I’m Christian.  I believe that our Lord and Saviour died for our sins and rose again.  I believe that there will be a second coming of Jesus Christ.  It took me a while to become a believer – though I never doubted; I just questioned.  Is that the same thing?  I never tried to disprove.  I just tried to learn more.  What I did learn is simple.  Apply the teachings of Jesus Christ to your life – NOW.  It’s never too late.

I receive a verse of the day from www.biblegateway.com everyday and there are times that the verse of the day really speaks to me.  Or I take time to analyse it and apply it to my day.  I might be going through something at that moment, experiencing something that week.  Whatever it is, God does speak to me.  Here is the verse from today:

Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.

I’ve bolded and underlined what I believe is the application of today’s verse.  We love God, we love our brothers and sisters.  If we love God, we should love all of his creations – our brothers and sisters.  This is so important in today’s world as we STILL struggle with racism, hatred, jealousy of others.  Just because we look different, talk different, eat different – we should NOT HATE.  And then when this turns to violence, this is NOT LOVING GOD.  We can forgive – but we can never forget.

Have an awesome and blessed weekend!

Your brother in Christ – Jeff

When you think of planning your own wedding, do you really think you are able to do it on your own?  Are you really capable of managing multiple vendors?  Organising and prioritising all the various tasks that need to be completed?  Do you really know the appropriate timeline to achieve the wedding you dream of?  Planning a wedding can be an overwhelming responsibility, so why not let someone help you in the process so that you can enjoy the fun parts of the wedding – picking flowers, selecting your dress, choosing colours, etc.

Depending on the timeframe you have between the time you said ‘Yes’ and the date of the wedding, your wedding planner will help put together a timeline of what needs to get done and when it needs to be completed, so that on the day of your wedding, EVERYTHING will be all set to go without any issues.   Here’s an example of a wedding that will be in a year’s time.

Phase I – Month 1

• Develop guest list (this can be done before or after selecting the venue)
• Select venue/location (this will determine the timing of everything else)
• Create ‘Save the Date’ email/invitation (this needs to get out in the first month to allow your guests plenty of time to plan travel, hotels, etc.)
• Discuss theme of wedding (depending on your venue/location this might dictate or help you with the theme of the wedding)
• Develop a website, RSVP email address (not required, but a nice to have)

Phase II – Month 2 – 6

• Determine invitation design
• Select flower vendor and determine flower requirements
• Select bridal dress and shoes
• Select hair and makeup stylist
• Select bridesmaid dress style and colour
• Select videographer
• Select transportation
• Plan tea ceremony
• Plan hair combing ceremony
• Other

Phase III – Final Preparation

• Develop wedding day schedule
• Coordinate logistics with various vendors
• Develop photography and videographer schedule
• Purchase miscellaneous wedding day items (e.g., gift box, sign-in book, etc.)
• Schedule wedding rehearsal
• Other

Phase IV – Wedding Day

• Ensure flowers are delivered
• Ensure photographer and videographer are on schedule
• Ensure transportation is on schedule
• Other

Do you really need that cup of coffee from Starbucks every morning? How about that sandwich from Pret? Or that burrito from Chilango?  I know that you’re a baller and can afford not to bring your own lunch for the rest of your life.  You might also think it’s a bit anti-social and uncool to bring your lunch.  But do the math and you’ll see that you can save yourself about £4k annually (assuming you spend about £15 a day and work 5 days a week for a full year).  But even if you do this half the year, you can still save yourself £2k annually.  That’s a nice amount you can invest in the next year and make it work for you.  Or you can buy your g/f or wife something nice.  But think about it.  Even if you make a ton of money and I’m talking 6 plus figures, you can benefit from this.

I know that it’s convenient, but just think after 1,2,3 years you’ll have extra money in your pocket and that’s by just bringing your lunch.  Now that was pretty easy, huh?

But I’m sure you’re all wondering, well what am I going to eat then?  Honestly, if  you’re a high powered banker, consultant, doctor, lawyer, or whatever, I’m sure you are able to make a sandwich that Pret makes for you.  Now I’m not saying you can’t enjoy Pret or Chilango once in awhile, but think of the extra cash you’ll have.  You never know until you try it.

Another non-monetary benefit to this is that you’ll eat healthier, be healthier, and learn to take care of yourself!  Plus you’ll have the extra cash in your pocket that your colleagues who eat out everyday won’t have.

With rising costs in transportation and pretty much everything else you need, you can always control your eating habits.

Happy eating.

Cheers, Jeff

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I received a few suggestions that perhaps I need to take the 5 steps I laid out in yesterday’s post and provide a specific example where I was able to save money and reduce my annual recurring costs.  Hopefully this example helps. (In very simple, non-technical form)

Let’s take my mortgage for example.  Given the recent lower mortgage rates, I was looking into refinancing my 30 year to a 15 year to 1) Pay off my mortgage quicker and 2) Pay a lower monthly mortgage than currently.

The first step I took was to work with my current bank to see what rates and closing costs they were able to provide me.  From my experience, working with the same bank as your current loan should yield the most savings, but sometimes you may be able to find another bank with lower closing costs.

The second step is to compare what you have been offered by the various banks.  The trick here is that mortgage rates are always changing, so you’ll have to do most of your research in one day and conduct your analysis immediately to lock in the rate.  Now if you’re like me and like to gamble with even lower rates in the coming days, you can always just wait it out and do your research over the course of a week or 2.  The only risk there is that the rates will increase, thus payments will increase, and you end up saving less in the long run.  Closing costs pretty much stay the same and are always negotiable.

The third step, is to then lock in the rate with the bank of your choice.  Based on your comparative analysis in the second step, you should have an idea of which bank will offer you the best rate / monthly payment at the lowest closing costs.  Let’s focus on the closing costs for a moment here.  Even though from your comparative analysis it shows that the closing costs for one bank is higher than the other, doesn’t mean you can’t go after and lower those closing costs.  Always do a line by line review of the final costs that the bank will provide to you.  ALL COSTS ARE NEGOTIABLE.   Remember that with a mortgage you are initially paying off your interest first, and then your principal.  So essentially, they are getting your money upfront and for the next several years.  You might as well try to lower your initial costs so you can keep more in your pocket and not theirs!

The fourth step, is to now put away the additional savings you have each month from your lowered mortgage rate.  Depending on the amount of your closing costs and how much you have lowered your monthly mortgage, it may take you several months to pay off the initial closing costs.  However, after the break even point, all that is reduced in your monthly mortgage is saved into your pocket!  Simple.

The fifth step, if you wish to do is to take some of that savings from your lowered monthly mortgage and use it towards your principal.  Doesn’t have to be much, $50-$100.  But it adds up and helps you pay off our mortgage quicker and become a TRUE homeowner sooner!

Again, I welcome any feedback on this.  As this was my own experience I would love to hear others!  Also, please correct me if any of my content is incorrect or doesn’t make any sense to you.  This is just my forum to discuss anything and everything on my mind…and right now its savings!

Cheers.