- Up at 5 two days in a row. Sleepy. #
- May your…year be filled w/ magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you…kiss someone who thinks you’re wonderful. @neilhimself #
- Woo! First all-cash grocery trip ever. Felt neat. #
- I accidentally took a 3 hour nap yesterday, so I had a hard time sleeping. 5am is difficult. #
- Wee! Got included in the Carnival of Personal Finance, again. http://su.pr/2AKnDB #
- Son’s wrestling season starts in two days. My next 3 months just got hectic. #
- RT @Moneymonk: A real emergency is something that threatens your survival, not just your desire to be comfortable -David Bach # [Read more…] about Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-01-09
Getting Back on Track
Have you ever set a goal…and failed?
At some point, it happens to all of us. After all, our reach should exceed our grasp, right? That doesn’t make it easy to admit failure, or to correct it. Did you let a New Year’s resolution lapse, or slip off of a diet? Have you started shopping indiscriminately again, or stopped going to the gym?
It’s okay if you did, but it’s time to fix it.
How can you get back on track after failing a goal?
1. Pick a day to start over.
Just like when you first started towards your goal, you have to decide when you’re going to get back on board. If you can’t decide, just pick the beginning of the next month. A new beginning is a great time to tackle your new beginning.
2. Recommit.
You failed once. Accept it and move on. Past behaviors don’t have to be an indicator of future performance. Just do better this time.
3. Announce it.
Somebody has noticed that you aren’t on the wagon. Your coworkers are seeing you eating candy, or your spouse has noticed you buying things you don’t need. Talk to these people. Tell them you’re going to redo the things you’ve undone. You’ll change the world, but you have to start with yourself.
4. Don’t be ashamed of your lapse.
Unless I have seriously misjudged my audience, you are human. Humans sometimes make poor decisions. Being ashamed won’t help you, but take the opportunity to learn from the past. Do you know what caused you to fail? Are there triggers to your behavior that you can avoid this time around? When I quit smoking, I tried to avoid rush hour, because I smoked heavily while I drove and I wanted to avoid being in car for as long as possible, minimizing one of my triggers. What cause your lapse, and can you avoid it?
5. Don’t do it again.
This one should be the most obvious, but the fact that it’s a problem means it’s not. Do whatever it takes to not make the same mistakes and uphold your goals. Don’t smoke. Don’t eat garbage. Exercise more. Whatever you’ve decided to do or not do, do it….or not.
Have you missed a goal? How have you picked it back up?
Sunday Roundup: The Giant Marketing Fail
When I was a kid, there were 44 cookies in a box of Thin Mints. Now? I’ve lost 16 cookies and that makes me sad.
When I was a kid, Girl Scouts went door-to-door selling cookies and freezing. Now? Coworkers bring in the cookies to sell.
When I was a kid, there was a 6 week wait in between ordering cookies and eating them, creating a fantastic urge built on anticipation. Now? They are right there.
Girl Scout cookies have been an undeniable success as a fundraiser. Entire generations have grown up waiting for that wonderful time of the year(February) when the little crack-hustlers come knocking on the door, trying to score some cash for their treats.
Remember the myth about drug dealers putting LSD on stickers and passing them out at elementary schools to hook children and make them addicts for life? That was actually based on the true story of Girl Scouts and Samoas/Carmel Delites. They came into our classrooms, plying their wares and hooked their classmates, a generation at a time.
Fast forward 20 years, and who are they marketing to? The established addicts. Now, it’s family, friends, and coworkers selling cookies, instead of the girls themselves addicting their classmates. Who’s going to buy the cookies in 30 years? Nobody. The addicts are going to be falling out of the market and their replacements will be imaginary. Really, who wants to buy half a box of cookies for $3.50 when the choice isn’t driven by nostalgia or addiction?
30 Day Project Update
This month, I am trying to do 100 perfect push-ups in a single set. I’m recording each session in a spreadsheet. I am currently up to 50 in a set and 145 in a session.
Weight Loss Update
I am on the Slow Carb Diet. At the end of the month, I’ll see what the results were and decide if it’s worth continuing. For those who don’t know, the Slow Carb Diet involves cutting out potatoes, rice, flour, sugar, and dairy in all their forms. My meals consist of 40% proteins, 30% vegetables, and 30% legumes(beans or lentils). There is no calorie counting, just some specific rules, accompanied by a timed supplement regimen and some timed exercises to manipulate my metabolism. The supplements are NOT effedrin-based diet pills, or, in fact, uppers of any kind. There is also a weekly cheat day, to cut the impulse to cheat and to avoid letting my body go into famine mode.
I’m measuring two metrics, my weight and the total inches of my waist , hips, biceps, and thighs. Between the two, I should have an accurate assessment of my progress.
Weight: I have lost 36 pounds since January 2nd. That’s 1 pound since last week. I’m not surprised the rate of loss is down. I’m doing a lot of push-ups, almost 1500 in the last week.
Total Inches: I have lost 21 inches in the same time frame, down 1.5 inches since last week. Interesting tidbit: I’ve lost 7 inches off of my waist since I went on the diet.
Best Posts
Have you ever used a credit card‘s concierge service? Beats Google for some things.
Did you know that the TARP(Troubled Asset Relief Program/bank bailout administration) has its own armed police force? Don’t defraud TARP, or a SWAT team could come knocking on down your door.
From now on, any story I read that doesn’t involve psychotic tree rats will lose a few points on the Jason Scale of Awesomeness.
LRN Timewarp
This is where I review the posts I wrote a year ago. Did you miss them then?
I wrote a post about eliminating junk mail and spam phone calls. I still smile when I think about the section on guerrilla warfare.
There’s also a timeless post on avoiding identity theft.
Carnivals I’ve Rocked and Guest Posts I’ve Rolled
Things to teach your kids about money was included in the Carnival of Personal Finance.
How to Deal with Debt While You’re Out of a Job was included in the Totally Money Carnival.
Thank you! If I missed anyone, please let me know.
Get More Out of Live Real, Now
There are so many ways you can read and interact with this site.
You can subscribe by RSS and get the posts in your favorite news reader. I prefer Google Reader.
You can subscribe by email and get, not only the posts delivered to your inbox, but occasional giveaways and tidbits not available elsewhere.
You can ‘Like’ LRN on Facebook. Facebook gets more use than Google. It can’t hurt to see what you want where you want.
You can follow LRN on Twitter. This comes with some nearly-instant interaction.
You can send me an email, telling me what you liked, what you didn’t like, or what you’d like to see more(or less) of. I promise to reply to any email that isn’t purely spam.
Have a great week!
Carnival Roundup and Life Update
The last few months have been insane for me.
- I’ve been working 50+ hours per week at my day job, but we’ve hired more programmers, so that’s going to calm down.
- I’ve been putting 30+ hours per week into my side businesses.
- Until two weeks ago, we had wrestling practice or meets 3-4 nights a week.
- I’ve got so much going on, my insomnia is going nuts. I wake up at 2AM with my mind racing, and fall back asleep between 4 and 5 every night. I’ve got meds for that, but I have to take them by 9PM or I’m too drowsy in the morning. Taking sleeping pills at 9 cuts into my side-hustle productivity.
If I’ve been out of touch, that’s why and I’m sorry. I’ve been feeling a bit neglectful around here. I am actively working to reduce my day-job hours to a reasonable 40-45 per week, without increasing the time spent on the other things in the list. I need to spend more time with my family and friends and spend some more of the side-hustle time here.
Live Real, Now was included in following carnivals recently:
Yakezie Carnival – Easter Edition hosted by Roshawn Watson
Carnival of Personal Finance #356 hosted by Money Drain
Totally Money Carnival #62 hosted by Stupid Cents
Carnival of Tax #101 hosted by Don’t Mess with Taxes
Festival of Frugality #331 hosted by One Smart Dollar
Yakezie Carnival – Have Fun Edition hosted by Tackling Our Debt
Yakezie Carnival – April Fool’s Edition hosted by Passive Income to Retire
Yakezie Carnival – Severe Weather Edition hosted by Money Qanda
Carnival of Money Pros – Tax Rush Edition hosted by Novel Investor
Thanks for including my posts.
Get More Out of Live Real, Now
There are so many ways you can read and interact with this site.
You can subscribe by RSS and get the posts in your favorite news reader. I prefer Google Reader.
You can subscribe by email and get, not only the posts delivered to your inbox, but occasional giveaways and tidbits not available elsewhere.
You can ‘Like’ LRN on Facebook. Facebook gets more use than Google. It can’t hurt to see what you want where you want.
You can follow LRN on Twitter. This comes with some nearly-instant interaction.
You can send me an email, telling me what you liked, what you didn’t like, or what you’d like to see more(or less) of. I promise to reply to any email that isn’t purely spam.
Have a great weekend!
Carnival Roundup
Live Real, Now was included in the following carnivals recently:
Yakezie Carnival hosted by Growing Money Smart
Lifestyle Carnival hosted by KNS Financial
Carnival of Retirement #73 hosted by Hurricanes, Panties, Dollars
Carnival of Financial Independence #13 hosted by Reach Financial Independence
Yakezie Carnival hosted by See Debt Run
Carnival of Money Pros hosted by This, That and the MBA
Carnival of Money Pros hosted by Master the Art of Saving
Carnival of Financial Camaraderie #85 hosted by Master the Art of Saving
Carnival of Financial Independence #14 hosted by Reach Financial Independence
Yakezie Carnival hosted by Financial Conflict Coach
Lifestyle Carnival hosted by Master the Art of Saving
Carnival of Financial Independence #15 hosted by Reach Financial Independence
Yakezie Carnival hosted by Master the Art of Saving
Lifestyle Carnival hosted by Fat Guy, Skinny Wallet
Carnival of Money Pros hosted by The Money Mail
Carnival of Financial Camaraderie #87 hosted by Free at 33
Carnival of Financial Planning hosted by Hurricanes, Panties, Dollars
Yakezie Carnival hosted by Mo’ Money Mo’ Houses
Carnival of Money Pros hosted by Mo’ Money Mo’ Houses
Finance Carnival for Young Adults hosted by Master the Art of Saving
Thanks for including my posts.
Get More Out of Live Real, Now
There are so many ways you can read and interact with this site.
You can subscribe by RSS and get the posts in your favorite news reader. I prefer Google Reader.
You can subscribe by email and get, not only the posts delivered to your inbox, but occasional giveaways and tidbits not available elsewhere.
You can ‘Like’ LRN on Facebook. Facebook gets more use than Google. It can’t hurt to see what you want where you want.
You can follow LRN on Twitter. This comes with some nearly-instant interaction.
You can send me an email, telling me what you liked, what you didn’t like, or what you’d like to see more(or less) of. I promise to reply to any email that isn’t purely spam.
Have a great weekend!
My Net Worth
I last did a net worth update in August. I don’t worry much about tracking my net worth, but I’d like to know where I sit at the beginning of the year. If I’m going to track it, I’m going to share it.
This is where I was sitting in August:
Assets
- House: $252,900
- Cars: $19,740
- Checking accounts: $1,342
- Savings accounts: $5,481 I
- CDs: $1,101
- IRAs: $10,838
- Total: $291,402
Liabilities
- Mortgage: $31,118
- Car loan: $0. Woo!
- Credit card: $20,967
- Total: $52,085
Overall: $239,317
Here is my current status:
Assets
- House: $252,900 (-0) Estimated market value according to the county tax assessor. This will be going down in a few months when the estimates are finalized for the year. It hasn’t gone down, yet, so I’m not counting the change, yet.
- Cars: $20,789 (+1049) Kelly Blue Book suggested retail value for both of our vehicles and my motorcycle. Wee! Value went up on things I intend to drive into the ground!
- Checking accounts: $3,220 (+1,878) I have accounts spread across three banks. I don’t keep much operating cash here, so this fluctuates based on how far away my next paycheck is.
- Savings accounts: $6,254 (+773) I have savings accounts spread across a few banks. This does not include my kids’ accounts, even though they are in my name. This includes every savings goal I have at the moment.
- CDs: $1,105 (+4) I consider this a part of my emergency fund.
- IRAs: $12,001 (+1,163)
- Investment Accounts: $1,155 (+1155) Occasionally, I run across some stocks that can’t possibly go down. I’ve only been wrong once on this front, but I never risk an amount that would be painful to lose.
- Total: $297,424 (+6022)
Liabilities
- Mortgage: $29,982 (-1136)
- Car loan: $0.
- Credit card: $18,725 (-2242) This is the current target of my debt snowball. This has actually grown a bit over the last week. I did a balance transfer that cost $400, but it gives me 0% for a year, versus the 9% I was paying. That will pay for itself in 3 months, while simplifying my payments a bit and saving me almost a thousand dollars in payments this year.
- Total: $48,707 (-3378)
Overall: $249,717 (+9400)
2011 Totals
- Assets: $297,424 (-1441)
- Liabilities: $48,707 (-10021)
- Overall: $249,717 (+9580)
I had two goals in August: Get an IRA rolling and save an extra $2500.
The IRAs I have are just sitting. I haven’t done anything to boost them, in any way, so hurray for the free $1163!
My savings have only grown my $773, but the $1000 I put in the investment account 3 weeks ago came from my car fund, so it would have been a growth of $1773, which isn’t bad at all.
I would still like to kill that credit card debt by August, which I think is doable. My crazy goal is to get rid of it by the end of May.
On 4/15/2009, I had $90,395 in debt. Today, it’s $48,707, so I’ve paid down $41,688 in just under three years, for an average of $1263 per month. That average is down $92 over the last few months. I blame our insane Christmas.
Overall, we had a good year. Paying off my car loan while paying down $4800 in credit card debt feels good. Now, I need to make 2012 better.
