Media Manipulation

Watch the Republican debate? If you didn't then chances are you aren't going to read much on what happened other than Rand Paul and Chris Christie duking it out about the Constitution and the headliner...Megyn Kelly and Donald Trump going at it over something that is not politically relevant but is personal.

My opinion, the debate was terrible. Aside from the personal attacks and focus on just a couple of the candidates it was a waste of 2 hours of my life. I wanted more talk about immigration, abortion, health care, taxes, budget. There was little to none of that. Some of the candidates were very lackluster. I watch these things, regardless if I have a candidate that I'm leaning to or not, to see how they handle questions. Do they beat around the bush? I hope not. They have a time limit and some of them go for the most in-depth answer so by the time the buzzer goes off they can say, "oh man, my bad". 

Even if I don't agree with a stance someone takes, I gain respect for them if they truly believe what they stand for and aren't afraid to say it. At least give us, the people, something. Who knows, you may just get some people on your side 

My thought about debates in the 21st Century. They should have someone with a timer to give the candidates an allotted amount of time. The network already conducted a poll for questions and the top 10 are asked to the candidates. This prevents personal attacks and actually has what the people want to know about.

As you can tell, the media has an insane amount of power. They have an agenda and do what they can to accomplish it; on the other hand, we become nonethewiser if we don't get our own information.

Whatever you do, don't be a sheep.

My thoughts

     Well, it's been a while - my bad! I've been feeling really political here lately, and I figured I'd share my thoughts on things happening and whatnot. Here are some of things that I can't stand: flip-flopping, communism, and loss of liberty. This country's political state is horrible. We have an election coming up and yet there are maybe 2 people who I'd like to see win. They haven't flip-flopped, but they've done some things I don't like.

     Before you ask, I am a Constitutionalist. I believe the constitution is still the best way to run this country. Therefore, I am an independent. One of history's greatest men once said this,

     “However [political parties] may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government, destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion.”

     The man, George Washington. He was asked during his second nomination which party he represented and said the above quote. He said that the day our country has 2 power parties will be the day it starts to fall apart. He we are...

**Fun fact - George Washington was asked if he wanted to be president a third term since he was so popular. He declined as he didn't want the government to be viewed as having unjust power and becoming what the settlers had escaped in England.**

     This guy could see the future.

     Fast forward to the 21st century, you have 2 parties with total opposite ideologies, moral standards, and ultimate goals. We are in a cycle of wash, rinse, and repeat. for a few terms things are going great, then someone destroys that foundation and builds it up the opposite. Been going on since the 1800s and it's sad. Our country's citizens are fighting, racists, hateful towards one another. Worse yet? It will probably never come to an end. Alas it's human nature. One day, I hope to see us be a peaceful national union.

Only time will tell.

Changes are afoot

The last 3 weeks I have had family staying with me. First my uncle came down and stayed 2 weeks, we had a blast. Took a weekend trip to San Antonio so we could take my little girl to Sea World. Humidity at the gate was 94% which is nuts. Had to literally wipe the sweat off because it stuck to our foreheads. Besides that, it was a blast! Saw a few shows, daughter played for about 2 hours and we all passed out early that night.

My parents came down memorial day weekend and stayed that following week. Went to North Richland Hills, looked at houses for my parents, they visited a bunch of people while I was at work. Can't wait until they are moved down here; vacations to forthcoming!

All in all, a pretty good month, best one in a long time. Progress is happening all around me. Stay tuned..

Progress

Here is where I stand on my debt:

On my student loans, I'm down to $1,085 remaining. Should take about 3 or 4 months to pay that off. My  car, sitting at $24,000, about 3.5 years. My next purchase is going to be a house. Not really in a hurry so will keep saving and putting money back; let my credit continue to improve and probably start looking in about a year or so.

As far as savings, I told myself when I started saving that I wouldn't stop or use that money unless I absolutely needed it. I'm going on 4 months and I'm ahead of where I figured I'd be. It's nice because parents and uncle have helped me really make progress the last 6 months. I'm getting there, and it's a commitment, but I'm wanting to be debt free and start my little girl with that mindset when she gets older.

Investment beginner

Okay, so I have done a lot of research these past few months. I wanted to do something more than just put money in a savings account. I wanted to get some kind of investment going but knew minimal of what to do. My bank offers investment services but their fees are high. I did some reviews, comparisons, and read articles and found the company to use. They are called Betterment (click to be redirected) and have some of the lowest fees in the industry. The best part? No minimum deposit to set up an account. A few companies offer lower fees but it may take $1,000 just to start.

How does it work?

With betterment you link your bank account after signing up. After it's activated - usually after 3 days - you are able to deposit. Deposits. It has advice on what to do in what order. You start an account (IRA, Safety Net, Wealth, Big Purchase, etc) and answer some questions. Afterwards, you will get some suggested allocations which is the ratio of stocks and bonds. It suggested I begin with a Safety Net. Well, I've been transferring money into my savings for the last 3 months or so, but this would be a good way to learn how it works. I didn't change the allocations to test it out. You can change your allocations once a day. It was a 60/40 Bond to stock ratio. It's safe, but takes longer for money to gain. I kept it like that for about 2 weeks with a $100 deposit. After 2 weeks, I had gained 4 cents. Now, this is faster than most savings accounts, but like I said, this is a trial run. Next thing I did was change it to 50/50; which from reading, is the best way to grow your savings. It's diversified so the chance of you taking big losses is slim for extended periods of time. I am currently invested in miniscule parts of hundreds of stocks.

The next step is an IRA. I am going to stop the deposits in my safety net goal for the time being. I still have auto deposits into my savings account, and that account should be high enough to maintain itself and grow or I may withdraw it. My IRA will receive my deposits going into my current account to grow. This will be something that I will not stop once I start. I will also keep money going into my savings account to be backed up for emergencies.

This is, like I said, a beginner strategy that I developed.

The ball is rolling.

Had my finances in order, starting to make progress, being smart with my money. At my job, as I mentioned before, I wasn't going to be able to do a whole lot. Make progress, sure, but it was going to be drug out.

Anyways, I was getting tired of monotony and figured it was time to move on. Started looking for jobs in Oklahoma City and around where I lived. Had a few interviews. One company offered me a job but it was nothing close to what it said on the job board and they offered no benefits. Anyways, I was deciding where to take my next step at. Then it happened...

A company I had been doing training for called and offered me their Safety Director position.Company had everything I was looking for: better pay, benefits (health, vision, and dental insurance - which they pay 70% of, retirement, life insurance) you name it! Best part, it was a little closer than where I was currently working. I thought about it so I wouldn't make a rash decision and consulted with family, the answer was yes. I called them the next day and told them I could start in a couple weeks. I had already given my company a notice and was in the final week of that but was wanting a week to relax for a bit, after all, court was coming up for my divorce and custody.

I started with them and the next week was the mediation date. At mediation it was decided that I would get my girl on every weekend and any time I had off. Thanksgiving and Christmas we'd split the day. Considering I live in a state that a vast majority of custody decisions end up in the usual "father gets child every other weekend and 2 weeks in the summer" I made out great!

Since then, my stress has gone down a lot. My life is going great and I am starting to provide for my little girl a better life than I could've imagined just a year ago. I am down to 2 things in my debt, a student loan, and a car. My uncle wiped out my personal loan just a week ago and my parents have chipped in regularly. Talk about a support system, right? I have started to invest towards my future. Once I get those two things taken care of I'm going to look at houses.

On my own

I moved all  of my stuff out with the help of my brother-in-law. Stayed with her parents for a couple weeks until my place was ready and then I was good to go. Moved out latter part of May and moved into my own place in mid-June. It was weird.

Here I was 25 years old and for the first time in my life I was officially on my own. I had roommates all throughout college and then my ex and I lived together until then. My family helped me get started. Gave me money for food and to get my utilities and everything, which was great! I was finally going to fully delve into getting my financials in order as well.

First thing I did - gathered every bill I had and created a spreadsheet. Put all of the bills in order from date due as well as what their estimated cost was. Next I split them up first to middle of the month, then second half of the month. I did this since I got paid every two weeks. What I've been doing ever since is as soon as I get paid I open up the budget sheet and pay everything due in that period. After around 4 days everything's clear then I control my spending until the next period and rollover everything. Another way to control spending is the envelope method where you put a certain amount in envelopes for "eating out", "play", etc. Once an envelope is empty, you're done in that category until the next payday. 

At my job I was able to pay just a little on everything to make a little progress, but even on my own I was not going to get caught up anytime soon. Was nice that on my next pay period I was able to roll over a little bit. Was ready to start the push and start the next chapter of my life!

Getting things going

After Ronnie left the company I then started going on my own. My boss would schedule the classes and meetings and I'd go do them. Pay wasn't great but it was consistent and enough to pay bills. I was with my family back in my part of the country!

This job was nice in the sense that I got to travel the region and visit parts that I'd never been to. It was a far cry from Wyoming in that there is civilization all around. I went to museums and visited other things when I had the chance; my cup of tea!

I gained a lot of experience speaking in front of people for hours (see: 8) and teaching them different things related to safety, oil-field, and construction. Got to see operations of a few multinational companies (Exterran & Halliburton) and find out a little about every aspect of the oil field that I didn't have experience with.

What's funny is that in high school I very rarely talked in front of class. I was introverted except to my friends. When I went to college the one thing I hoped to be able to get over was my fear of public speaking. I minored in communications and took every kind of speech class I could. In the end, I am very confident when I get up to talk. As I speak I gain more confidence because I get a feel for the listeners mannerisms and personality and start implementing those.

Anyways, I traveled Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, and Arkansas on a regular basis. Learned a lot of things and it was fun, but then I was lied to. When I started I was told "between 3 and 6 months you'll get a raise, afterwards you'll receive another one at the 1 year mark". Well, as 6 months approached I asked about it. Was told that the company didn't make enough money and was going to do things differently.

I was livid. One of those 8 hour classes covered our salaries at the office. I was doing about 2 a week and giving up home time. Then things happened...

Things at home weren't dandy either. Started arguing more and she refused to go to counseling because "it was a waste of money". My thought was she was done. I found out some things a little later that made me done as well. Can't trust someone after a certain point...

Second time's a charm?

Something I didn't mention in my previous posts was that my relationship with my wife was terrible. We didn't think it was going to work out since I wasn't going to be able to get back down to Oklahoma. Matter of fact, we had started discussing who gets what in a divorce. Terrible things personally. I was getting more determined to get down there and it was finally going.

My parents and I loaded up and got me moved down there. I had an apartment lined up but it wasn't going to be ready for a month. My in-laws were letting me stay with them, store my stuff, etc. I was going to a football game with my MIL to watch my youngest brother-in-law play. My wife was going to go and ride with us. We talked a lot, got things sorted out and aired out a lot of things that needed to be said. After a bit, I canceled my apartment and moved in with her into the apartment we got originally. Things were great!

I started my job about 4 days after I moved back. Had a man, Ronnie Hays, train me in how to do everything. He was alright, but he lacked a lot of minute details to get stuff to stick. I went smaller oil companies and conducted safety meetings. Fun to see things that I hadn't really got to see. Pay was better than I'd ever made in Oklahoma but was quite a cut from Wyoming. I was happy. I was home, able to support my family, and still on track.

Life is good...

Done with this mess

We camped out that night - about 30 of us. It was cold and miserable but it was good to have people to talk to. Anything beat being stuck alone!

After the sun rose, we all got together to discuss a plan. We had a radio and they said that the road was clear to Midwest, WY. We worked but we got out around noon or so. We eased our way down the highway making sure to stay together and not lose sight of anyone. When we got to Midwest we filled up because every single one of us was around E, it was ridiculous. That little ma & pa station was very happy that we were there I bet.

Afterwards, seeing as how we were close to an interstate we went our separate ways, I stayed to eat. I'd gone a couple days without any warm food, I missed it. I hopped in the truck finally and was on my way. I called my parents and told them that I would be home in a few hours. Sort of relaxed a little bit, knowing things were going to be fine now.

As I was driving I was able to think a lot which was lovely...

I finally got to our yard around 4 or so and parked the truck. I had a busted tail-light which I didn't care about. If you've experienced something so terrible that for a period you were a different person; this was me. I walked into the office and told the manager I needed to speak with him. We went to his office and I told him I was done. I handed him my hard hat, coveralls, and the keys to the truck. I was going to spend my last week in Wyoming relaxing and enjoying it with my folks.

I am thankful for what Wyoming offered. I was able to get my foot in the door in two fields - O&G and Safety. Because of that I was going to be moving to the area of the country that I grew up in and work as a safety consultant for oilfield companies. Life was going good.

The Day

The thing about Wyoming is it is absolutely beautiful. If you haven't seen it in the winter or summer, or anytime you need to at least once. It is exactly what you should picture as the old west, because it is just that - the old west.

According to land size it is in the range of 10 land area in the USA and territories. Woah, right? Well, it's also the least populated state in the country as well. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 600,000 or so. Anyways, yeah, that tells you a lot. The town I was staying at, Douglas, had no affordable grocery stores or really any shopping. The closest town that did? Roughly 1 hour on the interstate going to Casper. What was between them? A small town that had nothing. So you drove and didn't really have much to do but go straight. When it snows, forget about it.

Back to the subject at hand...

Around August and September I was desperate. I knew winter was coming (I hate snow now, fyi) and I wanted no part of it. Finally I got a call from a company that wanted to bring me on board. I was ecstatic. I remember at the end of the call, they asked how much I made so they could compare. I told them there was no way they could but I was willing to move back for a "hometown discount". I gave my employer a 2 week notice, because that's what you're supposed to do (oops, sorry Walmart).

Then it happened...

About 3 days after I gave my notice a blizzard came in. My job had me going about 2.5 hours to a location in BFE. On good days I left at 3:30 to get there at 7. This day I left at about 2:15 and called to see if I was still needed. It was dangerous I knew. My supervisor told me yes and to not be late - this was the beginning of the worst day of my working life.

I drove, drove, and drove some more. About 30 minutes from the pad, I ran up on a crash scene that had roughly 6 trucks off the road in a ditch. I got to my lease road and drove about 5 mph. Going over the hill I noticed my truck sliding. I let got of the gas and kept going at the same speeds. I tried everything and wasn't stopping when finally I went right off the hill into a ditch about 30 feet from the road in whiteout conditions. I had no service or anything, was in a white truck, and it was around -10. I waved and yelled at trucks and equipment going by but no one saw me. About 20-30 minutes I made it onto the hill and called for help.

About 30 minutes later my supervisor and a couple others came in that same equipment I saw drive by. I was numb, tired, and hungry. After getting me out they pulled me to the entrance of the lease road and told me to get to the town about 30 miles away and stay. The roads weren't safe for vehicle traffic to the pad. I went.

Stupidest thing I've ever done and I regret it to this day. Probably forever. I got about 10 maybe 15 miles in whiteout conditions when I ran into a snow drift. This wasn't a normal one. I was in a 4x4 pickup with a lift kit. The snow was over my hood. I got out and threw one of the floor mats over my muffler so I wouldn't get carbon monoxide poisoning. I hopped back in and waited. About 10 minutes later I tried to get out and the doors were frozen shut. I was trapped!

Another 2 hours later my truck died. No eat, lights, anything. Thankfully it was around noon. I saw people who were also stuck. They tried to get me out but couldn't.

This was the first time ever I thought I was going to die. My feet were freezing, my vision was getting blurry and my throat was sore. I was covered in a blanket and had 3 layers of clothes on but nothing worked. The ONLY thing that kept me going was my daughter. I used my phone to look at pictures and videos of her and I knew I couldn't go out like this. She was 1.5 at the time and I was not going to let her grow up not being to teach her things I'd learned. She was my angel and this day she truly was.

When my phone died I just kept thing of things that would happen as she grew up. It may sound corny but I truly do love her unconditionally. About 6 hours after getting stuck originally some rescue workers showed up. They got me out by using a big sledgehammer on my door. What. A. Relief. We all got out and then the rescuers told us that they'd cleared a patch to the lease road again, but towards town was too dangerous.

We formed a line and went back, worked as a team, and got to the pad site just in time for night time to come.

FINALLY!!!!!

Patience, or lack thereof, finally worked! I showed up one morning for a safety meeting and afterwards my boss called me into his office. There were 2 of them in there. My first thought, like most people would expect was that I was going to get a pay raise! Ha! Just kidding. I was expecting them to let me go, of course. Well.

That was a big old nope. They asked why I moved to Wyoming. I told them "I came here to 1) spend time with my family 2) get the humongous debt off my back 3) gain experience". That won them over... no, seriously... we talked for about 30 minutes and then they asked if I'd be willing to work overnights to do gate-watch. We had 2 contracts with 2 companies and no one was willing to work overnight to gate-watch. Now, I didn't know what that entailed but it sure did sound too good to be true.

They told me this, "You will take a truck, sign, clipboard and sign-in sheet to the location. Once there, take and set the sign up, make sure your lights are on, get in the truck and wait. Make sure you bring something to do until you get relieved either by day crew or my a company man." I thought it was a joke or a trap or something. They informed me that I would still get paid the same, just I would get consistent hours since the contracts would through the end of the year.

I went home and told everybody. No one believed me at first. I went to sleep for a bit and got ready to try this whole "gate-watch" thing out. Couldn't hurt, right? Well, lo and behold it was a godsend.

This was when things really started taking off! I put in consecutive 80+ hour weeks and was finally making some money to put away. After this point, around May or so, I never made less than $1,800 a check. Matter of fact, a majority of the time, I was making $2,300/check this was every 2 weeks.

Things were finally SOLID!

Settling in nicely!

My new job which I had accepted was doing labor in the oil field. Money was limited to how much I was willing to do - which was nice!

Starting off, work was slow. Had to get certified to do different jobs, get on company leases, etc. My first 3 or 4 checks (about 2 months) wasn't all that great. Making less than what I was previously. Debt once again started creeping into the fold. Then a breakthrough, we got a huge contract with a company that was going to bring in the hours.

Got home from work one day, was eating with my family, when my boss called. I was being assigned to do overnight work with Halliburton. Started doing that, working a minimum of 14 hours for about 10 days. My paycheck was nice! Paid off a couple of things that had been lingering for about a year. Work got steady again; wasn't making a lot but was making consistent money.

Once again, however, work died down. I showed up for, I believe, about 3 or 4 days with nothing. A lot of people were off, getting frustrated, etc. I looked at it optimistically. I may have been new to the oil field but I was certainly aware of the cyclical nature of it. I spent time with my family, relaxed, and waited...

and waited...

and waited... Now, I wasn't going without work. Just getting paid to work around the shop and whatnot. Staying afloat not really doing much. I am just an impatient person when it comes to finances (thanks mom!). I came up here to not only see my parents more but to get out of the bind. I was doing that - I just wanted it now!

On the road again

Okay everyone, so I left you off last time with The beginning of my journey and want to keep things going; have about 2.5 years left of material!

Anyways, my family moved up to Wyoming in late December 2012, I had a good job (most money I'd ever made) and started to climb out of debt. Remember, I was "sunk" with no way of getting out. When I finally started getting paychecks I was able to make payments toward my debt, getting balances lowered to reasonable amounts. Then another speed bump...

After finally thinking there was light at the end of the tunnel, I showed up to work one day and the manager called me into his office. We sat down and he said that "corporate felt there was no need for my services further". Wow, talk about a bombshell going off. I was devastated. Wasn't sure what I was going to do. I didn't move up there to live forever, but to get my self in a good spot.

Luckily, I had a couple applications still out from applying when I moved up there. Roughly 3 hours later another oil services company called offering me a job. Better pay, with overtime, and more hours if I chose. I wouldn't be doing safety but I would be getting more experience in the oil field and getting overtime which would be nice. I called back soon after and accepted the job. He gave me an orientation date for a couple days later. Once again I was on the road again!

The start of the journey...

Hi everyone. Starting a blog about something that I actually know about - financial recovery. How do I know? Because I am currently doing it.

See, I made a mistake a few years ago when I got married. Before then, I was very good with making smart financial decisions. About 2 years into college I had achieved a credit score of 798! Woah! I was gonna be set when I graduated. Alas, that was not to be. My last year I met someone who would be my wife and the mother of my daughter. We struggled like all newlyweds do. I couldn't land a job in my field because she refused to move with me and I felt that my marriage was more important.

Anyways, our marriage was in shambles. We were both stressed balancing bills and juggling credit cards (taken out to get the kids clothes for school and food). I finally made a decision - November of 2013 - that would change my life for the better. I was making just above minimum wage, and juggling bills like someone in the circus. Had an apartment and 5 mouths to feed.

I left Oklahoma with roughly $60,000 in debt and moved to Wyoming to live with my parents and try the job market up there. Oil and Coal are huge employers. About a week after arriving and applying everywhere I got a call and offered a job as a Safety Director for a oil services company. This was the break I was needing and gave me faith and happiness because I kept trucking along.

After negotiating a salary and going over benefits I accepted. The salary was below the market up there but it was more than I've made and it was going to open doors. After I got the job, I saved up money and managed to get my family up there with me. We were finally going to make it.