Morning friends of the blog.

Just wanted to let you guys know that the blog will be "under new management" as they say, effective this week. I will no longer own the this blog.

It has been a pleasure sharing my experiences with all everybody who chose to take the time and visit and read what I've written.

Thanks for allof your support and I will continue to read and enjoy your blogs and advice.

Thanks again

Love you babe

Rad

WooooHooooo

Daddy Financials has officially signed up it's first sponsor. You can't see me but I'm doin' the happy dance all up and down this page :)

DebtHelp.com is the sponsor, they offer lots of good info on debt consolidation, credit counseling services and debt management.

I did not want to just sign anyone who wanted to put their advertisements on the page, but this is a legit company that offers excellent services if you need them. I promise you won't see any ads from Adult Friend Finder or GetIntoDebt.com or anything like that when you come visit this page, unless it i a Google Ad which I can't really help. Google Adsense has been pretty good at running decent ads/offers though.

I have not personally used them but I have spoken to their reps and have scoured the site for information.

Check out their page under my "Links to help with Bad Debt Problems."

Thanks for all the support to all my readers out there, I will continue to try to put up good, readable content with my own sometimes twisted views :)

Thanks for reading

I Love you Baby

This is my first book review so please bear with me if it is not what you expected :)

This will actually be a combination book/movie review since both tell the same story with different levels of detail.

The story is an autobiographical tale from Chris Gardner, a man who has inspired me to do better just with his sheer determination to succeed. Chris goes from being an up-and-comer in the United States Navy, to being broke and homeless while trying to raise his son all by himself.

The movie focused more on the end of the story, when Chris' marriage is on the rocks and most of his money is gone due to a bad decision to enter the world of medical sales. Chris hustles and runs around town trying to sell every doctor he can find this new kind of bone scanner that is set to revolutionize the medical field. The little money he makes selling these goes to paying household bills, food, a great number of parking tickets, and daycare for his child. There is money to save and if he does not make at least one sale per month, they have to figure out another way to eat because they won't have enough money. Sounds pretty bad, but it gets worse. After his wife leaves him because she just can't deal with it anymore, Chris tells her that he wants to take care of their son. He made a promise to himself that his son will always no who his father is and he will always be a part of his life. Chris never knew his father but the movie does not show what he went through as a child.

In the book it explains the abuse that Chris's stepfather inflicted on him as a child. Chris was given a steady dose of "I don't know who your daddy is but it definitely ain't me", on top of being beaten relentlessly by this "man" who was just a horror to be around. Gardner was also molested as a child by man who held a knife to his throat while he was trying to sell him some stolen goods. The man was given every opportunity to blame everyone for where his life would end up, he was given every excuse in the book to do nothing with his life and just wallow in sorrow as he contemplated what could have been...but he refused to use these excuses.

He had no male role models growing up, he grew up poor, his mother was in and out of prison (for trying to kill his stepfather) and had almost no resources to help him succeed. This did not stop him from achieving his dream, even if he did not know this was his dream at the time. Gardner originally wanted to be the next Miles Davis, and who didn't back in those days :)
Chris joined the Navy as soon as he graduated high school, he joined in an effort to score with some overseas ladies, but he joined nonetheless. This is where the book and the movie differ.

The movie paints the picture of a hardworking man who just wants to do good by his child and has no support from anyone. The book eventually gets to this, but it does show a womanizing, horndog side to Gardner as well. The book also talks about the jobs Gardner has held besides his financial dealings. Apparently he had a hand in the medical publishing field (he helped author some published medical papers), he was a medical lab assistant before that, he eventually got into sales, and he was a petty thief when he was younger. He and his friends broke into some sort of trade show and stole a bunch of audio/video equipment and pastries. Bring back memories of my misguided youth :) The book also explains how Chris girlfriend ran off with their son and only after she could no longer care for him did she bring him back to Gardner, and their adventure together began. With that said, the man loved his son deeply and was determined to make his life better so his son would never have to experience what Chris did.

Chris's life takes the ultimate turn when he meets a man in red Ferrari and asks the questions we have all seen in the commercials:

"What do you do, and how can I do it"

This is where he discovers the world of high finance and stock trading. He is eventually offered an internship at Dean-Witter after dealing with an arrest and countless obstacles that were put in his way. Of course, you don't get paid when your interning, besides a stipend. Gardner does everything in his power to make sure he is hired full time, seriously. He tried to drink as little water as possible to keep from going to the bathroom, he slept at the office sometimes so he could get an early start, he ate lunch at his desk whenever he could afford to bring lunch, he would also bring his son to work to save money on daycare expenses. He took the phrase "do what you gotta do" to a whole new level. Don't just sit on the excuse, think of a solution and find a way to get it done. That's what this taught me, everyone has problems, most are bigger than yours so get over it and get moving.

Gardener thought his life was about to get better, but it actually got much worse. Gardner was staying at sort of halfway hotel when his girlfriend came back with their son, the house did not allow any children so he had to find a new place to stay. When he could afford it, they slept in a hotel/motel some nights. But most nights, Glide Memorial Church provided the shelter for the night. Another interesting tidbit that was left out of the movie that I think would have made for an interesting scene, the "Ladies of the Night"/hookers who worked around the area of Chris and his son's motel actually helped them out whenever they saw him walking around with his son in the stroller. Gardner actually walked around the area on purpose looking for them so they could give them a few bucks and they could eat for the night.

Glide Memorial provided Chris and his son with a hot meal and a room when they would otherwise have been sleeping in the BART bathroom. Gardner discovered this bathroom when he and his son were riding the train trying to kill some time as they had nowhere else to sleep. Gardner remembered a particular station he used to stop in when he used to work the area, it was clean and it had a lock on the door. He laid some newspaper down and had his son rest his head on his lap as he slept. This scene alone would make any father, or mother far that matter, break down. If you have not seen the movie, just picture it in your head for one moment. Times have gotten so bad that you and your child are sleeping in a public bathroom to avoid sleeping out in the street......kind of makes those $20 trips to the salon/barber shop not seem like such a "need".

Chris and his son do eventually find an apartment together, after a chance encounter with a man who was cleaning his house when Gardner approached him. He made an offer to rent the place and even paint and clean it to get a discount (again, do what you gotta do to provide for your family). He talks about the first time the man handed him the keys to his apartment, and when he and his son where sitting on their steps. It wasn't the nicest apartment or the best neighborhood, but it was theirs. He describes how he felt when he first put the key in the lock and opened the door, and it reminded me of the first time I entered the apartment that my wife and I first got. We moved a lot when I was a kid for various reasons, so I know what he meant he was saying "this is mine" even though he was renting. It just feels so good :) The next morning as they are leaving, his son tells him, "daddy we forgot our bags". They normally had to carry all of their belonging with them everywhere they went since they did not know where they would be staying at any given time. He told him they wouldn't have to carry the bags anymore, they had a home.

In the end, Gardner and his son do persevere and he goes on to become a multimillionaire investor. the man went from this traumatic scene in his life; from being homeless, broke, hungry, sleeping in bathroom, unemployed, and in the gutter, to not having a single want that he can't go out and get. Gardner also donates a hefty sum to Glide Memorial every year, so he has not at all forgotten those that helped get him through the roughest of times. Give back to your community and help those who are now in need. Another good message.

There is one more scene in the movie that really touched me. When Will Smith, who plays Gardner and I think is a terrific actor, finally gets hired full time at Dean Witter, the tears start getting all ready to rush down. He composes himself and runs outside of the office building. There, surrounded by people walking around their daily lives [I think the people walking around him are supposed to be symbolic of those who take life for granted; this man who just came from nothing, landed a full time job and he could not be happier. He will never take anything for granted while those walking around him don't even notice him, they rush through their days and don't appreciate life for what it is or what it has to offer] , he has this look on his face like he doesn't quite know what to do with himself...he looks up and around, put his hands over his head and just starts clapping. He keeps clapping and tearing and just looks so damn happy, like "I made it, it's over, thank you Lord and I can finally give my son a home." Just the look on his face touched me, I could feel everything he was feeling, this adulation and euphoric feeling that is hard to describe. Some day dammit, that feeling will be mine.

This book is very inspirational and moving, I think every parent should read it just to keep thing perspective. It could be a lot worse, no matter how bad it may seem.

Thanks for reading guys

I Love you baby

Any comments on style for the review would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

Had a little asthma and cough situation last night and early this morning, so I took a sick day.

Nothing new to report but I'm planning a review on the book The Pursuit of Happyness for tomorrow.

Check out MoneyMonk's post on the the Chris Gardner story and how it should inspire all of us to do better in the meantime.

Thanks for reading

I love you Baby

Just wanted to wish everyone a happy Friday the 13th :)

It should be a beautiful weekend here in New York, hopefully it doesn't rain. We're planning on taking the baby out to the Bronx Zoo or maybe drive to Brooklyn and spend some time in Coney Island to enjoy the nice weather and see some new things. If we decide to head out to Coney Island its too bad the Hot Dog Eating champion has already been crowned. The dude ate 66, yes 66 hot dogs in 12 minutes....Awesome!!! Joey Chestnut for president :) I think I'm gonna start training and try out next year, just for kicks.

I'd like to take this time to thank all those who ahve been visiting the blog lately and those who have been since coming since day 1, well day 3 or 4 really 'cause nobody knew who the hell I was when I first start this. I've been trying to keep things interesting and attract some new readers. I have been getting more comments on my posts lately which is really great, makes me feel important :) Please feel free to share any and all comments you have about my posts or the blog in general, I do read them all and try my best to respond intelligently. You can check my profile if you want to send me an email, I will definitely read and respond.

The car has been running great and I'll be doing some maintenance work this weekend, I'll let you know how many fingers I lose in the process.

Anyways, thanks to everybody thats been readin', enjoy your weekend.

I love you baby.

Dimples at Dimples Divine Domain tagged me for this meme that's going around. It's my first time doing one of these, I feel like an official blogger now :)

The list:

1. I'm 5'11'' 1/2 but I tell everyone I'm 6 feet.

2. I think Rachel Ray is a marketing and culinary genius. The woman has become a millionaire and Oprah's (yes people, The Oprah; who incidentally is also trying to take over the known universe...I think so anyway) TV project, mostly by using her ability to mix a bunch of stuff together into a decent meal in 30 minutes flat.

3. My favorite type of food is a tie between Chinese and Italian. Can't get enough Sweet & Sour Chicken/Pork, or Chicken Parmisagne.MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

4. I'm a huge sports fan, especially football, but I love the drama of The Real World.

5. Raising my daughter makes me more nervous than money ever has.

6. The TV show My Super Sweet 16 makes want to move to another country, what's the matter with these people. I think even if I had the money I wouldn't spend no damn $300,000 on a birthday party.....I don't think so anyway. Everyone make some donations and let's test this theory out :)

7. I sweat way too much.

8. When I was a kid, Montana was my dream place to live. Open land, lots of farms, cold winters with lots of snow (I love snow), whats not to love.....shows how screwed up I was as a kid.

9. If we ever have the money,I would love to give this to my wife as a gift. Thanks for the idea Jonathan. (I know it was supposed to be 8, but I added one because you know men can't follow directions.)

I'm tagging:

Sistah Ant
MoneyMonk
Millionaire Mommy
Efrain
and Colonel Cash

Hope you enjoyed, have fun guys.

I love you baby

Just wanted to wish everybody a happy Independence Day. I would say go light some fireworks and stuff like when I was a kid, but those days are over, its illegal now. So let Macy's do all the work :) Hope everybody got a chance to BBQ and enjoy some time away from this concrete jungle we live in.

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY EVERYBODY

This is one of the best websites I have found since I began my search for money making opportunities.

CashDuck was created by Kira from Penny Foolish. It basically pays you for signing up for free trials of stuff you that is pretty useful. I have been a member for about 3 weeks and I've already racked up $149. Some of the trials you have to pay for, for instance there is a Video Professor trail offer that will cost you $5.99 for the shipping of a CD, but CashDuck pays you $28 for signing up. That's a pretty good return ($22) on your $6 investment. If you bought 1 share of stock for $6 and you were guaranteed that it would jump to $22 within a week, would you buy?? You bet your chitlins you would :) I also signed up for a trial with YourMusic.com. I got a CD for $5.99 with free shipping and I got paid $16, FOR A CD I ALREADY WANTED. This money comes in handy when Daddy has to go out and buy diapers or formula or baby clothes, or toys....you get the picture.

If you don't like the services, just cancel before the trial period expires. No harm, no foul.

Here is the link to sign up.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask. I am personally using this site to build up my house down-payment account, after I pay off the money I used for the baby's birthday party. You can use it as spending cash or even to help start up an investment account, it's free money.

Oh and she also has lots of little contests and prizes that you can try for as a member. I've already gotten a logbook to keep track of my offers, and I am currently trying to get a Walmart gift card.

She provides great customer service if you have any questions. The payouts are once a month, with the minimum being $10.

Just to make clear, I do not personally know Kira or have any investment in this site besides my time. I just think it's really cool and a great opportunity to make some extra money for those of us who need, AND THAT'S EVERYBODY!!

So give it a try, if you don't like it, there is no obligation. I know it sounds too good to be true, but it's not. I'm starting to sound like an infomercial so I'm going to stop here.

Thanks for reading

I love you Baby

I'm baaaaaack :)

"Don't call it a comeback, I been here for years...."

After a long hiatus (not of my own choosing, we ran into some family troubles that I will disclose at a later date), I'm back and hopefully better than ever.

To my 3 loyal readers out there :), hope you still love hearing what I have to say and you haven't forgotten about me.

A lot has changed, my little piglet just had her 1st birthday, our finances are a little different, I have some more responsibility at work, and some other small stuff.

This was just to let everyone know I was back, I'm planning on posting at least 3X/week, maybe more, depending on work.

As part of my new outlook on life, I don't want the blog to be simply about finances. That will still be the bulk of the info you will read about, but I'll try to put more of a personal spin on it. I also want to cover some more sports-related topics, raising my little McNugget, trying to plan for a home purchase, wedding, and retirement all at the same time, and I would like to try to monetize the blog somewhat. It's free money so why not. If you guys have any suggestions, or if you don't like something I try I'm always open to suggestions and criticisms.

Thanks for reading

I Love You Baby

One of the greatest running backs of my time has decided to retire as of yesterday. Marshall Faulk has called it quits. I am a Dallas Cowboys fan and Emmitt Smith was the most efficient back I have ever seen, churning away 3-4 yards gains with ease before exploding for 20 yards. He did this consistently until the later part of his career when he was playing just to break Walter Payton's record.

Marshall Faulk changed the way teams had to play defense though. Barry Sanders might have been faster and quicker, but not nearly as good a receiver. Emmitt ran with more power, but was not able to make you miss like Marshall. "The Greatest Show on Turf" the 1999-2001 St. Louis Rams were some of the most exciting NFL teams to watch. Marshall Faulk was the engine that made that car run. Lining up at wide receiver, tight end, running back, split back and sometimes even quarterback.

He was a joy to watch on the field and a real gentlemen off the field. He always spoke highly of his teammates and always gave them tons of credit for his individual success. The ultimate football weapon in his day, he will be missed. LaDainian Tomlinson seems to be his heir apparent with his skill set, explosive nature, quick moves, and nose for the endzone. Let's hope Marshall is not soon forgotten for what he brought to the game.

Thanks for reading
I Love You Baby

It's that time of year again folks. Fantasy Baseball, Play Ball!!!!
I had the good fortune of winning my Yahoo League last year so I get to play in a winner's league. It was an autopick draft so i was a ltitle dissapointed that I had no control, but work comes before play. The waiver wire is where championships are won anyways.

I think there are a couple of guys who can carry a team this year with their multi-category talents. You mix these guys with some role players and you have a good team. Pretty much like building a real team, minus the salary cap concerns :) Here are my fantasy pojectionsfor the 2007 season:

All-Stars

Jose Reyes (SS-NY Mets):
I think Reyes is going to have a huge year in '07. Last year he went for 19 HR's, 81 RBI's, and 64 steals to go with a .300 average. I think this year should be more of the same as far as the categories go. Look for 25 HR's, 100 RBI's and about 50 steals with the same .300 batting average. Great stats for any fantasy team. If you put him and say, Travis Hafner or Adam Dunn (or any big bat) in the same lineup and your off to a pretty good start offensively.

Alfonso Soriano (OF-Chicago Cubs):
Soriano might start off slow this year as he adjust to playing center field. Why do teams feel the need to move this guys around so much? You migh be able to steal him away from an anxious owner if he flops early. Once he adjusts, he should take of in a monstrous way. He won't steal as many bases because he won't get the chance to, but he should finally break 50 HR's. His numbers should be in the range of 52HR's, 30 steals, 120 RBI's and about a .290 average. If you can get Soriano and Miguel Cabrera or even Robinson Cano to bring up your team average, thats a goos head start.

Albert Pujols (1B-St. Louis Cardinals):
Pujols won't steal you too many bases, but his dominance in batting average, HR's and RBI's cannot be ignored. Pujols is probably the only player I would take in the first round ahead of Jose Reyes. Pujols can carry any team throughout the year without swiping more than 10 bags, he's just that good. The only drawback mught be that he won't have enough guys on base this year to drive in a lot of runs. St. Louis is an old and tired team. After winning the World Series last year, they might not be as hungry as before. Pujols should give you 45 HR's, 120 RBI's, and a .340 average with 6 steals.

Alex Rodriguez (3B-new York Yankees):
I refuse to get caught up in the A-Rod wants out of New York mess thats going on. Alex is a guy full of pride and if theres one thing he won't stand for it's people questioning his baseball talents. I think the guy could care less about world championships, but he does care about his stats. I'm looking for Alex to give my team 45 HR's, 150 RBI's with a batting average around .330. Just to boost his case as the game's best all-around player, he'll steal about 25-30 bases this year too. Pair Alex with a Carl Crawford type and you'll be the envy of your league.

Letdowns

Derek Jeter (SS-New York Yankees):
Jeter had a pretty good season in '06 which raise his draft position this year, don't fall for it. He hit .343 with 97 RBI's and even stole 34 bases, way above his career averages. Jeter is to Fantasy Baseball what Tim Duncan is to Fantasy Basketball, the Big Fundamental. He dosen't do anything spectacular, but he won't bring the team down in any category either. I look for a dip in his production this year, mostly because I'm expecting a big year out of A-Rod. Jeter should give about 13 HR's, 70 RBI's, .290 average and about 15 steals. These number justify about a 3rd-4th round pick, if you can get him later it would be even better.

Jimmy Rollins (SS-Philadelphia Phillies):
I have never been a Jimmy Rollins fan, so I may be a little bias on him. I just don't think his batting average supports his high stature among fantasy players. Yea, the guy can steal 50 bases, but he is hardly ever on base. he also dosen't drive in too many runs. He hit 25 HR's last year which is pretty good for a shortstop, but it 13 more than he had ever hit in his career. I think he comes back to earth with 14 HR's, 60 RBI's and about 30 steals again. His batting will drop to .260 as he trys to get back on the HR track and begins to overswing halfway through the season.

Sleepers

Hanley Ramirez (SS-Florida Marlins):
Hard to call Ramirez a sleeper when had a pretty good year in '06. I only call him a sleeper because I think he will have a big jump in numbers. I think Ramirez can give you Reyes type numbers at a much lower draft position. 25 HR's, 95 RBI's, 50 steals and a hitting at a.290 clip would not be too shabby for a guy you might be able to pick up in the 3rd or 4th round.

Alex Rios (OF-Toronto Blue Jays):
Now that Vernon Welles got his money out of the Blue Jays, I look for Rios to pick up once Wells' number come down a bit. Rio should put up 20-25 HR's with about 110 RBI's and give your team close to 25 steals. His batting average should stay at about .300 give or take 5 points.

Also look out for: Eric Hinske (1B, 3B, OF-Boston Red Sox); Derrek Lee (1B-Chicago Cubs); Mike Piazza (C, DH-Oakland Athletics); Jose Vidro (1B, 2B, DH-Seattle Mariners)

That's it for my review, I'll let you know how my team shakes out and any other Fantasy news I think is worth posting about. Draft smart, trade late, work the wire. Good luck in your leagues.


To put a financial spin on this, all work and no play will some day drive you insane.
This is just a means to releive all of the financial presure that surrounds our every day lives. Can't spend all day on CNN Money :)

Thanks for reading

I love you Baby

There is an article in today's New York Post regarding the rookie salaries for the NY Police Department. The article talks about how " The city is about to shell out more money for a puppeteer than for a rookie cop. " This could become a major problem in the future as far as recruiting new police officers. Is this a problem only in NY or are police officers being underpaid across the nation? Anyone have any stats on the police salaries by state? This can be taken one of two ways.

First let me say that I admire what NYC cops go through each and every day despite a lot of the negative media attention they get. I, for one, appreciate them putting their lives on the line for me and my family in the same way I appreciate the troops who are fighting overseas. I may not agree with the war, but they don't have much choice in where they are sent.

Now back to the article, it states how the starting salary for a rookie officer is only $25,100, while the listing for this puppeteer position has a salary range of $32,275 - $50,242. $50,242 to move some puppets around for a kiddie show, sounds a bit extreme but more power to them if they can get this money. While I agree that it is sad that a puppeteer makes more than a police officer, later in the article it mentions that the salary of these officers jumps to $32,700 after 6 months on the job. That's a 30% increase in pay after only 6 months. How many non-sales jobs allow for a 30% bump within that 1st year of employment without a promotion/change of position? Also, after 5 years of being on the force, the officers salaries jump to as much as $59,588. This is almost a 138% jump from their original starting salary of $25,100. How many of you would take a job knowing you would make 138% more in 5 years than where you started? I'm guessing this number factors in overtime, but it's still not too shabby. So while everyone focuses on the starting salary, the bumps in pay are pretty significant within those first 5 years. Almost no one mentions that the union is the reason this in place. They negotiated this deal to get more financial compensation for the veteran officers while rookies would have to wait to move up the pay scale. Blame the city all you want, I think the police worker's union should get equal blame for approving this deal.

The other way to look at it of course is to say it's not right and demand more pay for police officers. Puppeteers are nice and yes it takes a lot of skill to become a master puppeteer, but the courage and bravery that police officers are supposed to exhibit is a much more valuable commodity to our civilization.

In my honest opinion, I am torn on this subject. I think police officers and firemen and doctors and all other professions that saves lives while at the same time risking their own lives, should be the highest paid positions no matter what. When police officers do their jobs well, it dosent make the news because they stoppped the story from becoming news-worthy. You hear all the time about good samaritans saving lives, when a police officer does it, he's just ding his job. But when they do something wrong, you hear about it everywhere and they all get blamed and put it the same boat of shame.

On the other hand, its not as if the salaries are hidden from them until the last possible moment. These people make a choice to become police officers knowing full well that they will start in the mid $20K's/year. It's almost like applying for a job and then once you get it, your already complaining and telling your boss your underpaid. If you took the job to show your bravery and to help your fellow man, that in and of itself is the reward to you. In our capitalist society, if you wanted to make money you should obviously have studied puppeteering or at least watch Mr. Rogers Neighborhood until your good enough to apply for the position with the Parks Department.

Thanks for Reading

I love you Baby

This doesn't have to do with finances, well not normal finances anyways, but Roger Clemens reportedly is seeking a (pro-rated) $24 Million-One year contract. He won't start pitching until June, according to baseball sources, but he is looking to make $4 Million (Yes, in US dollars) a month. I am a huge Yankee fan and the man is one of the greatest pitchers ever, but in no way do I think he is worth this kind of money.

The numbers he has put up recently have been in the National League with the Houston Astros. American League lineups are much tougher and will wear him out. I know he dominated the AL for most of his career but that was when he was younger. He will put up decent numbers I'm sure, but nothing close to being worth $4Mil. I dont think any player in any sport is worth that much, besides Michael Jordan (I'm also a Knick fan so that was a tough pill to swallow right there). I hope they take the Randy Johnson fiasco as a lesson on overpaying for old pitchers, especially those coming from the senior circuit (National League). The pitching rotation is a question mark but let's not overreact, at least see what Philip Hughes can do before we add more age to this fading team.

The reason I'm posting this on the site is because the site is dedicated to Dad financials and most dads are into sports, myself included, so this is for all of us. I know when the teams I'm rooting for win, I am much more productive at work. This directly effects my financials :) Plus my little girl actually likes watching Sportscenter with her daddy, so more the reason to add it to our family page. We haven't converted the wife just yet, but we're working on it.

Can you even imagine making $4 million a month? Let alone that its for playing a game. This truly is the land of opportunity, you just have to be home when he comes a knockin'. Hopefully theres a female professional baseball league by the time the princess is old enough, she's got one heck of an arm on her little 9 month old shoulder. It would be a shame for it to go to waste. No pressure, but a Dad can dream :)

Thanks for reading

I love you Baby

I just wanted to share with you guys that I got credit for my first click from Google Adsense. I didn't get into this for the money but it's a nice little accomplishment. To the person who clicked on whichever ad it was, Thanks from me and the family. And I wanna thank God for making this all possible.... sorry, had a hip-hop moment there, felt like I was at the Grammy's :)

I promise to keep the content fresh and informative and to give you an insiders view to our evolving family life. The site will get better loking with time, I'm new to blogging so this is the best I can do for now.

Thanks for reading

I love you Baby

Well, after about a year or so of reading in the financial blogosphere, I have decided to join the party. I am a 28 year old husband and father, trying to make a better and more fulfilling life for my family. I have a very loving and caring wife who is as smart as she is beautiful and we have a baby girl who seems to have a much older woman trapped inside of her. I will try to post pics at a later date, once I get better acquainted with this blogging thing.

We have been together for over 2 years and living together for a little over a year and we have plans on getting a house together in the next 3 years. We are working on getting our first car (used of course) in the next few months. Slowly but surely we are working on becoming a fully functional and independent family. Right now we still gets lots of help from both of our families, not financial but with babysitting and rides to the supermarket or borrowing a car for little trips.

My finances were shot a few years ago, being Hispanic and from the Bronx it seemed like a birthright. I did not really care until I realized that I could not get a loan for anything and that my credit card debt was more than half of my yearly salary. When I turned 24, I started on working on paying everything down and working on something of an emergency fund. When I got together with the woman who would become my wife, everything went into overdrive. She motivates me to do bigger and better things each and every day. She is 6 years my junior, but she has the mind and eloquence every husband dreams of.... shes pretty hot too :)

I am proud to say that the only debt we have left are a small amount on Target card we had to get to pick up some things for the baby, a collection agency I am still paying off( I still have about $1000 left) and my wife's student loan(she is due to graduate in the next few years).

I now have a Roth IRA set up with T Rowe Price, my 401 K is funded so I get the full company match, I have an emergency fund set up with ING (not fully funded but I'm still working on it), and i also opened up a seperate savings account(ING)and a 529 for my baby girl through NY State which Vanguard manages.

It took a lot of work to get this far. I had to work 3 jobs while still going to school full time just to get out of the hole I had dug. I know have my BA in Finance, proud graduate of Baruch College in New York, I've gotten my credit score up to a much more respectable score of around 580(up from 425 with several delinquent accounts 3 years ago), and I have somewhat of a cushion to fall back on in case of financial hardships. I know I have even more work ahead of me, but now I have my wife to help me along the way. Cheesy as it sounds, she really is my partner in everything I do and I wouldn't have it any other way.

I hope to use this blog to chronicle my family's financial journey and keep track of our goals and accomplishments. I will sprinkle more bits about our past hardships with time, and I will go into more detail on our goals as well(first would be the car of course and then getting that credit score finally over the 600 barrier). Our main goal is to provide a better life for our baby girl than we had, while still enjoying married life to its fullest.

I would also like to thank Single Ma over at http://singlemomandmoney.blogspot.com/ for her inspiration, I'm not a single parent but I understand how much her daughter motivates her now, and also Jonathan over at http://www.mymoneyblog.com/ for all of his very useful and always up to date info. You guys have both helped me more than you know.

And all the other blogs I've read, thanks and I hope to be as insightful as all you guys.
Any and all comments/suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
If your wondering about the pink background, its my baby's favorite color :)

Baby I love you and I hope to make you as proud of me as I am of you.