Cash Tips

Today's lesson is this. The harder you work the more your work will give back to you.

This isn't only true when you are talking about tip wage jobs, though we will cover them first. I run a cafe/bar/grill/service cart food and beverage operation during the day. It is very hard for me to teach people to work hard. But it is easy for people to want to make more money. I have a simple answer.

Work harder, work smarter = Make More Money.

Our industry specializes in personalized sales. People don't come to the Golf Club to eat, the come to play golf and we they to customize our menu to convince them they also want to eat. I work diligently to make the right food for the right person. Even if it isnt on the menu. I want to be able to give them the best item for their needs. This is how I am getting ahead with my customers and building a repeat client base.

On the money making side of the job is this. Find out what people like, and find out how to make them want what you have. I am not a pushy sales person. I offer things, rather than push things. If you glass is empty I ask if you want another. If you are sitting with nothing, I ask if you want something. If you stare at the menu and then walk to sit down, I know you are hungry just dont know what to have. All of the people I can sell things too.

My "girls" have a different job though. They must go to the customer that is never going to come to them and then convince them that they need something. They are required by Job to be pushy, but kind. Sweet and Bossy. They sell by replacing empty cans in your cart and waiting to be paid for them. Or getting your more beers knowing you have a tab open. They convince you that you need a snickers bar to make it through the next nine holes. They use theirs smiles to trick you into saying yes when you never knew you wanted anything.
They are the sweet innocence that plays devil in your head.

This is where the money is made. Driving around on a Beverage Cart. Selling a thousand dollars in beer/soda/candy/water and then going home with 20% or more in tips... oh yeah and sales bonuses. It doesnt take much for a cart girl to be able to make $20/hr just smiling and being a little pushy.

Professor Perry Curtis - Wants and Needs

The most influential teacher of my adult life was Perry Curtis. You can check out his BIO <here>.

These are the two lessons he shared with me over 2 years ago and I will never forget them.


Lesson #1 Wants VS. Needs. 

We are all creatures bread into the microwave society of the 21st century. We want things now and have been convinced by media that these are things we need. We need an iPad, iPhone 4, and a BMW. We also need Diesel Jeans, Sperrys and Shox. We need our hair highlighted, we need the newest of everything and we need to eat at all of the cool places with our friends.

But it turns out these are not needs. These are Wants. Needs are a House; Transportation, not always being a car but could also be a bus pass, a bike or walking; Clothing, simple clothing of quality enough to present ourselves to the needed levels; food; water; and friendship.

It was a hard sell to our class that everything we want is not a need. Shoes are a need. 7 pairs is not filling that need. A car might be a need, but a $50,000 car isn't a need. Coffee might be a need, but Starbucks is not a need. Food is a need, but eating out is not a need. Jeans might be a need if you only have one pair, but $300 Diesel Jeans are not a need.

He illustrated this point to us using his daughter as an example. She wanted icecream that day and was begging to have some. She said, "But Daddy, I need some." He had to then explain to her that she wanted icecream because her life would not be any worse off if she didn't have icecream that day.

Opportunity Cost more closely defined what he was trying to teach us. Everything that we choose to spend our money on takes away something else we might have otherwise been able to buy.  If I buy the icecream that I want, I wont have enough money to pay the rent which is something that I need. If I eat out 5 times this week for $10, I wont have enough money to replace the tire on my car that gets me to work.

Lesson #2 Know Where You Spend Your Money.

Professor Curtis challenged us one day in class. He called it a quiz. "Without pulling out you wallet of your purse, how much cash and change do you have on your person, and in your bank accounts? How much to the penny? Question #2. Name every item you have purchase in the last week and how much it cost."

I thankfully can say I was one of the closest out of my class with my answers. I was within $.12 cents on my cash and within $22 on my bank accounts. Today, I find that to be awful.

His lesson was short and clear. How can you be in control of your spending if you don't know what you are buying and what you have and if you can't remember every item you purchased in the last week then your purchases weren't meaningful and definitely were not needs.

Our assignment that week was to write down every penny we spent, from a pack of gum, to a $500 car payment. Every penny we spent we had to write down. It was amazing and disgusting to see where we all spent our money and we didn't even know. I am proud to say I can account for every penny I have spent or earned in the past 24 months. This is how I took control of my finances.

We also did a Case Study later that week about how much little purchases can add up to. I will cover this in a later post. It will be entitled Starbucks for Bankruptcy.

Remember to fill your needs first and choose your wants wisely. I challenge you to account for every penny you spend for one week. It will change how you spend money for the rest of your life.

Bargain Golf

Golf. A great game of man versus nature. The ultimate challenge of a man's absolute control over his body. A game that can never be mastered nor beaten. Golf is what I do for a living.

I don't play golf for a living, I wish I did, but I don't have the mental or financial means to play golf competitively. Golf is what I do for a living because I run a golf course. This is my trade.

You don't run a golf course. You don't understand what it takes to run a golf course and you don't have a clue what costs are involved in keeping 185 acres or grass mowed to less than an inch 365 days a year. This is our difference. You pay me to play golf, and I get paid for creating the environment for you to play.

Bargain Golf.

As of this year everyone has started to think that golf is this free thing that we get money for and that everyone working at a golf course is rich. It is far from the truth. Most employees of any golf course across the nation make between $12,000-$40,000 a year. We are poor on the scale of qualified managers.

Golf is free.... for people who steal it. Our employees aren't even allowed to play golf for free. Our management team must pay $5 to play golf as well as our hourly staff.

This week I have been asked by customers to let them play free golf. Discount the golf 50% since we aren't busy, or just let them play for a small cash fee. I scratch my head in confusion at these questions. Here is the best hypothetical conversation I can produce to explain why golf is not free.

Mr. L :Welcome. How may I help you?

John: Can you get a single out?
Mr. L: Sure. What is your last name?
John: Doe.
Mr. L: First Name?
John: John.
Mr. L: I can get you out at 10:37. will that be okay
John: Sure... Any chance you can let me go out for free since it isn't busy today?
Mr. L: The best I can do is $27.07
John: What about charging me for only the front 9? That would be half price, right?
Mr. L: Sorry, we don't have a 9 hole rate. It will be $27.07
John: Can I just to walk a few holes since no one is on them and not pay?
Mr. L: No Sir. The rate is the rate.
John: Is there anything we can work out here?
Mr. L: John, What do you do for a living?
John: I sell airline tickets.
Mr. L: Can I get some free tickets to Hawaii?
John: Of course not.
Mr. L: Why not? The plane has 4 empty seats still. No one is sitting in them. Can't I just sit in one of them for free?
John: No. You can't just fly to Hawaii because there is one open seat on the plane. You have to pay for a ticket.
Mr. L: Just like you have to pay to play golf. We wouldn't come to your work and ask you for a bargain on your product so please don't ask us for a bargain on ours. ... It's going to be $27.07 today for your round of golf.
John: Ok. Can I have a bag of tees for free then?

And this is how 1 out of every 10 customers goes. Everyone thinks that golf should be free or should have a friend/family/NFL/neighborhood resident/fireman/waitress/brother-in-laws-uncle discount and that just isn't the case. Golf courses costs millions of dollars a year to maintain, so golf isn't cheap unless you sink a coffee can in the lot next door.

Winter Craigslist

I have recently decided that I would love to be unemployed. My life would consist of this: Craigslist.

I have been a supporter of craigslist for the past 4 years or so. I remember when it was so small that I could read every post for cars each day and it would only take me 30 minutes. This task now would be impossible unless you were continually refreshing the page 24/7.

Craigslist can be a great source of holiday cash. Last year I was able to corner this market with a little thinking ahead. In July I had the great idea of buying things out of season. Specifically I was buying Snowboarding and Skiing Gear. Boards, Boots, Bindings, Ski's, and Poles. It was one of the best ideas I have ever had as an investor.

I spend around $300 that summer buying used gear for quarters on the dollar. I sacrificed one of my walls to become a display case for the boards over the summer. When December came I was ready. Around the 14th I took all of the gear I had accumulated and photographed it. I also compiled pictures of the gear from the factory websites and the original specs on the items. Then I listed everything.

I listed the gear as individual items and as bulk buys. I listed things by size, by type, by key words, by color. I tried to think of all the ways that I would search for snowboarding gear and made sure that those words and more were in my descriptions. I didnt "keyword:" list. I wrote the words and phases into all of my post.

On the 16th everything took of like a fire. School had ended on the 15th and vacations would be stating every day from then till mid January. I had hit the "Jack"pot. The $300 I had initially invested turned into over $1000 in sales. I made a 230% return on my investment in 6 months.

The ideas I used were stolen straight from intro to economics. Buy when things are in low demand making the price fall. Sell when things are in high demand making the price skyrocket. I also spent about an hour a day on craigslist searching for the best buys. You make your money on the purchase, not on the sale. Buy low. Sell high.

Used Car Buying Manual. Part II Car Stealerships

I bought a used car. I love my new used car. I dislike the man who sold me my new used car.

I bought my car from what I thought was a respectable car dealership. My father had worked there in years past, and I believe highly in the integrity of his work. Time has passed; things have changed. The used car salesman that I dealt with is named Charles Washington.

A little back ground on Charles Washington. Originally from Shreveport, LA, he attended college at Cameron, and was drafted to the NFL in 1989 in the 7th round by the Indianapolis Colts as a defensive back. That season he road the bench for 16 games. Traded to the KC Chiefs in 1990. Only was on the roster of 6 games where he sat the bench. In 1991 he was on the roster for all 16 games and had 1 start. In that game he put up an interception for 34 yards. In 1992 he was traded to the Falcons where he was on the roster for 36 more games with no starts and retired from the NFL in 1994. Now Charles Washington is an internet used car salesman in Plano, Tx.

With that in perspective I can outline how this process of buying a new used car worked.

I originally looked at the 2009 Honda Accord that is now my car on the 17th of November. I scheduled an appointment to see and test drive the car that night with Charles Washington. He later called me to back to let me know that he would be unavailable to show me the car that night and another sales person would be there in his place. Willie, the friendlier of the two salesmen worked tirelessly to close the deal that night but was unable to because there was a small dent on the hood of the car which was the stumbling block for both my wife and myself. Willie, in all honesty, should get the commission for the sale of this car because he did all the work to convince us that we would be taken care of.

On the 19th I stopped by the dealership a second time to look over the car with my father and mother, both of which are quite knowledgeable cars, to get second opinions. After that short meeting and look over I went home to sleep on the idea of this car one more time.

On the 20th at 8:30am I was back at the dealership to be the first in line to make a car deal that day. Charles Washington was on hand, and hurriedly move us along to make a deal on the car while promising verbally and in writing that he would have the dent in the hood removed from the car. So we bought the car paying full sticker price and financed in house since they beat the rate i was quoted from my bank.

Then the fun began.

After about 5 days of time had passes I tried calling Charles to get our car back into the shop to have the repairs done, but never got a returned call. I email the General Sales Manager next to make sure that I got my point across. The next day, my phone was ringing and we were scheduling a time for the car to be dropped of, a demo car provided and the said repairs made. Monday morning my wife went to drop of the car and we greeted with an uninformed used car sales team. No one was aware that I had been contacted on Saturday to have the car dropped off Monday morning between a 9:00 and 9:30 AM, nor did they have a demo car ready for my wife to drive. I was told everything would be ready for her when she arrived but after over a hour she was placed in a 2009 (red) Ford Escape.

The next day at 6:21 PM I received a phone call from Max, the used car manager, asking if it would be at all possible for me to bring in the Escape because it had been sold. My wife kindly dropped of the car to them and was again met with an unprepared sales team.

Finally, friday morning I get word from Charles Washington that our Honda is out of the body shop and ready for pick up. I let him know I wouldn't be able to make it till that evening but would call when I was on my way. I had tried to contact Charles by phone when I left work to let him know that we were coming to allow him time to inspect the car before we arrived, but I never could get an answer on his line. When we arrived we were greeted with familiar faces in the used car building. Charles was on a call on his cell phone and then excused himself to go get our car in mid conversation.


I finally got to see my car and this is what I found 

My car was covered in Snow, dust and flakes of dried rubbing compound that had been thrown all over my car as the paint was buffed after the repair was made. So I tried to have my car cleaned that night, but no one was there to help with the situation. Angered, upset and irritated I went home to fight this battle another day. Monday morning I head back to the dealership with my car, covered in snow, missing pieces from under the hood and the clips that hold the grill in place. They have my car for another two days, and then I eventually get my car back.

I now have my new used car; the dent is fixed. I love my new car. I hate this dealership. No. I hate Charles Washington. Each and every time I have called the dealership since I purchased the car he has been nothing but useless. He makes me feel like I am inconveniencing him, and I am not a priority to him since he has already received his commission for the sale.

This reckless waste of my time is why I have now deemed this location as a Car Stealership. 

Used Car Buying Manual. Part I

After many weeks of pounding the pavement, kicking tires, and test driving sedans with no real intention of buying them, I bought a used car. This may seem like a simple process; driving a car seems like a simple process also, but we have many individuals in society that already find that to be too strenuous a task.

Here are some of the short cuts and ideas that I have gathered over the years, and particularly from this season of shopping, about buying a new or used car.

1) You are not making an emotional decision.

Buying a car has nothing to do with what you want or what you like. It is a search for the things that you will and won't settle with having or not having. No car is your dream car. If you find a car that you believe is your dream car I suggest you never ride in another car again where you will most certainly find one if not ten options you wished your dream car had.

You are making a rational decision. I want this type of car with these types of features. For example: My wife was looking for an gray Honda Accord Sedan with an automatic transmission, 4 cylinder engine, alloy wheels, power windows, power locks, splash guards, trunk liner, all weather floor mats, cloth interior, leather trim, cruise control, power seats, moon roof, cd player, etc... All of these things were her wants in a car and I agreed that I liked them all as well.

Ironically enough, the car that we both liked the most wasn't the one we ended up driving home. Yes it had every feature we wanted and then some. I really liked the blue interior map light to see what ever hand held distraction contraption you are playing with as you maneuver your 3,500 Lb. metal coffin down the highway in the midst of rush hour traffic. She really liked the moon roof, leather wrapped steering wheel, and door trim package. Together we decided, or more I decided I wasn't going to buy it. It wasn't the right deal, even if it was the right car. Too many miles, too much dealer mark up. It just wasn't it.

2) Buying a car isn't about what you can afford.

That's right. Buying a car for most people is the biggest financial decision they will make before they decide to buy a house or turn in a willing lottery ticket. We can all afford more than we need. I am sure the finance collar at the dealership will tell you that you can afford 25% of your monthly income in a car payment. You can afford to 100% finance at 14.9% APY and that You need to set you budget based on these criteria.

A. How much am I willing to sacrifice to have this car?
B. How much more/less with this car cost me than the one I have now?
C. Do I really want to become a slave to my car?

My choices came down to this... Jeep Wrangler. EPA estimated 13 MPG. Trip to work 15 miles. Trip to lunch and back to work 4 miles. Trip home from work 15 miles. Trip to see family of friends at night 25 miles round trip. Estimated 50-60 miles driven per day. So lets average 4 gallons of gas at $2.60 a gallon. $10.40/day. $312.00 per month in gas.

So if i buy a new car, that gets twice the gas mileage (Honda Accord EPA 26) I have $156 towards a car payment without spending an extra penny during the course of the month. So in answering my own questions

A. yes I am willing to sacrifice my love for Jeeps, 4x4s and my manliness to have a reliable easy to maintain car.
B. After the cost of maintenance, and insurance I am ahead in the long run by buying a newer Accord than driving an older Wrangler.
C. I am not slave to my car because in a sense, it is paying me to drive it.  So I am not its slave in the sense of working all week to pay for it over what I was already paying to drive my last car.

3) Buying a car is about making 3 separate deals with the car sales man.

Deal 1. Does he have the car that you want and what is the price you can both agree on for the car?

This is the biggest part of the car buying process but everyone generally gets in muddled in with Deals 2 and 3(which we discuss momentarily). Negotiate the car you want, what you want from the dealership, and what you will give in return. Get all of this in writing. It will protect you in deals 2 and 3. If you decided you want to move forward on the car make sure that you have all the details in line: price, what they owe you and what you owe them.

Deal 2.  Do you want to trade in your vehicle?

This is a second deal not related to the first deal. Most people have this already determined before they walk into a dealership. Thinking to themselves, "What am I going to do with two cars anyways?" You already have the price agreed on for the car you are buying, now you must again sit and talk terms about your trade. If you decide that the money they are going to give you for it is sufficient to save you the time and headache of selling the car yourself, or finding a clever friend or family member to sell the car for you, you sell them your trade here. This will save you from paying taxes on the whole value of the car and should also play into your decision making process about whether or not the trade in price is fair.

Deal 3. Payment Options.

This is that hardest part of a car deal for me. I always want to pay cash for things up front. I hate debt. Until I was 19 the notion of borrowing money from the bank never made sense to me because you had to pay them interest for this money. At the ripe old age of 20 I was enlightened to the fact, "Sometimes your money can make you more money if you have it in the bank, than the money you will save by paying cash."

So I researched this, thought about it and came to this conclusion. I always need to keep enough liquid capital on hand to be able to chase my dreams, but I never need to be too far into debt to be tied to minimum payments.

So put as much down as you feel comfortable not having and finance the rest. But get outside financing before you go to the car dealership because you always want to get the lowest rate possible.

4) You can never do too much research about your purchases ahead of time.

The Car Game

As most of you know, I am a lover of cars. All cars. I have been known from time to time to buy and sell cars. This is a passion of mine. A car is something more than just a mode of transportation; it is tons on steel and plastic formed together in a sculpture, a self portrait of self. I am a jeep, a truck, an economical car, a 4x4, a beater, a toy. I am reliable yet different. I want to be noticed for the little things, but I want to stand out because of what I am, not because of what I am not.

This Love of cars has become a business venture for me of sorts. I am always looking for bigger and better. I am 24 years old now, and I have owned 6 Jeep Cherokees, 2 Wranglers, 5 Chevy pickups, 3 Honda Civics, 2 Volvo sedans, a Mustang convertible, a GMC Jimmy, and I will soon be the proud owner of a new sedan. 20 cars in just 8 years of driving. My cars have a shorter life expectancy than most produce. Four months 25 days is the average time I will own a single vehicle.

Most people look at this as something crazy, irresponsible and confusing. I look at it as a method of always ensuring that I have free transportation. Think of it this way, in the 4.8 months that I will drive a car, the value you will increase not decrease. Paint quality will improve, interior fragrance will blossom, and overall appeal will double just because I have been the pilot. (It is a similar phenomenon to the dramatic increase in value of a football jersey once it has been worn on game day in a super bowl) Simply put, I try to make each car I drive better than when I purchased it.

The benefits of short term car ownership are endless. Deferred maintenance costs, never have to buy tires, can have a new car anytime you are bored with you current car, and most importantly you will never own the car long enough to be effected by depreciation.

The principle of free car ownership is this. Buy a car at a low price; negotiate for a lower price. Always remember that you make money buying the right car, not finding the right buyer. Presentation is everything. And my personal favorite motto of being a successful Craigslist employee is this, "there is always someone that is dumber than you."

This is by far my favorite part. You don't have to be a genius to buy low and sell high, you simply have to buy something for a cheaper price than what another person is willing to pay, and then you must find that person and sell to them.