Buy Back the Block - Rick Ross

Give the Children their Medicine with Sugar in it....

I'm not a huge fan of the current climate in rap music. Today's music has way to much killing, drug dealing and womanizing for an old man like myself. Now that's not to say I don't enjoy ratchet car turn-ups but I can't personally listen to it all the time! On a recent trip during thanksgiving I came across this Rick Ross record " Buy Back the Block". When you get Rick, 2 Chainz and Gucci on one song you know there will be ratchetness BUT these three black kings give knowledge to the youth in between the ratchetness on this song. This song will hopefully push the young kings into realizing that they need to have OWNERSHIP! 

                                                                  Buy Back the Block

Thankful for friends and Booze.....

Thankful for friends and Booze.....

Tonight is the night (word to Betty Wright), the biggest drinking holiday of the year. Millions of people across the country will be returning home for thanksgiving weekend today and thanks to social media, majority of them will be planning unofficial class reunions at local bars and clubs. We live in a busy world and unfortunately we don’t get to hang with our hometown friends as often as we’d like to. For the majority of the year we like engagement announcements, wedding and baby pictures on Instagram until tonight when we can hang out with our friends in person like it was 1994. I’m literally planning such a meeting myself so I thought I’d share with you a few things to keep in mind….

Location

Keep in mind your hometown has likely changed a lot and even though it will always be home to you it likely is no longer as you remember it. So make sure you understand where things are now before you agree to a meet up with friends. If you read this blog often you know how much I’m against drunk driving, it’s one of the stupidest thing a person can do (the other is riding with someone who is drunk). You don’t want to sign yourself up for a bar across town knowing that the drinks will be flowing pretty heavy all night long. Your thanksgiving will really be ruined if you have to get bailed out of jail by your dad thanksgiving morning (but it would also allow the family to not talk about politics during dinner). So pick a location that is close to you or a heavy uber/taxi area.

Find a place that has the best drink special or willing to give your large group a discount. It’s worth a try to ask and you lose nothing by asking. Once you do all the leg work of the prep, pass the info to the group to help sell your case for choosing that bar/venue. I’m willing to bet my life, that everyone will be more than happy to enjoy your cost saving efforts.

Money

It’s the holiday season and you’ve likely been in the holiday spirit since October 1st, but it’s important to not spend a year’s worth of  savings in 3 months. The holidays are a slippery slope, you don’t want to put yourself in a hole that you will spend the next year digging out of because you got “glad hands” during the holiday season (“glad hands” is country talk, apologies to the city folk). Basically don’t get to the bar tonight and spend a bunch of money on shots for people just because you’ve been stunting on IG all year, so you feel the need show your antics in person. Set a limit for yourself to spend tonight and go get that money in cash from the ATM. Once you’ve spent your cash, your evening spending is done. Keep the debit/credit card in your pocket for an unforeseen emergency. I know you will get the urge to buy drinks because I struggle with that myself. I enjoy keeping the party going even if it is at my expense. But when it comes to buying drinks at the bar you need to be selective or else you’ll be buying drinks all night. If someone buys you a drink then sure return the favor on the next round. But don’t offer every long lost friend you encounter tonight a drink.

Curfew

I know you’re an adult and you can come in anytime you want. But tonight you need to come home at a respectable time. In my house my father is always the good cop! I could come home at 5 AM with half the bar with me and he would laugh it off and tell my guest to not wake my mother. Now if I try that with my mother, we will have joint funeral for everyone including my father. Parents often don’t say anything about you coming in late during the thanksgiving holiday because they want you to enjoy coming home; you should take in to account their feelings. Even though you’re an adult, your parents still worry about what you’re doing while running the city night life. So you can put their minds at ease by coming home at a respectable time tonight. You will also benefit from your mother getting extra sleep because she will be able to devote proper energy into the meal for tomorrow. We all love our friends but your friends can come visit you if they really miss you. Make this weekend about your parents and family, spend more time at home than in the bar!

Have a safe and Happy Thanksgiving folks! 

 

 

Let's discuss waxing...

Hey ladies, lets talk about waxing…… I consider myself a feminist, I support and love women. I believe the strength of any nation can be judged off the lives of their women. Even though I believe women are much stronger than men in many situations, I enjoy engaging in "friendly" discussions about the differences between women and men. One of these discussions got me in trouble recently and caused me to have to get waxed. So recently I walked into a waxing shop and laid down to get my chest waxed. Thankfully for company policy an audience wasn’t allowed, but there is a video floating around of the whole chest waxing experience. So leaving out of this experience I have a couple of questions for the ladies (and men) that get waxed. Now my chest has never felt as smooth since the day I was born, so I can understand why people would like the feel of a fresh wax. And to the dismay of many people I realized it didn’t really hurt that bad.  But my issue is the price. Just for a chest waxing cost $60…. I couldn’t do that every 4 weeks personally. Too much money lost just for a smooth chest that only isn't put on display often. Now if I was a young guy running around with my shirt off, then sure I’d wax up before a trip to Vegas. But I’m entering my dad bod years, so I don’t think I should be spending $60 to achieve this feeling. As a feminist I understand that there are a few things that I will never understand but I have to support a womans choice to do them. Waxing is one of them even though I’ve never rubbed a womans leg and said  “girl you’ve shaved your legs, I don’t think we can be together” but I understand it makes women feel good. So just by that fact, it’s none of my business what they choose to do even if I personally along with many other men cant tell the difference. My only suggestion is we must find a way to do this in a cheaper way. I don’t know the cost for waxing for more than a chest,  but I imagine it’s more than $60. So ladies if you enjoy waxing, find a cheaper way to do this. Following my waxing I was educated on home wax verse commercial hot wax, and realize that doing it from home really isn’t a safe or effective option. Lets think of some options like finding a cheaper place for waxing, a coupon,  or buying multiple waxes up front for a price break. Enjoy what you love doing ladies and gentlemen, but you have to find a way to save money doing those things that make you happy.

Veterans Day is for the VETS

I support the veterans of this country and I support any initiative assisting the lives of veterans. Many restaurants offer a free meal for vets on Veterans Day and stores offer discounts. Which I love! While it’s crazier than a mad house anywhere in public on those days but I enjoy knowing that the people who sometimes pay the ultimate sacrifice can enjoy a meal or a discount. I mean it’s the least we can do for the people who keep us free. I hate seeing vets unable to find jobs or homeless while some millionaire trust fund baby skips out paying taxes. I encourage every vet to get out there and enjoy every few meal you can on Veterans Day! What I don’t encourage or agree with is people who attempt to get these perks without serving in the military! For those of you that don’t know, government access cards for civilian employees look a lot like the id for active duty service members. Undoubtly each year you will have some jerk who hasn’t seen a day of boot camp putting their civilian CAC on the counter for a veteran’s discount. Nothing makes my blood boil more than disrespect, and I deem this as totally disrespectful! I’m all about being “cheap” but you should NEVER seek to be this cheap! Come on folks, you can't be that strapped for cash that you have to go into ihop for a free meal. I mean seriously, you shouldn’t do this! Imagine speaking with a vet from the booth next to you and they find out you’ve never spent a day in the military? Can you imagine how that would feel? That would make me want to hide under a rock! The only way to reap any benefits on this day for the non veteran patrons is to take your vet out on this day. You aren't paying for that meal but you get to spend some time with your loved one on this special day. Make sure you  thank these men and women for their service and treat them with love and respect each and every day, not only on veterans day. 

This ain't Got Nothing to do with Money - Chance the Rapper

Chance the Rapper

I am a huge fan of his music and an even bigger fan of his business moves. For those of you who have been living under a rock, Chance the Rapper is the biggest star in music (I am not here to debate this, its fact). The thing that makes him so great is his subject matter, he offers a clear positive message for the world during a time of anger, rage and misguidance. Chance has given me music I can listen to in the car with my niece and nephews while appearing "hip" to the new music star to the youngsters. I forgot to mention that this unicorn of hip hop is from Chicago and doesn't glorify violence in his music! (That's like a dude from New York not owning a Yankees fitted hat.) While his music is a breath of fresh air, his business is revolutionary. Chance isn't signed to a record label and is showing no signs of ever being on one, even though the president of the United States has urged him to sign one to profit off his artform. What Chance has realized is his worth and the value of controlling yourself. Master P famously said "If someone is willing to offer you a million dollars to own you, what do you think you're worth". Clearly Chance has heard this quote. Chance releases his music for free and chooses to make money off his ticket sales and merchandise during the concerts. Putting him in control of his music from cradle to grave, which no other artist can say they have at this point. My favorite artist of all time Prince, changed his name in part due to the fact that he wanted to control the release of his music how he wanted to. Even today Lil Wayne is fighting to release the Carter 5 because his parent record label, Cash money wont allow the release. So I admire this young man for his ability to control himself, to truly be his own boss instead of a modern day share cropper (Yes, I just equated the music business to share cropping). 

Chance was on Jimmy Fallon recently performing a record off his last mixtape with every artist from my IPOD playlist.  And as I recently told a very good friend of mine, Chance makes Gospel music but calls himself a rapper. Gospel music is for the soul, it heals and inspires. Chance's music does all of these things.

Take a moment and listen to this amazing arrangement of the record blessings

Chance the Rapper: Blessings (Reprise)

Advice for the Thugs

While my job offers a really good insurance policy  a conversation with my financial planner landed on  the need for more life insurance. He suggested that I get an additional policy to provide for my future family in the event of my untimely death. As with most financial planners he gave me every worst case scenario one could think of in an effort to make me see it from his point of view.   While he was talking (ranting) about the importance of securing my family's future, I couldn't help but think about other people who should get life insurance and the number one group that came to my mind was THUGS.... By the traditional meaning of the word, thugs aren't supposed to care about anyone or anything. BUT my dear thugs I think you should hear me out…... You're out here living fast doing what makes your little thug heart happy, unfortunately all that robbing, stealing and killing is gonna catch up to you one day. When karma does catch up to you, you want to leave enough money so that your family can have more than just RIP t-shirts. So I suggest you get a life insurance policy. I know you may say "hey that's not gangsta", but what's more gangsta than making money off your own death?! You'll be right up there with Tupac! For an amount as small as $50 you could provide your family with money to change the entire family tree, they’d be able to avoid the path of crime you have chosen and could be functioning members of society. Most of you thugs claim you want a better life for your thug-love offspring, well this is a way to ensure your crime filled life isn't cut short in vain. Do something for the hood and do something for yourself.....get a life insurance policy. Because we  all know how this is gonna end, death or in jail. That's the only way this will end. (No you can't rap like jay-z, so stop passing out mix tapes in between your criminal activities). So get a life insurance policy and accept that a life of crime can only be good when it ends and there's a life insurance policy to look forward to.

 

Credit Coach Jeanne Kelly Interview With The Breakfast Club

The Breakfast Club - Credit Coach Jeanne Kelly

I respect what the Breakfast Club has done over the years. It's the perfect mixture of rachetness and righteousness. One day they could have someone from Love and Hip (If you watch that then we cant be friends) and the next week they can have someone to educate or provoke thought. The discussion with Jeanne Kelly is on the righteousness side. My thoughts on credit are evolving due to my growing knowledge of the Dave Ramsey's teachings. Like it or not you will need a good credit score because no matter how much you're able to save I doubt you could come up with $250K in cash to purchase a house.  Jeanne Kelly answers questions from the Breakfast Club allowing the listener to be a fly on the wall. Check out the below link on how to improve or fix your credit.

Credit Coach Jeanne Kelly Interview With The Breakfast Club




 

Don’t watch pockets, watch moves

Don’t watch another mans pockets, was something that was echoed through my childhood and adult life. "Don’t count that man’s pockets", I’d hear that even if it was a discussion about pro players signing million dollar contracts. It sounds silly and may not make sense, but I understand it.

 Don’t be concerned with what the next person is doing financially. Run your own race and be concerned with that and that alone. You’ll spend too much time on linkedin trying to figure out what moves your peers are making when you should be gaining skills to increase your own net worth! I say all of that to say this… you need to stop watching pockets and watch moves…….

I once had a  top level supervisor, who undoubtedly made double what I was bringing home. I’m not counting his pockets but just stating the obvious (LOL). I mean the man had a reserved parking spot at the building! In my rush into the office one day I stopped and noticed his car was parked in his spot as it normally is but for the first time ever I NOTICED what type of car it was….. a 2012 Honda Accord. Now this isn’t a dig at Honda Accords as I think they’re one of the most dependable cars on the market. I can't lie though, I wasn’t expecting that to be the car of choice for our company's CEO. I def wasn't counting his pockets but I undoubtedly took notice of his MOVE. Could this man  easily afforded a Bentley? Of course, I'm out here making USED mercedes benz money I think its safe to say he was easily making Bentley money (Still not counting pockets LOL). There's a reason why CEOs are CEOs. They may not always be smarter than their employees but they have enough knowledge to know how to get to the top and stay there. You need to watch those moves that the top tier leaders make and see how you can apply that to your life. If someone asked me if I wanted 10 million dollars or a chance to shadow Warren Buffett for awhile, that is an easy answer. I would love to watch and learn why he does the things the way he does, his thought process behind each and every business transaction he has his hand in. Those lessons learned can be applied to everyday life and assist with not only saving money but making it!

The fact he wasn't driving a foreign car means nothing . It also means nothing as far as the respect we had for him. I recognized the smart move and starting watching other moves he was making. All of his smart MOVES put him in a position to retire by the young age of 50. Last time I heard about him, he was in Miami living the life, getting his kids through college and paid for two weddings within this last year alone. I am not in this man's pockets so I do not know his net worth but I do know that he drove a economy level car to work every day and retired early.

Remember, watch moves not pockets

 

Chill with the iphones fam...

Chill with the iPhones fam...

First allow me to disclose the fact that I’m typing this blog from an iphone. I’ve been an Apple user since my blackberry died a few years back and had it not been for it’s untimely death….I’d still be using it. I don’t care what you consider "uncool". Because guess what? Your “cool” ass isn’t paying my cell phone bill (side note: blackberry messenger was the greatest curve tool in the world….. "Naw you cant have my number but here is my BBM").  The older I get the more I realize the validity in my mother’s rants about  the desires of my youthful days (except for my boxed Chevy Caprice, I needed that car...outkast albums didn't sound the same in my Mitsubishi). Apple gets us every other year, millions run out to buy the new iPhones ditching their "old" devices just to sign up for a new contract they have to spend the next couple years paying off  ( or most of your parents have to pay). Listen to me when I say this, knock that shit off man. Lets be honest here, do you need a new phone? Like seriously? The new iPhone may have one or two upgrades but you can surely  get  by with updated software. And guess what? Your phone will continue to be just as dry as your old iPhone. Having the latest phone does not increase the amount of times your crush calls you.  It does nothing new for you except give a few IG likes when you post a picture of the box following the purchase.  At this point in your life you should be concerning yourself with buying Apple stock or designing something an app you can benefit from iPhone purchasing craze. I don’t know what that product is but I’m sure with enough time you could come up with something. There are things in life that we will unfortunately have to be consumers on and there’s no way around it. But what we can control is how often we buy those things.  As I mentioned previously I have an iphone and if I didn't need to be connected to the web for my job, I’d chuck this thing for a cricket phone . I don’t need face time, they have computers for that and at this stage of life I don’t want anyone interrupting my Netflix binge marathons or dinner so a cricket phone would be perfect. My point is it’s time for you to stop chasing apple products causing you to faulter in other areas. Focus on getting your student loans paid off or add to your emergency savings account. Because it doesn’t matter how new and cool that phone is, it’s not going to benefit you one bit if you don't have an apartment to plug it into to charge. And fellas the ladies will love you and your cool iPhone until they realize you're texting them from the comfort of your parents basement....


Do better folks. I love you

 

Keep Money Smelling Mothy?

                                  Keep money smelling mothy?

While I know he's currently being hated by the entire world right now (#Lemonade) , I'm not afraid to say Jay-Z's music raised me. While I've never met the man, his music was the soundtrack to my teenage years. I rap entire albums by heart!  I remember where I heard songs for the first time! I even was willing to lie and say that Nas’s diss song “Ether” was trash (Honest moment: greatest diss song ever)!  Now that you understand the level of a jay-z stan I am. Imagine being a young man and hearing "keep money smelling mothy" on a Jay-Z record. One interpretation is that HOV was telling his audience to save their money and seeing as his “alleged” drug dealing audience couldn’t take their drug profits to the bank, Jay-z suggested that they put the money in their closet. The mothy scent comes from the moth balls that old people line their houses with to ensure that moths don’t eat their treasured garments.  It was the game plan for what I needed to hear for what to do with my money. I knew just what I was gonna do with my money, hide it in my closet. (To the would be jack boys, I have since gave up this practice) Now if you have any financial brain you understand why this isn't a good idea. First Jay-z was talking about putting his “alleged” drug earnings into his closet for safe keeping because let's be honest a young black man with no job would be a little suspicious walking into a bank depositing over a $100k. And since I was a 15 year old kid depositing his lose change from his part time job it  wouldn’t cause any red flags, I should’ve input this money into the bank.  Based off what I’ve learned from watching crime shows, the life of a drug dealer can be an unpredictable one. One minute you can be in the club popping bottles of Ace of Spades and the next you’re sitting in that cold cell. While we non drug dealers don’t have those type of lows, we can understand why Jay-Z would advised his community to save for that rainy day. Life is a long marathon and there will undoubtedly be lows. It’s important to always be saving money because just like drug dealers can’t forecast police raids, you can’t forecast loss of job or medical emergencies.

Most banks give you at least 1 % to keep your money in their banks. But if you know you’re not going to need the money lock it away in certificates which offer a higher rate of return. Certificates are no-risk and moderate reward savings account. But it allows you to gain higher interest for money that would be just sitting there in a lower interest rate savings accounts. By this point you should have an emergency fund saved up (at least 6 months, but now start working for 12!) so now if you're saving to buy a house save that money away in a certificate allowing you to gain compound interest on money you know you won't need for a couple years. It’s also saves you from losing what you put in. The only drawback is having that money locked away for the length of the certificate. Certificates can be ended sooner but there are penalties for early withdraw.

I take all of my dollars and change to the bank, I don't allow this money to sit long in jars because I'll miss the potential interest. So instead of having a huge coin bucket, I empty the change out and take it to the bank periodically. While coin jars are great mindless savings accounts, they don’t provide the compound interest that a bank would. Am I talking about making thousands of dollars off of the change that’s usually left in your car? HELL NO. I’m talking about making the most you can off the money you have. This can be a lot or it can also be a little bit depending on the funding you have in the account.  But what I can tell you is that you won’t be making any money off of the money just sitting in your closet. You don't deal drugs, (if so, stop polluting your community)..... So don't be scared to take your crinkled dollar bills to the bank each week/month. Don't account for that money in your normal savings, but create a certificate to immediately   toss the funds into for savings.  By locking the change away you force yourself to forget about the money and continue working for more savings. Of course you’re not saving for event lose your re-up or lawyer fews like the old jay-z was but you need to have a similar mindset.

 Thanks for the life lessons Jay-Z!

-@theNewCheap

What to do when you get promoted

I was blessed to be raised the way I was. While my parents did an amazing job with instilling values that have allowed me literally to see the world, they weren’t the only people I looked to for guidance. Per usual, children and parents bump heads as they grow up and the child thinks they know everything and parents don’t know a thing. In those times of being a prodigal son, my older cousins were my role models. Each of them very different but ironically all the same. As an adult I realized my cousins were raised with the same morals and values that were instilled in me due to the fact our parents grew up in the same household. Most of the time when I speak to my mentors I just listen after I ask an initial question. One of my cousin, who we will call Crazy Panther Fan (CPF), I do most of the talking. This cousin isn’t much of a talker, he’s a thinking man. And I’ve realized that if I say something off course, he’ll give me a look followed by a Jesus like rhetorical question to make me rethink my previous stance.  So rewind to five years ago, I was just starting my career and spending a lot of time around CPF. I mentioned how I was expecting a raise and how it was going to make things a lot easier for me move around with the additional money. What CPF said to me is one of the reasons I started this blog for my quest for financial knowledge. Looking me dead in my eyes he said “You made it through last year on your current salary, so do you really need the extra money?”, “Save your raise. Treat it as if you’re still working off your old salary”. As I drove home once again I realized he was right. I didn’t really need the money sure it’s nice receiving that raise but I didn’t really need it to survive. What I needed to do was figure out how I could improve my life style on the prior year’s salary. And ladies and gentlemen that’s what I’ve done. I created an auto debit for every pay increase that goes right to my savings. I don’t even let the money take a pit stop in my checking account. My savings account is with a different banking system, which I don’t see regularly so I don’t get tempted to spend it. Am I hurting for anything?? Nope. I go on more vacations than 1 human being should be allowed to take. I say that to say this, just because you have the money doesn’t mean you have to spend it. Just because you aren’t spending your raises doesn’t mean you’re not living life. You just have to get creative with your spending and explore where you can cut corners.

 

Ladies let’s have a discussion.....

Your man loves you and the whole world knows it! He’s checked every box you and those bitter single friends could come up with and smiled while doing it.  So with Valentine's Day coming up there's something we need to discuss... But first let me ask you a question, if I told you I'd give you $30 today but if you waited till tomorrow I'd give you $100…. What would you do? No brainer here, you would wait that one additional day for the extra $70. 

So ladies if you're willing to wait that one day, you could get 70% more stuff for Valentine's Day. We have to admit folks you know Valentine's Day is a joke. From the ladies sending themselves stuff to front likes they have a "bae" to the single girls posting love hate post on Instagram. Why buy into that?? Now this isn't a "Valentine's day doesn't make our relationship” speech that side chicks across the globe will hear, because you're actually gonna get something ladies.  But by waiting one day, you can get 3 times as much for your money. Stores mark down all of the Valentine's Day stuff the minute the clocks hits 12:01. And the smart Casanovas know this is the time to rack up on the manufactured love. Why does this matter for you ladies?? Because you get MORE and what lady doesn't like MORE?? So tell your man to skip the Valentine's Day purchase, and do it the day after when things are marked down at 70% off. Fellas use that money you saved to take her to dinner. If she's able to see past the BS of the floral and chocolate industry’s created holiday, then she deserves a nice dinner when places aren't crowded and menus are back to regular price. It’s important to remember that at the end of day your woman will want to spend some quality time on Valentine’s Day. Give her that time fellas because I’m pretty sure she’s doing everything in her power to make sure Super Bowl Sunday is a great one for your.

 

Rant in Progress - The Jonas Blizzard

I grew up different which is why I see the world a lot different than most. Maybe you grew up the same way and you're just as confused on the worlds current status. If you're not one of those people close out of this blog.


Prepare for a rant....

 I grew up around legal hustlers and illegal hustlers. I choose the legal route for my hustle because I saw the end result of the illegal hustle and the people who's raised me would kill me if I chose that route! As a youngster one of the legal hustles I had was cutting grass. I would go rent a lawnmower from the community center and walk up and down the neighborhood looking for grass to cut. This money allowed me to move around without having to ask my parents for cash. I felt independent, I felt empowered, I felt like a man. So as many of you know the east coast was hit with a blizzard this last weekend,( thanks for those that called and check on me and the family) so I was left to clean up 30 inches of snow. I'm no stranger to hard labor, and I enjoy it, but I also enjoy supporting hustlers. But there weren't any..... I spent Sunday morning cleaning off my car wondering why there weren't any teenagers offering to take over the job.

 If I was ten years younger and had 10,000 less miles on these knees I would've called all my friends and we would've walked door to door cleaning off spots. Shockingly the first day after the storm there weren't any kids outside cleaning! I was looking for kids to pay to get my car out of the parking lot. Sure I could've done it myself, but like I said I support the hustlers. I blame this on the parents of today. You spoil your kids too damn much. They don't know hard work, and a kid that doesn't know hard work will know government assistance. As a parent I would've gave my son the tools and taught him how to clean up the snow and set him on his way.
What does this have to do with saving money?? If you teach a man to fish he'll be able to feed himself... If you teach your children how to make money, you won't have to support grown ass people!

Update:
I finally met hustlers. While I was cleaning out my spot for day number two. I met some young men who were looking to make some extra money before going into the military this summer. They provided the price for cleaning out my car and did the work. As I mentioned I respect hustlers, in fact it excites me to see hustlers. I gave them double for what they offered to do the job. Why? Because they get it! They understand that living a New Cheap life means making more money and the Jonas blizzard was a perfect opportunity for making money. I respect that!
Raise your children to be hustlers.... Rant over... Now back to your day