Sneak Peak

This Sunday is the first service of our new series titled, "All I want for Christmas." It's going to be very cool. A lot of volunteers have been working really hard to get our building looking the part for Christmas. Word has it that some were here until 2 a.m. last night. Unbelievable.

I think everyone will be amazed at how good the stage looks. Your going to get your sneak peak here from me. I snuck into the auditorium and snapped this picture while the team was working on the lights. You'll want to come Sunday to get the "true" feeling of the room. I got kicked out before I could get a better picture.

What's your financial Plan?

With only one month left in 2007, I've started gathering financial information from the year to do some planning for next year.

The week between Christmas and New Years, I sit down with my wife and we set some financial goals for the coming year. I believe very strongly that you have to have a financial plan and financial goals.

We look at the following areas in our financial goals:

1. In addition to tithing to NewPointe, how much are we going to give and to who are we going to give. God gave everything for and two us. He owns it all. By giving I'm showing God is first in our lives.
2. What are we saving for and how much.
   *Retirement plans at work
   *Roth IRA
   *Vacation fund
   *Christmas 2008
   *New to us (Used) car fund
3. Do we have any major appliance or home improvement projects in 2008?
4. Is it time to get our 15 year old his own checking account? (More on this topic later.)
5. We recently reviewed and I changed my life insurance so this is already checked off the list.

What other things should we include in our financial goal setting? Have any suggestions? Please share them with me.

Thanks

Speech, Speech,

Last month, I was asked to give a speech on financial stress to the employees of Union Hospital. Without hesitation I agreed. Why, because I love the topic of personal finance and this time of year financial stress it at the personal financial list.

In the first part of my talk, I'm going to share 7 practical ways to lesson financial anxiety during the Christmas season. Here are those tips.

1. Make a list of everyone you will be buying for this Christmas and put a dollar amount beside their name. Total the list. Is the total within your budget? If not, you must adjust the amount down.
2. Consider a gift exchange and remember to set a dollar limit.
3. Be creative. Make up certificates that say "This certificate is good for . . . ." Giving the gift of your time is worth way more than something purchased.
4. When you go shopping, go alone. A tired spouse or child may encourage you to impulsively buy so you can get home sooner.
5. Don't wait until the last minute to do all your shopping. This puts stain on your wallet. Spread your shopping out over weeks if not months.
6. Don't use a credit card. You'll be paying for Christmas for months to come and doing so could mean that gift ends up costing you 2 to 3 times as much as the original purchase price.
7. Jan 1, start planning/saving for next Christmas. If you spent $1,5oo this year then you need to save $136 a month from Jan thru Nov in 2008.

If you have read this post down to here, please say a pray for me for todays speech. I'm hoping that a door will be open and a life will be touched by what I share today.

Ever eat a Pomegranate?

If you ask my wife about my eating habits, she'd say I'm a health nut. I wouldn't go that far but I do prefer a banana over candy and I'm always on the look out for the fruit or vegetable of the season.

With Cindy's last grocery store run, She grocery shops once a week with a list and having a list will save you money, she purchased a Pomegranate. Pomegranate's even have their own web site. Www.Pomegranates.org. Who would have thought.

The fruit is really cool looking. It's bright red, has a great smell and the one I have is about the size of a softball. My son Chaz just walked by as I'm typing this and saw the Pomegranate and said "What the heck is that thing?" I told him and he still didn't know what it is.

Ok, confession time for me on this..... I had to go to the above linked web site to figure our how to get to the fruit. I must say it was very easy and I'll be purchasing Pomegranates on a regular basis from now on. Try one yourself and let me know what you think.

Always on the lookout. . . .

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend and gave thanks for all the blessing in your life. I did.

I like to take some time over this long weekend to do some financial planning for the upcoming year. In doing that, I came across a good web site sponsored by the state of Ohio to help with personal finance. You should take note whenever the government gets involved in trying to educate people.

The web site is www.yourmoneynowonline.org. It is an educational financial site for all ages. Financial education is one of the main ways to help overcome financial stress that a lot of people are facing this time of year.

How about you. Do you have financial goals? If so please share one with me here. Here's one of mine for 2008. I want to save $50 per pay for / into our vacation fund.

Down Time

Every once in a while in my "Down Times", I like to play puzzles. I came across a great one thats called Kakuro.

Kakuro puzzles resemble cross-words with numbers; you have 'across' and 'down' clues, but instead of filling in letters, you must use the numbers 1-9

The aim of the game is to fill each blank square with a number from 1 to 9 to sum up to the clue associated with it. However, no number can be duplicated in an entry. For example a clue of 8 (over 2 squares) could be 1&7, 3&5, but not 4&4.

Give it a try next time you have "Down Time" the game is a lot of fun.

Off we go . . . .

It's 36 degrees outside and the white stuff is falling. What a great day to load up the bikes (5 of them) and hit the road. Myself, Bill G, Bud K, Scott W and Kevin B are heading down to Holly Springs NC to ride bicycle with our buddy Scott.

I'm really looking forward to getting away for a few days and riding hard. Last time we went down to ride with Scott, it was the beginning of the bike season in Ohio and I had to work hard to keep up with those NC bikers who had been riding for months. Now that I have 2,100 miles on my bike this year, I'm ready to ride up front with the "big dogs".

So, have a great weekend. I sure will.

Another FPU class in the Books

Last night was our last FPU class for 2007. These classes always go by fast. On one hand, it's sad when they end because members of the class form bonds through relationships of growing and sharing together and now we no longer meet on Tuesday nights. On the other hand, its exciting the life change that has taken place and the future these members have with financial tools at their disposal.

Here are some way cool results of this round of FPU.

1. Total debt paid off - $20,571
2. Total put into savings - $8,301
3. # of "Cash" envelopes being used - 103
4. # of financial success stories shared - dozens

A very big thanks to Larry & Mike for their time and leadership in co-leading this round of classes. You guys are great!

If you want to take control of your financial life, our next round of FPU classes will begin Jan 15th. Contact me via a comment if you are interested.

How much longer will we need "Cash"?

Looks cool, but is it going to replace your visa card?

Visa recently began promoting the Visa Micro Tag, a new key fob payment device embedded with Visa payWave, the company’s contactless technology feature. The Visa Micro Tag is designed to easily attach to a key ring, and allows cardholders to pay by simply waving their Visa Micro Tag in front of a contactless payment terminal.

Those with Visa payWave cards have the option of not having to sign for payments under $25. Just "wave and go".

There are two issues that may stop this form of payment before it even gets off the ground.

1. The RFID platform has been hacked a number of times already, proving that your key chain might be easier to access (wirelessly) than your back pocket.

2. The use of a PIN number is also not needed for smaller purchases, meaning that your keys may now become an easy target for thieves to score some quick cash.

Is technology going to far with something like this? What do you think?

Is it time for Holiday shopping?

This past weekend while watching college football, I saw my first Christmas commercial. It was advertising garmin gps systems. I remember the days when Holiday shopping didn't start until the day after Thanksgiving. Those days are long gone.

Today, nearly 40% of Holiday shoppers buy online. I do 99% of my shopping online. For those of you who still love "Black Friday", that's the day after Thanksgiving, I found a way to get a leg up on the crowds.

There is a web site called Black-Friday.net. It alerts you in advance to the ads printed in Thanksgiving Day newspaper circulars plus you'll find links to the products online so you don't have to wait outside a store in the dark.

Freeze those ID Theives

Almost 10 million people have their identity stolen and that wreaks havoc with their finances. We as consumers now have a new tool to block access to our credit report and score. This prevents anyone from granting credit to a identity thieves. What's that new tool? It's a credit freeze. A credit freeze gives consumers the choice to “freeze” or lock access to their credit file against anyone trying to open up a new account or to get new credit in their name.

When a credit freeze is in place at all three major credit bureaus, an identity thief cannot open a new account because the potential creditor or seller of services will not be able to check the credit file. When the consumer is applying for credit, he or she can lift the freeze temporarily using a PIN so legitimate applications for credit or services can be processed.

For more information on how to "freeze your credit" click on this link. www.consumberunion.org/securityfreeze.htm

Are Mutual Funds a bad buy?

This is a good question. Jason, left me a comment and asked me my opinion regarding an article he recently read on Bankrate.com from Phil Town and mutual funds.

The short version of the article is Phil Town doesn't like mutual funds. Keep in mind, Phil makes his living by selling books and "advising" people on how to make money in the stock market. One area I agree with Phil on is in most cases, you are much better off investing in an index fund than in a managed mutual fund.

Index funds beat 80% of managed funds each year. My investments, all mutual funds, include a number of index funds as they provide great diversification. (Diversification - to spread around)

In my opinion, Mutual Funds are the best investment vehicle for 99% of the people who invest.

IRS Web Scam

Be on the lookout for an email from the IRS. . . .

If you receive an email in your inbox saying the IRS has calculated your "fiscal activity" and that you are eligible to receive a tax refund of a certain amount, delete this email.

If you click on the link, you or type in the web address, you are sent to a website named "Get Your Tax Refund!" This site mimics the appearance of the genuine "Where's My Refund!"

Like the real site, taxpayers are asked to enter their Social Security Number and filing status. However, the phony site then asks for you credit card account number instead of the amount of the refund as shown on your tax return.

Always remember, the IRS doesn't contact taxpayers via email to advise them of refunds or to request financial Informaiton