Is loosing weight part of your 2009 plan?

I'm on a mission to shed a few pounds to help improve my hill climbing for this coming cycling season. In cursing around the net today, I came across a great source for weight loss tips. Readers Digest has a great Dieting and Weight loss page.

Check it out by clicking here. If you do want to shed a few pounds in 2009, how much weight do you want to loose? My goal is 12lbs.

Happy New Year

Google Docs. . . . I like it!

I've had some time on my hands last week and the rest of this week as I'm on vacation. I really enjoy time off between Christmas and New Years. I get to spend lots of time with my kids as they are on break from school.

When Chaz & Katie (my kids) are off doing their own thing, I get to putter around the house. Last week, I stared playing around with Google Docs and I've come to really love it. For those who don't know what this is, Google Docs allows you to create Spreadsheets, Documents, Presentations, and Fill in Forms, store them online, share them if you wish and all for Free. You can even upload your existing Microsoft Office files to Google Docs.

I switched over my Zero Based Budget from Excel to Google Docs Spreadsheet and I love it. I can access my budget from any computer with internet access. This comes in very handy. I no longer have to load my file onto a flash drive or email it back and forth. The other spreadsheet application that I use it a check register template.

Give Google Docs a try. It's free. If you are already using it, what applications are you using it for?

Mileage Rates for 2009

Did you know the IRS adjusts these rates each year?

Did you know in addition to business miles you also get Medical and Charitable miles?

Here are the rates.

Beginning on Jan. 1, 2009, the standard mileage rates for the use of a car (also vans, pickups or panel trucks) will be:

• 55 cents per mile for business miles driven
• 24 cents per mile driven for medical or moving purposes
• 14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations

Tax credit for Bicyclers. . . . (No Joke $20 a month)

I have no idea how or why this ended up as part of the Federal Bailout but I'm glad it did.

Starting in January, workers who use their bicycles as their primary transportation mode to get to and from work will be eligible for a $20-a-month, tax-free reimbursement from their employers for bicycle-related expenses. In return, employers will be able to deduct the expense from their federal taxes.

$20 a month to ride my bike is more than I get paid now to ride my bike. This will also cover the cost of most of my yearly "replacement part" that I need at the end of each season.

So, if this looks like something you can take advantage of, talk to your employer. I'm sure they are not aware of this upcoming tax benefit.

I like "My Circle"

I've been doing a little bit of cell phone research these past few days. The reason why isn't that important so I'll skip that part. My family has Alltel as our cell provider of choice and I must say, I'm very happy with Alltel.

For me, one of the big advantages Alltel has is "My Circle". This lets my family call any number, land line or cell, outside of the Alltel network without using our shared minutes. Calls to any other Alltel phone are always free. The other cool thing about "My Circle" is when I log onto Alltel.com I can change the numbers listed in "My Circle". This comes in very handy with two teenagers in the house. The only downside of "My Circle" is it doesn't apply to text messages. My teans have unlimited texting and they pay for their own cell phones. That's pretty cool considering they are 13 & 15.

A great Christian based Financial Blog

I love personal finance. I'm always on the lookout for great sources of Christian based financial information.

Here's one of me favorite blogs that I follow. It's Christian Personal Finance.com Bob's always got great information and he also gives away great stuff. For Christmas, he's giving away 2 IPods.

Want a chance to win one of these IPods? Check out his blog. Click Here for the IPod link.

Quickbooks 2009 for FREE (No Joke) Dec 22 Only

I'm a big fan of QuickBooks. It's the most friendly and forgiving accounting software on the market. The forgiving part can also be it's biggest weakness but that's a story for another day.

According to the Practical QuickBooks blog, on Monday Dec 22 ONLY, you can get a copy of Quickbooks 2009 Pro at Staples for FREE.

The regular price at Staples is $199.99, you will get a $40 "instant savings", and then a $159.99 mail in rebate.

We are still on QB version 2006 at NewPointe but with this deal, it's time to upgrade. See you at Staples on Monday.

Unreal, Unbelievable, Outstanding

These are a few words that describe the opening of our Christmas Eve service. My buddy Dave Mast graciously pulled me away from some year end payroll process by asking me if I wanted to see what he's been working on.

Off we went to the auditorium. All I can give away / say is we rented some "sweet" effects equipment for Christmas Eve and you will love it. I sure did.

Hope you are planning on attending one of our three service times. 2:30, 4:30 or 6:30

SIMPLE IRA

Recently, I was asked what type of retirement plan if any I have available to me as an employee of NewPointe. I'm happy to say I have a SIMPLE IRA and I've been participating in it for years.

SIMPLE IRA stands for Savings Incentive Match Plans for Employees (SIMPLE) IRAs are fairly simple to administer, no-hassle IRA plans that offer a great benefit for employees in any "small business".

SIMPLE IRAs allow employees under age 55 to contribute up to $10,500 in 2008 of their annual income to the plan. Employers match this amount as part of the process. Employees are then vested and are eligible to receive this money upon reaching retirement age. Matching contributions by the business are tax deductible.

For the business owner, the only drawback of this type of retirement plan is that the employees doesn’t have to earn his or her vesting, but is vested once the account is opened. That means matching someone dollar for dollar up to 3% from the day they start participating in the plan. That's not that bad but it can hurt if the employee does not stick around very long.

So, now you know. NewPointe uses a SIMPLE IRA

Cool & Simple Year-End Tax Tip

Here's a simple tax tip that will save you money if you have a mortgage on your home.

I'm betting your next mortgage payment is due Jan 1st, 2009. That mortgage payment is made up of interest and principal. I just checked my mortgage statement and interest is approximately $275 of my next payment.

If I make my payment a few days before Jan 1st and the bank posts my payment on or before December 31st. I'll get to take the interest off as part of my 2008 taxes. So paying January's payment a few days early will save me approximately $70 in tax assuming a 25% tax bracket. That's about three weeks of free gas in my tank. I'll take that.

So, if you itemize on your tax return, consider making your January payment in December. It's an easy way to put some money back into your pocket.

It Starts this Sunday . . . .

I know everyone, including myself is thinking almost exclusively about Christmas. I'm very much looking forward to time with family and friends. But take a moment and think with me past Christmas into the new year. Not New Years but into the new year.

Christmas has come and gone, New Year's eve was safe and relatively uneventful and now it just winter. What could you possible do? How about getting your financial house in order. Yep, it's that time. The next round of Financial Peace University classes is about to begin.

As I've stated before, FPU is a life changing class that brings HOPE. Come see me in the main Atrium this Sunday at NewPointe. I'll be there to answer your questions and sign you up for this round of classes.

Those who do can't come to NewPointe for FPU can click HERE and type in your zip code to find a class in your area. If you can't find one close to you, start one in your church. That's what I did and 6 years later, I've got story after story after story of how I've gotten to be part of life change.

ID Theft Survey

The Ohio Treasurer of State's office is trying to get a feel for and if ID theft is effecting people. Richard Cordray, The State Treasurer has put out an 11 question survey to gather ANONYMOUS information regarding ID theft.

The survey took me less the 3 minutes to complete. Please click HERE and participate along with me in the survey.

In my opinion, the number one way to stop your own ID theft is to FREEZE your credit. I've done this already. What's keeping you from doing it? To learn more about freezing your credit report, you can go to annual credit report.com Do not go to free credit report.com. It's not free.

$150 in your pocket for opening up a checking account

Yep, you read the title correctly. National City Bank, soon to be PNC is offering a $150 VISA card if you open up a "free" checking account by 12/31/08.

There are two hoops you have to jump through to get the $150.

1. Withing 60 days of opening up the account, you have to have at least $250 from your paycheck direct deposited into your new National City account.
   
   
2. Within 60 days of opening up the account, you have to use your debit card 10 time.

Ok, these are the hoops, but are there any other benefits to the "free" checking account? Yes there are.

1. Free use of ATMs
2. Free unlimited personal checks
3. Free online banking and bill pay
   
4. No minimum balance

$150 is a lot of money and it's not often you get something for free. This is an offer worth considering.

Is the First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit a good thing?

When I first heard about this tax credit, I thought to myself, "who'll qualify for this? No one I know. the window of opportunity is to narrow. You have to purchase your first house between April 9th and July 1st of 2008."

Low and behold, I got an email from my good friend and bicycle mechanic Bill G. today. Bill works on my bike and I do his taxes. (Who's getting the better deal here? I'm getting off track.) Anyway, Bill and his wife Amy did buy their first house between those two dates andthey qualifies for the credit. It's up to $7,500.

On the surface, this looks like a great deal for anyone who qualifies. You'll get this refundable tax credit when you file your 2008 taxes. So do them as soon as you can.

There is a catch. This is really an interest free loan from the government/IRS. You have to start paying back this credit/this loan in 2010 and over a 15 year period. So, assuming you get the maximum credit of $7,500, you'll be paying back $500 a year for 15 years. If you sell your home prior to paying off this loan, the government will get paid off from the proceeds of the sale.

So I ask, is this a good deal or not? An interest free loan is appealing but a loan is a loan no matter what and as the Bible clearly states, the borrower is slave to the lender. (Proverbs 22:7) Personally, I do not want to be in bondage to the government/IRS for 15 years. With that said, if you could / would use this credit to clean up some other debts then this could be a good deal for you. But I have learned that having debt is usually a symptom not the problem in and of itself.

Google Friends Connect

I just added Google Friends Connect to my blog. Friends Connect is an extremely simple way to make any website you have a bit more social.

Visitors to any site using Google Friend Connect will be able to see, invite, and interact with new friends, or, using secure authorization APIs, with existing friends from social sites on the web, including Facebook, Google Talk, hi5, orkut, Plaxo, and more.

Who'll be the next one to join as my Friend? Jon was the first. Thanks Jon!

E-Layaway

Do you remember the days when stores offered Layaway? I do. I always thought this was a great idea for consumers. It guaranteed the item you wanted would be there, allowed you to pay for it interest free over time, and even provided storage for the item until you had it paid in full.

Well, Layaway is making a comeback. Not only in stores but now online. Wa-la, E-Layaway. According to E-Layaway's web site, it lets you buy the products and services that you want by paying for them through manageable monthly payments that you set. You can pick between 3 to 13 months of layaway. E-Layaway will automatically deduct the payments from your bank account and will ship your order once it's paid in full. E-Layaway has over 1,000 merchants participating with them.

One of the best things about this service is no CREDIT CARDS. So, check out the web site and maybe give it a try.

Thinking about your Income Taxes yet?

I am. Here's why. I'll be receiving just 2 more paychecks in 2008. So, I've got 2 opportunities to make some changes to my withholding that could put some serious money in my pocket in December.

What am I talking about and how does this work? Great questions. I'm glad I asked them.

Here's what I did. I took my wife's and my last pay stub amounts and projected out the next two pays to see what our 2008 totals will be. Then I basically plugged this information into TuborTax's free tax calculator to see what my 2008 tax return could possible look like.

In doing this, if you find out you'll be expecting a large refund, you could adjust or even stop your federal income tax withholding for the next 2 pays and put that money in your pocket right now as apposed to waiting until you do your taxes and then get it back in a refund.

In doing this exercise I can put just over $300 in my pocket in December. I'd much rather have this $300 now than wait until March or April.

Things I'm Thankful for

Happy Thanksgiving to you. As I await the trip to my grandmothers house for Thanksgiving, I wanted to post some things that I am thankful for today.

1. My wife and 2 kids
2. My 2 dogs
3. Knowing I have eternal life
   
4. Sunshine on Thanksgiving day
5. NewPointe Community Church
6. Being on staff at NewPointe
7. Podcasts
8. Financial Peace
9. 80's music
10. Great home roasted coffee. I'm enjoying a cup right now
11. My bicycle - 3,000 miles on it this year
12. Friends
13. My small group
14. Having an emergency fund
15. Health
    

Saving your Excel spreadsheets as a PDF for "Free"

This is a more technical post from me than normal. But I'm so keyed about this I want to share it. I use Microsoft Excel everyday and I often share or "publish" my results with others. A lot of times all the end user needs to see is the summary spreadsheet or a graph that I have put together for them. They don't need or want all the rows and columns of data.

Today, I came across this tip. For the first time ever, Excel 2007 enables you to save your workbook files directly in a PDF format. All you have to do is download and install the "Excel Microsoft Save as PDF" Add-in program for the Microsoft Web site.

Once installed just click on the "Save as" option and pick pdf. Way cool and a great tool for those who use Excel a lot and want to share and protect their reports.

Your Credit Score for free

As most people know, you have been able to get your credit report from each of the three reporting agencies free once each year. I'm guessing you didn't know that you can now get your credit score free. A credit score is one of the most important components of a consumer's financial profile.

So how do you get this for free? Check out Credit Karma.com. It has recently been featured in the Wall Street Journal and USA today. There's no credit card required and no monthly or sneaky fees.

Here's what Credit Karma states on it's web site. Credit Karma is a completely free pro-consumer service dedicated to demystifying the credit landscape. With our credit simulators, free credit scores, credit advice, and credit score comparisons, our goal is to empower consumers to more actively manage their credit and their financial health.

So, know thy score and be empowered.

These stores are a closing. . . (Gift Cards take 2)

I penned / typed a post on 11/12 warning about giving gift cards this Christmas as a number of well known stores may not be around come the first of the year.

Today I received an email listing out a number of stores as reported by the Securities and Exchange Commission that will not be here next year. Take a look and don't purchase gift cards to these stores.

Ann Taylor closing 117 stores

Eddie Bauer closing 27 stores

Cache will close all stores

Talbots closing down all stores

J. Jill closing all stores

GAP closing 85 stores

Footlocker closing 140 stores

Levitz closing down remaining stores

Bombay closing remaining stores

Zales closing down 82 stores and 105 after January.

Whitehall closing all stores

Piercing Pagoda closing all stores

Disney closing 98 stores and will close more after January.

Macys to close 9 stores after January

Linens and Things closing all stores

Movie Galley Closing all stores

Pacific Sunware closing stores

Pep Boys Closing 33 stores

Sprint/ Nextel closing 133 stores

JC Penney closing a number of stores after January

Ethan Allen closing down 12 stores.

Wilson Leather closing down all stores

Sharper Image closing down all stores

K B Toys closing 356 stores

Loews to close down some stores

Dillard's to close some stores

Is this to much work for 4.5% interest?

I love searching the net and my local newspaper to insure that I'm getting one of the highest rates available for my emergency fund and savings. I'm currently with Emigrant Direct paying 3% and Amtrust Direct paying 2.75%. Both banks are paying much higher rates than any local banks in my area.

So today, while cruising BankRate.com, I came across an ad stating 4.5% on my checking account. Now, I don't typically leave my "savings" in my checking account but at 4.5% I needed to check this out. Addison Avenue Federal Credit Union is the bank paying 4.5%.

There are some hoops you need to jump through each month to get this rate. Here's the hoops:

1. Must use your Debit card for a minimum of 12 purchases a month. (This is how they pay you 4.5% as the fees they are charging the merchants for your debit card transactions cover your interest payments.)
   
2. Set-up direct deposit or one monthly recurring debit.
3. Sign up for electronic statements. No paper.
   

So, is it worth the hassle? I'd say . . . . No for a number of reason.

1. Are you really going to keep track of how many debit card transaction you do each month?
2. The 12 debit card transactions, is this in a calendar month or is it something different like the 15th to the 15th?
3. You're checking account is one of the worst places to keep your savings / excess cash. It will leave and get spent on some impulse purchase.
4. If you're not keeping a large balance in your checking account and I'm saying you shouldn't, then 4.5% on let's say $150 is your average monthly balance, your only talking about $6.75 a year. Skip a few sodas and you'll save that in a month.

Anyway, these are my thoughts on high interest rate checking accounts. Do you agree or not?

Savings with a specific goal in mind. . . .

I'm always on the lookout for great savings rates and opportunities. With Christmas right around the corner, yes it's next month, I'm very thankful Cindy and I started saving for it back in January. I'm never really happy to see that savings allocation go down but hey, that's what we saved it for.

The other day while reading my favorite personal financial magazine, Kiplingers, I came across a short article titled "Christmas Club 2.0". It was touting a web site SmartyPig.com.

Smarty Pig is a free FDIC-insured saving account at Iowa's West Bank, earmarked for a specific goal like Christmas. Really you can use it for anything you want to save for. Why use Smarty Pig? Glad you asked there are some really cool features / benefits here.

1. They are currently paying 3.9%. This is an outstanding rate right now.
2. You can make your savings goal public and friends and family can chip in toward you goal.
3. Smarty Pig has partnered with 25 retailers like Amazon.com and others and if you use a gift card at one of these retailers the retailer kicks in "bonus" of up to 5%.

So pick a goal and get started. Save up and pay cash.

Tuscarawas County Ohio . . . . (Big Deer)

I love Tuscarawas County. This is where I live. I love it most of all for the challenging hills and roads that cut through these hills. But I'll save my biking stories for another day.

Today this short post is about my buddy John Carpenter. John attends NewPointe and he loves to bow hunt. I enjoy listening to his stories about "The big deer" that he didn't have a shot at.
We'll this year he got the "Bull of the woods" This deer is unbelievable. If you are into deer hunting, John's deer is going to be scored this weekend. I'm sure it will end up in the record books.

Congratulations John!

Long term care insurance

I bet you didn't know that November was Long-term care insurance month. If you or your parents are over 55, you'd better start working this coverage into your monthly budget.

In a nutshell, LT care insurance covers things like nursing home stays. The average daily cost right now in a nursing home is $140 a day. That's over $4,000 a month. Ouch!

Do you want to know more about LT care insurance for you or your parents? On November 13th and again on the 21st from 9 AM to 6 PM est the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance (AALTCI) will answer your questions FREE (one of my favorite words) of charge. Just call 877-547-8471 and ask away. I'll be calling.

Retirement has changed and long-term care insurance needs to be part of your plan.

Gift Cards for Christmas. . . . Bad Idea this year

Normally, I'm a big fan of gift cards. One, they are easy to buy and in my home town, if I purchase the gift card(s) at Giant Eagle, I get $0.10 off a gallon of gas for every $50 spent. Anyway, that's another story. Two, getting a gift card as a gift let's me purchase something I want or need. Then I follow-up with a letter letting the person know what I purchased with their gift card to me.

So with both sides of the gift card transaction being a good deal, why stay away from them this Christmas? Ah, great question. Thus my post.

As we are all well aware, our economy stinks right now and there's big projections that this Christmas shopping season will be a bust for retailers. If this ends up being so, a lot of retailers won't be in business next year.

If you happened to give or received a gift card from a retailer who's no longer in business, your gift card is worth Zero. Think this can't happen? Just last month a local restaurant that was in business for well over 15 years was open for business one day and was closed the next. So it does happen.

So, If you were thinking of getting me a gift card this Christmas, you can just give me cash. (Just kidding.) But stick to the largest of retailers like Amazon.

Mr. Excel. . . . What a resource

I just got off the phone with my buddy and "sounding board" Dave Moore. Among other things, we were talking budgets. (It's that time of year you know.) This lend into a conversation regarding the use of Microsoft Excel and multiple tabbed spreadsheets as part of the budget process. (I love this stuff.)

For me, Excel is right up there with sliced bread. It's a great thing that make my life better. One of the Excel resources I use and just turned Dave onto is Mr. Excel. Mr. Excel, Bill Jelen, is unbelievable in his knowledge of Excel. The tips and tricks I've learned from him has saved me hours and hours of time and that translates into big $$.

A great way to check out Mr. Excel is through Itunes. Bill has a FREE daily video podcast of 2 - 3 minutes in length. If you'd consider yourself an Excel intermediate or advanced user, you've got to check out the podcast. You'll be amazed at the new stuff you learn.

Red Pig Award

Ok, as an accountant some would say I'm not the most creative guy they know. Every once in a while I come up with some pretty creative ideas if I do say so myself. . . . Enter the Red Pig Award.

With the help of my right hand person here at NewPointe, Anita, we purchased a box full of Red piggy banks that I now keep in my office. I'm using these Red pigs to pass out to staff members when they creatively save the church money. (I get to define the word "creative".)

I having lots of fun with the piggy banks by doing two things with them before I hand them out. First, I write a thank you note to the receipieint right on the side of the pig. Thanking them for saving the church $$. Second and probably more fun for them, I put some coin in the bank for them to spend.

Here's a picture of me and Jean Vacha. Jean is our cafe and kitchen team member. She's incredible when it come to food. Jean got the first Red Pig Award becuase she spent a total of only $50 for deserts in the upcoming Married Life Live. That's incredible considering there will be over 300 people in attendnace.

So, what do you think? Is this a creative idea for an accountant or what?

It's budget season

It's one of my favorite times of year at NewPointe. It's budget season. I along with the rest of the staff are putting dollars to the ministry needs of 2009. Please don't get me wrong. Ministry is not about dollars but it does take dollars to do ministry.

One of the major areas of responsibility for me is our budget. Here are a some of the though process I go through in working on our budget.

1. What's our average attendance per month and the average giving per attandee?
   
2. How many Sundays are there per month.
3. Do I see average attendance and giving per attendee staying the same, going up or going down?
4. Where does each ministry stand in terms of our current year's budget and what was actually invested in that ministry year-to-date.
   
5. Do we need additional staff?
6. Do we need to make major repairs that need to be planned for? (resurfacing our parking lot in 2010 $40,000)
7. Each Ministry Director is asked to allocate there financial need on a month-by-month basis and put this information into a spreadsheet I've designed.
8. I combine all spreadsheets into one master budget.
9. The budget is entered into our accounting system. (QuickBooks)
10. I'm able to monitor actual verses budget during the year.

Big savings on a cell phone battery

Yesterday, I took my 13 year old daughter to the Alltel store to have her contacts transferred from her broken phone to her new used phone. We paid $20 for her new used phone. Thanks Anita!

While at the Alltel store, we discovered that her new phone needed a new battery. Alltel was happy to sell me one. The price $65.99. Ouch. I politely said thanks and we'd have to think about it.

I went home and logged into Ebay. It's a fantastic source for batteries. I purchased the same exact battery for $2.79 including free shipping. This is a 96% savings. I'm all for Alltel making a profit on replacement batteries but this big of a difference in price is a bit much.

The lesson learned, it's worth shopping around verses impulse buying even on small items like a cell phone batteries.

An easy way to same some money on your car

Quickly answer this. . . . How many miles between oil changes? I bet you said every 3,000 miles right? We'll you'd be wrong. Every 3,000 miles is what those quick lube places and dealerships put on that window sticker when you get your oil changed.

What you need to do is check your owners manual. I'll bet you'll find it recommends every 5,000 miles between oil changes. That's an extra 2,000 miles between changes. If you drive 15,000 miles a year, this means 2 less oil changes a year. This saves you time and money. At $30 per oil change, that's $60 in your pocket.

If you really want to save some green, do your own oil change. You can do it yourself for less than $20. I changed my own oil last weekend.

I've got a VW diesel my owners manual says to change the oil one a year or every 10,000 miles which ever comes first. So, every 3,000 would be a big waist of money and time for me.

Could you 401K be going away?

If House Education & Labor Committee Chairman George Miller D-California, and Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Washington, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee’s Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support, get their way, we can say good-bye to our 401k. These guys are looking at redirecting those tax breaks to a new system of "guaranteed retirement accounts" to which all workers would be obliged to contribute. I don't like the idea of the government controling my retirement account. This scares the pants off of me.

Under this plan, all workers would receive a annual inflation-adjusted subsidy from the U.S. government but would be required to invest 5 percent of their pay into a guaranteed retirement account administered by the Social Security Administration. The money in turn would be invested in special government bonds that would pay 3 percent a year, adjusted for inflation.

The current system of providing tax breaks on 401(k) contributions and earnings would be eliminated.

Here's a link to the full story as reported in Workforce Magazine.

Freeze - Is $10 worth some great peace of mind?

$10 is all it cost me, I should say is what I invested, to put Security Freezes on all three of the credit reporting agencies. The costs vary by state but here in Ohio here was the costs

1. TransUnion - Free
2. Experian $5
3. Equifax $5

The entire process took me less than 15 minutes.

Here's why it's money very well spent. According to a new Federal Trade Commission (FTC) study, 8.3 million U.S. adults become victims of ID theft each year. Consumers Union estimates that this amounts to more than 22,000 victims per day and 15 victims per minute.

A security freeze lets you stop identity thieves from opening new accounts in your name. So, even if thieves get a hold of your personal information, they can't do anything with it. This is huge! The freeze stops new potential creditors from seeing your consumer credit report and credit score. When you want to use your own credit record, you open your file with a PIN.

So, with your next paycheck, budget in the $10 and invest 15 minutes and FREEZE your Credit.

If you live in a state other than Ohio, click here to see what the fees are for your state.

A 30,000% return on an investment. (Wow!)

Yep, you read this right, a 30,000% return. This was a result of our FPU class last week. This session was one of my favorites as it's the lesson titled "Clause and Effect". This lesson educates class participants about all the different types of insurance.

In this lesson, Dave Ramsey does a fantastic job in explaining the difference between cash value life insurance and term insurance. I'm with Dave on this that term insurance is the only way to go for 98% of us. This lesson also is typically where participants save lots of money by switching from their old cash value policy to a good term policy.

This was the case with one couple in our class. They had been paying into a cash value policy for 15+ year. When they canceled their policy, the received the cash value. Are you ready for this? the check they received was for $30,000.

Had this couple not invested the $99 NewPointe charges to take FPU, they'd still be paying their monthly premium and the insurance company would have the $30,000.

With a good term life insurance policy in place and $30,000 in their pocket, this couple is well on their way to Financial Peace.

$30,000 on a $100 ($99 class cost) investment is a 30,000% return.

Here's what you missed. . . . (Motorcycles in service)

Ok, I made a short post on 10/9/08 regarding this past Sunday's service here at NewPointe. If you didn't make it here, check out this picture to see what you missed.

(We have a great volunteer photographer who captures the essence of Sunday mornings so well. Thanks Paul for using your talents to honor God!)


Part of Dwight's message was about God's power verses our own power. He used the motorcycles as a great visual. It was really cool to watch these bikes ride around the auditorium in the middle of service. I'm sure people will be talking about this for some time to come as it was very engaging. Way to go Dwight!

Ways to stand out at work

A few days ago, I had someone come up to me and thank me for the work I did for them. At the time, I didn't think much about it. Later I reflected on their comments and realized the simple things can make a big difference at work and at life.

Here are a few things I do that could help you stand out at work.

1. Respond quickly to someone's request. Even if all you can do at the time is let them know you'll get them the information by "x" date with every intention of gettting it to them sooner. So many times we request something of others via email or voicemail and with no response from them, we wonder if they even got our message.
2. On you're voice mail, as part of your message, ask people how you can help or serve them best when you call them back. I find by asking this, I get much better messages left for me and I'm able to have their answer when I return the call versed calling them back to ask what they wanted when the left me their voice mail.
   
3. If you can't give a person what they are requesting of you, give them alternatives. For example here at NewPointe, we get lots of requests to "borrow or rent" stuff. We tell them we are not able to do this and here are two sources we call when we want to rent this item. (People are turning to you because they want you to help them get solutions.)
4. Get on the solution side of a problem. Complaining is not a strategy. Look for and suggest answers that help move everyone forward.
5. Always end a conversation by asking a person is their anything else I can do for you? Most of the time the other person will say no but this is a great way to end.
   
   

Perspective. . . . on the market

I'm a facts based guy. So when I look at something or make decisions, I want to see the data. If you look at the stock market through a very narrow time frame, you'll be scared silly. Here's what you need to think about to get some perspective.

1. 100% of the 10 year periods in the history of the stock market has made money.
   
2. 97% of the 5 year periods in the history of the stock market has made money.
3. Since 1970, 38 years, the market has gone down 10% or more 10 time. 9 of those 10 times it completely recovered everything it lost within 2 years. And the first year it came back after it bottomed it averaged a 33% rate of return.
4. When the current market bottoms and you miss the upswing, you will be mad as . . . . if you panicked and sold out.
5. So relax, take a deep breath and count your blessings in life.
   

Don't miss this Sundays service

I don't usually blog about our Sunday service. There's lots of other NewPointe bloggers who do a great job with this topic. (Check out John Bunn's blog).

But this Sunday will include a visual that I'd venture to say has never been seen or done in any church before. Let's just say it's got me all revved up.

You need to be in the auditorium at either our 9 or 11 a.m. service to be part of this. Don't be late.

What financial crisis?

Ok, now that the title of this post got your attention, here's my thoughts / perspective on the current financial crisis. I, like everyone else who participates in some sort of retirement plan have seen my balance take a nose dive. I'm not happy about this but I'm also not fearful. Why no fear? I'm putting my trust in God not myself.

So, with that said, here are my thoughts.

1. God owns it all anyway.
   
2. Bear markets have come and gone before. This will pass.
   
3. With the market down this much, It's really the best time to buy as everything is on sale. Stick with mutual funds and stay away from individual stocks.
   
4. Keep investing into your retirement plan. Your buying more shares with the same dollars.
5. Stop looking at your investment value on a daily basis. This will drive you nuts.
6. Turn off the news. Their job is to evoke emotion and they are doing a good job of this right now.
   
7. I'm an even bigger fan now of life cycle funds. Most retirement plans now offer them. Consider putting some of your allocation into one of these types of funds.
8. Saving faithfully over time will always build wealth. It just takes a little while.
9. Start or continue to give. God will bless you for it. Stay faithful to him. It's easy to give when times are good. Giving in rough financial times points your heart toward Him.
10. Don't borrow any new money for anything.
    

So, in summary, keep everything in perspective, God owns it all. Make sure you have a plan and work that plan. 5-10 years from now, we won't be talking about this financial crisis.

The NewPointe Staff

I'm very proud and thankful to get to do ministry and life with the staff of NewPointe. I wanted to share this great picture of us with you.

It was taken just before we departed from our staff retreat to head back to the real world.

Can you find me in the picture?

4.35% 6 month CD

No joke and this is a great rate right now. I've used Amtrust Direct as one of my tow online savings accounts for years. They have lots of branches in the Cleveland Ohio area.

If you've got some savings laying around in low interest bearing accounts, you should consider this 6 month CD.

Another 2008 Goal met

I like setting goals. It drives me to grow. Today I've met another personal goal. I now weigh less thank 170lbs. Ok, 169.6 to be exact but it's under 170 none the less. I weighted 184 at the first of the year.

I set goals in every area of my life because it keeps me from drifting and just going through the motions.

As a result of some current reading that I'm doing, NewPointe's current series, One Month to Live, and our Staff retreat, I've come up with 10 daily goals. I carry these in my wallet and review them every day.

1. Pray
2. Value my family
3. Put people before things
4. Server someone
5. Encourage someone
6. Develop a thankful spirit
7. Smile (It's the key to health)
8. Exercise
9. Be open to new ideas
10. Treat everyone with respect
    

Reduce or elimnate unsolicted emails

I came across a great service provided by the direct marketing association that lets you put in your email address that allows consumers to indicate their wish to reduce the amount of unsolicited commercial email they receive.

Here's the link. DMA Choice.

I just signed up so I'm interested to see how long it takes for the junk email to be reduced.

In addition to emails, this site also tells you how to get off of

• mailing lists
• telemarketing lists
• marketing lists

Sunday - relax day

What's my favorite way to relax? Riding my bicycle of course. I took my camera along with me today and I wanted to share these pictures with you. I love fall in Ohio.

God is good!

True Colors

Yesterday and most of today, the NewPointe staff was off-site at Sky View Ranch for a staff retreat. It was a great time for team building activities, campfires and getting to know each other a little better.

One cool tool we each took home with us was a "True Colors Profile". This a form of the DISC profile. According the the True Colors Profile, I'm 100% green. What does that mean? Here's what my values to the NewPointe team are:

1. Objective and Realistic
2. Always looking for logical solutions
3. Builds good relationships
4. Consistent and steady
5. Presents the facts without emotion
6. Service-oriented
7. People-oriented
8. Good listener

I'd say these are some great qualities for a business administrator.

One funny/cute thing to note that came out in this profile. I like people to stay at least three feet from me. (I don't know why this is but it's true.)

Church Admin resourse

I just returned from Granger Community Church's Innovate Conference. Granger knocked the ball out of the park and I've brought back lots of ideas that I can implement here at NewPointe.

During the breakout session on church finance, the group was sharing resources they use in their role as church business administrators. Dave Moore hosted this breakout and he did an outstanding job.

Here's one resource you need to check out. It's a Yahoo Group called ChurchAdmin. There are over 2,800 members and here's what's discussed on this Yahoo Group.

Church business administrators who share information about church management issues. Typical questions might be, What are your scheduling policies for non-member weddings? Have you had any experience with nursery paging systems? If so, what vendor did you use? Do you have a facilities use policy that you would be willing to share? How do you track interest and participation of volunteers by ministry and more

Keeping up with what's going on

Internally here at NewPointe, our Executive Director Mike Conn gave the staff a new reporting tool. We call it our 5-15 report. (15 minutes to prepare, 5 minutes to read.) Maybe we should call it the 15-5 report.

Anyway, this report is do each Monday. I turn my report into Mike. He's my boss. My direct reports turn their 5-15 into me. This report keeps us as a staff moving forward and focused.

Here's whats on the report:

1. The "Win" for my environment is:
2. My primary goal this week is:
3. I need help from you on the following items:
4. My biggest challenge righ now is:
5. Upcoming changes to my normal schedule:
6. My top projects (with start date, percent complete, and due date)
7. Things that happened last week you should know:
8. People I met with last week and the purpose:
9. Groups I led last week with time and place.

What do you think? Should something be added or taken off this report? Would this tool be useful to you? It sure brings some accountability.

And the survey says. . . .

2007 has been and looks like it will continue to be a very had year financially. According to a survey by Gizzard Commutations Group, (No I didn't make that name up.) 29% of the 500 people surveyed expect to cut back on their charitable giving this fall.

As the Church business guy, this survey doesn't bother me. Here's why. I firmly believe that God is in control. I have no doubt that he will provide the necessary resources, financial and otherwise needed here at NewPointe.

I also believe NewPointe does a great job in teaching people how to manage their finances in a God honoring way. We do this by teaching Financial Peace University.

The question if find myself asking often is when things get tight financially, why is giving to the church one of the first things to go? Wouldn't you want to be working with God and have him involved in your finances vrs cutting him out of the picture by stopping your giving?

Google Health

I was cruising around the net today waiting for the Ohio State USC game tonight and came across a new and free offering from Google.

It's Google Health. It's currently in beta. Here's what they are claiming on the home page.

Google Health puts you in charge of your health information. It's safe, secure, and free.

• Organize your health information all in one place
• Gather your medical records from doctors, hospitals, and pharmacies
• Keep your doctors up-to-date about your health
• Be more informed about important health issues

This all sounds quite interesting to me. Especially when it's time to fill out all those medical forms as my kids are going back to school. I can never remember what medicines they are allergic too.

So, what do you think? Would you feel comfortable putting you medical information in the hands of Google?

Another Church Finance Guy joins the Blogging World

My buddy Dave Moore sits in the same chair as I do. Well not literally, but figuratively. Dave is the Finance Director of Granger Community Church. (As a side bar, I'll be out visiting with Dave next week as part of Granger's Innovate Conference. I'm really looking forward to that.)

Dave just started blogging and he's got some great stuff there already. Starting with his blog name, mooreforthemoney. Dave & I go back and forth with questions, ideas and suggestions. Most of his advise to me rocks my world.

So if your into personal and church finance, stop on over and check out his blog. I get to check him out in person next week.

My experience with BookStore Manager

It's not often I deal with a company that leave me dumfounded. But this is one of those time.

Long story short, the staff member in charge of our bookstore purchased BookStore Manger Software. The plan was to convert from QuickBooks Point of Sale.

A few days after BookStore Manger Software arrived here, this staff member resigned. With this, the bookstore responsibilities ended up on my plate. I wanted to return the BookStore Manager Software. Over the next month on the phone and via eamil I repeatedly requesting to return the UNINSTALLED software for a refund.

Here's the first paragraph of their final email response to me dated 9/8/08.

We appreciate your concerns about implementing Bookstore Manager RMS software into your ministry. Regretfully, we must decline your request for a refund.

I am shocked at their response.

May I have your Attention Please?

I've reached another one of my 2008 goals today.
I've exceed 2,500 miles peddled on my bicycle.


Take a look at my bike computer. The bottom number (2,511) is the total miles for the year. I took this pic as soon as I finished my ride today.

Do you see the 43.4? Don't tell my wife but that's my maximum speed on today's ride. We've got some great hills around here. Cindy really hates when I go this fast. I on the other hand love it.


Remember, It's not reaching your goals that matter most, it's you you are becoming as you work on reaching your goals that counts.

Money Podcast "worth" checking out

I really enjoy listening to Podcasts on my commute to and from work. I also listen to them when I walk my dogs.

If you enjoy the topic of finances, here's a few podcasts worth listening to.

1. The Money Guy
2. Marketplace Money
3. The Dave Ramsey Show
4. Marketplace

What Podcasts do you enjoy listening to?

A GoodSearch for a great cause

I'm very excited to let you know about a new search tool that works great and helps fund the ministries on NewPointe. I know what your thinking, what service or gimmick do I have to sign-up for? There's no gimmick or sign-up.

GoodSearch, powered by Yahoo, donates to charity, every time you do a search or start your online shopping from there. GoodSearch has been featured on ABC News and the New York Times.



It's very simple to use. I've got GoodSearch set up as my homepage. It's very easy process to get setup.

Step 1. Select the charity you want to donate to. (Here's where you type in NewPointe)

Step 2. Search or shop.

That's it. Give it a try. You'll like it and help fund ministry. - Thanks

Way cool online financial software and it's free

Surfing the net tonight as I wait for my son to get home from the varsity away football game, Chaz is sophomore dresses for varsity and plays reserve, I was doing some research on online personal accounting software.

I came across a site that I had not seen or heard about before until now. The site is Geezeo. I'm very impressed. Geezeo keeps your personal budget organized while providing a social network to help you stick to your budget and to get ideas for spending money more effectively. The social aspect of Geezeo acts as a financial support group.

The budget tool in Geezeo is graphically presented with each tag resembling a tile. The tiles are green, yellow (reaching budgeted spending limit) or red (over budget) so you can tell at a glance where you need watch your spending.

Fox news out of Boston even did a piece on this. It's worth a look.

I'm all for using tools that help you manage your money.

Your Health Credit Report

We are all aware that we each have a financial credit report. Did you know more than 200 million Americans also have a Health "credit report"?

Your health credit report draws from databases containing your prescription drug records. What's the big deal here? Well, more and more heath insurance and life insurance companies are paying these database companies, Milliman IntelliScript and Ingenix are the two largest, for your prescription information. Armed with this information, insurance companies then make decisions about offering you coverage.

How can this be you ask? When you sign a consent form while appling for insurance, you are giving insurance companies the permission to search your medical history. If you want the insurance, there's no way around this.

When your precription information is gathered by the database, it provides insurers a "phamacy risk score". A higher score implies higher risk.

How popular is this database becoming? IntelliScript got about 1 million quereis from insurers last year. So much for HIPPA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act)

Freeze! - Your credit report that is. . .

Experian and TransUnion 2 of the three credit reporting agencies, (Equifax is the third) now allow residents of all 50 states to freeze their credit online . This is something you should consider doing.

A credit freeze is a way to block your credit reports to make it a lot tougher for an identity thief to get a loan or open a credit account in your name. That's because while a freeze is in place, no one, not even you, can open an account in your name. Lenders, insurers and even employers doing background checks are not able to access your credit file.

You can have the freeze lifted if you need to get new credit, but you have to give the bureaus a specially issued personal identification number and a few days' notice to do so.

Note that while a credit freeze can help shut down economic ID theft, it will not help eliminate criminal identity theft. That's where crooks use a fake ID with your information.

So, If you're ready to freeze your credit here are the links

TransUnion or by phone at 1-888-909-8872

Experian or by phone at 1-888-397-3742

Equifax (Online for Georgia, Iowa, New Jersey and Wyoming) or by phone at 1-800-685-1111

Doing Life together

Today, our small group along with two additional NewPointe staffers (John Bunn and Danny Bunnelle) spent the afternoon serving together in a big way. We through NewPointe were able to present the Coshocton Boxing Club with an official sized boxing ring. The club does some great work with the youth and we've been able to develope a relationship with the club owners.

Getting together with my small group each week to learn and grow though studing differnent topics is a vital part of group life. But when we serve together is when we bond. I can't imagine doing life without being in a small group. You need a group of beilvers in your life that you can laugh with, share with, and support through lifes ups and downs.

Today we shared some "up time" in helping others. After an day of good work, we went back to Steve & Sherry's (a couple in our small group) house for a great dinner.

The 3 big take-aways for me from this day were.

1. A small group is a vital need in my relationship with God.
2. It's a blessing to serve with friends
3. Somethings the doors God opens make me laugh. (A boxing club???)

Here are some pictures from the day.

Making Changes

Lot's of great stuff happening here at NewPointe as we get ready for the Fall season. One of the major building changes is the move of our Bookstore. There are a lot of folks around here that are very excited about our new space. Take a look.Thanks to the work of some awesome Bookstore volunteers (Rich Rilke, Nancy Rilke, Sherry Trimmer, and Therese Fillippi) we made some great headway last night in the new space.

Rich & Nancy are coming back in tonight to put the finishing touches on and to get ready for the grand opening on Sunday. Stop in and let me know what you think.

Great financial advise

I know these are crazy financial times. With every 401k statement of late, the value is less than it was the month before. What's a person to do in times like these?

The best answer is stay the course and look to those who are much more successful. A great read / place to spend some time is Shareholder Letters for Berkshire Hathaway Inc. They are written by Warren Buffett. He's arguable the greatest individual investor of our time. He's #1 on Forbes list of Billionaires in 2008. (current net worth $62 billion)

Plan your final exit online

You and I are most likely not going to be able to plan or anticipate the when and where of our exit from this world but a new online tool can allow you to detail out your final wishes.

MyWonderfulLife.com is a web site where you plan and share funeral details including things like music choices and where and how burial will take place. Up to 6 loved ones can have online access to your wished and instruction on where to find you r will and account information. This site was started by two women after the death of their husbands.

While I'm one this subject, did you know you can also order your final resting bed, ok your casket online? When I did a Google search on "buy casket online" I got back 180,000 sites. Most online sources have Next Day shipping. I've told my wife many times I want my casket purchased online. This is will be my last money saving adventure and bargin purchase.

Financial Stress

Recently I've been consulted by a number of people who are experiencing financial stress in their lives. The reasons are all different but the anxiety and pressures are similar. What's a good plan to deal with financial stress?

Here's my advise.

1. Acknowledge that you feel overwhelmend by your situaition
2. Pray for God's help and comfort as you go thought this time
3. Exercise hard. Yep, exercise helps you clear your head.
4. Talk with someone you trust. They are not emotionally attached to the situation like you are.
5. Cut out all extras. Yes, cable TV is an extra.
6. Are there things you can sell on Ebay or Amazon?
7. Talk to those you owe and explain your situation.
8. Never sign or agree to something you don't understand
9. Never allow automatic drafting out of your checking account
10. Talk with your church. Most churches have a "helps / benevolence" fund.
    

Mission Accomplished (333 miles in 4 days)

I'm home. Mission Accomplished. Close to $100,000 raised for the two Ohio American Cancer Society Hope Houses.

A very short summary of my great bike adventure.

1. It was a great life experience.
2. Our team "Heals on Wheels" is a great bunch of people.
3. 333 miles peddled. (Only two close calls. One at high speed.)
4. From day one, I wondered where each rider stood in there relationship with God. I had the opportunity to have a couple of spiritual conversations.
5. Some good pictures. See below.
   
   

Day one in the books (79 miles)

Our first day on the PAN Ohio hope ride was great. I'm meeting lots of new people and blogging from the college of Wooster. I haven't been on a college campus in many years. Boy how things have changed.

I've had the opporuntiy to talk with one of my team members about NewPointe. Funny thing is it's not who I've been investing in. Anyway I'm very pumped that she will be checking out NewPointe next Sunday.

Here are some pictures from today.

Our Team "Heals on Wheels" before the start today.



Rock & Roll HofF (Cool)

Browns Stadium. (Go Browns!)

Ride countdown begins

In just over 24 hours, I'll be leaving for my PAN Ohio Bike adventure. Cleveland to Cincinnati Ohio in 4 days. (over 300 miles)

I'm very much looking forward to this ride for a number of reasons. Here are the top 5.

1. The cause. Hope Lodge and the families that get to stay there.
2. Being able to say I road my bicycle from Cleveland to Cincinnati.
3. Four days of nothing but riding bike and hanging out with bike nuts.
4. I'm praying for an opportunity to share my faith with my team.
5. Every time I'm away from my family overnight, it makes me appreciate and value them more when I return. (I hope they think the same about me.)

Raising them right!

Like all parents, I want my kids to be responsible, respectful and full of love for people. With two teenagers, it's hard to get a read on how they are doing in life. Our kids are trying to find who they are and want to be independent of Cindy and I. I'm ok with that as it's the way life works.

Every once in a while, God gives me some insight into how my kids are doing. I had one of those moments this week. While at work, I received a phone call from Chaz. He started off the conversation with, "Dad, your mountain bike is ok and so am I." (I've got a pretty nice mountain bike but that's another story.)

Chaz said he and some buddies were ridding bikes and horsing around. Chaz ended up riding into the back of a parked van. He cracked the tail light of the van. At this point it would have been very easy for him and his buddies to ride off but Chaz didn't do that. He told his buddies to stop. Then he when up to the house, rang the door bell and told the owner of the van what had happened.

Chaz told the owner he would pay to replace the tail light cover and gave the owner our contact information. I was so proud of the way Chaz handled the situation and as a reward to him, I said I would pay to replace the cover for doing the right thing.

For days now, I have been thanking and praising God for how Chaz handdled this situation. I'm very proud of him. This event has drawn me closer to God and I'm thankful for that. Through this situation, God gave me a glips into Chaz's character.

How much oil is in a barrel?

Well, did you ever wonder how much oil is in a barrel? You know the news is tell us daily how much a barrel of oil costs. As I type this, oil is down $2.54 a barrel to $122.19. (This did wonders for the stock market today it's up 264 points. But that's another story.)

I grew up in the coal business and we always had 55 gallon drums of oil around. So, I assumed a barrel of oil was 55 gallons. NOT. I came to find out that a barrel of is 42 gallons.

We'll the question that follows that is how many gallons of gasoline come from one barrel of oil? The answer is roughly 20 gallons.

So, now you know and you can impress your friends with this new found information.

Is your Mutual Fund on the Lemon List?

How often do you look at the mutual funds you own? Don't forget the mutual funds that are in your companies retirement plan.

I came across a cool tool called the Mutual Fund Lemon List. Here's what this web site has to say about itself. This list has been around for 10 years now. Who knew?

The new "Mutual Fund Lemon List" shows you which mutual funds are costing investors money, plain and simple. Included are those funds that have underperformed their one-, three-, and five-year benchmarks.

How many funds are we talking about here? The total number of funds that made the Lemon List last quarter: 2,000+! The total assets in these funds: $1,000,000,000!

That's not a misprint. $1 trillion is currently languishing in these underperforming mutual funds. And I'd be willing to bet that you have at least some assets committed to these funds.

If you have a fund on this list. It's time to dump the fund.

The Debt Trap

Cruising the net this weekend, I came across a great money series in the New York Times called "The Debt Trap." It's a series on consumer debt and the lenders that make this possible.

There are videos, tools and calculators that show you where your debt stacks up to the rest of America. The series starts off with a video of how Diane McLeod accumulated $280,000 in debt. I found it heartbreaking that people end up here.

You've got to get educated on how to handle your finances. Stop and ask yourself, who and where did you learn about money? . . . . . Times up. If you are like most people, you can't really point to a time and place in your life where educated about finances.

Here's a fantastic resources for you. The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey. If you don't want to purchase it, then go to your local library. No matter where you are in your financial life, this book has something for you.

Roll it over

One of our new hires here at NewPointe asked me a great question today. " What do I do with the money I have in my old employers 401K plan?"

I love this question. This is an opportunity for freedom / great choice. Let me state the best action to take is to roll your money out of your old employers plan. Never take the money out.

Roll your old 401K into a self directed IRA not your new employers plan. The biggest reason for this is freedom in choosing your investment funds. Your not limited to the choices in your new employers plan. Notice I said "funds" not individual stocks. We are talking your retirement nest egg here and individual stocks carry way, way to much risk.

When people come to me for investment advise, I recommend two funds for them to research. I like Vanguards life cycle funds and I love the Sound Mind Investing Fund. (Do your own research before purchasing any investment.)

The way to get started with rolling your old 401K money over is to first open a new "IRA Rollover" account with an broker (I prefer online brokers), or the mutual fund company directly.

Was it time?

The short answer is no. And now the rest of the story. . .

Cindy and I arrived 15 minutes before the doors opened. We had to stand outside in the 90 degree heat with a couple of hundred other bargain hunters waiting and hoping for a good deal. The doors opened promptly at noon and the race was on.

At first it felt like cows moving into a barn to be milked then once everyone was in the warehouse, it felt like chickens running around. What can I say about the animal metaphors, we were in Amish Country.

Anyway, Cindy did spot one couch she liked. Unfortunately by the time we weaved our way though the people and ran over 2 older folks, someone beat us to the couch. The lady was sitting on the couch shooing would be purchasers away and waiving for a sales person to come take her money. I thought to myself, oh well it wasn't the couch for us.

Until the "right" couch comes along, I'll keep saving. Little did I know how much a couch could cost.

Is it time?

There's lots of unwritten rules in a marriage. One of those rules in our house seems to be that the inside of the house stuff my wife takes the lead on and the outside of the house stuff I take the lead on. As such, some months back my wife said we need to start saving to replace our living room furniture. Cindy pointed out our couch is older than our 12yr old daughter and my son using it as a bed hasn't helped. My first though was so? (I didn't say it out loud but I was thinking it.) Being a good husband I said Ok.

Fast forward to today. We've got $1,100 now in our furniture fund and my wife reminded me Andreas Furniture is having their annual warehouse sale. So at 11:30 today I'll be standing in line in the 90 degree heat waiting for the doors to open at noon. I'm always on the lookout for a good deal and their warehouse sale is a good deal.

Here are some important facts/things about this process.

1. We agreed on the major purchase (In our house a major purchase is anything over $100)
2. We saved up and are going to pay CASH.
3. Our furniture fund is not part of our emergency fund.
4. We are going together to make the major purchase. This will keep us balanced. We won't spend more than we should.
5. This process strengthens our marriage.
   

Life change continues. . . .

Three cheers for our current Financial Peace University Class. In this weeks lesson, we covered dumping debt. This is one of my favorite lessons. Dave Ramsey spells out 15 debt myths.

Here are my top three myths from this lesson:

1. You'll always have a car payment. I'm living proof that you can save up and pay cash for a car. It really is doable.
2. If I loan money to a friend or relative, I'll be helping them out. (No way) If you do this, you just changed your relationship to master / servant.
3. I can get a good deal on that zero percent interest new car loan. Fact is, that new car goes down 70% in value in the first 4 year and that so called zero percent interest rate is built into the price of the car.

Well, these three debt myths along with the other 12, lead to the destruction of 7 credit cards from this FPU class. These cards are not part of my 200+ destroyed credit cards sitting in my office.

To quote Dave Ramsey, "Debt is Dumb".

In the lead. . . .

As some of you know, I'm riding my bicycle 300+ miles over 4 days in August in the PAN Ohio Hope Ride. This ride is to raise funds to the two Hope lodges in Ohio. (Cleveland & Cincinnati) These facilities provide free, supportive lodging to of cancer patients and caregivers who have to travel for treatment. They have helped more than 15,000 cancer patients and caregivers avoid millions in hotel bills and travel expenses.

I've very proud to announce that my team "Heals on Wheels" is in the lead as far as dollars raised thus far. To date, our team has raised $4,700 of which I have personally raised $625 as of this post. Anita B was my last donor. Thanks Anita!

My personal goal is $1,000. I'd greatly appreciate your help in reaching my goal for a great cause. If you can help, click here.

Coupons.com

Looking to save some money at the grocery? I always am. Here's a web site that I like a lot.

Coupons.com is basically like going through one of those Sunday newspaper flyers online, except you just mark the ones you want and at the end you click on a “print” button and the ones you selected pop right out of your printer. Very cool.

I'd suggest making out your grocery list before visiting the web site. That way you don't buy things you were not planning on purchasing in the first place.

Stay Encouraged - Investment are on sale

Well, the first 6 months of 2008 are in the books. Usually, the end of a quarter is an exciting time for me. I like to reallocate my investment choices inside my retirement plans. (What, you don't do this? You should, at a minimum of once a year.)

At first, I wasn't very excited at this quarter end. Most of my retirement account balances are less than what they were at 12/31/2007 and that's even after I've put money into my retirement accounts over the last 6 months.

While walking my dogs tonight, that's my thinking time, I remembered that since the value of my mutual funds is currently lower than it was 6 months ago, every time in put money into these funds, I get more shares for the same dollars invested. That's a good thing.

Here's an example. Let's say I have $200 a month coming out of my paycheck for my retirement plan.

5/1/08 per share value of my mutual fund: $10 @ $200 invested is 20 shares purchased.

6/1/08 per share value of my mutual fund: $7.50 @ @200 invested is 26.67 shares.

So, I got 6.67 more shares than I did a month ago with the same $200 invested. Cool.

Here's were perspective comes in. If I'm concentrating on the month-to-month value (from $10 a share down to $7.50) I'll get worried as the value of my investment when down. My focus is way to short. I need to be looking long term. 5, 10, 20 years from now. Long term, being able to purchase more shares now will have a greater payoff.

So, stay encouraged, keep investing. Steady plodding wins the race.

Great Rates for your savings dollars. 3.75% and up

I'm a big fan on online savings accounts. The interest rates far exceed what most local banks offer. Of late, even my two online banks rates are very low. Amtrustdirect is currently paying 2.5% and Emigrantdirect is paying 2.75%.

I'm pleased to let you know that the Free Methodist Foundation is paying 3.75% on their Flexible Certificate. Basically a flexible certificate is a savings account. You can get you money back in your hands within hours if you need it back that quick. The Foundations 1 year certificate is paying 4.25%. These are great rates in today environment.

One of the questions I get asked when I give the foundation props for their interest rate is, "Is it safe?". Yes. The foundation has been doing this for over 50 years and they have never defaulted on investment dollars.

So, put your money to work with the best interest rate available. Here's the foundations phone number if you've got questions for them. 800.325.8975

New browser for me. . . .

On our home PC we have been having trouble with our Firefox version 2.x browser. My family wanted me to go back to Internet explorer. I won't move back to IE for a number of reasons. Security and pop-ups being the biggest reasons.

I could upgrade to Firefox version 3 or search for an alternative. And search I did. I came across a great and cool browser called Flock. Flock titles itself as "the browser for people who like to be connected". I don't know about that but I do know it's fast. I downloaded the beta. version 2. It runs on Firefox 3. I figured I get the best of both browsers. From my point of view, I did.

My family seems to be pleased with Flock as well. Faster page loads, a cool clean look and easy navigation. Give Flock a look it may become your new browser.

TransUnion settlement makes your Credit Score Free to you

TransUnion, one of the three major credit reporting agencies recently settled the class-action lawsuit that accused the company of improperly selling consumer information to marking companies.

How does that impact you?

You can now get free credit monitoring services and your credit score from TransUnion as part of the $75 million dollar settlement.

Click here for a summary of the settlement.

To receive benefits from this settlement, you must register by September 24, 2008. You may register for the following benefit options:

1. Sign up for six months of credit monitoring services. If you select this option, you can also register to possibly receive cash benefits in the event of a cash distribution or file an individual lawsuit against the Defendants.
2. Sign up for nine months of enhanced credit monitoring services. If you select this option, you will not receive any further benefits, including a cash payment, and you will not be able to file an individual lawsuit against the Defendants.
3. Register to possibly receive a cash payment. If you select this option, you can also sign up for six months of credit monitoring; however if you receive a cash payment, you cannot file an individual lawsuit against the Defendants.

You may only register once. Individuals with multiple submissions will only be eligible for the benefit chosen in the first registration.

Click here to sign up. (I'm choosing #1)

In need of a Financial Pick-Me-UP?

From time to time, I need a good Financial Pick-Me-UP. I just have those moments, days, weeks, where it feels like I'm going backwards in with my financial game plan and goals. (Hey, that's life and I know God is in control.) It's all his anyway.

One of the ways I get out of this financial funk is to tune into the Dave Ramsey Radio Show. My favorite way to listen is via Dave's web site and his archived shows. This way, I can listen via my computer or download a show or two onto my mp3 player. I especially like listening to Friday's show as callers get to yell, I'm DEBT FREE. This gets me "juiced".

So, take a listen. You'll be financially "richer" for the time you listened. Maybe it will even keep you from paying what Dave referrers to as "Stupid Tax".

What's your Walk Score?

In my never ending quest to save a buck or two, I'm considering walking to the library today. (I've got a book waiting for pick-up and I want to read the current bicycling magazine.) In searching the internet to find the distance between my house and our library, I came across a cool web site called Walk Score.

What is Walk Score? You put in your home address, then Walk Score lists the services near your house in a bunch of different categories (movie theaters, schools, parks, libraries, grocery stores, restaurants and on and on). It also assigns a "score" which provides a numerical estimate of how good your location is in terns of resources available within reasonable walking distance.

My address didn't score so well. I got a 17 out of 100. Yea but I can jump on my bicycle and ride a 25 mile loop and only pass a dozen cars. (That's how many I counted on my ride today.)

Anyway, the library is 1.28 miles from my house. I'm up for the walk but I don't think my kids will be for it.

Thanks or Thanks for Nothing

The other day while I was reading through a financial magazine, I came across an advertisement from a mutual fund company that showed to "yellow sticky notes" The first note said "Thanks" and the second note said "Thanks for Nothing".

What will your financial future say to you if it could talk with you today? Will your future be thanking you or cursing you?

Want to be thanked? You can do so by saving for retirement. In my opinion, the best places to save for retirement are here and in this order.

1. Your employers retirement plan up to the employer match. The employer match is FREE money. You'll never get a better return than that.
2. A Roth IRA. Earnings are tax FREE.
   

At the 1/2 way point

Goals are very important. I believe we should all have some.

I've got goals in the following areas of my life

1. spiritual
   
2. family
3. financial
4. personal
   
5. work

Today I hit the half way mark on one of my personal goals. I set a bicycle mileage goal of 2,000+ miles a year. This weekend I went over the 1,000 mile mark. take a look at the last number 1009.8.