Simple Living

Two Steps Forward and Then Falling Backwards

2017-02-26T17:47:00.000-08:00

Why graph, why!?

Sometimes I don't set goals in my personal life because I am too discouraged. End of 2015 Asay family had a sunny outlook, bravely going into the future. Beginning of 2017 Asay family is still recovering from 2016 (not going to complain about that, read the other blog post). If I'm honest with myself I am going to work very hard to get back to where I was at in 2015. Hopefully the 3 years will average to a flat line. Pretty discouraging stuff!

But the alternative is to not set goals at all and to bob around like a pool floaty hoping not to get sucked up by a pool vacuum. Not everything in life is financial. Our family is fortunate enough to mortgage (someday fully own) a house. The life quality of that has greatly improved. We planted our avocado trees into the ground. One is doing good, the other has about five brown leafs on it and may not make it to summer. That's a bit of a shame since it would produce the most consistently throughout the year. I'll most likely need to replace it during summer.

My kiddo has been a trooper and has already learned that possessions are temporary. Unfortunately, that makes her a bit more clingy than the average child. Our family has grown much closer to each other, but wary of circumstances. My faith in people's kindness has never been stronger. I'm still drawing in the courage to try new and old things.

Moral? Uhhh, check back another time? This post is shouting to the internet about how things are going. This is definitely another season of learning to say "no" a lot and being thankful when a "yes" is possible. For example, we live farther from my job right now so 2 cars would be very ideal. I have been researching a car purchase. I am thinking in the $4-$5k range. I've browsed Craigslist for Versa's, Yaris', Crown Vic's, etc. and the conclusion is, I still have insufficient funds. By the time we have enough $, it will probably be towards the end of the year. So...going to have to wait and say "no" to a lot of other things. But that is life. I'm just trying to be glad to be alive without becoming a worse iteration of myself.

Finding Purpose Again

2017-02-07T07:35:00.000-08:00

To say 2016 was a bad year for my family unit would be an understatement. It completely took me off course for goals, made me very discontent, and also made me question why I am who I am. Religious people will often use the words "refining" or "making a great testimony". I prefer the concept that it burned up the good and bad in me, and I'm left trying to figure out what is left.

This is also why I haven't posted in a long time. Here I was having a blog saying how nice it is not to feel the need of participating in the rat race while I am losing everything and questioning my sanity. If I was more humble I'd have documented every moment of it, but that isn't the case.

To go back in debt is like going back to an abusive girlfriend. She regularly takes from you every month and doesn't care that you don't like that. I'm sure financial people would yell terrible sentences at hearing we went back into debt, but the choices were limited. How many people lose everything they own, a place to live, and their only car in just a few months, oh and almost die? Something had to give and our emergency fund was only set up for 1 or two of those things to happen at once, not all 4!

Family and coworkers were what made us not slip through the cracks, we could have easily become the family on the street corner living off a gym membership to keep the hygiene and going to a motel when possible. One coworker in particular let me live with him for months until we were back on our feet. I don't know what we would have done without him (remember, we had 0-1 cars during this process).

Theologically, I am having a hard time compartmentalizing why all of this happened. I thought I was doing okay in avoiding greed. I had more time for my family back then and was much less stressed (abusive girlfriend debt! She stressed me out man!). We've also had to deal with the joy of people helping us by donations, and the grief of trying to forget all the items that are gone while we quietly replace them without going into more debt. Also, I've never been one to look at what others have and become angry, but that is another good that was burned up in this process. Why do regular people not go through Job like fire? Sure the 1 arm, 1 leg veteran with 1 kidney and no job is shaking his head at that question from me, but from my vantage point, what underlying cause made our family have to go though this? I'll probably never know and just want to forget it ever happened.

You can only stay in the "poor me" zone for so long before that becomes you. I don't want to become the resident bitcher. You know, the guy who is the opposite of Dilbert's topper who bitches about everything. You talk about how you got a raise, and the bitcher talks about how he hates his job, and debt is a nasty girlfriend.

Who did this to us? That dives into legal stuff, which I can't do on a public space. If you want that kind of information, feel free to talk with me in person.

For the 1 reader out there, thanks for reading this. This is definitely written for you, cause who else is out there? Have a great week.

Churning For...

2016-04-23T14:20:00.000-07:00

Hello Dear Reader,

About 2 months ago, I signed up for a Chase Card with a $200 sign up bonus. After spending the required money in regular bills, the question is, what now? I have the money in bonus points on my Chase account. If I was the Jones's, I'd probably use it to pay a down on a couch set, or maybe buy a single fancy rim for my gas guzzling SUV. What should I do though?

I've thought of a couple options:

That would have been nice!

1. Use it for regular budget items. This would go to food, or some essential monthly expense. I wouldn't feel the rush of something shiny, but the $200 it frees up would then need a decision. Maybe I could put it toward an IRA. It isn't a lot of money, but it is something. An added bonus is this could get drawn into our money tree with an unusual pattern signifying it was creatively earned.
2. Buy a freezer. Our chest freeze has been getting full. Maybe I should buy another one and name it Chase.
3. Buy a bike rack. This is the one my wife wants. It would probably cost $150 leaving $50 for something minor like gardening supplies.

Not relevant picture...but it is Lego!!

We almost bought a bike rack at Sports Chalet (first day of sale...not the day of the posting). My wife found the one that a previous salesman said was good. It was $170, and the closing discount is...wait for it...10%!! Wow what a deal! I'm being sarcastic...I told the wife I was unimpressed that a store going out of business couldn't squeeze more discount than 10%, especially since that meant it couldn't be returned to any Sports Chalet store. This brings me to my conclusion. I am so cheap, that even with money basically given to me, I can't bring myself to buy something slightly on sale.

The last option is the wife's sanity fund. We have been married 5 years and she has been wanting a weekend away since our last one was 4 or so months ago. We wouldn't normally need this except for the two year old. This is a good problem to have. I don't have the answer yet. Whatever we decide, I'll need the wife's buy in.

Mad Fientist Financial Independance Calculator

2016-04-16T11:00:00.000-07:00

For the people looking to someday retire, this calculator may prove useful. You will need to create an account, but wait! Don't get scared. It's a simple email and password account...no...personal...info! I know the pain of websites wanting non-relevant information. This isn't that. I made a user account and then followed step-by-step instructions. What you do is put your expenses, savings and net worth for a mount and it plots your FI date on a graph. I only have one month right now so it isn't a line but a dot. Here is my picture:

Yes, you read that correctly. At my current rate I have 19 years until financial independence at my current rate, assuming I never get any raises or promotions. That isn't too bad when you think about it. On the left side you can adjust the assumptions for your particular case. Naturally, I have no affiliation with Mad Fientist.

Happily Living Small

2016-04-10T15:11:00.002-07:00

Yesterday, we celebrated my child's second birthday. Family and a few friends gathered. We requested that folks spare purchasing the typical giant gifts and, if comfortable/possible, instead contribute to the kiddo's college fund. The purpose behind this is that Emma has a closet and toy chest filled with toys. Also, the living room and dining room have gathered toys as well. This may not be the ideal for every family. Maybe you have a big house, maybe you live large. This is a good fit for my small family unit.
The family came together, got along, enjoy snacks, cupcakes. Before the party, the wife and I were initially worried that our house wouldn't hold all of the invited people. Unfortunately, some people were sick or unable to make it. So, in the end we had enough space.
After the party, cleanup was simple and my wife and I still loved each other at the end of the day. Chuck E. Cheese or outrageous spending hadn't caused the wife and I to fight each other and stress the kiddo. Emma had a blast and loved most
playing with...balloons! Of all things! This truly proves the Baby Blues dead fly theory. Baby Blues is a comic strip about a family and the struggles of raising children. One comic asks the reader to identify which item the baby will enjoy most. It goes from expensive toys to a dead fly. Who won? The dead fly. Before my kiddo grows out of this, I will get her some more balloons :)

So I almost Died

2016-03-29T21:16:00.003-07:00

It was a crummy Friday afternoon. The rain was absolutely pouring. This was no condition to bike and I had the chills while on toilet. A headache made my head pound. I absolutely hate it when I cannot focus enough at work to complete tasks, but that is what happened. Feeling bad for my employer, I decided it was time to go home. I called the wife, and she drove me home. I curled up in the bed and attempted to feel better while watching Netflix.
Instead of feeling better, I kept feeling worse. The headache increased making it hurt too much to watch Netflix. Bible study for the wife was canceled (miraculously) so she returned early. After putting the kid to bed, she came by and felt my forehead. My temperature was about 102 and seemed to be rising. It didn't go away after a couple hours. We tried to lower it, but only got it down to around 101.6. I felt such chills that just putting the blanket back on jumped it back over 102. My awesome wife arranged to have the kid watched for the night.
While waiting for them to arrive on the bed, something strange happened. My body began to communicate to me that it wasn't going to make it. Maybe to the hospital, but probably not the next day. I texted a few friends (don't feel hurt if you weren't texted...I only could focus enough for a few texts). I began to pray that God wouldn't take me yet. Not for me. I knew I'd go to heaven with the smallest pat on the back upon arrival. But for the wife and kid. Financially, it would be very difficult, but especially emotionally too.
While my wife was giving the family watching the kid instructions, it's hard to explain but my body continued to tell me I wasn't going to make it. It was telling me that my time was coming. I was telling it and God to give me more time. On the way I was feeling more and more nauseous. I began my patented pre-vomit cough, still fighting it. Right before our destination, the wife stepped on the gas to the emergency drop off section. I opened the door and let my load out. I felt a bit better, but was unable to sign anything like my signature.

The hospital took us in pretty quickly and made us repeat the symptoms various times. I vomited again while being seen by the doctor. My sister-in-law was also there providing emotional support and keeping the wife strong. The wife had picked up that I thought I was going to die. Initially, my doctor thought I had Meningitis. They were pumping me with fluid and generic antibiotics, but he was convinced checking for Meningitis was crucial. I was nervous especially when they had me sign a sheet with the side effects listed. The worst headache in the world, paralysis, and other terrible things I don't remember. My doctor was great, but it was very scary.
I got the shot. It was the worst experience related to my back. I felt a needle go between my vertebrae. I would not recommend. They also make you curl up into the fetal position for the procedure. After this, they told me I would have to wait 72 hours, but it'd be great if I could pee for them. I had consumed two liters of liquids, and had a small amount of very yellowish...red(?) urine that I was able to conjure up.
I stayed at the hospital for a couple days after admission. The summary was that my lactic acid level had trouble going down with low blood pressure and I was experiencing sepsis shock due to my organs trying to shut down. That explains why it felt like I was dying...because my brain was telling me I was. In the end, they tested many things and it turned out to be a virus. I received 8 pricks in total. When I was contemplating my mortality, money and work did not even register. Family was what I thought about, and if they would be okay. Also, I realized that like a small fire on a candle, life can be snuffed out in an instant.
Getting out of the hospital was another battle. The kid had, and would continue to rotate the grandparents and in-laws. My doctor prescribed me off of work for 4 days, instructing me to be very nice to my back.

Unfortunately, my wife also came down with this virus. Thankfully, we knew how to treat it and had her drink 32oz of water an hour for the first 8 hours or so. It was hard for her, but we managed to keep her out of the hospital. Family and friends really came together making us easy to prepare dinners. They were a lifesaver, and helped immensely. I'm convinced that it was God watching over me through the prayers of friends and family that kept me from dying. The hospital staff stated my chance of survival would have been much lower if I had waited any longer to come in, especially if I had tried to go to sleep. They believed I would have died if I slept a normal amount instead of coming in. Before coming to the hospital, I was drinking a regular amount of water and not sweating or peeing. Not sure where the water went, but it was gone.
When people ask me now what happened, I lazily want to skimp on details and downplay it like it was no big deal. Really though, it was a big deal, so that is why I've taken a break from bashing materialism and written a post about what happened.
Thanks for everyone who helped me survive and recover. It was powerful to watch people come together for a common purpose and loving on us. My dad did a group text with local pastors who prayed. Although life is a struggle and toil, I'm very thankful for this extension on life, and protection for the family. People brought tasty casseroles, pizza, homemade mac and cheese, soup, bread, candy bars and more. My dad visited me and we had a good talk about life and family. One of my friends narrowly missed me going into the hospital, but was there for me in text. At work, people who weren't initially contacted, offered to bring their own soups and other foods. So much love. Thanks everyone who helped us get through this difficult time (yes, there are more people than mentioned in this post!).

Hobby? I Have a Hobby?

2016-03-27T22:15:00.000-07:00

I go through hobbies like actors go through actresses. This one takes too long, this one is done by a person I don't like, this one is too expensive, and so on. It really is like watching a bachelor TV show where beautiful actresses get cycled through like tissue paper.

One of the blessings of almost dying, is that I got to bond with my child and wife. I found that I have more in common with my parents than I thought. It's time for a rambling story.

When I was a wee lad, my mom loved getting taken to the nursery by dad. They would spend hours there. Nursery's and Home Depot basically have nowhere to sit. My awkward kid feet got so sore, It was literally my least favorite thing to do. The only thing I hoped for was that we would get to eat something tasty out because they didn't want to cook after shopping.

Now, the tables have turned. My child must endure the endless trips to Home Depot for more dirt and plants. Lucky for her, the wife and I have banned ourselves from Home Depot.

Coming back to having a hobby, the wife and I have finally found a productive thing we enjoy doing together. We have a hobby that I don't feel like is a waste of time or money. Not everything homegrown is the cheapest, but it is fun and makes good memories. What more could I ask from a hobby?

Jones's Guide To Losing Money

2016-03-22T21:54:00.000-07:00

Buy as much house as you can afford, wait, buy more!
Lease both of your cars. Pay over $200 for insurance...preferably $400.
Credit cards are magic. If you have any money issues, use the credit card.
Refinance your house to a longer term.
Pay $100+/month for each cell phone you have. Buy the latest and greatest.
Buy every kid a new iPhone and iPad. No need to consider the child's age.
Netflix? That's for cheap people. You need cable. Lots of channels.
Eat out every day, drink coffee but from Starbucks, or wait, Starbucks is for semi-fancy people. What you need is #Hipster Coffee Joint coffee.
Hire a full time nanny because both parents work full time. Don't calculate taxes, mileage, lunches and nanny fees, otherwise you may realize the second job earns $6/hr.
Don't read finance blogs. They will just tell you to invest money. You need money now so you can spend it.

This lady is worried about money but won't budget or clean up her mess.
Just kidding, it's a stock photo.

See this money? You need to waste it! Give it to a salesman!

Money is a big cause of conflict in couples. What if, instead of pursuing every luxury in life, we focused on what is really important? How un-American! You should instead buy a car. Not a Honda...you need...nay, you deserve, a BMW. Or maybe a Lexus. Take your pick, just tell the dealer how much you can afford.

You see, when you outsource processing, you stop planning and work in vain. It is like being a pinball, Life confuses you, you bounce around and don't understand why no matter how hard you work, you never get ahead. You see your kids less and less, the spouse gets more and more pissed, and you become a ghost of yourself. Why? Priorities. You were too busy to make your work and life count. Shame on you. You must pay penance by drawing up a budget, and go over goals with your spouse.

No excuses. Use your brain.

When Is More Incorrect?

2016-03-19T21:14:00.000-07:00

My plan isn't as cool as this baby. But it is a good plan.

Today, I was pedaling to work and had an interesting experience. I was about to cross a stoplight but it turned yellow and I needed to stop. I squeezed the brake, but it gave away. I repeatedly attempted to squeeze it, but no luck. I squeeze my other brake and it prevailed. Naturally, I needed to back up out of the intersection.

Due to purchasing the 3 year package at the bike shop, this caused me to go back*. While in the bike shop, I noticed that there were beautiful, low weight, narrower bicycles. Speedometers, bells, etc. The other guy changing his tire even had a handle bar camera. I felt a burning temptation to ask what the next step was to my sexy but not highly efficient bicycle. I imagined myself pedaling a lighter bike, going faster, sweating less...and then the vision stopped.

Did I really need a new bicycle? Need? No. Want? You bet! What about in the future? What is stopping me from looking at a replacement bicycle in the future? My plan is to use the bike for 3 years and then do an analysis to determine how the parts are doing. That plan isn't as sexy, but who am I trying to impress? Sometimes, more is not necessary.

*Disclaimer: I rarely get extended warranties or service packages. I get unlimited service for 3 years and wanted to have confidence in my commuting bicycle.

Garden Time!

2016-03-17T20:43:00.001-07:00

My kiddo made this experience even more fun!

It was a beautiful Sunday morning. The wife and I decided to make this a non standard day. Today, we used the free wood we picked up a month or so ago to construct a garden box. The dimensions of the box were about 6' x 3' x 8", cut by a handsaw. It took 2 trips to Home Depot (we also went to Costco on one of the trips).

The slide inspector is here!

In the first picture, I nailed the former closet boards together, placed cardboard underneath the boards, and then we put much soil (the most expensive part) into the bed. I left two bags of soil with the top one arching off the bottom one. My little girl decided this was a very fun slide. She began sliding down and giggling. The second pictures shows the angle better.

Making progress, but not quite done yet!

Once we had the soil in the bed, it was time to plant the transplants and seeds. This is where my wife's ability to not destroy delicate things on contact came into play, as well as her planning. The first thing we did was separate the large clump of Walla Walla onions. The roots were intertwined with each other and needed some tender loving care to help them be viable. We placed Marigolds in the corners of the box to help keep the wrong types of bugs away. Then, we put in the Zucchini and potatoes. Finally, we added the carrot seeds. Once this was done, we called it a night for this box!

I will post an update on this shortly.

Jonesing On All the Wrong Things

2016-02-29T12:11:00.000-08:00

You talk about Jonesing...this is all I hear.

I met a Joneser. After talking with him (nicest guy), the wife asked me if I was going to write a blog post about it. I said no...but then thought about it while showering. So, here is the break down. My buddy is good at remembering prices, and the wife was feeling it was coming off as Jonesing.

He was complaining that their kiddo had broken another TV, costing them either $400-$500 (I don't remember which he said). He also bought a TV mount to go with it from Walmart for $75. And his fishing gear was worth $600. I was impressed he had awareness of how much the stuff he was buying cost.

Here is what I came away with. Jonesing isn't allocating money well. Wow, I know. You say "how deep Bravely Content! I would have never found that out alone!". Let me explain. As we know, Jonesing is buying stuff you don't need to impress people you don't like. This kind fellow also shared that his wife and him spent about $600 on their one kiddo for Christmas. My wife and I spend under $200 for all Christmas gifts this year (yes. Still is a lot). But, this did not bother me on a personal level which comes to the second observation.

The second thing I came away with is that I automatically sort purchases I hear to how urgently needed they are, and the price. I don't personally feel like a second class citizen when someone is allocating their money unnecessarily or poorly. In fact, I feel shame when I hear someone bad assing their budget or purchases. That is something I envy.

Must...shred...all...money!

No giant rant today, Just an observation that I've become so disconnected with the Jones's, that Jonesing just seems wasteful to me but doesn't trigger jealousy. When Yukon's and Suburban's floor it next to me while I am biking, all I hear is money being shredded and a guy panting "must...shred...all...money."

This is what the Chevy looks like

One other funny observation. There is a giant brand new Chevy Suburban that regularly is driven to an event the wife and I go to. I didn't feel less of a man parking next to it in my '97 Honda. I felt bad for the guy's finances, and happy for the salesman who got a fat payoff. On a personal level though, I still do feel angry when I see that Chevy running, without anyone inside or in sight. As if shredding money when driving isn't enough, this guy goes the extra mile and shreds money when he isn't even around! It's like reverse compounding interest.

Mr. Money Mustache. A Gold Mine

2016-02-26T19:38:00.000-08:00

For the few people who do not access this blog from Mr. Money Mustache (MMM), this website is a goldmine. It is written by a man who retired at age 32 by saving 75% of his income for 10 years, if memory serves me. He documents the way he lives a simple life using a bicycle instead of a car when possible, enjoying Vanguard's funds, saving money, and abandoning the rat race. Here is a good starting point for the blog.

This is a source of sanity for me. For years I have felt like the insane minority questioning the decisions of others. Why does such and such Jones buy something expensive to top such and such Jones. Why am I surrounded by people wielding fancy phones eager to trade them in as soon as possible. The same goes with fancy trucks and SUVs for commuters. I see armies of Starbucks cups, people depressed about their jobs but still spending every dollar of every paycheck and wondering why retirement is so far away.

People wonder why I often don't eat out at restaurants,why our only car is over 15 years old, why I ride a bicycle to work, why I have Netflix instead of cable, why I am ditching my fancy phone and plan for a cheaper one, why I discuss purchases with the wife, why we keep a budget, why my kid won't have fancy Apple products to play with before puberty, why we mostly have free furniture, and so much more.

Why a Safety Razor is Better than Gillette or Shave Clubs

2016-02-23T12:18:00.002-08:00

My Old Gillette Razor

Today while hanging out in the shower, I reflected on razors. Recently, Gillette created their own shave club with comparable prices to Dollar Shave Club. Another option I had considered was Harry's Razors. However, thanks to the kindness of a coworker, I use a safety razor. He was kind enough to give me over a hundred blades.

At age 16 my dad bought me a power shaver. Quite a nice thing for him to have done. Young high school me was unable to afford replacements (I was saving up for a 4 year school, before I knew that was a bad idea).

When I first started shaving at the 4 year school, I used Gillette because they mailed me a small kit on my 18th birthday. Truly nice of them and a good marketing idea. The kit lasted awhile, but sure enough I needed new blades. I went to Wal-Mart, cheapest of the cheap, young college me needed cheap. The blades there were over $3 a head if memory serves me. I think it was a 4 pack for $12. Now, I changed blades about once a month, sometimes less but it still could be $36/yr. I also got the added bonus of models being discontinued, meaning I had to pay $10+ for a new handle to support the advertising.

A Cheapish Razor

I did this for awhile and then experimented with cheap single or double blade razors. Sure, you could find them for 10 cents or more, but I noticed the quality just did not seem to be there. I couldn't get a full month out of them, it was more like a week or two. When those blades stopped cutting right, my face suffered.

One day at work, one of the coolest guys determined I wanted to try using a safety razor but wasn't sure which one to get. This fellow gave me his kit that he wasn't using which came with 100+- blades. I was immensely grateful and still am. The shave feels great. The construction of the blade holder makes it very difficult to cut myself. My razor has type on it, so I just keep track which side is dull and use the other side until it is time for a replacement. When the blade is dull, it stops cutting, rather than cutting my face. With my old 4 blade Gillette razor, the bottom blades would become dull while the top were sharp, so my cut wasn't consistent. Meaning, if I went over an uneven portion of my face, the top blades would cut me since the amount of pressure needed changed. Also, each blade costs about $0.10 and is double sided. You aren't dependent on a singe manufacturer for blades either, so I never need to replace it due to planned obsolescent.

Here is the breakdown per year:

Gillette: $38.50 ($36 for heads and $2.50 for new handle every 4 years)
Cheap-o: $2.60-$5.20 but a bad shaving experience
Safety Razor: $1.20

Yes, you read that. I spend $1.20 annually on razor blades. 'Course I have about 8 more years worth of blades before I actually spend that much money a year. My handle may need replacing at that point. Something to note, if you replace a blade and are getting a bad cut, you may have it upside down.

Bicycling Has Changed Me

2016-02-20T14:00:00.000-08:00

A nice bicycle image.

Earlier I mentioned that I went from commuting 35 miles (70 round trip) a day, to bicycling 2.5 miles (5 round trip) a day. The change has been amazing. I am less tense, more fit and less cranky. Exercising every weekday has been very good to me. Just as a heads up, I'm not some macho guy who can immediately do anything. I had to work my way up to commuting by bike 5 days a week and bum rides when I'm sick enough to work. It took about a month or so to work up biking 5 days a week.

Not me! I wear no spandex!

About my everyday commute:

I breathe fresh air for 30-40 minutes a day. My bike is a cruiser so my average speed is probably 10-15mph, unlike the speed demons on road bikes.
I ride on suburban quietish streets with plenty of stop signs
I'm about to graduate to riding in real rain. I've rode in mist and drizzle
Garbage cans are positioned by Satan. Seriously. Some people make it so I have to cut into the road cause they had to put the can between the road line and where the sidewalk should be. Don't be that guy.
I'm learning how to bike more safely. Right now I slow down at stop signs and make sure no one is around before proceeding (really, this is more of a yield). I have been bad lately and need to more consistently downshift so if someone is there but unexpectedly crossing my path, I can stop in time.
Where I work, they let me take my bike inside. Otherwise I would rely on my U lock.
People either admire me or think I'm bonkers but pretend to admire me.

Bicyclists need to be careful too!

Valentines Day For $19.49

2016-02-18T09:00:00.000-08:00

The wife and I managed to score babysitting from family for Valentine's day. So, instead of having food at the house with a kiddo helping us keep the romance down, or at a noisy restaurant with a kiddo helping us keep the romance down, we went to Olive Garden and then Cold Stones. We don't typically go to restaurants, let alone 2, on a holiday. However, with this babysitting happening the wife and I felt we were really due for a night out.

Olive Garden is one of our favorite restaurants for a couple of reasons. It is usually quiet. There is no TV blaring telling you stuff you need to buy, or a game you need to watch. The wife and I love this. By the way, I'm getting no funding from Olive Garden for this blog post.

So here is the breakdown:

We weren't starving when we got to Olive Garden, this helped us not order giant plates becoming leftovers.
Olive Garden serves bread forever. It's like Red Robin's bottomless fries. So, we snacked on the bread while we waited for our other food.
We sampled a glass of wine for free.
We split their lasagna special for $12.99. This included unlimited soup or salad for 1 person (we only had 1 refill. I ate one bowl, the wife ate the other. If you get excessive with this splitting this they charge you).
The lasagna order included chicken marsala ravioli and fettuccini alfredo.

This totaled to $14.03 after tax. The wife and I liked our service so we tipped 20%+. We will do this sometimes if we split and the server is nice to us. In this case, they served two different plates with half of each of the three entrees, so there was no awkward sharing.

This brought the total to $17.00.

I had promised the wife Cold Stones Creamery ice cream, so we went there next. The wife ordered a little known kid size ice cream with Oreos. It is small, at about 1 scoop of ice cream + topping. However, it came out to $2.49 bringing our total to $19.49.

I paid for these items with my new credit card, which will give me a $200 reward after spending $500 within 3 months.

Also, just eating a moderate amount of food helped us not be in food coma the entire night.

YNAB Budgeting Tool Basic Review

2016-02-15T20:14:00.000-08:00

I have reviewed another budgeting tool! YNAB. My Facebook feed has been telling me it is a good tool and I figured it was time to give it a try. Overall, I liked it. Here is my video:

Here is the link: https://youtu.be/80vGtAGgQto

To sign up for YNAB: http://ynab.refr.cc/CHSSFR4

Thanks for watching!

Reviving the Old Blog

2016-02-13T12:49:00.001-08:00

It has been almost a year since I've done a post. Much has changed.

In the past 11 months:

I went from 35 miles to 2.5 miles from work. Now I drive 0 minutes a week for work.
My ol' faithful car failed smog. We decided to retire it in state retirement. They gave us $1k for him.
We save $42/month on car insurance due to only having 1 car, and $175/month on gas. We also save about $80/yr on registration.
I now bike to work. It is glorious. More on this later.
Wife and I are now debt free! We sold the fifth wheel that we were living in, paid back a personal loan, a hospital bill, and my student debts. It was about $50k in all!
The mower given to us wouldn't work (Googling it suggested it was not an easy fix). Dear wife and I bought a reel mower (more details on how this is going coming up).
We invested in a chest freezer (more on this too)
I am about to go from saving the company mandatory 8%, to about 35% through retirement contributions and house savings.
Contributing the above amount to retirement savings will reduce my tax bill about $1600.
Wife and I are becoming more Tightwad Gazette and Mr Money Mustache oriented.
Wife is now a crocheting machine!

I am looking to use this blog to record the new things wife and I try, and our journey for becoming satisfied through a simple self sufficient life.

California Drought

2015-04-27T12:30:00.000-07:00

Part of simple living is being aware of potentially bad situations beyond your control, but also not losing any sleep over it. As many people know, California is experiencing a multi-year drought. In a small town at central California (East Porterville), residents are experiencing life without regular water. Yes, that thing we take for granted every day, no longer coming out of the magical pipes in all houses.

Water is precious

It's hard to understand a first world country lacking something as basic as water, but, similar to Detroit, some Americans go without running water or electricity. I don't believe in prepping for a zombie invasion...I think it's a waste of storage in my mind, and also the processing it takes to calculate unlikely variables. However, it makes sense to have basic precautions for something like water not coming out of the faucet, or not having electricity for a few days. No country or city is invincible.

I know a lot of people who are afraid to be afraid, and bury their head in the sand. Fear often causes poor decisions, but discounting any fear inducing idea produces blindness.

Okay, so the practical stuff. A great experiment is to turn off your water for two days and see how you do. If that isn't possible, then perhaps prevent yourself from using water by signs or other measures. Needless to say, it would be a good idea to prepare prior to this test so you don't get ill. The point of this is to reduce worry by increasing your ability to survive.

Here are some basic tips:

About 1 gallon of drinking water per person per day. The actual drinking recommendation is less but water is often used in cooking too.
Have water for everything else you do. This is vague, but how am I supposed to know whether you water your lawn every hour, or live out of a two gallon bucket? This is where testing is helpful. This water doesn't necessarily need to be drinking grade, but should be clean...at least enough to water plants. Hopefully you have vegetable plants if you are reading this blog. A good water plan is scaling down your consumption.
The water you use above that isn't consumed (drinking, given to plants, wasted on hourly watering...) should be saved for pouring down your ol' toilet. Yep, the toilet can flush just by pouring water into it. At a job I had, some houses we went to didn't have water turned on and this is what we did to flush.
Have extra water. Be aware that pool water isn't really the best thing for you to drink...or water plants with. Remember that for larger, open storage containers (like rain collectors) it can be wise to add a couple goldfish during mosquito season.
Consider having a water filter to supplement your drinking water stock.
Plan out your storage. Below is one of the storage cases we use. Remember to add the required drops of bleach.

Budgeting Tool Every Dollar Review

2015-04-16T12:03:00.000-07:00

Today I would like to review the Dave Ramsey's budgeting tool Every Dollar. This video gives a good summary of creating an account, setting up the information in the account and getting started. I've used spreadsheets and have considered projects like Mint. However, this is my favorite.

I encourage you to give it a try and see if it fits your needs.

Happy Easter?

2015-04-12T15:00:00.000-07:00

Why do American holidays often encourage greed? Christmas, whether you believe in God or not, is about Jesus coming down from heaven to earth to later sacrifice everything for all of mankind. So, where is the disconnect? Advertising says Christmas is about possessions filling an empty life. TV shows says Christmas is about finding a partner to fill the emptiness felt by lonely people (among other things. It is interesting to see how television handles Holidays as it can vary greatly). The local radio stations are about conning Santa into giving more gifts, or Christmas tunes lacking virtue to avoid offending others. Since when did America's liberty deny people the rite to express what they believe? To borrow from media I've listened to, it is useful knowing what people believe by what they say no matter how offensive it is. If someone believes black people are evil, I'd rather know about it from what they say (to distance myself from such prejudice), then not know.

I'm not an altruist. I don't believe that is an end, or even an always good means (selfish people can do good things that reflect their selfishness, rather than helping people in need. It's like the missionary friends you may have that are more interested in posting pictures about holding minority babies than quietly devoting time and effort to help others. Knowing that God is their reward should be more important than recognition). The older I've gotten, the less idealistic I am. One day I will sit on a floating rocking chair complaining about the gentle hum it produces and how wooden rocking chairs were far superior.

For now, what is the non-tainting truth that will help my child grow, love, respect and pursue the important things in life? I can't control Emma. If I give her good principles and truth, she has a greater chance of growing into a respectable adult. This needs to be balanced with memory creating fun and adventure. I'll tell her to express herself so people know who she is and she doesn't pretend to be someone she isn't.

What will I tell Emma about Christmas and Easter? Christmas and Easter was originally celebrated by pagans and is now a central Holiday about the Jew named Jesus that some people believe is God who sacrificed everything to save humanity from separation from God. Today many people are more interested in exchanging impressive gifts, singing seemingly humble songs, and making themselves look good then following a sacrificial model. A polished turd is still a turd. Okay, maybe I won't include the last part...

Finally, I'd like to tell her to be careful with want. Maybe showing an example about how people do bad things because of greed. I volunteered at a yearly company egg-hunt with my wife from a nearby restaurant that contained prizes inside the eggs. 1-2 of the prizes was a year of free food from the restaurant. Let me tell you, it got ugly. Parents would come up complaining that their kid didn't get eggs (despite a full basket), parents would shove small kids picking up eggs to snatch them up, and kids would come to us crying because of this. It was insane to watch hundreds of eggs snatched up as fast as humanly possible. When I was a kid, I remember being bad at egg hunts. I was bad enough that parents and other kids felt bad for me and pointed to eggs for me.

Isn't the point of Holidays to celebrate the finer virtues of life by modeling them in front of skeptical family? When did greed become a priority that superseded this? I've lived with just a backpack on my back relying on the kindness of others...matter is a fleeting thing. If I didn't get an excellent prize, maybe someone needed it more than me. Before I had no where to live, I won a sweater at a contest. This sweater became one of my most prized possessions because it kept me warm on cold nights inside lobbies, etc.

Since when did Holidays become the celebration of vice? I don't know, but I think changing that starts at my own household. Thanks for reading this.

Little Chicks and Random Thoughts

2015-04-08T20:39:00.003-07:00

Living in the country has certain spoils, like being able to purchase chicks and raise them for eggs. Over the past few weeks, we and the in-laws have been talking about raising chickens for eggs. Over the last year, egg prices have gone up, and we eat about a dozen eggs a week. The in-laws eat maybe 8 eggs a week...it is hard to count when I'm not home for breakfast.

Also, an advantage of "home grown" eggs is that you control the setting of the chicks. Want them to roam the earth in search of bugs? Set 'em free! Want to put them in the coop so they don't get eaten? Save the chicks!

The amount of money we will save from this is not huge. If 24 organic eggs from Costco cost $7, and we have to pay for grain/time spent watching them, we probably only save $20-30ish a month on eggs. But who doesn't want fresh eggs?

As I grow older, I'm continually impressed by the good life not coming from possessions but experiences and trying new things with companions. I get more satisfaction out of our family joking about the chick named "nugget," than making a few bucks from fixing troublesome technology.

Part of exiting the rat race is replacing it with something. How should I spend time instead of keeping up with the Jones's? I listen to podcasts to and from work to help keep me sane from traffic. What I listen to is budgeting, technology, economy and general side earning business concepts. It helps me refresh before I get home and enjoy the wife and kid's company, rather than being in a grumpy mood due to kamikaze drivers (I'm looking at you Subaru Impreza driver!)

This is definitely the "talk about whatever I feel like" blog post, but the point is that you should use your strengths to your benefit, but not at the expense of ridding your life of what is really important. When I sit on my deathbed, I'm going to think about the family, volunteer work, God, and has my life been spent well. Investment advisors will often tell you to start investing at a very early age so the interest will yield a high retirement savings. What if I treated my life like that? I'll do what is important at the young stages of my life and won't have to catch up as much when I'm a crotchety old man. This is one of the reasons I'm always looking to get slightly ahead financially. Not so I can be a rich guy, but so I can be a content old guy not anxious about income/family relations (assuming I get old. A bus could take me out!).

Quick Guide to Save Money

2015-03-25T21:56:00.000-07:00

Cutting costs makes my wife uncomfortable. However, I believe it is key to living simply. Every situation is different.

Pre-req's
1. Make a budget.
2. Compare to your income

Comparison Items:

1. Housing is usually the most expensive budget item. Simply, is your living in an extremely expensive place? Do you own or rent (renting is much more appropriate if you living lease by lease and want the option to move)? Do you have more house and property than needed? How much could you save by downsizing? This is often the hardest thing to adjust. Currently, I live in a multi-family setting for a very manageable amount of rent.
Savings:
$600/month lower rent
$50/month utilities (split)
-$60/month extra gas

2. Cars are another large budget item. Do you pay monthly payments on a car? What if I told you that most people don't need a newer vehicle? My wife's car is 18 years old, with 231k miles on it, running strong. I paid $3000 for it and have done minimum repairs on the about 40k miles put on it. No monthly payments, low insurance cost and cheap parts. The value of the car isn't going to fall with a small new scratch. This is the easiest thing to quickly save on. Do be careful when buying a used car though as many people who do no maintenance try to overprice their car. Use kbb.com. Stick with an inexpensive, reliable car. My wife had a Saturn when we met and spent about $100/month on it for some random repair. Sometimes reliable vehicles are not in good condition. Have someone you trust help you choose a vehicle. The people who are braver than me ditch 1-2 cars and go bikes. That is the ultimate way to save, but you need to have transportation worked out.
Savings:
$500/month no vehicle payments
$100/month lower insurance from older vehicle
$50/month high mileage vehicles (mine gets 35 average per gallon. Not bad for a $2.5k car)

3. Health insurance is a sore spot due to new regulations. This I don't know as much about since you have to comply with new rules and coverage not always accepted. Remember that the purpose of insurance is risk management. A Dr. visit isn't a risk. Large overpriced medical bills are a risk. Somehow, I ended up with a job including benefits. This is harder to calculate how much we save, but comparing it to when we were on another plan it is about $100/mo
Savings:
$100/month lower monthly (lower deductible)

4. Internet and cell services can also make quick savings. My wife used to be with Verizon because we lived in a remote location. Now she is with Republic Wireless (reseller of Sprint, roams on Verizon). For unlimited texts and calling we pay $10 a month. We had to buy the phone for about $200 but have no contract. Meaning, we can have the phone last as long as we want and not be forced to pay for it via subsidized phone price in monthly cost. In 2 years, she will have spent $440 on phone service on Republic Wireless, compared to $1060 on Verizon. In 3 years if the phone lasts, she will have spent $560, compared to $1540 on Verizon. She also now can use her phone on WiFi for internet, with a much better phone. Internet service is more tricky due to different providers. Research what is local to find savings (without bundling! Stay away from that!)
Savings:
$26.67/month

5. Cable. Trade your cable in for Netflix (or Hulu). Go from overpriced to $8/month and have no commercials.
Savings:
$12-92/month

6. Cut your local landline. You can just use cell phones, or set up a new telephone number via Google voice and use that. Last I checked, that could be used to have off-time to prevent sales calls at inconvenient hours.
Savings:
$20+-/month

7. Taxes. The tax code supports tax avoidance (legally finding ways to avoid paying taxes). Tax evasion is illegally lying or not paying what the tax code determines you should pay. Collecting your donations, mortgage interest, student interest, Hope/American Opportunity Credit and dozens more can help you have a refund. If you don't care about knowing taxes, perhaps ask your accountant what will give you the best return on your time.

8. Find new ways to save. Make it like a contest or something you do to enjoy yourself. Do you really both need 2 Macbooks? What if you had 1 Macbook and 1 tablet/Chromebook? That could save $800 on a one time purchase.

9. Get buy-in from yourself and family, otherwise extra purchases will replace savings. Perhaps you are saving for a down, or trying to get debt free. The important thing is to get the entire team on board. If you are married to a spender, provide limited amounts of credit. Sure, this person may max out the credit card, but if they have a credit limit of $200 or less per month, that is manageable.

10. My wife cooks naan bread from bulk ingredients instead of buying bread. We also grow some vegetables. A quick estimate says we save a few bucks per month, but it is much more healthy so that is a quality of life increase for less money.

If you add up all of the saving minimums, it comes to about 16.7k a year. That is quite a bit of savings for minimum sacrifices. Be sure to somewhat regularly compare to your budget and make sure you are spending within it. Lean more to asking if you need it, rather than you want it. Dear reader, what have I missed? What are some things you do to save extra money and what do you save it for?

Ignoring Alternatives

2015-03-22T20:36:00.000-07:00

"You can find anything on the Internet, if you try hard enough" so says Kyle from Last Man Standing. I think it works the same in the regular world. This is how people often operate. I am drawn to people I agree with and don't give the time of day to listen to people I disagree with. The possibility of being wrong makes me uncomfortable. When I was young, Republicans were good and Democrats were bad. Kind of like in Star Wars where the was the light and dark sides. Growing up, life has taught me that things are more complicated than that. Good and bad people are in all cultures and sects. It isn't like Lord of the Rings where Goblins and Orcs are universally bad.

Sometimes I internalize my thoughts without giving people the opportunity to state why they think what they do. This makes me narrow minded, rejecting ideas that make me uncomfortable.

When I at one time managed people, I quickly discovered I had to listen to employees who had different experiences and ideas. It was mentally exhausting to work out every detail without help.

What I'm saying is to leave yourself the freedom of being who you want to be by at least listening to other people and cherry-picking aspects and ideas you like, while entertaining things you don't like. Be brave. Many great ideas make you uncomfortable.

Intro to Satisfaction and Random Thoughts

2015-03-20T20:18:00.001-07:00

Everyday when I drive to work, I chuckle. The rat race continues day after day. The part I noticed today is that it prevents people from not only being happy, but from pursuing their dreams. When people are buried in debt with many commitments, it is hard to take risks. If you ask most people if they are pleased with what career they are in, they will grunt and say yes after mulling over the regular paycheck.

I'm not saying that people are wasted in the workforce, but that people don't take risks due to commitments and may not fully realize their potential. The difference is that someone can have more than one talent and ability that is not always marketable to employment. So, maybe I want to post every other day about denying indulgences and finding satisfaction in life itself, but have difficulty squeezing the time to do it.

So, rather than let myself feel bad about circumstances and depressed, maybe a unusual solution exists. I was thinking, I spend hours driving during the week, what if I went podcast style and talked while driving? I don't think there's a law against that and there are parts of the road where relatively fewer drivers are trying to bump me off. Also, it may help determine who is at fault if my last words are "why!! Why would you cut me off"-BOOM!

My dream in life is to find something to do that can help people. Legally, I have to limit how much advice I give people, and how specific it is to save money. Also, there are many blogs telling you how to save money, make money and invest money.

I guess my point is that this is 2015. People can post blogs, make podcasts, make websites, use a variety of online tools for many purposes, write books, self publish, apply for online work, find work online for unique talents and so much more. We aren't stuck with a limited unintegrated internet consisting of slow speeds. We have so much potential but limit themselves due to priorities and not having a good enough idea. Our economy is very interesting, you can hire a couple guys to make a single purpose app, give or sell it to thousands of people, and then be bought up by a large company wanting to integrate your app with their existing services.

Are you waiting for someone to give you permission to use this new economy? If you have an idea, pursue it. If you don't have an idea, listen and read sources that will give you inspiration.

Confessions

2015-01-27T01:00:00.000-08:00

Earlier this week while I was at work, I got turned on to an application for my Smartphone. It’s a game where you attempt to level up the buildings in your village and defeat other villages. It is well made and entertaining.

In high school and college I discovered I’m prone to certain types of addictions. Games with no clear ending, where you can become richer and higher leveled are a particular weakness for me. In high school this game for me was Runescape. Runescape is an online Role Playing Game with other players where you can do quests, earn cash, and fight. It was somewhat fascinating and horrifying watching myself get mentally consumed without any hope of moderation.

I wrestled with quitting for years. It seemed like I could never rid my mind of PKing (Player Killing), or stop thinking of how to more effectively do it. This is to the point that I didn’t eat enough or waited very long to go to the bathroom. It invaded my dreams and video preferences in Youtube. Keep in mind, I was only moderately good and wealthy. Maybe in the top 20-15%...nowhere near the top.

There was some good that happened in this though. I learned how to make money by the basic principle of selling high and buying low. I learned how to generate the margin between wholesalers and regular consumers. I learned that many people are not worthy of being trusted online, especially if they hold your money.

Flash back to today. Although I am thankful for all I have learned in an addiction, I never want to go back. I didn’t like who I was. Although my buddies at work meant well, I saw myself begin to become someone I didn’t like, someone very familiar but unhappy. So, come the next workday. I get the pleasant task of saying “sorry guys. It’s not you. It’s not the game. It is me. This is a weakness I have and I’d rather do other things like reading or blogging.” I doubt I’d get as bad as before since I have learned a little moderation. It still would rob me of other joys in life like family time, reading…etc. Discovering and conquering this weakness to addictive gaming is one of the best things I have ever done.

I can already hear people say “well sheesh Aaron, why didn’t you just stop being that way?” How many years do I need to waste before it becomes something to avoid, not fight? I discovered the weakness in high school…it didn’t get dealt with in Jr. High and prior. How long should it have been before I said “enough. I am untrustworthy with this and need to better myself by avoiding it as much as physically possible.”? I waited some 7 years before successfully doing that. Should it have been longer?

Well, gentle reader, do you have something optional preventing you from realizing your dreams in life, or keeping you from being someone you admire? Maybe that needs to change. Just a thought.