- @Elle_CM Natalie's raid looked like it was filmed with a strobe light. Lame CGI in reply to Elle_CM #
- I want to get a toto portable bidet and a roomba. Combine them and I'll have outsourced some of the least tasteful parts of my day. #
- RT @freefrombroke: RT @moneybeagle: New Blog Post: Money Hacks Carnival #115 http://goo.gl/fb/AqhWf #
- TED.com: The neurons that shaped civilization. http://su.pr/2Qv4Ay #
- Last night, fell in the driveway: twisted ankle and skinned knee. Today, fell down the stairs: bruise makes sitting hurt. Bad morning. #
- RT @FrugalDad: And to moms, please be more selective about the creeps you let around your child. Takes a special guy to be a dad to another' #
- First Rule of Blogging: Don't let real life get in the way. Epic fail 2 Fridays in a row. But the garage sale is going well. #
What’s in it for me?
Lately my son has been in full-on greed mode. It seems like every time I talk to him he asks me to give him something buy him something, do something.
“Dad, can you buy me a Yu-Gi-Oh card?”
“Dad, can you buy me a videogame?”
“Dad, can I get this?”
“Dad, can I get that?”
That is really kind of obnoxious. My response has turned into “What’s in it for me?”
Really, he’s constantly asking for stuff and he’s trying to provide no value back. What kind of lesson would I be teaching him by handing him everything he’s asking for? So, I’ve decided to make him come up with a value proposition: “What’s in it for me?”
Now, when he asks me to buy him a video game, I ask what’s in it for me.
Sometimes, he comes back with “Well nothing, you just love me.” That is garbage. I’m not going to buy him stuff just as because I love him and teach them that you can buy someone’s affection or that you should be paying for someone’s affection.
Other times he comes back with “If you buy me video game, I will clean all of the poop out of the backyard.” (We have a dog. I’m not messy.) That seems like a much better deal.
Other times, he reminds me that I owe him back-allowance. That one’s a given. If I owe him more than whatever he is asking for, he’s going to get it.
Sometimes, he’ll say that he willing to do a bunch of extra chores or something, but he is learning that he needs to trade value for value instead of assuming that every whim he’s got is going to be indulged by me just because I’m his parent and I’ve been generous in the past.
Changing Our Situation
In September 2005, I bought my car, a Chrysler Pacifica. I got it on a loan. Two months later–seven years ago this month–I was told I’d be laid off at the end of the year.
Two weeks ago, we bought a Chevy Tahoe with a loan. Last Monday, my wife was permanently laid off after 12 years with her company. She was told that, if her department opened back up, she’d be welcome to reapply for her job and start as a new employee.
Car loans mean layoffs at my house.
Last Tuesday, I got a formal offer for a new job. I accepted.
I am now a full month away from knowing exactly what my semi-monthly paychecks will be. My wife is getting her final paycheck later this week, which will include a week of severance pay.
For the first time in a number of years, I don’t know what my income looks like. I don’t have a clear long-term picture or a good short-term picture.
I’m not worried.
For the first time in my life, I’m not living paycheck-to-paycheck. Having a couple of pay periods act wonky isn’t going to hurt. Yes, we are going to cut back, but we can manage for a few months without worry. We aren’t going to sweat over putting food on the table.
That is an incredible feeling.
Payday Loans Suck
- Image by vonglee via Flickr
A few weeks ago, I was approached about placing ads on this site. I was excited when I read the email. It came from a real domain, didn’t involve any Nigerian princes or wire transfers for overpayments.
Over the course of the email conversation, it was determined that, for a fee, I would place some links in a few archived posts. It would just be links to improve search engine ranking, without being an eyesore for my current readers. I don’t have a problem with that. The intrusiveness is similar to Chitika ads, which are only visible to search traffic. It’s a nice way to advertise: monetization without alienation.
Then I saw the links. I was being offered money to promote payday loans.
Payday loans offer to loan you–for example–$100 for the low(snort) price of just $25. That’s not bad. Only 25%. I know some credit cards that aren’t that good. The catch is that the loan is due in full in 2 weeks. That gives it an APR(Annual Percentage Rate) of 650%. That’s not so good.
When you payback the loan, your paycheck is pre-spent by whatever you borrowed, plus the pound of flesh fee and you are that much more likely to need their services again, digging you even deeper.
It’s not like the target demographic is terribly affluent. These are people who not only can’t make ends meet, but also can’t acquire traditional credit. They are left paying this insulting fee.
I consider payday lending companies to be immoral, unethical and generally, more than a bit dishonest. These are the people who give decent, hardworking capitalists a bad name. I’d rather go to a mob loan shark. He’s at least honest about what he is.
They got shot down.
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy making money. I also enjoy the money I make here.
But not at the expense of my soul or my integrity.
I Accidentally Bought a Bus
Last weekend, I was having dinner with my friend and business partner. After our carry permit class, we try to get dinner, unwind from the class, debrief, and figure out how to improve our business.
Over the course of this discussion, the idea of owning a bus came up. It was part of an impractical-but-useful solution to one of our larger expenses. My partner mentioned that he had a friend who owned a bus, so I asked him to find out how much he was asking.
A few days later, he called me and said simply, “We bought a bus.”
Oops.
What year?
“I don’t know.”
How big?
“Huge!”
Does it run?
“It used to. It probably still does, but they lost the key.”
Crap.
So we own a bus. It’s a 1987 Ford B700. It’s 20,000 pounds empty, has a 429 motor that doesn’t leak oil, and an air horn.
Under the hood, it’s got a couple of issues. There are some melted vacuum tubes leading to a vapor box. The vapor box is used to cheat obsolete emissions standards and doesn’t do anything productive. There’s also some belts missing. The belts drive an air pump that pushes clean air into the exhaust system, again, just to cheat emissions standards that we don’t have anymore. Nothing necessary–or even useful–is broken.
Part of the $1000 we paid for the bus went to a locksmith who came and made us a key.
The interior of the beast is 3/4 converted to an RV. There are 4 folding bunks in the back, minus mattresses. There are two RV sofas that fold down to beds, plus seating for another 12 people. No kitchen or bathroom facilities.
We’ve done some research and come up with a few choices for this impulse purchase:
- Flip it. We should be able to at least double our money quickly.
- Finish the RV conversion already in progress. This wouldn’t turn it into a fancy motorhome, but it would make a great deer shack on wheels. I figure we could make this happen for about $500 and turn it into a $3500 toy to sell. Or take deer hunting.
- Turn it into a full RV. This would be more expensive. My estimate is a $5-6000 investment to make it a $10-12000 RV. It would take most of the summer to do, which means we wouldn’t be selling it until spring. I quit wanting to do this when I saw the bus in the light. There’s not a lot of rust, but it’s more than I’d want to fix to make the outside look as good as the inside, in my head.
- Party bus. What’s a better way to spend a Saturday evening that shepherding a drunken bachelorette around with her friends? It’d take about $2000 to outfit the bus, plus insurance, plus licensing, plus the fact that drunken bachelorettes are obnoxious.
- Auction. We got an estimate for a $3000 sale, minus a 20% commission.
- Stunt-jumping. I saw a video of a guy jumping a bus over 20 motorcycles. I could do that. I’m sure one of the race tracks around here would pay good money to have us do that one weekend. Afterward, we’ll melt the bus for scrap.
- Sell the engine and scrap the body. That should bring us at least $1500.
We jumped into this with no real plan, but there are a few ways we could make our money back. I’m expecting a healthy profit on a pretty short timeline.
What would you do if you owned a bus?
George Zimmerman: The High Cost of a Legal Defense
Most people have heard of the controversial nature of the George Zimmerman murder trial. Zimmerman, who defends his actions and is claiming self-defense, is on trial for murdering Trayvon Martin, a 17-year old with a social media profile that projects anything but innocence. While his defense attorneys claim that race had nothing to do with the murder, the prosecution thinks differently. In fact, a majority believe that Trayvon Martin would still be alive today if he hadn’t attacked Zimmerman. Regardless of your stance on the case, there is no denying the fact that Zimmerman’s trial is building strong emotions from both sides.
In an effort to get a not guilty verdict, Zimmerman has hired a top-rated legal defense team to argue his case. Trials are expensive and the average person may not be able to afford a team willing to take a case for the fame. If you are charged for a crime, you have to consider the cost for legal defense. Here is what you need to know about how much you can expect to spend on a legal defense team.
Fixed Prices Versus Variable Prices
Not everyone has a group of supporters raising money to pay for their legal defense. Just because Zimmerman has bad credit does not mean that he had to leave his legal defense up to a public defender in Sanford. If you do not have a Legal Defense Fund where people can donate money to your defense costs online, you will need to distinguish between fixed prices and variable prices for legal defense. During your consultation, the defense attorney should be able to quote you a fixed price based on the case details. Experienced attorneys do not charge on a pay as you go basis because they are confident their abilities. The actual fixed price of the attorney depends on the case, and can range anywhere between a $1000 and hundreds of thousands of dollars. O’Mara and West, who are defending Zimmerman, have quoted $1 million for their services in total. While they have not be paid completely by the Zimmerman Defense Fund, this is money that is due to them.
The Cost For Expert Witnesses
Zimmerman’s team introduced several expert witnesses including an animator, a medical examiner, and a self defense expert. All of these witnesses are paid to testify, and the cost is not always included in the initial quote. If your case is complex, there may be a need for an expert witness. When you are pricing the cost of defense, see if this is included. Assume that you will spend about 10% more than quoted so that you can cover all of the outside costs.
Zimmerman may have been unemployed and working as a volunteer neighborhood watch member, but he does have one of the most experienced legal defense teams working for him to get a not guilty verdict. You may not need a million dollars, but legal defense is not cheap. Keep in mind that you get what you pay for when legal defense is concerned.
Insurance
If you must use lethal force, you should be prepared to spend tens of thousands of dollars defending yourself. It’s worth looking into self-defense insurance. The USCCA is the only such company that offers up-front expenses and is willing to cover bail.
