Finally, a reason to wear capri pants!

You know there is bad weather when Jim Cantore comes to your town. It has rained here in Wilmington for 4 straight days. We have seen around 23 inches of rain since Sunday afternoon.

Now there are many things in life that I question the purpose of. Things like broccoli, twitter, braille on drive up ATMs, and Capri pants. The first time I saw Capri pants, I remember thinking "make up your mind" You are either wearing shorts or pants. Stop being so indecisive!

I remember about 4 years ago, being at Alligator Adventure in Myrtle Beach, SC. There was a boy about 5-7 years old with his family. They were standing in front of us while waiting to see the next scheduled feeding. The boy starting every sentence by saying, "Daddy, why do.....". Now that might not sound odd, but imagine he said it with a "Water Boy" type accent. After about 9 consecutive questions, I started copying him. You see, the boy was either wearing capri pants, or they were in the dryer much too long. I would look over at Mitsy and say in my best "Water Boy" tone; "Daddy, why you make me wear these Capri pants?" While it does lose something in translation, it was hysterical at the time.

Now years later, I have found a purpose for them. With 23 inches of rain, the Capri wearing people of the world can smile while wearing their dry pants.

Where have all the Good People Gone?

Jack Johnson was on to something.

The political commercials are in full swing. I always get a bad taste in my mouth when these start. Why? For the simple reason that I do not believe any of them. They all seem to have alterior motives. Instead of telling the truth, all of these politicians are trying to sell you on why they are better than their competition. I wish they would be able to show that they are the right person for the job, rather than just being better than the others.

I would vote for someone in a heartbeat that kept their pitch honest and said:

There are individuals, businesses, future generations, and our environment to consider. Each of these needs to be able to work together so that in 50 years, we can say that the world is a better place. If one of these takes priority over the other than we all suffer. Big business cannot override the environment, and individuals cannot take priority over future generations. Everyone will have to give a little to make it work.

Now, before someone calls me a communist, I am not talking about wealth distribution. If you earn it, you should be able to keep it. However, I think that it is selfish to not consider how you will impact the world around you.

Make sure you stretch before you jump the shark

Jumptheshark.com is a great website. The basic premise of the name goes back the the tv show "Happy Days". There was an episode several seasons into the series where Fonzie was water skiing in his leather jacket and jumps over a shark. This was the point in the series you knew that it was over.

When a show continues on beyond its lifespan, it becomes painful to watch. This has happen with many shows. I think that "American Idol" should have ended with the exit of Simon, but the network could not let it go. Now we will have J Lo and Steven Tyler. These are not people that inspire viewers to continue to watch.

There seems to be a mindset in tv and movies that the magic and success of an original can be remade and have the same success. Unfortunately, in most cases the second time around is never as powerful. I counted down the days before the "Dukes of Hazzard" movie came out, as a lifetime fan of the tv series. Like most, I was very disappointed.

Today is the opening of "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps". Now I have watched the original Wall Street more times than I can count. I am sure that I will watch it many more times. I am cautiously optimistic that this sequel will be good. I hope that Oliver Stone does not try and remake "Wall Street", but lets this movie have a identity of its own. So, as Gordon Gekko says to Bud Fox; "lets roll the dice and play a little Monopoly".

I don't want your expertise, I know everything because I saw it on the Internet!

You would not believe how true the title of this post is. I hear from dozens of people from all walks of life and every state each day. And every day it is the same story. "I know that interest rates are dramatically lower than where YOU have me at. If you can not GIVE me a better rate then I will refinance with somebody else." There are so many things wrong with this statement, that it is hard to know where to begin.

The major problem as I see it, is that most Americans have received their financial education from TV, the Internet, friends, or their family. The last two are the most dangerous. Why? Because more often than not, these people are no brighter than the one they are giving the advice too. Before I went to college for a business degree, the only financial courses available in the public school system were in the form of electives. I do not understand how an education policy maker thinks that I will not survive in the world without reading Beowulf, but I will be just fine not knowing how to balance a checking account, understanding the fundamentals of a credit score, or the difference between simple and compounding interest!

So, here is my public service for the day. Let us say that you purchased a house in 2005 for $200,000. You were unlike many people and put 20% down, so your new mortgage is $160,000. The interest rate you received was 6.00% on a 30 year fixed mortgage. At that time you did not pay any discount points and your total closing costs were $2,500. Your monthly principal & interest payment is $959.28.

You are being a good borrower and paying your mortgage down, and then you go on the Internet in 2007. You see that interest rates "are at an all time low", and you know that you have to refinance because you will save money. So, you refinance into a new 30 year fixed mortgage at 5.0%. Your balance at that time is down to $155,949.51. The closing costs on the refinance will be another $2,500. You decide to roll these costs back into the loan because the new payment will still be lower. Your new mortgage is now $158,449.51 and your new principal and interest payment is $850.59. You think you got a good deal and life goes on.

Now, it is 2010 and "rates are at an all time low". So, you decide to check out your options. The thought of a 15 year fixed sounds nice, but your lifestyle will not allow for such a large payment. The loan officer said that they can get you 4.5% on a 30 year mortgage with a reduced $1,500 in total closing costs. The question: do you do it? Now, before you answer, I have one additional piece of information. Your family is growing and you think you will need to move in 5 years to a bigger home. Most people would say yes because the payment will once again decrease to $773.06. This will allow them to pay down other bills and save for a bigger home. True, but at what cost?

Let's say in 5 years you move and sell this home for $225,000 and you did decide to refinance the second time. Your payoff mortgage balance is $139,080.83. At this point, you have paid $88,303.69 in interest and fees since 2005! Now if you did not refinance the second time, your balance would be $136,033.63. Your interest and fees paid would be $83,312.69.

What does this tell us? Refinancing is not something that should be done too many times. The more you refinance the less the benefit will be. In this example the 2nd refi caused you to pay 5 thousand more in interest and still owe 3 thousand more and the balance.

Before you think about refinancing, get off the Internet!!!!! Ask yourself, how long will I be in this home? How much have I already paid in interest and fees? Be honest. The only person that you hurt is yourself by listening to other people who are saying "you need to lower your rate".

I spy Jack Johnson and bet he does not wait at DMV

Eating dinner at K38 in Wilmington, NC this evening for my birthday. There he was, sitting right behind us. If it was not him, then I should not have ordered that last round. Jack, if that was you, great show in Raleigh!

As I mentioned, today was my birthday. Which means a trip to DMV. This is one of those trips that I avoid if at all possible. I really believe that DMV stands for Don't Move with Vigor. If this is a function of budget cuts, I have a great solution. Self Checkout! You wait your turn, sign in to the computer, select what you need, take the 10 question test, print your renewal, and leave. I mean honestly, have you seen people drive in this state? The examiners must not be that picky.

I don't think that my age should match my Body fat %

Ok, it is not that bad. But, it is also not that far off. What can I say; I find beer, soda, and a diet that most college guys would enjoy an easy choice compared to hitting the gym and eating from all the foods group.

There was a time (7 years ago) when I was in the gym daily, ate good, and had a lot of energy. It is time to find that motivation again. Why? I have several reasons. First, a 1 year old who is busier than a politician in November. Second, I am tired more often than I am not.

So, the plan! I with my sidekick Mitsy, are starting this week with a goal of getting back into the gym and running a 5k by the holidays.

Who wants to wear the turkey hat?

So, on Thursday I was told that I needed to cross sell a certain number of times each day. What is "cross sell" you might ask? The corporate definition is, "to establish a deeper customer relationship with the company by serving as many areas of their lives as possible." This translates as: "after you offer the customer what they want, you continue to probe in order to find other areas where you can exploit."

If I did not, I would be forced to wear a hat that was in the shape of a Thanksgiving turkey. I am assuming the thought process was that no professional would want to wear this.

Well, you know what they say about assumptions. I personally liked the Turkey hat and volunteered to wear it everyday in order not to comply with this extra burden that takes my job description one step closer to telemarketer/timeshare pusher. My volunteering was met with a quick "no".

Now do not misunderstand. I think that it is a vital part of every company to inform existing customers of new products that they may be interested in. However, I don't believe that customers become loyal because they buy a certain amount of products from you. Customers are loyal because you provide exceptional service on one thing. They will then seek you out for their other needs.

My father does not go to the same car dealer for every purchase because they try to sell him this, that, and another. He goes there because he knows he will receive a fair deal (which is not always the lowest deal) and excellent service. It is unfortunate that loyalty for the most part has been lost in my generation. Maybe it is because companies are no longer satisfied with providing quality, the bottom line is more important.

its hip to be square....but not if you are going for Feng Shui

I think that all of us are looking for balance and that zin feeling where everything seems to just flow. As is the case, I think this stems from the fact that our lives are full of stimulation & stress.

Now, I am not suggesting that we all sit around a campfire, meditating for world peace, and singing "rainbow connection". Then again, why not. When was the last time hippies made the world a worse place.

Back again with a 2nd verse

And you thought that I was done....OK, so did I.

I stopped posting for a few reasons. The main reason was I lost my direction and motivation. I am finished with bashing office life. Why? Because at the end of the day, corporate life will not change until management changes. This will not happen simply because it is not good for their bottom line.

So where am I going with my posts? I am simply going to let it take its own direction. As two of my favorite artists would say "So just chill till the next episode"; and "where this all ends, I can't fathom my friends. " Thank you Jimmy Buffett and Dr. Dre.