My First Home

I was a single 26 year old guy when I made the decision to buy a house. I remember the day vividly when I chose the lot I wanted to build on.  It was October of 2002 when I signed the paperwork to start building.  My closing date was March 13th of 2003 and I was excited to have in my possession the keys to my new home.  Of course my hand was all numb from all the signing I had to do at closing but it was worth it.  I have had several roommates which had its pros and cons.  The pros were mostly the income received from rent money and the socializing at home.  The cons were lack of privacy and the increase of wear and tear on appliances and things around the house.  The house has seen many cosmetic changes especially since I have been married.  Solar screens have been placed on all the windows.  They look good and serve a purpose as they help keep some of the Texas heat out.  Most of the light fixtures have been replaced.  All the door knobs have been replaced. The vinyl flooring has been removed from all the bathrooms and replaced with tile.  The carpeting has been removed from all the common areas and replaced with laminate flooring and rugs.  The landscaping has been completely redone.  All I can say is, WOW!  The house has come a long way!!  Buying a home is a very educational experience.  I was at the property almost every day watching the building process.  My biggest regret is that I had the opportunity to build the house on a culdesac.  I chose not to because I did not want to pay the $1,000 premium it would have cost to build there.  That was chump change and for resale, a home on a culdesac has more advantage.  My other regret was that I chose an electric stove over a gas stove.  Most people prefer gas to electric. Overall, I really do like my home.  When I was engaged to be married, my fiancee and I were considering buying a new home by the time we married simply to start new.  We decided against that as it did not make financial sense.  My wife and I do tease ourselves sometimes and go look at new homes on the weekends.  Although it is a tease as we are not looking to move at this time, this too is an educational experience because it helps us realize what we definitely would like to have in our next home.          


It will be an exciting day when our next home is purchased.  In the meantime, I will enjoy our current home.  =)

It's Movie Time!

This year is an exciting year for movies.  There are many movies coming out this year that I just can't wait to see!  Below is my must see list.  Then I will provide a list of movies I would like to see but will not break my heart if I miss them.


MUST SEE!

• The Avengers (May 4, 2012)
• Men In Black III (May 25, 2012)
• The Amazing Spider-Man (July 3, 2012)
• The Dark Knight Rises (July 20, 2012)
• The Bourne Legacy (August 3, 2012)
• The Expendables 2 (August 17, 2012)
• Superman: Man of Steel (December 31, 2012)

WOULD LIKE TO SEE

• Wrath of the Titans (March 30, 2012)
• The Three Stooges (April 13, 2012)
• Safe (April 27, 2012)
• G.I. Joe 2: Retaliation (June 29, 2012)

Why So Many Fail In Home Based Businesses

Ever wonder why so many people that start a home based business fail to succeed?  I believe the main reason is lack of respect for their business. The initial investment to start the business was probably in the range of $200-500.  Not much overhead expenses and as a result easy to become complacent.  What if one started a traditional business?  One involving a storefront location, employees, inventory, etc.  Wouldn't you be more attentive with a traditional business where you have invested thousands of dollars?  Of course you would.  Don't get me wrong. I am a big fan of home based business.  Working from home is such a huge plus.  Just imagine the time you save and stress you eliminate by not dealing with rush hour commuting.  


Of course there are other reasons why one may not be successful in their home based business.  Perhaps their 9-5 jobs are more like a 7-7 job when you factor in from the time you get out of bed, getting ready and the commute to and from work.  Spending time with the family when you get home is important and also time consuming.  


It is time to start respecting your home based business!  If you truly realized the income potential and truly believe in yourself that you can succeed, then you would also realize that the reasons you always felt were holding you back from turning your home based business into a huge success were simply excuses.


So,


JUST DO IT!


NO FEAR!


BELIEVE IN YOURSELF!

DO I NEED IT OR WANT IT?

That is the question I will be asking myself every time I am considering a purchase. Do I need it or want it? I recently have been going over my finances and my income is decent, combined with my wife's it is great. So when I see these numbers on paper I ask myself, "Where does our money go?".  First, I redid the budget to see what our fixed expenses were.  I usually do that frequently so I can see if there is any way I can cut expenses.  Then I look at our checking account past history and past credit card statements to see where we have been spending money.  We try to pay for everything in cash or debit and try to limit use of our credit cards.  Looking at hard numbers on paper really opens up my eyes.  I see a lot of room for improvement in the budget.  I noticed that my wife and I dine out too much.  I also notice that there are random purchases for things we can do without.  I add these numbers and they are significant.  How else could I have applied these funds?  Savings sounds good.  Why not increase what we are putting in savings?  What about giving?  There are many in need of simple things we take for granted such as a hot meal or a warm coat.  Saving more for retirement is also a great idea.  I can't help but laugh when someone tells me they are going to depend on social security for their retirement.  I am sorry but have they been keeping up with the news?  Social Security may not even be around and even if it is, it will not be nearly enough for someone to live on.  

I firmly believe that if you are wise with your finances that regardless of recessions or unexpected expenses, you will be fine.  My goal this coming new year is to be more attentive with our finances.  Next time I am contemplating a purchase, I will surely be asking myself,

"DO I NEED IT, OR WANT IT?"

Some Of My Favorite Movie Quotes

I enjoy quoting movie quotes.  Some quotes are inspirational, others funny, and others just good.

"No. Try not.  Do or do not.  There is no try!"  -  Yoda (Star Wars)


"Your focus determines your reality."  -  Qui-Gon Jinn (Star Wars)


"The ability to speak does not make you intelligent."  -  Qui-Gon Jinn (Star Wars)


"Size matters not.  Look at me.  Judge me by size do you?"  -  Yoda (Star Wars)


"May the Force be with you."  - (Star Wars)


"It's not who I am underneath, but what I do that defines me."  -  Batman/Bruce Wayne (Batman Begins)


"And why do we fall, Bruce?  So we can learn to pick ourselves up."  -  Thomas Wayne (Batman Begins)


"Oh, and by the way, the suit, it wasn't cheap.  You oughta know, you bought it."  -  Joker (The Dark Knight)


"Why so serious?"  -  Joker (The Dark Knight)


"You guys want to get pancakes?"  -  Marvin Boggs (Red)


"Open the pig!  Open the pig!"  -  Frank Moses (Red)


"I kill people, dear."  -  Victoria (Red)


"At age 11, I audited my parents.  Believe me, there were some discrepancies, and I was grounded."  -  Allen Gamble (The Other Guys)


"I'm like a peacock, you gotta let me fly!"  -  Terry Hoitz (The Other Guys)


"Gentlemen, you have two choices: Mamma Mia or Jersey Boys."  -  David Ershon (The Other Guys)


"What do you wear, size 3?  Bring it happy feet!"  -  Gunner Jensen (The Expendables)


"I need a raise."  -  Yin Yang (The Expendables)


"Everything is harder for me.  When I'm hurt, wound is bigger, cause I'm smaller.  When I travel, I need to go farther."  -  Yin Yang (The Expendables)


"I love it when a plan comes together."  -  Col. John 'Hannibal' Smith (The A-Team)


"I'm B.A. and you're gonna be unconscious."  -  Sgt. Bosco 'B.A.' Baracus (The A-Team)


"Yes we have weapons.  No you may not wand us."  -  Lynch (The A-Team)


"You spin me right round baby, right round!"  -  Captain 'Howling Mad' Murdock (The A-Team)


"Light bulb."  -  Gru (Despicable Me)


"You may run the risks, my friend, but I do the cutting.  We cut down my percentage - uh, cigar? - liable to interfere with my aim."  -  Blondie (The Good, The Bad,and The Ugly)


"You see, in this world there's two kinds of people, my friend.  Those with loaded guns and those who dig.  You dig."  -  Blondie (The Good, The Bad,and The Ugly)


"When you have to shoot, shoot.  Don't talk."  -  Tuco (The Good, The Bad,and The Ugly)


"I don't know who you are.  I don't know what you want.  If you are looking for ransom, I can tell you I don't have money.  But what I do have are a very particular set of skills, skills I have acquired over a very long career, skills that make me a nightmare for people like you.  If you let my daughter go now, that will be the end of it.  I will not look for you, I will not pursue you.  But  if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you."  -  Bryan (Taken)


"Hakuna Matata"  -  Timon (The Lion King)

Why Direct Selling?

There are just about 14 million Americans involved in direct selling having generated around $30 billion in revenue.  Got your attention yet?  Warren Buffet the billionaire investor and one of the world's wealthiest men started investing in several direct selling companies.  Would you take financial advice from Buffet?  I would.  He has also declared that, "Energy deregulation will be responsible for the largest transfer of wealth in American history."  I loved hearing that statement since I am a part of a direct selling company taking advantage of the deregulated energy market.  


What is direct selling otherwise known as network marketing, multilevel marketing, or relationship marketing?  For those of you that had this thought, "pyramid scheme", I will get to you in a moment. Direct selling is the sale of a product or a service, person to person, away from a fixed retail location. The person doing the selling is an independent associate whose focus is to sell and recruit other associates into the business.  I would even say that recruiting should be the primary focus as the selling will come naturally through recruiting.  The reason for recruiting new associates is that through their sales, you will receive residual income or passive income.  This is how most get wealthy.  Is money important?  Do we all need money?  We sure do but I have also discovered something else just as important.  Would you like to take a guess?  If you did guess TIME then you are correct.  I currently do also work a "9-5" job.  It takes me about an hour to get to work and another hour to get back home.  So I work an 8 hour day and spend another 2 hours commuting.  How are your stress levels in rush hour traffic? Do you find yourself tired when you get home with no energy to spend quality time with family or friends?  Are you also doing work at home and taking on extra projects so that you will be noticed and possibly be considered for a promotion?  Do you become upset when someone else less deserving gets that promotion?  Tired of office politics?  I want to spend quality time with my family.  I want to be available for someone in need socially and financially.  I want to be more involved in church and other charities.  Working in direct selling gives you both money and time.  Just to be clear, you do have to work hard with any direct selling venture you take on especially in the beginning.  You work hard to build the business, your business, and as you successfully grow the business will sustain itself meaning passive income will come to you regardless of whether you are working, on vacation, retired, playing golf, or whatever else you like to do in your spare time.


Direct selling is NOT a get rich quick business.  Any company that presents it as such should signal a red flag.  It is NOT about you buying a ton of products up front.  It is NOT expensive to get into.  It is NOT for the lazy.  You still have to work at it if you want to see growth.  It is NOT a pyramid.  A pyramid scheme is a non-sustainable business model that requires you to recruit people under you in order for you to make money without the selling of any product or service.  In a direct selling business, recruitment is required BUT you as the recruiter does not make a dime unless the associates you have recruited make money off the products or services they have sold.  The difference here is that in a direct selling business model, both you and the associate you have recruited benefit financially.  It is a win-win situation.  In a pyramid, only the person who has done the recruiting has made any money.  Oh, and by the way, pyramids are illegal.


Several reasons to consider direct selling:


1. The moment you join a direct selling company, you are in business. YOUR BUSINESS!
2. You do not have to reinvent the wheel.  The direct selling company you have joined has already figured out how you to work the business.
3. You are not alone!  You have joined a business under someone else and have the support of the team you have joined.  Remember direct selling is a win-win business.
4. You will make new friends.  As stated in reason 3, you will be part of a team all with the same goals as you.
5. Direct selling may be the ideal or ultimate people business.  What makes you successful in this business is the desire to help other people. WIN-WIN!
6. Having your own business grants you many tax incentives.
7. You make your own hours.
8. You are the boss.
9. It can be a family business.  Your family can be involved.
10. Make residual or passive income!  


In today's economy, people are hurting to make ends meet.  Direct selling can be the answer.  Whether you are looking to make an extra $500 a month or want to pursue it full time, the income possibilities are endless.

Olympic Airlines

For my Greek friends,

Very funny!