This is a blog post about me, for me, to me.. Read if you want, or don’t…
Every so often, it’s good to take a little snapshot on life. You know, take a step back and see where you’re at, where you came from, and where you’re headed.
My last snapshot was over 3 years ago.
It’s interesting to see where I was three years ago, and Read more
I could simply end it there, I suppose, but how valuable would that be?
Remember that blurb I posted a while back about a change coming? Well, it’s here..
I’ve been hovering… er… floating now for a long time. Just enjoying life and skirting along at bare minimum. Mostly because I had no direction. I didn’t know what I wanted. I didn’t have an end game. And I don’t believe in the deferred life plan… I like “now”. Read more
Here in a few days I will enter the home stretch of my 20′s.. I hate birthdays. I’ve always hated birthdays. This year is going to be different though.
This year, I am planning an all out assault on the last year of my 20′s. Not that 30′s are bad (old timers 
) but damn it… I just don’t quite feel like I’ve lived my 20′s to all that they could be, and I’ll be damned if I’m hitting the grave saying “I wish I would have [insert amazing experience] back when I was in my 20′s”.
And so it was written…… literally.
Ever seen The Buried Life? Well, you should. I initially ran across them when I was doing research on my cross country bus trip (that never happened). Not too long after that, they got picked up by MTV and now they’re pretty much exploding.
Point being, I made a list, er.. making, either way, things are on paper. It’s a “what do you want to do before you die (in your 20′s)” list, and it’s going to be my road map for this year.
My list was partly inspired by the show, but mostly inspired by me saying to myself “I wanna” and then never “doing”. I’m tired of living life from the side lines, and that phase of my life is over.
So, shortly after an amazing Christmas, I’m both ending and starting my year in Nebraska… Already bought the tickets. Can’t even afford the hotel yet… but I’m committing myself to going and forcing myself to figure it out along the way rather than camping out here at the safety of the dining room table watching life go by.
Then, over the course of the year I’m:
I have a lot planned. 
Will I be able to accomplish it all? Who knows… But damn it, the answer is a definite no if I don’t get off my ass and start moving in that direction. So, I’m being unrealistic… and that’s a good thing.
I revisited a quote today by Will Smith (partly due to my buddy Mike, look Mike, I’m giving you credit) that goes a little something like this:
“Being realistic is the most commonly traveled path to mediocrity….. It’s unrealistic to walk into a room and flip a switch and have the lights come on. That’s unrealistic! Fortunately, Edison didn’t think so!”
I actually did a blog post on that video a while back.
That word, unrealistic, is exactly what my 29th year of life will represent.
Over the last year I’ve e-met/re-met some incredible people like Couchsurfing Ori, Elizabeth Potts Weinstein, Megan Matthieson, Mark Eckenrode, Randy Primm and many many others. And whether they know it or not, they’ve helped me get over the fear of doing things alone, and inspired a more “come hell or high water” attitude.
I’ve always wanted to travel, but always wanted someone to come with. No, not because I’m clingy… but because I want to have someone to share memories with. Well, fuck that. I’m tired of waiting and moving my life around to other people’s schedules.
This year is about ME.
Here’s how I saved 28% on renewing my lease for my office space (read: UPS box).
I’ve been reading up on negotiation lately because it’s something that interests me (I’m weird like that). Anyhow, today I thought I’d put a little bit of that into practice since my UPS box was up for renewal.
I used to think that the only stuff you could really negotiate on was stuff you bought second hand. I mean, who walks into a store and tries to talk the cashier down on the price? It seems kind of absurd……. or does it?
So, I thought I’d do a little test. I’ve read stories about people being able to negotiate all kinds of things at retail establishments, and if I’m not mistaken there’s even a TV show about the very topic. So, I thought I’d give it a go in my own life and see how it worked out for me.
A few tips that I used to save myself some cash are:
Smaller shops are MUCH more inclined to be able to negotiate simply because you’re significantly more likely to be talking to someone that is a decision maker. If you try and walk into your local drug store, chances are you’re going to get weird looks from the cashier behind the counter if you try and talk your way down on price , although that’s not always the case! I used to get employee discounts from people all the time, especially if they work on commission.
The key is to be talking to someone that has the ability to do something for you… not just a button pusher. So, in my UPS box story, I happened to be talking to a manager. A side note, the UPS stores around me are all independently owned and most of them are owner operated, so chances are good you’re talking to an owner.
The first thing I did to get myself some savings was extend my term. It’s advantageous to the UPS store, since they don’t have to worry about a box sitting empty if I’m locked in for a year or longer. So, what I did was change from a 3 month term to a full year and then asked for an additional 3 months free for extending my terms.
I was currently paying $18 a month for the box in 3 month increments. When I switched to a year long lease the price dropped to $16 per month… and with the 3 free months I got, my monthly cost dropped to $13 per month.
Next I asked the lady if they offered student discounts. Unfortunately they didn’t, but she did mention that they do offer a discount for AAA members… so had I been a AAA member I would have saved some more money. Always ask if the establishment offers some sort of discount method. I’ve been out of school for (I’m not telling) years now and I STILL have my student ID and use it regularly for movies and other things. Call me cheap, I care not… haha.
So she rings up the tally and it’s just shy of $200 bucks for a 15 month lease on my box… At this point, I made a face and asked if she’d work me a deal for cash, otherwise I was gonna use my charge card and get some airline points.
See, retailers pay fees when you use your credit cards. A lot of times smaller retailers, mom and pop shops especially, pay much higher fees than larger retailers. This means that for a $200 transaction, they’re already taking a hit on that dollar amount for merchant account fees. Furthermore, many times a merchant account holder will have to keep a certain % of all their purchases in reserves in case of charge backs and refunds. So it actually hinders their cash-flow abilities when they accept credit cards.
Cash solves that problem for them (and you). The vendor gets their money right now, and you can often times strike a deal and get some kind of discount.
In my case, the manager offered me 10% off for paying with cash. Hot damn, I just saved some more!
All in all, I ended up saving 28% for something that I NEED to have, that I would have gladly paid the full $200 for. But why pay top dollar if you don’t have to?
The moral of the story is this, folks. If you know some basic techniques like what I just laid out for you above, and you just ASK… you can easily cut dollars off your monthly expenses.
And if it doesn’t work, then by all means, get those airline miles and cash in that way (that’s a whole other blog post).
I’ve been dicking around for the last decade now and I’m starting to feel a little stale. This weekend is the celebration of my 10 year high school reunion…
That’s all fine and dandy, but I’ve got to admit… I’m actually concerned with where I’m at in life compared to the rest of my peers!
When I first graduated from high school, I hit the ground running. Jumped straight into a job making great money, in an industry that seemed to be somewhat prestigious at the time.
I bought my first house within a couple of years and continued to enjoy life as usual.
Then something happened…. I still haven’t put it all together. I just knew that my life was headed down the wrong path. I was doing something unfulfilling, and it didn’t matter how much money I made doing it.. I just wasn’t happy.
A couple things happened that year.
1. I lost my job. Not because I quit… but because I quit trying. I just didn’t care anymore. I was fed up with the industry, the work schedule, the time investment, the responsibility, everything. I was burned out.
2. I went from being almost entirely motivated by money, to not caring whether I was so piss-poor broke that I was homeless.
3. I lost all drive to work for “the man” or, anyone other than myself really.
4. I vowed never to get sucked back into a situation where I was so unhappy with life that I wanted to, quite literally, blow my brains out… no matter how good the money is/was.
Since then, I’ve been tapping away at this whole online business thing at a snails pace. Afraid to get truly involved for fear that I would end up working 15 hours a day and hating life just as much as I had previously.
I don’t want a job, I want a LIFESTYLE.
However, here I am, 5 years later… tapping away at the computer for HOURS each day…. making a fraction (very small fraction) of what I was making in my previous life.
And I don’t regret it one bit.
This decade was meant to bring something great for anyone with the balls to stick it out there and take it. There is an abundance of opportunity out there for people that take massive action and pursue their dreams. And I fully intend on being one of those people.
There are a million ways to make a living and “live the dream” at the same time, and I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not there yet… But I have a glimpse of it. I’m no longer working blind.
I’ve taken my web properties and slashed a good 60 of them out of my life forever, whether or not they were making me money, based solely on something I call “the feel good test”.
I’ve cleaned up the half-assed stuff that I was doing to get me by.
I’ve formally started my LLC (finally) – Gotz myself a bank account and errrything..
And I’m readjusting course and realigning my goals.
A little house cleaning is good sometimes.
