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This morning on the drive in to work I was listening to Sqwak Box, as I do most mornings.  At the 8:30am the jobless claims numbers were released for the previous week.  But something happened this morning that was not expected, the jobless claims was higher than expected, by several thousand (read the story from Marketwatch).  For the record, I am not an economist, I am just an average person that takes interest in what is going on in our economy, because it has a tremendous impact on everything that we do. The jobless claims numbers were released and the pre-market stock numbers dropped. Why, because the stock traders were not expecting the increase in jobless claims and maybe it caused a sense of fear or uncertainty?

The biggest problem with reading these numbers, in my opinion are two things:
1) Two weeks ago the jobless claims were revised from 380,000 to 388,000.
2) The weekly jobless claims that was released today came in at 386,000, up about 7,000 higher than expected, but these numbers factor in seasonal employees.

The problem that I have with the seasonal employees is just that, they are seasonal. It is like factoring into the equation construction employees that file when the weather is bad. The jobless claims is always going to fluctuate, but I think until we change the way that the unemployment numbers are being reported, i.e. only the people that are currently receiving unemployment are factored into the number, not those that have given up on looking for jobs and/or those whose benefits have run out, will we ever have a true gauge on our workforce.

I have seen friends recently that have been included in the jobless claims numbers week after week and it just makes me feel very blessed to be in a situation where I am able to provide for my family. And I can only speak for myself, but those friends of mine that have been out of work, would have given anything for a job, but they just aren’t there. Employers are not hiring right now because of the uncertainty of our economy. Many were told time and time again, wait until after the election and we see what happens. Wait? People can not wait for 7 months without a job. People need to work now. Our country needs to take the necessary steps to get our workforce back employed. The “shovel ready projects” that President Obama promoted and I think that he put it best, were not “shovel ready” after all.  The Keystone Pipeline would have employed 20,000 people, but that was shut down.  And this isn’t an attack against the President. But our country needs leaders that can help get our workforce employed again.  We need to create tax incentives for small businesses to hire more workers. We need to give big companies tax breaks to bring their manufacturing jobs back over to the US and hire Americans that want to work, that need to work.  President Obama inherited problems from President Bush, no question about it. And I think that both are equally to blame. I think that it is time to put politics and political gain to the side and let’s do what is right for our country.

Look at it from a real and practical view: the more people that are out of work, means that there is less discretionary income being spent by people. That means that there are less family vacations being taken. There are fewer people going out to eat. Fewer cars being purchased. Fewer homes being purchased. According to an article that I recently read, schools are sending home at record numbers, food for children to eat over the weekend, OVER THE WEEKEND, because their families can not afford for them to eat.  It is all tightly woven together. No job = No money!

So tonight, when I go home and hug my kids and I will be grateful that I am not part of the jobless claims numbers this week. And I am sure that at some point in time, we will face a similar economic crisis in this country again and I will have to sit my boys down and explain all of this to them. Explain why their friends families are losing their homes. Explain why we are not going out to eat as much or going on vacation.

If you are out of work this week, I hope that you are able to find work soon. And if you are like me, who has a good job, feel blessed and don’t take it for granted, because it could be you tomorrow explaining to your children about the economy and why you can not go out to eat tonight, because you recently lost your job.

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I am tired of coming home at night and taking 5 minutes to go through the mail and half of it is just junk mail. At least daily I get offers from credit card companies offering me a new card. Here is the problem, I don’t want anymore credit cards. In fact, I’m trying to cut down my credit cards from 3 to 2. I was told about OptOutPrescreen.com , which will allow you to either Opt Out of pre-approved credit cards for either 5 years or permanently.

I filled out the form today for the 5 year opt out, I did not however provide my social security number. Hopefully this will not only reduce the number of offers that I get, but also help save me a few minutes everyday throwing away junk mail.

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Today, you turn 1, Happy Birthday! It seems like just yesterday I was in the waiting room and the nurse came in to get me to take me back to the OR. And within minutes, you were here. I remember your mom looking at me and saying how much she loved you and all I could think of was how wrinkly you were. But as I sit here today, I can not imagine my life without you.

There were a lot of challenges to get you here, but those are things that I’ll share with you when you get much older. I am just glad that you are here. You have brought a lot of joy to not only myself and your mom, but so many others as well. And I am sure that as you grow older, you will continue to do this as well.

Always remember be true to yourself, family comes first first and that no matter what, you are loved more than you will ever know.

We love you,

Mom & Dad

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I keep reading all of these posts online about Happy Tax Day! What exactly is so happy about it? Granted, this year, we are getting a refund, so it will be a good day, once we get the money. But there again, we filed our paperwork weeks before the deadline and we have to wait 8 – 10 weeks at a minimum before the money is sent to us. Meaning that the Government gets to keep earning interest on it for that period of time.

So Happy Tax Day to you and yours and as you raise your children, help them understand the importance of how they file their taxes, what they should declare for what they are claiming, etc. Because, I for one would like to make sure that I am close to breaking even every year, instead of getting a big refund 3 months after I file my taxes.

And if you do get a refund back this year, if you have debt, pay that down first, but put some away for a rainy day.

Happy Tax Day

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homeplateGrowing up as a kid in North Carolina, I lived for 2 things, Basketball and Baseball Season. And year round, I had either a basketball or baseball nearby and when it was too cold to be outside playing basketball, I was at the gym working on my fielding by throwing a ball against the wall. But more than just throwing a baseball against the wall, was watching games and following box scores.

Baseball season started around February and usually ended around December. I watched Cal Ripken, Jr. religiously to study how he watched the pitches and positioned himself for the hitter, planning where the ball would be hit.  I watched Don Mattingly, not only because I was a die hard Yankees fan, but because I loved the way that he hustled and approached the game as a leader. I also loved his swing, which inspired me to learn how to switch hit.

But something happened around high school. But I lost interest. I couldn’t watch ESPN Baseball Tonight anymore. I didn’t care to go to minor league games anymore. I even passed on going to major league baseball games, even when we had great seats.

But this year, this year is different. This year, for the first time in years, I have been excited about baseball season. This year, I’ll be able to watch games with my sons. This year, I will be able to take my sons to their first game, granted, it will more than likely be a minor league game, but it will be their first baseball game.  I have been waiting for this season, baseball season.

 

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My grandfather, the boys Great Grand Father and I were talking about how when he and my grandmother were married, it cost him $3.00. And then he was telling me stories about his time in WWII and coming back to North Carolina and buying a farm. And then a year later, my father was born.

These are stories that I will treasure forever and I only hope that my boys are old enough to really get to know my grand father. You see, he and I talk almost every Saturday, no matter what. We talk about his father, my great great grand father and what he was like. My grand father also talks about his mom, my great great grand mother, who I only vaguely remember, as she died when I was 5 and the pranks that he would pull on her. And then my grand father always likes to do two things on each call, 1) tell me stories about my father when he was a child and 2) give me some words of wisdom about raising my sons. Today, he shared with me that he had prayed that I have a son, but that he guessed that he over prayed since we had twins.

Every time you put those boys in my grand father’s arms, he lights up.  And even though he only sees them once every few months, he makes the most of his time with them. He talks to them as though they are my age. He tells them stories about what I was like as a child. He tells them about his wife who passed away several years ago, as he wants to make sure that they know who she was. He walks them around the house and shows them pictures, tells them stories and loves watching them smile.

I know that I have only a few years left of these Saturday calls, so I hope to get as much information from my grand father, because this is my heritage and my son’s heritage. The story about being married for $3.00 to my grand mother, I was the only one that he ever told that story to. These are the stories that I can’t wait to tell my sons when they get older.

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I got an expectant call this past week from my CPA, informing me of the nice tax refund that we are getting back this year. So the question that my wife discussed, was how to do we use this money?

So, here were the categories that we ultimately agreed upon:

1) Take 2/3s of the money and put towards credit cards – this will close out 2 credit cards, 2 store accounts, and reduces the balance of the remaining credit cards as well.
2) Take the rest of the money and split it the following way:
A. Church
B. Savings
C. Put money in the boys savings accounts
D. Use what is left for vacation and have a little fun

We made the decision together as to how we were going to use the tax refund, which is something that we had not done before. But, I have found it important to involve my wife more in the money decisions so that she can see where the money is going and where we are at financially.  Our financially goals have changed as we have gotten older and our priorities have changed.

We were fortunate that this year we are getting a nice tax refund that will help pay down our bills and more importantly, give us a cushion for our future.

So what are you doing with your tax refund this year?

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My wife and have been discussing the boys birthday party for a while now and I think that we have finally come to a decision on what we are going to do. Something that my wife and I have discussed numerous times, is that we want the boys to be raised that they realize that there are people less fortunate than they are and to appreciate what they have.  So, when we were talking about what we were going to do for the boys party, it was a no brainer, instead of gifts, we wanted donations made to the Children’s Hospital that the boys were born.

We were lucky, that even though the NICU doctors came and talked with my wife and I the night before the boys were born. They were just letting us know that NICU doctors would be in the delivery room, just in case and that the boys might have to spend time in the NICU. We were very lucky, because the doctors were there for about 5 minutes and checked the boys out and said that the boys were healthy enough that they didn’t need to be in the NICU. So many babies are not as fortunate. It was just the start of our many blessings that we have received with this boys.

Our goal is to raise at least $2,000 for the Children’s Hospital, if not more.  The money will help other children and families that are staying at the local hospital and make their stay a little easier. But my wife and I are going to also make a $300 donation in honor of our boys as well. We are doing this so that the boys will always know where they were born and where they spent the first 5 days of their life. I know that our boys will not remember their 1st birthday, but my hope, is that as they grow older and we share with them these stories, that they too will want to help others, others that are not as fortunate as they are are.

So what are you doing for your child’s birthday party? Are they getting gifts? Or are you encouraging them to give to others?

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How long does it take for your identity to be stolen? Most would think that it would take a while, but in reality, it takes seconds. Now, if it takes only a few seconds for someone to steal your identity, how long would you think that it would take to regain control and fix your credit? The reality, is that it takes a long time and in most cases, years.  So, today I made the decision to protect my families identity by purchasing a year of Equifax to safe guard my families identity and credit.

Years ago, I had my identity stolen, well, they made a good attempt, but I was able to stop it before too many accounts were opened. And this past week, we received both a state and Federal tax return from someone that was not either my wife or myself. For $29.95 a month, it was worth the peace and mind of not having to worry about watching our credit every month.  And the great thing with this new Equifax family plan, is that I am not only able to watch my credit, but also my wifes and my two sons.

$29.95 is well worth the peace and mind.

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April 5th, 2012 is Opening Day in Baseball. As a huge baseball fan, today marks the day that summer begins. I can’t wait until my boys get old enough for me to take them to their first opening day. There is nothing like walking into the ball park for the first time, seeing the freshly cut grass, and watching the teams take batting practice.

For a lot of fans, today marks the day, that they believe that their team will make a run for the World Series. Today, it marks a day of the start of a game that I love.

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