat)

The winner of the 2016 Augest I Can't Afford It Award goes to

The YOUNG couple (who has no clue of the value of a dollar) who clearly thought it was a good idea to impress their family with "their wealth" not to mention all of the people at a stop light they're never going to meet! The ones who pay over 700 a month plus insurance for this truck

And now they are probably the welfare office asking for help...

More to catch up on.

(Again disclamer, not all who use or have used social services due it with the intent to "milk the system". This is not pointed toward everyone)

Cheaper than counseling.

Sometimes I envy those who have parental support and I'm not talking just financial I'm talking about parents helping you out of a bind or showing up when you need them. At the same time I have again and again shared my feelings on how parental support can go both ways. It can be very damaging to give someone a sense of security to the point where they stop working as hard or in some cases stop working all together. A former friend had this happen to him.

Unfortunately he doesn't see it.

 Although his in laws are helping him by providing him with a place to stay at no cost he has relaxed his ambition to the point where he has drastically reduced his career sucess. Here he is 10 years into his marriage and out of those 10, two have been lived outside a parents home. His safety net has grown so big that he has (as far as I know) no ambition or plans to move out.

So I guess I can at least be thankful for parents who have not allowed me to move in with them.

Then again.....

You would think that a parent if asked would lend you SOME support. Maybe make some rules, write up a contract, have an end date you both agree to....

While away at college my second year I felt homesick. It was quite a stressful semester. Both me and my fiancé were struggling financially. She'd help me and then I would turn around and help her. To save money on food we would eat together buy our groceries together and split them. For example, we both didn't drink alot of milk so we saved a half gallon container and then split a gallon. Around Christmas time I decided I wanted to go to my parents house for new years. Unfortunately, (me being a financial guy even back then) I figured out I only had enough money for a one way trip. I made a plan to work a few jobs while up at my parents to get enough money to drive there and back. Murphys Law took affect on our way there. My Rodeo struggled from somewhere in southern Utah all the way up to Idaho. At times my top speed was 45 mph. After making it to our destination I found out a few days later that my rodeo needed a  new fuel filter and unfortunately I used up all my time trying to figure that out. As with most of my siblings at one point or another I decided to ask my parents for some cash to get back home. Let me remind you I'm a poor college student who wanted to go home for the holidays. Most normal parents might give you a few bucks to help you out. Some may even WANT you to come visit for the holidays and may even pay for your trip! Such events must be rare because I've never experienced such a thing.

Anyways back to my main story.

At first my mom said yes. She would lend me the 100 dollars cash. Later that night my mom called me into the kitchen. When I got there my dad was sitting down and there was a hand written contract on the table.

For 100 dollars (plus some previous amounts for insurance) I signed that contract at a 5% interest.

Want to know the rest of the story?

Two days later I payed my parents off!
I had a check in the mail for 900 dollars from a pending insurance claim right when I got back to my house.

That felt good.

Around 2 years later my younger brother decided he was going to become a rich real estate investor and wanted to go to school for that. For 20 GRAND! Found out later that my parents lent him that money. As far as I know without a contract.

That's the back story to my recent experience.

So here I am years later and a few instances later including my sister moving in with my parents temporarily where I finally decided to humble myself and ask my parents for temporary assistance. I called my mom after selling our house and asked her if we could stay temporarily at their place until we find and buy a house. At first the answer was "ok" I wasn't expecting an excited answer but I was expecting a fair judgment call. Something along the lines of " I let my daughter and son in law stay  and have given support to my children who have needed support. My son is asking for temporary support. I don't want to at this time but if the shoe was on the other foot what woul
Would my expectations be"?

Anyways

Again......after a few weeks my mom sends me a text basically telling me to seek a rental because she fears us living with her will cause a disruption in their lifestyle.

I'm sometimes an emotional person and I got to say, that hurt. I try to understand people's decision and why they make them. I try to put myself in their shoes and play out scenarios in my head that they would go through and I seriously thought they would be fine with us living with us. They were not.

Now what?

I ask this question because what happens when the tables are turned. What happens if they need help or a place to stay. Do I stick to obeying the comandment honor thy father and thy mother or do I use that situation as a teaching moment that I feel they need to relearn? I honestly think and hope I would show them I am better than that. I would hope I would just put my feelings aside and figure out what's best short term.

I think I will leave it at that.

Just another post expressing my feelings.

Cheaper than a counseling!

June's winner of the "I CAN'T AFFORD IT AWARD"

Wow what an exciting month. Alot of changes has happened in my world. Changes that can soon chose the fate of this blog. More on that later.

Anyways.

Let me introduce you to June 2016 winner of the "I can't afford it award"

So remember back a few post how I would talk about this young married couple syndrome. Where  two young people from different backgrounds and two different financial educations get married. After marriage they feel like they can buy anything so they start getting things that their parents took years to get. The ironic thing is their parents are usually the ones educating them on how to get these things today such as furniture t.v. cars bigger houses, instead of earning and learning how to better control money over time. My in laws were that way with my wife. Maybe it was because they wanted my wife to not struggle without like they did, BUT! Ironically they struggled because they followed those exact teachings they taught my wife! It takes dicipline and money management skills to be successful. It takes a desire to be in control of your money flow not a slave to it.

Now that I have my thoughts out this month let's move on.

The winner of June 2016 "I can't afford it award" goes to.....

This young married couple with this add.

And now because they can't take it back they have become a slave to it. 

I am reading a book right now about creating your own bank. In it the auther "something" Nash claims that 35% of the money we earn goes to interest. We lose 35% of every dollar we make!! That is unacceptable!! Be in control. Don't let your finances control you. Go to work to make a paycheck for yourself not for your financial institutions.

Just another post on irresponsible pet ownership

I've often wrote many times my feelings on responsible pet ownership. In a nutshell if you own a dog horse or an animal that requires vet bills and large amounts of money to feed it you should not need financial or living assistance. With the exception of medical needs, people who actually need a trained licensed assistance animal (NOT A SOCIAL OR A COMEFORT ANIMAL!), the elderly and other special circumstances. You should not require or need financial or food assistance the entire time you own that animal. That is my stance those are my feelings. Society should not take care of your dog or your horse through food donations fast offering donations or tax funded social services that you use and in turn save money on food or rent and because of that you have funds to pay for your animals food or vet bills. Non stop I see people setting up gofundme accounts asking to save them from a financial hardship that was caused by a freak accident to their dog. It's their dog! You mean to tell me they can't take care of it?? Get a freaking second job and take care of this financial problem yourself! It's your responsibility its your dog.

This is not to say every situation is the same. People do get injured or have emergencies out of their control. Still a job loss should always be calculated into EVERY decision.

So for years now I have been predicting who of my extended family is at risk of a financial misshap. Again I have to hand it to my side of our family for being fiscally responsible. You will not see these same problems. Why? My parents taught us the value of a dollar my rich uncle taught us about debt and why we should stay clear of it. Our last reunion looked like we had jumped back in time with all the old trailers and old vehicles yet I can guarantee you we were alot better off financially then our neighbors at that same campground.

Anyways

I have this sister in law for years I have been guessing that she has been one of those people living off parental assistance which I have talked about. Now why is this my buisness? Well I've been noticing ever since she has moved into my in laws place the amount of assistance we get has dropped dramatically.(assistance as in the occasional meal or movies paid for and sometimes trip reimbursement for visiting) We don't get the same treatment we used to. We don't even get the fridge stocked when we go down to visit. We've even reduced the amount of times we go down there because of how uninviting they have become and not all of it is due to money some of it is due to them buying nice couches that they cannot afford that my kids are barely allowed to sit on.

So I'm getting off track
Anyways

This sister in law has a dog she's very emotionally attached to. The dog did not have a leash on it when it darted out into traffic got hit and broke both legs. On top of the new 1500 dollar vet bill she has 3500 in credit card debt and almost 12 grand in a car loan.

So what does she do when an emergency happens?

She ask for the publics help.

Look I want to responsibly own a pet someday but I guarantee you I will not be asking for crowd donations when it gets sick or injured and if I don't have money for food or living expenses that dog will need to be rehomed. You cannot afford a dog if you cannot afford your own living expenses.

Here's another example of an irresponsible pet owner.

And another

And even one more example.

Brings new light to the phrase "everybody and their dog" is asking for help LOL.

So I guess my main point is this. Those of you who want a pet but know like I do that right now is not the time to take on an animal that needs to be fed have lots of attention and an occasional vet bill be careful what charities you donate to. Alot of people who rely on those charities have pets that they shouldn't have you yourself deserve more. They take more you give what you can yet your the one sacrificing daily going without they're not.

May's "I can't afford it award" winner!

Found another winner.
So I want to clarify how I go about finding these adds that Become winners. There are so many (unfortunately) of people that find themselves tied up in a car loan they can barely afford if at all. Most of them are just plain uhm what's the word........ (*****) and have not an ounce of common sense. To nominate them and say they should of known better is like telling that to a tree that fell across a road. You can't teach everyone. Not everyone wants to learn. There are however some people that are smart yet do not look towards the future and calculate what would happen if I did this or what are the chances of this happening
For example: I contemplate buying a car after I get married and then ask myself,

(A=answer)

 What is the chance of my wife getting pregnant? A.There is a chance.
 If she gets pregnant will she stop working? A. Yes.
 Will she get paid? A.No.
How much are the medical bills going to be?A. Alot.
Can we afford this payment and living expenses while she's on leave?A. No.
 If I get a second job? A.Yes barely.
Is it then worth it to buy this car?.......

I'm currently in this situation right now. I am in the process of buying a bigger better more expensive house and I too have been drilling deep with scenarios to make sure I make an economical wise decision where the chances of losing our next house to foreclosure is slim. Your not preparing for the end of the world you are simply helping out your future self. He or she deserves a better life than your living right now. With that being said I chose this person to be my Month of May I can't afford it award winner.

"Would love to pay off my lease" ???

You are not even owning your car!?

This is a flashback for me. When I bought my brand new Hyundai back in 2007 I was barely married was not planning on having kids for at least another year and even had a plan on paying off that car within a year. What happened? Well let's just say antibiotics do not mix with birth control.

I think this individual is smarter than this. If she wasn't she wouldn't be trying to get her situation better before it gets worse.

I am now 3 months into no car payments and let me tell you this. It's an amazing feeling being free and a weird feeling having few bills each month. I can now pay all of my bills with the exception of the mortgage with 1 paycheck. I have went from 15 bills a month to 7. And I have a small emergency fund!

Thats it for now.

That's odd

Sometimes I wonder who actually reads my blog. I know that most of my readers are just accidental browsers who just found my page by searching google.
Two weeks ago I wrote about financial segregation in the church. Last week on Thursday I see this come across my news feed

That's odd because quite frankly I have NEVER even heard the term Income Segregation! Seriously are there news agencies using my material for inspired stories???

Doubt it.

But......

This is the second time this has happened.

I wrote about tithing a few months back and a week later a news story came across my news feed on the origination of tithing.

Interesting

 just interesting....

Another financial thought.

I wanted to write down a financial thought I had tonight. I'm in stage 1 and 2 of the moving process. I would like to think of stage 1 as thought and planning stage 2 getting a loan officer and realtor involved. Stage 3 Preperation of selling and moving and so forth. While looking at homes I did some calculation of how much we probably will get a loan for and how much interest we will pay. It is sickening. Ponder on this calculation for a sec. If you were to have a 200 thousand dollar loan on a 30 year fixed mortgage at 4.5% (judging by my current situation) your first interest payment to that  mortgage would be a whopping 739.73.
Thats insane! That's incredible how much money we THROW away every month to take out a loan pay a rich banker and support a housing market that increases without any logic sometimes. The builders get rich the bankers get rich all because we want to keep up with the Jensens' and have nice things like they do? And to top it off we buy a car on a loan a boat on a loan take trips on credit cards all to pay more interest? We Can't keep affording this interest! This is why it is so important to Keep your mortgage interest low, Your mortgage princable low and funnel all of your loans into one payment, your MORTGAGE. Focus paying that and only that off. We cannot afford the bankers salaries. We need to support ourselves as well. No car loans. No credit card interest. (You can have credit card loans if you are reducing princable but that's a topic for another day) Focus on 1 Loan and pay it off as quickly as you can so you can stop paying the rich bankers salaries.

Winner winner! Chicken dinner? (If you can afford one)

The Car Payments Anonymous group (which I am the only official president and member of) has chosen it's winner of April's "I Can't Afford It Award"

The winner whose only prize is a life lesson to which he still can chose to learn from is....

This guy.

"But almost right after buying it we had something unexpected financially to where we can no longer afford it"

It's unfortunate that this person could not mathematically equate their current financial situation and ask themselves 

CAN WE TRULY AFORD THIS. 

My answer.

If you finance a car you cannot afford it. It does not matter if you need it and you follow my rules of only financing a car around 5 grand max. If your putting anything on credit with nothing to back it up you cannot afford it. The only reason I support a car loan around 5 grand is because if a person is trying to get back on their feet and absolutely need a car to get to work and get around you've got to look past affording it to making your situation better. Coming up with a 100 dollar payment will be 4 times easier than a average 400 dollar payment!

Does that make sense?

Let me try this way.

STOP BEING SATISFIED OF NOT BEING ABLE TO PAY YOUR LARGE PURCHASE OFF!!

If you can't afford to pay off your car be unsatisfied. 

Of you cannot pay off your school be unsatisfied.

 If you cannot pay off your house be unsatisfied! 

You ard living under someone else's rules that say you can afford it

But you CANNOT!

Be unsatisfied!!

Until you can afford it...

"If you live like no one else, later you can live like no one else"-Dave Ramsey 

Short Sunday Rant

Went to church today. New family from the "kingdom" was invited to speak. Wife got up there and said she loved her calling. She said that she was surprised she had only been there week and she was called to the young womans. I looked over at my wife thinking wow we've been here almost 6 years and still no young woman calling?

Can't wait to move. Not that it's a guarantee that things are going to be different but things will change and we will feel more in control of our destiny. Maybe be in the side of envy for once.

Financial segregation within the church?

Before I start this rant let me say this. I do have a strong testimony of my church. I have read ALOT of negative things about it. I have read stories and seen videos of those who have lost their testimony and left the church. It still has not put that much doubt in my mind to pull the plug. With as much doubt there is I find more truth and good things that have happened to me that I can not explain. These personal experiences and experiences doubted by the world but yet CANNOT be explained through science have always revived and kept my testimony strong. But yet the members of my church have and probably will continue to antagonize me through their unfuturistic foresight and their subconscious decisions. They continue living like they are Kings continually climbing the artaficial  wealth latter inviting their friends and pushing the rest of us down. I want to share a few things I find interesting in my current ward.

You tell me if there isn't prove of sychological segregation.

1st Income segregation.
In my previous ward you had your poor your "I'm alright" and your wealthy. Most of the wealthy people were more upper middle class whose houses were right next to the lower middle class or the "I'm alright" group. Even though they had nicer houses most of them were near retirement are retired and had built their wealth over decades. Everyone was nice and their wasn't at least for me a feeling of income segregation or members flaunting their wealth.
After a ward split my new ward has a brand new community that is considered upper middle class. Then a few middle class homes. Alot of lower middle class homes. And a few more "I'm alright" to poor houses. Although my wife and I are making over 100 k this year we still live in an "I'm all right house" yet we are looked at as poor because of our previous branding.

I'm moving off course so let's get back to my main point.

The brand new community has become so magnetizing that a few of the ward members have sold their old "nicer" houses and have moved to that community. My assumption is they feel that they no longer fit in with their neighbors and they need to be with their class of wealth or they feel the need to compete and maintain their branding. It's not about the bigger house it's about the class of wealth! I still maintain a belief that half to most of those who live in that community are doing it with artificial wealth. One slight hiccup in their jobs and they too could be asking for help. Yet if that happens no one will question did you put too much on credit or are you living within your means because when your caught skinny dipping when the tide goes out you should learn a few things. Yet no one does.

Where was I?

Moving on. The income class segregation does not stop there. This group sits together at church. They call on their neighbors when they need the "good" callings filled and a little bit ignorant. (Although the ignorance part has been better and I haven't noticed it alot lately)
For example, my wife went to the grocery store and saw two members who lived in this new community. She went up to them and said hi. One of the ladies talked to her while the other one barely looked at her. That other lady was a wife of a member of the bishopric.
Lastly for now. Every member of the bishopric the reliefs society president the primary president the Young woman's president (3 of 4 members) The young men's president  (3 of 4 members)
And even the president of the high priest all live in this "glorified" income segregated area.

2nd Inspired callings.
This was an interesting topic my wife brought up while we were driving. Typically what is suppose to happen when you are giving a presidential calling you are suppose to pray and seek guidance then based off of your own personal revelation pick your counselors and secretary. My wife pointed out her calling. She had no clue who the new reliefs society president was. The reliefs society president had no clue who my wife was. Yet she felt she should ask my wife to fulfill a calling. That's Inspired. The primary presidency. Although again the president lives in this glorified community she too chose her counselors through inspiration. But the young women's presidency president  (again from this community) has chosen her neighbors to be her groupies... I mean counselors. They are all friends, all neighbors, and in that same income artificial upper class area. I'm having a hard time believing that's inspired. There's around 6-8 that fill those callings and I believe only 1 lives outside their "kingdom" Inspired? I don't know.
My wife's wish and goal is to be able to have a calling within the young woman. She has wanted to do that since we've been married. Although I cannot prove it my assumption is the bishop gives those callings to those who are a bit more "financially" secure or have some means like better vehicles or nicer houses to help with their callings. We don't have that. And it's frustrating to feel like our church does not want us there because of that. Oh p.s. while I was writing this I had the thought to check on a particular member who is about the same age as my wife same amount of kids lives in this "kingdom" to see if she is in the young women's to further prove my point, she is,  she's an advisor.

3. The members who are on church assistance when their style of living proves the should NOT be.

I think anybody who has read my blog knows my feelings when it comes to assistance programs. They are for the poor not the poor decision makers. If people are continually dug out of their financial woes they will not learn the true way to be self sufficient. Financial decision will always have a sense of security when you believe the church will help you when you fall on hard times. It's when you really have to live poor and make everyday decisions to cut spending and sacrifice that you can begin to find ways to be independent.

The church is very secret when it comes to who's receiving financial help. I believe only the bishop and the reliefs society president know who is receiving help but I can't help wonder of one particular couple.
We have this couple who moved into this glorified high end "kingdom". My wife and the rest of the reliefs society presidency went over shortly after they moved in. She tells the presidency a story I find interesting and leaves me to my assumption and accusation that they have and might be continuously on church assistance while living in a very nice house in a secured fenced community. This same "kingdom" comunnity I mentiined above. Apparently this older retired couple is already on disability. While they were searching for houses they came across the house they are living in now. Originally they only looked at this house as more of a wish rather than an actual plan. After discussing this wish she told her husband that it's not that much more than what you get on your disability checks and if they scrimp they can afford the payment. Sounds to me that they can barely afford their payment on a good month.
 How can I be so sure.
Well I can't without diving into it further or investigating it more but on the surface I can compare it to real life financial consequences and here is what I see. A. Older couple still has a mortgage? By now this couple should be financially set including owning their home. They do not. 2. Disability checks are not a good source of income. I'm not sure if he has retirement too but also consider disability checks are from the government in particular the social security. That's not a stable place to get your income. We have had government shut downs. Where are they going to turn for help if their checks stop. They also have income limits. You can only get so much with disability. If Their bills are higher one month than what they are pulling in who are they going to turn to for help? Loans maybe but that only progressively makes the problem worst. They are likely to ask the bishop for help. 3. Hesitation. Before they decided to go and purchase this house remember it was originally a wish and she did hesitate to go through with it. In the end a "Why not" attitude emerged and they did it. And Lastly 5 medical problems. Husband is on disability for a reason. last I heard the reliefs society was over their cleaning the house because the wife has back problems.
 I think these points are at least grounds to look further into this and find out if in fact are they on church assistance while living in a house they clearly cannot afford if my accusation are true.

It's frustrating to know that you and I have struggled and labored hard to earn our money donate it only to find out it went to help someone who lives in a nicer house drives a nicer car and in some cases even has gone on a few nice vacations that we can only dream of. I'm starting to plan to start donating more to the humanitarian fund our church has. That does not stay with your stake. It goes to countries who are REALLY struggling.


We are going to move soon. We are already looking at new houses and oddly enough we probably will qualify for a loan. Our down payment is getting bigger and things are moving along. I'm curious to find out what our new ward will be like and if the coveted callings will come to us when we up our status and rebrand ourselves. Yeah it's a theory yet again and again I have proven some theories have truth to them.

Things are improving rapidly. One of my next post will be about cheating for the right causes because guess what... I will be going on a cruise next year!! Paid for!!!!

Mark that off the list of things that need to happen before I delete this blog.

March's "I can't afford it award"

I'm again procrastinating until the last moment to get in the "I can't afford it award."

For March 2016 the I can't afford it award goes to

Ted from this post.http://viscarjones.blogspot.com/2016/03/painting-picture-at-different-angle.html?m=1



With over 110 THOUSAND dollars in cars he's trying to get rid of Ted has become the most expensive in the hole person I have ever nominated.


That is all..

Scared of these drastic GOOD changes

I'm scared. To fully understand why,  I need to go back a couple decades to explain. When I was about 10 or 11 my oldest  brother and his friends were going to go to a fireworks show the county did every year. I counted my change I had and found that I had barely enough to go with him. I asked him if I could go and he said he would think about it. Later that night I noticed my sister was getting ready to go. I again asked him and he told me to save my money for my mission and took my sister instead. I still remember them staring out our window to a brand new car pulling in the driveway. (His friend had just bought a new car) Although it hurt I wasn't heartbroken and I sincerely thought he meant what he said. The very next year my sister went again with cousin's. There was no room for me. The next year my sister was once again invited to go with my grandma. I finally complained made my case to my mom and my mom told my sister that it was my turn. I waited for my grandma to arrive. She never did. My mom said that she probably just forgot. I found out later she heard about us arguing and decided not to pick me up because she thought I started it. O.k. So I was let down 3 years in a row. No big deal right?

Pepsi had a promotion if you collected phrases on bottle caps you could win prizes. The one prize I wanted was a snowboard trip for 4 to Colorado and 5000 dollars spending money. The phrase was "As If" I believe I had "If" which was the easier one. A guy at school said excitedly that he found "As" in a 24 pack box. We started making plans but he never brang it to school. He claims his sister got into a fight with him and hid the game piece. He probably was lieing about the whole thing but then again I was still Let Down
My wife tells me this story. She once had a 1000 dollar winning game piece for a taco bell game. She kept it on her dresser and wanted to cash it in. After school one day her mom came home with a newer car. She asked her if she had seen the winning game piece she said no. Years later after talking to one of her mom's friend she found out her mom had cashed the 1000 dollars and used it as a down payment on a car.
She was let down
After meeting my future wife having a blast at college and heading home for a semester not knowing what to do my wife's parents decided they wanted to go to Disneyland. After hearing I had never been they asked my wife if she wanted to come and invite me. She excitedly told me the news and again we started planning. Weeks before the day arrived her parents back tracked, more than likely due to money problems, and instead of telling us straight up more swept it under the rug and said it was an idea not an actual plan. Let down again.

My wife received an exciting offer to do a simple house sitting job near new york
 She was going to be paid thousands of dollars to be flown to Staten Island NY and watch cats. (Seriously rich people have way to much money it's made them insane) She decided to invite me along and to top it all off we applied and got a job offer to be summer camp counselors in New Jersey. The plan was to stay at the Staten Island house (alone;) and after 3 weeks head to new Jersey make a little and fly back to Arizona and continue college but if you haven't guessed, we both were Let down.
Apparently this rich lady who hasn't had to work since the 50s thought the cats would not adjust to a new sitter.

I have alot more examples and maybe I am biased but I do feel I have had more than my fair share of let downs to the point where I basically kick my shoes against the ground and say there's always tomorrow only wishing that things would get better with no actual plan or relief in site. Year after year there is some hope and help but then something happens like a vehicle break down or a medical emergency that once again stalls our financial goals.

So why am I scared??

For the first time our financial situation has improved drastically. Our financial outlook looks incredible and to top it all off. My horrible credit score has increased over 100 points!

This is not normal for me. I'm scared of what it means. Will I lose alot of money in one day to be punished for writing assumptions that aren't true. Will I let go on our spending habits and go back to living a hard core budgeting life? Will I be independently wealthy? Will my family dislike me because of that? Will my in laws ask me for loans and be upset when we don't loan them the money? Yes I'm getting ahead of myself and there are alot of assumptions in the air but the facts are there too. AND THEY SCARE ME!

Here are the facts.

1. For the last 5-6 years my average income was between 32 and 40 thousand.

2. If you add all of our income without our tax return this year including our projected income for March we are averaging 100 thousand dollars a year.
That is a fact! I did the calculation!

3. If you add our tax return the average  jumps up to 136 thousand. (I have basically made my yearly net income in 3 months)

4. My car is paid off! Make that 3! I'm set for minor car break downs. If one breaks we will simply move to the next one till that one is fixed. (Just had one this week. Car had a flat don't have time till this weekend to fix it so I moved to my 2nd van)


5. My credit card debt has went from around 92% debt limit to around 25%.

6. It could drop to zero before the end of the month! But. We have decided to start a down payment fund.

7. Thats right, By the end of March we will have 5000 dollars in our savings exclusively for a down payment towards our new house!

I don't know what to think of it. Maybe it's a spur of good luck. The horizon looks really good from here and I hope it's just as good when we get there but I have been let down alot. That is why I'm still writing my thoughts and ideas. I haven't and won't be in a rich careless mindset. I have to know where my money is going. My 7 goals that I wrote about could be done alot sooner than I thought.

Enough pondering.

I won't believe it till I see it anyways.

Happy pie day to all the nerds:)

Or the day after pie day.