Wednesday, February 3, 2010

A $300,000 Car for a 16 Year Old Kid? WTF

Dear Frugal fans,

Again I have heard the unbelievable. I try not to judge too harshly and I think Puff Daddy, P-ditty,
Sean P is a talented person and shrewd entrepreneur but he just purchased a $300,000 car for his son's sixteenth birthday. Come on. Like Chris Rock said, "He is rich but he ain't wealthy." "Rick James was rich...." Aside from the comment of where is a 16 year old going to drive his ride outside of Beverly Hills without being Jacked discussion, what about the principles of money management a teenager is missing. Is he setting his son up for sustainability for the future. It would have been much better to put that in a trust or annuity available at age 55. Could you imagine how much he would have? This would ensure that if he blew his money and Puffy's that his son would be ensured a poverty free retirement.

I will give P-ditty a challenge if he thinks his business model is so strong. Walk away from it for a year without contact. Make no business decisions and connections to new talent. If the business sustains it self then great you have done your job as a father. Why this experiment? Because this is exactly what will happen if he expired today.

Now look at Warren Buffet who we know is wealthy. He has set up his children so that they will not be able to blow their inheritance. He has picked a successor to his position. More than that he has lead a frugal life and set a great role model so well that his grandson is modeling himself after his strategy. He lives in a modest home but enjoys life and his job. From my research, he has never purchased a $300,000 vehicle for anyone or does he own said vehicle.

Now for the everyday folk like me, who had hard working frugal parents who had Warren Buffet tendencies just not the money,I tip my hat. These parents delayed wants and satisfied our needs. I remember a time when everyone on my block wore pleather not leather jackets and the arguments were about whose pleather looked real or fake. I remember knowing exactly what we were getting for Christmas because my mom had layed it away months ago, but I still acted exited on Christmas morning. I also remember that most teenagers first cars needed paint jobs or interior work, but you drove it as is. There was no conversation with your parents about getting a job during the year to fix it up because school came first. I was never embarrassed and neither were my friends because if and only if you were lucky to have a car everyone had old cars or a new Yugo, Horizon,Chevette which might as well been close to junk cars.

I do wish the musical artists would at least take a few history courses on Black music. They would soon find that Louis Armstrong was a better business man than they. He was getting 3 cents per record sold in his day. If I am wrong from my information, I think the artists still get 3 cents. They could learn from Mahalia Jackson who demanded her payment for concerts before she went onstage and had several million left when she passed.

Sorry, I have to go. Starting to babble.

Peace Out,

Frugal Frank OTBS

Friday, January 8, 2010

Back in Black for 2010!

Back in Black for 2010!




Hello, Hello! Frugal Frank on the Blackside is back in 2010 in full force.
Well, from my last blog my predictions are on point. We are seeing a turnaround in the economy,employment is coming back slowly and health care reform is coming soon. These will be wins in President Obama's corner. Remember, we have got to back him on Healthcare. Write your senators and blog the news sites. Trust me, even though it will be a flawed bill, there should be enough loops holes to get what we want down the line. For those of you who took my advice, I hope you are feeling better about your financial situation. I have got to share a great story with you. I went to my second home for Christmas(yes! see what being cheap can get you) with the family and open things up for the Holiday and settled in to watch some movies on my 42" LCD Olevia Flatscreen. I watched it for 3 days and it went black, sound but no picture. I then found out that Olevia had gone bankrupt. Now being the cheap person that I am, I did not buy an extended warranty just took the 1 year with manufacturer but I did purchase it with my American Express card which extended the warranty for an additional year. Now repeat after me, "The Lord is Good., When? All of the time." I purchased this TV on Dec. 22, 2007, It died on me Dec.20, 2009. The people at American Express were great. After contacting them and supplying the correct info. I had my money to purchase a new set by New Years day. So I will get an extended warranty on the new set and keep my AmExp card. But again you know me, I quizzed the repair about my broken set because it gave a great picture. For those of you in the know. The LCD's only have 3 replaceable parts, back-light, power supply, main board. My board was shot and parts are expensive. He said that if I wanted to try and salvage, I may be able to find the board on Ebay. These parts are plug and play and I might be able to do it. I have the set in storage and I will let you know how it goes. I am purchasing a new set and at the present I am looking at Vizio and Samsung. I had to watch broadcast on tube with a DTV converter during the holidays but I was good. I will discuss broadcast in a later blog. Frugal Advice: Drop Blockbuster and Pay per View; get a library card and use Redbox. Most libraries get the latest movies a few weeks after the retail stores and you can reserve up to 10 copies online. This is a great way to save money and support your local library. And with the Redbox kiosk, you can get new releases for a $1.
Peace Out,
Frugal Frank OTBS

The Return of Broadcast! Save $1200 a year

The Return of Broadcast! Save $1200 a year


Frugal Frank OTBS checking in,

I was listening to some Moms Mably while at home during the Holidays(I hope someone out there remember Moms) and enjoying the simple things in life with my wife and kids. Ladies for the record, my wife is a strong sister who is also my best friend. She has to be to tolerate my cheap you know what. After listening to the comedy tape, I turned on the news and heard the hoopla going on between Time Warner and Fox. At that point I was thankful that I fired my cable company a year ago and you should do the same. With the change of Broadcast from Analog to Digital, you can now get better picture clarity than cable or satellite and its free. I purchased a DTV converter and an RCA amplified antenna and I pull in about 26 channels in my area. You will get at least two stations on each channel, Spanish channels,CBS,NBC,ABC,Fox, CW and at least 3-4 PBS channels. I also get two movie channels; THIS, ION If you want an on screen menu, go with Dish Network DTV or one from Radio Shack. You get show descriptions and a few days worth of programming. I don't know if you can still get the government coupons which were worth $40.00 but would try. If you have a New LCD or Plasma TV all that you need is the amplified antenna and you need a good one to get great reception.Regular rabbit ears will only get you a few stations. I put my antenna in the attic and then spliced all my cable lines into it, that way I have cable like access in all the rooms in the house. Straight airwave broadcast on an LCD Flatscreen is awesome especially the NFL games. Remember, if you don't have a flat screen you can buy one in 6 month with the $100/month savings. I would take a new flat screen without cable any day than a tube or old large screen with cable. This is not your grandma's broadcast analog. The digital broadcast is awesome. We just need to get more programming. I bet someone in New York, DC or Boston would bring in 60 channels. So, go ahead, spread the word and join Frugal Frank OTBS, fire your cable or satellite company.

Peace Out, Frugal Frank OTBS

Also, I love comments. I get excited when you talk frugal to me.LOL

Monday, September 29, 2008

Great Frugal Deals I Got

Let me tell you. I love cheap deals, its like Christmas in June for me.
This was a really tough weekend for me. My 4 year old and 9 year old had soccer games on the same Saturday plus golf lessons at noon. Now I love my girls but this was also the weekend that two of my favorite church harvest/yard sale events were going on. I had a list of things I had been looking for with one of them being a red vest for Christmas. Now I love Christmas so much that I start playing my multiple tapes and CD's on November 1st. I guess I will always be a kid at heart and I can remember how special my mother made The Thanksgiving and Christmas Holidays for me. I will elaborate more on this toward the holidays. back to the list and my red vest. I had been looking for one since last year. I wanted a gently used name brand vest for less than 5 bucks.

Well after debating between the soccer games and yard sales, I decided on soccer. I am a good father and my 4 year old is awesome on the field. We had a good day and I marked the yard sale dates on my calender for next year.

Doing the right thing as a father does pay off every now and then because on Monday I got my deal. I decided to stop by GW(for those who are new "Goodwill") on my lunch break.
As I wandered through the aisle there among the hangers was my red vest and it was a Lands End even better, plus I found a nice gray Ralph Lauren, price $3.50 a piece.

Best of all, picked up a brand new Wilson Golf bag with stand and extra storage, price $5.99

So, I am happy and ready for Christmas this year.

Frugal Frank OTBS

Sunday, April 13, 2008

Thanksgiving in Washington,DC

Well, after a long hiatus I am completing my Washington follow-up.

As I said before this was a great Thanksgiving trip. We arrived at Embassy Suites on Wednesday and had plenty of time to walk around and check out a few museums and map out the next day.

On Thursday, the weather was great. I got up early and jogged around a couple of blocks and came back to the hotel for the complimentary buffet breakfast. I had a delicious western omelet and hash browns. My wife and girls got to pick what they wanted plus had fresh fruit and yogurt. The weather was about 70 degrees and we walked around all day long. The girls got to go ice skating in front of the National Museum and signed the Declaration of Independence at the National Archives.

Later that evening we drove out to Georgetown to see the movie "The Bee" only because I didn't check and see that there was movie theater one block from the hotel in Chinatown at the Arena. After the movie, the girls were exhausted and slept well the whole night.

During the night my wife and I scanned the internet for a local Christmas parade on Friday or Saturday that we could take the kids to. The forecast was for the temp. to drop to the 30's on Friday which I considered perfect parade weather.

We lucked up and found the best little town parade around in Reston,VA. Now, if you go, get up early and get a good spot because this parade gets packed. The parade goes through the Main street of the Reston shopping center which is a cobblestone road with sops and stores all around.
The parade reminded me of a Hallmark movie. The costumes, bands, floats and dancers were top notched. They also had a grandstand with benches that the parade went past with an emcee
announcing each group.
The Reston Center also has an outdoor skating rink but it was too cold with the wind blowing.

On Saturday, our last stop was at the home of Frederick Douglass in Anacostia which is a must see also. The home has been restored and sits high up on a hill. You can see the Capitol Building form the home's front porch.

But except for the hotel ,gas ,ice skating, and movie the trip was pretty reasonable.

Now of course if can give further tips and details if anyone has any questions.

We plan on going back each year because you can not see it all in a few trips and enjoy, plus the educational experiences for the kids is invaluable.

Frugal Frank OTBS

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Thanksgiving in Washington, DC on the Cheap

Hello again,
This is Frugal Frank OTBS back from a great trip to DC during the Thanksgiving holidays. First of all, I have to tell you that my wife and I were looking for a break from our dysfunctional extended families. You know the type, they can never seem to get their....it together. I mean once you turn 18 years old you have to lose the baggage and make a success of your life. I have sympathy for children but none for as my mother used to say "grown folks".

So back to the story. New York was too expensive to do Macy's this year . We needed a drive within 4 hours and the hotel had to have a pool because my girls are fish. For those of you of the frugal mind, you can stay in nice hotels if you shop right. Our favorite pick is Embassy Suites. Yes Paris Hilton's family has the hotel business down and will get my business. Now these hotels are normally expensive during the week but you can get a room for around $99 bucks on weekends and holidays. Now you might think this is expensive, but factor in free buffet(made to cook breakfast) for 4 each day and free cocktails every evening and that $99 will be like $59.00.

I went on the internet and snared the Convention Center Embassy Suites. Brand new, walking distance to the Capital, National Archives, Museums and Eateries. Hotel parking is expensive at $26.00 a night but the hotel is across the street from a public parking lot and plenty of meter spaces. The meters are free on the weekend and from 6:30 pm to 7 am so I juggled a little and put money in the meter during my morning jog and saved some change.

Hey, another thing, if you are frugal, you have to stay in good health. I jog and eat healthy--lowers medical expenses.

Back to the Hotel:

Great rooms, spacious, 2 televisions with one being a flat LCD TV. kids can sleep on pull out in one room and adults in king bed, microwave, safe, frig nice decor,etc

Pool is open from 8am to 11pm
Super Workout room with fruit, news papers, magazines, free bottle water

There are even washers and dryers in the basement if you need to wash a load.

Well, I am tired, have to go to bed..... I will continue the rest later.


Frugal Frank OTBS

Saturday, November 10, 2007

I am an Advocate for Public Schools

As a father of 2 I cannot send my girls to private school with conviction. Why would I, as a Frugal Man spend $8,000 a year for 12 years preparing to send my child to college for 4. At that rate I would have exhausted the money for Harvard. If I instead invested $8000 a year for 12 years then I could pay for undergraduate and grad school with no debt left over.

My other issue with private schools is that the majority were started either around the time of Brown v. The Board of Education or 1965 when integration was being mandated. Get the picture.

I also think private primary school numbers are inflated. If you only take the prime kids with deep pocket, involved, middle class, families then your scores are going to be better regardless of the schools curriculum. And also if private primary schools were the answer then the world would be run by private school honor roll kids.

Besides, if every family who could, would write a check for $1000.00 each year to their school for extras then every school could excel. Then our children could stay and learn in an environment that resembles the real world.

Besides when I look at private school cost, I can supplement my daughters with educational camps, Kumon and historical trips and still not spend $8000 or more a year so even though I do applaud the parents who do private school, I have reverence for those who do public education which is the backbone of this country.

Peace Out,
Frugal Frank from the Blackside