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You are here: Home / Archives for irrelevant stories

Where Do I Send My Child to School?

September 9, 2020 by Jacob Sensiba Leave a Comment

what-school-for-my-child

 

At the present moment, we’re figuring out what school to send our three-year-old for K-4 next year. I’ve had a lot to think about and it’s opened my eyes as to what matters to me. It has also given me a chance to evaluate my current living situation and where I want to end up.

This is actually quite frustrating for me, as I made a decision for a school district and a city to live in late last year. It’s why I’m living in Brookfield, WI. Elmbrook School District is the best in the state of Wisconsin right now.

However, after speaking with people (prior students and parents with children in school) and reflecting, I don’t know if Brookfield and Elmbrook School District are the way forward. I have three areas of concern when it comes to the school we choose.

Character development

I read How Children Succeed by Paul Tough, and one of the important themes in the book was character development. Both the impact home has on that development and what school can do to help.

Ideally, I’d like a school that sees the value of improving one’s character. What’s more important than that, though, is how teachers, administration, and peers treat students.

Treatment of students

I need to know that there is a culture of mutual respect between students and teachers, the teachers and faculty have the students’ best interest at heart, mental health is taken seriously, and the possible steps needed to thwart bullying have been taken.

I think all of these points start with culture. I feel like if mental health is taken seriously, respect is earned and given, then bullying might be less of an issue – I have no facts to support this, just an opinion. A culture derived from character, respect, and tolerance, I believe, has the greatest chance of student/teacher success.

Opportunities

Will my son like sports or theater? Chess or music? In the end, I don’t care. My job is not that of influencing what he participates in, it’s supporting his passions. That said, I would like where he goes to school to have broad opportunities available to him, so he is able to pursue those passions are.

Home

There’s no doubt that school is important. It’s where students learn what they need to in order to keep progressing academically. It’s where they develop their personalities and socialize with their peers. However, I believe what we teach at home is more important.

At home, kids learn about manners, right and wrong, and work ethic. As a parent, you have an impact on the early parts of your child’s life and how they develop into young people. Your child’s personality and genetic wiring will be a driving force, but I think we, parents, have at least one hand on the wheel.

Where’s home?

For me to be at my best as a parent, does the living situation make a difference? Do I move again? Do I move to a place where I feel more “at home”? Or is it a matter of viewing things through a positive lens and making the most of what I have?

I really don’t know the answer to that. Currently, as I said, I’m in Brookfield, WI. Good city, great school district. I own a home in Oconomowoc that I’m renting. So right there, he has two options of where he can go to school (that’s without open enrollment – not off the table).

However, I would like to live in close proximity to the school he attends. He can make friends in the neighborhood or in the area that go to the same school as him.

Conclusion

I haven’t decided yet on where my son will attend school. The last step in the process is a tour and a conversation with some of the administration.

In the last year, a lot of my decisions when people are involved have come down to the energy/vibe I get from them, and my gut. Once we tour the school and I speak with some of the faculty, the decision will become easier.

Related reading:

My last reflection

Back to School Money Tips

Jacob Sensiba
Jacob Sensiba

My name is Jacob Sensiba and I am a Financial Advisor. My areas of expertise include, but are not limited to, retirement planning, budgets, and wealth management. Please feel free to contact me at: jacob@crgfinancialservices.com

 

www.crgfinancialservices.com/

Filed Under: irrelevant stories, Personal Finance, Psychology Tagged With: academics, character, Elementary school, ethics, school, student

On Celebrating Wins, Arkansas, Carnegie Mellon and Budgets-to-Nowhere

March 20, 2013 by Average Joe 21 Comments

This post was supposed to be yesterday, but we’d just returned from Fayetteville, Arkansas, full of good feeling, late and tired. Rather than run the piece I’d planned, let’s hit the pause button.

 

My daughter is going to run track for the Arkansas Razorbacks. It’s a top notch track program (four Olympians) with a wonderful coach. She’ll be in the honor’s college at the school. Three weeks ago we thought her running career might be over. Then she ran a 2:18 half mile. We called the Arkansas coach. Surprisingly, he agreed to meet with us. The entire time we sat in his office I was in shock. My daughter might be on a big-time track team. Now it’s real. She’s on her way to run in the SEC.

We found a restaurant called Hugo’s to celebrate when my son called from home (he had a major project due and couldn’t miss school for the trip). He’d received early word that he’s “probably” been accepted at Carnegie Mellon. The real process isn’t official until April 1, so we don’t know for sure, but someone we know told Nick he’s in. This person would definitely be in “the know.” At this point I’d be surprised if he wasn’t accepted.

It took lots of long workouts and study sessions for these two kids, so it’s a well deserved high five. Both of these “wins” mean more long workouts and studying  on the horizon. My daughter will have to train harder and run faster than she ever has previously. My son will be in one of the more rigorous programs in the country (assuming he accepts…which isn’t a certainty. He’s applied to NYU and has been accepted into the engineering program at the University of Texas). No matter. All of them are top notch schools with some brutal requirements.

But now the doors are open. It’s time for them to pause only briefly before they walk through. But we’re definitely in pause mode. Rest. Celebrate.

 

What is Money?

 

What is money? What’s it all about? Does it beat these moments? Does it create these moments? Is it just fuel? If it’s fuel, why the hell don’t we work hard to accumulate fuel for these big moments? Why do we waste them on irrelevant moments, like the time you’re at the supermarket and just “decide” to buy the more expensive cereal?

I think money exists for these times. I don’t care about spending a shitload of money on college for two of the people in my life that mean the most to me. Period. It’s why I saved. It’s what I sweated for. If I’m good for retirement (and I am) the one gift I can give my kids is education. I don’t want to rant on education here….this is about celebrating. I want to make sure we take a little pause.

Sometimes we work so hard to achieve so much that we just skip by these times. We cut the grocery bill and dinners out so often that when these big moments come we forget why we cut in the first place. We don’t mark them before moving on, or we make the event so “frugal” that it ruins the fun. Clearly, it’s important to save money, but these times….these captured dreams shouldn’t be trivialized. Every day is a new chance to create a new “glory day” so we shouldn’t sit in park forever….but I’m happy we celebrated. We took a ton of pictures. My kids are in a good place today, back in “move forward” gear. I think they’re in an even better place because we stopped to survey the mountain we’ve climbed so far.

Photo: twicepix

Filed Under: irrelevant stories, Meandering

When I Was a New Financial Advisor

March 8, 2013 by Average Joe 24 Comments

when-i-was-a-new-financial-advisor
Every once in awhile, we like to take a break from the six areas of financial planning and give you a look into the life of a financial advisor. Here’s another story from my early years in the biz. Well….my earliest days….

I was lucky.  I’d been warned about the hours.

The time away from my young family was a bitch, even in my last years as an advisor and sadly, many of those years are a blur (for those reading my stuff for the first time, I worked 16 years as an advisor for nearly 200 families at a time, and managed about $60M in-house, plus helped people w/ their outside portfolios of over $110M more). I spent so much time with my head buried on the task at hand that much of the “now” passed me by.

It went smoothly for me. The friend who’d referred me set me up with his boss and walked me through the entire hiring process. As a courtesy, he set up a dinner with the firm’s two top area managers at one of the nicest restaurants in town. I was sure it was to dazzle Cheryl and I.

The district manager, Jeff, was blunt that dazzling ME wasn’t the point.

“This meeting isn’t for Joe, because he’s going to be with me and we’ll take care of teaching him the ropes. This meeting is for Cheryl.”

“Oh?” she asked, wondering exactly where this was going.

“I want to answer your questions. This job is going to absolutely suck…and there’s no guarantee Joe will succeed. He’s going to be gone from home a ton. You should just kiss his ass goodbye for the next two years. When he is home, he won’t really be there mentally. Are you ready to be alone that long without him?”

Cheryl seemed like she’d been hit with a brick. We hadn’t been married six months. “Yeah, if that’s what he wants.”

“…and,” Jeff continued. “He’s going to work long weekends and may have to travel. Sometimes it’ll seem like he’s doing glamorous things, like golfing or taking clients to nice dinners at places like this one. Sometimes that makes spouses jealous. It isn’t as glamorous as it sounds. Frankly, he really won’t enjoy it like he should because it’ll be all about business…and that business is just money.”

What a sales pitch, huh? At the time I thought he was exaggerating for effect, but he wasn’t. I still believe that dinner is why I lasted as long as I did. To this day I still believe that being completely blunt when something is going to suck is the best course of action. I was the same with my clients. No sense mincing the truth. People perform better under pressure when they know just how hot the fire is going to be.

He turned to me. “You ready to completely launch at this? You can’t be half pregnant.”

“Sure,” I said. I was excited.

I Got Lucky: New Financial Advisor With a Clue

Years later, I found out that my introduction to the financial advising business wasn’t anywhere close to the standard practice. I still can’t figure out why it isn’t. Over the years I dealt with young advisors who were coping with working late into Saturday afternoon while their young spouses, girl/boyfriends, and families were out enjoying the weekend. It turned out, most of them had been told a pack of lies:

–       This is a job where you can come and go as you wish.

While this is true for successful advisors, that’s because they were already bringing home the bacon. The management team watched new advisors like a hawk to make sure they were internalizing the practices it would take to be successful.

Everyone resented being watched over, but I get that part. Like those movies where you watch guys turn into werewolves, it takes time to morph into the mentality of a self employed business person. I felt especially bad for the kids just out of college who’d had a few part time cushy jobs. They had no clue what hit them. Within a few months, I got it. If I was leaving the office for any reason, you can bet that it was because I was meeting a client, a contact, or had some important money making task on the line.

–       We don’t cold call.

Luckily, I started when we COULD cold call and DID cold call. I know. I hated making cold calls as much as you hate receiving them. But, it was better than what later people had to do. They’d participate in “fishbowls.” In this marketing device, you leave a fishbowl at the counter in popular restaurants around the area, offering a free meal for you and your friends if you place your card in the bowl and it’s pulled out as a lucky winner.

Guess what happened? Every single person was a lucky winner. The meal was free, but it was shared with the advisor, who would talk shop the entire meal. Sound like less fun than a 10 minute call? It was SO much more painful for all involved.

Another trick was the “friends and family” seminar. This was even more disgusting. The advisor would give a financial planning seminar for friends and family, to “get feedback about the best ways to find new clients.” Yeah….it wasn’t about finding new clients at all, except the people in that room. By the end, family members realized that it was a sales pitch aimed squarely at getting them to sign on the dotted line.

Family members were nearly always my worst clients. They knew me before I was an advisor (shit, some knew me when I was in diapers!). They didn’t value my advice. They were just nice enough to help Joe succeed in his new venture. When it came time for real strategies that worked (refinancing, paying down debt, serious budget changes…God forbid if they were underinsured and we had to talk insurance…), many balked. They were hoping they could just buy a couple mutual funds from Joe and everyone would walk away feeling happy.

–       You can kind of dip your toe and see how you like being an advisor.

Several young advisors were told this. I still laugh at people I meet who are “part time” advisors. To be blunt, there’s no way to be great at financial planning and be part time, UNLESS you’ve been practicing many years and already have systems built to deal with all the client issues that arise. There’s just far too much to do. If you’re hiring an advisor, do you want someone who lives it all day or someone with just enough time to meet with a few people you don’t know and sell them some stuff? It sounds good, but like “passive income” and other “something for nothing” schemes, if it sounds too good to be true, guess what?

It still is.

For more on financial advisors and how to pick the right one for you check out these great articles.

What is the Role of a Financial Advisor?
Afraid To Meet With a Financial Advisor? Here’s How the First Meeting Goes
Hiring a Financial Advisor: Clues from the Receptionist

Photo Credit: vmiramontes.

Filed Under: irrelevant stories, Meandering

Average Joe vs. Upside Down Teacups and Other Nonsense

February 18, 2013 by Average Joe 42 Comments

Stop focusing on bullshit and address your goals. It’s time to rock in your life. 

Early in my career a guy walked into my office and wanted to talk about day trading. This was in the late 1990’s when the hot new thing was buying a bunch of positions in the morning and selling them all by the market close. If you score a 1% return every session, you’ll pad your net worth significantly by the end of the year.

It sounds great in theory, doesn’t it?

Anyway, this guy comes into my office and says, “Check out this chart.”

Me: “What about it?”

Him: “Upside down teacup. This sucker’s goin’ to the moon!”

Me: “What’s an upside down teacup?”

I thought he was going to laugh me out of my own office. His face was all red, like I’d just insulted his mother. “Upside down teacup? See how on this day the stock makes a quick move up and then pulls back? That’s the handle. Now look. It’s heading up again but this time it’s gonna break through the resistance.”

Me: How much money do you need to retire?

Him: Huh? Retire? Crap, I’m gonna retire next year, using this! How the hell can you call yourself a financial advisor when you don’t know basics like the upside down teacup? Don’t you do any chart reading?”

Me: “No, not really. You have any debt?”

Him: “Debt? Who cares about debt? I’m not sure how you can help me. You don’t know the first thing about making money.”

Me: “How much money are we actually talking about here? What have you done with your stock chart strategy?”

Him: “What are you talking about? This is ridiculous. I can’t believe you don’t know this stuff.”

Me: “I’m just curious. How much money are we talking about?

Him: “I’m getting ready to start.”

Me: “You haven’t saved any money yet? How old are you?”

Him: “32.”

Me: “And you haven’t started yet?”

Him: “This will help me catch up.”

That wasn’t all. It turned out he had about $29,000 in credit card debt, too.

He didn’t want to talk about goals, the debt or tax shelters. It was all about the quick return.

People like you and I should have laughed him out of my office, shouldn’t we?

It’s sad how many people get stuck on irrelevant concepts or in fruitless arguments. We waste time and energy in places we shouldn’t be involved. Upside down teacups mean zip to someone with debt and no savings, don’t they? You and I will stick to the real issues:

– Torch your debt.

– Start building wealth NOW!

– Build defensive strategies to avoid getting burned.

…or we can use this guy’s approach and buy a lottery ticket.

 

Whatever. Just Focus On the Right Tree In Your Forest

 

I bring this up because a popular blog recently debated the semantics of early retirement. Apparently, Mr. Blogger has his panties in a bunch because somebody on the internet said he really wasn’t retired. Then follows a 1,000+ word piece retorting that, yes, in fact, Mr. Blogger really is retired. There are tons of comments and righteous outrage on the piece….comments like, “You tell them, Mr. Blogger!” People are oh, so, so angry.

…and about what?

I think the blogger’s brilliant, by the way. It’s not that he has a smart argument. It’s more that he’s built a whole blog post (and in many ways a whole blog) on an irrelevant argument (in this case his big “proof” that he’s right is because he has “the biggest blog about early retirement on the internet” … proving what again????) and the villagers are following with pitchforks and fires, ready to kill the heretics who dare cross Mr. Blogger.

It’s funny, and totally upside down teacup. It’s another play for the pedestal for Mr. Blogger. Yawn. He already has that pedestal. What about your own pedestal? What about your own dreams? Who gives a shit about whether you can live in the woods making your own furniture and still be called “retired.”

I’m going to start calling myself Superman. Does it matter what I’m called?

I hope you don’t see this as a Control Your Cash-style rant against any blogger. It isn’t. As I mentioned, I really like the dude’s considerable writing talent. If you’re striving for independence, though, let’s look at the forest and see the right tree. The correct tree has more to do with you and your goals than it has to do with anything else.

Whether Mr. Blogger wins a war about early retirement means nothing to you. Upside down teacups and ruby slippers won’t help you reach anything. Determining the steps to find and reach your own finish line is the right thing to focus on today and tomorrow.

You deserve to rock in life. Don’t get stuck holding the torch in a fight that has nothing to do with reaching your goals.

Love, Superman

Filed Under: irrelevant stories, Meandering

The Power of Big Fat Audacious Goals

February 12, 2013 by Average Joe 55 Comments

Do you get caught up in living today instead of designing tomorrow?

Snap out of it.

Check out what these two guys accomplished with just a little planning.

As an advisor, I can’t tell you the number of times I heard “but” or “I just can’t.” It was discouraging to watch some people achieve everything they wanted for themselves, while others sat in front of the television, so paralyzed by fear that they never reached anything.

I have a close family member who spends much of the time I’m with her saying, “I wish we could…”, or “Some day I’d like to….” in a really whiny voice. It’s clear that this woman has no intentions of ever turning her “I wish” into “I did.”

Let’s talk about the power of getting what you want.

If you listen to our podcast, you’ll know that last weekend I went with two good friends, Troy and Malcolm, to help them run 100 miles. You read that number correctly. They set out to run a race longer than most would ever dream.

If you read this post and think, “This doesn’t apply to me! I don’t think I’d want to run 100 miles,” you’ve completely missed the point. Go read Disney.com and live in Fantasyland. The point is this: What is it that you want to do? What is your plan to reach that pinnacle?

The course was a 20 mile loop the runners would circle five times. Each loop was a mixture of trails and two-track access roads. Sprinkled around the loops were 3 aid stations, one of which runners would hit twice on their journey. Along with the finish area, runners could stop 5 times each loop for food, water, or first aid.

The day before the race we headed for the pre-event briefing. I was amazed. How many people do you think would try to do something this crazy? There were over 700 runners listening to the rules on littering, race courtesy, and how aid stations worked. Half the runners were signed up for the 100 mile race. Half! The other half? They were going only 50 miles.

Malcolm had finished the 50 miler a year earlier and whispered at the briefing, “This is the only event where you’ll race 50 miles and feel like a total wimp.”

I found out another statistic later: over 200 of the starters wouldn’t finish the trek.

 

Troy and Malcolm before the start better

 

The Starting Line

 

We were at the line early Saturday morning (about 5:30 AM). The 100 race began at 6 AM and the 50 started an hour later. Runners streamed across the campground, nearly all wearing headlamps, and some with a second flashlight in hand. When the starting whistle sounded, imagine people with headlights slowly jogging down the trail. It looked like a stream of fireflies leaving the campground and dancing single file through the woods away from us.

 

Malcolm and Troy entering an aid station.

Malcolm and Troy entering an aid station.

Early Miles

 

It was amazing to me that, while I went back to my high end hotel (LaQuinta!), caught another hour’s sleep, and edited our podcast, Troy and Malcolm were out there running. I picked up another friend to grab some lunch, and they’d been going for 6 hours and weren’t even halfway done. By the time I reached the campground again at five in the afternoon, they’d still completed less than 60 miles.

All in all, the reports on the runners were good. Malcolm had some trouble with blisters on his feet (he’d popped three) and Troy seemed a little punch drunk. But when they came in after dark to complete their third lap, both still looked to have plenty of energy.

 

Troy and pacer Barry headed out at 60 miles

Troy and pacer Barry headed out at 60 miles

 

Malcolm and Christy

Malcolm and pacer Christy leaving the start/finish area after 60 miles

Pacers

 

Runners were allowed pacers after 60 miles. Here was the plan: our friend Christy was going to pace Malcolm the entire way, because she was training for her own 50 miler in a few weeks.

Four of us would pace Troy. Barry, an experienced triathlete would pace for 12.5 (where an aid station was located) and Rob, another experienced triathlete would take over. Both of these guys had completed an Ironman, so they were ready. I’d jump in and pace from miles 80 to 92.5, where Christi, Troy’s spouse (and also an experienced marathoner) would take over.

 

My Turn

 

What a blast…and a challenge at the same time. Troy and Malcolm, who’d been running together the whole day, didn’t reach the finish line together to start the final lap. Troy was now alone with his pacers. Barry had stayed on to run with Rob and Troy the last 7.5 because there were so many roots that it was too easy to fall in the dark.

I strapped on my light helmet, Barry gave me instructions for pointing out roots and changes in the footing, and we were off. It was midnight. Troy and Malcolm had been running for 18 hours straight.

It became clear to me immediately that running 80 miles had had a huge impact on Troy. He mumbled most of the time, and I tried to tell stories to keep him moving. However, there were so many roots that I spent the majority of my time hunched over each one, making sure he cleared his feet as he shuffle-ran down the path.

 

The System

 

After awhile, we found a system rooted in rally racing. I’d watched some of this sport on extreme sports shows. The driver kept his eye on the road while the navigator called out turns and obstacles. I started calling the run like I’d seen on television. I felt like a dork, but here’s what it sounded like,”

“Step down. Step down again. Watch this bump. Clear. Stay left. Stay left. Step up. Uneven footing. Another big root. Okay, we’re clear. Nice job.”

Troy was in such bad shape that as we went to leave the aid station at 83 miles, he turned and started walking up the path the way we’d arrived. I turned him around and we were on our way.

Using our new system, we passed quite a few runners. These were the nicest people on earth. A friend joked that it was what you’d imagine Woodstock would have been like if everyone was incredibly physically fit. “Great job, man.” “Keep going, dude.” “Lookin’ good!” were the calls of the day.

There’s a feeling you get when you’re in the middle of the freezing woods at 2 am and suddenly you see the yellow glow of the next aid station. It feels like an oasis. You know that just up the road there will be warm or cold drinks, tons of food, and most of all, a little bit of civilization. Troy would celebrate a little at each one. He’d made it another few miles.

 

Troy-getting-ready-to-go-out-after-60-miles_thumb.jpg

 

Problems

 

But I knew at the 12.5 aid station that we were going to have a task on our hands. Time was running down and our pace wasn’t fast enough to bring Troy in at his stated goal: 24 hours. While we maintained a positive outlook around Troy, the team seemed pretty negative. At least we’d finish. That’d be a huge accomplishment in itself. In fact, Malcolm was now about 45 minutes behind us, and was clearly trying to finish rather than race to 24 hours.

Because of the roots, I decided to stay on. We’d be a three person team, Christi, Troy and I. I’d run out front and call roots out, while Christi would shine her flashlight on them as we went. After a brief stop, the three of us trudged into the darkness again. Seven miles and just over an hour and a half to go.

 

Luck

 

We got lucky.

Troy was in no position to tell us, but most of the rest of the loop was a clear two-track jeep trail. We made good time, but at the last aid station, with three miles to go, it was clear: we were right on the edge. I could see Troy gathering the little strength he had left to try and make it. The guy could barely stand up and he was still running! It was an incredible human feat.

Throughout the night, we’d been relying on my Nike + system rather than Troy’s GPS to keep track of miles. This tracking, while wildly inaccurate, helped us keep Troy’s spirits up throughout the segments. During the last three miles he must have asked us twenty times, “How much time do we have?” “How far does she (the female voice on my Nike + system) say we have to go?”

Finally I announced, “Troy, she says we’re done.” She’d been early all night, calling miles before we reached them, but the three of us celebrated that moment, and then moments later celebrated again when we crossed what we knew was the last road before the home stretch.

 

Want to hear more motivational stories from people with big goals? Check out our 2 Guys & Your Money episode with Natalie Sisson (who left New Zealand and travels the world) and Chris Klinke (who climbed Mt. Everest).

 

The Finish

 

I couldn’t believe the change in Troy when we turned the corner and saw the yellow glow of lights across the finishing tent a couple hundred yards away. He let out a war whoop, as did Christi and I. There were echoes of people at the finish whooping back at us. We sounded like animals barking back and forth at each other until he crossed the line.

Did he make it in 24 hours?

We crossed the line at 23 hours, 52 minutes.

Malcolm finished in just over 25 hours.

It was an amazing bucket list accomplishment for both of these men.

 

Malcolm removing chip at finish

 

What Does This Have To Do With Your Goals?

 

Everything.

1) Set huge goals. While Malcolm finished in 25 hours, instead of his 24 hour goal, he still accomplished something that few will ever do. Don’t set your goals too small. Set them high. Even when you don’t reach them, you still can hold your head high.

2) Set milestones and celebrate. I find people get lost on their way to big goals because they don’t have any markers along the path. Those aid stations were a great oasis to refuel, plan, and then set out. Rather than setting out to accomplish 100 miles, the race became a struggle to reach the next 3 miles.

3) Find qualified friends to help. Troy and Malcolm said that the pacers were a shot in the arm at 60 miles. It became much easier when you had a fresh voice who’d run some serious distances themselves helping you through it. They say you are the people you surround yourself with. Find people who’ve been on your journey. Even if they aren’t going for the same goal, they’ll be able to help you win.

4) Use technology. Sure, the Nike + was innaccurate, but it was close enough that it helped us monitor our progress at any point. Troy and Malcolm still had to run, but without the flashlights, GPS, and suitable clothing, they would have never made it.

5) Stick to a system and work hard. Sure, we got lucky the last 7 miles, but we wouldn’t have been able to learn from that luck if Troy hadn’t worked his ass off to get to that point. My old mentor used to tell me “Work hard and the opportunities will come.” In this case, as nearly always, the opportunity came.

 

Malcolm and Troy afterward...ready for bed

 

What big goals are you working on? What are you waiting for? Get started!

Filed Under: irrelevant stories, Planning Tagged With: 100 mile race, goal setting

Saturday! Let’s Play Money….

January 19, 2013 by Average Joe 6 Comments

Ever wonder what goes on behind the scenes at major corporations when something goes haywire?

Corporate group think, of course!.

 

Happy Saturday!

 

Filed Under: irrelevant stories

Saturday! Let’s Play Money

January 5, 2013 by Average Joe 6 Comments

Tired of all the New Year’s lists? So am I (not that there weren’t good ones….I’m just over it now).

So, I bring you the MOST AWESOME New Year’s List of all.

Cheers.

j.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo: Jimmiehomeschoolmom

Filed Under: irrelevant stories

Average Joe’s Friday Sing Along

December 14, 2012 by Average Joe 25 Comments

Welcome to our new feature. This will play on sporatic Fridays (read: whenever I feel like it).

Thanks for all the great emails about the Diary. Like everyone who writes (on the internet or elsewhere), I get frustrated sometimes and it’s great to have a place to just vent, you know? Plus, I like being able to share a few of the “secrets” we’ve learned over the first year of operating this thing, and it’s been fun going back in the time machine and looking at stats from a year ago.

That’s all I’ll say about that topic, because I created the Diary specifically because I knew there were people out there who’d be interested in my rants….but it isn’t the mission of this blog.

This weekend we pick up a new table for our dining room. Buying furniture always is a struggle for me. On one hand, I like having nice stuff, but on the other, I don’t want to pay for it. Call me the opposite of the US Government! If I were buying on credit or didn’t have the funds to do it, I’d definitely walk away from the transaction. BUT I do have the money available, we really haven’t spent much on the home this year, and it’s a nice upgrade SO we pulled the trigger.

You know your life is exciting when you spend a paragraph of the blog writing about your new table. Par-tay.

In better news, five minutes from now a good friend is picking me up to fly in his new plane to Dallas to watch our kids swim. I’ll post pictures on Twitter and Facebook.

Let’s get on with the show:

 

Some Wonderful Reading

 

Let’s start with Glen at Monster Piggy Bank. Sometimes I don’t know what to do with Glen. I called him “Crazy Man” one time and he questioned what that was about….then he gets all crazy with the tattoos and work posts. Of course he’s Crazy Man! Do you think people should be discriminated against at work because they have a visible tatoo? Check out the post.

There’s major congratulations in order. Kim at Eyes on the Dollar has knocked out $30k in debt. Momma said KNOCK YOU OUT!

While we’re talking congrats, Holly at Club Thrifty will now post twice monthly at Get Rich Slowly. Hey, Holly, when you’re a huge star, don’t forget us little people.

In my favorite travel journal, Reach Financial Independence, Pauline tells an awesome story about helping her employee get a new bike…and then decide that he isn’t that crazy about paying it off.

Mrs. PoP from Planting Our Pennies wins my award for Best Analytical Post of this list (an incredibly prestigious award). Check out how she turns discounted cash flow into numbers porn for us financial geeks.

Sam Dogen writes a thoughtful post at Untemplater about whether we should bail out student loan debt. If we decide that’s okay, let me know ahead of time. I have twins starting college in a year and I’ll just finance it all with public funds…..

Speaking of Crazy Man (and a guy who won’t fight me when I call him that…he wears it like a badge) Len Penzo answers the question “Credit or Debit” that’s so popular at retail outlets everywhere.

Finally, if my blogging friends haven’t seen it yet:  My friend Sicorra at Tackling Our Debt gave the gift that keeps on giving (no, not fuzzy dice for the rear view mirror). She handed to bloggers everywhere some awesome tools to help manage their to do list, blogging tasks, advertisements, expenses and calendar.

I have about 30 posts by other authors I thought were fantastic this week, but in the interest of sprinkling a few highlights, that’ll be enough for now. Any more and it’ll be a list too long for you to enjoy.

 

We’re WAY Popular AND Modest

 

Thanks to everyone who tweeted our articles this week. I know I’m not great at the “hey, thanks for the RT!” posts. I don’t know how people find the time to do all the things they SHOULD do for others, get their blog written, hold down a job, and drink a case of beer a week. Sigh. Apparently people rearrange their priorities differently than I do….

Here are a few of the places that featured our writing or who talked about us fondly:

I guest posted at One Cent at a Time. It was about the rock band Rush and goal setting. Apparently that went over people’s head, because the post that I thought was my big winner of the week didn’t garner a ton of comment love. Apparently I’m not yet today’s Tom Sawyer…..

Cil Burke (clearly Dr. Dean’s better half) at the Millionaire Nurse Blog talked about how much fun we had playing board games at Fin Con in her post about surviving family functions. I was sure we were going to see liquid coming out of Len’s nose at one point. Can’t wait for next year to do it again. BTW, if someone wants a family game recommendation for the holidays, feel free to email me. I get tons of questions from family/friends this time of year about what the best option might be…..

Erin at The Dog Ate My Wallet and Kim at Eyes on the Dollar mentioned our post about dining and dashing at Pizza Hut. I love having friends who can reinforce my image as a reprobate…

 

In Closing

 

Thanks again for reading the blog this week! Next week we’ve got an awesome podcast episode on Monday, followed by posts Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.

Filed Under: irrelevant stories, Meandering

My Favorite Christmas Moment–Learning the Value of Exercise

December 3, 2012 by Average Joe 33 Comments

Christmas eve.

You’d think my story would be about shopping or a family get together. Those have been nice (I tell an endearing story on today’s podcast). This one trumps them all, though.

We had a family….er….tradition. My dad would march my brother and I (this particular year we were ages 10 and 7) to the stores to get something for Mom on Christmas eve. Traditionally, stores would close at noon. Shelves were in disarray. Weeks of holiday specials created mixed bins of heaped colors and shapes. Every year we’d scavenge through holiday bins, looking for the right gift.

Let’s talk definitions. “Right gift” didn’t mean something perfect that my mom would absolutely love. Buying a gift with my dad was never about “Will mom think this is just perfect?”

It was more: “Do you think she’d be offended if we bought her a toaster?”

Shopping with my dad was a “How the hell do we get out of this mall” adventure.

But I’m getting ahead of myself, aren’t I? One year we barely made it to the store on time to buy my mom a gift at all. That’s because we decided to grab lunch first AND JCPenny that year decided to stay open until 2 pm….but let’s just tell the story.

 

The Story

 

To kick off our Christmas Eve “The Great Mom’s Gift Hunt,” my dad took us to Pizza Hut. We didn’t eat at restaurants a ton when I was a kid, so every time was special…and Pizza Hut with my dad equaled supreme awesome.

I barely remember the lunch. I’m sure we had the same sort of meal as always when mom wasn’t around…three guys stuffing themselves as full as possible. My brother would then open his mouth to show us his half-eaten lunch. My dad would scold him because we didn’t do that in our family. “Just eat it, already.”

My dad has always had a strong work ethic and is a straight shooter. While he didn’t talk a ton (I’ve made up for his lack of vocal effort), when he did, you listened. That’s because, while a horrible shopper, my dad valued relationships, honesty and hard work. I remember my dad’s retirement party as person after person walked up to me and told stories about what a big affect my old man had on their life.

But enough mulling over my dad. I have a story to tell, and after the meal was the interesting part.

The woman brought the bill as my dad was listening to my brother and I argue. I know I didn’t notice as he leaned toward one side to grab his wallet, then leaned to the other side. I do remember that my dad, a quiet guy already, became really still.

Then you could see an idea light up his face. It’s like the time you first figure out the little secret to something, like how the toilet lever works. Maybe you’ve figured out how to arrange landscaping, fix your bicycle, or sprung upon how to make the fish tank work. THAT “aha!” look.

Whatever it was, I remember The Look.

 

He Leaned Forward

 

“Okay, Tony. Here’s what I need you to do. Go into the bathroom and count to ten. Then go out to the car.”

Tony’s face contorted. “Why?”

“Don’t ask questions. Just go to the bathroom, count to ten, then walk out and get in the car.”

My dad and I watched as Tony, bewildered, headed for the bathroom. A few minutes later, he walked out to the car. We could see him open the door and jump into the back seat.

Clearly, in my mind, Tony had said something in our arguing to upset my dad. I wasn’t sure what it was, but I was glad he was getting in trouble and not me. I was about to bite into the pizza crust on my plate when my dad leveled his jaw toward me.

“Okay, Joe. Go to the bathroom and count to ten. Then walk out to the car and get in.”

What the heck? I thought Tony was getting it, not me!

“Just do it. Hurry up.”

I stood up and walked into the bathroom. Then I counted to ten. If I’d been older I might have wondered if my dad was losing it.

Was I in trouble? Maybe there was something I’d done to upset him?

I walked out to the car and sat in the back seat next to Tony.

“Why are you out here?” he asked.

“I don’t know. Dad told me to go in the bathroom and then come out with you.”

Tony shifted toward the door. “I don’t want to be out here. I’m gonna get out and see–“

“Wait!” I pulled at my brother before he could open the door.

My dad was hustling out of the restaurant, face beet red and his car key in hand.

I couldn’t believe it. He got in the car and drove away. About a mile down the road he giggled (and my dad wasn’t a giggler).

“I forgot my wallet.”

Holy moley. My dad, the respected do-gooder in our town, had just dined and dashed on Christmas Eve.

We went home and retrieved the wallet from his dresser and still made it to JCPenny before they closed.

…and if you’re wondering, no, my mom wasn’t offended by the bath robe we picked out.

Epilogue: My dad gets embarrassed when I tell that story, so I’ll tell you the real ending. While all of the above is true, he felt so bad about it that later he went back and paid, explaining the whole thing. Luckily, because he told the manager everything, nothing happened to him (no police, etc.). That’s totally my dad, too. He hasn’t always made the right decisions, but when he made a bad one, he’s always been the first to go back and make it right.

…either way, I still think my dad should have exercised more if he was going to try a 40 meter sprint out of the Pizza Hut.

Looking for less devious stories of Christmas past? Check out Sicorra’s Christmas post mini carnival today at Tackling Our Debt.

Photo: Victor Solanoy

 

Looking for more stories of Joe & his family not quite getting it right?

Try You Have No Idea What I Paid For This Room, There’s Something Wrong With The Car or I Miss Checkbooks.

Filed Under: irrelevant stories, Meandering

Meet Me: Average Joe

November 13, 2012 by Average Joe 84 Comments

Today I’m going to finally do something I’ve wanted to do for a long, long time. I’m going to tell you who I am.

I’m not good at this. While it’s fun writing stories that include snippets of my life, penning a piece all about me me me me me me me me me isn’t.

Don’t get me wrong: the internet doesn’t care about me (although it truly breaks my heart….). This post won’t change the world. It’s just good to be me on this blog.

 

Why did I blog anonymously in the past?

 

Some people blog anonymously for good reasons. They don’t want family to know who they are or they’re worried their boss might start reading. Anonymity frees them up to say things they otherwise wouldn’t say.

Being anonymous for them is security.

For me it’s different. I’ve lived in the public eye for a long time, with my blog or otherwise, I’ve had a contractual obligation not to enter a financial arena as myself. That’s all changed now. That obligation is over. Different than many, I’d prefer to write as myself.

So, here it is: AverageJoe is Joe Saul-Sehy

Wow. I know. You had no idea who I was and still don’t.

Here’s a picture of me then:

Joe Channel 7

Handsome, huh?

I was one of a few people (12 to my knowledge) who spoke on behalf of the company I was associated with in the national media. It was a big national firm. This photo is from a gig I held for 9 years: I was Detroit’s Channel 7 WXYZ “Money Man,” appearing twice weekly on the news talking about (shocker!) money.

As part of my media job, I’ve been quoted on WSJ.com, in Brides Magazine, Child Magazine, Best Life Magazine, The Los Angeles Times, Chicago Sun Times, Baltimore Sun, Detroit News, Detroit Free Press and others. I hosted a radio show on local Detroit radio for awhile on a barely-listened-to channel.

It was fun.

Blogging anonymously didn’t stop me from telling you about who I am. I told you that I ran track and cross country for The Citadel, the Military College of South Carolina. Many people have “glory days” stories. I was the guy who accidently pulled off his shorts in front of a large crowd of people.

I mentioned that I’m originally from a small town in west Michigan called Vicksburg. That’s why I had no idea how hotel charges worked on a “big date” and didn’t know the dress code when looking for a theater.

Networking didn’t go well all the time, either.

I have twins that are going to graduate from high school in the spring. They’re great students but also do a hell of a job driving a car on top of a mailbox.

If you’d like more of my story, check out why I left financial planning.

Here’s a picture of me now, hard at work entertaining you:

Joe at work

I’d love to tell you more about me me me me me me, but I think I’ll continue to do it in the context of pieces I write. Just like you’re a multi-faceted person, so am I. Because I can’t fit it all in here, I think we’ll stop for today.

What I loved about blogging anonymously:

It was a really tough task trying to build credibility based on writing quality alone….without my name, experience and credentials. It was humbling a year ago to write stuff and hope that 20 people would read it after speaking to huge audiences when I’d give speeches at Chrysler, Microsoft or other local companies. Having to build an identity based on solid facts and hard work while establishing a new trust in a guy named AverageJoe was a richly rewarding experience.

In closing this sappy me me me me me post, thanks for reading my stuff. I’m still humbled by the number of people that stop here every day. It’s the biggest part of what makes writing this so rewarding.

Filed Under: irrelevant stories, Meandering

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