Wellness at work

Today we kick-off a wellness program for the staff here at NewPointe. I'm excited for the events of the day and what this "should" mean for each staff member as the program gets going.

A month ago, our staff participated in a health screening held here a the church. We each gave blood, had our blood pressure checked, was weighted, ( I'm weighted in at 177) and filled out a questionnaire. (There was no filling of cups. Think on this for a minute, it will come to you.)

As part of the program today, we'll each get our screening results back from Dr. Browning. In addition to that, we'll be divided into three teams and the competitions will begin. The team names are:

1. Fatty Acids
2. Protein Shakers
3. Triple Bypasses

Our first completion is 10,000 steps a day for the next 12 weeks. We have pedometers for each team member and we'll be putting up a chart in the break room to track progress.

Wish us good will and root on the Fatty Acids as I'm the team captain.

Personal Check ordering tips

These day's I don't write many checks any more. It's usually cash, debit card, or online bill payment. Today however, I did put the last set of 50 checks into our checkbook. ( I'm hoping they will last 6 months or more.)

My next task was onto the net to find the best price on checks. I ended up ordering 3 boxes of 200 checks in each box from Super Value Checks The total with shipping was $20.70. ($0.0345 per check)

Here are a two things I did to help guard my identity on the checks.

1. I didn't put my wife's or my first name on the check. I used our initials from our fist name. T or C Colucy. This way no one other than us and the bank know how we sign our checks. This will be a big plus if your checks are stolen and you try and prove to the electronics store that you didn't write a check for that big screen TV.
   
   
2. I put my work phone number on the checks not my home number. If someone tries to use your personal information from your check to open up a bogus account somewhere in your name, they will not have your home phone number. When they use your work number as your home number, this should send up a red flag where the account is being opened.
   

Next time you order checks, let me know if you find a better deal and if you used your initials and work phone number.

4th of July and my personal best

The 4th has been great for me so far today. I enjoyed reading the newspaper on my back porch as the sun was coming up. With my newspaper I had two cups of my fresh home roasted coffee made in my press pot. (Coffee doesn't get any better that that.)

At 9 a.m. it was off to the meeting point for our annual 4th of July bike ride. We had 10 riders today. I knew I was in trouble as I looked over the field of rides. All speed guys and a tandem . When it was all said and done today, I'm was jacked.

Ride distance: 50 miles on the nose

Average speed for the entire 50 miles. . . . 19.5 mph. (My new personal best)
We had miles of speeds around 25 mph. That allowed us to average 19.5.

Now I'm tired and my legs ache. It's time for some vitamin "I" (ibuprofren) and a nap.

Happy 4th to you.

5.36%

In my continuous pursuit of high savings rates, I came across AmTrust Direct. This is a bank located right here in Ohio. Cleveland to be exact.

I applied for my account with AmTrust on line over the weekend. The application process took less than 10 minutes. I'll be moving some of my savings from Emigrant Direct (Paying 5.05%) to AmTrust (Paying 5.36%)

I'm looking forward to comparing the two web sites head-to-head and to see how long it takes to transfer funds in and out of these accounts.

I've been asked many times, "Is it worth switching savings accounts from my local bank because of higher interest rates on the web?" My answer. . . You bet. With the internet, it's easy and fast to open a new savings account and in this case, and extra .31% in interest for the 10 minutes it took to set up the account will be time well spent and money well earned.

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.

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.

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!

$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.

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. . .

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

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?

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.

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.

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.

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!

Who's keeping you accountable?

I've been meeting with guy for some time now. Our relationship and our conversations have grown and we are getting to know and trust each other more and more. As such, I felt lead to take our relationship (touchy word for a guy) to the next level. Why? Because I need it and I miss having a trusted friend hold me accountable to the things I should be doing on my own. (Scott any chance you'd like to move back to Ohio?)

Over the years I've been in a couple of different accountability groups. What is that? It where the same group of guys got together every week and we asked each other a series of tough questions. I've made a few changes to the list of questions I'd like to use this go around.

Here's my list. What do you think of it? What would you add or take off the list?

1. How have you spent time with God this week?

2. How did you honor your wife this week?

3. Did you make your kid(s) a priority this week? How?

4. What was your area of greatest victory/accomplishment this week?

5. What was you area of greatest struggle this week and what’s your plan?

6. Did you look for and take advantage of opportunities to serve others?

7. What did you read this week and what did you learn from it?

8. How are you honoring God with the financial resources you are stewarding for him?

9. Who or what are you praying for?

10. How can I pray for you this week?

61 Miles and Thanking God

I hope you have a good holiday weekend. Mine was eventful. I always look forward to Memorial Day as we plan a long bike ride. This year we decided to ride out and around Clendening Lake in Harrison County. (ride distance 60 miles)

As the ride started and the bikers gathered, I was thanking and praising God for such a beautiful day. I couldn't wait to get riding. I'll fast forward this story to mile 40. . . .

We just began a decent after a long and hard clime. I was moving at 30+ mph on this down hill when a small dog started chasing after me. Because of my speed, the dog couldn't catch up to me. Andy on the other hand wasn't so lucky. . . .

Andy and the dog got real close and personal. Out of my rear view bike mirror, I saw Andy go air born off his bike. It was one of those time when it felt like things were moving in slow motion.

Here's were the thanking God part comes in. Andy landed in a grassy field and for the most part was fine. No blood no broken bones. Walking the crash site was chilling. Andy just missed a deep ditch and a culvert. Landing in the grass saved a trip to the hospital. I was praising God for the second time on this ride. We were able to fix his bike and Andy finished the ride.

As we rode the rest of the way home, I kept thinking how God is concerned with the everyday things of our lives. I sure an glad he's there and that he give me opportunities to see and thank him daily.

Perspective

Just before my trip to the Dynamic Church Conference, I was handed a box of newly designed "business" cards. I think they look great and not just because my wife Cindy designed them.

Shortly after I got done admiring the new cards, I headed down the office hallway. I noticed in our our Executive Directors office, Mike Conn had his card enlarged and in a picture fame. Upon further inspection of the "enlarged card" I noticed the following alterations and phrase at the bottom of the card.

Mike's title was crossed out and it was replaced with the phase, "Child of Mine". The phase below the business card read, "God is more interested in who I am than what I do. Way cool.

I couldn't get this out of my head and the next day, I asked Cindy to make one for me. It's framed and sits on my desk.

6% on your savings

I'm a big fan of online banking. There are so many +'s. Here's another reason to be banking on line. I just came across FNBO Direct. It's the online arm of First National Bank of Omaha.

Though September of 2007, they are paying 6% interest. Wow, that's worth switching to from whatever/where ever you currently have your emergency fund.

I'm always looking for ways to make my money (God's money) work harder for me. This is an easy way to do that.

It would be cool to track how fast, how much and from where new accounts are opened with FNBO for this 6% rate. There will be at least one from Ohio.

Dynamic Church 07 Day 2

Day two of Dynamic Church 07 is over. It was a great day.

I have a few divine appointments today. I spent some time getting to know and talking with Jeff Hook the CEO of Fellowship Technologies. Among other things, I came to find out Jeff is a bicyclist. He rides a Banchi. Way cool.

At lunch, I found myself in line with Tony Morgan. We started talking and then enjoyed lunch together (that hour was the highlight of my day.) Tony grew up in Ohio and that gave us common ground for some good conversation. We talked church stuff, life stuff and coffee roasting. (Ok, I brought up the coffee roasting.)

Dinner tonight was with the GCC gang. We when to Sonny Bryans Barbecue and I enjoyed some great Texas BBQ ribs. I’ve also tagged around with the GCC gang a lot over the last day and ½ there a fun bunch. Thanks Dave!

Oh ya, the F1 stuff. Today for me was full of great and practical information. I wont bore you with the details. Here are the sessions I participated in today.

1. Effectively managing Your Volunteer Pipeline

2. Why Your Ministry Can’t Afford Not to Track Volunteers

3. Advanced Query Builder

4. Fellowship One for Outreach Fund Raising

5. Customizing Contributions Statements with XSLT

6. RUG’s (Regional Users Group initial meeting)

I’m looking forward to the sessions tomorrow and for a safe trip home.