Budgeting and getting your finances under control

I've been reading lately several books by Dave Ramsey.
What I've noticed is that if you have a budget you'll be able to get your finances under control and you will also be telling  your money where you want it to go and making it work for you.



So what is a budget?

As I understand it a budget consists of what you have to spend and then the allocations on what you want to spend it on.  Seems fairly simple right?   It basically is though many people including myself are not very good at doing a budget.

Now they mention that if you do a budget you will seem to have gotten a raise.  How could that happen?  Well it appears that as you preallocate your money you gain more control over said money.
You learn or set limits on what you want or are willing to spend your money on.  Then if you do the all cash purchase system you find you really do have more control of your money.

Budgeting works best with cash or check and not credit cards.  Why?  The tendency with a credit card is to purchase and forget about it.  You don't see the money leave your hand so you don't feel the potential pain right away.  So if you have $60 for food allocated that week and your working with cash you can't really buy $65 in food... you won't have the money at the check out.  Might now be the same if your using a credit card.  Now the Debit card acts like a credit card but, the money comes straight out of your account.  You can't go over unless you have overdraft protection.  Risk here is how that is handled.  A person here at works said she kept getting hit with a fee if she tried using her debit card with nothing in the account.  I would have run from that bank in a heart beat.  I had a bank charging a fee for not having enough movement on the account.  I was well above any typical minimum of $200-$500.  Got hit with the fee one to many times and then moved my money to a credit union.  Good old banks for you.


So what goes into a budget?  It is not simply tracking what you spend.  That is a start since you can see what you spend the most money on.  But, a budget is really much more then figuring out what you are spending your money on.
A budget is really telling your money where you want it to go.  A budget is figuring out your needs, want, and how much you have.  Then you decide where your money needs to go, how much you have left over and how much you can use now, how much you can save for a bigger purchase in the future etc.  Ultimately, if you plan right you will not over spend and can plan to pay cash for things.  You'll get stuck with little or no interest and that lack of interest coming out of your pocket will be the ultimate wealth builder.

So let us work on a sample budget.  The best idea is a zero sum budget.  That means that everything is allocated .... even savings or payments as savings for things like a car.

OK so let's get somethings down here and do a sample.  I'm going to keep things simple with this monthly budget.

Monthly Budget
Income	+$3,000
Rent	-$1300
Food	-$550
Utilities	-$150
Entertainment	-$75
Gas / Auto	-$150
Savings	-$675
Misc	-$100
Total Unallocated	0

As you see there is a specific line item for savings.  That can be actual money set aside for an emergency fund or you can line item it as if it was a car payment.   Then as you have built things up you can go and pay cash for the vehicle instead of financing.  Think of the savings over time.  Think of 4 years of payments at 5% interest.   Per bankrate.com and their calculator if the car is 15,000 you will have paid about $1,580 in interest.   That works out to be about $33 on your ~$345 monthly payment.  The idea here is that if you pay cash you can put more money back in your pocket.  It also requires that you make a wise choice on how much to spend on a vehicle.  Doubling the amount of the car to 30k gets you a double payment.  Thus ~3k in interest.  So the more you can pay up front the more you have in your pocket.  Think of the ability to pay cash for your car, and then save up what would be a car payment.  You have the car paid for in full by the time you need a new.  That is if you stay practical on how much you can afford.  Avoiding getting too much car and this principle works wonderfully.  check out the calculator here.

In a previous post I talked about a sink fund.
Pay Yourself First - some thoughts on personal finance
It's the same idea.  You pay yourself the amount you'd end up putting on your credit card.  Then you go and pay cash for the item.  Saving 15%-23% in interest.  You might think a few bucks in interest on a low cost item is nothing.  How about when you do that a few too many times?  The interest can start adding up.  I'm doing it currently for a Blu-ray player.  I'm putting aside $5 a week.  I'll have enough by the time Christmas comes around.  I'll also be able to take advantage of specials etc.


The bottom line is if you can tell your money where you want it to go you can come out ahead.  You'll actually appear to have more money because you stick to a budget and your defined limits.

So what are some of the recommended limits or percentages for a budget.
I found a reasonable chart from the Michigan credit counseling association
http://www.michigancounselingassociation.com/uploads/2/6/3/4/2634297/budget__financial_education.pdf
There definately is no hard can fast rule on all numbers.  For example housing is labeled as between 25-35%.  Food goes from 5-15%.  See a large variation in the values.  If one area is higher (housing is really expensive in California compared to Iowa) you then have to reduce another.  But, don't be such a nickle and dimer that you don't have any fun in the middle of everything.  You'll just have to find cheaper methods if you have a lot of debt your trying to get out of.   We use the library weekly for movies and more.  Pay only a few fines here and there...... saves on having Netflix, or cable.  Allows us to put that money to other categories.





I'd like to hear some of your budgeting ideas.  Things that work, things that have not, any ideas you have used to stay out of debt.
So the best thing I can say is get to work... and just do it.

Additional resources:
One for the Money
One for the Money - Low cost booklet on Finances
Dave Ramsey Budgeting forms
How to Budget - 50/20/30 Principle


Buaidh - NO - Bas

A few Words on Mitt Romney

Over the weekend we were able to view a session of Meet the Press where they interview Mitt Romney Republican Candidate for President of the United States of America.


I really liked the interview.  Not only because Mitt is from my church and religious persuasion.  It was more on some of the responses that the provided.   Naturally some of his responses had the old political talk with vagueness and non-commitment.


There were mainly a couple points that the interviewer was going after.  One was how different will he be in regards to the economy and secondly, a few thoughts on him as a person and the fact that he and his wife are "insensitive" etc.

He brought up a good point in regards to the economy.  Basically, you want things to get better.  And to solve some of the revenue problems we have at the Federal level we need to get more people back to work and not just tax the rich because they have so much.  Yes, per the typical republican response he is not a redistribution type of person.  He is more the lift things up from the bottom type of person.  If let's say 1 million people become employed and that all of them make $8 per hour.  That is a ton of money back into the system.  Now some of those people may have been getting assistance from the government or other location.  They now with some increased income can begin to buy necessities (Not luxuries and the like).  It may be hard to follow but, people employed even at lower rates is better then people that are not employed.  It generates a certain amount of tax revenue (income and sales) as well as purchases etc. which then go toward revenue and profits for the companies or institutions.

Unfortunately, he was pressed a bit on what kind of tax incentives/breaks and loopholes he would remove so that we stay revenue neutral when he implements his plans to lower the tax rates of the higher income earners and middle class.   He just kept going back to the loopholes and incentives.   He did not provide any examples.   Now, in reality not providing specifics is a good thing because when you go and have to compromise you might find that one thing you promised has to be taken off the table to get the votes needed for overall reform.  So yes he was acting like a typical politician in the end.   What does he need to do to not get that evasive branding and that of "he really only wants to help the wealthy"; he needs to provide some things that would be on the table for consideration.   Take for example, capital gains taxes, or mortgage deductions, or some types of limits on donations etc.  Maybe even increasing the amount of income that is taxed for social security or medicare.   Does not mean he would be committing to actually removing those deductions or loopholes.  He'd be saying they are things to be considered, things that could make a difference in the overall picture.  If in the end it is found that removing the mortgage deduction would have an overall adverse effect then they would not touch that.   Until you have some real numbers you should not be promising to touch anything.

Vague may work for a while but, as things get tighter in the race there will be people looking a little more at the specifics.  Then as they get a more broad picture of the candidate and his  ideas or principles they will begin to feel comfortable with said candidate.
But, making empty promises never helps.  It's a kin to lying and no one needs that label.


As for the lack of empathy the Romney family have for the average person - Ann Romney give one of the best responses.

"MS. ROMNEY:  Well, I think the-- the thing that I want to communicate to people, and that it's so important that people understand, is that Mitt and I do recognize that we have not had a financial struggle in our lives.  But I want people to believe in their hearts that we know what it is like to struggle.  And our struggles have not been financial, but they've been with health and with difficulties in-- in different things in life.  And one thing that I-- that I again like to remind people is that multiple sclerosis has been my teacher.  It has been at times a cruel teacher.  But it has also been a great gift in my life because what it has done it has taught me to be more compassionate and caring for others that are suffering.  And I know that people are suffering right now.  And for people to think that we don't have empathy just because we're not suffering like they're suffering is-- is ridiculous.  It’s-- it’s ridiculous to think that you can’t have empathy for somebody that’s struggling. 
Our life has always been devoted to those that are struggling more than we are and I was grateful for the opportunity that we had at the convention for others to speak up and talk about the kind of lives we’ve led-- we’ve led.  And in particular for Mitt who really has been demonized in many ways as being heartless.  And for people to stand up and say, excuse me, he was there when my son was dying of leukemia.  He came to my son’s bedside.  He did all of these things for my son.  And then another woman saying how Mitt was there for her.  So there’re hundreds of those stories that haven’t been told.  And it was refreshing to me for the American people to finally be able to see the lens through which I see my husband and the perspective in which I understand how he operates."
Meet the Press Sunday September 9th 2012


Yes it might be hard to think of what is like to be Homeless for them.  But, when you begin to consider the other struggles and challenges you begin to see they do have a unique perspective.  They are not totally insensitive and callus.  And his work as a Bishop and Stake President allowed him to come into contact with a bunch of people from all different walks of life.  The labourer or store clerk to the business owner, or operations manager.

And Ann Romney gave another great response earlier on when asked how she would feel if Mitt became the first Mormon President.


"MS. ROMNEY:  …I-- I certainly hope so.  I mean it's always wonderful when milestones like that are accomplished.  And I think that was why we were all so pleased with so many Americans.  We’re so pleased with the-- the last election and seeing that a black man was elected as president of the United States.  It made us proud as Americans to know that those prejudices that we've had in the past are-- are falling away."
Meet the Press Sunday September 9th 2012


So let us give him a little slack for all he's being hit with.  It's not easy to give your life story and have it examined with a fine tooth comb.  Let's look to the good things he has done and hope he can give some more concrete ideas as to how he will fix things.  If you go by the view point that Obama has squandered the last several years then we do need a change.  But, we need to verify what type of change we are getting ourselves into.

But, as for me it is looking much better to have a change then none at all.......   what ever you do please make an informed decision when you vote.  Get additional information and verify the facts from both sides of the isle.  You'll be glad you did and will then vote with a good conscience.


Buiadh - NO - Bas

Go Beyond the Surface

How many times have you said to yourself - "They just don't get it."?

All to often we find that people just don't understand where we are coming from.  You might feel you have almost nothing in common and after a while you feel that is not worth your time to try and get people to see your point of view.  And thus it is with our religion.

I've been reading some interesting commentary and articles out there due to the fact that Mitt Romney looks like the "Ordained" republican candidate.  What this does is bring the issue of religion especially that of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints many times referred to as Mormons to the front.  People want to know what he believes and if that might make a difference in the way he acts as a president.  Sometime the minute details are what get people hung up about.  They may only be seeing the big picture and not some of the important details.

The following commentary can cut both ways
"But more than that, we — as Mormons — need to avoid judging others who appear quaint and quirky to us.
Those Hindu gods with elephant heads or a dozen legs? They help people rise above the world.
On the surface, such things may appear bizarre.
But they don't look odd to those who go beyond the surface.
Mormons don't like being mocked. We wish people would try harder to see the faith as we do.
And if there's a lesson in that, it may be this.
Mock not if you don't like to be mocked."

Don't mock what you don't know  By Jerry Earl Johnston, Deseret News

As a member of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints I hate it when people get things wrong.    The basic things - Being a cult etc.  But, am I giving the benefit of the doubt to those around me.  Many times not because I have not gone beyond the surface.

I guess these Jehovah Witnesses we see out on a Saturday spreading the word and want to avoid have gained their conviction or testimony at some point.  Who in their right mind would go around a neighborhood all day knocking on doors?  That takes conviction.

But, to many of us are so busy we really don't have time to go beyond the surface.  That was one of the many challenges I faced as a missionary.  Have people that are investigating the church fulfill their commitments.  Things like attending church services or reading the Book of  Mormon.  Just getting beyond that was a major obstacle.  And in many cases it was purely that the people in question did not really have the desire to get to the point of going beyond the surface.  They had a cursory interest in finding out a little about the church but, not going much further then that.

I think in some cases it was also fear.  Fear of what might happen if they really did pray with an open mind and a sincere heart.  Just think of it.  Would you perform a scientific experiment if you really did not want to find out the result?   Experiments are what ones does to get a result.  In some cases you suspect things will turn out a certain way and do the experiment to confirm or deny your hypothesis.

The same goes for Pray and digging beyond the surface with religion.  You have to perform the experiment (Pray) and then accept the conclusion.   It might not be what you expect in the end.  And it might not be that super fast all telling, angel visiting, miraculous experience either.   Just look at many of the general leadership of the church.  They don't go around claiming to have been visited by angels that told them to believe.  Mostly they claim to have had a sweet, feeling of comfort and confirmation.  NO bells, whistles or hallelujah chorus.  Just something simple but, definite.

And in some cases it was not on the first or many even the second time they prayed.

So as the church comes under more scrutiny due to Romney's Nomination we hope that people will go beyond the surface.  That they will base their information on facts or information obtained directly from the church and not some ex-member that likely has a grudge or some supposed expert that is not even a member but, just happened to have studied a lot.

On the flip side we should give the benefit of the doubt to those of other faiths as well. Try and see where they are coming from.

We all have our built in prejudices.  All based on our background, where we grew up, who we associated with, and the like.  At times these "values" maybe a little colored but, not wholly off base.  At other times they maybe totally wrong and bordering on down right ignorant or racist.

It's like the fact

"Rev. Jeffress endorses Mitt Romney and shared values".  Just a couple of months ago he was saying Romney comes from a "non-christian cult".  So now he sees the light?  Did he really dig beyond the surface?  Or is he more scared of what he feels Obama is and want to throw his weight behind a more "acceptable" candidate?  This smells of hypocrisy.  I don't think this very genuine.  Appears to be more like he's wanting to support the candidate for his party and has to come up with some flimsy things to make it work even though this looks like a back pedal from his stance a few months ago.

That is why I'm glad the church has a stance of political neutrality
This is a good rule of thumb in politics.  Find out a bit more about the candidate then what is being provided in the sound bits.  Some times you will be shocked at the truth.  And also don't keep such a short memory on things promised.   My father specified that once a person ran for city council promising to keep large development out of the area.  Shortly after he was elected he was doing exactly what he said he would not.   Work with a local land owner (the owners of a high end shopping mall etc) to get a 32 story building built near the freeway.  Shortly  there after term limited were implemented.  People were sick of being fed a line and taken for a ride.  At least now every 8 years or so you have new blood.

So make and effort to go beyond the surface.  And take the plunge if you have not already.  Pray and find out if the Book of Mormon is true.  You might just want to read it first.


Your eyes might be opened or at least you'll understand a little more what a Mormon really believes.

Buaidh - NO - Bas

The Eagle Project

This weekend I had the privilege to participate in an Eagle Project for one of our Local Scouts.

The eagle project is the capstone and final element to acquiring your Eagle Rank in the Boy Scouts of America (BSA).  It is what sets you apart from the other scouts and shows you have the stuff it takes to be a future leader and productive member of society.
See the history of the Eagle Scout Badge Here.

The idea behind the project is that the boy with some help and guidance from adult leaders and parents will go out and locate a service project which he then coordinators and manages to completion.
Depending on the location and what is to be done the harder part maybe just finding a project in the first place.  All projects have to be approved by a local BSA coordinator.  Upon approval the heavy lifting can begin.



I've seen, been involved in, or heard of projects that range from blood drives, building a bridge at a nature center, making beep balls for the blind to play baseball, finger printing children in front of a grocery store, making benches for a museum, clearing helicopter landing pads at a state park, and can food drives etc.  The possibilities are endless and only depend on what you have in your local area.

The main component of the project requires that the youth must line up people to help fulfill the project.  This might require people to show up to do the manual labor, or give blood. There is also the necessity to acquire the needed materials like wood or concrete, and tools to do the clearing or assembly.  Not an easy task depending on what you decide to do.



I ran into problems with my project that my labor (People from my scout troop and church) mainly did not materialize on my first weekend.  We had the local fish fry carnival that Saturday and my turn out was very slim.  The next weekend with little or no conflicts the turn out was more in the 20-30 person range, which allowed my to cover all the trails in the nature center in 1 day.  I had to adapt the first weekend and find a better use of my limited labor.



So our soon to be Eagle Scout had to adapt with one of the few rain storms we've had this winter.  He also had to deal with plan issues that were not clear.  Several of the pieces for the benches were not cut properly since there was confusion on the angles.  It turns out he has some issues with the benches sitting flat though he will fix this be adjusting the tightness of the bolts and other hardware.

The good part is he has people from various ages helping and has found suitable activities for each age group.  He has learned first hand what it takes to adapt your project, and to run it to completion.
Now many of the adults that work in construction of have some type of experience with assembling things were very helpful in get the task completed.   He also dealt with low quality lumber (full of knots, bowed and wet) that did not help when it was cut.  It actually bucked when being cut with the radial saw.  Thus the issues with the benches being level.

This young man really had to work on the fly despite his best laid plans.  He had to line up people to help, make sure there were proper tools available and that the right raw materials had been acquired.  He truly demonstrated leadership as he has worked to complete this project.   The Chino air museum will truly be blessed to have these bench available for use.









So the next time someone asks you to help out on their project, take a little time out of your day to help make a future leader of America.   And do hire those that are Eagle Scouts.  We know what it takes to get things done!


If your an Eagle Scout please tell us about your Project in the comments section.   It might help a scouting looking for a project.

Buaidh - NO - Bas

Dysfuncional Families

You've heard the saying about someone being from a dysfunctional family.  But what does that really mean? 

As I begin to see situations in my own family I being to wonder if normal is a contrived state that psychologists have "made" up to get more business.  People really did not worry about this as much 1,000 years ago.

The best case in point is when you see the more or less "wonderful/perfect" life of those at church while at the same time not knowing what is fully occurring in their lives.   We know a couple who are now both retired and serving a mission for the church.  At meeting they appears to have everything going for them.  Nice home, minimal financial issues, reasonably good health and the like.  Few people know or knew that they have a son serving time in prison (most likely relating to drugs), and that his health is far worse then one would imagine.  And other kids are not active in the church.  On the surface they have it all.  Underneath the covers is the other half of the story.

So do we have a "standard" of perfection that in many instances is near impossible to achieve?  Take the "perfect" family with 1 boy, 1 girl a stay at home mom and dad with a wonderful job that affords them a house on a quite street with a nice white picket fence.
At least here in California  that ideal is near impossible to achieve.  To many have both spouses working just to make ends meet.  Many families are 1 car families, and due to the cost of living to many families are opting for just one child.   Sounds like the "real" normal to me.


So just because someone's family does not fit into your ideal for a family does not mean they are not normal?   I love that word NORMAL.   I can define what I want as normal and if you don't fit into it you are weird and dysfunctional.  But, the next guy a couple of houses down might not find my normal to be his normal and thus the grand old debate.

In the end sadly to say if all the husbands on a given street beat their wives daily then that would be the "norm" and the one guy that does not could be considered dysfunctional or weird.  Though, we all know that the more you become educated the more likely you will avoid these types of bad behaviors.  And I'm not talking about simply becoming educated in the University/College sense of the word.  I'm talking about an expanded mind, a less ignorant point of view, and wider horizons.  This moves bigotry and the like to the back corner.

So I'd say I have a somewhat dysfunctional family in the fact that few of us talk on a regular basis even though most of us live with a few miles of one another.  We doe get together for the main holidays like Christmas. Thanksgiving and Mother's Day.  But, in no means do we communicate like you would expect a "normal" family.
I guess the love it not there......


I'm reminded of a subway art piece we acquire recently at a store.  It has a black background and whit lettering of various styles - it is titled 'Family Rules'.   This piece is neat as it includes about 20 different things to do around the home.  Examples include - Give hugs frequently, say I'm sorry, listen to your parents, say I love you, etc and etc.

Out and about on the internet are a ton of these types of wall art.
I guess if you strive to follow what they have written on them you can have that "perfect", "normal" family that is not dysfunctional.  And you might not have to go on anti-depressants to control your feelings as you fall short of that ideal in your head.

stikmup.blogspot.com

Buaidh - NO - Bas

Leap of Faith

I was talking with another member last night at my home in regards to making some changes.... job, and the like.

One thing that came up is the Lord wants to bless us, but, can not simply serve us up everything on a silver platter.  There is one little element that plays in to the ability for the Lord to bless us - Agency.  Also as we exercise our agency (our ability to choose for ourselves) we have the consequences of our actions and the need for us to make decisions.  Thus if the Lord simply provided all that we asked for in some respects he would be negating agency and our ability to choose for ourselves.
This is were the second element comes in.  The element of faith.  As we do all we can, live the commandments the best we can, and serve in the church etc. the Lord will in the end bless us and fill in the gap.  He'll help us to bridge that which is missing as we make our full effort.

On the other hand, Satan the father of all lies will do all he can to discourage us and make us feel less then we should.  There will at time need to be some real Godly sorrow for mistakes and efforts on our part to repair the damage we have done.  Sometimes this may involve even repairing our own self worth or coming to a realization we are spirit children of Heavenly Father and we really does loves us and want us to return to live with him again someday.  "Thus, opposition and the alternatives that come with it are essential characteristics of our existence, for if there were no opposition and no alternatives from which to choose, there would be no agency, and the “wisdom of God and his eternal purposes,” as well as His “power,” “mercy,” and “justice,” would be destroyed (2 Nephi 2:12)."
Why Agency?  by Charles Swift Ensign February 2012.


So in the end I came to the realization that we need to take that leap of faith.  To have confidence in ourselves and our abilities.  To take the step into the unknown (which can be very scary) and push head not having a perfect knowledge (i.e Faith) of how it will work out.

It has been brought to my memory the accounts of the life of Christian Moosman one of my ancestors on my mother's side of the family.   He was born in Switzerland in the mid 1800's and eventually was baptized in the LDS church.   This did not go over very well with some relatives and former colleagues.   So eventually he went to Italy to join some saints there and immigrated to Zion.  In and around this time he met his wife among the Italian saints and there were married shortly there after.
Now there reason he come to mind is not so much his hardships and struggles but, more his faith in his actions.  We look to our noble ancestors of this time frame (1800's) and see so much faith as many of them traveled long distances to join with the saints in Zion (Utah).  And we well know that life for these people was not easy even after finally arriving in the Salt Lake Valley and surrounding communities.   In reality it as darn right hard.  And then on top of that many were called on "Missions" to colonize or populate far flung parts of the Utah territory or surrounding areas.   Thus was the life of Christian Moosman and his family. 

He had to exercise huge amounts of  faith as he resettled more then one to some rather inhospitable locations.  In many instances these were simply very big leaps of Faith.  Was that priesthood leader that called them on their mission really inspired?  Could they really make a living in the Utah desert?  These were their leaps of faith such as was life in those days.

In our modern age we are less likely to travel half way around the world to start a new life.  But do we still have to take those leaps of faith?  How about in our callings we receive at church?  How many times have you been extended a calling and thought after accepting it that you have no clue what you will do or how you will fulfill your obligations.  But, in the end things seem to come together as they should albeit, not always perfectly, but in a manner that is pleasing and fulfilling for those involved.

I have seen this in my calling as a Cub Master.  When I began I had no clue what I was doing, even though I'm am and Eagle Scout and recipient of the Arrow of Light award.  My first pack meeting was a mess and it did not help we had a group of children interrupt things in the middle.  Now I'm a bit more wiser, have a few years experience under my belt and things run a lot smoother.  Curve balls are still sent our way and we do have to make some last minute changes and the like.  But, I also see those moments of inspiration.  Promptings regarding things I should be doing, people to contact and the activities to suggest.  They have not all worked out as I expected them to.  Nor should they... we are always adapting things to our needs.  But, I've had to take small leaps of faith.  Leaps like when I decided for the first time to participate in Scout-o-Rama. 
Leaps in planning various other activities (some of which turned into miniature disastures).

Now I've learned I need to take other leaps of faith in other aspects of my life.  Like polishing skills for a job change, reaching out to fellow saints for help, extending myself in other ways and the like.  I have to take that leap of faith that things can be better and that I need to get the ball rolling.  That there are blessing awaiting me that I could never dream of having, like fruit ripe on the tree waiting to be picked.   I also have to have that faith to be able to keep Satan from messing around with God's eternal plan for me to much.  To make sure that I can keep him at bay so that in the end I do not turn “miserable like unto himself” (2 Ne. 2:27) that he wants me to.

"So we ask ourselves, “Who are we going to believe in our search for happiness and well-being?” Will it be Satan, the author of all lies and deceit, whose single objective is to destroy us? Or are we going to believe a loving Heavenly Father, who is the source of all truth and happiness, whose sole objective is rewarding us with His eternal love and joy?

We may come from humble circumstances, have limited education, and may even have what we consider unimpressive worldly accomplishments. And because of Satan’s deceit, we may at times feel unimportant, insignificant, or incapable. But let us never forget—we are the ones chosen .... of God, we are His called, ...., and that makes us somebody."

Satan's Bag of Snipes - Bishop Richard C. Edgley


So will you join me in making that leap of faith?

Buiadh - NO - Bas

Emergency Preparedness

This week we have been dealing with extremely high winds over many parts of Southern California.   Winds that are going at 20-30 MPH and gusting up to 40-60 MPH.
Boy what havoc it has created.  Most of Pasadena is with out power and has shut down schools in the area.  Other parts are dealing with a fire hazard and the downed power lines.  Not all that fun.


Last night we got a good spook when the power went out suddenly for 1 - 1 1/2 hours.  Sure was shocking to be in total darkness all of a sudden.  Luckily we had done some pre-planning and had emergency bags at the ready in the closet.  Not that these kits or bags are up to date or complete.  They have a few of the basics.  Hand crank flashlight, candles, Toilet paper, and the like.

Knowing where the bags were at help a lot in the dark.  I was able to get out the flashlight quickly and illuminate the room in short order.  We then got out a few candles and went that route.

We learned quickly that the more decorative, scented candles do not give off a lot of useful light.  They glow mainly.   The longer stick candles provide a better light but, you do learn to appreciate electricity and lighting when you lose it.

One of the main faults with our kits right now is the lack of food.  because food does not stay good for forever it makes it hard to store.  Originally, we stashed a bunch of cans of food (Gets heavy really quickly), then we changed it to more light weight lasting products like raisins and other dried fruit.  We unfortunately forgot to rotate the items and found we had some really dark apricot when we did an inspection.   Have not fully replaced these items yet.  We also have to come up with good method to put on of these in our car.  Never know when you might be out and about when an Earthquake hits.


Here is something I found that might help kick start the process of getting an emergency kit running.

Emergency Preparedness Game

Often when I watch the news on television, I see reports of natural disasters. With each new report, I am reminded of the counsel given by Church leaders to be prepared. Since our family did not have an emergency supply kit and preparing one seemed overwhelming, I wanted to find a doable solution. As my husband and I counseled together, we realized that we didn’t have to accomplish the task alone—we could enlist our children’s help.

To involve everyone and make preparing for an emergency seem fun instead of daunting or upsetting, we decided to have a scavenger hunt as part of family home evening. Together we could gather items for an emergency preparedness kit. Considering family members’ individual needs, I made a list of supplies for our search. For starters, the baby would need a bottle, formula, and diapers, while my husband would need sturdy clothes and work gloves. I also found ideas from information I had saved from Home, Family, and Personal Enrichment lessons.

At the start of our family night, we discussed possible natural disaster situations and the importance of being prepared so we don’t have to be afraid (see D&C 38:30). After our discussion, we divided our family into teams and gave each group an empty laundry basket and part of our list. Then we had our scavenger hunt throughout the house, collecting the needed supplies. The children had a great time gathering the items and choosing which clothing to include. Within an hour, we had items for a complete emergency kit—tailored for our family’s needs. What once had seemed an overwhelming task became a fun activity for our family, and we now feel better prepared should an emergency arise.—Windy L. Hasson, Celeste Ward, Las Vegas Nevada Sandstone Stakeemergency-preparedness-game - Ensign 2002

So we need to take some time and review of kits.  Maybe they are not stocked with our more pressing needs.  We might not have cloths that fit in there anymore.  We definitely need to update our food items and water.

Then when the big one hits we won't be totally freaked out.  We will know that we have a variety of food stores at home, water, and if the need to evacuate come up we have some "GO" bags with the essentials.

Due to this preparedness I wasn't as freaked out as some last night.


Buaidh - NO - Bas