My New Blog

     $3.50 for a gallon of gas, $3.75 for a gallon of milk, grocery prices moving higher and paychecks that don't stretch as far.  Man this hurts, but it hurts some more than others. 

     I remember a day, when I was a very naive, young man, saying to my soon to be wife, "if gas hits $1.50 a gallon I'm going to sell the car and ride a bike."  That thought actually came to me the other day when I spent $51.00 at $3.21 a gallon to fill her car up with gas.  I also thought of the Friday nights I pooled pocket change with my high school buddies to come up with the $3.00 (6 or 7 gallons ) in gas it would cost to spend the evening cruising around town.  Today the reality is that those days are long gone and that reality hurts.   

     How can you lessen the pain of recession and survive inflation?  What I share here may be a little like shutting the barn door after the horses have run out, but better late than never.  (Two colloquialisms in one sentence, I'm not sure that's allowed, oh well back to the topic at hand.)  I'm not a financial expert, but what I am telling you here works for me and can work for you too. 

     What is the worst enemy you have when trying to battle recession or inflation?  DEBT.  No matter what anyone says, the more debt you have the more difficult it is to manage your finances.  Debt is the enemy of peace of mind and financial freedom.  Imagine how easy it would be if you didn't have to worry about credit card payments, furniture payments, car payments and yes, even a house payment.  Think about how far your paycheck would go then.  There was a time when I thought living without debt was impossible.  What I have discovered is the exact opposite, living without debt is very possible and easier than living with debt. 

     Unfortunately it takes discipline and sacrifice, and most of us aren't willing to go there.  It took me almost 40 years of life to figure out that a relatively short period of sacrifice can lead to a lifetime of financial peace.  I didn't get there on my own and I didn't do it alone.  My wife and I figured this out together and we worked together to pay off all of our debt with the exception of our house.  We are working hard to get that paid off too. 

     Don't take my word for it.  If you haven't heard of Dave Ramsey, you need to look him up.  I don't always agree with his delivery but his advice, though sometimes painful, is accurate.  He promotes a plan that will help anyone get on the path to removing debt from their life.  His is not the only plan but it worked for me and for others I know so I confidently recommend checking it out.  Go to www.daveramsey.com  to find out more or check local radio talk show listings to see if he broadcasts in your area.  You can also find classes based on Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University being taught here in Rapid City, as well as cities and towns all over the country.    

     As a mortgage broker I often see people so buried under debt that financing a home purchase is unwise at best and impossible at worst.  They can't qualify for the type of house they want to buy because so much of their income is going out to pay credit card or installment debt.   I know sometimes the debt acquired is beyond your control such as in a medical emergency, but the principles of debt reduction and financial freedom are still the same.  And just so you don't think this is tied to how much money you make, I want to assure you I've seen the same problems with six figure incomes as I have with those who don't make much more than minimum wage.  

     Think of it like this.  No matter who you are or how much money you make, an increase in food and gas prices is much easier to absorb if you have less money going out to credit card or installment debt and more money sitting in your savings account.  The current financial climate is painful for everyone, but you can manage the pain when you are in control of your finances.  If you haven't already taken steps to reduce or eliminate debt from your life, take them as soon as you can.  Don't put it off for another day.  

New Year's Resolutions, Huh, what are they good for, absolutely nothing.  Absolutely nothing is right, especially when you don't do anything to keep the resolution.  At that point the only thing they are good for is to remind you what a hopeless dreamer you are when it comes to keeping these grandiose ideas of self improvement.

My resolution this year was to get on this site and update my Blog on a more regular basis.  And by regular I didn't mean biannually.  Now here I am on the verge of busting another self improvement dream.  So I've changed my mind, timely blogging is no longer a resolution....  It is goal, oooohhh.  You know about goals, every self help guru, fitness trainer and sales cheerleader you run into says you have to set a goal.  So now I'm going to set a goal.  With a goal to put my sights on I'm sure it will be much easier and success is right around the corner. 

Now the wisdom on exactly how to set these goals varies a little.  Some say you should make the goal easily attainable so you can reach it and feel good about yourself and your achievement.  For me that would be to update my blog once a year.  That is attainable, even for me, with just about no effort. 

Others say you should make the goal just out of reach so that the effort involved makes you grow and you become a better person with the effort.  Give me a break I just want to write a Blog more that once a year.  How about once every two weeks.  I might be able to do that and If I have to grow in the process.

Then there is the punishment camp who says make your goals unreachable, then even if you come up short you still attain something others would never even attempt.   That would be like writing a Blog every day, or in an even sicker thought,  every time you learn something new.   If that's the goal, I wouldn't do anything but write Blogs. 

With all of those wonderful ideas in mind how about I aim for something  realistic.  I know, how boring is that.  I may not hit the moon as I shoot for the stars, I may not become that person I've always dreamt of being, and if I'm honest I may not even hit my realistic goal.  I am however going to try, no I take that back, I am going to reach this goal.  I'll write it down in a minute for all to see.  I will put it up it my car, on my bathroom mirror, on my bulletin board and anyplace else it might help me.  Then I will recite it every day, I think I can, I think I can, I know I can, I will reach this goal.  So here it is.

I will update my Blog every month for the remainder of 2008, it will contain something of value for everyone who reads it and be intelligently written. 

Hey that's pretty good.  A three part goal, the first part realistic, the second part a stretch and the third part almost impossible. 

The next step and I believe the most important part of any goal, choosing an accountability partner.  No matter what you are trying to achieve, it always helps to have someone along side you to help out and keep you on task.  That's where you come in, I choose you.  I'm sure there are a few of you out there who won't be able to resist helping me succeed (translate harass me).  To that end if you don't see a new blog by the end of the 1st week of the month, I expect some of you self appointed watch dogs to let me know.  Drop me an e-mail and tell me what a loser I am,.  Better yet, drop my office and tell me to get off the floor (nap time), turn the TV off and take some time to write.  In short, help me help you.   

Whether it's my goal, your goal or someone else's, lets resolve to work together this year and reach our goals.  I look forward to hearing from you.   

My children never cease to surprise me.  My youngest is almost twenty years old and she is my biggest mystery, I am still learning things about her and probably always will be.  Just the other day we were visiting her at college and I was updating her on the happenings at home; I told her we sold our old wood stove.  To my surprise, she promptly replied to this bit of news by telling me that if we didn't get the new one installed before she came home to visit this winter, she would be staying somewhere else. She was only kidding... I think.  I didn't realize getting rid of that old hunk of cast iron would be such a big deal, but after talking to my other two children they had similar feelings about the old wood stove.  I don't think they had any special attachment to that particular stove, but there is nothing like the warmth of a good fire to take the chill out on a cold winter day.  I can easily picture all of them coming in from a romp in the snow and laying down in front of the wood stove to warm up.  Memories like that are what make a house a home.  With thoughts of the wood stove come cooler temperatures and the realization I better get ready for winter. 

One of the most important things you can do to get ready for winter is winterize your home.  Don't worry it's not as difficult as you may think.  Simple things like cleaning or changing your furnace filter and replacing the batteries in your smoke detectors are just a couple of things you can do to get started.  For a complete checklist on winterizing your home, go to the following link, http://www.joeydobbs.com/WinterizeyourHome, you can also get to it from the home page of my website.  Taking all or even some of the steps in that article will save you money on your heating bill this winter and hopefully put you and your house in the position to make it through winter with as little hassle and expense as possible.

The other area everyone should be prepared for is winter driving.   One of the best ways to avoid a tragic accident is to be prepared for one.  Snow and cold temperatures are a deadly combination if you are ever stranded in your car and help is far away. Getting your car ready for winter and knowing what to do if you are ever stranded in a snow storm is the best protection you can get.  The Wisconsin Department of Transportation has a great website with a series of links to help get you prepared for winter driving.  This includes how to make a coffee can survival kit that is an inexpensive and yet practical way to get you prepared for that unexpected winter surprise.  Click here for more information on winter driving tips -http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/safety/motorist/winterdriving/index.htm

Enjoy the coming winter and go make some great family memories. 

If you are as old as I am, you might be able to picture Private Gomer Pyle's smiling face shouting that phrase to Marine Sgt Carter in the old Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. TV show.   Usually the surprise wasn't something Sgt Carter was very happy about.

 February 2007 Zogby International poll commissioned by MetLife Auto & Home indicates that many home owners are in for a big "surprise, surprise, surprise" of their own.  

I read an article on the Zogby International website www.zogby.com that stated most Americans with home insurance thought their insurance company would pay the full cost to rebuild from a natural disaster or fire, while 72% said they would be reimbursed the full cost to replace personal belongings.  The truth is that most insurance companies have a cap to their policies unless you purchase additional coverage and they will also depreciate your property when determining replacement value.  Surprise!!!

The poll also found that 69% thought they would be covered if the sewer backed up into their house.  A friend of mine recently discovered that her policy did not cover water damage caused by sewer backup.  This turned out to be a very expensive surprise.

What the survey showed is that many American homeowners don't understand exactly what their policy actually covers.  Did you know for example, that most policies cover damage from lightning strikes.  I didn't until it happened to my inlaws and they were able to get some electronics replaced that were damaged as a result of a lightning strike.

How do you avoid these kind of unpleasant surprises?  Get educated!  As boring as it might sound, read your policy and then talk to your agent regarding any questions you have about gaps in your coverage.   You can also shop around.  Determine the coverage you want and then shop the same coverage around to different companies, but make sure you are comparing apples to apples. 

Too many times we as consumers are looking for the cheapest price we can get.  What we should really be looking for is the best price for the right coverage.   Instead of "surprise, surprise, surprise", we should want value, value, value.  Have any of you been surprised by a lack of understanding of your home owners insurance policy.  Let me know.

Until next time, keep learning.

Joeyd

Websites, what a wonderful innovation they are.

They tell the world about you and what you do.  A website is a place where people looking to find what you have can visit and see if what you have is what they are looking to find.  

A website can even give you a forum to write about, and if you're lucky, an audience to read about things you've always wanted to say but never had the opportunity to before.    One thing I didn't know it would do for you is give you status, that's right they can put you on the map and make you a somebody!

At least that was the impression I got from my daughter, Lyndsey.  When she found out I was developing this website (actually my wife is doing it) she said, "I'm so impressed".  She said it with such excitement and pride I felt like I had finally arrived.  Never mind that I've been married for 26 years to someone better than I deserve, I'm a father to three great children, or that I had a 23 year military career that I'm extremely proud of.   It was as if this new website really set me apart.  Keep in mind my daughter really does think quite highly of me, she just told me so on Father's Day, and she did not intend her comment to be a slight of any kind.  It's just that in this electronic age if you don't have some kind of Internet presence, and most people my age don't, you just haven't arrived in the modern world.

Now that I've arrived, I will endeavor to use my newly acquired power to work for good.  I will update this blog on a weekly basis or more if a topic warrants.  Most of the time I will try and pass on nuggets of information regarding the mortgage or real estate industry and there will also be some information on home ownership in general.   In the event I can't find anything of real value to pass on, you may occasionally see me write about anything I feel like.  For all of our sakes I hope those times are few and far between. 

In any case, welcome to my website and my blog.  May you find it beneficial, informative or at the very least entertaining.