As most of you should know by now, I am self-employed. This came about in late 2006 when the company I was working for at the time was "reorganizing"...and as we all know, that typically means layoff's. As I figured there would be a chance of that, happening to me, I decided to ramp up my efforts to advertise my own computer service company that I had been doing for years already, just not as much as I needed to in order to be successful with it being my only source of income to support my family.
So I made business cards, fliers, posted up "bandit signs" on the side of the road to try to drum up business. All the while, there was things happening at Siemens (where I was working at the time) that things were starting to change a lot faster. Knowing this, and knowing that my job was probably on the line at some point in the future, I had made my own plans to leave the company at the end of 2006, and work my own business full time. However, Siemens had other plans and laid me off at the end of September--a full three months sooner than I had expected. It wasn't the best for me, but at least I had expected it and things were already in motion to keep me afloat.
Now I say all that to say this: A few weeks ago, my beautiful wife and I went to dinner at The Olive Garden. There, we ran into one of my co-workers from my Siemens days. There it was almost three years later and we both still recognized each other and remembered each other's names. Anyway, I introduced Brian Johnson to Nicole and he introduced us to his wife. We stood there for a few minutes briefly catching up, but his face quickly changed to a distressed look when I asked about how things were going at Siemens and if certain people were still there.
He began explaining how since I had left, the company had let go of many people. He said how they actually had to train people from Bulgaria how to use and support the Xpressions voicemail system that I worked with, and how after several weeks of training them there, that they then had to go to Bulgaria and transition the support to there... so basically, they just trained their replacements. Brian continued saying how they had gone from a team of about 18 technicians down to six and how they were continuing to run on a very thin staff now.
So, despite the fact that originally I could have seen myself staying there for a lot longer, I ended up in a much better position working for myself. I mean, sure there have been some pretty stressful times, but at the same time, I have been much happier, I am spending significantly more time with my family, I'm able to do more things with them rather than just hearing about it after they went without me, I'm making more money than I ever have with any other job, except since the recession hit, it's dropped quite a bit, but I'm not complaining because I STILL HAVE A JOB THAT I CAN'T GET LET GO FROM!!! :-)
So all in all, it was all for the best. Sure it hurt at first. It was very scary being forced into something when I didn't know what to expect, or when it would all come crashing down on me. But looking back on it, I would never change any of it! I am glad I am where I am today!
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Home Shield Homeowner Hassles and Headaches
I have been trying to get the loan modified for the last several months. Part of the conditions of the mod was for us to get our own insurance (long story on why we didn't in the first place.) ANYWAY, so we did our part and faxed everything to everyone at Homecomings we were supposed to do in order for it to be escrowed.
A month later, we get a bill saying that they never paid. So I called Homecomings and asked why they hadn't paid yet, and they said that sometimes it will take a while and to not worry about it that they would pay for it.
Another month later, we get a cancellation BILL saying our insurance was cancelled for non-payment AND that WE owed $500 for the coverage they gave us. I called Homecomings, and they said that we were never setup for escrow!!! WHY THE HELL NOT??? WE DID OUR PART, WHY DIDN'T YOU DO YOURS?!?!?
PLUS, of all the calls I've had for the last several months, I have gotten absolutely NOWHERE with them, I've been "disconnected" (read "hung up on") countless times because apparently NONE of the idiots that work there know how to use their phones!!! And, the insurance department says I need to talk to customer service. Customer service says I need to talk to Loan Modification. Loan Modification says I need to Loss Mitigation. Loss Mitigation says I need to talk to the insurance department. And I keep going in circles with every single person I talk to there! SO I AM GETTING NOWHERE WITH EVERY SINGLE PHONE CALL!!!!
Now as far as Home Shield goes, I called them out to come fix a leak in our duct work. First off, this is a Fox & Jacobs house (aka a "Fox Box") and they don't have typical a/c ducts. Most houses have what's called "Flex Duct"...but not ours! Ours is called "Duct Board" and it's square, non-flexible duct that's completely enclosed. So 35 years later when the duct work gets leaks, how do you fix it? You can't get to it from the attic because it's built below the joists. You can't get to it from the ceiling because it's above the sheet rock. So the only thing you can do is to cut down the ceiling...this is called "getting access" in Home Shield's terms. Ok, so half the idiots they send out say that Home Shield doesn't cover "making access" that we, the home owner, is supposed to make the access for them ourselves. Well, I have verified with NUMEROUS Home Shield people to know, for a fact, that they will pay whomever to get access. I don't care who it is or how they do it, Home Shield WILL PAY FOR ACCESS!!!
So, now they have sent out FOUR DIFFERENT COMPANIES, all of which say "we don't make access." So Home Shield still hasn't sent out the right company that will make the access. I swear, I'm about to rip down my ceiling myself and then they can put it back.
On top of that, TWO of the four companies have owners that have been EXTREMELY unprofessional or flat-out RUDE. The 2nd company they sent out, no wait... the THIRD company they sent out came out to make a quote for access... They came out over 2 weeks ago on Sunday. He was supposed to call Home Shield with his quote on how much it would cost and when I called him on Wednesday (three days after they came out) he told me it would be Friday. Friday comes around and he hasn't called. I called Home Shield on Monday and they said that he hadn't called them yet. So I called him and he told me "to be honest Mr. Weatherford, I put you on the 'back burner' but I will call them today." EXCUSE ME??? YOU DID WHAT??? I DON'T THINK SO!!!!
I don't care who you are -- YOU NEVER TELL A CUSTOMER YOU "PUT THEM ON THE BACK BURNER" !!!!!! So I called HS and told them DO NOT send that company to my house... they are NOT going to do ANY work on my house EVER.
Ok, well, they didn't seem to care too much, but they sent out yet another company. That other company came out, and yet again, said "we don't do this, we have someone else that makes access." Well, no kidding!!! I told Home Shield NOT to send out another A/C tech because they all tell me the same thing!!! So then this company calls me back and said they are going to send out their lead tech to have him come out and see what needs to be done to make access. Ok, fine. You want to come see what needs to be done? Fine... come out here at 8am and SEE what you need to do.Well, around here, 8am everyone is asleep. So the guy comes out here this morning (trying to come out at 7:30, which is before 8am) and he tries to tell me that he's going to make access and see what needs to be done to fix the leak. Really? You want to go into my attic, DIRECTLY ABOVE MY BABY DAUGHTER'S BEDROOM and start banging around while she's asleep? I don't think so! Besides the fact that NO ONE said he was coming here to do any work!!! So I told him he could come back later. He said he had some work to do down the street and he would call me back around 10am or so. Not even two minutes after he walked out the door, their head guy (or the company owner) called me griping me out because "my guy told me you refused to give him access to your ducts..." I interrupted him and said "wait a minute... what did he tell you?" He said that I told him the baby was sleeping and I wouldn't let him work... then he goes off on me saying "well you made this appointment and you knew that he was going to be working, blah blah blah" to which I told him that NO ONE told me ANYTHING about him coming out to do ANY kind of work. Home Shield told me he was coming out here to "find out what he has to do to get access." That sounds to me like someone is going to LOOK at what we have and not do any bit of work as of right then and there.
So after HE got rude with me, I hung up on him and IMMEDIATELY called the Home Shield president's office (whom I've been speaking to for the last week) and ripped her a new one (on her voice mail) telling her that THAT company was not welcome at my house anymore because he got rude with me, and that they need to send someone ELSE out to my house to fix this problem....
By the way -- did I ever mention that today is the 30th of July, and I originally put this call in on July FIRST?!?!??!
A month later, we get a bill saying that they never paid. So I called Homecomings and asked why they hadn't paid yet, and they said that sometimes it will take a while and to not worry about it that they would pay for it.
Another month later, we get a cancellation BILL saying our insurance was cancelled for non-payment AND that WE owed $500 for the coverage they gave us. I called Homecomings, and they said that we were never setup for escrow!!! WHY THE HELL NOT??? WE DID OUR PART, WHY DIDN'T YOU DO YOURS?!?!?
PLUS, of all the calls I've had for the last several months, I have gotten absolutely NOWHERE with them, I've been "disconnected" (read "hung up on") countless times because apparently NONE of the idiots that work there know how to use their phones!!! And, the insurance department says I need to talk to customer service. Customer service says I need to talk to Loan Modification. Loan Modification says I need to Loss Mitigation. Loss Mitigation says I need to talk to the insurance department. And I keep going in circles with every single person I talk to there! SO I AM GETTING NOWHERE WITH EVERY SINGLE PHONE CALL!!!!
Now as far as Home Shield goes, I called them out to come fix a leak in our duct work. First off, this is a Fox & Jacobs house (aka a "Fox Box") and they don't have typical a/c ducts. Most houses have what's called "Flex Duct"...but not ours! Ours is called "Duct Board" and it's square, non-flexible duct that's completely enclosed. So 35 years later when the duct work gets leaks, how do you fix it? You can't get to it from the attic because it's built below the joists. You can't get to it from the ceiling because it's above the sheet rock. So the only thing you can do is to cut down the ceiling...this is called "getting access" in Home Shield's terms. Ok, so half the idiots they send out say that Home Shield doesn't cover "making access" that we, the home owner, is supposed to make the access for them ourselves. Well, I have verified with NUMEROUS Home Shield people to know, for a fact, that they will pay whomever to get access. I don't care who it is or how they do it, Home Shield WILL PAY FOR ACCESS!!!
So, now they have sent out FOUR DIFFERENT COMPANIES, all of which say "we don't make access." So Home Shield still hasn't sent out the right company that will make the access. I swear, I'm about to rip down my ceiling myself and then they can put it back.
On top of that, TWO of the four companies have owners that have been EXTREMELY unprofessional or flat-out RUDE. The 2nd company they sent out, no wait... the THIRD company they sent out came out to make a quote for access... They came out over 2 weeks ago on Sunday. He was supposed to call Home Shield with his quote on how much it would cost and when I called him on Wednesday (three days after they came out) he told me it would be Friday. Friday comes around and he hasn't called. I called Home Shield on Monday and they said that he hadn't called them yet. So I called him and he told me "to be honest Mr. Weatherford, I put you on the 'back burner' but I will call them today." EXCUSE ME??? YOU DID WHAT??? I DON'T THINK SO!!!!
I don't care who you are -- YOU NEVER TELL A CUSTOMER YOU "PUT THEM ON THE BACK BURNER" !!!!!! So I called HS and told them DO NOT send that company to my house... they are NOT going to do ANY work on my house EVER.
Ok, well, they didn't seem to care too much, but they sent out yet another company. That other company came out, and yet again, said "we don't do this, we have someone else that makes access." Well, no kidding!!! I told Home Shield NOT to send out another A/C tech because they all tell me the same thing!!! So then this company calls me back and said they are going to send out their lead tech to have him come out and see what needs to be done to make access. Ok, fine. You want to come see what needs to be done? Fine... come out here at 8am and SEE what you need to do.Well, around here, 8am everyone is asleep. So the guy comes out here this morning (trying to come out at 7:30, which is before 8am) and he tries to tell me that he's going to make access and see what needs to be done to fix the leak. Really? You want to go into my attic, DIRECTLY ABOVE MY BABY DAUGHTER'S BEDROOM and start banging around while she's asleep? I don't think so! Besides the fact that NO ONE said he was coming here to do any work!!! So I told him he could come back later. He said he had some work to do down the street and he would call me back around 10am or so. Not even two minutes after he walked out the door, their head guy (or the company owner) called me griping me out because "my guy told me you refused to give him access to your ducts..." I interrupted him and said "wait a minute... what did he tell you?" He said that I told him the baby was sleeping and I wouldn't let him work... then he goes off on me saying "well you made this appointment and you knew that he was going to be working, blah blah blah" to which I told him that NO ONE told me ANYTHING about him coming out to do ANY kind of work. Home Shield told me he was coming out here to "find out what he has to do to get access." That sounds to me like someone is going to LOOK at what we have and not do any bit of work as of right then and there.
So after HE got rude with me, I hung up on him and IMMEDIATELY called the Home Shield president's office (whom I've been speaking to for the last week) and ripped her a new one (on her voice mail) telling her that THAT company was not welcome at my house anymore because he got rude with me, and that they need to send someone ELSE out to my house to fix this problem....
By the way -- did I ever mention that today is the 30th of July, and I originally put this call in on July FIRST?!?!??!
Sunday, February 15, 2009
A small gesture goes a long way
Ok, so this blog should have been written a long time ago, but at least it's being written, right?
Anyway, sometime just before Christmas, we went to Springcreek BBQ. While in line, a soldier behind us asked the people behind the counter if they had a military discount. Well, apparently they didn't. Anyway, when we got to the checkout, the girl at the register was looking at our trays to see what we had so she could ring it up, and I said to her "add his meal to our tab too." He told me thank you but it wasn't necessary, and I told him, "no, thank YOU... for everything you do for us and for our country, it was the least I could do." I had no idea who this guy was other than seeing the stripes on his shoulder and reading his name on his uniform, or what he did in the military....but to me, it makes no difference. He appreciated the gesture and let me buy his dinner. He ate his meal and came by our table before he left, again thanking me and saying how much he appreciated it. He went on to say how many eating establishments will offer police discounts or even free food, but hardly anyone does anything for military personnel. He went on to say "I bet you over 90% of the cops have no idea what it's like to be shot at...we are shot at every day but no one really thinks about that." And to be honest, until he said it, I never thought about that either.
We go through life so fast. We don't always stop and think about our freedom. Sure, we get caught up in politics (some of us more than others) or money or our job or our possessions, but most of us probably don't think about the brave men and women who are either here locally or overseas fighting to keep our country safe. Fighting to keep America free. Freedom may not be free, but I can promise you this -- for that one army sergeant, he really appreciated the free meal he got from a total stranger that unconditionally supports his efforts to protect this great country.
Thank you Sergeant Wong for all you do for us! May God bless you and keep you safe while you protect us!
Anyway, sometime just before Christmas, we went to Springcreek BBQ. While in line, a soldier behind us asked the people behind the counter if they had a military discount. Well, apparently they didn't. Anyway, when we got to the checkout, the girl at the register was looking at our trays to see what we had so she could ring it up, and I said to her "add his meal to our tab too." He told me thank you but it wasn't necessary, and I told him, "no, thank YOU... for everything you do for us and for our country, it was the least I could do." I had no idea who this guy was other than seeing the stripes on his shoulder and reading his name on his uniform, or what he did in the military....but to me, it makes no difference. He appreciated the gesture and let me buy his dinner. He ate his meal and came by our table before he left, again thanking me and saying how much he appreciated it. He went on to say how many eating establishments will offer police discounts or even free food, but hardly anyone does anything for military personnel. He went on to say "I bet you over 90% of the cops have no idea what it's like to be shot at...we are shot at every day but no one really thinks about that." And to be honest, until he said it, I never thought about that either.
We go through life so fast. We don't always stop and think about our freedom. Sure, we get caught up in politics (some of us more than others) or money or our job or our possessions, but most of us probably don't think about the brave men and women who are either here locally or overseas fighting to keep our country safe. Fighting to keep America free. Freedom may not be free, but I can promise you this -- for that one army sergeant, he really appreciated the free meal he got from a total stranger that unconditionally supports his efforts to protect this great country.
Thank you Sergeant Wong for all you do for us! May God bless you and keep you safe while you protect us!
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Be rational... think smart... cut-back wisely.
Ok, so I'm gonna shift gears a bit and try to get away from all the political junk. I'm sure most people know by now where I stand on politics. And if you haven't figured it out yet, just ask me. ;-)
We all know how the economy is right now. You can't get on any news sites, turn on the TV or pick up a newspaper without hearing about how bad the economy is. Personally, I think that even without any action by the government, everything would eventually level off and fix itself, but apparently the government thinks it can't. Anyway, so because of all the unnecessary panic, many are losing their jobs, people aren't spending as much as before, companies are losing money and cutting back staff, production, etc. and it's not the greatest financial time right now. So what are we to do? Do we need to panic? No. Do we need to change our lives and pinch every penny we spend? Well, yes and no. It's very simple. We don't need the government to bail us or any company out and we especially don't need to panic. We just need to be rational, think smart and cut-back wisely.
For example, we went out to eat tonight, and I noticed that we used A LOT of napkins. First off, any parent will tell you that before kids, you would use 1-2 napkins (depending on where you went....you'll never use only 1-2 napkins at an all-you-can-eat rib place!) So anyway, the napkins were very thin, 1-ply. They were as bad as public restroom toilet paper! They wouldn't soak up anything, it's virtually impossible to wipe anything off of your hands (or your kids') and using 2-3 at a time was just extremely wasteful! So here I was trying to clean my own hands off and thinking to myself (then saying to Nicole) I wonder if anyone actually thinks about these things. I mean, I'm sure that most restaurants have a catalogue they look at and have let's say at least a dozen different types of napkins they can choose from...and it seems that most places are opting for the cheap, thin 1-ply ones. The cheapest option they can get... so they can get a few thousand cheap napkins for just a few bucks. Sounds good, right? They can get a huge quantity for a tiny price. Ok, so that means that at this particular all-you-can-eat (AYCE) establishment, we literally used close to 30-40 napkins between us and the kids. Myself, Nicole and our two young daughters, but me especially -- I had some VERY messy, juicy ribs and used, I don't know... maybe a dozen or so just for cleaning my hands off only after eating those ribs, much less the rest of dinner!
So again, do they think about that? Do they think that maybe, just maybe if they had thicker napkins, a little more expensive, that people might actually use less quantity than the cheapo ones? I know for me, I could have used A LOT less had they been thicker 1-ply or even the same thickness but 2-ply. So if I could use less and I'm sure others would also use less, then that means they wouldn't run out as fast and wouldn't have to order as many. Not to mention how much less trash they would have.
Same thing goes for things like building a wooden fence. Sure, the 1x4 planks are cheaper than the 1x6 planks, but you use less 1x6's and in many cases, it's actually cheaper to go with the larger ones. See? Be rational...think smart. Think about the END result over a longer period of time rather than the immediate need. If it's better to spend a little extra on the individual items to save money overall, then that's what you should do. Whether you're just one person, or someone that orders things for your company.
And along the same lines of being rational and thinking smart, let's talk quality, dependability and price. I'm sure you've all heard the phrase "you get what you pay for." And in many cases, that's very true. So does that mean you have to buy the most expensive item to get the best quality? No, not necessarily. I'll give you a good example. I was reading a recent article in Consumer Reports about LCD TV's. In their 50" category (or maybe it was 51" and up) their top choice overall was I think $1700 or $1800. Their 2nd choice was close to 5-grand! Third was still under or right at about $2,000. Their prices were all over the place and the most expensive was rarely the best. In fact, even some of the lesser expensive of those they tested were some of the best ones as far as reliability, quality, etc. This same idea goes with just about anything you buy--especially cars, electronics and cookware.
So as far as cutting back wisely goes, think back to the napkins. What do you use now? Would cheaper ones do just as well, or would they make you use more? Women with shoes and purses to match particular outfits -- are they really NECESSARY, or just a want? Wouldn't it be a smarter investment to buy one or two purses / pairs of shoes that will better match multiple outfits? And when it comes to laying people off, let me point this out--Remember how the Dallas ISD laid off several hundred teachers because Michael Hinajosa get paid over $400k a year to do nothing but screw up a budget? Well, did you also know that the DISD recently had a job fair so that they could hire several hundred teachers because they didn't have enough? WHAT??? ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? I mean, seriously -- are you that freakin' stupid??? You want to let several hundred teachers go because you can't afford them, and then have a job fair because you don't have enough teachers for all your students? What part of that makes any kin of sense? NONE OF IT! And they wonder why they have budget issues... apparently no one there knows how to think!!! Which is sad, if you think about it, because those people are in charge of EDUCATION!!! I'm glad my children aren't taught by those people!
Anyway, onto more thinking smart. Let's say you need to buy new car. Well, depending on your situation, leasing is almost always a better choice. Nicole, bless her heart, hears it from me all the time how I wish she would consider leasing a car rather than buying one. But I'll save that for another blog, perhaps. Anyway, I'm sure that may of us would love to have a Lexus or Mercedes in our garage, right? Well, first off, it's a well-known fact that cars depreciate. So no matter what car you buy, it'll never be worth what you paid for it. That being said, some cars depreciate faster/more than others. The sad part is, there are some really great cars being made by decent companies that will lose quite a bit of their value unfairly simply because of who they're made by. Hyundai for example. Have you seen their new Genesis? Holy cow that's an absolutely incredible car! They really outdid themselves with that one! But because of their shady past and the crappy cars they made when they first came onto the scene here in America (think your white Excel "turtle car" Ann) the Geneis will never get the full credit it deserves...and because it says "Hyundai" on it, it will depreciate quite a bit faster than if it were to say "Lexus" or "Infinity" or "Mercedes." So does this mean I'm telling you to go out and buy a Genesis? No, but you'd get a really good, quality luxury car for a heckuva lot less than the reigning "luxury" car brands. But do your homework...study everything you can find out about whatever you buy. See what something is really worth, how well it will hold up / how reliable it is, and how well it will keep it's resale value.
Oh, and speaking of that, when you buy a car, you may look at it and think that it's not worth it to get the upgraded aluminum wheel package when wheel covers will be just fine, right? Wrong! First off, wheel cover will break very easily and it's not the same to just to buy new ones and put on the car. Wheel covers look cheap because they are cheap. Aluminum alloy wheel are more expensive, but they hold their value a lot more. They increase the resale value of the car by quite a bit...plus they always look better than plastic wheel covers. Doesn't seem like a big decision when you're buying the car, but you can't exactly change your mind in several years once you try to sell the car. So think smart.
And back to the issue of cutting back wisely (think the DISD conundrum) just remember... it's not how much you cut back, but how you cut back. Think smart--do you really need to cut back on how much you're spending? Do you really need to cut down on the quality? Are you spending more money on higher-quality products and getting better results than if you were spending less on lesser quality and getting poor results? We all know you can get good quality generic / store brand foods in many cases that taste the same (sometimes better--like with saltine crackers for example.) And typically with things like green beans, you'll have a much smaller chance of getting string or stems in a name brand can vs. generic store brand. So it's a matter of trial and error in many cases. You just have to make sure you do your homework...do your research. Just like with the news and politics, don't let people decide for you. Don't let people (including me) tell you what's right and wrong...or good and bad. Do what you need to do in order to make your own INFORMED decision. Do that, and you will have nothing to worry about when it comes to using your money wisely.
We all know how the economy is right now. You can't get on any news sites, turn on the TV or pick up a newspaper without hearing about how bad the economy is. Personally, I think that even without any action by the government, everything would eventually level off and fix itself, but apparently the government thinks it can't. Anyway, so because of all the unnecessary panic, many are losing their jobs, people aren't spending as much as before, companies are losing money and cutting back staff, production, etc. and it's not the greatest financial time right now. So what are we to do? Do we need to panic? No. Do we need to change our lives and pinch every penny we spend? Well, yes and no. It's very simple. We don't need the government to bail us or any company out and we especially don't need to panic. We just need to be rational, think smart and cut-back wisely.
For example, we went out to eat tonight, and I noticed that we used A LOT of napkins. First off, any parent will tell you that before kids, you would use 1-2 napkins (depending on where you went....you'll never use only 1-2 napkins at an all-you-can-eat rib place!) So anyway, the napkins were very thin, 1-ply. They were as bad as public restroom toilet paper! They wouldn't soak up anything, it's virtually impossible to wipe anything off of your hands (or your kids') and using 2-3 at a time was just extremely wasteful! So here I was trying to clean my own hands off and thinking to myself (then saying to Nicole) I wonder if anyone actually thinks about these things. I mean, I'm sure that most restaurants have a catalogue they look at and have let's say at least a dozen different types of napkins they can choose from...and it seems that most places are opting for the cheap, thin 1-ply ones. The cheapest option they can get... so they can get a few thousand cheap napkins for just a few bucks. Sounds good, right? They can get a huge quantity for a tiny price. Ok, so that means that at this particular all-you-can-eat (AYCE) establishment, we literally used close to 30-40 napkins between us and the kids. Myself, Nicole and our two young daughters, but me especially -- I had some VERY messy, juicy ribs and used, I don't know... maybe a dozen or so just for cleaning my hands off only after eating those ribs, much less the rest of dinner!
So again, do they think about that? Do they think that maybe, just maybe if they had thicker napkins, a little more expensive, that people might actually use less quantity than the cheapo ones? I know for me, I could have used A LOT less had they been thicker 1-ply or even the same thickness but 2-ply. So if I could use less and I'm sure others would also use less, then that means they wouldn't run out as fast and wouldn't have to order as many. Not to mention how much less trash they would have.
Same thing goes for things like building a wooden fence. Sure, the 1x4 planks are cheaper than the 1x6 planks, but you use less 1x6's and in many cases, it's actually cheaper to go with the larger ones. See? Be rational...think smart. Think about the END result over a longer period of time rather than the immediate need. If it's better to spend a little extra on the individual items to save money overall, then that's what you should do. Whether you're just one person, or someone that orders things for your company.
And along the same lines of being rational and thinking smart, let's talk quality, dependability and price. I'm sure you've all heard the phrase "you get what you pay for." And in many cases, that's very true. So does that mean you have to buy the most expensive item to get the best quality? No, not necessarily. I'll give you a good example. I was reading a recent article in Consumer Reports about LCD TV's. In their 50" category (or maybe it was 51" and up) their top choice overall was I think $1700 or $1800. Their 2nd choice was close to 5-grand! Third was still under or right at about $2,000. Their prices were all over the place and the most expensive was rarely the best. In fact, even some of the lesser expensive of those they tested were some of the best ones as far as reliability, quality, etc. This same idea goes with just about anything you buy--especially cars, electronics and cookware.
So as far as cutting back wisely goes, think back to the napkins. What do you use now? Would cheaper ones do just as well, or would they make you use more? Women with shoes and purses to match particular outfits -- are they really NECESSARY, or just a want? Wouldn't it be a smarter investment to buy one or two purses / pairs of shoes that will better match multiple outfits? And when it comes to laying people off, let me point this out--Remember how the Dallas ISD laid off several hundred teachers because Michael Hinajosa get paid over $400k a year to do nothing but screw up a budget? Well, did you also know that the DISD recently had a job fair so that they could hire several hundred teachers because they didn't have enough? WHAT??? ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? I mean, seriously -- are you that freakin' stupid??? You want to let several hundred teachers go because you can't afford them, and then have a job fair because you don't have enough teachers for all your students? What part of that makes any kin of sense? NONE OF IT! And they wonder why they have budget issues... apparently no one there knows how to think!!! Which is sad, if you think about it, because those people are in charge of EDUCATION!!! I'm glad my children aren't taught by those people!
Anyway, onto more thinking smart. Let's say you need to buy new car. Well, depending on your situation, leasing is almost always a better choice. Nicole, bless her heart, hears it from me all the time how I wish she would consider leasing a car rather than buying one. But I'll save that for another blog, perhaps. Anyway, I'm sure that may of us would love to have a Lexus or Mercedes in our garage, right? Well, first off, it's a well-known fact that cars depreciate. So no matter what car you buy, it'll never be worth what you paid for it. That being said, some cars depreciate faster/more than others. The sad part is, there are some really great cars being made by decent companies that will lose quite a bit of their value unfairly simply because of who they're made by. Hyundai for example. Have you seen their new Genesis? Holy cow that's an absolutely incredible car! They really outdid themselves with that one! But because of their shady past and the crappy cars they made when they first came onto the scene here in America (think your white Excel "turtle car" Ann) the Geneis will never get the full credit it deserves...and because it says "Hyundai" on it, it will depreciate quite a bit faster than if it were to say "Lexus" or "Infinity" or "Mercedes." So does this mean I'm telling you to go out and buy a Genesis? No, but you'd get a really good, quality luxury car for a heckuva lot less than the reigning "luxury" car brands. But do your homework...study everything you can find out about whatever you buy. See what something is really worth, how well it will hold up / how reliable it is, and how well it will keep it's resale value.
Oh, and speaking of that, when you buy a car, you may look at it and think that it's not worth it to get the upgraded aluminum wheel package when wheel covers will be just fine, right? Wrong! First off, wheel cover will break very easily and it's not the same to just to buy new ones and put on the car. Wheel covers look cheap because they are cheap. Aluminum alloy wheel are more expensive, but they hold their value a lot more. They increase the resale value of the car by quite a bit...plus they always look better than plastic wheel covers. Doesn't seem like a big decision when you're buying the car, but you can't exactly change your mind in several years once you try to sell the car. So think smart.
And back to the issue of cutting back wisely (think the DISD conundrum) just remember... it's not how much you cut back, but how you cut back. Think smart--do you really need to cut back on how much you're spending? Do you really need to cut down on the quality? Are you spending more money on higher-quality products and getting better results than if you were spending less on lesser quality and getting poor results? We all know you can get good quality generic / store brand foods in many cases that taste the same (sometimes better--like with saltine crackers for example.) And typically with things like green beans, you'll have a much smaller chance of getting string or stems in a name brand can vs. generic store brand. So it's a matter of trial and error in many cases. You just have to make sure you do your homework...do your research. Just like with the news and politics, don't let people decide for you. Don't let people (including me) tell you what's right and wrong...or good and bad. Do what you need to do in order to make your own INFORMED decision. Do that, and you will have nothing to worry about when it comes to using your money wisely.
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