This is totally out of season but I wanted to mention it before I forgot. Thanks to the magic of Google, it will be searchable next October so it may yet help someone.
For those of you who have to dress up for some sort of Halloween get together every year, find a nursing friend and borrow an old set of nursing scrubs. Sure you won't win most original costume, but if your goal is to not look like a stick in the mud by not dressing up while at the same time spending as little as possible, then it's a win win.
Not to mention the fact that it's also far more appropriate than what a lot of folks are wearing these days.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Closing in
We are fast approaching a milestone in our debt free journey that I have been dreaming about for a long time. If all goes according to plan, we will have zero car payments in about 2-3 months. When I think about how much money I have wasted on cars in the last 10 years it makes me sick, so I try not to.
Based on what I've learned from Dave Ramsey and doing my own research, there is no reason for us to ever have another car payment. The only exception I can think of is if something happens to our van at a time when we don't have enough savings built up to get an adequate replacement right away. But even in that case my plan is to spend as little as possible and pay it off immediately.
Once we pay my car off, all we will have left besides our house are our school loans. One of those isn't very big but the other is kind of a monster. It costs us about $200 a month in minimum payments, so even if it takes us a while to get rid of it will feel pretty good knowing that that is the max we would have to pay out on any given month.
Based on what I've learned from Dave Ramsey and doing my own research, there is no reason for us to ever have another car payment. The only exception I can think of is if something happens to our van at a time when we don't have enough savings built up to get an adequate replacement right away. But even in that case my plan is to spend as little as possible and pay it off immediately.
Once we pay my car off, all we will have left besides our house are our school loans. One of those isn't very big but the other is kind of a monster. It costs us about $200 a month in minimum payments, so even if it takes us a while to get rid of it will feel pretty good knowing that that is the max we would have to pay out on any given month.
Life Insurance
Life insurance is one of those things that no one wants to think about. It's very macabre, and is more easily avoided then handled. The sad part is that, all too often this leads to others being hurt when then unthinkable happens.
The last thing I want my wife and kids worrying about if something were to happen to me is how they are going to make ends meet. So, I got life insurance quotes online and signed up for a policy. Hopefully it will never be needed but I feel better knowing that my family is protected.
The last thing I want my wife and kids worrying about if something were to happen to me is how they are going to make ends meet. So, I got life insurance quotes online and signed up for a policy. Hopefully it will never be needed but I feel better knowing that my family is protected.
Monday, December 19, 2011
Wow
For a minute there I really thought that the Browns might actually win a game, but being the the stalwart losers that they are, they found a way to get the loss. Other teams might have folded and just taken the win, but not Cleveland. They never give up when there is still a chance to get the loss.
The idea that this team could actually be worse than last year's team is pretty unbelievable. The are so talentless that it will take a miracle for them to be competitive any time in the next 3 years.
It gets really old as a fan of the team that they are never worth watching. I really want to watch a NFL season again in which my team is relevant. I haven't had that experience since the late 80's.
Come on Cleveland, get it together, and soon.
The idea that this team could actually be worse than last year's team is pretty unbelievable. The are so talentless that it will take a miracle for them to be competitive any time in the next 3 years.
It gets really old as a fan of the team that they are never worth watching. I really want to watch a NFL season again in which my team is relevant. I haven't had that experience since the late 80's.
Come on Cleveland, get it together, and soon.
Wednesday, December 07, 2011
Two Turn Tables
I used to run the sound at our church and so I can claim to be mildly dangerous when it comes to my knowledge of sound equipment. At our church we used three different kinds of mics. Wireless, wired, and lapel.
The wired ones were annoying only because it was sometimes hard to figure out what channel they were plugged into and our board at the time didn't give me any clues.
The wireless ones were cool in that regard but failed to let us know when the batteries died thus rendering them useless at inopportune times.
I have nothing to complain about in regards to the lapel mic except that were never able to recreate the scene from Naked Gun in which someone forgets to turn it off when using the restroom.
Kidding, I would have turned it off... probably. :)
The wired ones were annoying only because it was sometimes hard to figure out what channel they were plugged into and our board at the time didn't give me any clues.
The wireless ones were cool in that regard but failed to let us know when the batteries died thus rendering them useless at inopportune times.
I have nothing to complain about in regards to the lapel mic except that were never able to recreate the scene from Naked Gun in which someone forgets to turn it off when using the restroom.
Kidding, I would have turned it off... probably. :)
Tuesday, December 06, 2011
Techie
I am a professional techie. I program for a living and enjoy doing that kind of work. It can be a challenge at times but I have found it to be to my liking over the years. Application Development Jobs are becoming harder to get now, however.
Now that the industry is getting older and more people have more experience in the newer languages there is more competition. Not to mention the surplus of out of work developers scrambling for jobs.
It may be that sooner rather than later we will be forced to declare some sort of specialty right out of the gate.
Now that the industry is getting older and more people have more experience in the newer languages there is more competition. Not to mention the surplus of out of work developers scrambling for jobs.
It may be that sooner rather than later we will be forced to declare some sort of specialty right out of the gate.
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