Friday, June 29, 2007

Is it proper to get a great deal?

My last post resulted in 8 comments as of Friday night. I'd venture to say I evoked some emotion. That led me to this post.

Is it proper to get a great deal by negotiating?

My answer is yes. . . . If you follow these five basic rules/techniques in negotiations.

1. Always tell the absolute truth
2. Use the power of cash (see my last post) Cash is:
a) Emotional b) Visual c) has Immediacy
3. Understand and use "Walkaway Power" (It's ok to leave and not buy it.)
4. Make the offer then "Shut up". Wait for them to respond to your offer.
5. You can say to them, "That's not good enough".

Remember, as long as you always tell the truth, everyone wins.

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Deals on Wheels

It's way past time for new tires on my wife's Honda. The thing is we'll soon be trading it in or selling it to one of two friends. Regardless, new tires are needed now.

I did all the usual checking in the Sunday paper and I wasn't real excited to lay down $280 - $350 for tires. So today, I let my fingers do the walking and call the local salvage yards.

On my 3rd call, BINGO. 4 used tires the same size that I currently have on the Honda. The tires have 90% life left. Jeff, the guy at the salvage yard told me $30 each for a total of $120.

A quick stop at home to pick up some cash and off to the salvage yard. When I met Jeff, I told him I was here for the tires and then I pulled out 5 $20's and counted them out in front of him. I said $100 cash was all I could do and then I held out the $20's and shut-up.

Jeff looked at me, then the $20's and after a few seconds of silence said ok.

Let's add up the savings. I'll split the $350 - $280 price. $315 possible vrs $100 actual paid = $215 savings. Wow. Way cool. I love the power of cash and a bargain.

Saturday, June 23, 2007

It's time for you to opt out

I get to spend/invest lots of time meeting with people one-on-one to talk about their personal financial issues. It's a true blessing. (Thanks God!). When those I meet with have financial trouble, one of the major culprit is credit card debt.

The time has come for everyone to opt out of credit card offers forever. How can you do this? It's very easy.

This website www.optoutprescreen.com lets you opt-out for either five years or forever from annoying credit card solicitations by adding your name to the do-not-call/mail lists at the three major Credit Bureaus. This will reduce your junk mail and keep your credit report and social security number from the companies you don’t want to have it.

As an added benefit, this removes trash from the waste stream — people literally throw away tons of mail from credit-card companies every day. This doesn’t just save paper; it also cuts down on the weight of the mail carried each day, helping the postal service burn less gas while reducing green-house gasses and other harmful tailpipe emissions.

So go for it. Opt out now!

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

$300 in my pocket today

With one phone call today, I put $300 back into our family finances. With our do we / don't we purchase a new to us car, I also took a look at our car insurance. (By the way, we are going to wait another year before the car purchase.)

Since both our cars are 1998's, don't laugh, they have both been paid for for years now. I called and asked our insurance agent what would happen to our premium if we went with liability coverage only. End result, $150 per car savings. I pulled the trigger right there. Why did I do this and carry the extra risk?

First, we have to be involved in an accident that is our fault. This has not happened in over 6 years. Second, the book value on our cars is less than what it would take to repair the car in most cases. If the book value is $3,000 and the cost to repair is $5,000, the insurance company declares the car totaled and pay you the $3,000. After my $1,000 deductible, that's only $2,000 in my pocket and increased insurance premiums to go with it.

So, I'm going to take that $300 savings and put it in our new car fund. The goal this time next year is we'll own 1 1998 vehicle and 1 2004 or '05 or '06 vehicle. Whatever we can get for the cash we have saved.

Monday, June 18, 2007

Happy B-Day to me

Today June 18th is my birthday. The question that always follows that is how old are you? 41.

Some other birthday fact.

1. I'm not into presents. (Just let me go for a bike ride) I did ride 65 miles this weekend.
2. If you must get me something, make it bike or coffee related.
3. I don't like cake. I get a fruit pie every year. This year it was peach. (It's all gone already)
4. I don't mind getting older and I wouldn't go back if I could. However, I would like to spend a weekend or two back in college.

Anyway, Happy birthday to me. . .

Friday, June 15, 2007

Bike Helmet saves my buddy's life

Last night I got a phone call from my good friend Bill. He told me our biking buddy Steve was the victim of a car being larger than his bicycle. The details of the accident are not real clear at this point.

What is clear is during Steve's commute home from work on his bike, a car caused him to crash. Steve when over his handle bars. His bike helmet was broken in three places. Just like his leg. His leg will heal and there is no dough that the helmet saved his life.

Steve is recovering in the hospital and is awaiting surgery. Please say a prayer for him and his family today.

Thanks

Thursday, June 14, 2007

Decision time?

My wife and I have the opportunity to purchase a 2005 Honda Accord EX for trade-in value. A co-worker is purchasing a new car and will sell me his Honda for what the dealer will give as a trade-in.

Our "family" car is a 1998 Honda Accord with 140,000 miles on it. We have a 14 year old son who will be driving in 2 years. Our original game plan was to keep our current Honda as the family car until our son was driving. Then we would give that car to him and then purchase a good "used" car with CASH.

If I pull the trigger on the 2005 Accord and am able to sell our 1998 in the next few months, I'll have a loan around $3,000. I hate borrowing money it makes me crazy.

Decision time. . . What would you do?

Monday, June 11, 2007

I Love a bargin!

Like all of us, I work hard for the money. When it comes time to send it, I want the most for the dollar.

We have been doing some remodeling around the house. One of the updates was a stamped concrete walkway and patio. It looks like flagstone and it's truly wonderful. With the new patio come the need for outdoor furniture so we can enjoy the new patio.

Off to Lowes we went. My wife and I looked at all the outdoor furniture, sat in all the furniture and by the Grace of God agreed on the same furniture. (Thank you Jesus.)

Now it was my turn to take over the shopping experience. I found the set of furniture we wanted in an open box. I'm assuming it was returned and one of the cushions had a dirt spot the size of a quarter on it. I asked to talk with the manager to make a deal.

The original price of the 4 chairs was $239. Lowes had a sale and marked it down to $191. I showed the manager my cash, told him I was going to pay cash and wanted a discount because of the open box and the dirt spot. He asked me what I had in mind and I said, "I'm not sure but the $191 wasn't good enough (This is a classic Dave Ramsey line.) He said I'll give it to you for $150. I said Sold!

That was a $89 / 37% discount off the original price and a 21% discount of the sale price. That made sitting in the furniture tonight ever so sweet. The power of cash and the ask is always worth the effort.

Next time your in the market for a big ticket item, take cash and try negotiating a better price. But remember, you have to be willing to walk away.

Thursday, June 07, 2007

Online Giving

We have successfully rolled out another component of Fellowship One here at NewPointe. We have added online giving to our web site. We have put together a great Frequently Asked Questions pdf file related to our online giving program. You can check it out by clicking here.

The main question seems to be, Why should I give online? It is a personal preference, but here are a few of the benefits:

1. It's a step of faith . . . deciding in advance to give faithfully.
2. It helps simplify life.
3. It allows you to give consistently . . . even when you're not at church.
4. It allows you to focus on the service when you're at church.

I'd like you're thoughts. Feel free to leave a comment or email me.

Tuesday, June 05, 2007

99 words for every morning

Our family and Terry & Sondra's family, a couple in our small group are coming together this weekend for a garage sale to be held at our house. For our family, the process thus far has been fun. We are going around the house putting stickers and our initials on lots of "stuff" to sell in our garage sale. I'm even selling my crossbow and tree stand.

In looking though my collection of books, (I love books, even the word "book" sounds good to me when I say it.) I came across a leather bound copy of "My Utmost for His Highest" by Oswald Chambers. (Not for sale) When I picked up the book, an email that I printed out from 2003 out fell out of the book. It was a saying/devotion, I'm not really sure what you would call it but it's worth sharing and I'm glad I came across it again.

99 Words for Every Morning

I live today with gratitude, humility, and patience, accountable for:

Serving Others;

Building, never destroying;

Sharing my gifts freely and abundantly, needing neither notice nor credit;

Treating everyone with compassion, candor and fairness;

Encouraging others generously;

Honoring others' feelings;

Regarding everyone as peer and teacher;

Appreciating differences while withholding judgments;

Trusting others, assuming only good intentions;

Forgiving quickly when I feel wronged;

Holding my tongue when I want to criticize or condemn;

Confronting only with love;

Being a source of comfort, inspiration, and joy for all I am privileged to meet;

Living as I want the world to be.

I'll be reading this and "His Utmost for His Highest" daily.

Monday, June 04, 2007

Weekend round-up

I wanted to list out my weekend activities on this post. I must admit, this post is more for personal documentation than anything. However, Maybe you'll see something interesting or fun that you may want to do/try.

1. Took my wife and daughter to the library. I love the library for many reasons but that's another post someday. I did check out 3 books. Read two of them already. (Our iceberg is melting & Be the elephant.)

2. Took the family to see our fist ever arena football game. It was a blast. (Thanks Mike)

3. Roasted some coffee. There is nothing in the world like fresh roasted coffee.

4. Cindy and I tackled tiling the kitchen back splash. 100+ tile & 15 hours over two days, it looks "phenomenal". God was with us because we enjoyed the process and time together doing this project. No arguments or fights. There is ongoing conversation about the caulk.

5. Worshiping God @ NewPointe Sunday was special for me. For only the second time since we have been in the building (7 months now) Cindy & I were able to sit together in a service. Great Message as always Dwight!

6. Hanging out at the cafe @ NewPointe. I meet new people almost every week and touch base with friends. I get into some great conversations and sometimes I'm able to bring encouragement.

7. My only disappointment this weekend. . . . . I didn't get on my bicycle.

Thanks for sticking around and reading over my weekend. Have a great week and stay encouraged!