The Lottery

The lottery is just a tax on people who aren't good at math.

Rap Lyric or Financial Decision?

If you heard someone say "RIP.  Just killed the club." would you think that was a  rap lyric or a financial decision?  If you guessed either you are right but if you guessed both then you see where I'm going with this.  Recently, The Game, tweeted a picture of a receipt from the Greystone Manor after a night of drinking in LA.

The receipt showed a couple bottles of this and a couple bottles of that with a few Redbulls and water thrown into the mix for balance.  His grand total?  A whopping $15,593.13 after tip, service charge and tax!  I think I'm most offended by the $12 bottles of water.  That's just unreasonable unless it was water from the fountain of youth.  Either way, that my friends is how you burn through a stack of cash in style.  Good thing Mr. Game has a big ass pile of cash to burn.  He's worth about $45 million and sits right behind Nicki Minaj at number 45 on the top 50 richest rappers net worth list.  

Think about that for a second.  Same net worth as Nicki Minaj. Shame on you, Game.  Shame!

Keep Calm and Avoid Debt

Pretty much all you need to know

NFL Player Shaun Rogers Isn’t Aware of Stranger Danger – Loses $400k in Jewelry in Hotel Robbery

Didn't anyone ever tell New York Giants defensive end Shaun Rogers not to trust strangers?  According to reports Rogers spent the night partying in Miami when he met a nice young lady.  Rogers and this nice young lady returned to his hotel and had sex.  When Rogers awoke the next morning afternoon the nice young lady from the previous night was gone… along with $400k of his jewelry which he had placed in the hotel safe.  Lost in the robbery was a $100k pair of earrings, a $50k gold chain and two watches worth $160k.

The plight of the NFL player is a common one.  Since he wears a helmet when he’s on TV he doesn’t get the kind of recognition he desires when in public.  The NFL player makes up for this by spending recklessly on jewelry and nights on the town.  This kind of flashy behavior attracts predators of all shapes and sizes, including beautiful women.  When you have millions of dollars you have to be especially aware of predators that are out to treat you like an ATM.  Enjoy your money as privately and responsibly as possible.  Beware stranger danger.  And don’t trust hotel safes.

"You know what? I've never paid taxes in my life. I'm probably going to go to jail.” – Nick Diaz UFC 158 Post-Fight Pess Conference March 19, 2013

Whoa, that was a bombshell.  That was probably not the best thing to announce to a group of reporters.  Diaz has long been known for his standoffish and cold demeanor towards the media so there’s a chance he’s just trolling everybody in the wake of the 25 minute beat down he received courtesy of Georges St. Pierre.  Still, Diaz made a reported $200k for his fight against the champ in Montreal.  You can be damn sure the tax man, both Canadian and American, will be looking for their fair share of his check.  Diaz would be wise to square up with the IRS, squirrel away some dough for his post fighting days and quit violating the first rule of Goodfellas; “Always keep your mouth shut.”  A word to wise, taxes brought down Al Capone… well that and syphilis.

Horror Stories from Payroll

HORROR STORIES FROM PAYROLL

If I get a phone call before 8 a.m. on a Thursday morning, I know it's a payroll mistake.  A lot of people live paycheck to paycheck so when mistakes happen, madness ensues. Here are some of the hilarious and sad stories from payroll.

• An error that bounced a mortgage payment
  I had the wrong person on the schedule for a given day and ended up paying the wrong person 12.25 hours of overtime and completely stiffed the person who actually worked those hours.  Of course, the stiffed party is frantic and calling anyone who will listen.  I've got a missed call on my cell, a message on my desk phone, and I received a call from corporate payroll because even they got a call from her.  First thing I do is always call them back to assure them I'm taking care of it.  Sadly, they were so frantic because this mistake was going to cause their mortgage payment to bounce.  I know they had to call the mortgage company and explain to the situation.  I found the mistake easily and was able to get a hard check issued later that day.  I went down to corporate to pick it up and hand delivered it to them so I could apologize in person.  They really are a great worker and I felt bad for causing so much stress.  

• 2 minutes rounded up to nearest quarter
  An employee told me he was short 15 minutes on his check.  The issue was the employee worked overtime on a Saturday and left at 12:47, where as I only paid him until 12:45 because that's when I was told he left.  I rounded it up for him, it came out to be less than $5.00, what's the point of burning an employee over that minimal amount?

• I need my money now, cut me a check
  Another error led to an employee missing 4 hours from their check.  They demanded a hard check be issued, rather than the amount added on to the next paycheck, even though the amount was about $57.00.  I had to go to corporate later that day and offered to pick up the check for them.  They neither replied to my offer nor said thank you for looking into the problem.  I guess I can't really expect someone to say thank you after I screw up their money, can I?

• I'm here, pay me even if I don't work
  This problem actually comes up a lot.  Employees are occasionally scheduled erroneously and come into work when they aren't need, so we send them home.  They always argue that because they showed up they are entitled to 4 hours of pay.  I'm not sure where they heard that but I only pay them for their travel time and a little extra for the inconvenience of the situation. 

J Money's Millionaire Club

In order for me, Debtzilla, to become a millionaire, and lead my future Debtzillians into financial freedom, I pledge to do (and/or work towards) the following:

STARTING RIGHT NOW

• Max out my Roth IRA and continue to contribute enough to get the employer match from my 401(k) - Completed 10/19/2012
  Pay myself first. The best thing I could have ever done was to automate my IRA contributions. When you don't set up automatic deductions from your checking account it makes it infinitely easier to skip a monthly contribution for whatever reason.  Now the money is deducted and I don't even notice.  It's slowly building up a nice pile of cash and I like piles of cash.

• Eat the majority of my meals from home - Getting better at this as I don't live as close to fast food as I used to 12/26/2013
  Oh. My. God.  I. Am. Terrible. At. This.  The good news is I have a McDonald's taste on an Applebee's budget.  Meaning, I can afford to eat well but I definitely stick to the dollar menus.  Still, I waste way too much money every month on fast food.  And it makes me a fatty.

• Continue to live below my means, not above - No problem here 12/23/2013
  No cable tv, no car payment, no bottles of Cristal in the da club.

• Pocket the extra
  I budget each month based off a 2 paycheck month.  So that mean's twice a year I am blessed with an additional paycheck that can be added straight into savings/investments.  I pledge to pocket all my bonuses, tax returns, windfalls and extra paychecks - rather then spend them frivolously.

IN THE  NEAR FUTURE

• Raise my salary but not my expenses - Made a career change and right now my salary is hot garbage :( 12/26/2013
  My salary will be my biggest wealth building tool.  It should steadily increase overtime through job performance and advancement opportunities.  It's easy to spend a raise or bump in pay, but discipline will lead me to J Money's Millionaire Club.

• Live mortgage and rent free... FOREVER - Sold my house on 9/18/2013 and made a nice chunk of change that I might be able to roll into a paid for house.  Stay tuned for good news in 2014 12/26/2013
  I think this is how I truly make it into J Money's Millionaire Club.  My mortgage is my biggest expense and I would free up nearly 30% of my budget the day I pay it off completely.  I don't know how many people ever achieve this goal but I will be one of them.  Owning a house outright with no mortgage, that's the dream.  That sounds just fine to me. I'm currently on pace to be there in about 2026 but I think I can get there in 3 to 5 years.

• Break into the real estate game
  They aren't making anymore land.  I live in a state where land is dirt cheap and the price has no where to go but up.  I've read a few books and I'd like to slowly start dipping my toe into the water to test the market.  There's money to be made here, might as well go into my pockets.

• Get married to a like minded woman -
  This may come as a shock to a lot of people but your wife will end up being a huge part of making this goal a reality.  

WAY DOWN YONDER

• Supplemental incomes
  I have always been interested in business.  I just haven't found that niche that is both fueled by passion and demand. It will be important to add additional incomes down the road as I transition into my the latter stages of my career.

Editor's note: I will come back and update this periodically.  Original post 10/12/2012.  Last update 12/26/2013