Until Debt Do Us Part

Does Paying Your Bills Make You Happy?

2011-11-14T22:08:00.001-05:00

I’ve realized something today, 16 months into my dept repayment; I don’t have much stress over my bills anymore. In fact paying my bills each month makes me happy, because my family and I are one step closer to being debt free.

Its amazing how times have changes. A year and a half ago I stressed over sitting down to balance the check book. There were many disagreements on how money would be spent.

Today when an unexpected expense comes up it can be dealt with. There is little fear of the unknown, because a plan is in place.

So if you fear your check book, or the monthly bills, take action:

- make a list of all income and expense

- make a budget based on these

- develop a plan

- agree with you spouse on the plan

- start an emergency fund

- be happy!

How do you approach your bills, budget? How do they make you feel?

Giving Back

2011-11-11T20:23:00.002-05:00

In honor of our Veterans I wanted to share an organization with you that does incredible work.

OPERATION SURF is a recreational and rehabilitative surf experience for active duty military recently wounded on tour in Iraq, Afghanistan or training maneuvers.

Operation Surf host annual wounded warriors surf program for soldiers from the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio Texas. Operation Surf takes place in different locations such as Pismo Beach/Avila Beach, CA and Santa Cruz, CA.

They have developed an adaptive surf program to allow these soldiers to experience the thrill of surfing in a safe, constructive, land and ocean environment.

http://www.operationsurf.com/index.html

My family and I are lucky enough to have family members who are very involved with this charity. We have yet to be a part of an event, but have donated money to their cause. We hope to some day take part in one of these amazing events.

The Holiday Season & RAK

2011-11-07T21:11:00.000-05:00

It’s that time of year again folks. The holidays are here. We are only 2 ½ weeks away from Thanksgiving and the full on Christmas blitz will be here. This makes me recall a post I made a little over a year ago.

http://untildebtdouspart.blogspot.com/2010/12/random-act-of-kindnes.html

Sure the Holidays are about giving and receiving gifts, but what about the Random Acts of Kindness. This is truly a special idea that can really make your Holiday season even more special.

I read today that Dave Ramsey has started his Giving Challenge again this year.

http://www.daveramsey.com/specials/giving-challenge/

Challenging people to donate time or money to help others. Some of my co-workers are thinking of forgoing swapping gifts this year and taking the gift money to adopt a family. I think this is a great idea. Helping others in need. I’m hopefully in the future that once my debt repayment is complete that my family and I will have many opportunities to help others.

What are you doing to help others this Holiday season?

We're Back!

2011-11-04T22:31:00.000-04:00

It’s been over 10 month since my last post. I have good reason for the delay. It has been a very busy 10 months. Work has been extremely hectic. My department is growing and I have hired 7 full time staff members. This is a good thing, but it take time and effort to get the new people up to speed. In April I had a short trip to the emergency room and stay in the hospital to have a cyst removed. I woke up one morning and it ruptured and off to surgery I went.

In August Hurricane Irene battered the East Coast and the family and I go a wake up at 4 am in the morning when a tree fell on our house. No one was hurt, except the roof. We did have a small branch breech the ceiling in a bedroom. All has been since been repaired.

Although I haven’t kept the blog updated over the last 10 months, I have kept myself update on debt topics listening to pod casts by Dave Ramsey and Dan Miller. I have also read a number of books including:

Dale Carnegie's - How to Win Friends & Influence People
Dale Carnegie's - How to Stop Worrying and Start Living
Dan Miller’s - 48 Days to the Work You Love

With all these things going on my family and I have stayed focused on paying down our debt. We have our $1000 emergency fund in place and in just over 15 months have paid close to $32,000 of our debt off.

We may have been quite over this time, but we have been focused!

Power of Information

2011-01-24T06:56:00.000-05:00

For over 6 months now my family and I have been on the right track with my money. Cutting up the credit card in the summer of 2010 and we have not looked back. My wife and I communicate often about our finances, staying on target and making sure we both are on the same page. We have also started to educate our three children about money and debt. Now that we are on our way we have begun to share our enlightenment with family and friends. I'm surprised at how often people respond with their own tales of debt issues. We often share as much information as we can, supplying resources like web sites and books. Also suggesting that one look at their own bank or credit union for additional information. Most offer free debt/credit counseling. This Christmas I purchased a few copies of Dave Ramsey's "Total Money Makeover" and gave them as gifts.

Cover via Amazon

The feedback from the people receiving these gifts has been amazing. I'm glad that I have been able to provide valuable information to help them. It brings a smile to my face when the tell me about the changes they are making in their own finances now they the have read the book. All I ask in return in that they pay it forward. When the finish the book they pass it on to someone else and ask that person to do they same.

Do you talk openly about your finances? What resources do you recommend for others looking for information?

Pay What You Can

2011-01-22T14:51:00.000-05:00

A great Article that I wanted to share.

Panera Pay What You Can Cafe

If you went into a restaurant like this, what would you pay for your meal?

Week End Round Up

2011-01-07T10:34:00.000-05:00

Have a great weekend everyone!

My Yakezie challenge continues to make progress. I am now in the 500k range. Good Stuff.

Here are some posts I enjoined this week:

Punch Debt in The Face - Am I relevant?
http://www.punchdebtintheface.com/2011/01/relevant.html

Frugal Dad - Debt: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
http://frugaldad.com/2011/01/06/what-is-bad-debt/

Budgeting in the Fun Stuff - How to Get Richer After Holiday Binging
http://www.budgetinginthefunstuff.com/how-to-get-richer-after-holiday-binging/

Get Rich Slowly - Drama in Real Life: When Emergencies Pile Up
http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2011/01/06/drama-in-real-life-when-emergencies-pile-up/

Merit Increases

2011-01-06T06:58:00.000-05:00

From Dictionary.com

Merit:
–noun
1. claim to respect and praise; excellence; worth.
2. something that deserves or justifies a reward or commendation; a commendable quality, act, etc

It's that time of year again at work for review and merit increase. It got me thinking of my salary and future potential earnings. Since I didn't win mega millions Tuesday night I plan on continuing to work for many years. I have been working full time for over 17 years. In that time I have had 4 promotions. With those promotions I had big increases in salary 10-12% or more. Typical merit increases run in the 3-5% ranges and over the last few years they have been in the 2-3% range. I took my current salary and assumed a 3% increase over the remaining years I expect to work calculating the increase each year and adding it to my base.

I was surprised to see the salary I would be earning in the years to come. Hopefully there will be a few promotions along the way, but I did not add any in. If you asked me if that would be enough 6-8 months ago. I would have told you no way. Now being on track to paying off my debt in the next 2-3 years, my salary seem much more manageable / livable.

Could you survive for the remainder of your career on a 2-3% yearly increase?

Holiday Recap

2011-01-04T06:55:00.000-05:00

I’m back. After a little break with lots of family, friends, and tons of food I’m hopeful to get back to some regular posting. It was a great Holiday season this year, so great that my children dubbed it “The Best Christmas Ever.” There were so many reasons why it was the best Christmas ever. In no particular order here are the reason for our best Christmas ever:

Wish lists fulfilled - Everyone got what the wanted this year. Packages cookies baked with love all delivered on time. There were smiles all around.

Only Cash was used – We did not incur any debt this holiday season all gifts, food etc. were paid in full with cash. What an amazing feeling,

Random Act of Kindness – My wife and I had the opportunity to shed a little light for others. When a customer was a little short on their grocery bill, and asked my wife to remove some items from their total, my wife paid the difference for them. I handed out Dave & Buster’s gift cards to 3 families that had unlimited video game play on them. Everyone was very thankful.

Time Spent With Family – both my wife and I took the week off between Christmas and New Years and had a great week with our children.

Friends – spent a number of days/nights with good friends drinking, eating, and laughing.

Snow – not a white Christmas, missed it by about 24 hours, but we did get to play, shovel and sled in plenty of the white stuff.

We did have our share of craziness as well. My wife had a flat tire on the expressway with 4 kids in the car, on their way to go sledding. I happen to be laid up in bed that day recovering from a trip to the ER and a battle with kidney stones. (kidney stones I’ll save for another day) After a call to our road side assistants told us the wait would be 4 hours, a Police office showed up and changed the tire for my wife.

We had the tire replaced the following day and received a 60% credit towards purchase of the new one. Things just seem to be a lot less stress free these days when the burden of money isn’t hanging over your head.

Hoping everyone had a great Holiday and Happy New Year.

Random Act of Kindness

2010-12-13T06:53:00.001-05:00

My wife came home from her part time cashier job at a local grocery store this weekend with a great story to share. During her shift a woman in her mid 30's came to her register to check out, as she did an older woman, probably in her 70's stood in line behind her. The younger woman checked out and paid for her groceries. She stayed at the end of the check out as my wife rang up the older woman's order. As my wife announced the told, just under $25 dollars, the younger woman said I'd like to pay for your groceries. The older woman was stunned. She said but I don't even know you. My wife said to the older woman if she is willing, why not let her. The younger woman handed my wife the $25.00 and left. The older woman was still in shock. My wife handed the change to the older woman who was now crying. Repeating that she could not believe what had just taken place. Just like that a random act of kindness, bringing tear to the woman's eyes. The younger woman didn't even wait for a thank you.

My wife shared the story with me as soon as she came home. She also posted it on Facebook. We both enjoyed the many comments by friends, suggesting to pay it forward, and what a great Holiday idea this was. Truly shows you the power of giving, and even makes it that much more powerful when it's a complete stranger. The story instantly reminded me of the Dave Rasmey's "Great Giving Challenge." We will be doing some shopping this week and I hope to find the right opportunity to pay it forward myself.

Have you ever paid for something for a complete stranger? If so what was the reaction?

Cleaning out the Closet

2010-12-07T06:54:00.000-05:00

I was preparing my closet for some potential Christmas gifts last night, going through my clothes and getting rid of the stuff I no longer wear or just doesn't fit quite right. I have a bag full of stuff that I will donate. I was making room for some new clothes that I typically receive during Christmas. Practical gifts, because I have a job that requires business casual dress. As I went over the clothes in the closet I realized of the 15 or so dress shirts I own only 5 or 6 regularly get worn, the same goes for the 6 or 7 dress pants, only 3 or 4 get regularly worn. It really got me thinking about scaling back my overall wardrobe. I have read a few blog post about the topic. Scaling back on material things, making your life simpler, and in turn saving money.

I could certainly see the advantage of not having a closet full of clothes, it makes getting ready for work, school, etc that much easier. You don't need to look over 15 shirts by 7 pants combinations to come up with a match. If you make it 6 shirts by 3 pants, if really decreased your decision making time. Depending on where you buy your clothes that's some big saving as well. As Christmas day approaches I hope I get some nice new clothes, but this year they new ones will replace old ones keep my closet thin.

Have you scaled back material items in your life? If so has it make life easier? Has it helped you save money?

Week End Round Up

2010-12-04T08:38:00.000-05:00

Have a great weekend everyone!

My Yakezie challenge continues to make progress. I am now under 600K. Good Stuff.

Here are some posts I enjoined this week:

Free From Broke - LIFE Has A Way Of Screwing Up Budgets
http://freefrombroke.com/2010/12/life-screwing-up-budgets.html

Budgets Are Sexy - Tip # 478: Unload your $1 bills every night!
http://www.budgetsaresexy.com/2010/11/tip-478-unload-your-1-bills-every-night/

Fabulously Broke - Women who save are sexy
http://www.fabulouslybroke.com/2010/12/women-who-save-are-sexy/

Frugal Dad - 2010 Holiday Tipping Guidelines
http://frugaldad.com/2010/11/29/2010-holiday-tipping-guidelines/

Getting Rich Slowly - The Dangers of Store Credit Cards
http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2010/12/02/the-dangers-of-store-credit-cards/

Holiday Budgeting Tips

2010-12-03T07:05:00.000-05:00

• Set an overall Spending limit - Holiday budget should come from your current disposable income. If you use credit cards for convenience or to take advantage of rewards, make sure you track your spending so that you don’t go over budget. Cut back on things like eat out, entertainment during November and December to boost you Holiday spending fund.

• Count every penny - There are a lot of holiday expenses people don’t think about like holiday cards, postage, gift wrap, decorations, food and drink for parties, shipping cost, etc. All of these items should be in the budget.
• Make sure your gift list is complete - The list should include everyone to whom you plan to give a gift — relatives and friends, teachers, mail carriers, co-workers etc.

• Set Limits – Agree upon spending limits with family and friends. If you bake or are could with crafts you make want to go that route to save additional money.

• Set expectations – If budget is tight, let it be known, so no one is disappointed.

• Don’t shop angry, drunk, etc. - Keep those feelings in check when shopping. Keep your list and budget with you always. Don’t overspend because other family members are. When tempted to overspend, remind yourself of what you owe.

• Shop Smart – Find the gifts on your list on sale and buy it. No impulse buying. If it’s not on your list don’t buy it.

• Keep track of spending – keep a record of every purchase and use cash to pay for them. Don’t get caught without cash and fall into the credit card trap.

Christmas Realization

2010-12-01T06:52:00.003-05:00

December is here. Only 24 days until Christmas. As I sat and watched Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer with my 3 children last night I couldn’t help falling into the Holiday spirit. Decorations are popping up all overall my neighborhood. My wife has started to get our house in shape. I’m planning on tackling the outside this weekend. I tried to recall when I found out. When the big Christmas myth was spoiled for me. I can’t remember the exact moment, but I recall seeing some gifts in a bag purchased by my parents and later that Christmas receiving those same items from Santa. I don’t think I had that ah-ha moment, it was more of a slow process piecing little things together. Sometime when I was 10 or 11 years old I realized that Santa Claus wasn’t real. I wasn’t shocked. My 3 children ages 11,11, and 8 still believe. My wife and I plan on keeping the secret alive as long as we can. I have a feeling my oldest son and daughter have started to piece things together for themselves, but have yet to say anything.

When the time comes I have faith that they will keep the secret alive for their younger brother. I think that this would be one of those teachable moments to explain to them about savings and budgeting. Sure for them today Christmas is about getting gifts off their wish list, but as they get older it’s more about spending time with family, friends, and giving to others. Giving my children the understanding to save and plan to provide that Christmas experience each year is a valuable lesson.

When/how did you learn that Santa Claus was not real? If you have kids – have them made the realization yet?

Week End Round Up

2010-11-26T08:50:00.003-05:00

Hoping everyone had a great Thanksgiving. I did and I'm still full from dinner. This year is really moving fast. There are 28 day left until Christmas.

My Yakezie challenge continues to make progress. I am now under 600K. Good Stuff.

Here are some of the most interesting post I read this week:

Budgets Are Sexy - Here a Tip, There a Tip, Everywhere a Tip Tip!
http://www.budgetsaresexy.com/2010/11/here-a-tip-there-a-tip-everywhere-a-tip-tip/

Punch Debt in the Face - Am I a puppy murderer?
http://www.punchdebtintheface.com/2010/11/puppy-murderer.html

Get Rich Slowly - Fantasy vs. Reality: Paving a Path to a Promising Future
http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2010/11/22/fantasy-vs-reality-paving-a-path-to-a-promising-future/

Frugal Dad - Black Friday Deals: A Savvy Consumer’s Guide
http://frugaldad.com/2010/11/23/black-friday-deals/

Free From Broke - Think Long Term When Shopping Black Friday and Cyber Monday
http://freefrombroke.com/2010/11/think-long-term-when-shopping-black-friday-and-cyber-monday.html#comments

Financial Samurai - Who Are You To Tell Me It’s Not Worth The Money?
http://www.financialsamurai.com/2010/11/17/who-are-you-to-tell-me-it%E2%80%99s-not-worth-the-money/

Give Thanks

2010-11-24T08:58:00.000-05:00

It’s that time of year again family, friends, food, and football. Thanksgiving is here. Typically a nice four-day weekend, with one big kick off nestled in there to really get the Holiday shopping season off the ground. Black Friday! Our family typically doesn’t partake in Black Friday actively. If there is something on our Christmas list that we can get a deal on we may venture out, but often we choose to sit this day out. Thanksgiving for our us is enjoying a great meal with family.

Image via Wikipedia

We often share they things that we are thankful for in our lives. The childrens list can get interesting and quiet funny. Here are the thinks I’m most thankful for:

My Wife – she keeps me in line. :)
My Children – puts lots of smiles on my face and makes me proud
My Job – Good days/bad days but it pays the bills.
My Health – sure I could lose some weight, exercise more, but overall not to bad
Family & Friends – don’t get to see them as often as I’d like
Recession – forced me to change my financial habits and get things on track

It’s a pretty standard list up until the Recession entry. For me the recession was the bottom, it was the point that I could not refinance any longer, or increase my line of credit. I had to find other answers. It forced me to cut spending, close my credit cards and get my finances on track. So for it, I’m thankful. I know for others it’s not something they will ever be thankful for.

Happy turkey day!

Will you be venturing out on Black Friday? What things are you thankful for?

Other Peoples Money

2010-11-19T07:05:00.000-05:00

My wife recent came down with a toothache. She made a dentist appointment and was seen. The dentist addresses the pain, but follow up work was needed. The follow up work would take a few additional appointments with a total cost with insurance of roughly $900. Ouch! At the front desk my wife asked what were her option for appointments, payments, etc. She would need 3 follow visits to complete all of the work and payment in full would need to be made at the time of the final appointment. My wife explained that she would hold off making any appointment for now. The woman at the desk asked why? My wife explained that she did not have the cash to cover the work at this point. The woman said why not put it on your credit card. My wife explained that she would pay cash when she had it and would make an appointment at a later date. The woman again suggest that she need the work and she could pay on credit card. My wife explained again that this was not an option and left the office.

I understand the concept of payment must be received at the time of service. I would also like to have my wife's teeth address so she does not have any further issues. We both certainly don't want to finance the cost to have the work done. I was surprise as my wife retold me the story at how quickly the woman at the dentist office was to over advice on how we should spend our money. That a credit card was a good way to cover medical cost. We will make the arrangements to cover the cost and have my wife's teeth address in the near future. Payment will be made in cash!

Have you every been offered financial advice by a complete stranger?

Debt and Social Media

2010-11-18T19:29:00.000-05:00

I have recently heard a number of stories about a new weapon in the debt collector arsenal, social media. Think about all the information that is now shared online via Facebook and Twitter. A great way for that debt collector to find out more information on your current situation, where you going, eating out, buying something new, posting recent vacation photos etc.

Just think of all the status updates you provide and how they could relate to your financial state. If you have outstanding debt and are not current on it, it’s probably not a good idea to be showing off a new purchase on Facebook. It’s a simple rule, that any of us with kids have discussed, be careful what you post online, potential employers may see it, colleges, friends, etc. It’s really about common sense and protecting one's own privacy. Make sure you check privacy settings on any of the social media application that you make be using and think about what you are posting before you click submit.

Have you ever posted something online that you regretted?

Week End Round Up

2010-11-12T13:47:00.003-05:00

42 days left before Christmas. Ouch. This year is moving fast.

My Yakezie challenge continues to make progress. I am now under 800K. Good Stuff.

Here are some of the post that I enjoyed this week:

Punch Debt In The Face - Does the economy have you down?
http://www.punchdebtintheface.com/2010/11/down-economy.html

Faithful With A Few - 4 THINGS YOU SHOULDN’T PAY FOR
http://knsfinancial.com/4-things-you-shouldn't-pay-for/

Free From Broke - Ways To Increase and Improve Your Credit Score Without a Credit Card
http://freefrombroke.com/2010/11/increase-improve-build-credit-score-without-credit-card.html

Get Rich Slowly - Make More Money: How to Supercharge Your Income
http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2010/11/10/make-more-money-how-to-supercharge-your-income/

Frugal Dad - Stop Being a Slave to Debt (and Banks)
http://frugaldad.com/2010/11/08/stop-being-a-slave-to-debt/

Have a Great Weekend!

The Debt Collector Calls

2010-11-10T17:04:00.000-05:00

I received a call from a debt collector this week. It wasn’t for me, but a family member. I explained that they did not live or could be reach at the number dialed. I asked the collector not to call my number again. When I asked her to confirm my request, she proceeded to get rude with me, annoyed that I asked her to confirm my request she stated that she did hear me. After her confirmation I ended the call.

The family member in question I have little contact with, but assuming that we share the same last night the debt collector is looking for anyway to get in touch to try and collect the debt. This brief call was frustrating enough and it wasn’t even for me, I couldn’t image having these types of calls coming in for me. I’m hopeful that the family members get their finances straightened out. If we were on better terms I would offer what help I could, information on how to get out of their financial trouble. As bad as you may think you have it, someone always has it worse.

Have you ever tried to help a family member with their finances? If so what were the results?

Do you need to be Downsized?

2010-11-08T06:50:00.000-05:00

A new television show premiered this past Saturday on the We network called "Downsized." It follows the Bruce family, a blended family (kids from previously marriages) who are currently struggling with their finances. The Bruce's have 7 children under the age of 18 and live in Arizona. The full details of their finance woes look to be detailed over the season, but during episode one we learned that Dad, Todd Bruce's contracting business is in bad shape, they have lost their house and vacation home to foreclosure, they have filed for bankruptcy, they are on food stamps, and are having trouble paying the rent. Wow! I would recommend you give this show at try. It is interesting to see how the kids deal with the difficult times and how the parents communicate the financial situation to them. Please see web site for more info on the show:
http://www.wetv.com/downsized/

Did you watch this show this weekend? If so what did you think?

Week End Round Up

2010-11-05T13:47:00.004-04:00

Another Busy week. I was not able to post as often as I would have like this week or read as many PF blogs. :(

My Yakezie challenge continues to make progress. I started with a Alexa ranking of over 4 million and within 5 weeks I’m under 900K. Nice!

Here are some of the post that I enjoyed this week:

Yakezie - Weekly profiles of great blogs.
http://yakezie.com/

Frugal Dad - How To Clean Up Your Financial Indiscretions
http://frugaldad.com/2010/11/03/how-to-clean-up-your-financial-indiscretions/

Gail Vaz-Oxlade - The Seven Deadly Sins: Pride
http://gailvazoxlade.com/blog/archives/2281

Have a Great Weekend!

Book Review: The Millionaire Next Door

2010-11-02T07:17:00.000-04:00

Although the book is almost 15 years old and a lot has change in the economic world in that time, The Millionaire Next door is a must read book. It doesn't name real names, but based on interviews and surveys with real millionaires the book compiles profiles backed with lot of data of your average millionaire.

Before reading this book my impression of millionaires where something complied from TV and movies of extreme luxury, and extreme spending. This book tells a different story, a story of hard work, and frugality. In one chapter they discuss what makes the perfect Millionaire, or what Business produce the most. One of my favorite lines from the book "...the character of the business owner is more important in predicting this level of wealth than classification of his business." If you haven't already you should read this book.

Candy Land

2010-10-30T22:37:00.000-04:00

It's Halloween! What a glorious day. Free Candy! A double bonus because it's a weekend, extended hours for knocking on doors and snagging treats. I reminded my children that it would be 5 years before Halloween would fall on a weekend again, so enjoy it. We stocked up on candy this year, expecting a number of visitors to our home. We spent $28 on 5 bags of candy.

We typically buy the good stuff, no Mary Jane, Bit-O-Honey, or gummy food made in Japan for us. We go for M&Ms, snickers, milkyways, skittles, etc. With 3 kids we are typically pretty busy on Halloween. We hand out candy when home, but often leave the bowl out in from of our house relying on the honor system. We have had good luck and have always returned to find the bowl in once piece and candy remaining. It's good to know there are good kids out there. Happy Halloween!

How much do you spend on candy? Do you hand it out or use the honor system?

Week End Round Up

2010-10-29T06:56:00.000-04:00

A Busy week. I was not able to post as often as I would have like this week, but still looking for more guest post opportunities or guest post writers here so please let me know.

My Yakezie challenge continues to make progress. I started with a Alexa ranking of over 4 million and within 1 month I’m under 1 million. Nice!

I wish I had more time to read more PF blogs and share comments. Here are some of the post that I enjoyed this week:

Investor Junkie - Fidelity Review – Opening an Online Brokerage Account
http://investorjunkie.com/4110/fidelity-review/

Budgets Are Sexy - The Perfect Credit Card.
http://www.budgetsaresexy.com/2010/10/the-perfect-credit-card/

Getting Rich Slowly - Waste Less Food, Save More Money
http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2010/10/26/waste-less-food-save-more-money/

Faithful With A Few - Manage Your Finances Like a Monkey!
http://knsfinancial.com/manage-your-finances-like-a-monkey/

Punch Debt in the Face -Domestic Ninja
http://www.punchdebtintheface.com/2010/10/domestic-ninja.html

Have a Great Weekend! Happy Halloween!