"We are not quitters."

I just finished watching the President's Address to Congress and I couldn't help but cheer along with a lot of others out there.

At the least, I can say he's trying. Of course, all of us would be up in arms if we thought he wasn't. Or at least I would be.

Personally, I am worried about all the stimulus. Tax payers bailing out everyone that sticks out a hand for some. I wrote about this in previous posts.

But now Obama is saying that the deficit will be cut in half in 10 years. A lot can change in 10 years. I'll almost be 40.

And thinking about that, I want to look back over those last 10 years and say, "Wow, I'm amazed we came out of that mess. I am thankful for the steps that were taken to avoid catastrophe."

I definitely don't want to be saying anything else.

I'd like to make a few points in regards to the speech. Points he made that really hit home.

First off - and typically most importantly to me is the bottom line.

Recovery.gov I think is an interesting step. I am skeptical of it - I think the government can give us 80% of what they're really spending - I mean for security precautions alone we don't want to air out our financials to the rest of the world just because for transparency sake.

I don't like the fact that 95% of US tax payers will be receiving a tax cut in a month. Will I take it? Yes. But give responsible Americans like myself who love this country (more on that later) the choice. The option. Do I want a tax credit of a little over $1,300 this year? Again, I will take it. But if we had the option to? I honestly believe there are Americans out there who believe if their money is put to good use, they don't mind giving up these tax breaks. Even if we get a small minority of Americans out there who can check the box that says, "Keep my money US government. It's better for our country." I can almost guarantee that 20% of the 95% of US tax payers that will be getting that cut are willing to do it. It might take a movement...but it could happen. I have even suggested to friends that I'd be willing to not receive tax returns for the next few years if it meant keeping this country afloat.

The tax break is money I never had - nor expected. A tax break isn't really going to do me any good. The stimulus we received last year was promptly deposited in to savings. As long as I keep my job and continue down my same financial path, I will be just fine (or even better than fine). I understand that there are those out there who are doing worse than me, and instead of giving me a tax break, I'd rather let them have my money. Seriously.

I believe the 3 things Obama touched on during his speech are extremely important - Energy, Healthcare and Education. I couldn't agree more with focusing on these 3 items. I love the idea of renewable energy and not relying upon other countries for it. We'll need a strong focus on healthcare as the largest generation ever to live in this country is quickly approaching retirement. And the school systems in this country are a joke. Without a focus on educating those who will be contributing to an American society in the future there will be no future for this country.

2 parts that hit home from the speech on education:

"And dropping out of high school is no longer an option. It's not just quitting on yourself; it's quitting on your country."

"I speak to you not just as a president, but as a father when I say that responsibility for our children's education must begin at home. That is not a Democratic issue or a Republican issue. That's an American issue."

Amazing. When I look back at my formative educational years I see my parents. Getting me excited for reading. For math. Congratulating me for performing well in school. It is not just on the schools to teach the children. And to think of all those kids dropping out of high school. No longer seeing the point. Becoming dependent upon a government that subsidizes their lives instead of contributing. It's sad that it's come to this.

Obama once again harped on hope. He talked about the crossroads at which we stand. On this I have to be skeptical too. Again, I would prefer to be sitting here 10, 20 or even 40 years from now saying we did it right. But after reading excerpts from The Fourth Turning (for cliff notes you can read this) I realize that this might be bigger than all of us. The pattern appears everywhere you look in nature. Each living thing must have a period of growth, then stagnation, then decline and finally death. As I have been saying to those that are close to me - I don't want my lifetime to be during the "decline" or even "death" phase of the United States. Sure it sounds a little bit dramatic (and I hope it ends up being only that), but if things don't start turning up in the next few years we could be headed down a very scary death spiral.

But I want to believe.

I realized tonight what I was going to do once I had enough money to be comfortable. I realized I would spend a good amount of time/effort and money in service. Because before I just wanted enough money to not have to work anymore. But I never knew why I wanted that money. I'm starting to understand now why so many of the "successful" people in this country have gifted their time and money to charity. It's not just to feel good about themselves - but it's to leave this world a better place by being here.

To end this post, I'm going to quote the speech once again because it was probably one of the strongest oratorical closes I have ever seen or heard:

"I think about Ty'Sheoma Bethea, the young girl from that school I visited in Dillon, South Carolina, a place where the ceilings leak, the paint peels off the walls, and they have to stop teaching six times a day because the train barrels by their classroom.

She had been told that her school is hopeless. But the other day after class, she went to the public library and typed up a letter to the people sitting in this chamber. She even asked her principal for the money to buy a stamp.

The letter asks us for help and says, "We are just students trying to become lawyers, doctors, congressmen like yourself, and one day president, so we can make a change to not just the state of South Carolina, but also the world. We are not quitters."

That's what she said: "We are not quitters." These words...

These words and these stories tell us something about the spirit of the people who sent us here. They tell us that, even in the most trying times, amid the most difficult circumstances, there is a generosity, a resilience, a decency, and a determination that perseveres, a willingness to take responsibility for our future and for posterity.

Their resolve must be our inspiration. Their concerns must be our cause. And we must show them and all our people that we are equal to the task before us.

I know...

I know that we haven't agreed on every issue thus far.

There are surely times in the future where we will part ways. But I also know that every American who is sitting here tonight loves this country and wants it to succeed.

I know that.

That must be the starting point for every debate we have in the coming months and where we return after those debates are done. That is the foundation on which the American people expect us to build common ground.

And if we do, if we come together and lift this nation from the depths of this crisis, if we put our people back to work and restart the engine of our prosperity, if we confront without fear the challenges of our time and summon that enduring spirit of an America that does not quit, then some day, years from now, our children can tell their children that this was the time when we performed, in the words that are carved into this very chamber, "something worthy to be remembered."

Seth's Tips On Saving

I just spent the last 30 minutes reading through posts I have made on this blog that include the word "saving" to make sure I haven't written this before.

I haven't. But I had to read a lot of stuff. Man I write too much sometimes. Ah well. Some of the stuff I read I was actually impressed by (meaning I can't believe I could have written something like that). In all honesty I feel like my writing has gone way down hill since early 2008 from what some of the posts I just read.

I should have written this post 6 months ago. Maybe a year ago. Maybe then if someone could change their mentality on their finances (just from reading my blog! Yeah right!) they would have had a head start on what has finally been defined as a "recession".

I save a lot. I always have. I really don't know why. It's almost become a sort of Catholic guilt sort of thing. For example - do not submit to temptation and by doing so you find salvation? I use a question mark there because I'm not sure. But for me, saving is definitely a challenge. And every time I complete that challenge it makes me feel a little bit better about things. About how I'm doing.

How much am I saving you might ask? Over 20% of what I earn. To be exact, 23%. I figure by saving so much I should easily be able to reach my retirement goals.

But this isn't about retirement. It's about saving.

So if you're having trouble saving maybe some of my tips can help.

-The most important question I ever ask of myself when buying anything or paying for anything is this: Do I really need this? Or do I want this?

This question alone has probably saved me thousands of dollars since I began earning my own money. Because it's typically not the big ticket items that I spend money on. It's the every day expenses. For example, today I had an appointment outside of work during the lunch hour. Sure, I was starving. Yes, I was surrounded by strip mall food goodness. Yes, McDonald's value menu is probably the least expensive meal I could eat right now outside of the house. But there was food waiting for me at home. Free food. Leftovers.

And as I was driving by those golden arches, I looked over and felt good about my decision. Not only did I not needlessly spend $3 on food that wasn't healthy for me, I also avoided wasting leftover food that was waiting for me in the fridge. Because everyone knows if something sits in the fridge for long enough, it isn't long before it ends up in the trash (or in the deep back corner buried under something until you clean out your fridge. Gross).

This question solves any material desire for me almost immediately. Do I need a new car? Absolutely not. Do I need new shoes? Probably not for another 6 months at the earliest. Do I need a new pair of jeans?

Yes.

I did.

So here was how I came about that answer:

The last pair of jeans I purchased was in 2004. I bought them for a little over $30. Over the past 5 years I've probably worn them at least twice a week (this takes in to account not wearing them over the summer months). Over 5 years that's roughly about 500 times I wore them. $30 divided by 500 times the jeans were worn equals six cents per use. Do you think about your clothes this way? Because you should. I hate hearing women reference their expensive name brand clothes as an "investment". Would your Jimmy Choos that you bought for $400 get worn even 100 times before you got tired of them?

And I understand that people definitely want to use their money to buy things they want too. So do I. But before I do I always wait at least a week. And I'm talking about more expensive items ($50 or more for me). Not the cookie every now and then (although those can add up too). The reason I wait a week is because I want to see if my feelings are still the same about whatever I'm wanting to purchase a week from when I first wanted it. In fact, I think the longest I ever waited to purchase something was 3 months. It took me that long to decide the money was worth it. Not only will your decision be solid if you give yourself time - you'll more than likely avoid a lot of buyer's remorse that comes with impulse buys. Also, I've found that by giving yourself time I tend to fall out of want for a specific product. It's just not as desireable after some time - but if it is for you then by all means go for it.

Also, by taking time before you purchase you'll give yourself the ability to shop around. See what other retailers are offering it for. Check ebay or craigslist to see if you can find it used (if you don't mind that). Check Amazon. See if you can find a discount code or a coupon for what you want. And when you know you've found the best price go back to your original retailer that was selling the item and barter. Haggle. Tell them to price match your best price and beat the other guys by 10%. Stores are hurting right now and a lot of them are willing to make deals to move inventory.

I can't count how many times - and this is hard for a lot of people - I've complained about a service or product and been given a break. My last oil change took a 25% cut in cost because the guy running the cashier asked me how their service was and I said, "Great, but a little expensive". Didn't like the movie you just walked out of or the dinner you just ate? Free movie passes or a dessert on the house should be on their way as long as you speak to someone in a position to make that happen for you. You work hard for your money, it shouldn't be wasted on things you don't - or didn't enjoy.

Another tip I have is to make saving automatic. I know that other financial gurus have recommended this, but I have something to add to it: Struggle with your saving being automatic. Automatic saving should not be easy. It should be like having to pay one of your major bills every month. Like the rent or the mortgage or possibly even the credit card bill. First of all - take advantage of your company's 401K. If your company matches any sort of percentage of your income you are throwing away free money by not contributing. Second, set up your automatic transfers and make the transfers in to something you can't just easily take out of. A roth IRA is a good place to put your money. CDs. Online savings accounts that don't have ATM withdrawal availability. Think about how much spending money you have every month (hopefully you have some) and take a huge chunk of it and set it up on automatic withdrawal. The first few months it may be hard getting used to, but if you have the proper discipline your spending habits will adjust so it isn't that much of a struggle.

If there's no struggle at all though, then you aren't saving enough. If it's too hard then cut back a little bit on the savings. But don't succumb to stopping the savings completely or withdrawing from the savings accounts. Check your savings account quarterly (or even less) to avoid the temptation. Hopefully you're like me and the larger your accounts get the less you want to take any money from them.

Cut Costs. Working at a couple banks during my college years really helped to develop my understanding of personal finances. Why? Because I would deal with people every day who didn't know what they were doing with their money. And because of their idiocy they were charged fee after fee after fee until they contacted me to let me know how great they thought our company was. What nice people. But you know what? 99% of the time it wasn't the banks fault. It was theirs.

I used to talk to people who would complain to me about the overdraft fees that kept hitting their account. And every time I would see at least one of these charges on either their credit card or bank account:

-Starbucks/McDonalds/Tully's charges for $3+ every morning.
-Higher than average cell phone bill
-Higher than average cable provider bill
-Lunch receipts Monday through Friday
-Restaurant/Bar tabs every other night
-Large retail store charges every weekend/every couple of days
-Large car payment/insurance payment
-Charges at the hairdresser, salon or spa
-Charges for vacations - hotels, flights.

And I just used to sigh and just shake my head at these people. If you have ZERO dollars to your name, or even worse in many of their cases less than zero, why were you doing any of this? Something that used to make me so angry is that they would be calling me about a $30 fee that we charged them which they incurred after they were charged $120 from their cable provider.

I used to want to scream, "You don't have any money! Where do you get off getting the premium platinum package from Comcast?! Does having all of the movie channels/sports channels and other channels that you probably never watch - are those worth the extra $90 that you're paying?!"

But I never did. A fool and his money...

I pride myself on cutting costs. The wife cuts my hair every month (savings of $20/month). I don't drink coffee. ($60/month). I go out for lunch once a month. ($100/month). I work from home so I fill up on gas once a month and have very little insurance coverage. ($150/month). I go for free entertainment - basketball at the local gym or taking the dog to the dog park. I go to happy hour if I want to drink or eat to save on the full price of merriment. (At least $100/month). And sure, those charges may not seem like much, but over an entire year or even lifetime they definitely add up. Every dollar counts.

I could go on about where I cut costs in my life, but I think with what is happening in this economy, hopefully most people will start to get the idea.

It's never too late to start, and if you're already doing right by your accounts well then keep on pushing. I'll be right here continuuing to save if you need any motivation.

Hair Cuts, Streaks, An Ideal Sunday

Hair

About once every month I get my hair cut.

The wife does the hair cutting. I haven't paid for a haircut since high school. So almost 10 years now.

I just decided that I was only going in for a buzz anyway and so my sister took over. And from there, it was over. No more paying $15 a haircut, or $20 including tip. I used to hate the drive home from wherever I had had my hair cut. Somehow a few little hairs had gone down my shirt and itched like hell. Why was I tipping for this again?

So that's why I finally decided to get my own clippers. Sure it took some getting used to for those that cut my hair, but after a few goes at it they had perfected the science. Yes, every now and then my hair would be lopsided, but then again so was my head. I could always fix anything with my electric shaver.

Almost every time I get my hair cut I feel like I've shed a layer off of myself. I mean I have cut dead cells off of me, removed some weight - easier access to my scalp. One of the best feelings is drying off my freshly shaved head with a towel. And then slipping on that t-shirt and having the shirt rub against my head - almost like some ridiculous sandpaper.

Unfortunately when I shave my head I look terrible. I love to have my hair super short, but I need something to cover this ridiculous noggin - or as people have put in the past, watermelon on a toothpick. There's something about having my head shaved that makes me feel almost like a superhero.

Streaks

Over the past couple of weeks I've been on a pretty ridiculous streak. In sports betting I turned $35 in to $150 (only on multiple $5 bets). I hit a couple parlays - would've won a lot more money if it hadn't been for the freaking Steelers. Also, I was down to about $39 on my online poker account. This obviously doesn't seem like much (it isn't) but when I think about how I've been playing on $100 that I deposited last May it's provided me days worth of entertainment only for roughly $60. Over the past 2 weeks I have been unstoppable online playing poker also. I play in $2 tournaments so just like the sports betting it's a pretty amazing feat to really make any money on small bets. At the time that I write this my poker account balance has grown to almost even: $91.

I deposited money back in to my market trading account on January 3rd. Since then the market had the worst January it has ever had. And yet, since depositing the money I've made over $2,000 which equates to over 5% return. Now in comparison to the money that I've been gambling with that is some serious money.

I've been thinking a lot for the past couple of days about how I've been on this streak of winning financially. Every time I thought of it I didn't want to admit to myself that I was going through it - reason being the fear of it turning on a dime. Because this is how my life is. I streak to the winning side, and just the same streak to the losing side.

Right now, things are going very well. I want to stop it all just to insure that it doesn't turn on me. But who am I kidding? I am an action junkie.

Realistic Ideal Sunday

About halfway through the day today I thought about how this was a pretty awesome Sunday. I was sitting here on the laptop, dog sleeping soundly next to me. I was checking out lines and setting my parlay bets for the mornings NBA games. I had 2 poker tournaments lined up and felt confident.

Back to back games - San Antonio Spurs at the Boston Celtics and then the LA Lakers at the Cleveland Cavaliers. Flipping back and forth between those games and the college games that were going on. Notre Dame and UCLA. Purdue and Illinois. And the afternoon game of UW at Stanford.

Sports in HD, plus a comfy couch, a warm sleeping dog. Sportsbetting, poker. No rain outside. Warm enough that I didn't freeze when I took the dog on her daily stroll. Plenty of leftovers in the fridge for lunch.

We went to costco to pick up some things - groceries for the weekend, cleaning supplies. Then had dinner with the family to celebrate the sister's birthday. I think it's always best to end the weekend with laughs.

The only thing that could've made the day better was a little bit of physical activity. I wanted to play basketball but it wasn't available today.

So when I think about my day it may seem a bit lazy to everyone else, but for me it was perfect.

Somewhere Out There

I never write a post like this.

So I figure I should.

As I was sitting there at McMenamins this evening I was thinking about the time I was in McMenamins in Portland, staring across the restaurant at 4 guys that looked like they were in their late 50s/early 60s and having the time of their lives.

Laughing and reminiscing about times long gone. Smiles on their faces as the pitchers were being passed around.

And I couldn't help but think...

Somewhere out there there is someone:

-Who is secretly (or openly) depressed about the NFL season coming to an end. The only thing he has to look forward to in fall of this year when the sport he cares about most starts up again.

-That's thinking about you. Or praying for you.

-Who will go to sleep content after having a pretty solid birthday dinner.

-Who won't be able to sleep because they're worried about what tomorrow holds.

-Who will receive a call in the middle of the night to receive terrible, life changing news.

-Who is worried about their job and being employed.

-Who is tucking in their child who means the world to them. Grabbing their teddy bear and placing them next to their child and pushing the covers under their feet and torso to wrap them up like a nice burrito. Protected and warm.

-Who is starving. Trying their hardest not to eat anything else while they struggle with their diet.

-Who is having a hard time telling the truth to someone. Who is having a hard time facing the truth themselves.

-Who's writing a blog post as the same time as me.

-Who thinks that it's going to be another ridiculous night filled with paid programming.

-Who can't put the book down. Or who skips ahead to see how many pages they have left until they finish this chapter.

-That's wishing that tomorrow was Friday, or even the weekend instead of just Wednesday.

-Still regretting what they did this weekend.

-Who saw fireworks during their first kiss with the person they've had a crush on for months.

-Who can't decide whether or not they should take a shower tonight.

-That's grateful for surviving.

-That is sighing; wondering if their shift will ever end.

-That is wondering how they ever got themselves in this position.

-Who starts their vacation in the Bahamas tomorrow.

-Who should not have gone for dessert with dinner tonight.

-Who is missing somebody right now.

-Who is using existential questions to make themselves feel small.

-Who is over thinking things.

-Who is wondering if a chair will be sturdy enough to stand on to change a light bulb. Or if they should get a ladder just to be safe.

-Who can't find something and is searching frantically for it.

-Who has been looking forward to this night for months. And what ended up happening exceeded all expectations.

-Who was completely surprised by a proposal.

-Who wishes they weren't so cheap and would pay the money to keep the heat on.

-Who is checking their phone, waiting for an important phone call.

-That will spend the night under the bridge again.

-That is getting ready for another day on the job.

-Who is wondering how they're going to deal with this diagnosis.

-That laughed so hard that they lost their breath and actually had tears streaming out of their eyes.

-Who hopes they made the right decision.

So there's billions of us out there. And I'm sure I only touched on a minuscule amount of what people were dealing with today. Sometimes it's just crazy to me to think about all the lives out there that don't stop because I am not a part of them (or ever were or ever will be). But we all continue to live our lives because we don't necessarily know any better.

Somewhere out there - like Fievel from An American Tail.