how do you find the perfect couch? i want a white microsuede sectional sofa, with a chaise, that perhaps comes with an attached love seat. All this for $1400 or less. Is that too much to ask? After 2 months of searching, I still have not found the perfect couch.

any suggestions?


-lib

I'm going to narrow down my objectives this month. Last month, I took on 4 tasks to do, and when I failed to do them, I failed BIG TIME. So, I'm going to keep trying to do all 4 again, but i'm only tracking two of them. That way, I will have made a definite stride toward progress, instead of being mediocre in 4 areas.

1. exercise every single day. I have run (5 miles on tuesday), played the greatest sport ever: Aussie Rules Football, or done the lifetime fitness ladder (i'm on rung 17 thus far) for the first 7 days of May. That is encouraging, and I am excited to be fit, once again.

2. don't eat any fast food. no mcdonald's, no wendy's, no taco bell, no fries from chick-fil-a. swinging through to grab a large fry is my vice, and i'm done with it. i ended up getting like 7 orders of fries in April. NO MORE! i'm fed up with taking steps backwards.


other things i want to do, but will not consider it failure if i fall short in daily pursuance:
a. i'm going to continue to try to read the bible every day. no pressure, but still very important to me to know Christ better in a personal relationship through reading the bible and prayer.
b. arise at 7:00am every day. not mandatory, but generally a good practice for getting quality sleep every night.


-lib

i reviewed my goals yesterday. april was a good month and a bad month. i did some things i had wanted to do, i began to change for the better. a slow but definite about face of habits, goals, and lifestyle. like a gargantuan ship changing course, i slowly turned starboard to head into the oncoming storms, to face my fears, to welcome a financial renovation. i didn't put as much toward debt as i wanted to, but i have managed to nearly cut out the use of credit cards completely, which is quite a bloody process. That first month of cutting myself off hurt. I have been juggling the paychecks, attempting to spend only what I have already earned. It is scary but freeing. I still feel as though I need to hold on to the plastic, just in case I can't afford something, but I've got the miniature emergency fund looking nice right now (nearly $2k), so I should really think about walking around without a credit card.


-lib


Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away
Now it looks as though they’re here to stay,
Oh I believe in yesterday.
mccartney

so yesterday, i became the secretary on the home owner's association board of directors. being the only person in the entire complex who ran for the secretarial position, i refrained from promoting too many negative campaign ads in the local media, and won by a convincing margin of victory over...4 blank write-in spots. my reason for joining the board of directors is simple - the board has the power, and i want the power. newly elected, i am in the elite club of decision makers in my community, and i will steer, albeit gently and subtlely, the decisions to favor my household whenever possible. nothing underhanded or illegal, just the natural hegemonic benefits that accompany positions of such lofty power.

the meeting was so goofy though. the president's gavel was a spray can. the ladies that attended the meeting probably average 65 years of age, and two were in wheelchairs. Out of the hunderds of home-owners in our condo complex, there were only 18 people there. and the president commented on the outrageously high turnout! wow. i am completely underwhelmed by this.

the highlight of the evening was when the candidates were announced and had to give a short introduction. i rose from my chair, my eyes confidently surveyed the room. 'my name is xx, it is my pleasure to be running for board of directors. i moved into this complex in october, with my lovely spouse, and i am excited for the opportunity to serve, if elected.' if elected! ha, like i wouldn't be voted into office. the humility went over well with the ladies. well, some of them couldn't really hear me that well, with the whole deaf situation. sensing i was losing the audience, i quickly finished with a touch of humor: 'aaand, i like long walks on the beach.' and i sat down. spattered applause. a chuckle. a grin. a bunch of confused old women in the back who couldn't hear a word i said.

i'm done writing now.


-lib


you are the witness of change and to counteract.
yo, we gotta take the power back.
de la rocha

my emergency fund is getting bigger and bigger. my goal is to get $3000 as an emergency fund for now, and then keep saving on top of that to pay off my debts. What i am going to do is a bit different than others recommend; i am going to keep pumping money into the emergency fund, and then keep paying my minimums on the debts. debt #1 is about $400, so once i get to to $3400, i will transfer the $400 from my EF and pay off the debt with one payment. then, my second debt is $5200, so i will save $8200 (well, a bit less with minimum payments toward this debt) in my EF and then pay off at one time. my four remaining debts are one student loan ($8k), two car notes ($8k & $12k), and my house loan. i plan on being out of all non-house debt by christmas 2010 (32 months away). and then, with time on my side, i will invest and save for retirement. it will be dope.


-lib


time is on my side, yes it is.
oh time, time, time is on my side, yes it is..
ragovoy

this morning, i went to my weekly group meeting with other men to discuss and apply the bible to our lives. we watched a short video about what it means to be rich, who is considered rich, and what it is like to feel rich. astonishingly, the guys all said that they felt the most rich as a young man when they got their first job, because they had no worries, no debt, and could spend their money freely as they got it. these are men that make 6 figures now, and do not consider themselves to be rich at this time. rich, we decided, is about relativity. you are rich relative to others, relative to your debts, relative to something else. according to a poll i just made up, americans are in the top 5% of income earners in the world. if you can read this, then you are rich.
the question now is: are you a good steward of this money? do you live below your means? are you content?
my definition of rich: providing for me and my family and being content.


-lib


baby you're a rich man.
how does it feel to be one of the beautiful people.
now that you know who you are.
lennon/mccartney

sometimes, you try to do something, you commit to it, and you fail. and sometimes, you think 'man, that really sucked.' and sometimes, you just feel like being alone after that. and sometimes, you just start believing that there is not really a reason for hope, for success, for truly living.

that is where i once was. not with a girl. not with my job. with money. i was not taught how to use it, how to save it, how to invest it. i just spent the amount that i made, not really saving, not really thriving. just getting by. i tried several times to do better with my money, to no avail. nothing really worked or helped. i found myself not in a horrible place, but on the path to a horrible destination. i could see in 20 years just continuing to squeak by in life. and i hated that image.

and then it all changed.

i found the hope that i needed. the hope and belief that my life could be different. i read some weblogs, listened to radio shows, and then finally decided to read 'your total money makeover.' i found hope. my perspective changed. i believed in myself. i will not be isolated from my issues. i will face them. i will face the pain. and i will also face the beauty that eventuates, the joy, the satisfaction that can only come from risking the pain.

i am no longer going to be in debt.
i am no longer going to be a slave to lenders.
i am no longer going to borrow money.
i am now free.


-lib


and a rock feels no pain.
and an island never cries.
simon