Never argue with an idiot and Dave Ramsey update

Happy Valentine's Day!

So on another subject .....There is a quote I learned long ago that rings so true and that I was reminded of this week.

"Never argue with an idiot. They will bring you down to their level and then beat you with experience."

Oh, and this quote is in no way related to my daughter or my boyfriend, but I'm remaining mum on who reminded me of this.

So today, I'm making (at my sweetie's request) Chocolate Toffee Crunch Brownies. This will go nicely with my low carb lifestyle....NOT.

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/fudgy-toffee-crunch-brownies-10000001923450/

This morning Hayley had flowers, a heart box of chocolates, cup cakes, more candy, and four fashion magazines. I told her that her boyfriend really stepped it up for Valentine's Day. She told me that apparently he can follow instructions because she told him everything she wanted. Smart girl.

So I got a new cell phone as my V day gift from my boyfriend. I didn't think I needed a new one, but I guess he thought I did. It was acting up a few weeks ago, but that was before I deleted the 2-year old call log, the 5000+ text messages, and 300+ photos. Oopsie.

I went to talk with the sales lady to see what she thought. I'm sure a sales person wouldn't want to sell me a  new phone....right?  I thought my phone was great. It even had a pull out keyboard which is important since I can't seem to type on touch phones. 

Well she started laughing at my old phone, which by the way, was top of the line 2 years ago. I had the extended battery on it so it was as heavy as a brick. I broke the plastic on the back of it so the back kept falling off, and there was a small bad spot on the screen. She was very helpful and told me one of the least expensive phones was the best. WTH? Love her even though I wasn't paying for it. 

She said it had the best processor and software, decent battery life (there is no such thing as good battery life on smartphones apparently) and the voice to text feature. I love it. The battery stays charged and it is so much faster to pull up my apps and the Internet. Plus, I got a nice turquoise blingy case for it. Now the voice to text feature....well it isn't perfect, but it works enough that I think my friends and family can at least get the gist of what I'm trying to say. I've alerted them all to the fact that all texts are voice translated, so not to take offense if crazy things show up.

Oh and because I'm on Dave Ramsey's plan, I bought my V Day cards for .50 each at Dollar Tree. Oh, and Dave Ramey's class did tell me to sell my car this week, but I'm not going to do it. Sorry Dave. I live in Texas. I need a fast and reliable car for the tollway, but I will add it to my debt snowball and pay if off early.

Going to be a lovely day in Texas today. Great....while I sit inside working.

Update on Financial Peace

So using the envelope system is not easy, but it does make me more money conscious. I decided to do a 2 week envelope experience instead of all money for a month because that is too much cash to carry. 

I even went to Dollar Tree this week. How fun was that? I spent $15 and got so much stuff...including .25 cent seed packets for my garden.  I didn't have my glasses on. I thought I bought some squash seeds, but they were yellow string beans...WTH? I've never had a yellow string bean. That'll be a first.

So back to envelopes....on the first day, I lost an envelope with $60 in it. I was just glad it wasn't a $200 envelope.  I had used some money out of it for gas so I figured it was in my car. I looked and looked to no avail. When you have a 2-seater car, the search shouldn't be that difficult. 

My first food purchase was at Walmart for $26.....well they were out of ones, so I got back almost $4 in quarters. Sigh. I'm so used to swiping cards. Using cash is a royal pain. I also had to start a change jar so the straps on my purse wouldn't break...thanks Walmart.

Then, I  had a car repair this week. I have a little padding in my car budget that I was hoping to accumulate over time for any repairs, but of course, my car repair is in the first month. I didn't have enough to cover the entire repair so I borrowed from my entertainment envelope. I have spent nothing out of entertainment, clothes, or other. I have found that my food budget is my biggest category. Easy to understand, I put eating out into the food category with groceries, snack stops, and wine. The good news is that I still have money in that account. I knew food and eating out would be huge for me. Damn daughter and her Pei Wei addiction. 

So after my car was repaired...I kid you not....there is my missing $60 envelope in the car in plain sight next to the seat. I'm telling you I searched this car like crazy more than once. Very odd.

So all these envelopes were making me crazy. I kept getting money out of the wrong envelope or couldn't quickly find the one I needed. So now I consolidated a cash pile, but I still have a register for each category. The good news is that I still have money left for next week and that is in addition to getting my car fixed. Of course, I also need to get my kittie fixed soon. She was making love to my purse today. I can't even begin to explain the noises that come out of her. Cute and disturbing all at the same time.

So speaking of disturbing. My house seems to be on the CareFlight path when they are headed up to 380. They just went over my house as I was writing this. It is rush hour. Sometimes they go over my house twice in a day. Preston and 380 is a really bad intersection and lots of fatalities. I say a prayer every time they go over because I know it can't be good. There was a double fatality a few weeks ago right near my house on a 45-mph road (Preston). It was a head on collision.  Remember to tell your family you love them daily and be nice to them. 

Which speaking of that. I was such a beyotch to my boyfriend this week. He called me and I was watching Bachelor and was really into it. I got rid of my DVRs so I if I miss something, I really miss it. I felt bad to be short with him because I was watching the world's stupidest reality show...when in reality I should have been focused on him and us. Damn it. I'm just not the perfect girlfriend.

So here is my favorite picture of him trying to impress me when we first met with his lime juggling abilities.

Morning workouts

So my gym just started getting crowded in the last 2 weeks. I guess the New Years Resolution folks were a little slow this year. 

Hayley and I got all dressed for the gym on Tuesday early evening and left in great spirits ready for a good workout. Well, I circled the parking lot three times looking for a space. Also not really feeling really safe because there is one of those portable Police skyscrapers in the parking lot. Finally, we see a spot and a guy puts on his blinker and I let him take it. Now, I was closer and I didn't have to take a left to get to it like him, so I definitely could have taken it. However, I really like my car and the last thing I want is some old man key scratching it because I stole his parking spot.

So anyway, we circled one more time and my daughter says "You know....I don't really feel like working out now. I mean if we can't find a parking spot, how are we going to find any empty equipment." With that being said, we left. 

So lately I've been going to the gym in the mornings. Now, I'm a morning person. I wake up at 5:30 or 6a.m.; however, I don't like to move that early. My idea is to lay in bed and watch Squawkbox for an hour, check my emails, and read the news. 

But, because the gym is packed in the evenings, I've been dragging myself out of bed and going in the mornings. So I want to tell you the great things about morning workouts.

• You can get a parking spot on the 2nd row.
• You can get on weights and cardio equipment without a problem.
• Everyone else looks like crap too.
• The people in the gym are serious. There are no women with fake eyelashes and matching gym clothes lounging on the equipment. I find this very refreshing.
• I get that feeling. You know the one on Friday afternoons when you've worked all week and ready to party for the weekend? When I work out in the mornings, I feel like the rest of the day I can do whatever I want and I'm not dreading "having to work out later".

Random photo at Mexico Beach, Florida - December 2013.

Oh, and what is up with people now taking their tablets to the gym?

Texas Weather

The old saying is true. If you don't like the weather in Texas, wait a minute. So yesterday I started my day in shorts and flip flops. By the afternoon, it had dropped 10 degrees, started raining and then got windy as heck. This morning I woke up at 3am freezing. I had to go turn the heat back on.

I have to say that the 75 degree weekend was just awesome. I love Texas weather. Northerners like to say that Texas doesn't have seasons. Well it does. Really Hot and Really Cold.

Until 2 years ago, I had never really been iced in Texas at least for no longer than a few hours or a day. Well 2 years ago was horrendous. We got iced in for 4 days. I ran out of wine. I was living in an apartment at the time. On the 4th day, I ventured out on foot. I walked to the local Italian food restaurant for food and wine. I almost busted my bootie on the ice, but I was determined. Anyway, I got my fix and the next day, the sun came out and it was comfortable with the top down on the car.

Lesson learned. Make sure I have enough wine to last at least 4 days. So we've had some nice warm January weather. Does this mean that February is going to be cold and icy?

Church People

So one of my New Years Resolutions was to go to church much more regularly. For years, I was very involved in a small church, then I met my ex-husband who didn't like my very traditional church. We church hopped, but nothing stuck...and we divorced. Go figure.

So now, I've decided after flitting around here and there to just pick a church and go. I'm going back to Stonebriar with Chuck Swindoll. I first attended his church about 14 years which met at the community college. A big church was built a couple of years later.

So last weekend, I was going to church all peaced out and a car was tailgating me, but I know where all the Frisco cops hang, so I wasn't about to speed. Between me and my kids, I think our tickets paid for the new police station, but that's besides the point. Finally, this woman speeds up to pass me about taking off my front bumper and immediately starts tailgating the next person. Finally, we all turn into the church parking lot. Nice.

This weekend, there was a guest speaker as Chuck had cataract surgery. The pastor was really good. He did a sermon about giving your time and not letting distractions get in the way of what is really important. Well, when his sermon was over and he said let's pray, I bet 1/5 of the congregation got up to leave WHILE he was saying a prayer. With all the moving around, I could not even hear what he was saying. What is so wrong with people?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQv2b6lePSE

Financial Peace University

I made lots of New Years Resolutions. 

• I'm going to church every Sunday.
• I'm going to the gym 4x a week.
• I'm eating low carb until I lose 10 lbs.
• I'm going to stick to a budget. 

The first three are easy enough. I have had a budget for years. I just don't stick to it. So this year, I decided to take a Financial Peace University class at Stonebriar Church. 

They haven't told me to sell my car YET, but I'm sure that's coming. Sorry Dave Ramsey, I'd rather pay it off early than buy a beater car. I bought beater cars for both of my children's first cars and they always cost me a fortune....You need a catalytic converter $1200, you need new brakes $300, new tires $300, new clutch $400, blah blah blah. I bet for both of the beater cars I ended up spending at least $5-6K each by the time it was said and done for 10 year old cars. Texas is NOT the place for driving beaters. Just too much driving going on. So anyway...

I'm also afraid Dave will tell me to quit eating sushi, playing golf, and getting pedicures. I will definitely cut back.

So the troubling thing is that I probably haven't had more than about $40 cash on me at any given time in decades. Well, a new beginning for February. I'm going to a cash basis for my personal expenses. At first, I was scared. Someone will steal my cash. Well at least it has a limit. Duh. I mean if someone stole my purse now with the credit cards, they could spend tens of thousands of dollars before I could call the 800 numbers which I would have to look up because I wouldn't have the cards to get the numbers off the back. 

Which is another thing. Why so many credit cards? 

• American Express (my fave) because I have to pay it off every month and I earn points.
• Visa (x2) because not everyone takes AMEX. One for me and one that my daughter can use for emergencies....you know like Pei Wei.
• COSTCO Amex because it serves as my membership card with my picture.
• Visa debit card in case I need cash (but can be used as credit too)

Yikes. I mean really. What a mess. I'm going to clean out my wallet and go to cash and the Amex. I mean Amex has been good to me over the decades. They even sent me an Ipod shuffle for Xmas one year. Nice touch Amex.

I'm hoping to spend about $500 less this month than I typically do....she says rolling her eyes.

Dave says if I go to cash it will be more emotional for me than swiping a card. I'll let you know how that works out for me. Maybe it is. I'm about to cry now and I haven't even begun.

Xmas Vacation

Something I learned on vacation. If you are going to travel on Xmas day, pack your dinner. Xmas night, I had a 2-day old sausage from a Circle K store (they were out of hot dogs). The only good part of this meal was the chips and beer side dishes.

So we left during the snowstorm as fast as we could to beat the storm on our trip to Florida. We were about 30 minutes ahead of the freezing temperatures. Slept in Baton Rouge. Don't think I'll ever stop there again. 

The next day on to Panama City Beach, Florida.  The hotel was old, but it was awesome....except for the talking elevator lady. Yikes. She screamed at us: GOING DOWN!  The hotel was very inexpensive this time of year and right on the beach with a big patio. It also had a kitchenette...which means you can store your own drinks in a full-sized refrigerator. Bonus!

So this trip was the ying and yang of food. Ying was the 2-day old sausage. Yang was the best baked oysters and fried green tomatoes ever. Dusty's Oyster Bar is awesome....if you don't mind drinking out of plastic cups and using plastic forks. The oysters had crab meat, Parmesan cheese, and jalapenos and they had the best fried green tomatoes I've eaten, but to be honest, I've only had them a few times in my life. This place was so awesome, we went there twice.

St. Andrews beach...voted best in US...check. Disappointed that I didn't see any alligators at alligator lake, but the beach was beautiful. Took a trip to Appalachicola...oyster capital of Florida. Not too impressed. Lots of boutiques and I'm not much of a shopper. We were told what restaurant to go to for oysters. We were not even hungry, but we figured we had to have Florida's freshest oysters. Well our oysters were so fresh they were still in the ocean. We go for an early lunch and tell the waitress we aren't hungry, but must try the oysters. She comes back and says they ran out. True story...my friends. We did see the oyster guys raking the ocean for oysters, so that was kind of cool.

Stopped by the USS Alabama.  I talked to Col. Frazier and got a signed copy of his book Hell's Guest.  He is a former POW and 90 years old. What a great guy. 

The last part of the trip had very few pictures and the ones we had were on a phone and probably don't need to be shown. New Orleans baby. To me, New Orleans is much like Las Vegas. You can only live through two days of it. Again, the food was awesome. I had some shrimp yaya that was to die for. Listened to some great Cajun music...I think that is it...the ones where they play the spoons on the chest thingy.

Here's me by the spoon guy. This picture about sums up how New Orleans went down on this trip. Fortunately, I feel like a real light weight when in NOLA. The double shots started in the hotel lobby at 9am before the Saints game....and I was eating a breakfast with NO cocktails.