Entertainment

The Big Idea

I really enjoy watching Donny Deutsch’s television show, The Big Idea. This show introduces you to men and women who have made millions with their Big Idea. It is truly inspirational to hear about entrepreneurs that had a great idea, saw it thru to an actual product, and did not take no for an answer.

My “Big Idea” is to create a show called The Big Idea That Failed. Just like it sounds, the show would highlight great ideas and hard working entrepreneurs that fell flat on their faces. With most businesses failing within the first year, there is an endless supply of material for the show.

I picture the show segments flowing something like this:

Explanation of the big idea
This segment will be very much like Donny Deutsch’s The Big Idea, with the entrepreneur discussing the hope and excitement of making their idea a reality (most viewers will think “dang, why didn’t I think of that?”).

Step-by-step business analysis
This segment will go over the business model, distribution network, cash flow, etc. The first hints that there are problems with the business will crop up in this segment.

Melt Down
This segment will give the why, when, where, and how of the business failure. Essentially, it will be 15 minutes of the entrepreneur crying uncontrollably and explaining what went wrong in nonsensical gibberish.

Where is he/she now?
This segment will show the hopeless state that the entrepreneur is in after dumping their life savings, time, blood, sweat, and tears into a failed business. The closing statement will be, “Well, at least they tried”.

Okay, I was just having a little fun. I am totally impressed with people that have the guts to follow thru with an idea. If everyone were afraid get an idea off the ground, where would we be today? If you get a chance, check out the The Big Idea website. You can click on entrepreneurs they have highlighted on the show and read the details of their success.

Early Retirement

Target Retirement Date Update

It’s been a half a year since we first started down the path towards our goal of early retirement. While our goal of retiring in 2027 may still be a stretch, I’m more optimistic than ever. We have enjoyed great success thus far in growing our net worth, while having fun along the way.

There are still many years and major events between now and the possibility of early retirement. We would like to purchase a house and have kids in the next few years, both of which will impact our goal. We hope to offset these costs by increasing our earning potential and investing more each year. Oh, and it would be great if the housing market turns around and we can sell our condo in a few years for a profit.

Maybe I should say that we’re cautiously optimistic.

Business Travel, Career

Busy Week Next Week

I will be out of town from next week for a business trip. It will be nice to get out of the office for a few days, same some money on food and gas, get some cash back rewards for charging business expenses to our rewards card, and rack up a few more frequent flyer miles.

My wife starts training at her new job next week, while finishing up the first of her last two weeks with her current employer. They are going to be long, but exciting days for her.

Money Musings

Airline Credit

My wife was planning to join me on a business trip next week, but is unable to now that she is starting a new career. We had purchased her plane ticket online and received special pricing, so I was sure we would have to just right it off. I was wrong. She called the airline yesterday and they told her that we can apply the value of the ticket to another flight as long as we did so within 12 months. I’m going to miss her on the trip, but it’s good to know that the money spent on her ticket was not just thrown away.

Career

Career Change

My wife has been eager to leave her current company because her new sales manager is difficult to work with and doesn’t know anything about their industry. She also has seen indications that the company’s profitability is way down and there may be major problems ahead.

My wife has been interviewing with a great company for the past 1-1/2, and completed her 3rd and last interview with them today. The final interview was with a panel composed company upper management. As part of the interview, she was required to give a detailed sales presentation to the group. She nailed it. The group told her that she was one of the strongest candidates they have ever had. Needless to say, they offered her the job and she gratefully accepted. She starts with the company in 2-1/2 weeks, just enough time to tie up loose ends with her current company and give them proper notice.

The new job offers a much greater commission/bonus potential and better benefits than her current company. She should know more about the benefits next Tuesday, when she completes new hire paperwork. However, she has already learned that the health insurance is great and they offer a company matched 401(k).

I’m so proud of her. Not only did she get the job, she is joining the company as one of their top candidates, having already caught the eye of upper management.

Budget

So Far, So Good

1 Comment

We’re about 1/4 of the way thru July and my wife and I have done a good job thus far in keeping our expenses down. Our goal is for July to be our lightest expense month yet. That shouldn’t be too hard since we’ve spent an average of $7,110/month in the last four months. I’m hoping we can keep our July expenses in the vicinity of $6,500.

My wife and I are treating ourselves to a dinner date tonight, but to keep true to our goal, we’re taking advantage of a buy one, get one free coupon at an Italian restaurant in our neighborhood that we haven’t been to. We ordinarily spilt a meal when we go out, since the servings sizes in restaurants are usually huge. So, with a buy one, get one free deal, we’ll have a nice meal tonight and leftovers for lunch tomorrow.

Got to love a deal.
Vacation

Let Freedom Ring


Happy (early) Independence Day! My wife and I are spending tomorrow on the lake with her father and step-mother. We’ll be enjoying lots of sunshine, boating, and BBQ.

As I get older, I realize more and more how blessed I am to live in America. This country offers priceless freedoms, amazing opportunities, and unending inspiration.

Have a safe 4th of July.

Income Statement

June 2007 Income Statement

We had a lot of money flowing out in June, going over our budget in almost all categories (click on spreadsheet below). I’m beginning to sound like a broken record when it comes to our budget.

My wife and I have committed to doing a better job of watching expenses in July. In fact, we have already declined a couple of social events to help us get July off to a solid start.

Working on it.

Net Worth

June 2007 Net Worth Update (+$3,979.67)

We had a lot of financial action in June. Our investments ended on a down note, but we still increased our net worth by $3,979.67, to $13,022.20 (click on the spreadsheet below).

  • My wife received an extra $1,161.67 paycheck this month.
  • I cashed in 6 days of vacation time for an extra $1,219.11.
  • We sold Car 1 and bought a new (used) Car 1. $1,000 was withdrawn from savings to transact the deal, and we spent another $321.94 getting the new vehicle outfitted with an alarm and a few other things.
  • Also related to cars, my wife got a flat tire, resulting in a $159.25 replacement tire.
  • We withdrew $2,000 from savings and used a $1,000 business reimbursement check to open a Roth for me, and fund it with $3,000. The $1,000 business expense will not hit my credit card until July or August, at which time we will pay it off from savings. In the meantime, we are earning stock market returns on the money.
  • My wife graduated (great job sugar!) this month, so we spent $219.08 on a nice party for her.
  • June was a heavier than usual month for gifts to family/friends ($216).

We’re tracking nicely to meet our 2007 net worth goal of $22,000. It’s just over half way thru the year and we’re currently at 59.19% of our annual goal.

Budget

Double-Edged Sword

I’m excited to close out June and post our numbers. Even with the market fluctuations, we have made some good headway.

Unfortunately, July looks like it will be a very weak month for our net worth. We went so far over budget in June that we will have to use money that would have been deposited into savings in July to cover our June expenses. We also used a $1,000 reimbursement check from my company to get my Roth funded a bit earlier. If the business charges post to the credit card next month, we’ll have to use most of our savings to pay it back. I’m hoping the charges will hit after our July statement, as I receive 3 paychecks in August and will be in a much better position to pay.

Our path to financial independence and retiring early.