Saturday, July 28, 2007

Humble Beginnings of a Frugal Brother

I really wanted to go see Beyonce and Robin Thicke but when I found out what the tickets cost I realized how cheap I was. I mean the last time I spent considerable money on a concert was back in 1987 when I went to a Luther Vandross concert. I think the tickets were $22 bucks a piece. My wife was going to take me for my birthday this summer but when she told me that the tickets were going for $75-$125, I knew my pop concert days were over. I will save that money for my flat screen. Of course you know I will buy it at Walmart. Boy, I hate that they stopped the layaway plan. I would have had it paid out by Christmas with no finance fees. I know that the Blings will be rushing to buy the Sony's and other high-end expensive Plasma's and LCD's, but not this guy. I am waiting on a cheap model from Korea at Walmart. Now for my post, I classify the Blings as the people who like to wear their assets on you guessed it their.... 
 So for starters, how did I get to be so cheap, I mean frugal? I inherited it from my mother who was tight and creative with the budget in raising 6 kids after my father died. She never made more than minimum wage but she had simple principles. 1. Each generation should do better than the last 2. You should have your house paid for before age 45 3. Never loan money you can't afford to loose 4. All money earned goes into the same pot 5. Always chose quality over name. 
I paid more attention to her than my older brothers did. When I was 9, they used to borrow money I had in my dime piggy bank. I should have been a loan shark because I made them pay me back double what they borrowed with half in dollar bills and half in yep dimes. My mom would have whipped me and my brothers if she had checked that bank and only found pennies. Did I say that when I was nine, my brothers were in their twenties. I always wondered why they were borrowing from a kid. I rarely spent the money and ended up with a lot of piggy banks until my mom opened a bank account for me. I had saved enough so that I paid cash for my first used car when I turned 16. Too bad I purchased a 1976 Chevrolet Monza 4-cylinder that sounded like a lawn mower. It did last me half way through college though. This was back when the US car companies could not make a quiet 4-cylinder or mix up a color like silver that wouldn't peel. From then on, my frugality led to graduating from college with close to zero debt, an MBA paid for with no loans and my wife's Ivy League Masters paid for at graduation. I have held a series 7 and 66 securities license as well as insurance licenses, so I know about investments.Even though my knowledge is great, I don't consult on this blog. There are plenty of Financial Advisors out there willing to let you pay them for advice. I am good, don’t need the business. Well, time is running out and I need some shut-eye. I 'll talk later about buying plasma's, lcd's,HDTV and the sort. Frugal Frank from the Blackside

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Let Me Introduce Myself

I am a frugal black man that lives life to the fullest. I am a strong brother with a lovely wife and two beautiful kids. My goal here is to create a movement of black people, who like being at the opposite end of the bling bling society. This group will get thrills from not purchasing a new Coach bag at retail with their Platinum card, but from getting a gently used pair of Cole Hanns for $15.00 at a consignment store and by having people guess how you are living. You will take the journey with me as I help raise a 3 year old and 8 year old (girls) responsibly and frugally. They already know the code words for Goodwill and how to say "My grandmother bought this in a specialty shop in Atlanta."

Now, don't get me wrong. My wife and I have masters degrees from prestigious private universities and live in a golf club community, but I can squeeze water from a rock.

I never buy cars that cost more than $10,000 and they have to have at least 100,000 miles on them.
I will share my thought process on this later along with my mother's old wisdom sayings like,
"It's not how much you make, It's what you do with what you make."

Sorry but I have to get some shut eye.

Frugal Frank from the Blackside