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Archives for May 2009

That Your Daddy’s Car?

May 21, 2009 By Shane Ede Leave a Comment

I want to share a story with you about work. About working for what you want, so that you can not only get what you want, but pay for it with cash.
My roommate in college (one of many) graduated college with no college loans. Not because he had scholarships, but because he paid for it with cash. Not only that, but he had a nice pickup and an even nicer classic car. It was a very nice drop-top convertible with a deep burgundy metal flake paint job. Every summer, he did a little bit of work on it until it was painstakingly nice.
68mustangblue_smallOne day, while we were out and about enjoying the sun with the top down, we happened to stop somewhere. It’s been a while ago, so I don’t exactly remember where. While we were there, some older guys (I’m guessing 40-50ish) came over to look at the car.
After asking the normal courtesy questions, like what kind of motor was in it and if the seats were original, one of the guys asked the wrong question.  “That your Daddy’s Car?”

My roommate isn’t exactly a shy person, but even he will admit that, at first, he was taken aback by the question. Despite our age (21ish), he had worked hard to put that car in the condition that it was in.  It was his car.  Not his daddy’s, his.  After he regained his senses, he made sure that the man who asked the question knew that it was his car. That he had done the work and he had paid for it.  The guy laughed his question off like it was a joke, although it was obvious that he hadn’t meant it jokingly.

Like most stories, this one has a moral at the end.  Or, at least, I’m giving it one.  Giving us all something to learn from it.  No matter how hard you work for something, there will always be that guy who will assume that you got it handed to you.  Nice car?  Must be your daddy’s.  Nice house?  Inheritance.  Or more loan that it’s worth.  Or you make a lot of money.  Or.  Or. Or.  The point is, they will find a way to assume that you got whatever it is by some other method than actual hard work.  And, like my roommate, you might feel that you need to set them straight.  Whether you do or not, is irrelevant.  What you need to take from this story is that when you set those goals, and you work hard to reach them, you must expect that there will be few people who will believe that you got it by working for it.  Some, you will be able to set straight.  Others will continue to think it no matter how many times you tell them.  Being disciplined and hard working requires a thicker skin.  You’ve got to be able to ignore the people who won’t believe.  They believe that anyone who has nice things got it the same way the majority of other people do.  Credit.  But you know better.  You got your things the Beating Broke Way!

Photo Credit: kkiser

Shane Ede

I started this blog to share what I know and what I was learning about personal finance. Along the way I’ve met and found many blogging friends. Please feel free to connect with me on the Beating Broke accounts: Twitter and Facebook.

You can also connect with me personally at Novelnaut, Thatedeguy, Shane Ede, and my personal Twitter.

www.beatingbroke.com

Filed Under: General Finance, ShareMe Tagged With: beating broke, debt, work

Free Credit Score Report

May 3, 2009 By Shane Ede Leave a Comment

Your Credit Score ReportIf you read this blog through a feed reader, or just haven’t visited in the last week or so, you likely haven’t seen the new banner that I’ve put up on the right side of the site.  It’s a lovely little banner (designed by me) for a White Paper / Report that I put together.  The subject, fittingly, is Your Credit Score.  In it, I write about what a credit score is, how it is used, and the steps that you can take to improve your credit score.

My hope is that the report will be help people learn what the correct usage of a credit score are, and what the benefits are of having a good credit score.  Which is why I’ve made it a FREE report.  All you have to do is sign up for the Beating Broke newsletter.

What is the newsletter?  Well, it’s a bit in the fledgling state, but the idea is that you will get the occasional update about the site with an article or two as well as some articles and information that won’t appear here on the blog.  I promise to not fill up your email inbox with the newsletter.  In fact, at the moment, I only plan on sending it out once a month at most.  More likely, bi-monthly.

The report is well worth it if you ask me.  I’m a bit biased since I wrote it, but I really do think it could be a very valuable resource for someone who doesn’t know much about credit scores.

Also, I want the report to get into as many hands as possible, so if you want a copy without signing up for the newsletter, just send me a note with the contact form and I’ll send you a copy.

Shane Ede

I started this blog to share what I know and what I was learning about personal finance. Along the way I’ve met and found many blogging friends. Please feel free to connect with me on the Beating Broke accounts: Twitter and Facebook.

You can also connect with me personally at Novelnaut, Thatedeguy, Shane Ede, and my personal Twitter.

www.beatingbroke.com

Filed Under: Books, Credit Score, Site News Tagged With: beating broke, Credit Score, credit score report, newsletter, Site News

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