New Year's Eve

2013, I am ready!! Why? Because it is 2013 of course.




I am in the process of refreshing the blog for 2013. Starting tomorrow, one of my goals is to keep the blog updated on a weekly basis.



See you next year!

Marlin vs. Dory

I love Finding Nemo. This is one of my new favorite movies! I love the theme of letting go of those fears that hold you back.

We are on the countdown to the last and the biggest race of the year! Beach 2 Battleship is next Saturday. This will be a big milestone race for me and a great way to end the season. Beach 2 Battleship consists of a 1.2 mile swim in the intercostal waterway, a 56 mile bike ride, and a 13.1 mile run. This is known as a “half Ironman” distance race. It is hard to believe that two years ago, my endurance could only take me 25 yards in the pool, around 5 miles on a bike, and about a ½ mile running.


The strange thing that I have learned in my journey to this point is that much of my obstacles are not my endurance, my knees, the discomfort of 3 hours + on a bike, or the navigating in open water. My biggest obstacles are in my head. Over the last two years of triathlons, I have been forced to face one of my greatest fears, water. Growing up, we went to the community pool a few times each summer. I also took swim lessons for several years during the summer in my elementary schools years. I never really gained a comfort or confidence in the water during these experiences. My mom was also out of school during the summers, so as expected she was the one who was at the pool with me. The problem was that my mom has the swimming confidence of a rock! I say swimming confidence and not skill, because I can’t say I have ever seen my mom try to swim. Every so often, she has gotten in the water, but that is about it. I remember the stories that she almost did not graduate college due to having to pass a swim test. I also remember the confidence inspiring phrase; “don’t go too far, because I can’t save you.” To say that I have a healthy fear of the water may be too soft.

I don’t remember swimming again until the summer after 6th grade at Boy Scout camp. During the first few hours you are there, you have to take a swim test to determine your level. In my defense, the water felt sub-zero. In reality it was probably in the low 70s. The test was to jump in the lake, swim down and back beside the dock twice. I jumped in and almost made it down once before having to be pulled out. The next time I tried to swim…..the next summer at a different Boy Scout Camp. That time, I think fear and adrenaline got me to the end.

Flash forward to freshman year at UNCW. We had about 2 weeks of swimming in PE 101 on Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays. This was 6, 1 hour classes. I think I made it to 4 of these and suffered my way through. Four years later, I was in the water again, but this time it was in Mexico snorkeling. I felt that I would be fine since I had a life jacket, but I still remember feeling nervous before I jumped in.

In summary, I would say my lifetime swimming distance prior to two years ago was less than 500 yards. Like many triathletes, my first experience with the sport was watching the Ironman World Championship on tv. I remember thinking how hard and how cool that looked. The one problem, I could not swim. Over the last two years, I have progressed from struggling to enjoying swimming. I am not fast. Compared to most triathletes, I am very slow. But, the speed will come over time. What has been strange is that no matter how many times I am in the water, I still get that voice in my head that thinks back to childhood that says “you are not good in the water”. I was to the point of almost quitting 1 hour before a race this season because of this voice. Thankfully, I did not quit and finished slow, but fine. This was a victory. The next race, the voice was still there, but a little softer because of my prior race success.

My hope is that I will find my confidence and the voice will disappear forever. I greatly enjoy this crazy sport of triathlon and dream of one day racing Ironman in Kona. But for now, in the words of Dory; “Just keep swimming”.

A Journey in Personal Finance: part 1

Debt. It is amazing how this one word can start conversations and debates that last forever. There are hundreds of books on the market on personal finance. How to budget, pay off debt, live debt-free, file bankruptcy, gain wealth, become a millionaire by working from home, and the list goes on and on. All of these books and systems are written by smart people. Some are financially educated, there are also the “learn from my mistakes” people, and there are the pure sales and marketing people. The ironic part for me is that all of these books and financial education cost money. So, this industry is making its money on exactly those that don’t have it to spend.


Debt has been around for centuries. But with technology, over the last 30 years in the United States debt has become an epidemic. The two sides of the fence both blame each other. The financial industry argues that personal responsibility should be the focus, where the consumers argue that deceptive lending practices and fees are the cause. As with many topics, there is truth on both sides in addition to false information.

I believe that personal debt is a lifestyle choice. We as people have the choice to go into debt to buy anything, a house, car, education, furniture, vacations, electronics, food, etc. Anything that you can thing of can be purchased on credit. The easy answer to staying out of debt is to only purchase that which you have the cash to pay for. But is that practical or even possible in the United States today?

In order to drive a car on the road as a teen driver in NC, you are required to pass a driver’s education course, a driving test, a sign test, a written test, and prove that you have liability insurance coverage in the event that you cause damage. In order to get a credit card, in some cases you simply need to be 18 years old and be able to sign your name. I like the personal responsibility argument, but I believe that the financial industry does not seem to understand or care that in order to claim personal responsibility, the person needs to have a fundamental understanding of the consequences of their actions.

I have a 3 year old and there are those times as a parent that I have to intervene in order for her to stay safe. If she is running in the driveway and gets too close to the road, I make sure to pull her back. I then try and explain that there are cars in the street and they could hurt her if she got hit. She will now say, “Daddy hold me. There are cars and if we get hit we will get a boo-boo and have to go to the hospital.” Simple, but she gets it. As consumers, why don’t we have the education to know that if we finance something we buy, that there is interest and fees, and interest rate increases if we are late on the payment?

According to jumpstart.org, currently there are only 4 states in the US that require at least one semester in personal finance in order to graduate. These are Utah, Missouri, Tennessee, and Virginia. There are several states that have personal finance worked into other areas or as electives, but there are still 26 states that have no requirement that personal finance is taught as part of the curriculum. Since financial education it not taught in more than half the country’s public schools, how do most people learn about personal finance? Unfortunately so often the case, it is by trail and error.

With no formal unbiased instruction, we as Americans are left to figure out personal finance on our own. Have you ever tried to learn a new sport, craft, or do-it-yourself project without someone to show you the right way to do it? Most of the time you end up developing bad habits or form, or have to complete repairs too early due to poor prep. Our personal finance is the same way. The difference is that a poor golf swing or drywall finishing technique may cost you a few extra hours of labor or strokes. A poor understanding of personal finance can lead to debt collectors, bankruptcy, not being able to retire, foreclosure, divorce, and too often depression and suicide.

The goal in writing this is to provide people with an understanding of how the system works for and against you, and how to live a more informed life. It would be ridiculous to assume that people will stop using credit all together as some famous financial personalities would have you do. The reason is that credit at its core can be good. Think of it as it relates to food. All of the diet fads that have you remove carbs, or fat, or sugar all claim big results. But, nobody ever has long term success because it takes all of these to maintain a healthy nutritional balance. Credit, as part of a healthy financial plan is good.

The first step in this journey is to understand that most people have a motive that does not involve helping you as a individual. If that was their only motivation, either you would not be able to afford their services, or they are doing this on a volunteer basis. The fact is that almost everyone giving out financial advise has someone to answer to. People are accountable to sponsors, producers, corporate quotas, commissions, and their own greed. They are happy to give you advise, but understand they know the hand that feeds them.

Teaching personal finance takes a two sided approach. We need to teach our children and youth about personal finance in order for them to develop good habits and a understanding of the system. In addition, those who already have experience with personal finance need to be educated on what they learned on their own so that bad habits can be corrected.

So, lets get started.

Personal finance at its core is debits (-) and credits (+). Debits being those things that you spend and credit being money you make. To win the game, your goal is to have your credits exceed your debits. The math is the easy part. The hard part is the psychology. When we get the “I wants” we too often find a way for the numbers to “work for us”. This is when we start loosing ground. Lets look at an example.

John starts his first job at Save-A-Lot in the management training program making $25,000 gross. He is single and has a roommate that he can split the rent with. John has no credit established as he does not have a credit card and his car is an older model that his parents bought him in high school. This is what John’s monthly financial statement looks like:

Gross Income: $2,083.33
Taxes: $624.99
Insurance: $150.00
401k $104.16

Net Income: $1,204.18

Expenses:

Rent & utilities:$450.00
Food: $120.00
Gas: $150.00
Savings: $180.00
Personal Hygiene $50.00
Car Insurance: $75.00
Entertainment $100.00
Cell Phone $50.00
Misc. expenses: $29.18

John has a good plan. He is starting to build a savings balance that will serve first as an emergency fund in the event that a large expense comes up or he loses his job. The fund should be 3-6 months worth of expenses. In John’s case his emergency fund needs to be between $3,522.54 and $6,7,045.08. How did I get this number? I used John’s net income of $1,204.18 subtracted his monthly savings and added back his health insurance. If John lost his job, he would still need basic insurance but he would not need to worry about putting money into savings.

Does John need credit? Answer: not yet. Some would say that this is a good time to establish credit with a small credit card. That way when it comes time for a newer car, John will have a good credit score and will be able to get a good rate. The reality is that we tend to buy much earlier than is needed.

The Trap:

John has a good job, is making money, and thinks; “you know, this car has a lot of miles on it and I do not have enough in savings for a big repair if that comes. And besides, the dealership is running some great year end deals with 72 month 0% financing. A new car would have a warranty, so if something went wrong, I would be covered.” So, off to the dealership John goes. The sales person is very nice and makes John feel great that he has a good job that will have an increasing salary since he will be management soon. The sale person shows John a few models and points out all the “new” features. John is amazed because his current car still has an 8 track and towels as seat covers. The salesman then explains that if John buys today that he can get the car with no money down. This is great! John has only been savings for 4 months so he would rather keep his savings of $720.00 in the bank. The finance officer has John fill in the credit application after John has already been drooling over the car for the last hour. The officer then explains that since John does not have any credit he will not qualify for the 0% financing. John is devastated. He has already texted his roommate bragging about his new ride and posted a picture on facebook. The financial officer explains that he can “help John out” and get him financing at for his new car for 72 months at $362 per month on the $19,000 price tag. The payment is a lot higher than John was thinking, but he is expecting a raise in 8 months and the new car gets better gas mileage so he will just cut some things back a little to make it work. So, John signs the paperwork and smiles on the way home with his new car. (I wonder if John noticed the 10.99% rate?)

John soon realizes that 30 mpg vs. his old 17 mpg car only makes a difference of $72 per month in gas. So, John has cut all savings from his budget and he is still $110 short. John decides since he was able to get a car, maybe he should mail in the credit card offer he got in the mail in order to fill the gap until his promotion. The credit card application is approved at 23% interest, and John decides to only put his gas cost on it.

As expected, John’s raise comes in 8 months. John’s salary has increased to $35,000 with his new title of Jr. Manager. John decides to evaluate his budget.

John’s monthly financial statement looks like:

Gross Income: $2,916.66
Taxes: $874.99
Insurance: $150.00
401k $145.83

Net Income: $1,745.84

Expenses:
Rent & utilities:$450.00
Food: $120.00
Gas: $80.00
Car: $362.00
Credit card $30.00 ($20 over the minimum)
Savings: $200.00
Personal Hygiene $50.00
Car Insurance: $75.00
Entertainment $200.00
Cell Phone $50.00
Misc. expenses: $128.84

John decided that it was time to restart his savings after draining it down to help cover expenses after buying the car. John’s balance sheet now looks like this:

Assets:
Car: $16,875 (800 miles per month for 8 months: 6,400 total miles)
Savings: $200.00 (after this months payment)

Total: $17,075

Debts:
Credit Card: $620 (making the minimum payment for the last 8 months, which only paid the interest a little of principal)
Car Loan: $17,450

Net worth: -$995

John is not happy, but he knows that things will start looking up now that he is paying more on the credit card balance. One week later, John gets some great news! His roommate got engaged and the bachelor weekend is going to be in Vegas! John quickly books his fly and hotel on the credit card because he can’t miss his roommate’s party. The credit card that had a limit of $2,000 is now at $1,500 with the addition of the trip. John is concerned that he may go over his limit on the trip, so he calls the bank and since John has been making his minimum payments for the last 8 months, they gladly up the limit to $5,000. John knows that will be more than enough.

John returns from Vegas with a credit card balance of $2,400. He is very glad he had the limit increased. As John is making a plan as to how to begin paying the balance down, it hits him; “If my roommate is getting married, I will need to find a new roommate or my rent will be going up.” John thinks, “I am not in college any more and I don’t want a stranger living with me.” John decides to pay to rent by himself. Now John’s budget looks like this:

Net Income: $1,745.84
Expenses:
Rent & utilities:$900.00
Food: $120.00
Gas: $80.00
Car: $362.00
Credit card $50.00 ( the new minimum payment, balance of $2,400)
Savings: $0.00 (total savings balance $200.00)
Personal Hygiene $50.00
Car Insurance: $75.00
Entertainment $50.00
Cell Phone $50.00
Misc. expenses: $8.84

After one year on the job, John is on the same road as many Americans. Living month to month with little to no savings, credit card balances, an upside down car loan, and stress trying to keep up.

Let’s now look at John’s twin brother Jimmy. Jimmy also being in the management training program driving a 1993 Chevy Corsica has a lot in common with John. Jimmy decided that he was going to live by himself early on due to most people not understanding his hobby of collecting porcelain cats. Jimmy found a small one bedroom apartment in a safe but older area from $500 a month. Jimmy budget looks like this:

Gross Income: $2,083.33
Taxes: $624.99
Insurance: $150.00
401k $104.16

Net Income: $1,204.18

Expenses:
Rent & utilities:$500.00
Food: $120.00
Gas: $150.00
Savings: $125.00
Personal Hygiene $50.00
Car Insurance: $75.00
Cat collection $100.00
Cell Phone $50.00
Misc. expenses: $34.18

Jimmy hears John talk about his new car after they have both been working for 4 months. Jimmy knows that his car is a piece of junk and no ladies will ride in it, but he also understands that based on his current income, his money is best put in savings. As the year goes by, Jimmy continues to save and get mocked in the parking lot by John and John’s roommate from John’s new car for the P.O.S. that Jimmy is driving. Jimmy quickly fires back that if they don’t stop the porcelain “witch” cat that he just got off of craigslist will cast a spell on him.

John decides to make peace with Jimmy after they both get promoted to Jr. Manager by inviting Jimmy to Vegas. Jimmy thanks him for the offer and looks at his financials.

Net Income: $1,745.84 (after raise

Expenses:
Rent & utilities:$500.00
Food: $120.00
Gas: $150.00
Savings: $500.00
Personal Hygiene $50.00
Car Insurance: $75.00
Cat Collection: $100.00
Cell Phone $50.00
Misc. expenses: $200.84

Assets:
Car: $1 (basically worthless)
Savings: $2,000.00 (after this months payment)

Total: $2,001.00

Debts:
Zero

Net worth: $2,001.00

Jimmy knows that his beloved 1993 Chevy will not make it much longer, so he decides to stay at home. This was a hard decision as Jimmy was glad to feel included, but he knew he did not need to spend the money.
………………………………………………………………….

What will happen next to John and Jimmy? Find out with the next post.

August, where did you come from?

I have not posted in a little over one month. The summer can get busy. It really is amazing how fast this summer has gone by! I would say that it has been one of our best summers yet. We have spent a lot of time at the beach and on the boat, we have been to the water park, taken a few day trips, visited family, and completed a few races.
I have two more triathlons on my calender for 2012 that are fast approaching. These are the Wilmington YMCA Tri @ Wrightsville Beach in September and the Beach-to-Battleship half ironman in October.

Last weekend I completed my first Olympic distance triathlon. This was a 1500 meter open water swim, 27 mile bike, and a 10k run. Completing this was a big accomplishment for me. Up until about the 30 minutes before the race start, I had a major case of self-doubt. Prior to this race, my longest open water swim was 375 meters. The thoughts of "what if I get half way and panic, or get a cramp, or this, or that", were all that was in my head. The voice of reason, which is always Linds, finally got past the noise and said, "you are ready, just do it or I will kick your butt!" Nothing but love!! But, that is exactly what I needed. The race went well. It was not my fastest time, but that was not the goal of the day. Making the distance and enjoying the race was the goal, and I did both. My biggest take away from this race is to aways believe in yourself and what you are capable of. Trust me, I know how cheesy that sounds, but it is true.

So often we avoid our weaknesses not because we wouldn't like to do those things, but because of fear. If you have a dream to do something, whether it is running a marathon, learning a new language or how to play an instrument, writing a book, or starting a business, you should give it a try! What is the worse that will happen? If it doesn't work, you are still far beyond all of those that never tried.

What's on your bucket list? It is time to start working on checking some of those off.

Extreme Makeover...Vacation Edition

I am back to the day-to-day routine this morning after a great week off with Linds. Our vacation started after work, Friday a week ago, with a Luau party. I dressed up in my best Panama Jack outfit, and Linds looked amazing! From there, we raced a sprint triathlon on Sunday morning and then Sunday afternoon Riley left with Mamaw and Papaw to spend the week. From this point, Linds and I had no plans for our week.

Since we have been married, "vacation" has always consisted of traveling. Whether it was a short trip or a far away destination, we have always traveled. I have always been of the mindset that if you are at home, you cannot truly relax. The reason for this is, there is always something at the house that needs to get done. Cutting the grass, cleaning the garage, trimming the bushes, etc. If you start guilting yourself into doing these chores, then you are not vacationing.

This time however, Linds and I for several reasons, decided to stay at home for vacation. I will admit, day one was hard to get into vacation mode, but I did. The week filled up with sitting on the beach reading, taking the ferry to Southport, a wine tasting, day trip to Myrtle Beach, taking the boat out, going to the movies, and several nice dinners out.

This week, I have to get back in gear. My dress pants this morning made their point that I have enjoyed myself a little too much!

Look, an Eagle Scout. It must be time to buy cookies again

So we received a flyer at our door asking for school supply donations for an Eagle Scout project. The project is to collect, pack, and hand out backpacks with school supplies to kids of deployed solders. While this is a nice idea, I am struggling with how this is worthy of an Eagle Scout project. At the beginning of every school year, there are collections and supply drives for students in need at almost every store. I am sure that some families of solders are struggling financially, but I am sure their emotional struggle is much harder. Why not organize an after school project for these kids where they can make something nice to send to their parent? Teach them some of the skills that you have learned as a scout.

When I was in scouting, had I presented this idea (which I would not have) to the troop committee, I most likely would have been told, "Thank you, try again". An Eagle Scout project should be an exercise in planning, leadership, and execution. However, it should also be a showcase for what you have learned and paying it forward. I am not saying that this is not a good cause. However, what does this show the community that scouting has taught you. If you ask a room full of random people to do something "nice", I would bet one would say collect supplies for kids. This does not make them an Eagle Scout.

I greatly enjoyed my time in scouting. We had a good group. Within the group, there was a core group of guys and then there were the other guys. The core group were fun, interested in learning and committed to the scouting fundamentals. We would joke that John, one of the core guys, could build a shopping mall with a toothpick and a piece of rope. The other guys were there either because their parents wanted them involved, they had friends in the troop or needed to make friends, or simply needed something to do. These guys did not take scouting seriously and would be the first ones to complain if they were being pushed too hard. Within the core group, a few of us went all the way to Eagle Scout. We are all very proud of this. I take pride in the journey, the hard work that went into it, and the accomplishment.

To me, this project screams, "I want to do something easy so that I can hurry up and finish". A disservice is being done to these boys as they will someday learn the reward is in the journey not a bullet point on your resume.

Can I return this coffee? It did not wake me up.

WOW! Recently, I feel that I am always tired and I think it is starting to effect my mood. Coffee, a full night sleep, and R singing her list of dance party songs are not helping. Now granted, R singing "party rocking in the house tonight" or "I'm sexy 'when' I know it" is both very funny and a bit concerning, however it is not helping my feeling of being tired. I am not quite sure what is going on. I do not feel sick, I am not exercising any more than normal, and my to-do list is not getting to-done. My thought is that maybe I am not eating enough.


I have never had big food cravings. For the longest time my breakfast would consist of just coffee. If I ate lunch, I would eat a cold cut sandwich from home with maybe a side of something in the fridge. I would be starving by dinner and over eat with a few beers. This would leave me feeling bloated and still tired.

I have been eating lunch and breakfast consistently over the last few months, however I know that I am not eating enough of the right foods. I found a few calculators that estimated I should be eating between 2,400 and 2,700 calories per day. By my rough estimate, I have been in the 1,700 range during the week, with 50% of that at dinner. Looking at the numbers, it is no wonder why I feel tired and run down. So starting tomorrow morning, the plan is to eat 2,400 "good" calories spread throughout the day. We will see how that goes.

As for R, I think she may be on to something. I mean, when was the last time you heard "I throw my hands up in the air sometimes, singing aaaa-oooo" followed immediately by jingle bells? It takes a pro to mix those songs!