Seeing Balance in Your Life
There seems to be a natural balance to the universe that cannot be averted. Although we spend many days of our lives wondering why we don't have balance, the truth of the matter is, we do have balance, but we also have motion. A see saw with two 50 lb children on either end is balanced, but it may not be level. In fact, it may be moving up and down and up and down. Given time they will slow to a stop and all motion will cease. When one person on one end of the see saw pushes, what ...
He Just Doesn’t Get It
I have a hard time putting together the information that I'm given unless it has a clear end goal. In a real estate transaction, it's pretty much a 1-2-3 process from start to finish, with many different potential problems that all have common, repetitive solutions. The hardest part of real estate for me, is maintaining relationships. The hardest part of relationships, particularly romantic, personal relationships, is communicating effectively. That's what's hard for me. It may not be for you. I am intuitive, creative, and intelligent, but the way my brain works is different from others. ...
Borrowing Your Life Away
One For One Exchange Imagine two men in a field, each holding something the other needs. Both men put a reasonable amount of time into acquiring the items. Eventually they will come to an agreement about them and will exchange the items. The value placed on each item is called utility, which is a measure of the relative satisfaction one derives from a good or service. In this particular example, neither men will be exchanging more than just the item, which means no monetary value can be placed on them. In fact, the reason they are both willing to part with ...
Another Credit Card Company Scheme
Posted by Jon Griffith in Tips and Tricks on June 1st, 2009
Credit card companies come up with any and every desperate attempt to keep you as a “customer.” They do not treat you like a customer, however, and you’re the one who pays their bills with outrageous interest rates and risk of fees that your mother would be ashamed of.
The most recent interaction with a credit card company happened today when I noticed that my card company had boosted my rate from 12% to 25% for the second time. I pay my bills on time. With interest rates doubling, so do monthly interest charges. Their software is designed to work in their favor regarding statement dates and due dates.
To save you hours of frustration, do yourself a favor. Pay cash for things you buy. Reward points are not worth it, and this has been proved with statistics that show that consumers will spend on average 12-18% more using a credit card than they will using a debit card or cash.
The Scheme of the Day
If I enroll in a new program at the credit card company, which they say is completely free, I have the opportunity to be credited up to $550.00 just for making my payments on time. The program lasts 8 months, and I have to make on-time payments every month for those 8 months. After this period, I will receive a credit of 10% of my balance up to $550.00 no later than 3 months after the program ends.
What do I see here? I see a credit card company desperately trying to lock me into an account that I cannot close. I see a scheme to force me to hold a credit card for at the very least, 8 months, and possibly 11 months. I’m sure that the cc company has researched the behavioral habits of overspending due to credit cards, and the increased likelihood that a card holder with a zero balance will soon become a card holder with a balance.
My representative was very short with me as I asked questions that slowly revealed the truth in the program. Sure, the program is free, but it’s worth more to me to not take on any risk at all.
Giving Up is NOT an Option
Posted by Jon Griffith in On Spirituality and God on April 22nd, 2009
In the midst of one of the most difficult “through-points” that I have ever experienced (that time in your life when God smashes you through something and doesn’t let you go around it) the inspiration found in a video such as this one I’ve re posted here should touch you deeply. To think that we complain about some of the things we do…well, just watch and be inspired:
Snippets of Song: Ready to Sleep
Posted by Jon Griffith in Original Compositions on April 21st, 2009
I know that I will probably not be able to keep this up on a daily basis, but I’ve managed to fire off another musical idea. Enjoy listening.
Ready To Sleep: Empty the Bag, or Fill the Bowl
Posted by Jon Griffith in Attention Deficit Disorder, Romantic Relationships on April 20th, 2009
Standing at the edge of the island in the middle of her kitchen, I was looking for something to do. I had just chopped 3 onions while a playful young man scooted a bowl around the edge of the circular table while sputtering car noises as though his bowl had an engine of its own. Holding a large, sharp slicing blade, I felt nervous about his speed as he approached over and over again, getting closer to the chopping block ever time. He was diverted by his mother, and soon after that needed discipline for disobedience. She asked me what I thought about little boys who utter defiance at their parents. I was thinking that we should just add him to the chili, cause he’s so delicious, but that’s not what I said. I said that I don’t like it when people yell at me.
Uncle intervened, via telephone.
When she offered me a bag of cheese, she asked me if I would like to put the cheese in the bowl. I responded, “do you want me to empty the bag, or fill the bowl.”
[record scratching sound goes here]
Her response answered my question, but the way she hesitated before offering the answer confused me. Why was that such a difficult question to answer? It took me a good minute to realize that the question I had asked made absolutely no sense. It didn’t make sense to her, and it didn’t make sense to me. But, she was able to answer it regardless.
In the moment, I had no idea what I was trying to say, and then about five minutes after the fact, I figured it out. You see, there was plenty of cheese in the bag, but I didn’t connect that fact right away. My logic was thinking two things. a) either there’s not enough cheese in the bag to fill one bowl, or b) there’s enough cheese in the bag that I would need another bowl. It wasn’t exactly clear to me that there was enough cheese to actually fill the bowl which means that if the assignment was to “fill the bowl” and there wasn’t enough, then I would need to search for more cheese, and if the assignment was to “empty the bag” then it would either not matter if the bowl was full, or I would have to search for another bowl to handle the overflow.
The reason I didn’t know how much cheese was required was directly tied to the lack of experience and knowledge. It may sound like a silly thing, but these little experiences are very important for me. They build confidence, and when I know how to do something, I have more confidence. That’s nothing new for you either, I suppose.
I was helping Susan with Crème brûlée last Christmas for a party at Mike’s house, and when I offered to help, aside from forgetting that I have no idea how to make Crème brûlée, I was given the task of pouring hot milk into a mixer with eggs. I had never done that before, and I really didn’t know why I was supposed to pour it in so slowly. “Am I supposed to do it like this?” I said. “Slower,” she replied…”don’t go so fast,” she assumed I knew why. I didn’t. Now I do. It’s like the first time you learn why you aren’t supposed to pour a cold glass of water into a glass that just came out of the dishwasher.
This thought process of analyzing the bag of cheese and the bowl is an example of a very taxing exercise that my mind goes through in the moment. I think out loud. This becomes a bit of a double edged sword, because it can confuse people who don’t understand how to communicate with me and make them impatient or if I don’t think out loud, I may come across as someone who is non-responsive.
Either way, not understanding how to do something is far greater a challenge than unerstanding that something needs to be done.
I have believed that I have to experience it before I understand it. I am wrong.
Could this pose some pretty serious problems? I think so. If I were to wait around to experience everything I’m not an expert at I would be waiting for ever. Pudding-proof: I’m not married because I thought I had to figure out marriage before doing it. The consequences of pouring the hot milk into the eggs too fast is cooked egg whites. The consequence of getting married before I’m an expert at it is a broken heart.
The committment issues that I face, as cliche as they may sound coming out of any woman’s mouth, had to do with fear of not achieving perfection prior to experience. Just pour the cheese, Jon, and don’t ask questions. If the bowl is too big, the bag will be empty. If the bag is too big, then stop pouring when the bowl is full. It’s that simple.
Today’s Technology Rant: iPhone Earbuds
Posted by Jon Griffith in Hey! Wake Up! on April 14th, 2009
Turning my head from side to side should be an uninhibited act. Since birth, I have been able to do this without resistance. There are two extremely frustrating experiences that occur on a regular basis for me. The first is encountering headwind while road biking. The second is the feeling of an earbud in my ear being tugged on because the line has snagged on something. It’s infuriating!!! Can you relate?
Most of the time this only happens when I’m active, have a riding helmet on, get the wires tangled in my camelpak, or for some other reason tied directly to exercising. So, to feel my ear being tugged on, much like it is right now, every time I turn my head to the right, while I’m only sitting here typing, is driving me insane.
The cause of the problem? iPhone’s headphones have a little control switch suspended on the right earbud lead about 6 inches from the earbud itself. It’s great! It allows me to control my phone calls, volume, and song selection by squeezing it. So what’s the problem? It has 90 degree corners, sharp edges, and it’s positioned right where the collar of my shirts are. Whenever I turn my head slightly to the right, it snags on my collar, pulls on my ear, and loosens the speaker from my brain.
Horribly frustrating and there’s a simple solution. Apple, please, in your infinite design wisdom, on the next go-around, make this little contraption smooth and rounded tapering to the headphone wire.
Eyegazing: Overcoming Feelings of Insecurity
Posted by Jon Griffith in Relationships, Tips and Tricks on April 2nd, 2009
The exercise of locking eye to eye with a complete stranger, intentionally, and holding until they break away, is one of those activities that will help you gain self confidence as you are introduced to the shockingly ignored concept that everyone else is just as insecure as you are. As you do this, you will find that your self confidence will immediately receive a boost of energy.
Timothy Ferris in The Four Hour Work Week, Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, And Join the New Rich, talks about this as one of those critical exercises that will help you build self confidence and move you closer to greater success in the pursuit of your Entrepreneurship.
Sitting in Hava Java today, as people meander through, I have taken a few opportunities to lock eyes with people as they walk in. Most people are immediate in how quickly they divert their gaze somewhere else, for who knows what reason. Perhaps they don’t like looking at me, perhaps they’re insecure about being looked at, or perhaps they are just in their own world and don’t notice. A large percentage of the people walking in have sunglasses on, so it makes the exercise impossible, but for those who come in sporting shiny, exposed, eyes, little do they know the trap that I have set.
I’ll have to admit, it’s extremely difficult to fight the temptation to look away first, but so rewarding when you conquer the fear. Don’t try doing it with the same person twice, unless you intend to start up a conversation, which wouldn’t be that bad anyway would it? And, if someone feels uncomfortable enough the first go-around to approach you and ask you what your problem is, as Ferris states, just tell them “I’m sorry, I thought you were an old friend of mine.”
My recent encounter was with a woman who walked in. I locked on to her eyes and held. It was difficult, but I did it, and she looked away. It was at this point that I continued to hold the look. What happened next was completely unexpected. She looked again, and then I could really tell she was nervous. I could also tell that she understood that I had established the upper hand in the exchange and I was the initiator, which boosted my confidence and gave me options.
I will continue to exercise this, and I would recommend that you give it a shot too! It’s a great feeling to overcome insecurity when you realize you’re not the only one who feels insecure.
Seeing Balance in Your Life
Posted by Jon Griffith in Featured, On Spirituality and God, Personal Finances on April 2nd, 2009
There seems to be a natural balance to the universe that cannot be averted. Although we spend many days of our lives wondering why we don’t have balance, the truth of the matter is, we do have balance, but we also have motion. A see saw with two 50 lb children on either end is balanced, but it may not be level. In fact, it may be moving up and down and up and down. Given time they will slow to a stop and all motion will cease. When one person on one end of the see saw pushes, what they’re doing is upsetting the balance by removing some of their weight just long enough for the other person’s potential energy to kick in and start moving downward. As soon as the person on the down-side can no longer reach the ground and their full weight is restored to the see saw, then they are once again balanced, albeit in motion.
Our lives are constantly in motion, and one thing that I’ve noticed is that when we manipulate the scale of balance in our lives, whether emotionally, financially, or spiritually, the natural opposing forces will eventually cancel out our attempts and we’ll be returned to balance.
In the case of money, I experienced this first hand, today, as a result of a “push” on the see saw of my finances which happened last August. I had forgotten about this single event, and the scale that was manipulated has finally come back to balance. You see, I had borrowed money from myself, and had forgotten about it.
There is a consequence to every action we have which points to the fulcrum of the scale of balance in our lives. If you borrow money from yourself, you will have to pay it back. If you go up a staircase, you will have to come down. You get the picture…I hope.
Eighteen Thousand Dollars to See a Movie?
Posted by Jon Griffith in Personal Finances on March 30th, 2009
Yes, believe it or not, in order for you and your spouse to see a movie and have a soda every week, it will cost you $18,200.00. Keep reading, and you’ll see how.
How you look at life does not determine whether or not something is wrong or right. Although, when I consider financial matters, since money and math are synonymous with each other, and math doesn’t lie, the application of a “philosophy” to the way you manage your money doesn’t make sense to me. I think that any philosophy that gets creative in the spirit of proving math wrong is a flawed philosophy.
One plus one is two. That’s it. Just two. Math doesn’t lie.
Sometimes I like to look at things on a micro scale in order to grab hold of the big picture. In fact, since I’m surrounded by my world and not outside of it, looking at the big picture sometimes requires an extrapolation of the micro details.
Take the concept of financial security. In line with everything that I have ever thought, but never applied until recently, financial security means you can cover all of your living expenses using the investment income from the money you have saved. Financial security does not mean you make enough money every year, because “enough” is relative to how much you are able to live on. So, enough doesn’t mean anything. It doesn’t mean that you have $100,000 or $200,000 or $1,000,000 in the bank, although that would be helpful, of course.
Financial security means you can successfully live, all expenses paid (remember, expenses being relative) on 8% of your nest egg (thanks Dave Ramsey.) By the way, I dont consider Dave Ramsey to be another one of those financial gurus that has a “philosophy.” I consider him down to earth, mathematically conscious, and full of uncommon sense. Some of you might say, “old school.” As far as I can tell, math hasn’t changed over time even though we try to make it change.
So what does living on 8% of your nest egg mean? It means after you invest your savings in various investment vehicles, predominantly growth stock mutual funds, some of which have a proven long term performance record of around 12% annually, and you adjust for the average 4% annual inflation rate, you end up with somewhere around 8% on the average. This is a long term plan. There is no get rich quick without massive risk.
If you live your financial life applying basic formulas to how you manage money, it doesn’t matter whether you have a million dollars or a thousand dollars. 8% is 8% and if you can live off of 8% then you’re doing what you need to do to be financially secure. Can someone live off of 8% of $1000.00? Not likely. That’s only $80.00/year. So there is a level of realism that you need to incorporate. But who knows, a majority of the world lives on less than a dollar a day.
On a micro scale, if you apply this nest egg rule to your money before you spend it, you can figure out how much you need to put away so you can continue your habits without needing to work. What do you mean? Let’s go uber micro. Let’s say you and your wife enjoyed going to a movie once per week. Your ticket price is $9.50 each, and you both slurp down a large, overpriced concession each time, at a cost of $4.50 each. Your total cost to see that movie is $28.00, plus the ignored costs of time and gas to get to the movie.
So now you can ask yourself, “eight percent of what equals $28.00?“ The answer? $350.00. Eight percent of $350.00 is $28.00. Since you go to the movies once per week, in order to be financially secure in this transaction, in other words, in order to see that movie “free of charge,” as your money works for you, you’d need to have a total of $18,200.00 invested in growth stock mutual funds averaging 12% over time.
It’s interesting to look at what you’re spending, then determine how much you’d need to have to cover that expense without working. We will so often look at how much we have and then wonder what happened to it after it’s gone. Start looking forward with your finances. Considering that you’d need $18,200 in the bank to cover this one single activity may help you make some changes in how you spend.
Credit Scores Are For Losers
Posted by Jon Griffith in Personal Finances on March 24th, 2009
Okay, so that’s a pretty bold statement, I’d say. It may be down right offensive to some, because of the time and effort that you may believe you need to put into making sure you have a high credit score.
But what is a credit score for, and what type of institution are you dealing with that bases your integrity and credit-worthiness on some sort of mythical imaginary manufactured number?
Lenders.
If you haven’t figured out by now, when you own someone money, you become their slave. Proverbs 22:7 isn’t just a verse in the Bible. If you’ve got any sense whatsoever, you’ll see it as a truth, whether you believe in God or not.
The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.
Does it have to be spelled out? Debt is bad. All debt is bad. Debt represents a purchase of some sort that was made because there was no money to actually buy whatever it was. Debt will enslave you. Some of the world’s smartest and brightest people may try to pitch to you the idea that debt is a tool used to get ahead, but I can assure you, this makes no sense in any way, shape, or form.
In fact, it is the reason our economic awareness is where it is right now. We are in the midst of turmoil in the economy due to DEBT! If you have a better explanation, I’d love to hear it…so I can laugh, and point out that you’re wrong. I apologize if I sound arrogant, but I am 36 years old, and debt has never been a source of prosperity in my life. It has always brought me down, and most recently, it has also brought down a very large number of my friends whom I love dearly.
When Do You Need a Credit Score?
When do you need to borrow money? That’s your answer. If you haven’t figured out by now that saving for what you are intending to purchase is the best choice, then stop reading now and go somewhere else, because I no longer, nor will I ever camp on the side of those who believe that a credit score is important, and I will not borrow money anymore.
If I never borrow money, I’ll never need a credit score, right? But what about buying a house? What about it? If you must buy a house, borrow as little as possible, and do it for the shortest period of time, and as Dave Ramsey continually preaches, don’t take on more than a 15 year fixed mortgage and don’t let your payment exceed 25% of your take-home pay. But we won’t be able to get the house we want! Sorry. That’s right. You won’t. Start saving until you can.
The longer you go without borrowing money, the lower your credit score will fall. Do you care? If so, why? Ask yourself these questions and consider how much freedom you may experience when you employ the behavioral disciplines that are required to persevere through your impatience towards a savings goal.
You will, I guarantee, come out ahead EVERY TIME when you save for what you want instead of depending on your credit score to get you into DEBT! Debt SUCKS the life out of you. It destroys your spirit and makes you feel trapped, but only as long as you continue to have a mindset of borrowing. Change your ways and you’ll find that even though you’ve gotten yourself into a deep pit of shit, you’ll be on your way to digging yourself out. Do not borrow any more money.
If you haven’t heard about or read Dave Ramsey’s The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness, I would recommend that you do immediately. The audio book is fantastic, and if you have iTunes, you can download it for half the price that Amazon charges for paperback, then stick it in your iPod and listen to it in your car or on your walks, rides, etc.
My life has been completely changed by these teachings and principles and I AM on the road to financial freedom.
For a Better, Or a Worse
Posted by Jon Griffith in Attention Deficit Disorder, Hey! Wake Up!, On Spirituality and God on March 24th, 2009
…part of my life, I have depended upon what other people think, about me, my actions, my talents, my surroundings, and the overall environment I live in.
Existing is a part of life that I can no more understand than the greatest of philosophers, if you should call a philosopher so great. Identity is something that has eluded me for too long, and not being able to put a name to the face has pushed me further and further towards an unbalanced life.
When we first began meeting as a group, prior to our first service, during New Valley’s conception, there was an evening where I was able to eloquently express who I am. If only I could remember the words I spoke that night. I’ll try to explain where I was then.
I am a romantic. I am an artist. I feel deeper than most feel but not without consequence. I speak as I think, but not without consequence. My identity has been defined by the reflection of me in those around me and my perception of their responses to me. But not without consequence.
The result in me has become someone who has depended on others to define what I need to do in my life to be successful as a Man, a Friend, a Son, a Father, a Lover, and a child of God. I am not yet a father, and only recently in life do I feel that I have qualified as a Man. I have been a good Son, and I cannot claim that I have never loved, else I would not feel as I do.
There are people in life who do what they do because they thought it would be cool to do that. There are people in life who do what they do because they don’t see any other way. There are those who would find a passion and pursue it with all of their heart until they reach the pinnacle of their career, only to realize they have nothing. Then there are those, like the previous, who find that passion, live with passion, and learn how to truly live.
I am as human as the next person, and I would assume that the possibly imperfect picture of people that I’ve painted is something you have also noticed in life. I would not assume that you know that someone like myself faces all of these things as well, but with an added challenge of coping with a very real disorder. Attention Deficit Disorder is something that I have, and it is something that I will live with for a better, or for a worse part of my life. Knowing that there is a name to the face, I can pursue a solution, and choose for a better, and finally start listening to me, and trusting in Him.
Proverbs 3:5-6 is a verse in the Bible that is widely known by many, and can be claimed by many as their favorite.
5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight.
The Myth of Tax Deductions
Posted by Jon Griffith in Stupid Tax on March 22nd, 2009
Math doesn’t lie. When you add 1 + 1 you get 2. Subtract 1 from 2 and you get 1. Big surprise right? One of the most common things that I hear people mention when it comes to owning real estate is how important tax deductions are to their financial health. If you employ simple mathematics to this myth, you’ll see how ridiculous the logic is that tell you tax deductions make sense, because they don’t.
Let’s say you owe the bank $100,000.00 with an annual interest rate of 5%, and your income is $30,000/year. 5% of $100,000.00 is $5,000.00. That means at the end of the year, when you file your taxes, you’ll be able to reduce your taxable income from $30,000.00 to $25,000.00.
On a $30,000.00 annual income, you fall in the 15% tax bracket. $5,000.00 of your annual income was paid to the bank, and you’ll never see it again. The real savings to you in this example, since your tax bracket is 15%, is 15% of $5,000.00 which is $750.00.
In short, you spent $5000.00 to save $750.00. Your net result is a loss of $4250.00 in real cash. If you think that keeping your home mortgage means that you’ll benefit because you’ll be able to take a write-off, I’d be happy to pay you $750.00 as soon as your check to me for $5000.00 clears the bank.
Ford Arizona Ironman 2009 Training
Posted by Jon Griffith in On the Road, Triathlon Stuff on March 18th, 2009
It’s official. Actually it’s been official for quite some time. I will be an Ironman (provided I can keep from injury) by the end of the day on November 22nd, 2009, which incidentally is the birthday of one of my friends.
There are three of us in our group who are gearing up for some hard-core training. Brandon, who finished last year with a total time of 12 hours, 4 minutes, and 57 seconds. It was his first full Ironman event after countless sprint, olympic, quarter, and half-iron triathlons.
The triathlon is a combination of 3 events consisting of Swimming, Biking, and Running. There are many different types of triathlons ranging from a quick sprint, which is fairly short, all the way up to the full Ironman, which is definitely not short.
First comes the swim, where a school of people churn themselves into chum for 2.4 miles after starting from a treading start, unlike some races which start with a run from a beach into the water. After slugging down 2.4 miles worth of water into your ears, nose, and throat (that one was for you Dave C.) the athlete runs through the first transition area to suit up for the bike, which lasts 112 miles. You read me right. 112 miles. The course runs through Tempe, then out towards the Beeline Highway, to Shea Blvd, and back to Tempe, 3 times. Once the bike is completed, the disheveled competitor braves the pavement for a full marathon, at 26.2 miles. Then they carry you away to your grave.
Brandon didn’t experience that part. He actually performed quite well, with months of coaching leading up to the event. Our second competitor this year is Steve Poirot (pronounced Purrrrrrrrr, OH!) who competed alongside me in one of the SOMA olympic distance triathlons in 2000 something-or-other. Steve successfully completed his first training loop of the Beeline Highway with a flat rear tire just a few days ago.
I am the third contestant in this insane journey of focus. I have completed a total of 4 triathlons prior to signing up for the granddaddy of them all, and I hope to complete it. As of now, I’m battling a pulled calf, so I’ve resorted to walking long distances, swimming, and biking. Hopefully I’ll be able to pickup my foot pace soon without injuring myself more.
Over the next 200+ days, I’ll be posting some of my training experiences here and some of my GPS routes from long rides and runs.
He Just Doesn’t Get It
Posted by Jon Griffith in Attention Deficit Disorder, Featured, Romantic Relationships on March 18th, 2009
I have a hard time putting together the information that I’m given unless it has a clear end goal. In a real estate transaction, it’s pretty much a 1-2-3 process from start to finish, with many different potential problems that all have common, repetitive solutions. The hardest part of real estate for me, is maintaining relationships.
The hardest part of relationships, particularly romantic, personal relationships, is communicating effectively. That’s what’s hard for me. It may not be for you. I am intuitive, creative, and intelligent, but the way my brain works is different from others. I’m not saying I’m the only one who is like this. What I am saying is that in order for me to understand what it is that the other person is saying, who may not understand the difficulty I face in piecing together their words, I have to slowly process each thought or statement one at a time. When I say slowly, I mean slowly. I am not a debater. If I have knowledge of how something is supposed to work, then I can recall the solution and present it, but if you pose a question in the heat of the moment that requires me to deconstruct the words, interpret their potential meanings, and re-assemble them into a coherent sentence, and you expect me to do it on the spot, I will tend to explode all over you, without meaning to do so. So, processing this information may take me a few minutes, an hour, or it may take much longer. I have been known to understand what someone has said months after they’ve said it.
My learning style is such that I must dig into something, tear it apart, see it work, and then apply it. Without actually experiencing something, I won’t typically understand it. So, communicating with someone who isn’t in that same mind set is a serious challenge for them as much as it is for me.
When I speak, I’m usually thinking out loud because I need to hear myself say it in order to continue to think about it. If you don’t understand this about me, then you may assume a line of thinking in me that actually doesn’t exist yet. In other words, it’s possible that what I say may be taken as rote when in fact it is merely my way of confirming that what I’m thinking is actually successfully being translated into communicable words. By testing those words against another person, I am able to hear them and gauge their response. The problem is when that other person has no clue about the mechanism in my head that drives this process, they just won’t get it. Moreover, they may feel throughout the relationship that I’m the one not getting it. Actually, it’s both of us that aren’t getting it.
Ford Arizona Ironman 2009 Training Entry
Posted by Jon Griffith in Triathlon Stuff on March 15th, 2009
It was officially my second attempt at my first loop of the Beeline Highway. The first attempt was cut short due to time and flat tires on Brandon’s bike. His wheels require tubes with longer stems, so mine were of no use to him.
Should I Buy New or Used Car?
Posted by Jon Griffith in Personal Finances on March 14th, 2009
Used. Always used. Buying a new car is one of the worst financial decisions I have ever made.
Monthly Payment
The monthly payment is the first thing that everyone looks at when they finance a car. Why? Because they live in a cash flow mentality. In this economy, cash is king. If you don’t have it, you can’t spend it. If you can’t spend it, you can’t make it. If you can’t make it, you won’t have it, and the circle continues.
If you’re thinking about a monthly payment, and any portion of that payment is going to be paid to anyone other than yourself (in other words, the bank), then you’ve already lost the battle, because you’re headed into debt. There may be a reasonable explanation for why you’re seeking financing for something you don’t have enough cash to purchase up front, but my advice to you is to completely avoid it altogether. In order to succeed at this, you will have to radically change your idea of what you should be driving. One of the mistakes people make when they consider their monthly payment on a new or used car is how much it really is going to cost them every month. The monthly payment every month is only the financed amount, and it hides all of the other expenses you’ll incur throughout the life of the car.
Since I’m such a nice guy, I’ll go ahead and lay out my stupidity (Dave Ramsey calls what I’m about to explain a “stupid tax”) for all to see, with no holds barred.
My Stupid New Car Buying Experience
In March of 2008, I purchased a new Honda CR-V, loaded. The only feature I didn’t buy was the All Wheel Drive. Big deal. So what did my car cost? The sticker price was $27,895. Divide this by 72 and you have a monthly payment of $387.00, right? Wrong.
When you buy a new car, you have to add to it the document fee, which in my case was $368.00, sales tax, which was $2259.50, and title and registration, which was another $514.71. These are just the up front fees. Then there’s the finance charge. My loan was at 7.9%, which over a period of 72 months is $8162.47.
Add all of these up, and the price of the car goes up to $39139.68. Divide that by 72 and you have a monthly payment of $544.00. But is that the total cost of owning the car? No.
In the first year, the car depreciates roughly $4200.00, so for the first year, you’re paying $544 per month plus $4200.00 divided by the first year (12 months) or $350.00. Color me stupid, but that’s $894.00/month. Add insurance at $1200/year and that’s another $100/month. Now we’re up to $994.00/month. Fuel for me last year, as a REALTOR, was $2937.00. That’s $244.00/month.
My vehicle, which appears to be costing me only $544/month (which by the way, is ridiculous and I should be stabbed through the eye with the very pen I signed with) is actually costing me $1238/month in real money!
The following is from Edmunds.com. It shows what you can expect to be the real cost of owning a 2009 Honda CR-V.
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The Used Car Buying Experience
Let’s assume that I decided way back at the beginning, that I would be satisfied with driving the half-way okay car that I had which was completely paid off and only representive a small amount of “inconvenience” in my life. No NAV, no fancy leather, no sun-roof…etc. Big deal right? Right. Now, with a paid for car, the bank is getting nothing.
At the time, my truck was worth $8000.00. That actually means that I could have moved from the truck into a car that was more conducive to showing property for the same price, or perhaps a bit less. But, I would have been able to set my sights on that newer car without losing $1238/month.
Here’s how it starts. For 10 months, I would sock away $544.00 every month in my own savings account. Hey, I was willing to pay it to the bank, so why not just pay myself? After 10 months, I have $5440.00. Now I trade my $8000.00 truck, which would still have been holding its value, in to a used car dealer for a car that costs $13,440.00 (That’s $8000.00 + $5440.00.) Not bad. Yet again, I save for 10 months an additional $5440.00 and I trade my most recent car in for another car at the price of $18,880.00. 20 months into the process I’m driving a fairly nice used car. Keep in mind, I’m never buying new cars through this process and I’m always upgrading to cars that are holding their value, like a Honda or Toyota. For another 10 months, I save an additional $5440.00 and I trade my $18,880.00 car in for a used $24,320.00 car. 30 months have gone by and I haven’t paid the bank a red cent, and every 10 months I get to upgrade to a newer car, and not only that, but the $24,000 car I’m in now, was purchased by someone else NEW just 3 years earlier for a whole lot more than $24,320. Let the first owner take the depreciation. Let’s do it again. 10 more months of saving $544/month for another $5440.00 and I’m now able to trade in for a $29,760.00 car, paid for, IN FULL!
If you’ll recall, the price of my new Honda CR-V was $27,895.00. It’s been 40 months or 3.3 years, it’s 2011, and I can actually now purchase that 2008, loaded CR-V with miles on it, for much less than its original sticker price. In fact, that car that I had to have last year, would probably cost me under $20,000 in 2011, and would have all of the same features!
This is an absolute no brainer. When you buy a new car, you lose, no matter what. If you’re in a financial position to be able to take that loss, in other words, if you have the money to blow, then you can buy a new car, but you lose. It’s a mathematical fact. Most of us do not have that money because we jump in before we look at the facts. So here’s where I am now, as a result of my impatience. I have a one-year-old car with 20K miles that’s worth about $22,000. My monthly payment is $544, but as we’ve seen, the actual cost of ownership this first year has been over $1200/month. I still owe $27,000 on the car, which is a hair under the sticker price, and the only way out is to sell it and take a note for the difference.
Instead of having a paid for Honda CR-V in 40 months, I have to get rid of it and take an $8000.00 loss, which means I’ll be paying off nothing for a while. Are you as stupid as me?
Borrowing Your Life Away
Posted by Jon Griffith in Featured, Personal Finances on March 14th, 2009
One For One Exchange
Imagine two men in a field, each holding something the other needs. Both men put a reasonable amount of time into acquiring the items. Eventually they will come to an agreement about them and will exchange the items. The value placed on each item is called utility, which is a measure of the relative satisfaction one derives from a good or service. In this particular example, neither men will be exchanging more than just the item, which means no monetary value can be placed on them. In fact, the reason they are both willing to part with their item, is because of the perception that each of them will increase their utility through the exchange. If both men believe their utility will increase, then we’ll probably see an even trade where both men will walk away satisfied. It also may indicate that they are the only two people interested in those items, and that there may be no way to measure a market value based on a currency system.
One For Many Exchange
Let’s give these two characters a name. We’ll call them Joe and Bill. In this instance, when Joe and Bill meet, Joe sees that Bill has something that he could really use, which would increase Joe’s utility significantly, but Bill looks at what Joe has and decides that he could use what Joe has, but doesn’t necessarily need it, and isn’t really excited about it. Bill’s utility isn’t going to increase much. Something has to give at this point. This is where negotiation comes in. It’s likely that Joe is going to have to offer more than just his item to Bill in order to get Bill to make the exchange. So, Joe gives Bill his item plus a few other things, or perhaps whatever is being used in that day for currency. Of course, we have to consider that in times when government has failed, people revert to a system of bartering, where goods and services become the currency until a government that the people can trust defines a new monetary system.
In the U.S., we have our American dollar, and we agree that it holds value, but it rests upon nothing. Not even gold. If you think about the value of Gold, remind yourself of the last time any civilization traded Gold when the economy failed. It hasn’t happened for many centuries, and won’t happen in the future. Dave Ramsey spoke about this in one of his recent podcasts, outlining that the most recent brush with a completely failed economy that we have seen was what happened in New Orleans after the hurricane. You didn’t see people trading gold, you saw them trading goods and services. You give me a gallon of water, I give you a gallon of gas, etc.
Many For Many Exchange
The many for many exchange is just a bloated form of the One for One exchange where it simply takes more items to reach a one to one exchange. I’ll trade you this, this, and this for that, that, and that. More volume, but balanced out, just like all of the exchanges. Again, as long as there is a perceived increase in utility for both parties to the transaction, then the details of the transaction just become pieces on the balancing scale of negotiation.
Borrowing Your Life Away
The three examples above are very basic micro economic facts of life. There’s one common theme that runs throughout, however, and that’s that the exchanges that took place above assumed that each participant actually had something to trade. They had worked hard to find what they needed to trade, and when they found someone with which to trade, they succeeded, and walked away from the transaction happy. Each item was owned by the other.
But what if you were standing in the middle of that field and you wanted something the other person had, yet you had nothing to offer in return, except your word that you would eventually return something to them that may satisfy them? What would they be thinking? They might look at this situation and think that there’s a greater opportunity to them increase utility through this transaction than if we simply traded up front. What happens? Well, in this case, Joe offers to Bill an item that Bill cannot pay for now, in exchange for a greater payment later, because both are now bound by time. Bill is now obligated to increase Joe’s utility over a longer period of time, and Joe has to wait to be paid, and may be tempted to skim as much as possible because Bill isn’t going to be able to pay him right away. Bill may have a percieved increase in utility for the “new car” he just bought, but it’s short term, because Bill has forgotten that he has agreed to pay far more than he believes the item is actually worth to him, all for the sake of having it now, for just a little bit, instead of later, for the full value.
Welcome to debt. The bible talks about this in Proverbs 22:7 - “The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.” When was the last time you chose to be someone’s slave? There is a simple solution to debt. It’s called savings. The reason you may be in debt is because you are not patient enough to save. When you borrow money, you pay more than you should pay for something, and you lock yourself into a pattern of slavery until you pay off the debt.
We Aren’t Supposed to Be Broken
Posted by Jon Griffith in Attention Deficit Disorder, Romantic Relationships on March 12th, 2009
The bottom line? Broken relationships hurt.
We Aren’t Supposed to be Broken
I had a Honda Civic years ago, and with Honda’s being one of the world’s most reliable cars, I thought that there would never be a problem with it. I loved how it sat low to the ground, had a fast engine, and a great sound system, and I loved how reliable it was. It never broke down and I depended on it every day to carry me there and back. It never even showed signs of breaking, then one day, it broke. I never saw it coming.
Grinding the Axle
I have been entrepreneurial most of my life. In high school I sold candy before class that I had purchase from Revco. It was very profitable. Every day I would turn 10 suckers for $1.00 into $2.25. Not bad. Not long after that, I purchased a Honda Spree scooter that was pretty beat up for $75.00 and sold it for $300.00 after cleaning it up. Then, I caught wind of a go-cart that was for sale. I had always wanted one and this was a perfect opportunity. $100.00 later, I had a functioning go-cart. At least that’s what I thought.
I was delivering newspaper at the time on a bicycle, and I saw the go-cart as an opportunity to be on the cutting edge. I wasn’t thinking I would be re-selling it, I was thinking about using it as a business asset. And I did. With minimal expense, I had the mini-car up and running as my primary paper delivery vehicle. Never mind how dangerous or illegal it was. What I didn’t know, was that the left rear wheel, which was nothing more than the type of wheel you see on a Home Depot hand cart, was engineered to require two separate bearings, one on each side of the wheel’s hub. Bearings allow the wheel to spin freely while keeping the axle centered so the wheel doesn’t wobble. I only had one bearing, and the inside hub, unbeknownst to me, was rubbing the axle. My go-cart, with which I had a great relationship, was slowly failing over time, and I had no idea it was happening. The wheel was grinding away the axle, which wasn’t a replaceable part. Eventually the wheel fell off and the go-cart was broken, as was my relationship with it.
Wear and tear will do that to a car, or go-kart, and it will also do that to a relationship, especially when we fail to pay attention our own personal maintenance needs. In many cases, maintenance works, but what if there are deeper problems that we don’t even know exist? What if the problems that are causing the grinding are so damaging, that they permanently render the relationship broken?
Building on Sand
Building a relationship with someone requires certain tools and materials. When we start building a house without a foundation, with the wrong tools and the wrong materials, it falls over, and we have to start over again…repeatedly. Until we lay a foundation that can withstand the forces that move against a structure under that structure, it will continue to fall. Even if we build the house out of bent and broken material, if we assemble it in a meaningful and secure way, no matter what happens, the foundation will remain in tact to catch the pieces if they happen to crumble at times. All of us have a store of bent 2×4’s in our lives; past relationships that didn’t work very well, marriages that caved under the pressure, abuse, death in the family, addictions, you name it, we have them. That bent material contributes to the path that we travel on every day.
Don’t Give Me No Lippr About Blippr
Posted by Jon Griffith in Showcased Sites on March 11th, 2009
It was a few years back that I met Chris Heald when he began playing bass guitar in our church band at New Valley Church, and to this day, he is quite possible the tallest person on the planet. That’s not actually true…but he carries a commanding presence around with him, and her name is Bryanne, his very loving and supportive wife.
The reason I stress supportive, is because I know how much work Chris has put into this project and continues to put into it. He’s probably one of the most over-dedicated coders on the planet, and he just gets it, and to top it off, he has a great ear which makes it very easy for him to pick up a new song whenever we play one.
Now that the startup that he has been working on has been acquired by Mashable.com, a feat that we at New Valley are all very proud of (congratulations Chris), it appears that his future has been brightened exponentially. Not only will his future be bright, but the future of the internet will be influenced by the hard work he has put into Blippr.com.
Blippr.com is a sort of micro-review site that allows you to, in a Twitteresque way, post a review of your favorite book, movie, musician, software application, or video game in 160 characters or less. Most notably about the site is the user experience. It’s one of the only sites that I have come across that seems to interact with you, like a human, providing quick and clever feedback on every action you perform. It’s clever and actually fun to use, and ultimately, very effective. As far as value, it all lies in the ability to receive representative recommendations that actually matter to you because they are so closely tied with friends that you already trust. Give it a try today.
Here’s to innovation, Chris! I’m thankful to know you and have you as a friend and I can’t wait to see what you turn out over the next few years.
Sorting It Out, So Confused
Posted by Jon Griffith in Attention Deficit Disorder, Featured on March 11th, 2009
It was in 1998 I believe when I was perplexed by a process that I couldn’t reconcile in my head. I was working for a computer hardware distributor and I was in charge of organizing the inventory in the software system we had recently implemented. Each product was placed into a master category and we left it at that. Hard drives, Memory, Cases, etc. It was fairly simple to most, but to me, it was a nightmare and here’s why.
The category of Hard Drives contained so many different types of hard drives that it was virtually impossible to wrap my head around how I was going to categorize them in the system for the sake of the end user on the website. You see, our system connected to our website directly, and any category and sub-category that we created showed up on the website. My challenge was to place the products in the most logical category. I couldn’t do it because I was too hung up on small details that only I cared about.
Are we going to categorize the hard drives by size, or by manufacturer? By form factor, or by speed? What on earth is the end user going to do? How can we make it as easy as possible for them to search by all available categorizations?
This example can be reduced to different colored blocks of many varying shapes. Should we group the blocks by color or should they be grouped by shape? What if we group them by both? No, that doesn’t work. If there are 10 shapes and only 3 colors, which grouping takes precedence? What if we decide that shapes take precedence over color, but next month we add 12 new shapes, all of the same color? What do we do now?
This is a process that I am constantly fighting against, and it takes most of my time and energy during which I should be able to actually reach a conclusion and complete the task. But I don’t. I don’t complete the tasks because I get stuck in this thinking pattern.
Problems with word retrieval cause misunderstanding. You must know where a word is “mentally filed” in order to retrieve it. Individuals with AD/HD often have difficulty maintaining an organized “filing” system since the AD/HD brain creates so many options. For example, a person with AD/HD may file the word “apple” under the letter “A,” or “F” for fruit, or “R” for round or red and so on. She may file it differently every time. However, the person who does not have AD/HD will probably file it the same way each time, under the most unversal choice — A for apple.
Dr. Ron Weinstein, Ph.D. Clinical Director and Marlynn Block, M.A., The A.D.D. Center
This is exactly what I’m talking about.
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