John’s Reviews – books, movies, whatever

  • How to Get Rich: Spend

    ByJohn Brown

    No, really. It’s true. You just have to spend smartly. And in a special way.

    Over the course of your life, if you make what the average American does, more than a million dollars will flow through your hands.  And yet so many of us don’t feel rich.  That’s because money is like the Gingerbread Man.  Turn your back on it, and it’s out the door, rudely taunting everyone as it flies by.  And then it gets eaten by a fox. Such a waste.

    But it doesn’t have to be.

    Let me share with you THE best method I’ve found for managing my money.  It takes tons of anxiety out of spending and saving.  And, if you’re a Dave Ramsey fan, it is the one thing upon which everything else he teaches depends.  If you’re not a Ramsey fan, it doesn’t matter. After getting a job, this is the first thing you must do to get rich.

    Here’s the big secret. It has three parts:

    1)     Decide how much you’re going to spend on various things BEFORE you spend it

    2)     Make what you have left in each spending category EASY to track

    3)     Manage the things you can’t foresee

    To do the first two parts, you’re going to create a special kind of spending plan. We won’t use the term “budgeting” because “spending” is so much more fun, and because that’s what we’re going to do anyway. To understand how to do this, you need to watch three videos.

    Before you do, please know I earned a Masters degree in accounting.  I’ve used Quicken for more than twenty years.  Neither of those things has helped me manage my money like this simple method.  If you’re looking for a better way to manage your money, this is it.

    First, watch this video to get an overall idea of how this method works.

    Note: you can use actual envelopes and cash for everything if that makes you happy, but you really don’t need to.  The idea is to think of pre-allocating your monthly income to categories of expenses AND then having an easy way to track what’s left.

    Now, watch this bubba explain how he does it.

    But John, didn’t he say the same thing?

    Basically, but he has a fun accent. Besides, it’s good to see another example. And please note again: you don’t have to use actual envelopes and cash, although many swear by them.

    Finally, watch this one. No, it’s not just another repeat. There are some additional important ideas illustrated here.

    This video brings up the idea of why simply tracking an overall account balance isn’t very helpful. It also shows you WHY envelope categories are–they make it immediately apparent how much money you have to spend for a thing.  If you just use Quicken to track what you spent (looking in the past), you’ll run into troubles.  Let me tell you, I know this from experience. We use Quicken, and have for years, and plan use it for some time to come because it makes taxes and bank reconciliation a snap.  But Quicken only tracks what you spent.  Tracking, as important as it is, is not the key to success.  The key is pre-allocating BEFORE you spend.  And then tracking so you know what you have left in that category.  And making that tracking EASY.

    The final thing you have to do is manage the things you can’t foresee because things rarely go exactly to plan. Unexpected things ALWAYS come up. Your daughter will crash the car. Your husband will get appendicitis. You will forget that you had a $200 school sports expense.

    Okay, fine. Things happen. But how do you manage them if you can’t foresee them?

    If it’s really small, you simply adjust your plan. For example, if you need $30 more in food, you can transfer it from fuel if you have some extra there.

    You manage larger things by building up an emergency fund. Ramsey suggests starting with a $1,000 emergency fund and then trying to get two to three months of living expenses—about $10,000 to $15,000 for most people. Unexpected things WILL happen and cost your money. So build up some cushion to take care of them.

    Finally, you manage the really large things by getting proper insurance. This is what insurance is for. The types of insurance you need include (1) homeowner’s or renter’s, (2) auto, (3) medical, (4) long-term disability, (5) long-term care (for those 60 and older), and (6) life insurance. You may add true identity theft insurance as well.

    Okay, so that’s the overview.  If you want to try this, here’s how you do it.  It’s fairly easy. 

    STEP 1: get your head straight

    Resolve that you will NOT use credit for anything. You will not spend any money you don’t have.  You will not put another dime on a credit card, and this despite the fact that the plastic devil companies are begging you with offers almost every day to sign up for their cards. (Hum, I wonder how they afford all that junk mail.) If your monthly bills are greater than your income, then we have to fix that first.  But the new law of the land is zero new debt.

    Next, always remember to allocate your money to these categories first—shelter, food, adequate clothing, and adequate transportation.  This means if you have a crunch month, you would NOT pay credit card bills before food, even if you work for Visa.

    STEP 2: get your blank sheet & pencil

    Get out a piece of paper and pencil (not a pen) or open an Excel spreadsheet.  Whoa, that was an easy step.

    STEP 3: list your monthly income

    List your expected monthly income at the top from all sources.

    STEP 4: list your spending categories

    List your spending categories. You’re going to split them into two groups.

    The first group goes right below your income and includes all of your recurring monthly expense/spending categories. Not the amounts you spend. Just the categories. Things like mortgage, electricity, phone, groceries, dining, etc. Make sure you include some entertainment/fun money.

    The second group goes below your recurring monthly expenses and includes all of your major annual periodic expense/spending categories. Things like Christmas, vacation, clothing, kids back to school stuff, etc. And things you want to save for—a couch, iPhone, car, etc. Your emergency fund goes here as well.

    If you need help thinking up categories, use these Ramsey resources: Monthly cash flow plan forms and Monthly allocated spending plan form.

    STEP 5: Fund your categories

    Decide how much you will spend in each category this month.  You should have 0 dollars when you get to the bottom of the sheet.  Spend (allocate) every dime BEFORE you start the month.  You’re going to do this at the beginning of each month.  And you will probably have to adjust it a couple of times during the month.

    You will probably have categories that don’t get any money this month.

    You will also have categories that get money, but you won’t spend any of it this month.  These are your periodic expenses.  Your goal is to have the cash up front to pay for them, so you have to save for them.  Remember, you are NOT going to take on any new debt. 

    For example, if you’re saving up for Christmas, you allocate some money for that out of this month’s funds and TRANSFER it to savings.  Then it will be there when you need it.  You could draw the cash out and put it in an actual envelope, but you don’t have to.  Just as long as you keep a record of the total amount in savings and what it’s all supposed to be for, i.e. total savings in July = $1,000: $500 for back to school, $200 for Christmas, and $300 for my trip with kids to Six Flags in 2013.

    STEP 6: mark the “watch” categories

    Some of the categories you need to watch closely, and some you don’t. The ones you need to watch closely will be your “envelope watch” categories. 

    The categories you don’t need to watch as closely are those that are automatically taken out of your account each month.  And those you will write a check once a month for.  These things include mortgage, car payment, electricity, etc.  These are NOT categories you need to use actual envelopes for.  You can track it on paper or in the spreadsheet. Not much happens with these categories. 

    But there are other categories that you’re going to be spending throughout the month, and it’s easy to over spend if you don’t track them.  Groceries, dining, entertainment, gasoline, a specific vacation, etc. are all categories that you make multiple purchases with each month and are flexible/discretionary and need to be watched closely.  So while everything is tracked in a category/envelope on paper or on the computer, you’ll track these with either a real envelope and cash or a virtual one using that free software you saw in the third video or a piece of paper with a running category balance in your wallet.

    STEP 7: have fun and spend!

    Now go out and spend!

    Before spending, check your envelope.  Do you have enough money?  If you do, spend and be happy.  If not, save up for it or find a way to save money in another category and adjust so that you’re still spending the same total amount.  Never spend what you don’t have.

    If you feel you need something not planned for, well, you have to get it later OR transfer something out of another envelope.  I just make myself wait a day or three, and usually the urge to buy, Buy, BUY! goes away, and I see I don’t “need” it right now.  Or maybe a more affordable option presents itself.

    If the kids want something, and you feel guilty you can’t give it to them, just tell them what’s in the envelope/category, and tell them they can save for it or choose something else in that category that will fit with what you have left.

    If you’re tracking envelopes virtually or using the paper balance in your wallet, you MUST update your envelope AFTER every purchase so you don’t spend more than you have. If you find you just can’t seem to remember to do this, go to the cash method.

    That’s it! 

    Of course, that’s not quite it because even though it’s easy, if you haven’t done this before, it might take some adjustment.  Give yourself a month or three to get it down.  Because when you do, it WILL produce great results and peace. It’s doing that for us. 

    If you feel you need more info, I suggest you read Dave Ramsey’s Complete Guide to Money.  Here’s the first chapter to sample: Complete Guide To Money sample chapter.

    Happy spending.

    EDIT: here’s another video to watch: http://www.youneedabudget.com/.  Then read about the method: http://www.youneedabudget.com/method. This one highlights the idea that you need to make sure you realize that things will happen that you cannot foresee. No plan survives contact with the enemy.

  • The Avengers & The Paris Grill

    ByJohn Brown

    Edit: I wrote this like a month ago and thought I posted it. But there is was in my drafts. Somebody give me some Ginko extract.

    The Avengers

    The Avengers is Marvel’s latest installment of the films in the Avenger world—Iron Man (2008), The Incredible Hulk (2008), Iron Man 2 (2010), Thor (2011), and Captain America: The First Avenger (2011). 

    Iron Man is, by far, the BEST of all of them.  I thought Captain America might be just as good, but the movie lost its way about half way through.  The others are okay, not anything to jump up and down on the couch about. So while I was looking forward to seeing The Avengers, I wasn’t expecting anything special. I’m happy to tell you that The Avengers is good. Not as good as Iron Man, but much better than all the others.  And certainly well-worth the price of admission.

    The earth is in possession of an artifact of immense power called the Tesseract, which isn’t a made-up name. In geometry a tesseract is a cubic prism—some four-dimensional thing which boggles the mind. But in this movie and Captain America, the tesseract is a blue cube that can open portals to different parts of the universe or run Nazi war machines.  The problem is that there are other beings in the universe.  Some of these would like to be able to run their own Nazi machines and subjugate all species on every planet.  So they get Loki, Thor’s adopted brother, to lead an army to raze the earth and retrieve the artifact.   

    Of course, earth’s forces aren’t strong enough to repel this alien force. That is, unless you call upon the Avengers—Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, and Captain America. As well as Avengers who haven’t had their own movies yet like Black Widow, Hawk, and Nick Fury.

    It all sounds a bit much, and in the hands of a lesser writer it might have been. But Joss Whedon (Serenity, Firefly, Buffy the Vampire Slayer) wrote the script and directed the movie. And he did a fantastic job. Instead of thinking we came for a barrage of special effects, he takes time to build the characters and relationships so we care about the action when it arrives. He does use the idiot chaos cinema technique for some of the action, but not nearly as much as was in Hunger Games. More importantly, he makes up for the error of his ways with a number of laugh-out-loud moments. Hilarious moments.  In fact, the humor is one of the main reasons why this movie was so good.

    If you like super hero movies, you’ll love The Avengers. Maybe not as much as you like Iron Man or Spider Man 2 or the Nolan Batman series. But close enough to have a great night out.

    The Paris Grill

    The Paris (Idaho) Grill has opened another restaurant in what used to be the Bear Lake Motor Lodge Cafe.  The cafe was okay. Nothing to write home about.  So I didn’t know what to expect with the new grill.  However, I took two of my daughters out last night for dinner.

    The Paris Grill has four menus. I don’t know why they keep them separate, but they do. One for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and another for their pizzas.  We opted for the “Burgers n Pastas n Salads” menu which I guess is the lunch menu, but was what we ordered our dinner off of.

    Confused yet?

    Luckily, the food’s good enough that the menu business doesn’t matter. The lunch menu features a number of regular sandwiches—BLT, chicken cordon bleu, French dip.  But it also offers some signature sandwiches like a kielbasa and pepper sandwich, something called the Hobo Deli (which is tasty sounding combo of sour dough bread with pepper cheese, roasted turkey, bacon, grilled tomatoes, and cilantro dressing), as well as the Monster Grill—roast beef topped with caramelized onions and peppers, mushrooms, and provolone cheese.  I opted for the Monster Grill. My girls skipped the salads and ordered a hamburger and the chicken cordon bleu with mashed potatoes.

    The first words out of my daughters’ mouth when eating the mashed potatoes were “ooh” and “yum.”  That was followed by another “ooh” and “yum.”  The potatoes were good.  And they were made from scratch.  The sandwiches were tasty as well.  Good enough that I’m going to go back to the grill to try their dinner menu with my wife.  

    We topped the dinner off by splitting one of the grill’s big, hot cinnamon rolls.  The prices for the lunch items were reasonable—around seven or eight bucks—and they were big enough that the girls took half their meal home.  

    If you’re in Garden City, Utah and looking for something besides burgers and shakes, try the grill.  I think you’ll be quite satisfied when you walk out the door.

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    Ender’s World: Fresh Perspectives on the SF Classic Ender’s Game

    ByJohn Brown

    Smart Pop publishes smart, fresh, and engaging articles on the best of pop culture TV, books, and film, with a particular focus on science fiction and fantasy television and literature.

    You want to hear what Scott Westerfield (Uglies, Pretties, etc.) has to say about Buffy?  Go to Smart Pop.

    What about Orson Card’s thoughts on Joss Whedon’s Firefly universe? Smart Pop.

    What about the venerable Lawrence Block on Robert B. Parker’s Spenser series? Um, Smart Pop.

    Strange.  Do you see a pattern emerging? 

    Whether it’s Mad Men, House, Hunger Games, George Martin’s epic fantasies, Halo, True Blood, or Alias, Smart Pop gathers together New York Times bestselling authors, television writers, psychologists, philosophers, and others–folks who love of pop culture and have something worth sharing about it–and asks them to share their insights.   

    Recently, they’ve been putting together just such a collection on Ender’s Game.  It’s called Ender’s World: Fresh Perspectives on the SF Classic Ender’s Game. It’s coming out February 2013.  You can read more about it here.

    I’m announcing this now because The Man was fortunate enough to be invited to contribute.  I love Ender’s Game.  LOVE IT.  How cool is it that I get to write about it in an anthology edited by the folks at Smart Pop and Card himself? And then get to read what everyone else has to say, including military strategists Colonel Tom Ruby and Captain John Schmitt.  As well as the little bits they’ll include on things like why the battle room is the shape it is and why they were recruiting kids.

    But I’m also announcing this because in addition to the essays all we Ender-lovers get to write, Smart Pop is also going to include a series of Q&As with Scott Card, and they are currently soliciting the question from readers. FROM YOU. Right now.

    You ever wonder about a character or part of the setting or event in Ender’s Game?  Ever wanted to know what inspired Card? Ever wanted to ask any question at all about Ender’s Game?  Now’s your chance. Just submit you question here: http://www.smartpopbooks.com/ask-orson-scott-card-a-question-about-enders-game/

    You can see questions already submitted at Smart Pop’s Tumblr.

    From a writer’s pov, I have to tell you that the folks at Smart Pop have been nothing but enjoyable and insightful to work with. I’m looking forward to this book!

  • A Wowser Mouse & Financial Peace

    ByJohn Brown

    Dis Eez A Mouse

    I’m a Luddite, which means that even though I work in the software industry, I do not rush out to purchase the latest and greatest gadget.  Our family computer, for example, is running Windows 98, primarily because we purchased the computer itself in 1999.  In human years that computer is like 432 years old.  Maybe we’ll retire the old boy this year.  The point is that I don’t like to churn through tons of gadgets.  I want something to work.  I want it to work well.  And then I want to use it for a long time. 

    Recently, my mouse started acting up.  So I went out and found a new one.  I settled on a Microsoft Wireless Mobile Mouse 4000.  It comes with three parts: the mouse, an AA battery, which is supposed to last for up to ten months, and a tiny transceiver you insert into one of your computer’s USB ports.  The mouse has a great hand-feel.  The clicks are smooth.  If you want to take your mouse with you somewhere, there’s an easy storage slot inside the mouse for the transceiver.

    But the best thing of all is its BlueTrack technology.  This is not an ancient mouse with a track ball that you have to clean every so often.  It’s an optical mouse.  But unlike earlier versions of optical mice (why do I have a terrible urge to use “mouses” or “meece”?) that didn’t work very well on a number of surfaces, this BlueTrack technology works like a charm on everything I’ve tried it on, including glass. 

    You need a new mouse?  This is a good one.

    Dave Ramsey’s Complete Guide to Money

    If you’re like 70% of America, you are living paycheck to paycheck, which means that if you or your spouse (assuming you have one) were laid off, you would probably have difficulties meeting your mortgage the next month.  If you didn’t go into default on the house, you certainly would on other payments and bills. 

    You also have very little retirement. 

    You probably have around $7,000 in credit card debt.  Maybe a lot more.

    You also have a car payment or two.  Or, heaven forbid, a lease. 

    You might be house poor—the house payment is so large you can’t seem to do anything else. 

    You might have creditors hounding you. 

    You might be one of those folks throwing their money away on the lotto instead of investing it. 

    Did you know that if you invested $50 a month, an average of what many lotto players spend, in the stock market for 40 years, you’d very likely end up with $316,000 in the bank  (over the last 40 years of ups and downs, the annualized return of the market was almost 10%). You would have put in only $24,000 over that time period, which means you would have made $292,203!  But instead, if you’re a lotto player, you just throw all that out the window.  (No, you’re not going to win; not even maybe in your dreams.)

    You probably think your kids will have to take out loans to go to college. And you think that’s a good idea.  In fact, you probably think it’s a good idea to have a credit card just in case there’s an emergency because you don’t have any savings to cover any emergencies.

    The list goes on.  The sad part of this is that our finances cause us average Americans a lot of stress in our lives and marriages and families (even if we’re in denial) and very often heartbreak. 

    I know that a lot of us look at our financial chains and throw our hands up in despair—what can I do?  The mountain of debt and bills are just too high.  Besides, this is how everybody lives.

    But it’s not.

    There is a way out.  And it doesn’t matter how old you are, it’s not too late.

    Dave Ramsey has written his hands-down best book ever, which will take you step-by-step through the process of turning a financial mess into financial peace.  He’ll do it in a down-to-earth easy-to-read style. No confusing ten dollar words that make your head spin.

    Ramsey himself went through financial hell.  He was the guy that made all the mistakes with his money.  Lost everything.  Had collection agencies coming after him.  Didn’t know how he was going to feed the family.  He turned that all around.  Yes, he’s a millionaire, but more importantly, he has been working for the last twenty years to teach regular people with regular jobs the simple principles that lead to financial peace.  They’re becoming debt free and working their way towards huge net-worth.  

    You want a step-by-step plan?  You want to educate yourself about money and family finances from one of the nation’s leading experts?  Then go and purchase Dave Ramsey’s Complete Guide to Money today and start reading it.  You will not regret it.  If you already have his Total Money Makeover and don’t think this will be worth it, think again.  This goes into all sorts of things the Total Money Makeover doesn’t.

    Be free, people.  Be free.

     

    Related Stuff

    Look at the links and the video.

  • Good Eating in Rock Springs and Laramie, Wyoming

    ByJohn Brown

    A few weeks ago, I had to travel to Denver for business.  I elected to drive instead of fly. The weather was glorious, and I had a book on tape—what could be better?  Driving also allowed me to stop into Rock Springs and Laramie and few other spots to do some research for the novel I’m writing.  And while I was tooling around, I found two excellent places to eat.

    The first was in Rock Springs.  It’s about five minutes off the freeway, tucked in the downtown area, which means it’s a place locals visit. It’s called Broadway Burger Station.  I walked in, past the tables, and took a swivel seat at the counter. The menu listed sandwiches and soup, but I suspect it’s the burgers most people go for.  These are BIG burgers—1/3 to ½ pound of ground beef.  I almost asked for a kid’s meal.  Not only because the portion was smaller but because they serve the kids meals in a cardboard hot rod car!  How cool is that?

    But I went with the basic burger instead. All their burgers come with lettuce, tomato, pickle, onion, and their special sauce. You can also add other things including mushrooms, avocado sauce, bacon, cheese, chili, egg, ham, jalapenos, and pastrami.  I went with the sautéed mushrooms. Then the very nice server tempted me with a hand-dipped malt, and I said yes because I was only thinking of all of you at the time, wanting to provide a complete and honest review.

    The place was hopping the whole time I was there, and rightly so. The server brought out my burger, fries, and malt, and, man oh man–the burger with tomato and mushrooms was succulent!  The fries were hot and delicious.  And the malt was made with hard ice cream right before my very eyes.  What’s more, I could have easily shared my meal with Nellie, which means we could have both eaten for a total of ten bucks. Great food, super-friendly service, and reasonable prices. If you’re ever passing through Rock Springs and need a place to chow, go to the Broadway Burger Station on 628 Broadway Street, (307) 362-5858.

    On my way back I stopped in Laramie and found a McAlister’s Deli in the shopping strip at 2317 Grand Avenue, (307) 745-3760. This is not the type of deli that you walk into and gag because of the weird meat smells. It’s a soup and sandwich shop. And it’s apparently been doing well. I’d never seen a McAlister’s before, but found out it’s a chain that’s in twenty-two states in the Midwest and South. And Wyoming is currently as far west as you can find one.

    They serve hot sandwiches, including one called The New Yorker (corned beef, pastrami, and swiss) and another called The Big Nasty (1/3 pound beef on a baguette).  They have classic sandwiches, grilled sandwiches, and clubs.  I ordered the Cobb Club with turkey, applewood smoked bacon, gorgonzola cheese, avocado, lettuce, tomato, and a light Parmesan Peppercorn sauce served on ciabatta bread. I also ordered a cup of their vegetable soup and a piece of Colossal Carrot Cake.

    Dude, it was all delicious. Lovely. And in Laramie of all places. Laramie! All these years I never thought to stop because the town looked so unassuming.  Laramie was just that place where Cowboy fans enjoyed hollering and throwing beer bottles at my favorite football team from the neighboring state.  Of course, I did cut them some slack—I mean, what else can you do when your team gets dominated year after year?  Sing Kumbaya? 

    They’re a’running again, Kumbaya . . .

    Just a’stomping us, Lord, Kumbaya . . .

    Freezing misery, Lord, Kumbaya. Oh, Lord, Kumbaya . . .

    Right.  Now I see I’ve misjudged them.  Maybe their football program has been in the doldrums the last few years, but Laramie isn’t a pass-through town.  Next time I’m rolling by on I-80, I’m going to stop again and see what other gems the good folks there have to offer. If you’re in the area, and you love places like Jason’s Deli and Kneaders, stop at McAlister’s Deli. Then take some time to visit the lovely St. Matthew’s cathedral on 3rd street. You can’t miss it: it’s the one with the red doors.