Mooshocker's Personal Finance Blog

Slow Dance

This is a poem written by a teenager with cancer. She wants to see how many people get her poem. It is quite the poem. Please pass it on. This poem was written by a terminally ill young girl in a New York Hospital It was sent by a medical doctor - Make sure to read what is in the closing statement AFTER THE POEM.

SLOW DANCE

Have you ever watched kids

On a merry-go-round?

Or listened to the rain

Slapping on the ground?

Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight?

Or gazed at the sun into the fading night?

You better slow down.

Don't dance so fast.

Time is short.

The music won't last.

Do you run through each day

On the fly?

When you ask How are you?

Do you hear the reply?

When the day is done

Do you lie in your bed

With the next hundred chores

Running through your head?

You'd better slow down

Don't dance so fast.

Time is short.

The music won't last.

Ever told your child,

We'll do it tomorrow?

And in your haste,

Not see his sorrow?

Ever lost touch, Let a good friendship die

Cause you never had time

To call and say, 'Hi'

You'd better slow down.

Don't dance so fast.

Time is short.

The music won't last.

When you run so fast to get somewhere

You miss half the fun of getting there.

When you worry and hurry through your day,

It is like an unopened gift....

Thrown away.

Life is not a race.

Do take it slower

Hear the music

Before the song is over.
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FORWARDED E-MAILS ARE TRACKED TO OBTAIN THE TOTAL COUNT.

Dear All: PLEASE pass this mail on to everyone you know - even to those you don't know! It is the request of a special girl who will soon leave this world due to cancer.

This young girl has 6 months left to live, and as her dying wish, she wanted to send a letter telling everyone to
live their life to the fullest, since she never will.

She'll never make it to prom, graduate from high school, or get married and have a family of her own.

By you sending this to as many people as
possible, you can give her and her family a little hope, because with ever y name
that this is sent to, The American Cancer Society will donate 3 cents per name
to her treatment and recovery plan . One guy sent this to 500 people! So I know
that we can at least send it to 5 or 6. It's not even your money, just your time!

PLEASE PASS ON AS A LAST REQUEST.

Dr. Dennis Shields, Professor
Dept of Developmental/Molecular Biology
1300 Morris Park Avenue
Bronx, New York 10461

Let's try this. Every time any of you make a pre-payment against the princpal of your mortgage, drop a line. My personal goal is to pre-pay $6000.00 this year.

Now, some of you may find this a lofty goal. I do too. My wife really does. Especially since the money is to come from unconventional savings, sold items, extra work of any sort or even pop can returns.

I will keep you posted and welcome any well wishes, prayers and cheers.

I finally did it! As I blogged a few weeks ago or so, I was in the market via Ebay, etc., for a juicer.

After much research, I decided on the Juiceman versus Jack Lalanes Juicer.

The Juiceman ran me $52.00 including tax, no shipping, right from Target.

The other juicer was $99.00 plus tax at Target.

I tried it out this evening (four apples and two carrots). WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't wait to play with this "toy" some more.

If anyone has any juicing receipies, please share them. Thanks and God bless.

So, I asked my wife if I could take over the shopping last week. She does so much and I, although am working with a start up company which keeps me pretty busy, I felt I was ready to take on a little more of the household responsibilities.

So two weeks ago I ordered the Couponizer. I also ordered our local paper for weekend deliveries only ($11/mo). I started clipping coupons, sorting them and preparing for my first shopping trip.

Well, I took our list, compared coupons and off I went.

I feel GREAT! I saved $56.00 between coupons and in-store sales with my bonus card. I am proud of how much I bought, including breakfast and snack items for the girls' lunches. So, I think I will be allowed to continue. Only a few things were questioned but overall, I faired pretty well. God bless.

Okay...it's not as bad as it sounds. First, out of my $32k in savings, I decided to fully fund my ROTH IRA for the sixth year in a row in the month of January. There goes 5k.

Then, I decided I was tired of writing checks every month for my truck payment so I dropped $9k and paid that baby off.

So my savings is about $18k but I expect a pretty good tax refund since I sold my company thus, I feel good about refunding my account by mid March.

Another thing I wanted to discuss tonight is how vital it is to splurge a little once in a while.

Now, I don't mean collecting doodads and silly things that we all can do without. What I am saying is we are all working hard to be respnosible with our money. To save for our future and the future of our family. To strive to be frugal for the sake of going green and 100 other reasons.

You MUST reap the fruits of your labor at times. After a long week of work and feeling a little run down and blah, I spoke with the family and decided to take everyone out for our favorite meal, sushi. My three girls love the habatchi grill and watching their food be prepared. They also enjoy sushi as do my wife and I. The cost, never less than $150.00. BIG TICKET ITEM!

But I and they are worth it. It is very thrilling and exciting to save. To take advantage of a good deal and continue to work toward retirement (fully). But what about today? What about enjoying the finer things in life sometimes.

So to all of you, get a new coat or hat. Play a little extra golf. Take your sweetie out to dinner and a movie (I have seen Doubt and The Wrestler and they both are pretty good). Buy a little thing here or there that you have always wanted. Grab a new book or CD. Reap the benefits of your hard work today. Remember, you will never get the chance again! God bless.

I can't believe the blog replies and other emails I have received regarding my "round up/round down" method for my check register. I figured I would start a new blog based on one of my replies.

Your questions and comments have been great! I understand how tough it is to keep track in a second register and/or not balancing your account every day. That said, just write the actual amount in the check written/deposit box but round out the total. This way you can balance between the actual check written or deposit made directly with the statement instead of using your register total as part of the equation. Trust me, this truly works!

Get gutsy with it. Today for example, I wrote a check to the electric company for $103.22. Wrote that amount in the check written box but then subtracted $110.00 from the running balance. That was a $6.78 savings "deposit". Just that amount alone for one year is about $72.00 Get the picture?!

I also get a monthly deposit that is about $123.00. I show the $123.00 in the deposit box but only show a deposit made in the running total of $100.00. That is another $270.00 per year.

So taking two transactions into account, one deposit, one withdrawl, I have already saved about $342.00 per year off of small transactions within my account!

Make those debit/credit notes in the boxes, forget the running total when balancing and make little notes along the way so you can see very quickly how much you have saved. God bless and good luck.

I am 37 years old. I am just over 5'10". That said, I feel I am about twenty pounds over weight. I would like to be at around 190 lbs but stand at 210.

I have been given a book on juicing. My thoughts are portion control, no sugars or processed flours, reduced carbs and not eating past 7:00 p.m.

I love ALL fruits and veggies. My question is, has anyone got substantial experience with juicing or other suggestions.

Okay, so it's like beating a dead horse. However, I just want to stand on top of the roof and scream, TRY IT!

Round down your checking deposits and round up your checks written.

Keep a second register with true and accurate amounts that you only update when you balance each month.

The working register always gets rounded.

Try it. Put aside your need to know exactly what your balance is and prepare for a shock at the end of the year.

Call is an extra mortgage payment or christmas present fund. 2008 netted me over $2k with just a little rounding each time I opened the checkbook up.

Simple. Easy. Your really don't miss the money, you just force yourself to tighten the belt a little bit whenever necessary.

Out of sight, out of mind. Give it a shot.

Okay, I failed miserably keeping track of NSD. But this time, I am going to give it my best!

Starting yesterday, 1/11/09, I had a NSD. Let's see if I can keep track and report diligently.

Some time ago, I suggested rounding up check's written and rounding down your deposits in your check register.

I started this around April, 2008 and once I balanced my account in December, I was astounded to see that I had "saved" over $2,500.00. A few bucks here and there which was never missed added up like crazy.

This money, of course, goes right toward the principal of my mortgage.

Again, all I do is make a note in each line of the actual transaction, but leave the running total rounded. For example, today I paid my cable bill of $103.45. I paid the bill, noted the correct amount in a small area of the line and used $105.00 as my running calculation. Also, each week I get paid via direct deposit of $805.70, however, I only write in a deposit of $800.00. That alone is over $22.00 per month in savings.

As you can see, it really adds up and the reward at the end of the year is extremly uplifting.

Give it a shot. I am sure you can even fine tune the process to best meet your needs and record keeping.

PS - It's nice to be back.

Well, even though many of you have not noticed, I have been gone for a while. Spring break came about rather quickly and thus, taking the wife and three daughters to Disney to "play" and spend some time with Grandma and Grandpa snowbird occupied a lot of time.

We all had a wonderful time and were blessed with wonderful weather, rest, golf and safe travel.

I have spent a little bit more than I would have liked over the past month or so both on vacation and other things, however, starting today, I have recomitted myself to getting back on the "mortgage prepayment" train.

Anyway, it is nice to see some familiar faces and even a couple of new one. Happy savings everyone and God Bless you all!

In a time when the market conditions are at its worst in years, real estate is at its worst in years and national confidence is at its worst in years, I thought I would share a nice little story with you from this past weekend.

On Friday, the kids were off from school as it was a Diocease Conference (Catholic School System). I stayed home with them and not paying too much attention, noticed about mid-day that they were very quiet.

I asked them what was going on and they stated they were producing and directing their own play, along with props. Not thinking too much about it, I went about my business as they did theirs.

When my wife got home from work, the kids were pretty excited about putting this play on for us and asked if I would video tape it. Assuring them that I would get the camera out and capture their hard work for ever and ever, I opened the closet and grabbed the camera bag.

We have three daughters, Hunter (11), Kennedy (7) and Liberty (5). They each have their own DVD for individual tapings and then we have a "family" DVD. I wanted to make sure that I had the right DVD in so I opened the front pouch to check that their individual DVDs were in there. Well, I found more than I ever dreamed.

In a money envelope was about $60.00 in bills and $5.00 in change. I must have put some cash in the camera bag on our last outing and completely forgot about it!!!!! It was like finding a dollar bill in your jeans before doing laundry, only a million times better.

I took all but $20.00 and put it in the Mortgage Payoff Fund (I will update it tomorrow) and kept the $20.00 for myslef (which usually equates into somthing for the kids...lololol).

Thought you would enjoy the story.

PS - The play was a shortened version of Noah's Ark and they scripted lines, made animal cutouts and even wrote/sang a song. All on DVD of course.

After viewing many on this site who keep track of spend free days, I am going to attempt the same. You are all very inspirational and I think if I acknowlege each of my spend free days, the overall number may very well rise. Wish me luck.

My personal account will begin March 1, 2008. Not that I am going to not try to finish our February spend free.

My goal is to "pay myself" $2.00 for every spend free day to be deposited at the end of each month into my mortgage payoff account.

Four Spend Free Days in February = $8.00
(Began keeping record on 2/25)

March Spend Free Days:

3/2; 3/3; 3/4; 3/7;

I was messing around online the other evening when one of those cavemen commercials came on for Geico.

I decided to try their online quotes. Well, I found out two things within a few minutes:

1. My current insurance agent who handles my home, auto, motorcycle, camper, rental and corporate insurance policies was NOT doing her job, and;

2. I saved...get this, over $700.00 a year on auto insurance. I went from paying $1200/year to about $500!!!!! I could not believe it. I knew my driving history was favorable but I never bothered to do my own homework. I thought that was what I was paying her to do.

MORAL: Surround yourselves with competant teammates, however, do your own homework as well!

I really went off the deep end this last payroll, leaving out about $75.00 worth of deposit from my register. I truly can't wait to see exactly how much "savings" I have accumulated by using my "rounding" methods.

I hit the 5,000 necessary points on my VISA card in order to redeem $50.00. This or course will go toward my mortgage payoff challenge. I peeked into the change bank this weekend and saw a $5.00 bill and some silver so I have to assume there is about $7.00 or so waiting for deposit.

I will make the deposit when I get the reward chash and update the blog balance.

Well, it is 1:00 a.m. and I am wide awake. I have been running through my head the three major purchases made on my credit card this weekend and feel very good about all of them.

First, after shopping, hunting and searching, I was able to book a flight for my wife and I and our three girls to Orlando to visit my parents and take the kids to Disney. I got it down from about 2500 to 2000, just by booking late at night?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

Second, I took the whole family out to Sushi. It usually costs about $175.00 but as a nice treat, is well worth it.

Finally, I paid for my 12 month gym membership. Of the three, this was vital. I am 36 and have always been in pretty decent shape. Maintaining about 190 lbs on a 5'10" frame was perfect for me. That said, I have noticed a major decrease in my metabolism. Call it whatever you want, but when I it 200 lbs, I start snoring and that lands me on the couch. So, its off to the eliptical machine and stomach crunches. Today I weighed in at 203, down from 213 about two weeks ago so I expect in about 1 month, I will be at 190 again. Lent helps too as I give up snacks, soda, junk food, between meal eatings, food after 7 p.m. and candy.

I'll keep you all posted. Well, good night and God Bless you all!

Ever heard of the "too much" check and "not enough" deposit? If not, let me explain.

Whenever you write a check or use your debit card, when updating your register, round the dollar amount UP as much as you can. For example, I purchased a cup of coffee and a donut the other morning from Dunkin Donuts. The total amount was about $3.00, however, when I recorded the amount in my checkbook, I put it in as $5.00.

On the flip side of the coin, whenever I deposit money, I try to round it down as much as I can. For example, if my paycheck is say $46.34, I will record it as $40.00.

The final trick is to FORGET IT. Don't count on the adjustments as an excuse to overdraw. Maintain stringent checking/debit practices.

What some do is maintain this type of register along with an accurate, to the penny register. Other people simply work through the balancing act at the end of the year to determine how much was saved. YOu can do whatever you wish, however, it really does add up. Try it!

Mortgage Pre Payment - GOAL: Put the entire monthly balance of "found money" saved against the mortgage principal.

The kids are helping by collecting change around the house.

3/4/2009 Mortgage Pre Payment.....$566.81

4/1/2009 Mortgage Pre Payment.....$586.42

UPDATE 8/27/2009

NOTE: MTG BALANCE:...$103,776.32
ORG BALANCE:...$145,000.00
ORG TERM:......15 years
REMAINING TERM: 10 years/10 month
AMT PAID TO DATE: 41,223.68

10/1/09 Mortgage Pre Payment.......$500.00

10/23/09 - Pre Payment Saved.......$45.00

11/1/09 Mortgage Pre Payment.......$245.00

As Of 3/27/10

Org Balance:...$145,000.00
Mtg Balance:...$98,718.47

As my wife concludes her NYC trip with some girlsfriends, I am home today with the children since they are off school this week.

I forgot a scheduled meeting with Craig, my financial advisor so I contacted my secretary and advised her to direct him to my house where we could meet.

He just left and we were able to establish a little homework for him to do.

1. ROTH IRA for my 11 year old. She assists her mother at her 13 year old dance studio, pulling down $40/week. She is also planning on taking the Baby Sitting Course in order to prepare for babysitting beginning in September. Our rules of the house clearly state that 1/2 of any/all income or gifts will be saved, the other 1/2 can be spent, saved or tithed. We are hoping this ROTH IRA in addition to the PIA account we have established for all three girls will not only establish sound saving lessons, but start them off on the right foot once they are "of age".

2. Opening an IRA Account for me. I currently max out my ROTH IRA in January every year and max out my company SIMPLE IRA. I am looking for another IRA to invest in, along with a stock broker. We are not sure another IRA is doable (because of many considerations regarding income and other holdings), so that is somthing he is going to research.

All in all, I love Craig and am very pleased with the service he provides me, my wife, my children and my company. He is a great asset to my business family. And he has become a good friend too!

Paying off your mortgage is not always a wise financial move. For example, if your investments are currently earning more than what you are paying in mortgage interest, you would be better suited putting your money in said investment's since paying off your mortgage is really doing nothing more than giving the mortgage holder a boost in cash.

That said, I have maxed out my two major investments, my Roth IRA (still qualify since I am under 166K in income) and my companies SIMPLE IRA. My rental property is currently paid via tenants and my cash reserves total about 75K (held in a Money Market Account).

I have an interest in establishing a Stock Portfolio but have yet to find a broker that I feel comfortable with (will take any suggestions).

Thus, I have begun a crusade in paying off my mortgage. To date, I have been able to put about 35K against it, leaving me with a balance of about 117K. The interst rate is 5.5% and I have 12.5 years left on the 15 year term.

Putting large chuncks of money against it occurs about two or three times per year. This is not soothing the payoff best within me. I have begun a mortgage payoff piggy bank. Nickles, dimes and dollar bills will count. I opened a "Mortgage Payoff Money Market Account" whereby all I can scrounge and save will be deposited.

I will keep you updated as to how its going and I wish you all the very best in financial stability. God Bless.

One of the concepts I stress to my "teammates" is the importance of starting young along their investment path.

Although I am only 35, I understand and appreciate the value of compounding interest, time IN the market and long term vision.

As a business owner, not only do I have to monitor my personal growth and financial "moves", I must also monitor my corporations growth and financial stability as well. Both take great patience, prayer and vision. I invite any visitors to my blog to share with me their thoughts, ideas, questions, concerns and comments. Knowledge and communication are powerful tools. Let's share and learn together.