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Sammy’s Story, Part 4

If you haven’t been following along with Sammy’s story, please take a few minutes to do so here, here, and here.

Photo of underside of electric lawn mover (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

We left off in September, with the yard done and the house almost ready to rent. Sammy and his guys worked their butts off getting the work done. It cost more than we had expected, but it got done.

Over the winter, we hired the crew to handle the snow at both of our properties. We paid Sammy a flat fee and he made sure the driveways and sidewalks were clear every time it snowed. We started paying him in November, and ran through until March, so he got a pretty good deal and we didn’t have to worry about the snow.

When spring came, Sammy told me he needed to take a break from his business. Putting a yard care business on hold when spring hits is a bad idea, but it happened. He was dealing with some problems with his housing and couldn’t focus on anything else, even though the money would have helped him a lot.

When he lost his apartment, we let him store some of his things in the extra garage stall at the rental. This stall was reserved in the lease for us to use, and was the base of operations for the yard care business, since he was using our lawn mower and snow blower anyway.

And that was the last we saw of him for a month.

When we started nagging him to take care of his stuff, he kept telling us that he wanted to keep his business going, but he couldn’t, yet.

Then he’d leave his stuff for another month.

By the end of the summer, he’d gotten most of his stuff out and we’d only hear from him if he thought he could borrow money from us, which didn’t happen.

Finally, my wife called him and told him to get his crap out by the end of September.

Or else.

A week into October, we found out that he’d spent September in jail. Supposedly, he broke up with his(literal) crackhead girlfriend and she called the police and made up stories. He got arrested and couldn’t make bail.

Last week, he came to borrow our trailer to get the last of his stuff out, then returned it in the evening without moving any of his stuff. He said he was moving the stuff he had stored elsewhere and he’d be back on Monday.

Monday? Nothing.

Our relationship with Sammy has gone from helping him launch a business that helps fatherless teens, recovering crackheads, and the homeless to lies and getting begged for money.

My wife is ready to put his stuff on the curb.

What would you do? Toss his stuff? Give him another chance?

How We Handled The Windfall

Finance

Landlord (Photo credit: FletchtheMonkey)

Three years ago, my mother-in-law died. She didn’t have a will, but that’s a story for another day.

My wife, being an only child, inherited everything. All of the assets, and all of the problems.

She inherited the house, which was completely paid off. That was nice.

My mother-in-law was a hoarder who didn’t buy into the idea of maintaining your property. That was not nice.

Between the life insurance policies and the ready cash, she inherited about $60,000. Also nice.

It’s all gone. Not so nice.

Now, I know you’re asking where it went. Lucky for you, that’s what this post is about.

We paid off the last $10,000 of our credit card debt, and haven’t accumulated a balance since. Now our cards are paid off in full every month.

We put $5,000 down on the Chevy Tahoe we bought in 2012 and paid off in full 9 months later.

Every last cent of the rest went into the house we inherited.

Huh? 45 fricking grand to get the house ready to rent?

Yep.

$3000 to clear out the brush and landscape the yard
A few hundred to have the hardwood floors sanded, stained, sealed, and buffed
An intense carpet-cleaning
Painting every single room
3 large dumpsters to handle the garbage we pulled out of the house
New refrigerator
New washing machine
New boiler
New stove
New patio door
New locks for the doors and windows
Security lights
Food for all of our helpers whom we can never thank enough
Finishing the basement

All of that pretty, pretty money, gone in less than a year.

What did we get out of it? A rentable asset that is bringing in $1200 every month, with minimal work.

We could have chosen to sell the place, but we would have had to do nearly all of that work, anyway, so it wouldn’t have saved anything.

I like having the new stream of income, even though it will take several years to turn a profit. That house isn’t going anywhere, and since it’s only 3 miles from Minneapolis and 5 miles from downtown Minneapolis, it will always be an in-demand area for renters.

It was just a lot of work turning it into a useful property instead of a year-long drain on time, patience, and money.

Tootsie – Does Beauty Have to be Expensive?

Celebrities

Cover of "Tootsie - 25th Anniversary Edit... — Cover of Tootsie – 25th Anniversary Edition

Many remember Dustin Hoffman dressed in drag in the classic film Tootsie, a movie that he now says made him realize how many women he’s missed out on meeting in life simply because he judged them by their looks. Every year women spend thousands of dollars on beauty products and cosmetics, hoping to increase their appearance and become attractive enough to the outside world. Although there are various degrees of beauty, it undoubtedly is usually determined by the amount of money spent to enhance features and upkeep the overall look.

Although natural beauty does exist in our society, it is few and far between to find a woman who needs a minimal amount of makeup and hair product to appear beautiful enough to meet society’s standards. Styled, highlighted hair is crucial for an attractive look, requiring professional services to be done on the hair by a salon. Although it may be cheaper to spend $5 on a box of hair dye at the supermarket, the hair won’t look as full or healthy without a professional technique applied. A woman’s hair is bound to look more attractive by spending the extra $100 by visiting a stylist who knows their craft.

The length of a woman’s hair often creates a more attractive look in the U.S., which is difficult to achieve with flat irons and curlers that create breakage and brittle hair from the heat. Women are now resorting to having hair extensions installed every three to five months to achieve beautiful hair that has a fuller texture and longer length, costing an average of $700. They can resort to shorter hair that saves a large amount of money, but they’re ultimately compromising a large part of their looks.

There’s a reason that celebrities appear more beautiful than the rest of the population, as their high school photos often show them to look like typical people. By spending thousands of dollars on personal trainers, stylists, and makeup artists, their appearance is immediately enhanced with the finest tools and products on the market. They are also able to have help with experts who have more knowledge on what creates the best look for their features.

Although beauty does not have to be expensive (just look at exotic women in Columbia and Brazil who are anything but high maintenance), it unfortunately is a requirement in the U.S. where rich housewives rule the reality shows and runways. True beauty is often defined by breast and waist sized, which few women can live up to, resulting in thousands of dollars spent on breast implants and liposuction, often impossible to attain otherwise.

Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, but few men will argue that Angelina Jolie is unattractive or that Heidi Klum looks homely. The majority of men can agree when a woman is beautiful, and few women catch attention with a homemade manicure and dyed hair that came from a box. Perhaps going au natural will become a new trend in the coming years, but for now it’s expensive to be a woman, and even more costly to be a beautiful one.

Was Anderson Silva’s Loss At UFC 162 Due To Lack of Training?

Celebrities

One minute and twelve seconds into the second round of the UFC 162 main event, the fight world stood still. While Anderson Silva toyed around for much of the final minutes of the first round and the early second, Chris

Weidman caught the champion with a left hook, knocking “The Spider” out cold. It was the first time Silva had lost in his previous 17 matches and it ended his undefeated streak in the UFC. After losing, one must wonder if Silva grew tired, or overconfident with his winning streak. Did being the overall number one pound for pound fighter in the world make Silva train or prepare less for the fight?

For those who think that Silva’s loss had anything to do with inadequate training, you should probably take another look at the months leading up to the event and understand that it was no surprise that the UFC has a new Middleweight Champion.

Early this year, Anderson opened up his own gym in Torrance, California. While the gym will be used in the future to help bread younger MMA fighters, the last few months it has been used solely by Anderson and close friends, as he prepared for his fight against Weidman. When you are a champion like Anderson Silva, you know the dedication and effort that needs to go into a title defense. It doesn’t matter if it’s against an up and coming superstar or someone who has been around for years you need to prepare adequately. Because if you don’t, your opponent will.

Along with his new gym and his sponsorships from corporations like Nike and Burger King, as well as his past experience, it’s highly unlikely that Anderson Silva failed to prepare for this fight. Instead, many people will consider Anderson’s change of attitude and arrogance in recent months as the major reason for his demise.

Before every UFC fight, the company broadcasts a special called “Countdown to UFC”. Those who watch Countdown To UFC 162 noticed a different type of Spider. Instead of an angry or determined Silva, he seemed more lax and easygoing about the upcoming main event. Unlike Weidman, who continually said he’d do anything to take the belt that was rightfully his. Furthermore, in an action that you almost never see between fighters who will soon face one another, Anderson admitted that Weidman was better at certain part of MMA, specifically wrestling. Admitting your opponent is good is one thing, but to outright give him information that tells him he is better than you at something, that’s completely different. Unlike Chael Sonnen, who lost to Silva in both of their matches, Weidman assured fans that he would press Silva and keep him on the ground, while making the event a wrestling match.

With all that said, no one would’ve expected that the fight would end in a knockout in the second round. Especially not with a knockout that Weidman would deliver. But throughout the fight, Silva taunted the now champion. Silva would lower his hands, slap his head, and verbally assault Weidman, attempting to get in his head. While this showboating is typical Silva 101, Weidman has seen it all before and didn’t allow it to effect how he would fight. Instead, he saw his opportunity when Silva lowered his hands and caught him with a hook that was heard around the world.

Anderson Silva loosing his title had less to do with his training, than it did with his attitude leading up to the event and during the fight. As a matter of fact, if it weren’t for the passion that Silva showed during the pre-fight weigh in, some would wonder if he was prepared for the fight at all. Even after Weidman was crowned the new champion, Silva said he didn’t want a rematch and was not interested in going after championship belts anymore. While no one can be sure what this means, or what the future holds for someone who dominated MMA as we know it for so many years, hopefully Dana White or someone close to Anderson can inform him that if you disrespect your opponent in the octagon, you raise the probability of getting knocked out. No matter how hard you train, no matter what sponsors you have, no matter how loud the fans scream your name, all it takes is one punch to lose a fight. And in this case, to lose the title of the Greatest Fighter of All Time.

New 100 Dollar Bill – What Changed?

Business, News

The new $100 dollar bill was introduced to the world recently and Benjamin Franklin, the iconic figure who has traditionally graced the C note for decades, would, as a garish and innovative guy himself, completely approve.

What’s new about it?

The Federal Reserve added many clever designs to thwart counterfeiters. First of all, there’s lot more color. The older designs that were all variations of green, black and gray have been glammed up with oranges, copper and blues, all with the purpose of adding extra security.

A blue ribbon that runs vertically through the bill is actually hundreds of thousands of little liberty bells that change shape as the bill is turned different angles. So if you’re in the habit of giving crisp Benjamins to family members, you might want to show them how the bells change into “100s” right before their eyes. Cool, huh?

Is that a feather? No, it’s a quill. Not just any quill, it is put there, in a lovely shade of copper, to represent the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Phrases from that document are on the bill too, in tiny letters, so readers can get a micro-lesson in American history (and counterfeiters groan in frustration!)

If that weren’t enough, and it isn’t if you’re trying to one-up the bad guys, a colored ink well has another liberty bell in it. This bell changes from green to copper as the perspective on it changes, just like the 100 that’s next to it.

New textures along Franklin’s shoulder are also more than just a delight for the senses, they could also challenge any counterfeiter. Raised textures are all over the bill and makes holding a C note more fun than ever. With over three billion of these Benjamins in circulation, the government has no choice but to take every measure to protect its currency.

Franklin also makes an appearance in a watermark. If you hold it up to the light, you can see him again. What would he think of all these changes?

If you turn the bill over, besides seeing a bold 100 in bright gold/orange numbers, you’ll also see Independence Hall in Philadelphia, from the back. The back? Why would the Federal Reserve want a photo of this historic landmark where they keep the lawn mower and recycling bins? (Thankfully, they’re not in the picture.) Again, this is for the counterfeiters’ benefit. If you’re going to go to all the trouble of counterfeiting, now you’ll have to get Colonial architecture accurate. (Counterfeiting is a felony and can earn you some serious jail time. It’s not worth it, kids!)

The new $100 bill is a work of art, a technological achievement and a tribute to our great nation, and more specifically, a prominent figure in our history. Benjamin Franklin, inventor, printer, signer of the Declaration of Independence and Philadelphia’s most famous kite flyer, would probably be thrilled with the technological upgrades, the bling and all those Liberty Bells on the new $100 bill.

Net Worth Update

Misc

The remodel of our inherited new house is about done. The bills have basically been paid and the insurance checks have been cashed.

Now that it’s all (more or less) done, I’m finding my financial situation has changed a bit. My credit card is paid off, except for our regular monthly expenses and a couple of remodeling expenses that will be paid off in the next week or so. Our mortgage is within site of being paid off, and we have a rental property that is mortgage-free.

With all of the changes, I took the time to measure the difference.

Let me tell you how nervous this post makes me. My business partner is under the impression that I no don’t care about our business because I no longer have any worries.

That’s crap.

Yes, our net worth has gone up $329,000. That’s not nothing, but it’s hardly enough to retire on.

$113,000 of it is in retirement accounts. I mean, great, we’re a bit ahead of where we need to be, but it’s not like that money is putting food on the table for us this week.

$177,600 of it is in our rental property. Which doesn’t start driving income until February. Today, it’s a $25,000 money sink. That’s money we would have had to spend to sell it, even if we didn’t want to keep it.

There’s a $10,000 car that we need to deal with, we’ve paid off our credit card debt, and we have an extra $10,000 in the bank.

So, yes, we are in a much better place financially. That’s a comfort, long-term. Day-to-day? Our credit card payment has been pushed to our mortgage, so that’s not extra spending money. We don’t know exactly how much of the $10,000 in the bank still needs to be spent on the house, and we don’t know how we’re going to reorganize our vehicle situation.

That’s a lot of uncertainty that, at most, involves $20,000. Again, it’s not nothing, but it’s not a lot. It won’t cover our barebones expenses for 6 months. We pay $15,000 per year just in daycare, and we need to put braces on a kid next year.

We are in a much better place, but I can’t stop hustling.

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