Dave Ramsey LIVE!

This is another post about something that happened a while back, but I felt it still worthy of posting, so here goes.

On St. Patrick's Day I took advantage of the opportunity to see Dave Ramsey LIVE! at UCF. A year ago, in February of 2011, I began taking control of my finances using Dave's Debt Snowball program. Let me tell you, it has made a WORLD of difference. I've paid off $13+ in debt since I started applying his practices to my wallet.

So, I'd been sticking to my budget and being smart with my money for a year or so, and I figured that attending this financial seminar could only help to keep my momentum going. So I went. I thought it was really cool that Dave only accepted DEBIT cards for online plastic purchases! Way to practice what you preach, Dave!

The seminar was set from 1-6 on a Saturday afternoon. Holy moly - 5 HOURS? Really? Really. It went by incredibly fast; it felt like I was only there for maybe 2 hours. Dave is a super energetic, down-to-earth, straight-forward guy. He's easy to listen to and knows his stuff. He also has a sense of humor: he opened the seminar with a statement to the effect of "when you leave here you will walk out thinking, 'man - I knew all that; and I PAID him!'"

Throughout Dave's seminar he outlined key concepts of the Debt Snowball program, provided financial statistics (that weren't skewed or taken out of context), and pointed out how society behaves (and how past generations behaved) when it comes to money. Did you ever pick up on the notion that your grandparents acted as if incurring debt was a SIN? Now Visa backs the Hasbro financial game, Monopoly; the game no longer has paper cash - instead it has plastic credit cards and a swipe machine. I was shocked to learn that, and grateful that I have the vintage cash version of the board game.

The seminar was a great experience and reminder of why I'm taking control of my money. I HIGHLY recommend attending one of his live events if you get the chance to do so.

PS - the book that got me started is "The Total Money Makeover." Check it out. You can thank me later.

LH: 5 Traits of Low-Stress, Happy Workers

Stumbled on this LifeHacker article about the "5 Traits of Low-Stress, Happy Workers." Take a look:

http://lifehacker.com/5751875/five-traits-low+stress-happy-work-cultures-have-in-common

Pay It Forward Day

Today is Pay It Forward Day. If you're unfamiliar with the phrase, you should check out the movie entitled "Pay It Forward." Excellent movie; even better concept.

Today is meant to spark inspiration in people to do something nice for three people. The idea is that they would, in response to your kindness, "pay it forward" to three other people. And so on!

Today I did these three nice things for people:

1. I sent a colleague, Bill McNamee, a thank you note through a system at work that allows me to notify his manager that I sent the note. The thank you note was to thank and recognize Bill for the tremendous help he's provided me in becoming accustomed to a system we use at work called Unity.

2. Bought an ice skating package for a friend (includes entry, skate rental, popcorn and a pop).

3. Chipped a few dollars for the next guy at Jimmy John's.

Maya the Wise

Here are some things Maya has learned in life:
'I've learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow.'

'I've learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way they handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.'

'I've learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance.'

'I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catcher's mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw some things back.'

'I've learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision.'

'I've learned that even when I have pains, I don't have to be one.'

'I've learned that every day you should reach out and touch someone. People love a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back.'

'I've learned that I still have a lot to learn.'

'I've learned that people will forget what you said and people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.'