Taxes - Love’em or Hate’em, You Gotta Pay’em

Posted by Debt Destroyer on April 15, 2009

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tokyo-japan-rollercoaster I bet most of you have already received your tax return before I even filed mine. This year I waited until April 14th to send mine in.

Why did I wait so long?

Simple. I knew we’d be paying in, so I was in no rush. After all if they’re going to give me until April 15th, then by golly I’ll take my time.

Last night when I was putting all the paperwork away I decided to take a trip down memory lane and in doing so I realized that our annual income has been on quite a roller coaster ride.

Since I’ve been writing for the Happy Rock I’ve been showing our monthly expenses, well here now is the last 8 years of our annual income(with some commentary):

$58,787 - 2001 -” Let’s get married!”
$64,674 - 2002 -”Hey we’re making lots of money, let’s buy a house!”
$50,651 - 2003 -“Oh oh, I just got laid off…”
$45,442 - 2004- “Let’s move back to SD and have a kid!”
$37,469 - 2005 -“Maybe we should rethink that idea of you staying home?”
$39,939 - 2006 -“Yes, You would make a wonderful Wedding Photographer!”
$51,021 - 2007 -“Hey I got a new job, Let’s have another kid!”
$64,165 - 2008 -“Since you have a successful business, I’ll go back to school!”

I was a little surprised to see that we were back to our 2002 income levels even though I lost my job this year. But my wife’s business has been stepping up when we really needed it to.

But we’ll be raising our hands and screaming next year because there’ll be a mighty big drop in income for 2009.

Hopefully it won’t be too bad and we can somehow manage just fine. But as I alluded to earlier, the phone has been silent the last couple of months, so we’re starting to worry about future bookings. Perhaps the economy is hitting close to home, or perhaps it’s just a coincidence?

Whatever the case be rest assured that we’ll continue to try to DESTROY as much debt as we can while we learn to live within our means. That way we’ll be in a great spot when I get done with school and enter the workforce again.

So thanks 2008 you were great, but it’s time to shine in 2009! And we’re really going to kick butt in 2010! (sorry…I couldn’t think of a rhyme)

Until next time,

-DD

» Filed Under About The Debt Defier, Careers, Salary

Help Wanted - Cobblers Needed During A Recession

Posted by Debt Destroyer on March 12, 2009

Last November I made a post about how I decided to save some money by not replacing my shoes.

Well as my luck would have it, I instantly broke the thingie-ma-bobber which holds the shoe laces in. So over the holiday break I took my shoe in to the shop in town that fixes shoes. They said they’d call me when they were done. A month went by and I’ve heard nothing.

So I stopped in today just to check-up up on how things were going (I really needed my shoes).

They were done! The clerk apologized for not calling, but she said that they only have one guy who fixes shoes and he’s a college student and he is really busy. She pointed to a sign(as if I didn’t believe her).

Due to high demand, shoe repairs will take a minimum of two weeks.

I paid my $5 and left. But I was struck by two things:

That there is a high demand for shoe repair.
That my local cobbler is a college student.

But I shouldn’t be too surprised because at about the same time I was bragging that I decided to not replace my shoes, US News & World Report was telling us all about how Cobbler was becoming a hot job in a recession.

So if the teaching thing doesn’t work out for me, maybe I’ll look into being an apprentice cobbler.

Until next time,

-DD

» Filed Under Careers, Money Savers

Your Money or Your Life? Choosing Between Family and Career

Posted by Debt Destroyer on January 27, 2009

As I mentioned in my About Page, “Your Money or Your Life?” is my favorite personal finance book that I’ve read. But this post isn’t about the book.

This is about a decision that my wife made today.

As you long time readers know, I’m going back to school, so we’ve been depending on my wife’s wedding photography business to bring in the bacon around here for the past 6 months or so. And while we’ve had to tighten our belt to make it work, so far it has been just fine.

Today I took a message for my wife from a potential bride who was wondering if her date was still available (a tip for those of you getting married, it’s never to early to line up the photographer). After I passed on the message I had to go to work so I didn’t get to hear whether or not she booked the gig. But before I left, we joked that it would be the weekend that we’re trying to reschedule our NYC trip (late Aug-Early Sept).

I told her if that’s the case that she should book the wedding because we’ve already canceled the trip once, and it’s questionable if we’ll be in a position to go this year.

During supper tonight she brought up the call. Instead of the NYC trip weekend, it was for the weekend after.

The weekend of my cousin’s wedding.

My wife & I are quite found of this cousin. Her parents were wonderful to us when we lived in the Twin Cities. During that time we became very close to their family. But we’ve moved back to SD five years ago (OMG! it’s been that long) and now we only get to see them a couple of times a year.

We were quite pleased to hear the good news over the holidays. This particular cousin had once been the “black sheep” of the family. But as she matured she changed her friends, her surroundings, and her lifestyle. In a very short time, she turned into the “normal” one (if there is such a thing in my family).

In an ironic twist, when my cousin first told me the good news, her original wedding date conflicted with a wedding my wife is shooting. I figured that me and the kids could take a fun little road trip without Mommy around, but my wife was devastated. But when my wife called to inform my cousin that she couldn’t make it, she found out that the date had changed.

So now we have a cousin’s wedding with a moving date. Would she book the wedding or go to one? What would you do?

It’s a tough call for me. As much as I’d like my wife to come with us, I’d also like her to have a few more weddings booked too. That’s one of the problems with this line of work. All the early calls are for the dates you don’t want to work, but you feel pressured to book them in case the phone stops ringing. Especially in a recession where you are the sole bread-winner.

My wife told the bride that she was unavailable.

While I’m quite proud of her choosing family time over working, I’m also nervous that phone won’t ring and that we’ll regret this decision later. But that’s just who I am. In reality it’ll probably just mean that our NYC trip will transform into a trip to the Twin Cities.

And that wouldn’t be all that bad.

Until next time,

-DD

» Filed Under About The Debt Defier, Careers, Financial Succes

Health Insurance: Can’t Afford It, Can’t Live Without It.

Posted by Debt Destroyer on January 20, 2009

I knew this was coming.

This summer when I lost my job, my former employer gave me a severance package that included paying my family’s health insurance premiums for the rest of the year. Our current health insurance premium for our family of four is $1192.30 paid quarterly ($664.10 every month).

I knew this was coming.

It was due to this looming expense that I had doubts about whether or not going back to school was the best idea for me. Back then there was an opening for a city garbageman. I grabbed the application but instead of filling it out, I registered for classes.

I knew this was coming.

This has been in the back of my mind constantly. It’s a big reason why we decided that we needed to sell the van. It also played a major contributing factor in the decision to take out a student loan.

I knew this was coming.

So now that it’s here what am I going to do about it?

Pay it!

I know that it’s the simple answer, but I also know that it’s easier said than done.

I could choose to be like one of the millions of families who don’t have any coverage. But that’s a risk I don’t feel like taking. If it ever comes to that, then so be it. But right now we’re not in that place yet. Plus with my family medical history, I need to do whatever I can to make sure we don’t get to that place.

We think we can get by until I get a teaching job (hopefully 2 years). We’ve been very fortunate that at the same time that I lost my job that my wife’s business has started doing better. So that is why we’ll try to do our best at controlling our other expenses then take advantage of employer heath care when I get a job.

It’s amazing how easily we took that benefit for granted.

Hopefully President Obama with the help of Health Sec. Tom Daschle (former South Dakotan) will be able actually introduce some “positive” reforms to our health care system. But I’m not going to hold my breath.

I know I’m not the only one out there who has been in this boat. So Happy Rock readers I turn to you once again. What did you do when presented with this situation? Have any of you went without Health Insurance before? Any thoughts on Health Insurance in general?

Keep in mind that this is a family friendly environment

Until next time,

-DD

» Filed Under Careers, Personal Finance

Finding Out What Matters - A Perfect Day Review

Posted by The Happy Rock on August 25, 2008

I recently finished a fiction novel called A Perfect Day by Richard Paul Evans. I am not sure how it got on our bookshelf, but I needed something to read one night and the dust jacket pulled me in enough to start it. I was pleasantly surprised. It isn’t a masterpiece, but it kept my interest and left me satisfied. I was even more surprised that it touched upon a couple of personal finance topics that I find near to my heart and I had no personal finance agenda when I started out.

The story covers a business man that finds himself abruptly out of work and decides to accomplish a life long dream of finishing his first novel. The novel lands him a top the bestseller list and he relishes the whirlwind fame while his wife and daughter are left watching his life from a distance. The main character ends up on an unexpected journey to find out what is important to him in the midst of his new found fame and money.

Below is an excerpt that will give you a flavor of the story behind the story. The scene is towards the end of the novel during an interview between the main character and Diane Sawyer with his wife and daughter watching back home. It is the point were he begins to come to the realization that he lost his way, an apology of sorts.

Diane Sawyer - I imagine that your sudden success has been a little overwhelming.
Robert Harlan - It has. In ways I wasn’t ready for it. Frankly, if I had to do it over again…I wouldn’t
Diane Sawyer - There are probably several thousand aspiring authors watching us right now who would give anything to be in your shoes.
Robert Harlan - I am sure there are. And I don’t mean to sound ungrateful. My readers have been great, so have my publisher and agent. But success can be a trap. Maybe someone else could have handled success better. But I lost sight of the big picture. My book is a best-seller for a little while, at least until the next big thing bumps me off, but I will always be a husband. And I will always be a father. If I give up those things for a temporary seat in the musical chairs of fame, then I am a fool.

If you like that type of fiction or those topics interest you, grab a copy from the local library and give it a read. It might just impact your career and your finances.

» Filed Under Books, Careers, Chasing Dreams

Decisions, Decisions…It Is Hard To Choose A New Career

Posted by Debt Destroyer on August 24, 2008

When I last talked about my future plans I mentioned that I contacted two local schools.

A State School where I’d earn a teachers certificate.
A Private School where I’d become a Rad Tech.

Option #1 would take 3-4 semesters. Option #2 would take 3 years. Option #1 would cost about one third of what option #2 would cost. Option #1 would also make considerably less than option #2 upon graduation.

Hmmmm.

I decided to be a teacher.

Almost everyone who I talked to this last month when I explained my choices has said, “you’d make a good teacher” or something to that effect. I think deep down I’ve wanted to be a teacher for a very long time. But various reasons have kept me from exploring this idea. I think the lack of pay was the biggest. The next biggest would be my mother.

She would always rant and rave when teachers would be on the news asking for more money (South Dakota ranks 51st in the nation for teacher pay…we must be very proud of this fact, because we’ve done nothing over the years to change it). I would always take the teachers side of the argument. At the time I thought I was just playing devil’s advocate to spice up a boring dinner conversation, but looking back I think there was more there. Interesting…two straight posts with some personal reflection.

At least that is the plan today, it could easily change by the time you read this.

I say it could easily change because there are a few concerns about going this route:

Will we be able to afford me going back to school?
Will I find a job upon graduation that doesn’t require relocating?
Will I like it

This first one is my biggest concern (probably because we will face it right away). My wife’s wedding photography business if doing great, but I think she’s still 9 months away from making “real” money.

I of course will be working while going to school, but part time jobs around here pay peanuts (heck most full time jobs do too). So I’m thinking about applying for a sanitation worker opening that is being advertised currently. This way I could work until next fall when my wife’s business should really be going strong and we’d definitely be able to afford sending me back to school.

The second area of concern is also related to my wife’s business. She’ll make more money being a wedding photographer than I will as a teacher. So it will be stupid if I have to move to get a low paying job that will require her to relocate her business and start from scratch.

The 3rd area of concern is one I have with everything. As I mentioned in a previous post I’ve never had a job where I enjoyed what I was doing. So now it’s a constant worry that I have. But I’m not overly concerned with it this time. So far I’ve never really had a job that focused on human interaction, and I think that is what I’ve been missing. Plus the flexibility of two full months off in the summer would be great.

So here I am after 4 weeks still pondering the same basic ideas:

School or Work?

Garbageman or Teacher?

What are your thoughts?

Until next time,

-DD

» Filed Under About The Debt Defier, Careers, Chasing Dreams

At a Crossroads…considering a new career

Posted by Debt Destroyer on July 30, 2008

I have no clue to what the future holds, and it bugs the heck out of me.

To catch you up in case you’re just joining us, earlier this month I started posting here on THE HAPPY ROCK detailing my journey to a debt free life. Everything was going along nicely. I was opening up about my personal finances, and you, the HAPPY ROCK community, were giving great comments/ideas to help me out.

Then last week, just when I was putting the semblance of a plan together, I lost my job.

It was a shock to say the least.

I think I’m just now coming out of the daze I’ve been in (Which is too bad, because the local tennis tournament was this past weekend and I stunk up the joint. People came up and wondered what was wrong and I just shrugged and said it wasn’t my day. Part of me wanted to say that I might be a little preoccupied about how I was going to take care of my family instead of worrying about my backhand, but I figured nobody really cared).

After yet another wasted day yesterday I finally started doing something. Today I contacted two local colleges about going back to school in two totally different fields.

School #1 is a state school and I’m interested in their teaching program.

School #2 is a private school and I’m interested in their Radiological Tech program.

I ended up having to apply to both schools because the people I spoke to on the phone kept stressing that they’d be able to assist me better after I did so (I secretly think that their job is too get people to apply and they don’t really care about me or the questions I have).

I honestly am torn down the middle about which option to choose. I think I’d be good at both, so I’m trying to figure out which one I’d enjoy more. That has been my biggest hang up so far in my employment history.

I’ve never really had a job that I REALLY liked.

I’m extremely jealous of those of you who do have a career in a field that you truly enjoy. I figure this is a good time for me to take a mulligan and start over.

Admittedly it’s not the best time, I have two toddlers running around I have to worry about and a wife who just started her own business (which she loves), but it’s as good a time as any.

Of course going back to school, if I go that route, is going to shoot a big fat hole in my debt defying plan, but I’ll do my best to limit the damage.

The best thing about being a guest columnist (or whatever my title is) here at THE HAPPY ROCK is that I get to run ideas by all of you. So my question to you this time is:

Have you or anyone you knew been at a similar crossroads, and how did it turn out?

Until next time

-DD

P.S. Thank you so much for all support I received these past few days. It’s actually helped me deal with this quite a lot.

» Filed Under Careers

One of life’s curveballs

Posted by Debt Destroyer on July 25, 2008

I(DD) went to work yesterday morning and my boss met me as I walked in and suggested we have a brief meeting in the conference room. In my short time at this job I have learned one thing, meetings with the boss in the conference room are not good.

This one sure wasn’t.

I was being let go. They were expecting tough economic times in the near future and they weren’t sure if I was a good fit for their company. So they decided we should part ways now before things got too complicated.

I was fairly blindsided so I just sat there like a deer in the headlights, nodding silently and saying things like, “I understand.” And the ever-so clever, “uh huh.”

What I was saying “uh huh” too was my severance package which included two months salary and health insurance for the rest of the year. They may be SOB’s, but they are generous SOB’s.

But on the bright-side, as I was walking home carry my box of personal belongings, I thought “this isn’t so bad, now I’ll have time to paint the house.”

I’ll probably take a few days to do some personal reflection and try to figure what’s next. I’ve been out of work before, but that was different, we didn’t have any kids. Everything is on the table this time, from going back to school, working the night shift, to even moving to another town.

I’m fairly open. But I think I have to be.

I’ll do my best to stay debt free while going through this transition. I guess, we’ll get to see just how good I am at defying debt. We’ll be cutting back expenses in the short term. Who knows, I might even be selling our van after-all.

I know I’m not the only one out there who has ever lost a job, so any advice would be appreciated.

Until next time,

-DD

» Filed Under About The Debt Defier, Careers

You Will Have The Same Salary In 20 Years - A Case For Career Advancement

Posted by The Happy Rock on July 18, 2008

I will keep this one simple.

Assuming that you just get end of the year raises that keep up with inflation(3-4%), you will be making the same amount in 20 years that you are making now relitave to the cost of goods. Obviously your actual salary will be higher in 20 years, but that salary will buy you the same amount of stuff. If you started your job at $35,000, in 20 years you will be making almost twice that much at $67,287, but that will be the same as having a $35,000 job 20 years prior.

If this is a scary thought, don’t let fear paralyze you, but be motivated by the thoughts of a better position or career. If you really want to advance your career, get out of debt. It is a gigantic step that frees you to pursue positions that you couldn’t otherwise entertain with the chains of debt holding you back.

Here are two nice articles from the personal finance community to help get you started improving your career :

» Filed Under Careers

Sleep Your Way To Better Finances

Posted by The Happy Rock on April 25, 2008

With the car breaking down on Sunday and still having a ton of work to do for the 149th Carnival of PF, I ended up only getting 8 hours of sleep on Sunday night. I can survive, and ten years ago I wouldn’t have thought twice about it. The thing I noticed for the next 48-72 hours was how much that lack of sleep effected my whole life. I was much more pessimistic, less energetic, less patient, less productive, and grumpy. Since I have been getting fairly consistent sleep for about two years, I didn’t realize how good I felt. I have even felt more energetic and rested since I went mostly vegetarian and have been eating healthier. When we constantly deprive ourselves of sleep we tend to acclimate to limitations on how we feel, how we act, and how much we can get done. Changes, both positive and negative, take a while to show themselves. During that time we easily forget how we feel until we experience something different sometime down the road. Those differences can have a huge impact on every area of our lives, espcially our finances. Below is a list of ways that our finances can be directly affected by lack of sleep:

Increased food costs. When we are tired we tend to eat out a lot more or by more expensive pre -packaged food.
Increased risk of accidents and sickness. This includes driving and normal around the house type injuries. These types of setbacks can cost money for medical services and oppurtunity cost at work and other endeavors.
Lower self control. The lack of control can lead to increased extraneous spending and debt.
Lack of energy and productivity. This means no energy to sell stuff on eBay or Amazon or to invest in other extra income tasks, perform well at work, or invest in budgeting and financial planning and learning.
Lose of creativity and intellectual prowess. Have you been stuck on how to solve a money problem? Well, research shows you really could find the answer in your sleep.
Grumpiness and impatience with others. This means less communication and teamwork in a marriage or with people who can keep you accountable. It means less satisfying relationship which will directly effect happiness and ultimately your wallet.
Pessimism and depression. In just a few days, I saw how quickly my outlook was effected in negative ways. Getting out of debt and having financial discipline isn’t easy and you need all the help you can muster.

So next time that you want to stay up late to watch some movie you have seen 5 times already, play a Wii game, or spend some not so productive time on the internet, remember what it might cost you. Some of you may be thinking that it doesn’t matter how much sleep you get because you feel about the same no matter what. I will tell you that I used to feel the same way, until with the Rockette’s help, I was able to consistently go to bed and wake up at similar times for an extended period(months). I didn’t realize how good I had been feeling, until I didn’t get enough sleep and felt like my old self again. If you are getting around 8 hours of sleep consistently and you still feel bad, it might be worth having some sleep tests done to make sure there aren’t any apnea or other sleep issues.

There is plenty of research on the benefits of sleep, but I don’t think we even need to go there. In my experience a little experimentation and anecdotal evidence will give us all the ‘research’ we need. Solve your sleep problems and your finances will most likely show a marked improvement.

» Filed Under Careers, Debt Elimination, Happiness, Health, Marriage, Spending

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