I’m pretty sure a sleeper cell has nothing to do with this post.  In fact I’m positive other than I did not sleep last night as my mind ran through worst case scenarios for a major software release today.  Hooray for butterflies!

Since posting about a month ago about stinking on keeping track of money I’ve been using Mint.com.  Yup, I’m using an online service.  So far I’m not thrilled with where we’re at and what we have to do to get where we need to be.  That’s rather blunt, but the financial news just seems to be pouring in about how banks are on the fritz, my home loan is going to cause my pants to explode, and how Warren Buffet is sad about the economy but generally not personally worried that he’ll lose all of his tens of billions.

I’ve also started a quick & dirty coffee blog with a couple friends (if you would like to join and write about coffees you’re enjoying/trying, shoot me an email.  You can read about my first of six beans that I’m roasting from the latest order here.

As for the Watch My Money Maker Weekly podcast I need to get on that.  I’ve got 100 excuses, all of which end in, “but I just didn’t make it a priority.”  So since this weekend I’ll be out of town and solo I may have time since I don’t tend to sleep a lot on trips like this.  Sleep is over-rated any way.

Three different roasts of the same bean

I’m a coffee snob.  Not the kind that thinks that every bean they drink should be a peaberry, or from a certain region, or roasted to a certain doneness, or should be brewed with water that is a certain temperature (though all of those count for good coffee to your taste).  I’m the kind of coffee snob that, when given the choice, will choose to be picky, but I will gladly take a cup of the nasty stuff if that’s all you have - it may not be nasty to you.  I may know about coffee just a bit, but I’m not a punk :)  This article is to outline the large amount of money I don’t lay out to have high end coffee.

I Bought My Own Roaster
If you’ve never seen coffee roasted, you really should check it out.  Its quite amazing to see the beans go from green to brown (and beyond to nearly black in some cases).  Getting my own Fresh Roast roaster was well worth the cost and the ability to do the rest of the process with green beans was well worth it as well.  The roaster costs around $80.00 US Dollars.  It produces small amounts of roasted beans per batch time, each roasting batch produces enough beans for me to French Press one 8 cup container.

I Buy Different Kinds of Beans
From web sites like Sweet Maria’s or Burman Coffee you can buy pounds of green beans for less than you would buy them from stores like Whole Foods who freshly roast their coffee there.  Don’t get me started on the ‘freshness’ of Starbucks or other brands who consider their coffee fresh for months.  Coffee doesn’t stay fresh that long.  Ever.  Unless its green beans you’re storing.  By buying different kinds of beans (both sites listed above describe the beans and their optimal roast) I can explore my palet, I can explore the bean’s varieties, and I can do it at home for a few dollars a pound (or more in some cases) but much less than at other fresh roasting sites.

I Burr Grind
There are several different designs of grinders, there are blade grinders which don’t grind at all, they chop.  Then there are the burr grinders which tend to produce consistently sized coffee grounds.  If you were to buy an espresso machine you would most definitely want a burr grinder, and you’d want a high end one.  For French Press the $40.00 Cuisinart model I picked up at Costco will do fine.  Even coffee grounds mean even flavors and consistent cups of coffee.  This of course assumes you’re buying whole beans.  If you aren’t buying whole beans you’re letting much of the oils that bring flavor into the cup evaporate out of your coffee before you brew it.

I French Press
Instead of a latte or espresso, I use the French Press, which is somewhat like an Americano if you’ve ever had one of those at Starbucks.  The French Press cost me $29.99 at Target just a few weeks ago (I had another French Press, but the glass accidentally got broken).  You can get them for more or less - it depends on the style and the volume of the container.  I liked my 8 cup container (that’s 8 cups of coffe, where each cup is 4 ounces).  The French Press gives you a more intense coffee flavor than a drip brewer, but it is not as demanding as the espresso machines and is just a fraction of the cost.  If I become wealthy some day I’ll get an espresso machine, but for the present I’m content with my French Press.  You can also make tasty chocolate milk with a French Press (but wash it good when you’re done).

Things I don’t do:

• Buy pods and single use units
• Bake my coffee with a drip maker that burns the coffee throughout the day
• Store my beans in the freezer (don’t do this ever)
• Drink cheap coffee because “cheaper is better”
• Spill the beans
• Add sugar to my coffee to cut the acidic, ashy taste that the Pike Place Roast from Starbucks has

Making great coffee for cheaper than you thought was possible - is possible.  Making tasty coffee with flavors you never knew existed is easy.  I have tasted fruitiness, floweriness, chocolates, caramels and a bunch of other flavors in coffee that I didn’t know existed.  Give it a try.  You can work your way into these things slowly.  If you were going to buy one item at a time (and that’s recommendable) then I would make the following purchases in this order:

1. French Press
2. Burr Grinder
3. Roaster & Green Beans

All of this costs approximately $150.00 total at suggested retail.  Of course each item could be picked up for less if you search - but once you’ve picked up the equipment you’ll be getting top notch coffee for $6.00 or less a pound.  That’s half the cost per pound compared to Starbucks, Whole Foods or other brands.  And Fresh.  Did I mention its fresh?  Because it is, and tasty.

I suck at money management.  If there was something I was not good at, it is actually managing my money.  I am a sucker for instant gratification.  Here’s a quote from a friend of mine that has nothing to do with personal finance on the surface, but has everything to do with it in principle.  I asked her about what her tryouts involved for a High School Volleyball team:

“Um, 3 hours of watching girls that think they can play… girls that really can play and girls that have no skill but are there because someone said that they were good once.  And then at the end of the week: cutting them.”

I would be the player that thinks he can play.  I am not the player that knows he can play, I am not the player that anyone ever told that I could play.  I would be the self-decieved player.

But the good thing about the self-decieved player is that the player has intentions.  Good intentions.  Intentions that are tied to potential.  Not in a ‘motivational poster that is so unreal that nobody would buy it’ sort of way, but with the passion that may some day turn into an acceptable utility player that isn’t the team captain, or the super-star, but is the person who keeps the team going with drive and is one of the many.

I’m the guy who is picked last.  But I’m working on being the guy you’d pick 5th.  I’m OK with fifth because at least its a step up.  I’m OK with being picked last as long as I’m picked.  Right field is awesome, catcher is awesome.  I don’t need to be the star, I don’t need to be the slugger, I just need to get on base.  Our finances have slipped some recently and I’m the guy responsible for that.

We’re not staying here.  We’re going to kick this into high gear.  We’re going to kill our darlings.  We’re going to plug the leaks and batton down the hatches.  We’re going to mix our metaphors until the cows come home.  But we’re not going to stay last.  We’re going to stay home - instead of eating out.

Set Your Goals Together

What’s a marriage without somewhere to go?  What are you two going to be doing in five years?  Where is your dream home/destination together?  Goals are good - as long as you’re flexible.  In our marriage we have a policy of setting goals that are unanimous.  That doesn’t mean we have the same initial priority for the goals, but we make those goals and priorities unified through discussion.  Financially speaking this has come up as the increase of gasoline, goods, and services causes us to evaluate where we’re going to be adjusting our budget to either trim back in intended purchases or cut out something else to fund the excess in price.

Here are some thoughts on setting goals:

• Know your own goals first - ask your spouse to do the same - coming together prepared to discuss the topic is of great importance.
• Know the priorities of your goals - just because eventually you want to do something doesn’t mean that its your priority for execution.  You may want to be a millionaire eventually, but your priority needs to be getting out of debt first so you can focus on the accumulation of the wealth.
• Be flexible as you discuss the goals so that you can maximize your effectiveness in communication.  As a husband in a Christian household where I’m supposed to lead (Eph. 5:22-25) I don’t take that duty of leadership lightly, or to mean I need to act as a dictator.  Instead we lovingly and graciously discuss the goals as we’re called to (Ephesians 5:21).
• Keep groups of goals.  For our household that has meant buying a Nintendo Wii in the fun category or group and getting out of debt quickly in the finances category.  Those two groups appear as conflicts and so we’re having to prioritize and be flexible.  By grouping the goals you’ll be able to get more perspective than simply listing out 200 goals and then sorting them by priority.  Once you knock out a goal in a group: move to the next one - keeping in mind the other goal groups.
• Keep the importance of time in context as you set goals.  If a Wii is your goal, but a low priority, then let it slip into getting a Wii 2 or ‘the best gaming console at the time (or whatever they call it).
• Make a plan for execution.  If you’re going to be a millionaire don’t just hope it happens, make a plan.  If you’re going to buy a Wii while paying off debt, make a plan.  That may mean setting aside $20.00 a month or some other number until you’ve achieved the amount you’re after.
• Make sure you have rest and are emotionally ready to discuss things.  Sometimes health, sleep or some other distraction will keep you from being mentally ready for this discussion.  Don’t let it slip forever, but make sure you’re both ready.

This list is short and has generalizations, but its a start.  What else would you add?

These English Muffins are awesome

My wife makes great food, she bakes all sorts of goodies (or can, if we’re not being dietarily restricted by one thing or another) and she’s just a general blessing in the kitchen.  She checked out a cookbook called Real American Breakfast at the library recently that was focused on breakfast foods.  This book has been renewed and renewed by her.  I’m inclined to buy it for her since she 1) has used it over and over and 2) every recipe she’s tried has been amazing.  Seriously.

One recipe she’s made a couple times, including tonight, was for English Muffins.  This very simple recipe requires basic baking goods and a griddle (though I’m sure other cooking surfaces could be used) and costs a fraction of retail prices to make… and tastes amazingly good.  The prep time is small, the cook time is small, but the taste it big.  No store bought english muffin can touch these treats.

Several recipes exist online, here’s one from Food Network that is similar.  Check it out, save money, eat cheap!

Sunday afternoon after a drive through the Eastern Rocky Mountain range by Denver and visiting the Red Rocks Amphitheater I came home and discovered my swamp cooler was making a lot of racket.  Squeaking and sounding like nastiness.  My neighbor approached my house as I exited my vehicle to say, “Did you hear me knocking?  I wanted to tell you about your swamp cooler making a lot of noise”

“Nope, I was up in the Rockies.”

“Let me know if I can help!”

I’m glad to have a friendly, helpful neighbor, but the idea of fixing the swamp cooler was not on my top ten list.  I crawled up on the roof after shutting the cooler off and took several panels off and hollared down to have it turned on.

Squeak, wobble, rotate.  Squeak, wobble, rotate.  I hollared to have it turned off again.  The pulley was spinning along with the motor, but it was not sitting correctly on the motor’s shaft.  I tightened the pulley on the shaft, turned the swamp cooler back on.  Squeak, wobble, rotate.  Apparently the pulley was funky and beyond de-funking.

I drove down to Lowe’s and picked up a new pulley.  I came home, installed the pulley on the motor shaft, re-attached the drive belt, and hollared down to have the cooler turned back on.

Hummmmmm.

The cooler turned on more quietly than it had before while we’ve lived in this house.  Apparently I could have had a quieter cooler for just under $8.00 had I noted the pulley was getting wonky.  I need to get new pads to hold the water for the cooler, but those can wait until next season.  I was glad I didn’t have to pay $85.00 to have a technician come out and service this with the pulley costing $15.00 with $40.00 in labor (or some other made up number).  All was well, quieter, and I think we’ll be good for at least another couple years in the pulley department.

A client I work for is looking to fill a position.  They’re looking for someone who has certain qualifications as you might expect that just hiring anyone who has used Microsoft Office might result in a bad piece of software.  The responses that have come in have consistently been bad or worse.  For example, one person actually gave an answer to a question that was very short, but the second sentence was “Use a search engine.”  The answer should not be use a search engine unless the question is, “What are you doing if you ask Jeeves?”  And in that case, its still grammatically incorrect.

Furthermore, if you’re filling out a series of questions, please don’t make a fool out of yourself by using the search engines.  Well, you can use the search engines, but I wouldn’t recommend simply copying and pasting the answers into the response.  There is very little that impresses me more than a good, efficient worker, but copy and paste from Google, Wikipedia, or any other source and blatantly plagerising the answers and passing them off as your own is completely unethical, lazy and useless.  A company that discovers you’re a liar, even if they’ve hired you on, will can your sorry bum rather quickly.

If you want a job as a software developer you’ll want to actually know your stuff.  Actually know the languages you’re reporting you know, actually list projects you actually worked on and helped complete (I can’t believe the number of folks who fake resume work).  If you want a job as a software developer, study up by learning about the company you’re trying to get hired on at.  Find out what software you’ll be working on, if at all possible, and focus in on knowing what you’re getting yourself into.  Don’t get surprised in the interview if you thought you were working on one project and the company discusses a different product, but at least be aware of the projects.  Be knowledgable.

Be prepared to ask questions and interview the company employees as well.  Be prepared to find out what sort of time restrictions exist at the company, find out what their development process is.  Ask what tools they use.  Make sure you know what they’re using and you’re comfortable with it.

In the end you need to be a worthy candidate, put forth the effort to be that candidate.  Make sure you’ve got your ducks in a row and that you’re prepared to take the position on with passion.  Lastly, make sure you’re a person who asks why a project, task or code change is done because it will help you excede the requirements, and knock out the interviewer (figuratively, of course).  And don’t use the search engines to knock them out

This month is the one year anniversary of Watch My Money Maker and I totally forgot.  The first article I wrote was about the purpose of this blog (In the Beginning).  Shortly after that the purpose was redefined simply by virtue of what was going on in my life.  I’ve had ups, downs and major distractions in this one year time period.  I’ve reduced my family’s over all debt, but there is more left.  I have learned a great deal from the personal finance blogosphere, and I’ve tried to apply as much as possible.  I’ve had paradigm shifts about credit cards, I’ve written very personal posts, and I’ve written pretty goofy stuff as well.  Below is a list of a few posts that might be good for newer readers and for older readers, I thank you for over a year of reading and not running away screaming

Most Popular Posts

1. 10 Things to Do With Your Economic Stimulus Check
2. Everything I Learned About Personal Finance I Learned from Wall*E
3. The Moved Buffer Theory

Personal Favorites

1. Ten Tips to Prepare for Getting Married
2. 10 Ways to Use Personal Finance to Strengthen A Marriage
3. Go Read This: Please Don’t Taste My Credit Card

I have two new posts coming up and I hope that they’ll inspire you - they’re ones I’m proud of, a good way to kick off the next year.  Again, thanks for reading!

The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is coming to my area.  This is a good thing, I’m told, because they’ll bring money to hotels, restaurants, brothels and convenience stores.  Money, in an economy that is supposed to be so bad that the wealthy keep getting wealthier and the poor keep getting poorer, will help keep the poor wealthier and the wealthy hiring.  I’m not much for politics any more, not since I figured out that politics is about man’s solution to man’s problems without ignoring man’s real problem.  However, its nice that they’re coming to the Denver metro area as well because our roadways are designed for slightly less people than currently drive them, and the new crowds of drivers will help keep the price of gas high as gas station owners have figured out that they can pretty much charge as much as they want and we’re a captive audience.  I think that’s a mixed metaphor.

There are some genuinely good reasons to have them in town and one of them is that a reader of this very blog will more than likely come into town to support her husband who will more than likely rule the world before its all said and done, and I’d like to have him in my pocket be in his pocket have the right connections.  The financial impact that is suspected to come with this national convention is roughly $160,000,000.00 in currency influx.  They’re expecting a huge crowd at the Bronco stadium (branded Invesco field) for  B. Obama’s acceptance speech.  Big money, big names, and they bring them in with enough people to populate the town I grew up in.  Which, if it were to be receiving the Democratic Nation Convention, would self implode.  Lets hope that the Dems bring money, but its not debt money, we don’t need that in Denver, Colorado or the US Government

Since switching teams on the whole Credit Cards are Evil debate I have had a major increase in intensity as I deal with not getting myself and family into worse debt.  I’m keeping track of spending on it, which was what I was not doing before that made things worse.  Spending more than you’re paying will just rack up the debt like nobody’s business.  The motivation to have self control, the motivation to maximize the rewards to help maximize the payoff is intensified.

Without clarity of vision, a focused attention on the goal, using the credit cards could be financial suicide.  Or, at least a severe case of bankruptcy, something I’ve got zero interest in doing.  Our vision is someting we keep constantly beholding, constantly cutting out distractions, and constantly evaluating our mental state.  Without the focus, our goal could be like a car accident waiting to happen on this road.

The credit card companies want you to feel like you’re on the journey of life to live out experiences that are outside of your reach, all the while keeping your payments from actually letting you have quality experiences within the frame of your budget.  The experiences in life that you have must be evaluated in the context of its richness and not in the luxury.  The Mastercard ‘priceless’ commercials emphasize this well, they want you to pay each little bit on your Mastercard to have that priceless moment, that comes with a cost that is often outside of what would be a smart financial choice - unless you paid cash and it fit within the context of you reaching your goal.

The Discover card commercials are much more subtle.  Their focus is on the idea of rewards to the max.  Imagine a life with rewards at every turn - except that if you carry a balance on the card, you’re going to pay those rewards back[just as we have] over and over.  The rewards are only rewards if you keep a zero balance.  A zero balance must be part of the goal and vision of your daily lifestyle.

There’s nothing quite as exciting as the unknown.  There’s nothing quite as exciting as the adventure of facing life’s trials and coming out victorious - but don’t quit staring at the goal, anything that comes between you and that goal is a completely wasteful distraction.  Capture those distractions, put them aside, and keep going.  The goal is so close, don’t lose sight!