We Do Love a Good, Lazy Saturday

Oh Saturday's.  I love Saturday’s.  It’s the day after Friday where you work.  And it’s the day before Sunday where you kinda sorta start to think about going to work.  It’s just a good day.  This weekend, the weather has been awesome.  I’ve had the windows open and the Pumpkin Spice candle lit.  Quite nice, if I do say so myself.

The only thing is, Robert kind of ruined my weekend (in the best way possible, of course).  He was supposed to work all weekend, but their test broke all these parts they need, so they have to get them re-machined and whatnot so they couldn’t work until those parts are fixed.  But, I had thought he was working… so I was going to just watch gymnastics (world championships in Tokyo were on) and football on TV and read my new Nicholas Sparks book, “The Best of Me.”

When it’s just me, I don’t really have to worry about food because I can usually skip lunch or make myself some toast or something.  Nothing fancy.  I love to just lie on the couch and read a good book.  I had this planned the whole weekend to myself.  After I was to spend Saturday with myself, Robert and I were to head to the Verizon Wireless Theater to see Straight No Chaser, a really awesome acapella group.

Yes, you may wonder why I would go see an acapella group?  After all, this is coming from the girl who is still scarred from the time my parent’s made us go to Silver Dollar City in the freezing cold and watch the Vienna Boys Choir.  They sang without microphones in the Echo Hollow theater at SDC.  All I can remember really is how I couldn’t really hear them and how cold it was.  Oh, childhood memories.  I'm sure my mom will tell you it was great.

So, that was what I thought acapella singing was.  More of a choir thing.  Now, don’t get me wrong I there’s nothing wrong with choir’s.  But, I need something that has a good beat to it where I can tap my feet to keep me interested.  Maybe I should also preface any story about singing with the fact that I cannot sing.  At all.  I have no pitch or rhythm.  Even I know I can’t sing.  But, let’s face it… I love to sing.  I don’t really care if I sound bad.  Just turn the volume up.  Anything where I can shake my head and belt my voice.  Ask my family.  Ask Robert.  I do love to sing… I just am really bad at it.

So… enter NBC’s the Sing Off.  I love this show.  The first time I saw it I was like… “Robert, is there music playing?”  These kids are so darn talented.  They make all these sounds with their voices while singing.  They can rap and make it seem like someone is playing the drums.  It’s really darn amazing.  I’m just fascinated.  After all, this is a skill that I don’t have. So, this show has really turned me on to this acapella music.

So… anyways…. Back to it being Saturday.  I had Rob around all day.  So, I decided to work on cleaning the apartment.  Rob cleans the kitchen and I clean everything else.  I started with the bathroom and worked my way from there.  Rob got a little tired and didn’t want his new found freedom to be taken up with cleaning.  It’s cool.  He at least did the dishes and picked up around the kitchen.  We finished all of this before noon.  He was like, “what are we gonna do today??”  I responded with, “well, I know what I’m doing today, but what are you going to do today?”  He then asked if I wanted to go on a bike ride.  I responded with a “Nope, that is not in my plans for today.”  I’m tellin ya.. I was stuck on reading my new book.

So, Rob went on a run instead.  I started my gymnastics and opened my book.  Then Rob comes back and he wants something to eat.  Well, we don’t have anything to eat.  So, I send Rob off to the store.   We ended up cooking a frozen pizza for lunch and had the leftovers for dinner.  I swear, I’m cooking a real meal tonight.  Plus cupcakes… got a special occasion at work tomorrow.  During all of this, you kind of picture Rob with his puppy dog face….

So, I had to turn my “weekend for me” into a little bit of a “weekend for Rob AND me.”  We have promised each other that we wouldn’t go shopping the rest of the month because we had two mom’s birthdays to buy presents for, spent a weekend in Dallas, and bought Rob the new iPhone 4S.  (It’s not here yet).  So, we gotta cut it back the rest of the month.  And Rob gets a little antsy when he doesn’t have enough to do.  But, he calmed himself down with some football.

Anyways, I did finish my Nicholas Sparks book.  If you like crappy endings, feel free to read it.  Otherwise, I’d say skip it because it just left me feeling depressed.  Oh and Team USA won the world championships.  Yes!

Then, we headed off to see Straight No Chaser.  Here’s a picture of us before we headed out.

The show was just great.  The kids were very talented and entertaining.  They kept the crowd engaged and kept my foot a’tappin.  My only complaint was that we were on the very top row and I guess were right in front of this main AC vent for the event.  It was SO cold.  You could literally see my hair blowing in the breeze.  I actually made Robert roll down his sleeves so that I could stick my arms up in his sleeves.  I’m pretty sure Rob wanted to pop his collar so that maybe he could warm his ears.  It was so COLD!!  That was the only downer.  I’m attaching a few video clips and pictures of the guys.  (Scratch that, I can't get my computer to upload the video)

Oh, I should also give a shout out to my friend Michelle Hurst who recommended these guys to me.  I took her up on her recommendation and you really can’t go wrong.

Enjoy!

You Can Call Us Weird, Because Normal Is Broke.

Now, you can’t judge us.  But, we spent our weekend hanging out with Dave Ramsey.  The personal finance guru.  Our main squeeze.  Bald-headed.  Usually see him with scissors and credit cards.  That guy.  Dave Ramsey.

He's practically part of the family.  Maybe this will become our Chistmas card photo?

On Friday, we headed out to the Books a- Million where he is signing his new book called Entre-Leadership.  This book is not on personal finance, it’s about leading a small business.  He has some great ideas in it… and even if you aren’t in a small business, you can still apply the principles he teaches in your group at a business.  Very applicable stuff.  Definitely check it out if you’re looking to become a leader in the business world.  It’s all about how to run your business. 

This is the car Dave sold his first book out of many moons ago.

We got to the Books –a-Million at around 5 PM (we both got to leave work early.)  We purchased the book and got our number in line… number 69.  We ended up in the line that was the medical reference and pet aisle.  Not such a great aisle to spend the next hour waiting in line.  But, once he started… he moved fast.  So, yes.. we got to meet our main squeeze, Dave Ramsey.  Since we talk about him like we know him, I figure it’s a good thing we finally met the guy.  He looks just like all his pictures and sounds the same as he does on his radio show.

My view from the Pet aisle.

His team was very friendly, too and new how to get everyone in to see him.  Unfortunately tho, I didn’t get a picture with him.  He said that from past experiences, most people didn’t know how to work their cell phone camera’s, so they had to stop the picture taking because it took to long.  So, I don’t really blame him.  I’m not really even sure how you sign books for two straight hours.  Your arm would have to hurt!  Maybe he does special arm exercises to practice for the big day???  Maybe one day I’ll know… or maybe not.

We hung around the book store until 7 PM when they did the drawing for $2,000.  We did not win.  L  It would have gone a long way in our house fund!  Someone named Laura Martin one… I will forever remember that name, after all.. she did steal our money!  Ok, not really.  But she won what we wanted.  Overall, there were probably about 300 people there to sign their book…. Note:  We were number 69.  Such an over-achiever, I know.

It was really pleasant to be around people at the signing that truly liked the man and wanted to be there.  Gotta love it when people get it… that debt is dumb and cash is king!  You could hear everyone talking about how his plan was helping to change their financial lives.  That’s really encouraging!!  He’s definitely provided the road map for Robert and I and I know we’ll definitely be better off with that map.

On Saturday… we went to Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover (“TMMO”).  We had purchased our tickets at a special $19 price back in April.  (So, we’re a little obsessed, big deal.)  We ended up sitting on the floor in some pretty good seats I think.  It was also a sold out crowd.  I’m not sure how big Reliant Arena is, but I’d say there were about 5,000 people there. Pretty awesome when you can get 5,000 people together to learn about personal finance.

Me & Robert before the show!

Dave on stage!

The TMMO is what we have been doing.  So, we pretty much already knew everything, but it’s always nice to go in there and see the man who you’ve been blaming for why you can’t go out to eat that night.  Plus, he puts a little pep in your step and keeps you motivated to follow his plan.  We did learn a few interesting things, so I’m going to put them below.

*15 Things Dave Ramsey Taught Me in 6 Hours*

1.       A 30 year-old couple made $48,000 a year and saved 15% ($7,200 per year or $600 per month) in a 401(k) at 12% growth… at 70 years old they will have $7,058,863.50 in the 401(k).  What if you don’t agree with his 12%???  Well… look at it this way… WHAT IF HE IS HALF WRONG?!  Who cares… half of 7 is $3.5 million.  I’ll take that, thank you.

2.       The same couple fully funded a ROTH IRA at $5,000 each per year (a total of $10,000), which would be $833 per month, at 12% growth…. At 70 years old they will have $9,803,937.87—TAX FREE.  Again, WHAT IF HE IS HALF WRONG?! 

3.       Nearly 70% of consumers live paycheck to paycheck.

4.       The average American household has $91,000 in debt and the total consumer debt has doubled since 1980.  In 1980, the total consumer debt was $1.3 trillion; today, it is $2.6 trillion.

5.       Conflict over money is still the leading cause of divorce today.

6.       In 1929, only 2% of the homes in America had a mortgage against them.  By 1962, only 2% did not have mortgage against them, even though the affordability index was actually better in 1960 than it was in 1929.

7.       Due to a lack of savings, 60% of the 77 million baby boomers will not have the means to support their current standard of living when they reach retirement.

8.       A $1,000 one-time investment.  No withdrawal.  Age 25-65 (40 years)

a.       6% Return:  $10,285

b.       18% Return: $750,378

True, you can’t get an 18% return.  But you know who does?  CREDIT CARD COMPANIES.  That’s right.  You’re willing to earn 6% but pay 18%.  That doesn’t sound right, does it?!

9.       Ben & Arthur.  Ben & Arthur both save $2,000 per year at 12%.  Ben starts at age 19 and stops at age 26. ($16,000 investment over 8 years),  Arthur starts at age 27 and stops at age 65 ($78,000 investment over 38 years).  At the age of 65:  Ben has $2,288,996 and Arthur has $1,532,166.  Arthur never caught up.  THE POWER OF COMPOUND INTEREST.  START NOW!

10.    Diversify in fund types when investing in mutual funds (the only thing Dave recommends investing)

a.       25% in growth and income funds

b.       25% in growth

c.        25% in international

d.       25% in aggressive growth

** REMEMBER:  No one gets hurt on a rollercoaster except those who jump off.**

11.    The average college student graduates with $42,406 in student loan debt.  This is usually to finance a lifestyle and not the education.  Take the time to research the cost of college and make the student get a job!

12.    According to a 2008 study by Sallie Mae and Gallup, only 9% of families use college savings funds like ESA’s and 529’s.

a.       An ESA is an Education Savings Account that is an Education IRA.  You can invest $2,000/yr into this and it works just like a mutual fund... you can even pick the fund!  $2,000 x 18 = $36,000 in principal for school!  That doesn’t even count any earnings!!!  If you earned 5%, you’d have $56,264. 

b.       Did you know that his ESA is considered a tax break for the rich?  It was only extended when Congress extended the Bush tax breaks for another two years at the end of last year.  Doesn’t sound like tax break for the rich? Sounds like it could help the middle class pay for their children go to college to me.

13.    According to a 2008 survey by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, roughly 76 million adults say they do not have any non-retirement savings.  Of those to who have a cash fund, 61% don’t have enough to cover three to six months of income.

14.    The real meaning of a FICO score:  Let me go into debt so that later, I can go more into debt.  Think about it… the only way to have a FICO score is to go into debt.  Once you’re in debt, it’s what you do with it that raises or shrinks your score.  But, we only care about our score… so that later, we can go into more debt.  What’s happening to us?

15.    MYTH:  It is wise to keep my home mortgage to get the tax deduction.  WRONG!  Tax deductions are no bargain.  Let’s do the math:

You have a $200,000 mortgage at 5% interest.  OR:  $200,000 X 5% = $10,000 interest paid.

You make $75,000 salary.  OR:  $75,000 - $10,000 = $65,000 amount calculated for taxes to be paid

You’re in the 25% tax bracket.  OR:  $10,000 X 25% = $2,500 amount in taxes paid.

So… would you rather:

PAY $10,000 in interest or SAVE $2,500?  DUH!  You’d rather save the $10,000.  Still worried about losing those tax savings though??  Well, since you don’t have to pay $10,000 in interest every year, you can give $10,000 to a charity and use it just like we did above for a charitable deduction… and you are right back at the $2,500 in tax savings!

Never thought of it like that, did you?  Me either.  But now I am.

*****

So, yeah, the man is real genius.  NOT.  He’s not a genius.  He’s just full of common sense and shares it.  And he’s not afraid to hurt your feelings either.  Trust me, I’ve heard him on the radio and sometimes I feel really bad for the people that called in.  But, they need it.  You need it. 

We can’t be like Congress and keep spending what we don’t have.  It will catch up to you.  What happened to all those people that bought a house they couldn’t afford?  They got foreclosed on.  They’re hurting.  But… we can’t just sit around and wait for the government to help us.  Only you can change your life.  Only you can stop spending what you don’t have.  Have you ever met a President that has changed your life?  No.  Has either one ever written you a check and said.. “Here you go… it’s okay that you spent more than you had.”??  No.  When you watch football and see that quarterback throw an interception three times… do you think that coach is out there saying, “one more try hunny, it’s okay.”  Hell no.  They are ripped off the field and sat on the bench.  Do you think that a batter who consistently strikes out gets to keep batting?  Do you think they say it’s the “pitcher’s fault?”  Hell no.  Replacement please.  So, why is it that when it comes to finances, we only want to blame others or hope that one day a handout will come our way?  Only you can change your financial life.

That’s my small little rant.  It’s not about being Conservative or Liberal.  It’s about embracing what you can do for yourself.  I think we tend to all get caught up in what the other side has to say or can or can’t do for us.  When in reality… Only I can do for me.  Only We can do for us.  No one is going to just hand you money for the sake of handing you money… it’s about working hard or harder.  So that when you get to a place where you can give, you WILL give and help that single mom who is struggling or the family that just lost their house to a fire.  You can’t help people when you are broke.  As Margaret Thatcher once said, “No one would remember the Good Samaritan if he didn’t have money.”

So, pretty good stuff, right?  That’s what we spent our Saturday listening to.  And man, I am fired up!  (As if you can’t tell from above).   Let me also add, at Dave’s event I also got a book signed by Jon Acuff.   Jon Acuff is the author of “Stuff Christians Like”, “Quitter”, and “Gazelle’s Baby Steps and 37 Other Things Dave Ramsey Taught Me About Debt”.  I had previously read his Quitter book… which is the book that inspired me to find what I wanted and quit my job.  So, I got two books signed this weekend.  Pretty awesome!!

For someone who has never been to a book signing in her life,
I somehow got two books signed in two days!

That pretty much wrapped up our weekend.  We went to Outback where we used our Free Steak coupon and watched the Hogs kick some Auburn butt!!!!  So, a pretty spectacular weekend.  Yeah, I know.  We’re weird.  But normal is broke, so I’d rather be weird any day.

I’m posting a link here to Dave Ramsey’s website so that you can become a little weird too.



One weird, happy girl.



Woo Pig Sooie... It's not PIG for dinner!

Ahh, yes.  The Arkansas vs A&M game.  Parents vs kids.  Red vs Maroon.  Pig vs Collie.  Old vs Young.   Who will win?  Who will lose?  Well, since I’m writing this after the game, there’s really no suspense.  Arkansas won.  Ok, blog over.  Just kidding!

So, anyways… yes this past weekend was the Arkansas vs A&M football game held at Jerry Jones’ world of Cowboy Stadium.  The place where you forget there is an opponent sitting on the other side because the screen is so huge that you can’t see half the stadium.  Or you watching the big screen and you realize that they are still on replay mode while the real play is actually going on down below.  But, in all fairness, it might just be America’s best stadium.

So, to begin this trek to Dallas we all came from different locations in three different cars.  Kirstie & Trav together in Trav’s truck; mom, dad and Kate in the trusty Suburban; and rob and myself in the Lex.   The plan was for Robert and I to be on the road at exactly 3 PM on Friday.   I got to the apartment and got everything together at about 2:15.  Robert pulls in at 2:30.  On Rob’s way into the garage he calls to say “Hey… grab the Goo Gone.”  (If you don’t know what this is, you need to google it because its very great at removing all things sticky.)  I’m like.. what is this for??  Low and behold I discover that Rob has never put on his new registration sticker.. that we got in JULY.  How is this??  I do not know.  But I guess he decided that since we were going out of town, he better put it on.  (No worries, my Jeep was taken care of already.)  So that was a quick sidebar.

Then, once the goo gone-ing is complete, I also discover that Rob has bought new wiper blades.  He says, “it’s just gonna take a quick 5 mins”…. I’m like seriously Rob… we don’t have time for this, we still have to run by the ATM for some cash.  Plus, not to mention, there isn’t a cloud in the sky and nor is there a forecast for one either.  So, I finally convince Rob to wait on the blades.. we’ve got to hit the road!

And well, hit the road we did.  It was pretty smooth sailing.  We left at 3 and were in Dallas by 6:30 and checked into the hotel by 7.  Pretty speedy… I did not check the speedometer once… I’ll just leave that to Rob as I know he would prefer it.

Rob and I got all checked in and proceeded to go find us some dinner while we wait on the ‘rents and everyone else. 

We have two rooms… 7 people.  Travis lucked out the most because the hotel rooms had double beds and he got to sleep by himself.  Trav shared a room with Robert and I (lucky dog, I know) while everyone else got to listen to Dad snore in the other room.  (Since we’ve been married, Robert (and myself) now refuses to sleep in the same room as Dad because of his snoring… but in all fairness, he did put up with it for 7 years before we were married!)  That man can snore.  It’s really quite disturbing. 

However, I have learned that Travis likes to sleep with his room at a crisp 64 degrees.  I’m pretty sure I caught a cold from my hotel room.  BRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!    I now know what it feels like to be an Eskimo and sleep in an Igloo.

The bummer part about the game was the fact that the game was at 11AM.  So, we had to get up at the crack of dawn to head to the game.  We picked up a gazillion donuts and sausage rolls from Kountry Biscuits and tailgated in Lot 4 for about 2 hours.  It was a tad bit chilly, too.  But, overall.. a perfect fall day.

We all went into the game about 45 minutes before it started and found us some seats that didn’t belong to us, but didn’t belong to anyone else either.  (Yes, we had tickets on the corner, but we didn’t like those… so we moved).  Right on the 50 yard line, too.  If you watched the game, you’ll know the first half A&M dominated and the 2^nd half Arkansas pulled out a major comeback.  At around halftime, I was seriously thinking that I needed a nap since I had gotten up so early… but once the 2^nd half started and Arkansas started to strut their stuff, things got a little bit more exciting.  Arkansas ended up pulling it out and Hog calls echoed throughout the stadium all the way out to the parking lot.  So, that puts Arkansas 3-0 on the series.  Maybe next year Ag’s???  I dunno… I can’t root for you now since you’re joining the SEC.  J

Alas, that ended our game and so we then had a late lunch with Trav’s dad and all of us at El Fenix… one of the best Mexican places in Dallas if I do say so myself.  Then, we did a little shopping and got ice cream at Braum’s.

Deciding to get ice cream at Braum’s was a little bit of an ordeal.  We were gonna go to Cheesecake Factory and get dessert… but Rob decided he wanted real food, but there was a 45 minute wait at 9PM at night.  So, then we couldn’t decide where to go and after multiple attempts at trying to make a decision, we ended up at Braum’s.  Trav didn’t eat.  So, I guess majority were happy…. But Kirstie & Trav went to Buffalo Wild Wings way late… so Trav got fed too.  I love Braum’s… not having one in Houston really makes me appreciate Braum’s.

I’ve yet to find a place where you can get good ice cream for like $1.50 or less.  There’s just all these fancy places in Houston where you spend like $6 bucks for a scoop of ice cream and some mix-in.  I’m way over that people.  When we got back from Braum's... Rob decided that would be a good time to do his wiper blades.  Sometimes, I just don't get him.. it was 10:30 at night, cloudless, rainless, and dark.  But, he wanted to do it, so he did it.  We haven't gotten to use them yet tho, so I don't know how they work.

So… that’s pretty much our trip in a nutshell.  We all headed back to our respective places on Sunday after having a nice breakfast at Cracker Barrel.  It was great getting to catch up with my mom and sisters and seeing Dad act like a nincompoop at the game (he was just so excited before the game, he couldn’t contain himself… unfortunately, he was let down by the team).

Next weekend, Rob and I are going to see Dave Ramsey Live!  I’ll be sure to fill you in, because I’m pretty excited!

See my dad's goofy face??  And no, parent's did not wear red.
And, not sure if you can tell, but Dad has an Aggie button on his SEC hat.

Oh, Lord it's hard to be humble when you're an Arkansas Razorback fan!