Jason's Log

After 1am on Saturday morning, I took my camera out for an hour for some night shots in my apartment complex. I think I got a few good ones. Enjoy.

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I took Ledy to see Avatar in 3D at the Regal Cinema here in Columbia. I enjoyed the movie and the 3D really enhanced the experience.

Overall, there are a few issues with the film — like mineral “unobtainium” that is highly desired. Really, we can bring an incredible moon of Pandora to life in 3D but no one could think of a better name for this mineral? In general it had a good story and plot, but there were parts of the storyline that felt like a screenplay from Al Gore. It felt sorta like “Cowboys and Indians” for the 22nd century — except the Cowboys are the bad guys. Some might say it paints the military in a bad light, but I would like to point out that the military in Avatar is controlled and directed by a mega corporation — which I don’t see ever working out well for very long. There are a few attacks on capitalism, like a remark about how stockholders wouldn’t like bad the PR (from a slaughter of native peoples), but would like a bad quarterly earnings even less. Well, at least in the current economy, the majority of stockholders in publicly traded companies are common people (mutual funds, retirement accounts, etc) and I would think if those folks knew in advance that a company was killing lots of innocent people in order to profit that most folks would choose to invest elsewhere.

Other than the lefty overtures, Avatar was a good flick that really benefits from 3D. I’m thinking this becomes the new standard for the movie going experience. I think later this year, we will see more movies delivered in 3D (with a non-3D choice too). Avatar would have been a good film without the 3D, but it really complements and enhances the experience.

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As part of our debt elimination goal for 2010, I’m in the process of setting up a special checking account solely for dealing with committed expenses (savings, rent, utilities, and other bills). We opened up a checking account, savings account, and a Christmas club savings account at South Carolina Federal Credit Union here in Columbia. We also setup a “Kids club” account for each of the girls, which we will use later for teaching them how to handle money. The primary mission was for the free checking account that we will use to setup all of our automatic bill payments. Using this method, I will be able to direct deposit the amount needed to always meet my bills and the automation will ensure the bills will get paid on time. With utilities that vary each month, I simply took the 12-month average and added some “buffer”. Either way, I will seed the account with enough to get started until the pay checks catchup (biweekly pay vs monthly expenses). Our current primary checking account (Wachovia) will get the rest of my paycheck to use for all other expenses like groceries, debt payments, entertainment, etc.

We are basically following the Dave Ramsey approach, just automating the “envelope system” by using a couple of checking accounts, and a few savings accounts. I’m hoping this works out.

The next step in this process is to submit the changes to the direct deposit information so my paycheck can get redirected accordingly.

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Now that we are at a the beginning of a new year and new decade (debatable, but I’m a programmer so I always count starting with a zero), many folks are making, and by now, breaking resolutions. I am taking a different approach. I prefer new year “goals” instead. Goals must be challenging yet obtainable, and most of all, measurable. I think that is what a resolution fails to be and why so many folks don’t keep them. There are no milestones or progress reports to see how well we are doing. Everyone makes the same “lose weight” resolution, but a goal would be “lose 20 pounds in 5 months”. Also, in this example, we can set milestones — say “lose 4 pounds each month”. So, I’m working on what my 2010 Goals are going to be — here are some of mine:
* Lose 20 pounds in 6 months (January was recovery from December)
* Workout for 30 minutes or more at least 4 days each week (so far so good, part of weight loss goal)
* Pay off all debts except the mortgage (I have these figures, I just don’t want to blab them all over the Internet)
* Be on a written cash flow plan the entire year (part of debt elimination goal)
* Dedicate one evening or afternoon per week with one of my daughters (alternating each week)
* Do at least 4 paid photography events by the end of the year
* Read (or listen to) 1 non-fiction (audio)book each month
* Read (or listen to) the entire Bible this year

I’m sure I will think of some more, perhaps my goal for January will be to simply finish this list.

What are some of your “goals” for 2010?

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I have settled on using the traditional copay option for our health care for 2010. The premium is a little more (still less than the previous company) than the High Deductible Plan, but I don’t have the ability to use it with the Health Savings Account (HSA) this year since I already committed to a Flexible Spending Account. There isn’t away to convert an FSA to an HSA for the same tax year, so I will have to wait until next year to enjoy the HDP and HSA combo. The HDP and HSA would have been a very good option for us because of the tax advantages. I still have the FSA, but the maximum amount for that is only $2500 per year — which is far below the family maximum out of pocket for the HDP option. However, the new copay plan isn’t bad at all — cheaper premiums and lower copays across the board, and better coverage/terms — so I’m happy with the choice. Also, my company is playing for a good dental insurance plan worth up to $2,000. Considering dental insurance plans, that’s actually a very good benefit. Overall, I’m fairly happy with the arrangement. Cost is still very high, but less than what would have been a nearly $370/month increase.

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I’m evaluating the difference between the new health insurance plans. One is a High Deductible plan with a Health Saving Account (HSA) and the other is the “traditional” copay/coinsurance 80/20 plan with a Flexible Spending Account (FSA).

If I were single and/or relatively healthy, the HDP w/ HSA would be an excellent choice. The opposite side can also be true — relatively high costs could be controlled with the HDP and the deductible side would be funded with the tax free HSA.

At least this year, my employer offers the FSA (tax free) which has a max contribution of $2500 per year. If I don’t use all of it, I loose the difference. HSAs roll over each year so they are like a “medical” IRA with a max of about $6100.

Time to go into bean counter mode to see if the HDP makes any cents.

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