2014 March

Spring Break: Glorious Rite of Passage or Undisciplined Waste of Money?

March 31, 2014 by Brian 43 Comments

Having a blast on spring break?

This week and next, thousands of high school and college students will embark on the annual ritual known as spring break. They will fill hotels, crowd beaches and party in clubs long into the night. With the sheer number of young people present in these locations - the majority of which will be slightly to heavily inebriated - anything can happen.

That anticipation of the unpredictable defines the allure of spring break. And the alcohol…and the chance to “hook up.”

I’ve participated in three spring break trips in my life. The first was my senior trip in high school to a resort in the Bahamas. The next two were in college. One was with a group of guys (and my dad) to go caving in central Kentucky. On the other trip, I went with a co-ed group of friends and the future Mrs. Luke1428 to visit her father in south Florida.

None of those trips were to what I would call party central locations.

Each trip cost me hard earned money that could have been used for other purposes. I considered them worth it though for the memories they created. After all, isn’t the creation of memories a fundamental aspect of taking a vacation?

I can remember my spring break trips with perfect clarity…a hilarious photo of my high school friend sunbathing next to a gorgeous woman in the Bahamas…the onset of panic when one of my stout college buddies became stuck in a tight crawl of a cave…Kim and I enduring the ear shattering buzz of an air boat ride as we dodged alligators in the Everglades.

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Filed Under: Current Events, Spending, Vices Tagged With: Choices, Costs, Spending, Spring Break, Vacation, Vices

“HELP WANTED!” This Company Really Understands the Hiring Process

March 29, 2014 by Brian 10 Comments

Is your business hiring the right kind of people?

The hiring of new employees can be one of the most frustrating and stressful facets of running your own business. Every hire is an unknown and a potential risk as one can learn only so much about an applicant through the interview process. Companies routinely foul up the hiring of employees by failing to cast vision, by conducting shoddy interviews, and neglecting to check references or do background checks.

This lack of due diligence leaves them with employees who are mismatched to the company’s goals and objectives. Once these individuals are hired, the company will be forced to manage the poor behavior and deal with the inefficient production that comes from an employee who is not 100% sold out on the job.

I ran across this Help Wanted ad the other day on Facebook. It’s from C and C Fence Company located in McDonough, GA, a suburb of Atlanta. It’s clear they know who they are, what the job entails and what type of employee would be a fit. Based on it’s content, I can’t help but think their hiring process runs smoother than many other companies.

Check out their ad below, with special attention to Parts 2 and 3.

Part 1: The Job Details

This is where they express the urgency of the need, list the specific position and share the major particulars about the job:

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Filed Under: Career, Leadership, Work Tagged With: Hiring, Jobs, Leadership, Vision

How to Tackle a Huge Looming Project

March 27, 2014 by Kim 8 Comments

Step up to the challenge!

Probably the biggest hurdle to getting your CPA license is the CPA Exam. It’s pretty tough — there are four sections that must all be passed in 18 months and the current pass rate hovers around 50%. Each section is either 3 or 4 hours long.

I’m happy to say that two years ago I passed all four sections in about 5 months. I’ll talk about some of the specific things I did to pass in a later post. The general steps that I used can apply to any huge task that you may be facing.

Take a look at some of the suggestions below to see if they can help you tackle your next huge project.

Learn as much as you can about it

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Filed Under: Lifestyle, Work Tagged With: Learning, Projects, Sacrifice, Work

My Fight Against Bandwagon Consumer Syndrome

March 26, 2014 by Brian 30 Comments

Do you suffer from constant cravings or restlessness? Easily excitable…prone to follow the crowd…worried about being left out? Can you become quickly dissatisfied with your possessions?

Do you have an uncontrollable desire to buy what everyone else is buying? Is your time being spent in the activities of the masses just to feel connected and valued?

If any of the above descriptions sound familiar, you may have contracted BCS - Bandwagon Consumer Syndrome. Seek help immediately.

BCS is a condition that affects millions of people worldwide (note: statistic estimated, not actually calculated). It’s the tendency to spend excessive amounts of money or overly engage in activities that have become fashionable within culture. If not treated, it can sabotage budgets, wreck financial futures, waste time and ruin relationships.

Total immunity to this syndrome is rare, as anyone can develop a moment of weakness. However, with the proper medication you can ward off occurrences and resist the onset of BCS 90% of the time (non-calculated statistic #2).

My Personal Fight Against BCS

5 Warning Signs When Choosing a Financial Adviser

March 24, 2014 by Brian 23 Comments

What’s your financial adviser doing for you?

A few years back, my wife and I encountered some life planning issues that we felt inadequate to handle. Not wanting to cause significant damage to our financial lives, we decided to seek the counsel of an adviser. For weeks we conducted a methodical search to track one down in our area.

We felt very nervous, opening our financial life - warts and all - to a complete stranger. Fortunately, our research found that most of the financial advisers in our area offered an initial consultation that didn’t require we make a long-term commitment to them. So with that encouraging news, we contacted four prospects and scheduled interviews.

In those four interviews, I saw the good, the not so good and the bad of the financial adviser world.

Interview #1: The Index Guy

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Filed Under: Investing, Managing Money Tagged With: Financial Adviser, Investments, Planning

We Are One Heartbeat Away From a Life Changing Moment

March 21, 2014 by Brian 12 Comments

Hidden Nuggets Series #33 - “Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth.” - Proverbs 27:1

Aroldis Chapman pitches for Cincinnati

Sports fans watching their Wednesday late night highlight reels witnessed some stunning footage of Cincinnati Reds pitcher Aroldis Chapman being drilled in the head from a batted ball by Kansas City Royals player Salvador Perez. It’s a “Gasp…OMG!” moment, as Chapman lay sprawled on the ground, writhing in pain.

For those able to stomach grisly injury videos, the scene can be found here at ESPN.

Reports today are that Chapman suffered a few fractured bones and a mild concussion. He will have surgery to implant some steel plates in his head and miss about 6-8 weeks of the regular season. I’m amazed that’s the extent of his injuries and am thankful he is fine.

Let me rephrase that…I’m thankful he’s alive.

The speed and suddenness at which this incident happened, reminded me of a Monday night football game I watched in 1985. On that night, Giant’s linebacker Lawrence Taylor sacked Redskins quarterback Joe Theismann, snapping his leg in two. That fateful flea-flicker play that took only a few seconds ended Theismann’s career. Anyone who was there or watching on TV will say it’s the most gruesome sports injury ever.

Events like these remind us life can change in a heartbeat.

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Filed Under: Current Events, Hidden Nuggets Series, Inspiration Tagged With: Change, Lifestyle, Moments

Choosing the Right College Starts by Answering These Questions

March 19, 2014 by Brian 14 Comments

What questions about college should I ask?

Choosing a college at 18 years of age presents a daunting challenge. For most high school students, the decision represents the most difficult one they’ve ever made. With so many choices, it’s easy to lose a few hours of sleep trying to sort it all out.

Information from the College Board shows there are approximately 4,000 private and public, two or four-year colleges and universities in the United States. Whittling that number down to a manageable few is some task. How can a high school student narrow their list so they can select the right school?

I did it by asking questions.

The questioning process wasn’t easy and didn’t produce a quick decision. However, the answers to my questions helped reduce my list to six schools. That group was subsequently lowered to three, of which I selected Cedarville University in Ohio. In retrospect, the selection proved to be the perfect choice for me.

There are many factors and dimensions of a college to consider. The following questions, focused in specific areas, will serve as a filtering mechanism to develop and narrow the list of schools based on your needs and desires.

Location

Ask these questions when considering the physical location of the school:

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Filed Under: College Tagged With: Choices, College

Should I Spend 250 Dollars and Change My Blog Name?

March 17, 2014 by Brian 46 Comments

Should I change my blog name? That’s the question that has been on my mind for the last six months. It’s not that I’ve grown tired of the name Luke1428. I’m simply wondering if the name itself is holding the growth of my site back.

Is this a good, bad or neutral blog name?

A site grows as much as the owner stays consistent with posting quality content and is knowledgeable with how to get that content recognized. Building connections with others, understanding SEO and advertising/marketing are all vital to a blog getting recognized. But what about the blog name? Doesn’t it all start with a title that attracts people’s attention?

Luke1428.com was chosen from a list of about 50 titles I had developed. It’s derived from the Biblical book of Luke, chapter 14, verse 28. In that passage, we learn that planning ahead for a task promotes success and reduces the risk of failure. That’s certainly an applicable theme when it comes to any life circumstance, especially personal finance.

However, it wasn’t my first choice.

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Filed Under: Blogging Tagged With: Blogging, Change, Luke1428

6 Awesome Lessons for Managing Through a Financial Crisis

March 14, 2014 by Brian 8 Comments

Hidden Nuggets #32 - “Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Inasmuch as God has shown you all this, there is no one as discerning and wise as you.” - Genesis 41:39

Will you be prepared for the next crisis?

At some point in our lives we will face a financial challenge. Perhaps it will reach the level of severity that we would deem it a crisis. Where the crisis will come from or how long it will last, we will never know. However, this is for certain - one will be coming and we will have to deal with it.

That fact alone should give us an incredible incentive to plan.

The life story of the Biblical character Joseph would make Hollywood giddy with the prospects of a full-length motion picture. The plot has everything you’d want: from family conflict and deception to seduction, slavery and redemption. Joseph faced it all. And it’s in his redemption phase where we learn a great deal of what it’s like to plan for and through a crisis.

The Bible describes a time where the Pharaoh of Egypt had a series of dreams as he slept one night. Pharaoh knows the dreams hold significant importance but he, nor his magicians can interpret the imagery. Enter Joseph, a man whom God had already blessed with the ability to decipher a dream’s meaning.

Joseph listens as Pharaoh shares the dream sequence. Then, with Godly assistance, Joseph explains to Pharaoh the good news and bad news:

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Filed Under: Hidden Nuggets Series, Planning Tagged With: Crisis, Discipline, Future, Planning, Sacrifice, Saving

March Madness: Avoiding the Budget Busters

March 12, 2014 by Brian 10 Comments

Our oldest daughter was born during the first weekend of the NCAA basketball tournament. At the hospital, my wife groaned through labor pains as the midwife who assisted in the delivery was tracking a Notre Dame game on the TV in the room. I’m not sure the midwife appreciated Mrs. Luke1428 telling her to turn off her beloved Fighting Irish when there was under four minutes to go in the game. But birth was only about 15 minutes away so I guess that took precedence.

Needless to say, my wife has despised March Madness ever since.

Basketball junkies like myself however, love everything about it. The drama…the intensity…the finality of it…and the upsets that bust up the tournament. Mostly though, this time of year means one thing - the tournament bracket. There’s nothing like putting a plan together and testing your knowledge of the teams in an attempt to pick a winner. If only I had a time-traveling DeLorean to find me a Grays Sports Almanac.

No matter how we think the tournament will progress, there are always upsets and surprises that bust our brackets. These usually come from the underdogs, the little schools that we are not really paying attention to.

Over the years, the same type of thing has happened with our budget. Small things we didn’t anticipate, ignored or simply loved doing would bust our monthly plan. After experiencing the financial drain of these on multiple occasions, we had to make some decisions so they wouldn’t disrupt our life any longer.

The following is a list of five things that used to bust our budget, along with the path we now take to avoid it from happening any longer.

Movies/Entertainment

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Filed Under: Budgeting Tagged With: Budgeting, March Madness, Money, Spending

How Landlords Can Screen Out A Potential Problem Tenant

March 10, 2014 by Brian 29 Comments

Owning and renting property is one of the best investment strategies for building long-term wealth. Besides the money needed to purchase the property, what holds most people back is the fear of dealing with problem tenants. It’s not a misguided consideration either. Take it from someone who knows - tenants can be awful.

With that being said, in my five years of owning rental property, I’ve only had one difficult tenant who forced me to take legal action and pursue an eviction. I attribute that success to the process whereby I select tenants for my properties. I live by the adage that the best place to catch a potentially difficult tenant is before they sign on the dotted line.

What can a landlord do to screen out a potentially difficult tenant? Here are six things I’m doing that may seem obvious but are often not followed.

Handle your emotions on a vacant property

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Filed Under: Real Estate Tagged With: Landlord, Real Estate, Tenant

Spring Break: Glorious Rite of Passage or Undisciplined Waste of Money?