gone

[MartyNeilan]

If we did all that, why would we need to buy the book?

[MartyNeilan]

I am selling my two primary horns and replacing them with a 186 clone in order to largely eliminate our unsecured debt. When it comes down to it, that is just the right thing to do and it will cost me no gigs or students.

We had two inexpensive tube TV's, a larger one in the living room and a medium sized one in the garage / basement / playroom (call it what you want, but there is no car in it.)
The living room TV finally died for good last night. This time I could not fix it. With five people in the household, it is nearly impossible to get by with one TV, expecially when you factor in XBox. I broke down and agreed it was time to buy a new TV (first mistake.) My wife pushed for a flat screen, as it is getting harder and harder to find a tube. I agreed (second mistake.) So we went to Best Buy, where they usually have quality items at decent prices (don't get me started on the TV's WalMart sells - special low quality models made just for them.)
We saw some nice, reasonably affordable flat screens, but she said they would look too small in our living room. So we needed a bigger TV. So she finally picked out a 50" Plasma full HD 1080p. On sale, not too, too bad. But, of course we needed a Blue Ray player to go with the new HD set. Also on sale, got a combo deal. Still not absolutely terrible, yet. But, our DirecTV is only standard definition, so we needed a new DirecTV HD box. And one with a DVR. And one or two Blue Ray discs to watch. And more cables that were of course not included with anything we had already purchased. By this point I was about completely freaking out so we stopped there. Being that we have very little liquid resources, the obvious solution for her was to finance it all - "18 months same as cash" (they even warned us if you don't pay each month at least 3 days early, you risk losing the special.) I have been down that road before, and it is never the "same as cash." Finally, when we called DirecTV this morning to hook up the new HD receiver, we find our dish is not compatible. So we need to buy a new dish and of course pay to have an installer come out. And also to upgrade our account for HDTV.
In the car, I mentioned that I had once bought a pickup truck for $300 and a Volvo for $700. She looked at me puzzled and asked what that had to do with anything.
I love her and I am trying very hard.
Anyone want to buy a cat?

[Dylan King]

The book looks interesting. It sure will be nice in the millennium when people are actually responsible about their finances and follow the Ten Commandments.

Here is a large selection of books that are free to ANYONE who requests them...

http://www.tomorrowsworld.org/cgi-bin/t ... spbooklets

[The Big Ben]

Geez, Marty, you sure are making Bloke's point.

It is pretty hard to be as frugal as he suggests but is the Glass Teat really worth that much money to people who kinda don't have enough of it?

Priorities, priorities!

[bort]

I bought a 37" Costco special TV last year. 720p (not 1080p), 60Hz (not 120Hz), and "only" 37 inches (not 50).

It's not top of the line. I have regular cable and an HD-DVD (yeah yeah) player. But it blows the crap away out of my old TV. And if I'd have waited another year, it'd have been a few hundred dollars cheaper. And, I get broadcast HD channels with my plain ol' rabbit ears.

When I sought out to replace it, it didn't have to be top of the line. Just better than I had before. Get me out of the TV store, and I forget what made it look "bad" compared to the other ones.

But anyway, hang in there, Marty. Through it all, your 2nd to last sentence lets us know your heart is in the right place.

[Dan Schultz]

... Anyone want to buy a cat?

How much for the cat? I love cats!

[tubashaman2]

.

[MartyNeilan]

Geez, Marty, you sure are making Bloke's point.

It is pretty hard to be as frugal as he suggests but is the Glass Teat really worth that much money to people who kinda don't have enough of it?

Priorities, priorities!

I think you were slightly misinterpreting my post. Bort nailed it.
I rarely watch TV. My only indulgence is some nights when I am up late and mentally fried to pop in a DVD from my Beavis and Butthead collection (purchased used as a bundle on ebay 5 years ago at a steep discount).

[steve_decker]

If the books are still available, someone really ought to take Bloke up on his offer. Most of the content of the book is common sense BUT it really helps to read it, understand it, and follow the plan. My wife and I read Dave Ramsey's other book, "The Total Money Makeover", at the beginning of this year. Reading it together and talking about it really helped the two of us act in agreement regarding our finances. Really, just the act of creating our monthly budget together has made a significant impact on our finances.

The lifestyle changes really aren't as difficult as they sound; in fact I think they lead to a better lifestyle. In a household of 5, we have no TV or video games... and the kids are glad! We own one car (I'm fortunate to have a company car) that is 12 years old. We don't buy our clothes at a rummage sale or thrift store but we only buy off the clearance rack and only when truly at a clearance price. Our single biggest struggle is staying out of restaurants, particularly this time of year when 4 days a week are occupied with the youth sports.

As of today, our income this year has increased by a little over $50k and we are on track to have no debt and no mortgage before we reach the age of 40 (another 4 or 5 years).

[steve_decker]

My wife pushed for a flat screen... I love her and I am trying very hard.

IIRC, you mentioned a few months back that your wife is trying to do the 'Dave Ramsey thing'. A few days ago, I heard a call on his radio show that was, basically, a guy indicating that he and his wife don't see eye-to-eye on their budget. Dave's suggestion was to close each and every monthly budget meeting with an agreement that if the budget could not be followed for a given month then the offending party lied to their spouse. Coming together, agreeing on a budget, and treating it like a contract between you and your wife may be the right recipe.

[Tubaryan12]

bloke,

Get some fleece sheets and you can ditch the matress pad.

[Todd S. Malicoate]

If the books are still available, someone really ought to take Bloke up on his offer.

I would consider it, but I can't meet his conditions.

Discontinue ANY eating away from home? Nope.

No high-speed internet? Not going to happen.

No birthday or Christmas presents for my two kids? You've got to be kidding.

The rest, though...sure.

[steve_decker]

No high-speed internet? Not going to happen.

No birthday or Christmas presents for my two kids? You've got to be kidding.

The rest, though...sure.

We still keep high-speed internet. Both my wife and I have jobs that require a home office, so it is a neccessity. Also, for our home phone, we use Vonage. It provides a significant savings over conventional phone service and, at worst, makes high-speed cost neutral.

My kids are 13, 10, and 8. They already know that they won't be receiving Christmas gifts this year. They don't need stuff. Memories will be much more valuable to them. Though I'm not sure what it's going to be, we will take a mini-vacation with the kids around Christmas. It'll be cheaper than a slew of Christmas gifts and the memories will last longer than anything we could give them.

[Tundratubast]

Cats, I love cats, their cheeper than ground beef, and taste like chicken.

[WVUtubaman12]

kudos to you bloke. I'm a college student, and a big fan of Dave. If i fit your criteria for receiving one of those books, i would ask.

[Bob Kolada]

I never understood all this yuppie self-help crap.

My expenses and my purchases are almost nothing-

-About 5000 in student loans (will be a bit more soon, BUT I have a student loan repayment plan (20K) from the army)
-My rent is 300/month; I live in a nice clean sunroom; the sun wakes me up in the morning, I'm close to the bathroom ,....
-My tuition is about 3000 or less a year (see above as well).
-I have a free public transit pass (the whole city is easily accessible) for being in the military, so my transportation costs are roughly $0/month; I occasionally take a taxi or borrow my brother's car if I have to take a bunch of instruments somewhere. That happens less than once a month.
-I am about 6'10" and between 180-190 pounds. Overeating is not an issue. I eat a lot of pasta (cheap!).
-I have no private loans and no credit cards. I do have a debit/credit card from my bank that I use mostly as a credit card as it charges 50 cents each time I use it as a debit card. Crap... I pay cash for most things and rarely use checks.
-I shop at Aldi's for whatever I can get there that I use (almost, but not quite everything).
-My cell phone has text, internet,.... All I really need is the talking part, but the texting is very useful to me. My plan is 50/month.


-I am a total wuss when it comes to buying "expensive things." It took me 2 years to spring for a $500 tuba (honestly, couldn't afford it then couldn't find one that I liked!). My last few instrument purchases paid for themselves easily ($1700 bass trombone paid for itself in my old orchestra; $400 Eb tuba= roughly $800 from playing and sold it for $500 ). I am now considering "splurging" and spending up to $2000 on an instrument (Conn Giant Eb, Cerveny 653 F, or getting a small King built up with a 4 valve set as my 3 banger is so kick ***)!!! I will probably use a student loan for that. As a music major, I kinda need an instrument!


Monthly expenses are roughly-
300 (rent) + 50 (phone) + 150 (food)= 500. I make just short of 900/month for very little work (and being a full-time student), so anything I make over that (as in, actually working!) is gravy.


So you see, being Bob isn't that bad!!

[cjk]

I think I have a copy of that book somewhere. However, I've honestly never read it.

I'd never had a heated mattress pad until I married my wife. The heated mattress pad is quite possibly the best thing I never knew I needed.

When she is cold, she can turn on her side. She can be warm and toasty and I can kick off the blankets and be cool as a cucumber. It really really does help the misses from turning up the heat in the house.

[ThomasDodd]

I've been following the basics of the plan for a few years now.

Guess it helped too. Everything was paid off except the wife's vehicle, the house (5 years left), and student loans.
Even had some money in the bank.

Then I became unemployed in February and it took 6 months to find a JOB.
Her vehicle was 3 months from being paid for, still is as the payment amount dropped to minimum in February.


I've seen a televised broadcast of the live event. Would love to see it in person. And at some point I'd like to attend FPU with my wife.

[Bob Kolada]

Monthly expenses are roughly-
300 (rent) + 50 (phone) + 150 (food)= 500. I make just short of 900/month for very little work (and being a full-time student), so anything I make over that (as in, actually working!) is gravy.

$400 buys a lot of beer, doesn't it Bob!

And/or 30mm cross-over mouthpieces. My JK KBP2C just got here today. I'm looking forward to trying it out in my 1062 in jazz band tomorrow...