A couple weeks ago I was talking with a friend who was leaving her job.  It was a good job with a good employer but it was time to move on.  I spoke with her as she was navigating the decision making process and then again on her last day. 

 Leaving a job – a real career-type job – is not as easy as it sounds.  I know from experience.  But I was happy (and a little relieved) at her response – “I feel so happy and free”, was her proclamation and in that moment so was I.

I had worked for that same employer for over 13 years, a lifetime ago it now seems.  On my last day I met a friend for lunch.  I had completed the ‘administrative check-out’ process (code for returning laptops and signing disclosure agreements, and other HR related activities) in the morning and by mid day I was free.

I arrived at our destination early and sat outside.  It was unseasonably warm for a January 12^th (circa 2009).  I laughed out loud when it struck me.  I was now unemployed.  I was absolutely free and un-tethered and it was an amazing feeling.

Sure I could have been terrified and I understand where under other circumstances I would be.  But I had taken care of my business and had a decent buyout which afforded me a comfortable runway. 

In that moment, I felt about as free as I ever have as an adult.

So when my friend made her proclamation of freedom, it resonated well with me.  More than a hopeful thought or wish, it awoke an echo from within.

Now, I have my feet planted firmly in reality and I do enjoy my current job and expect to be happy along this path for some time to come, but I’m also capable of carrying a dream. 

And more than just about anything else, my dream is to experience that feeling of freedom again.  Not when I’m a 75 year old retiree and free to do whatever is left that I’m capable of doing, but while I’m still young enough to know that I’m not yet finished, while I’m still capable of starting now what I’ve been placed here to do.

The last time I had that feeling, I knew I had a limited window to exercise it and soon thereafter this site was birthed.  BANG or whimper is still being decided I suppose.  But while this site has not afforded me an endless runway, it has elevated my line of sight and allowed me to expand my vision and dream for a new reality. 

The next time I feel that sense of freedom, I want it to be without constraint and I’m increasingly led to believe that the budgeting and personal accountability and goal setting and introspection I espouse in this forum are somehow both the path to and message of that dream.  Perhaps my membership will soar and publishers will knock down my door with huge book advances or perhaps I’ll continue modestly crafting content and eliminating debt until I can transition into another career… to become say, a high school teacher with a homemade curriculum and permission to coach a little football on the side.

Who really knows what lies around the next bend, but I know a dream for freedom has stirred within me and I look forward to figuring out how to unleash it.

If this message resonates with you, I ask that you consider sharing this article (and site) with someone.  Who knows, YOU might be the tipping point in helping unleash the growth potential of this site, which in turn could help me set my dream free!

Site article is sponsored by Dental Assistant School
Photo By: Lilli Bellule

Being homeless is by no stretch a tragedy and while it is not a cause I actively combat, it never fails to illicit a reaction in my mind if not my heart. 

In Canterbury, England the youthfulness of the homeless population is shocking, the true stench of the homeless population surrounding Philadelphia’s City Hall will turn your stomach, and the aggressive and entitled nature of the panhandlers in New York City will boil your blood.

Be it anger or despair or sorrow or even gratitude in my own good fortune, my responses have always been rooted in the misfortune – self inflicted or not – of others.  Never has it been, on its own merit, a positive response.  That is, until I encountered perhaps the smartest homeless man in the world while visiting Key West a few years ago.

Key West?  No further explanation is required, this guy is ahead of the game.  Face, if I had no home or societal tether, a urine soaked park bench in Philly’s City Center would not be my first choice.  Nor would a back alley or crowded sidewalk in the NYC.  Without steady shelter, a warmer climate just makes sense.  It’s what birds do, there is a natural model.

However, the genius behind this homeless man’s plan is in his day to day approach.  He has staked out a popular tourist and photo-op location and in a very friendly and engaging manner offers to take the picture every couple or family wants to capture on their camera – them standing next to the attraction.  Enough curious ‘patrons’ will ask questions that enable him to humbly share that he’s homeless which creates an undercurrent of conversation and voila, the tips come rolling in.

Counting my 2 bucks, he probably raked in 8 or 10 dollars in the 20 minutes we were there.

Now I’m not naïve enough to think that is could not be a scam.  Enough investigative news teams have followed panhandlers from their corner to nice cars and homes and too many of New York’s wheel chaired elderly change beggers have simply been ‘checked out’ of hospitals and institutions by lazy relatives trying to turn a quick buck.  So even if this dude isn’t exactly living under a pier he is effectively exchanging a valued service for the tips he collects – a lesson from which many workers relying on our tips could learn.

And so my point – do I have one today – is that we should each have a plan.  Mindlessly wandering through our days without a plan propelling us towards a positive and improved outcome is polite society’s equivalent of a well pissed park bench.  Meanwhile, working with a goal, an objective, a plan to win is rewarding and much admired, whether you’re the director of your department or the best paid amateur photographer in Key West.

Photo By: illflux

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Today I have a new, old storyline.  Several media outlets I follow spent time with the topic back in September but I decided to wait.  Sure, the story may have had a short shelf life, or it could age like a fine wine – getting better and more interesting with the passage of time.

Fortunately it was the later, and now it is ready.  The proper weight and balance have been achieved and the current context now better serves the value of the message.

Today is Friday.  Two short days before the most amazing sporting spectacle we’ll ever witness, until next year at about this time.  The Super Bowl is all things to all people.  It is a social event across all strata and taste.  It is pop culture.  It is controversy and witness.  It is an advertiser’s dream and ad seller’s nirvana.  It is a party and it is an unofficial America holiday.

But sometimes lost amongst all the trappings is what the game really is… a championship game.  Football is no easy task.  For players and coaches alike, the effort and hours are grueling.  The routine is numbing, and the pressure is crushing.  Within this crucible some competitors burn bright while others burn up.  To earn the right to compete on this stage is an honor and most claim they would do anything for the opportunity.

Saints head coach Sean Payton may have meant that more than most as he allowed his actions to deliver the message.

Following a disappointing 2008 season, coach Payton knew exactly what his team needed, namely DEFENSE.  Under Payton, an offensive minded coach, the Saints assembled a talented collection of fire power and scored points in bunches.  However, when your opponents are able to do the same thing, a string of high scoring losses will still keep you home when the playoffs roll around.

So last off season Sean Payton set out to find his defensive equal to lead his stop squad and found his man in former head coach and long time defensive coordinator, Gregg Williams.  The trick would be to lure him to New Orleans, to make him an offer he could not refuse.

So – as the story goes – one afternoon while enjoying a beverage on his deck, Sean figures out how to sweeten the deal just enough to catch Gregg’s attention and sway his decision.  He decides to cut his own salary by $250,000 to fund a higher salary for Gregg.  Forget the size of Payton’s own contract, one fourth of one million dollars is never not an impressive total.  A total that only a few would take for granted.

And so in making such a sacrifice, Sean Payton stands at the cusp or greatness.  It its 40 plus year history, the Saints have never played in a Super Bowl.  Some may argue that a new level of greatness has already been achieved.  But while so many of us are ranking commercials, Sean Payton will be cashing in on his huge personal financial sacrifice, a sacrifice that promises to yield tremendous benefits.

Photo By: Ray Devlin

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Just the other day I received an email that I want to share with you.  CESI Debt Solutions included one of my early articles – Debt is Squalor - in their Best 101 Debt Busting Posts of 2009 round-up!

Specifically they said: 

Just a quick note to let you know that we included you in The Best 101
Debt Busting Posts of 2009 (from 101 Frugal Bloggers)

Those images you chose – gah! They were CHILLING!

Will you help us spread the word about our roundup?

Hey, I get that this is something of a marketing ploy on their part, but there was a selection process and I made the cut.  Besides, metaphorically, don’t all girls like to be called pretty?!?

Well of course, and therefore, I’m very pleased to be selected and plan to spend some time checking out the other entries.  I hope you’ll click over and do so as well.  Tell them I sent you!

 
Keeping with the festive motif, I also want to invite you to check out the Money Crashers 2010 GiveAway Bash!  I understand that nearly $8000 in prices are available to those that register.  Give it a look and perhaps win a prize!  Hey, tell’em I sent you there too!  It never hurts to get a little credit every now and again.

Meanwhile – as always – thanks to you for your continued support!

Dave Ozment

Photo By: p912s(Scot)

So I’m a flight the other day.  Hey, I may not travel weekly anymore, but it still happens.  And living in Atlanta, Delta is the easiest flight going.

We all know that airlines are offering various in-flight services to boost revenues… adult drinks, movie headphones, in-air internet, sandwiches, and the like.  But what struck me ironic is Delta’s stance relative to how fliers pay for these services.

“Delta is now a cashless airline…” drones the flight attendant over the speaker, “…all purchases must be made with a credit card.”

Now that’s rich.

A leading player in an industry known for bankruptcies and whose CEOs acknowledge their stocks are bad investments, who themselves recently had a hand up the skirt of their own bankruptcy is a cashless airlines.

Yep, that’s officially rich.

Now, I get the logistics.  Involving cash requires a manual accounting.  Flight attendant pleas for help breaking a twenty have been comical and someone in this unique and un-tethered work crew is ultimately responsible for the bottom line.  Inventory and cash tills don’t self manage, bringing a certain logic to cashless automation.

Yet the net/net does not ring right to my ear.

“…Delta is now a cashless airlines” sounds more an embarrassing admission than corporate strategy.

Now I’m not claiming to have all the answers and today’s article is more rant than revelation, but somewhere between declaring insolvency and proclaiming cashlessness there should reside at least a handful of clever options:

• Sell “amenity” passes on your website
• Offer “amenity” upsells as I buy my ticket
• Station an “amenity” kiosk in the terminal

Credit cards, along with amenity passes, could still be your main mode of exchange but change the branding.  “Cashless” just sounds poor… and poor.

Photo By: rhilton4u

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About this time a year ago my wife and I talked about how good 2008 had been to our household.  It was a fun moment of connection, and reflection, and celebration, and optimism.  In a demonstration of faith we agreed that 2009 would be an even better year for us.  And so it has been.

Of course 2009, for our house, began with tremendous questions in the air.  Walking away from a long term employer in January amidst the prevailing economic climate and with no known landing spot will do that.

But the time between jobs was refreshing and motivating.  Within a month I launched this site and have been faithfully exploring and chronicling my thoughts and reactions for all of those patient enough to read along.  I believe this exercise is more for my benefit than yours and it has certainly opened doors of opportunity in my mind – more to come as we track my goals in 2010.

The time between jobs also helped me identify what I had enjoyed most about my previous employer.  I honestly thought I wanted my next job to take me in directions far from my previous experience.  That was the case until I really started walking through my resume and in preparing responses to mock interview questions.  It was then that I realized how I wanted to perfect my previous experience in my next career chapter.

Then – as if suddenly – the perfect opportunity presented itself.  The fit was instant and obvious like hand in glove with much less travel and in aggregate a more handsome benefit package.  I asked, God answered.  That’s not to say there are no challenges, that’s every day, but solution to challenge and growth through exposure is part of what I enjoyed and enjoy most.

And, that’s not to say one day my dreams and harnessed abilities won’t lead me to new pastures, but 2009 introduced me to a perfect career home for this season.

2009 brought us incrementally closer to financial security – debt repayment, Roth IRA Investments, and a dream realizing Real Estate Investment.  Perhaps not all were executed in absolute accordance to Ramsey’s plan but none were whimsical or ill-considered either.

2009 brought us upgrades to our previous car situations – his and hers.  New used cars that will serve us for years to come and with no monthly payments in tow.

2009 afforded another ride weekend with my father – moments in time, for me, that at once race forward and stand still as snap shots in my mind.

2009 marked the passage of time with my 20^th high school reunion. It was everything and nothing I would have expected and it was invaluable in the way it dusted off long ignored friendships.

2009 is a banner year for my college alma mater as our football program marched through a spectacular season and now stands on the threshold of greatness.

2009 yielded reconnections with family members and time well spent with dear friends crafting memories that will endure.

Yeah, 2009 certainly delivered on its promise and our household is better for it.

…A couple nights ago my wife and I talked about how good 2009 had been to our household.  It was a fun moment of connection, and reflection, and celebration, and optimism.  In a demonstration of faith we agreed that 2010 would be an even better year for us.  And so it shall be…

Photo By: Heidi & Matt

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This article was featured in the Personal Finance Carnival

Hello everyone, I simply want to take a couple moments today to wish you and yours a Happy Holiday season.  I trust you are enjoying time with friends and family.

To celebrate the occasion, I want to share a pair of simple stories.  At different times in my life, these have been my most favorite stories to help celebrate and commemorate this holiday season. I’m certain you’ve heard and perhaps enjoyed these stories too.

Thanks to you for reading along with me through the weeks and months and I hope you’ll enjoy these stories again too.

A favorite story from my childhood:

‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;
The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;
And mamma in her ‘kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled down for a long winter’s nap,
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.
The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below,
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer,
With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name;
“Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! on Cupid! on, Donder and Blitzen!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!”
As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky,
So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,
With the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too.
And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my hand, and was turning around,
Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.
He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;
A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.
His eyes — how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow;
The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath;
He had a broad face and a little round belly,
That shook, when he laughed like a bowlful of jelly.
He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;
He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk,
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;
He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,

“Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night.”

by Clement Clarke Moore

A favorite story from my older days:

In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

    Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”

 ”How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God.”

 ”I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said.” Then the angel left her.

At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!”

And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me–holy is his name. His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, even as he said to our fathers.”

Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.

 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register.

 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

 On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he had been conceived. When the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”), and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.”

Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.”

The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.

When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him.

 –Luke 1:26 – 2:40 New International Version

Thanks for sharing these stories with me and Merry Christmas from Dave (Ozment) at DoYouDaveRamsey.com!

Photo By: laurenatclemsom

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We are all familiar with the saying “money can’t buy happiness” and because it has been repetitively drilled into our heads for so long, it is something with which we largely agree.  From a literal standpoint, I know that I can’t run down to the “Happy” store for their latest buy one get one free sale, but, at the same time, I can also appreciate the levels of joy I’d experience if one of my loyal readers were to cut me a check for a cool million.

I know also that many lottery winners end up miserable and bankrupt – a fact that wholly escapes me – and that the Bible warns us that the ‘love of money is the root of all evil’, 1 Timothy 6:10.

And so there seems to be a sort of spectrum that money affords.  It can deliver either joy or misery and ironically, it is actually agnostic as to the outcome.  We are the ones who actually tip the scales in or out of our favor.

Therefore, I believe that money affords us nothing but more – and more complex – options.  It is how we exercise these options that determines or at least significantly impacts our happiness.  As an extreme example, with limitless wealth I could elect lengthy beach vacations or heroine binges in cheap motels.  The money would drive the availability of the alternatives, but my decisions deliver my relative satisfactions.

Consider a minor episode I observed recently – an episode which helped influence today’s edition.

As a college football fan, I sometimes troll team pages and message boards for news and updates and entertainment.  Consider it a guilty pleasure of sorts.

Just the other day I read some guy boasting of meeting a wealthy alum from a rival program who had purchased tickets for a significant bowl game months prior under the assumption that his team would be playing in the game.  The wealthy alum’s team did not make the big game and in this forum he was roundly criticized for being arrogant in assuming victory and in “counting his chickens before they hatched”. 

The group-think demonstrated in this discussion struck me at once as funny and misguided.  The rich alum was, well, rich.  The fact that he weighed the prospects of his team relative to the goal and made an informed purchase early and from his abundance is a perfect illustration of his exercising an option.  The cost of the tickets to him was inconsequential but being able to attend the game would have provided happiness.  Now he simply resells the tickets for a profit while lamenting his team’s misfortune.  That he was ridiculed says more about his detractors that it does about him.

And though that was merely an aside, it perfectly frames my intentions.  I started today talking about limitless wealth or lottery winning amounts of money and while that gets the attention, it is an unrealistic aspiration for most of us.

Simply reducing and eliminating the amount of debt we carry along with us each month can go a long ways towards enhancing the options we have before us.  Building an emergency fund and having cash reserves allows doors to be opened that we may never have encountered.  Speaking from my own experience, when confronted nearly a year ago with a buyout opportunity I did not recoil in fear knowing that layoffs were looming.  Instead I stepped forth in faith and confidence knowing that my finances were in order enough to allow this development to serve as a blessing rather than a curse.  It afforded me the option of embracing rather than rejecting.

It was an option that did – and continues to – impact my life as I enjoyed time away from the workplace, started this writing experiment, and landed a great job requiring significantly less travel but with a better salary and benefit structure.

But don’t be discouraged if your current situation is not ripe with options for I’ve found that nearly all of the really large decisions in life are the result of many small decisions along the way.  Marrying my wife started with my having the nerve to say hello to a pretty girl at a party.  Earning a decent salary started with my showing up to work the first day looking for ways to contribute and then doing it again every day for 10+ years.  Enhancing my financial security started with paying off and closing a single credit line.  The small steps add up.

The point is that if you string together enough small good decisions, before you know it you’ll have many great options present themselves to you… and that makes me happy.

Photo By: marcarambr

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This article was featured in the Business, Economy, Credit and Debt Carnival.

A couple months ago I wrote an article asking if your money likes you.  In a transitive way, I was really asking if you like your money.  Of course you may think that you like your money, but your actions are often the final arbiter.

I’ll let you have the morsel for free, because today I want to spend some time talking about a group that I know who does love your money – Retailers.

Of course the most obvious – and scientific – example of retailers plotting ways to separate you from your dollar is the product placement in the grocery store.  Loss leaders, aisle caps, eye level, store layout (milk in the back) are not at all arbitrary.  Rather, they are focused fields of study and even hotly contested amongst product manufacturers.  For example, did you know that some beer and soft drink distributers will actually pay retailers for prime shelf space or special displays?

Just the other night, my wife was picking up supplies for the weekend and was looking for a particular brand of chips.  A standard size bag was well stocked and easy to find at eye level and sported a price of roughly $3.29.  On the bottom shelf a larger bag was priced 20 cents more but offered a lower unit or per ounce price.  However, at the far end of the aisle (not an end cap), on the bottom shelf was a huge family size bag nearly twice the size and priced only another 20 cents more.  And these were all the very same brand of chips, which says nothing of the innumerable combination of brands and flavors and quality and the variances of their individual packaging and placements.   

These placements were not random and I liken it to use-taxes.  If a consumer is lazy or in a rush and is willing to pay more, then we have a price point for that.  If the consumer is willing to bend at the knee to save, we have a price point for that, and if the consumer is willing to search the entire aisle for the best price, then we have a product to fit that need as well.

But what I find even more interesting is that the spectrum is really 2 dimensional.  Sure, as retailers we’ll offer like-kind products at differing prices for different price points – a bag of chips for every taste and budget – but we’ll also market goods ranging from indispensable to indefensible depending upon your eagerness to separate yourself from your dollar.

And so we arrive at my desired target.  The lead in to now was pure McGuffin to afford me the following opportunity.

Recently while on a flight, I perused the SkyMall magazine and found what must be the most asinine product known to mankind.  The underwater cell phone?!?

Now, for the record, I’m not a diver nor am I huge fan of the cell phone itself.  I was the last person in my circle of friends to take the plunge and I mostly consider myself a willful participant than full fledge advocate.  I consider it a necessary, if at times annoying, tether.

With that said, why in the name on of common sense would I ever want to make myself so helplessly available while enjoying the wonders of the world underwater?

Of course, I would not, but that others would is baffling to me and a boon to opportunistic marketers.  Mind boggling prices can be commanded not due to the complexities of the technology, but because the limited market that finds this a compelling product will have to have one, and at any price. 

 Photo By: Editor B

 Title lifted from Scott Van Pelt

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The title is a quote from Super Bowl winning coach Bill Parcells. The idea is that a team is as good or as bad as its record indicate.  Fans, commentators, and even players like to interpret – or rationalize – circumstances and game events so as to suggest that a team is better, or sometimes worse, than its record might suggest.  A lucky bounce here or a bad call there and those close losses are wins, see, ‘we’re better than our record suggests’.

Parcells on the other hand will have nothing of it.  His take is that a team’s record is its bottom line.  Explanations and rationalizations will not lead you to a championship season, only your results on the field of play.  So rather than tell me that you’re a good team, show me.

Life often parallels sports, or is it vice versa.

We have a bottom line metric that tells us without question or explanation how we are performing in the arena of our personal finances.  Too many assume this metric is our level of income.  But income alone is like the team who scores points in bunches only to watch their opponent do the same.  It (high income) can contribute to a win, but it is not the only ingredient in the winning process.

Rather, the key metric – the record indicating the relative success for our financial play – is our Net Worth.

For purposes of example, consider the wealthy business man living in the McMansion, funding newly leased German luxury sedans and Caribbean vacations rather than retirement or junior’s college education while sporting an array of $1000 suits.  The dude is loaded!  And doubly so when compared to the unassuming school teacher living in a quiet townhome and driving the 10 year Corolla raking perhaps a third the income.

But a funny thing happened on the way to a cozy retirement.  The schoolmarm contributes to her 401k (or equivalent) has steadily paid down her mortgager, and traded a monthly car payment for a positive monthly cash flow.  Meanwhile, the business man’s killer income has washed through his hands like so much water.  His kids are in private schools and travel soccer teams, his perpetually renewed leases provide a relentless and growing outflow, the leveraged dream home is upside down and retirement planning begins with the next raise or perhaps the one after that.

Hey, it sounds like fiction, but I’ve read enough Money mag “Real Life” segments and observed the bevy of Lexus’ in my office parking garage to know that too many folks are working away for the now rather than the future.  Sure they may be paying attention, but to net income and cash flow rather than to the bottom line – Net Worth.

So what is this Net Worth number?  Trent over at The Simple Dollar offers a great illustration of the mechanics, so I’ll send you here rather than recreate his efforts.  But suffice it to say that Net Worth sums the net value of your assets against the net value of your liabilities.

Simply stated:  Net Assets – Net Liabilities = Net Worth

In the example I provided, the business man with his leveraged home, car debts (a contracted lease obligation is the same as a debt… try breaking a lease if you doubt it), and limited savings may actually have a negative net worth.  For all his outward appearance he has nothing but debt to show for his efforts.  Whereas the teacher has learned the lesson taught by others – she has bulked up savings and equity in her home offset only by her mortgage balance.  According to her financial record, she is putting together a winning performance.

Now fast forward to the very end of our individual games.  Our net worth will represent our final estates.  It is the legacy we will or will not be able to leave behind to the ones about whom we care.  Dave Ramsey uses a line when talking to callers trying to settle an estate.  He is not meaning to be harsh, but reality is sometimes cold.  Depending upon the structure of the dialogue he’ll ask or comment (paraphrasing) “there is nothing left to show for the estate”.

When I hear this comment, I personally rephrase the question in my mind – rather harshly I might add – as motivation for myself:  “financially speaking, there is nothing to show for this person’s life work but debt”.

Now, the key is “financially speaking” because we’re all worth more than the money in our accounts, but this is how I repeat the question to myself and it forces me to consider how I’d want it answered upon my coda.

At a minimum, I don’t want my final possessions liquidated to pay my accrued debt.  Nor do I want creditors hounding my loved ones for payment when I’m gone.  So I find it important to keep score.

And, because one day I want to enjoy more of life’s finer things – including a dignified retirement – I actively keep score.  I monitor my net worth on a monthly basis and track my percentage change month over month.  I’ve written before about my net worth goals, and it is a winning score most anyone would be pleased to accomplish.  However, I’m now tracking my progress in a way that allows me to be intentional in my actions relative to those goals.  While that does not by itself ensure success, it sure crystallizes my game plan and directs the path for my execution.  One day I’ll look at my record and feel a touch of pride, because I’ll know both what it says and represents.

Photo By: AMERICANVIRUS

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