Introducing MassBaby! - $1.99 Printable Real Picture Catholic Books

Sorry for the sporadic hiatus to all of you on the end of your seats, but moving to your 1st house and trying to build and launch a website came calling. I have been falling asleep with my kids @ 8:30pm in the middle of stories.

Happy to report a big announcement, however, the launching of our website MassBaby.org
 

There is just a landing page now, but on 5/1 we are launching with 4 downloadable PDF books. @ just $1.99 each

Two Mass Books, one with definitions and one without. Two Baptism Books, one with definitions and one without.

These easy to print books with full color pictures are aimed at children 0-6 years, but could also be used for studying for First Holy Communion or Confirmation as Flash Cards.

There are tons of ways to put these together. Laminate, print on heavy duty card stock, bind with a ring, spiral bind, etc.

Hopefully you like them and will support our small business.

Ting Review - Best Cell Phone Plan in Town

 Switching from a $40/month plan to Ting saves me $360/year and $1800 in five years. 
 You can link to my code here and get bill credit or $ towards a phone on the site. :https://ztnhg12p5o3.ting.com/

I am reviewing because I love the Company!

I switched to Ting back in October after realizing that the $40 unlimited talk, text and web of Virgin Mobile was great, but the Android Phone I was rocking was pretty much junk. I knew it was junk because it was only $50, but bear with me. I also never talked, texted or surfed the web so it was pretty much like flushing money. I needed a better solution. Enter Ting.

I decided to test out Ting after reading rave reviews all over the web.

Best Website Interface ever!
 

SETUP
I bought a used iPhone 4 off of Ebay with a Clean ESN and gave it a shot.
(This was the scariest part of the whole experience, as ebay gives me the jitters for the most part when it comes to electronic or computers.)

The phone arrived and was in good condition except for a really hard to press volume up button. I then went to Tings website and checked the ESN. The set up is easy and straight forward and a they give you a referral code for future use.

You can link to my code here and get bill credit or $ towards a phone on the site. :https://ztnhg12p5o3.ting.com/

 Review

Six months into Ting and I couldn't be happier. I get an awesome phone in the iPhone 4, good service from Sprint and the best customer service and interface I have ever seen from any utility or phone company.

 Here is the picture of my bills, seriously why haven't you signed up yet. This is hands down the best choice for an emergency phone or for someone who doesn't talk much. No need to worry about phone cards, refills, bad customer service, high bills, annoyingly bad phones, etc.

 






If you are used to Rolls Royce phone service with the big guys @ $200/month, then this is going to take some adjusting, if you auto consume then you will not save much, but if you scale back and remember that there is more to life than being connected to your phone like it is a pace maker then there is a ton of money to be saved here.  

Switching from a $40/month plan to Ting will save me $360/year and $1800 in five years. Switching from a $60-100 big boy plan will save you $500-$1500 per year.

How to Sell and Succeed on Craigslist

We all have stuff we don't need. Stuff that sits around collecting dust and never gets used. Stuff that we move from house to house because we might need it "someday".

One of the easiest ways to get some stress out of your life, especially if you are in debt is to sell some things on the side. Even if you are not in debt, a life with less clutter is a better life. Many items in our life simply add to our stress level because we have to care for them, worry if they will get stolen, put them in a storage facility or get a special container for them in the basement/attic.

The plan that we follow is very simple and effective:

Do a Monthly Review (or more) of every room in your house and be honest with yourself if you have used the item in the last day, month, year. Ask if the item is actually important to you or simply used to be important or was never important at all.

If the item could easily fetch more than $25* in the secondhand marketplace then take some quality pictures of it and go to the Craigslist of your City or Facebook (some neighborhoods have a group set up) and post the item up for sale with a nice description (this takes less than 5 minutes):







Make sure to include the following:

What the item is
Brand
Why you are selling (if relevant)
Where (zip code only) you can give your meeting address to real people who contact you
Measurements of item
Condition
Description (Dark Brown, Oak, sturdy, etc.)

I prefer to use the only by email contact and craigslist filter and screen the potential buyers myself.

For items that are small, I meet at the local Pizza Place or Coffee Shop. For bigger items such as furniture I make sure my neighbors are around, it is daylight and move the piece next to the front door or on the porch.

We have sold many things and have never had a problem, I think the key is heavy screening via email and phone.

One of my favorite experiences is buying something at a yard sale or Goodwill, getting good use out of it and then selling for break even or profit on Craigslist or Facebook.

-*To find the value of an item quickly, just search it on ebay or Craigslist. If you don't know, just start @ 65% of what it is new from a store and your should have no problem. If this isn't enough money for your 5 minutes then you most certainly have way too much stuff and should sell some and should just give it away to those in need and your neighbors.

Why I Hate Debt!

Have you ever gotten that pressure on your chest feeling in the middle of the night after a nightmare or remember that feeling of dread you get when you realize you locked your keys in your car.

Well that is how I feel about debt only throw in a pit bull on your leg for good measure.
Debt is one of the worst things ever thought up by us people. You have this awesome life, time, freedom, friends and family and you are going to trade it for stuff?
Stuff isn't going to console you or comfort you it is just going to taunt you and remind you that you owe people money. Some people will tell you to borrow money and invest it for a greater return. This is crazy and no I am not bad at math, there is just more to life than money and you have some living to do! Your spouse, kids, neighbors and friends need you, they don't need a new shirt or couch or Playstation. I spent my who life up until age 22 buying stuff and hoping it would bring me happiness and it didn't, sure there were some fun times, but the lack of options and direction with 40k in student loans staring at me was terrible and not fun at all. Especially since the whole thing could have been avoided I would have just worked harder in school and saved my money a little at a time instead of spending it all.

Everyone says student loans are good debt, while education is indeed wonderful and important there is a difference between getting loans because you are lazy and hustling through medical school to rock the world as a surgeon, while borrowing some along the way.

If you have credit cards, student loans, or anything else besides a mortgage, please work to get that crap out of your life, no blaming or sulking just make it happen.

Don't be a drone and work in a job you hate and can't even smile during, pay off your debts and reassess and redirect your life journey.it won't happen overnight but trust me the day we mailed in our last payment to our student loans, we had a big ole dance party and you will too!

If you don't have any more debt besides a mortgage, have a dance party and write out a plan to pay off that death oath as fast as possible. I have never heard any old people wishing they still had a mortgage and less time to have dance parties.

Bought My Car with Cash!

If buying a house wasn't crazy enough...I also bought a car in the same week.

Now you may be wondering how I could afford a swanky new car with cash being of a modest means and a young age.

Well the solution is pretty simple: I bought what I wanted but adjusted my expectations to fit what I could afford. A 1999 Toyota Corolla for $2400, plus traded in my 2002 Ford Explorer for $500.
Walt at Auto Emporium in Hillard, Ohio deserves your business!
http://www.autoemporiuminc.com/

Generally, I would say you can buy a car that is equal to 10% of your yearly income(gross).
What! Yes you read that correctly...10%. However, I am a tightwad and went with 4.25%, because that is what I had saved up.

You are not your car, you do not need to keep up with the neighbors and you probable don't need a 4x4 SUV unless you live on a 40 acre mountain farm in Colorado.

Cars are expensive to buy, maintain, fuel and you probably don't know how to fix anything on it, so you need to pay $50/hr to some other person. I don't make anywhere near $50 an hour, this is not a good trade off. Don't even get me started on paying interest on a depreciating asset.

Here is how I did it:

1) Open up an investment account with Vanguard and put $1000 in the Star Fund. (Save until you can do this)
2) Fund it every month with whatever you are willing to pay for a car ( I did $100).
3) Drive your old car until it no longer makes sense (I had a 2002 Ford Explorer, because it was given to me) we are moving further out, so the gas cost would be way too much.
4) Research a car to fit your needs.
http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/03/19/top-10-cars-for-smart-people/
5) Find an awesome mechanic/dealer in your area or learn to fix your own stuff (Like Walt @ auto emporium) have them get you a great car at an auction and make the repairs.
6) When you find a good one trade in your old car or sell it on Craigslist and buy the new one.
7) Buy the car with cash that is in your Vanguard account and keep putting the payment in every month to fund the next car.

If you need to downgrade cars to do this, that is ok and probable. You can upgrade later, depending on how much you want to spend. However, I think you will come to like cash better than cars after a while.

If you have a car loan and can sell the car to pay off the loan, I would strongly consider it, especially if you can sell the car, pay off the balance of the loan and buy an old crappy car until you have money saved up.

A nice car doesn't make you somebody and unless you have millions of dollars your probably can't really afford a fancy car. Is a fancy car ever really a need? Transportation to work and school is a need, fanciness is an expensive word for whiny or a lack of self worth.

You are awesome, you don't need any kind of car to be awesome.

YOU ARE AWESOME! LISTEN TO THIS KID!
http://kidpresident.com/

We Bought the Farm!

I must apologize for my lack of posts, if anyone is really out there.

The short of it is....We Bought a House!
Nice Ranch on 2 Acres, full basement, attached 2 car garage, 3 beds, 2 baths. 1300sqft.

I have been spending my time jumping through every hoop the bank throws our way.

I think if there is a next time, I will pay cash, just to avoid acting like a circus dog.

I know that it is not the most financially savy move, but I am pretty sure the feelings would add up to many dollars in my emotional and psychological bank accounts.

Once it all settles down, I will do a monthly post of paying off the mortgage as fast as possible with loan balances and such, so that y'all can be inspired by us kicking debt in the face.

Again, I offer no defense of the intelligence of this move, it is purely a play on my distrust of my employer caring about my debt and the freedom that will exist with lesser burdens and more cash flow each month.

I don't really care about traditional retirement (never played golf in my life), but would love a downshift to work that I really care about as quick as possible.

Look forward to lots of posts on moving, setting up garden systems, and paying off a mortgage!

Happy Lent!

Proverbs Reflection Chapter 26: Liar, Liar Pants on Fire!

Proverbs 26:18-19

18 Like a crazed archer

scattering firebrands and deadly arrows,

19 Such are those who deceive their neighbor,

and then say, “I was only joking.”

This must be where the kids phrase originates. I wouldn't have thought it went back so far, but there you have it.

My wife has been my primary teacher in the lesson of truth tell and letting yes mean yes and no mean no. She thinks much and says little and she means what she says. I tend to think much and talk more, enjoying jests, jokes, debates and heated discussion. I have had to learn to tone down my fish stories and hyperbole simply because it makes a pretty bad impression, especially in public. It can and often times has made me look like a fool, eating my words.

I do not tend to set out to purposefully deceive others, but need to reign it in when it comes in conversation and cannot expect everyone to "know my personality" and ignore some of the crazy offhanded things that I say.

It is far better for me to say just a little bit less, be more peaceable and agreeable and don't waste my breathe on things not worth my time.

Say 5 fewer complaints,jeers, jest and offhanded comments today. You won't regret it.