Dave Ramsey

4 Comments Posted on August 31, 2015August 31, 2015 parenting, Storytelling, Uncategorized

We Were Approached to Be on NBC’s Upcoming Show, The Family Project

A few weeks ago, Cast Iron Productions reached out to our family about the possibility of us being in a brand-new show on NBC, called The Family Project.

I have to admit, I feel honored that they chose us because A) they found our family simply because of my blog, which makes me very happy about my SEO, and B) because they said we seem like a really fun family based on what they saw on my blog, Family Friendly Daddy Blog.

After an email exchange, a phone interview, then a 2 hour Skype interview with our family, we were told we were good material for the show.

They liked specifically that we are a Christian, vegan/vegetarian family who doesn’t believe in spanking and who lives by an extremely enforced “Dave Ramsey” budget and who keeps our home spotlessly clean and who doesn’t own smart phones.

As far as what the show is about, here’s my best understanding:

It sounds like the concept of Wife Swap and The Real World combined. Instead of 2 polar opposite families swapping the wives in each family, it sounds like The Family Project will combine all the family members of both households in the same house.

They were clear with me that we would still have to work jobs, but it would be whatever my wife and I consider our “dream jobs”. As for me, that would mean full time blogging and making videos for my YouTube channel.

We had a lot of fun during the Skype interview, but I do have good reason to believe that ultimately, NBC will not be officially choosing us:

I was very clear with the casting agency that we have a complete Libertarian approach when it comes to our lifestyle:

In other words, we have no desire to enforce our beliefs on others. Therefore, I seriously doubt a camera crew would be able to get a rise out of me, which typically makes for “good reality TV.”

After all, conflict and chaos serves as the fuel of reality TV. From there, the audience watching is subconsciously prompted to pass judgment, thinking to themselves, “At least I’m not as crazy as that person!”

If one of the parents of the other family in the house tried to get me to debate with them on why we are vegans/vegetarians or Christians or why we won’t spank our child or why we live by a super strict budget, I simply wouldn’t argue back.

I am a man who is completely confident and secure in my beliefs. I have no desire to seek confirmation from anyone else.

While I’m always happy to explain any parts of our lifestyle, I back off the moment the other person thinks I am defending myself.

I have nothing to defend.

And I especially have no reason to argue with a non-Christian. Jesus didn’t argue with or try to fiercely convert those who were close-minded to His teaching.

Instead, He said time and time again, “Whoever has ears, let him hear.”

In other words, His teachings were meant for those who were listening; not those who tried to heckle him or prove him wrong.

I am a man who is completely confident and secure in my beliefs. I have no desire to seek confirmation from anyone else.

Where would the drama be in a reality show episode like that? Where is the conflict and chaos?

The only thing I can think of is to “try to get the Christians to crack” after being so irritated by the other family’s opposing “annoying” habits.

I’m not saying that’s impossible, but as Christians, our role isn’t to judge, but to serve others.

So I’m thinking, if their dirty dishes in the sink got in the way of our family making our own vegan meals, then we should probably help them out with their dishes.

Why would NBC pick us at this point? Yes, we’re a fun (and interesting) family; and yes, we have a different lifestyle compared to the American mainstream, I would assume.

But we have nothing to prove… or to defend… or to be offended by.

I have a feeling that just like with Steve Harvey and Katie Couric, when they approached me a couple of years ago about being on their shows, only to never call me back after they realized I wouldn’t argue with other guests on the show about my beliefs, that The Family Project will air without the Shell family.

Even still, I’m very curious to check the show out when it premieres in a few months!

Photos by Aimee Cornelius.

2 Comments Posted on February 23, 2015 finance, new house, Uncategorized

5 Reasons Our Townhouse Sold In Just 3 Days

Last week I revealed that my wife and I sold our townhouse after it was on the market for just 3 days; for more than our asking price. See Dear Jack: We Sold Our Townhouse… It’s Official! Thank The Lord!

And yes, we made a profit. Today, I would like to highlight what enabled that to happen.

I have to start off with what is, for me, the most obvious part of it: God orchestrated all the events I’m about to talk about.

#1: We prayed for the right people to find our house. More important than focusing our prayers on our house selling for our personal benefit in our time, we focused on the future buyers being blessed by finding it. That way, they would know our home was the right one once they found it. Here’s an email excerpt from the buyer of our townhouse:

“As for selling points these are the things that really sold us: Open concept, large bedrooms, more bang for your buck with a townhouse versus detached home, safe neighborhood close to entertainment and work, reasonable HOA fees. The extra half bath was also huge; huge garden tub and double vanity in the bathroom.

We looked at 2 others. One was unimpressive and we actually put in an offer on another one that was an end unit. It was a blessing in disguise that we missed out on it because this home really is so much more perfect for us.”

#2: We had an excellent real estate agent. I have known Dave Stanley with Reliant Reality for most of the time I have lived here in Nashville, since 2005. He is assertive and calculated. He went through the process of figuring out exactly the perfect price point for our model in our neighborhood. We actually received more than our asking price for our townhouse which set a new record for that model in our neighborhood.

#3: We had kept our house immaculately clean. I mean this as a compliment to my wife: She is obsessed with cleaning to the same degree as Monica from Friends. We don’t smoke, we don’t have pets, and we clean everything weekly. Here is another excerpt from the buyer:

“The fact that [your home] came from what looked like a good family who kept it very clean and up to date was huge. At least 50% of our decision if not more.”

#4: We staged our home well. It went on the market in October, so we made sure we set out a pumpkin, as well as seasonal flowers, in our staged home. As for the bigger stuff, my dad and I put in a backsplash in the kitchen (seen in the picture above, where I had my smoothie station set up). Not to mention, we painted some of the rooms to bring them to life, but not that same dark red color that most people in the neighborhood used: Another email excerpt from the buyer:

“YES! I totally forgot to mention the backsplash. This was the only house we saw that had a backsplash. That really set the house apart from the rest. I can’t believe I forgot that! It’s one of my favorite features!… We [also] really liked the paint y’all had which made the transition easy.”

#5: We were debt-free when we put the house on the market. Like most “normal” young couples, we were tens of thousands of dollars in debt for the first several years of our marriage. Thanks to following Dave Ramsey, on our 5^th wedding anniversary we official paid off our final debt (as seen when I originally posted about it on my corporately sponsored blog, The Dadabase on Parents.com). That enabled us to be better prepared financially for when we found our new home. Had we not been debt-free, the time would not have been right for us to be able to afford a bigger home when we did; taking advantage of a good deal when we saw it. Additionally, we were able to put our townhouse on the market when the market was ready; not simply just when we were ready.

Hopefully our experience in selling our home in just 3 days for more than the asking price can help you. Individual results may vary.

1 Comment Posted on January 28, 2015January 28, 2015 finance, parenting, Uncategorized

Lottery Commercials Don’t Target People Who Are Good Money Managers

What’s the first thing I’d do if I somehow ran into a very large amount of money?

You guessed it. I would immediately pay off the mortgage on our brand-new house. It would be quite the celebration!

Because I know that I’m paying nearly 100% interest for the 1^st half of the life of that loan.

I wouldn’t care about a new car, or a boat, or a big trip. All I would care about would be paying off the mortgage.

Then… placing the rest in savings and investments.

From there, I might consider a family vacation or newer cars; but that would be my last priority.

Yet I’ve never seen a lottery ticket commercial or an injury lawyer commercial showing a winner who joyfully exclaims, “With the money I won… first, I immediately paid off the mortgage on my house, then put the rest in savings and investments, so that I’ll actually be making money for the rest of my life instead of losing it quickly just because I have more!”

Granted, that’s what I’d say.

But apparently, that’s not what the targeted audience for lottery ticket winners or injury lawsuit winners would do, based on what is portrayed in these commercials:

When I see these kinds of commercials, I know that the marketing department for the lottery and injury lawyers are not baiting people like me, who have learned the hard way by living in debt for years, but who finally became debt free after following the teachings of Dave Ramsey, and who are now focused on paying off a mortage ASAP, to better save and invest all future income from there.

Of course, I’m not against the lottery or injury lawyers; I see good in what they do.

I’m just simply deconstructing some of the psychology involved in some of their marketing… the way I’ve pointed out in the past that fast food logos almost always include red and yellow as their main colors to try to make you slow down (like you do at a yellow light) and stop (like you do at a red light) for their restaurant.

It appears that lottery commercials are trying to make people think that if they regularly “invest” in lottery tickets, they will stand a decent chance of living the rock star (or rap star?) lifestyle, by blowing the money on depreciating liabilities, instead of assets that will hold their value; or in legitimate, profitable investments.

Perhaps this is what the advertisers want people to think when they their commercials:

“You deserve more money than you know how to manage, so once you win, spend your money on consumer items shown in this commercial, ones that immediately lose their value once you buy them, instead of ones that keep or gain value.”

Like I said, I’ve yet to see a lottery or lawsuit commercial that portrays the winner immediately paying off their mortgage with the money; then going on to save and invest the rest. I’ve never heard that even mentioned in one of these commercials, yet it’s the very first thing I would care about.

It really shouldn’t be that ironic.

So apparently, people who make lottery ticket commercials and injury lawyer commercials don’t have me in mind as a marketable demographic.

Maybe then it’s not that ironic that back in 1999 when I woke up in a hosptial after having been knocked unconscious after wrecking on a bike, and an injury lawyer was there as I opened my eyes, offering to help me “win the money I deserve,” I politely thanked him, but turned him down.

And for the record, I rarely buy a lottery ticket.

1 Comment Posted on January 15, 2015January 15, 2015 finance, new house, Uncategorized

A True “Status Symbol” Is A Paid Off One, Including Our New House (Which Is Not)

4 years, 1 month.

Dear Jack,

As your Daddy, it is one of one my responsibilities to help teach you how to manage your money.

These days, it’s not as simple as saving more than you spend. It’s just as much about planning further ahead; decades ahead, as well as investing our money; as Robert Kiyosaki teaches in his book, Rich Dad Poor Dad.

In a modern culture where it’s “normal” to be in debt, Mommy and I are doing our best to lead you by example, in hopes you will likely grow up to have the same mindset.

We worked very hard to earn our “debt-free status” (other than the mortgage) back in July 2013; we lived without smart phones, cable or satellite TV, eating out, pets, or buying any new gadgets or appliances; nor can I deny that having you as our only child has had a lot to do with it.

Really, I’m just now becoming more open-minded to the idea of having another child; largely because we are much more secure in managing our money now, and also obviously because we are moving into a bigger house, which makes more sense as compared to our 2 bedroom townhouse we’ve lived in this whole time, up until recently.

And so with that being our norm and our lifestyle for the time leading up to going debt-free, it’s something we’ve naturally maintained since then.

Without our family being “weird” in regards to living without certain things, it’s an absolutely fact we wouldn’t be able to move into our new house.

For the record, we are not able to buy a new house because Mommy and I are suddenly began making a lot more money all of the sudden; in fact, I make less now that I stopped writing for Parents.com last July.

As you get older, I want you to notice the definite irony in congratulating someone when they buy a new car. Because in almost every case, you’re in essence congratulating them on having to now make monthly payments; the majority of which, at first, goes straight to interest.

They have now inherited a new debt to have to worry about, as part of their family budget.

One of my coworkers, who was a banker for a couple of decades, likes to say this: “Those who understand how interest works, charge it. Those who don’t understand how it works, pay it.”

I recognize that, in reality, the commonly perceived glory of that new car will essentially be gone by the time it’s paid off; since it’s a depreciative asset, unlike a new house. The true glory is when the car is less shiny and impressive, but is paid off.

It used to mean something to see a person driving a nice new car. But these days, it typically just means they’re making payment.

Why should that impress anyone?

Nearly anyone these days can go into more debt by financing a new purchase; not everyone can buy something in cash.

Or if it’s not a car, we can use other examples of perceived status symbols: clothes, electronics, house furnishings, vacations…

However, a true status symbol is a paid off one. Like Dave Ramsey implies, being mortgage free is the new retirement.

I’ve been thinking about this stuff a lot here lately we are exactly 2 weeks away from closing on the new house we are building.

There for a while, it looked like there was a good possibility my paid off car was going to be totaled, when I was hit by an albino deer the night before Thanksgiving.

Thank God, I missed the “totaled” criteria by a couple hundred dollars. I am so grateful that I won’t have to worry about a new car payment, in addition to our mortgage payment on our new house.

I get to continue driving my 10 year-old 2004 Honda Element with 143,000 miles on it! I am so happy about that.

With that being said, our new house is not a true status symbol. Unless we strive to get ahead of the game, it would take 30 years to pay off our new house; I would be 63 years old.

That’s why it’s going to be one of our new challenges to figure out strategic ways to pay off our mortgage early. In a strange way, it’s something I look forward to.

I recognize that for the first 15 years of that 30 year mortgage, the overwhelming majority goes straight to interest, not to the principle. I’m very passionate about taking advantage of the situation by paying as much as we can on the principle whenever we can.

Until we pay off our new house, however many years it ends up taking, our new house is just like any other financed, perceived “status symbol” a person can have.

Love,

Daddy

Leave a comment Posted on October 5, 2014October 6, 2014 parenting, Storytelling, Uncategorized

Dear Jack: Seeing The 1st Construction Of Our New House

3 years, 10 months.

Dear Jack,

It was exactly 8 years ago tonight that Mommy and I fatefully met each other at the taping of an episode of CMT’s Crossroads, featuring Lindsey Buckingham and Little Big Town.

Here we are now, 8 years later; with you, nearly 4 years old.

Back on September 7th, in my 1st letter announcing our family’s new home purchase, I included pictures of the broken ground and foundation. (See Dear Jack: We’re Building A New House In Spring Hill, TN as well as Our 2nd Visit To Our “New House”/ 2014 Lexus GS 450h: Family Friendly Review.)

Well, about a month later, it’s time to update those photos. But first, a quick video I made…

Yesterday we had made the journey to Sprill Hill to check in on the status on the building process. I expected very little progress, if any.

In fact, I was quite surprised when Mommy pointed at our house. At first I thought we were on the wrong street somehow.

Seeing this progress was a great encouragement to me. It’s easy for the process of selling our current townhome, plus the thought of the move itself, to overshadow the fun parts of this.

But just look- this is our house “being born.”

I particulary enjoyed the view out the windows from upstairs. I was able to get a good view of the farmland behind our lot, as well as a view of our next door neighboor’s background; to get an idea of what ours will look like as well.

There’s no doubt this is a scary process, though. I admit that at any given second, I am sort of expecting this to somehow fall through.

However, we’ve went through the budget more times than we can count and we know we can truly afford this new home and still have a decent amount of cash going into our savings. It’s very important to us we don’t become “house poor”; meaning all our paychecks just go into paying the mortgage every month.

Of course, we drive 10 year-old used Hondas, we don’t eat out at restaurants, we don’t have cable TV or smart phones, and the electronics we do own are laughably (!) outdated. So to say the least, we are an extremely frugal family.

If we hadn’t become as ridiculously conservative with our money as we needed to in order to get out of the $60K debt we had worked our way in, there’s no way we could have ever gotten ahead… to get to where we are today.

So having lived through that blessed/cursed learning curve that so many couples in their late 20s (at the time) have to encounter when it comes to the budget, or the lack thereof, we are now (in our early 30s) able to start catching glimpses of what Dave Ramsey has always preached on:

“Live like no one else now so that later, you can live like no one else.”

Based on my financial mistakes in the past, I guess there’s part of me that feels I don’t deserve this house.

Even now, I personally feel… hesitant… about showing info and pictures about our family’s new house.

But it’s important to me that I not only show you this “footage” for future nostaglic and historic purposes, and that I teach you to be as annoyingly frugal as I am… but also because you have many family members on both sides of the our family that want to see the updates on our house.

As for you, you’re still trying to understand that the model home is not actually our new home.

Love,

Daddy

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