Sam Carrara Thunder Road Marathon

That’s me above in the red (#256), the time shown above is the gun time, my chip time was 4:07:24.

I have spent many an early day, waking up at 5:00 AM to run for 2-3 hours, shower, change, go to work and then sometimes class, church or put the kids to bed. Am I tired and sore? Yes and Yes, but mostly sore right now.

There were many people along the route cheering runners along and every two miles there was water and Powerade offered to help refuel runners. Miles 16 and 20 also had energy gels, which really were needed to help give you the energy boost needed to keep going.

I really need to thank my wife for the many morning of encouragement of kicking me out of bed. She got me going last Christmas when she got me a NikePlus to plug into my iPod. Then after some running I got Plantar Fasciitis, basically a lot of pain in my foot. I got new Saucony shoes and the pain went away, I have been running on Sauconys since 1991.

I ran a number of 5k races, along with a 10k and 15k race as milestones along the journey. Did I always feel motivated? NO. Sometimes I just wanted it to be over, but I’m glad I did it. I now have a 26.2 magnet on my car, one of the gifts from my wife. Another great gift was chocolate covered almonds.

Thank you to Melissa, Jesus, my girls, friends and coworkers that kept me going. I’m not sure what my next goal is yet, I need a few days to heal.

Thank you,

Sam Carrara

SC Marketing Education

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Without goals, whatever you are doing can be pointless. Goal setting is a powerful way to increase motivation about your ideal future, and for turning your goal into reality.

Just listen to a few known people about the importance of Goal Setting:

“The more intensely we feel about an idea or a goal, the more assuredly the idea, buried deep in our subconscious, will direct us along the path to its fulfillment.”
Earl Nightingale

“Life can be pulled by goals just as surely as it can be pushed by drives.”
Viktor Frankl

“All successful people have a goal. No one can get anywhere unless he knows where he wants to go and what he wants to be or do.”
Norman Vincent Peale

One of my personal goals is to do a Half-Marathon in December in Charlotte, North Carolina. I will be running the Amica Insurance Half Marathon on December 12th, 2009. If you decide to join me the link is below:
http://www.runcharlotte.com/welcome.htm

I didn’t just roll out of bed one morning and decide to run the half marathon; I have been running for awhile. I mentioned before that my wife got me the Nike Plus to track my running for Christmas last year. Since then I have been running 5 kilometer races and will run a 10 kilometer one this weekend, and have a 15 kilometer one scheduled for next month.

2XU Compression Tights

Recently I purchased some compression tights by 2XU to give better knee support, help my muscles to stay warm and to reduce fatigue. Just this morning I ran 10 kilometers in my neighborhood as part of my training routine and I shaved off two minutes wearing the compression tights. My wife says it was all mental, I can partially agree with her. But whatever it was, I ran two minutes faster.

You have to be SMART about your goals, I’ll talk about that in my next goal setting post. Until then, here are some links to other Goal Setting posts:
http://www.ncnblog.com/2009/09/23/how-to-stay-on-track/
http://www.truevisionary.com/2009/09/3-foundational-steps-to-achieving-your-goals/
http://coachingcommons.org/featured/how-to-create-your-life-list-and-get-moving/

Half Marathon, here I come,
Samuel Carrara

SC Marketing Education

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Example Nike+ Pouch

Lately I have had to run farther than normal for the Nike+ to show I have run a 5K. After the first time I went to recalibrate the sensor, I thought I was okay. The next day I had a 5K race and at the end the Nike+ said only 4.2 kilometers, way too short. Then I remembered that my youngest child a few days ago said, “What’s this,” as she was taking the sensor out of the pouch. I checked the sensor after the race and found out it was upside down!

I placed the sensor right-side up. Then I went to recalibrate the Nike+ again, it worked correctly this time. So now I should be good for my runs for awhile. Recalibrating applies to business also.

Regardless of how large or small your business is, you need to occasionally need to recalibrate the business (systems, customer service, order process).

Why would you need to recalibrate?

• Brand image changed
• Better technology available
• Other new products you can cross-promote
• More employees so different communication needed
• As “copy-cats” abound, nichifying your products for the long-tail
• Many more reasons are possible.

Taking all of these new aspects in mind, do these Action Steps:

• Write down a brain storm of some changes that can be made to better meet the need of your target market.
• Then order these changes by complexity and time required.
• Immediately get the easiest three done to get some immediate impact for your company.
• Then make a plan to do one more change each week or month.

Recalibrating is not a one-time event, any time your business changes drastically it is good to examine the changes. Also an “Annual Checkup” helps to increase efficiency of the business. What can you improve right now?

Recalibrate,
Samuel Carrara

SC Marketing Education

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Before I get into what we did, here’s how to save a little money on your trip:

• Traveling by Car- Use the more fuel efficient one for longer trips. Our Dodge Grand Caravan gets about 18 miles to the gallon and the Honda Civic gets around 34 to 35 miles to the gallon. The trunk space on the Civic is huge.
• Hotel costs- You should get a AAA (Automobile Association of America) membership, or your local equivalent. Many hotels have special rates for AAA members that save you 10-15%. You can also get special rates as military, government (state and federal) and check the hotel websites for other online only specials
• Museum and Zoo fees- Ask for a military or student discount if it applies to you. If you plan to go to the same place alot, some places have annual memberships which will also save you money.

Here’s what we did:
Friday night I looked at flying to Orlando for a short Disney trip. Just flights would be $317 per person each, let’s see what else. Busch Gardens Williamsburg looks good, but it is about five hours away, too long in the car for this short of a trip.

How about about a two day trip to Columbia, SC? It’s only one and a half hours away, sounds good. We slept in a little on Saturday and headed down to Columbia. We ate lunch and spent the afternoon at the Edventure Museum. (http://www.edventure.org)

Some of the exhibits at the Edventure Museum include:

• A three story boy named Eddie, you can crawl inside him and see his spine, stomach with food inside, his brain, etc.
• World of work- Be a farmer and milk a cow or pick peaches, put on a fireman’s jacket and ride in their truck, build at a construction site and more.
• BodyWorks- Brush Eddie’s teeth, find out what food is good for you, play a large game of Operation, and see how your joints work.

There’s more, look at their website to see what else they have. On Sunday we went to the Riverbanks Zoo. (http://www.riverbanks.org/) It was a good Zoo for kids and had lots of animals. We were there about four hours and then headed for home. It was a good short trip and we have Monday to just relax around the house and at the community pool.

Take time with Family,
Sam Carrara

SC Marketing Education

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What will the price look like on 5/19/2008 look like? It will probably be around $3.89 per gallon and continue to climb thru the Fourth of July weekend.

So what should we do to save a little money while the price is going up? A few options to save money include:

1. Reduce the number of trips you need to take. Only go to the grocery store once per week and stay home to eat your meals, this will also save money other than gas usage.
2. Ask your employer if you can work from home 1-2 days per week. Make sure to put together a work plan and report the positive results. This may allow you in the future to work more days from home, as long as you actually work.
3. Remove any unnecessary items from your car. Additional weight in your vehicle causes more gas to be used.
4. Car pool or take the bus to work. In the end run it may cost less and you may be able to get a little reading or work done while in transit.
5. Don’t leave your car idling while you stop to do an errand or other tasks. Turn it off if it will sit more than a minute (some people say 30 seconds).
6. Watch your speed, driving the speed limit rather than 5-10 miles per hour faster than the speed limit saves gas by the vehicle using the gas more efficiently.

All of these ways can save more than 2 cents from gas savings. Would you drive two miles to save two cents per gallon? If the gas station is along your route of travel then the additional drive is fine. But, if you have to go out of your way two miles, that two cents times twenty to thirty gallons (40-60 cents) is lost on the four mile round trip detour. Get started saving gas now!

Save Gas Money,
Sam Carrara

SC Marketing Education

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To be clear, we do have arguments from time to time. And discussions can get heated, but they get worked out. The key is to get back up, grow and move forward.

We started celebrating by having dinner at Macaroni Grill. It was an Anniversary dinner plus two. The two are our kids. It was a great Italian dinner starting with fried mozzarella, Italian sodas, a garden salad, and then some huge entrees. The 7 layer lasagna and honey balsamic chicken were delicious, but we boxed up most of them for meals later during the weekend. For dessert we had Three-Berry Tiramisu, needless to say it was good too.

Then on Saturday night we got a baby sitter and went off to the movies. We went to see Iron Man. We thought it started at 8:00 PM but found out it changed to 7:45 PM. It was ok, because it saved us 15 minutes of watching movie previews.

What’s next? I am planning an Anniversary trip and would like suggestions. We are want to go away for about seven days and flying there. Post a comment and let me know where you suggest going.

Happily Married,
Sam Carrara

SC Marketing Education

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Really it helps you to avoid looking at the newest Anime episode when you should be working.

To read the whole review see it at LifeHacker-
http://lifehacker.com/374812/save-yourself-from-time-sinks-online-with-leechblock

Save Time,
Sam Carrara

SC Marketing Education

Upgrade your grill- Grill to the Max at:GrillAce.com

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I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work. (Thomas Edison) This was in response to all the ways to create a light bulb that didn’t work. What if we gave up on the 147th try? You may be in the dark.

Fall down seven, Get up eight. In Japanese it is translated nana korobi ya oki. No matter the number of times you fall, get back up.

Some people fall and refuse to try again. Don’t be one of those people. Pick yourself up and try again. LEARN from your mistakes. Push past failure to success.

See what Keith Goodrum had to say about getting back up:
http://www.keithgoodrum.com/help-ive-fallen-i-refuse-to-get-back-up/

Get Back Up,
Sam Carrara

SC Marketing Education

Upgrade your grill- Grill to the Max at:GrillAce.com

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Why would you unclutter your house? Two Reasons:

• Sanity- Many studies have shown that a cluttered house causes anxiety. So clean it up and reduce your stress, this can help you get your creative juices flowing.
• Money- As a fast food restaurant slogan goes, “Because you gotta eat.” Selling items helps raise money to pay bills (car, house, utilities, etc.) or fund product launches (marketing, producing, paying fees, etc.).

Here’s what I’m going to do with them:

1. Trash- There are items that have little to no value that it would be easier just to throw them away. Magazines, newspapers, receipts (non-business ones), etc.
2. Donate- Medium value items are good to donate to your local Goodwill or Salvation Army. The money they make on them will help their programs continue. You can get a receipt to get a tax deduction, but many times I forgo that. I that by giving to others, I will get more back later (Law of Reciprocity).
3. Sell- Those items that have a higher dollar value can be sold at auction. They need to be higher dollars due to the fact of shipping, listing and credit card cost. As a minimum I would say something that sells for $20 or more. If you end up making a regular business of this your figure may go up or down. Don’t forget to figure in your time, it is valuable.

To get started visit the link below and start listing items:
http://www.samcarrara.com/auction

I’ll give more tips soon to help you out. If you have specific questions, leave a comment. To let you know I have gotten warnings from EBay before for violations I didn’t know existed. If you get too many of those, you lose your account no matter how many positive ratings you have. Stay tuned to learn…

Unclutter,
Sam Carrara

p.s. Just say no to clutter. Tell me your clutter story, best one gets a prize.

SC Marketing Education

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1) I saw on the roofs of the different terminals they have solar panels (or photo voltaic panels) to reduce use of coal, nuclear or other fuels used by PG&E (Pacific Gas and Electric- the local utility). This is a good move to help improve the environment.

2) I noticed in the baggage claim they have inefficient T12 fluorescent (older thick bulbs) lighting. It doesn’t make sense. If you want to save energy, consider your whole building.

Looks like a job halfway done… They are producing power using solar, but not saving energy by using inefficient lighting fixtures.

Apply this to your own business. What looks good to most people, and what areas need work? Work to improve all areas of your business.

Learn more about the solar panels at:
http://www.enviro.aero/SanFranciscoInternationalAirportandsolarpower.aspx

Do It Right,
Sam Carrara

SC Marketing Education

Upgrade your grill- Grill to the Max at:GrillAce.com

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What is your motivation? If you feel like you haven’t accomplished much lately except check email, answer voicemail and watch the news; you’re not alone. As we continue to get flooded with communication and ads for our time we need to break thru the mess and determine what’s important.

You need the motivation to accomplish the important (and sometimes more difficult) tasks. Here are a few ways to find the motivation:

1. Lost Job or Company- If you don’t do this specific task within 24 hours you will lose your job or lose your company. Ouch, this can be serious if you like your job or company. If not, lets try one of the other ways.
2. Paycheck to Paycheck- Most people are one to two months away from bankruptcy or foreclosure if they have no income coming in. Savings is at an all time low. Here you have to look at if you don’t accomplish this task, you will be one of the people that will need to look for a new place to live.
3. Family Responsibility- For many people they have more responsibilities than just themselves. The difference being, if it was just me I can bounce back… …what do I do with my family until we get back on our feet? (Parents, friends, etc.) It may just be pride or shame, but I want to take care of my own before relying or burdening others.
4. Simple Freedom- If you must get that task done now, you’re in a fix. If you can get it done anytime, that’s much better. I’m not talking about being lazy. I mean that you can control when and where you work.
5. Goals- Not all the material fluff that will rust, mold or eventually appear dull, but real experiences. I want to spend real time with my family. Time for tickling, teaching, laughing, crying, just plain old time. Show they what it’s like to help others, life is more than just you.

The list above don’t always happen by themselves, they can fall like dominoes all at once. This is just a partial list. What’s your motivation?

What’s the word? JGID- Just Get It Done!

Take action and get out of that pit! See what Aaron Brandon has to say about this at:
http://www.aaronbrandon.com/what-is-jgid/

JGID,
Sam Carrara

SC Marketing Education

Upgrade your grill- Grill to the Max at:GrillAce.com

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This reminds me that not everyday will be sunshine, both with weather and mental state. Sometimes I am up and ready to take on the world. Other times I feel like doing nothing. What can you learn from this? When you are energized, get alot done.

Many areas in the Southeast need rain and still have water use restrictions. The water is needed for these areas. When you feel down, recharge. You don’t have to be moving every single second.

Recharge,
Sam Carrara

SC Marketing Education

Upgrade your grill- Grill to the Max at:GrillAce.com

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What would you do if you had all the freedom in the world?
Would you spend the time all on yourself, invest in others or something else?
Would you be happy or miserable because you have no identity outside of work?

Paint your future picture of freedom. What can you do to experience a small slice of freedom? Do those small slices to motivate yourself to get the rest of the pie.

Next… What are you doing to get to get to that freedom? How’s it working for you? Here is a picture of the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge (the big one, the other one has been torn down) going over the Cooper River in Charleston, SC.

I was involved with supplying some of the steel (rebar) for this project about five years ago. It paid the bills then, but has no impact now. You need two forms of income:

• Money to pay the bills now- job, one time product sales or other fee for service
• Money that keeps coming in- Membership sites, ongoing product sales, mentorship…

Grab your slice or look to visit Charleston: http://www.charlestoncvb.com/visitors/

Small Slices,
Sam Carrara

SC Marketing Education

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Just see how Richard Lee did it:
http://richardlee.com/?p=186

After 365 days of success, I see he has found better things to do!

Turn It Off,
Sam Carrara

SC Marketing Education

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What are your commitments? Are you really committed? Here is a short list of my commitments:

• God
• Family (Wife & kids)
• Work
• Business

Notice I didn’t put TV on the list… It has been on an unofficial list before. How much time and energy does it suck out of your life? The same can be said of many other activities- Is bowling more important than the limited amount of time you have with your kids?

Are you committed, Committed to Win? If you are, get serious, take Action. Start with this list:

• Write down your goals (debt free, more time with family, etc.).
• Assign dates to complete these by.
• Define how you will accomplish these tasks (Start a blog, create information products, sell unused items on Ebay, etc.).
• Break down tasks into subtasks to see accomplishment as you complete each subtask.
• Take action on this list.
• About a month out re-evaluate your goals (are they important) and have you been working on the tasks to get to these goals?

In It To Win It,
Sam Carrara

SC Marketing Education

Upgrade your grill- Grill to the Max at:GrillAce.com

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I have realized that being successful isn’t about having and learning the most information. You could go broke by buying all the over hyped “Must Have Info.” I’ll add another name to the list of Hypesters, sounds like F M. He’s a butterfly guy. I know, I’ve suggested it before. Its one ok product and the rest of his products are rehashed info with slight variations.

I recently unsubscribed to his hypester emails because there was little to no content or value. They were all marketing messages. There were a few others that got the ax also, to include JC (Adsense). I won’t promote him either. Their junk mail is enough to make anyone go crazy.

Here are some great headline ideas from “Gurus”:

1. The Ultimate Product You Don’t Have
2. Why I’m Rich and You Make Me More Rich
3. Why I Am Successful
4. Give Me More Money
5. You Are Getting Sleepy, Now Open Your Wallet
6. These are all in jest, but funny none the less!

So what am I promoting?….. Read less, but take action with what you are reading! Find one or two techniques (articles, links, blog, comments, etc.) get really good at it and let it grow your business, then you can venture out and try one more thing.

Here’s a short list of started projects that never went anywhere (for now):

• OnSilverScreen.com
• GrillAce.com
• BaseballSpirit.com
• InformationStreams.com
• FamilySafetySecrets.com
• SuperAffiliateSignup.com
• Misspellz.com
• And the list goes on…

Want more? Check out what Keith Goodrum has to say about “Gurus” and Unsubscribing:
http://www.keithgoodrum.com/unsubscribe-run-away-run-away/

Get Your Time Back,
Sam Carrara

SC Marketing Education

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Paraphrasing, he reads to relax his brain. Sometimes you just need to put down the book about PPC, adsense, articles, Facebook, Myspace, etc. and just take a breather.

I did this recently with I Am Legend. I saw the movie, liked it and got the book for Christmas. When the book is good I’ll just burn through it.

Check out the other books I’m reading at: http://www.samcarrara.com/marketing/index.php?now_reading_library=true

If you like this part of the site, let me know in a comment. Also if you want to know where to find the WordPress plugin, let me know.

My goal is to read at least one “fun” book per month.

Now Reading,
Sam Carrara

SC Marketing Education

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Copyright by Sam Carrara’s Marketing Education

Last post I talked about not having time. If you made all the money in the world and lost your kids would it be worth it? Are you spending any time with them? Is this the face you see?

Do your kids know your name? Not necessarily your first name like mine (Sam), but do they know who you are? Are you a stranger? (I know I have lots of questions.)

Spending time- Quantity versus Quality

• Quality Time- Especially if you are limited on time, make the time count. Let them know you care about them and will protect them. Teach them something. At an early age read books to them. Fathers with girls- take the on dates even at an early age so they know the proper conduct expected. Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6 Invest time in them. I am not saying be their buddy and be slack on discipline.
• Quantity Time- When you can spend the extra time with them. Before you know it they will be out of the house at school and later with their own family. If you feel like you are getting bored, change up the activity. Something new can be exciting to both you and them. It doesn’t have to cost money either. Go to a public park and take a walk, have a picnic or play on the playground. Above all else… Have Fun!

My Name Is Daddy,
Sam Carrara

SC Marketing Education

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]]> http://www.samcarrara.com/marketing/do-your-kids-know-your-name/feed/ 1 http://www.samcarrara.com/marketing/i-dont-have-enough-time/ http://www.samcarrara.com/marketing/i-dont-have-enough-time/#comments Thu, 10 Jan 2008 17:48:37 +0000 Sam http://www.samcarrara.com/marketing/i-dont-have-enough-time/ Most people don’t like what they do for work! We all want to get ahead… or really slow down and enjoy life. A common comment is, “I Don’t Have Enough Time.”

Everyone has 24 hours in the day (unless its a 23 or 25 hour day when adjusting the clocks). How do you spend it? Typically it is spent:

• Sleep- 8 hours
• Shower & get ready for the day- 0.5 hours
• Commute to work- 1.5 hours
• Work- 8-9 hours
• Meals- 1.5-2 hours

That is a total of 19.5 to 21 hours per day, leaving only 3 to 4.5 hours. That’s only the main tasks. Add in tasks like playing with kids, meal preparation, cleaning, extra long rush hour, clubs, workout, the list goes on and on; there is no time left.

So great, I’m depressed now that there is no hope… what was the point of this post?
During my commute I listen to recorded classes that teach me about marketing, language, mindset, etc. This way I take better advantage of my time- 1. Commuting and 2. Learning. Right now I’m working on learning Spanish (I’ll tell you more about that soon).

Here’s what you do:

1. Buy the MP3 player I talked about that I gave my wife in the post: New Years Trial- Exercise More (Part 2) OR one like it.
2. Then load it with information you want to learn. Watch these posts for suggestions.
3. Listen to it!

Successful People Take Action

Use your time wisely,
Sam Carrara

p.s. Was I too hard? Should I have sugarcoated this? I feel we need to just get real with ourselves!

SC Marketing Education

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]]> http://www.samcarrara.com/marketing/i-dont-have-enough-time/feed/ 1 http://www.samcarrara.com/marketing/check-this-out-make-your-resolutions-stick/ http://www.samcarrara.com/marketing/check-this-out-make-your-resolutions-stick/#comments Tue, 08 Jan 2008 16:17:00 +0000 Sam http://www.samcarrara.com/marketing/check-this-out-make-your-resolutions-stick/ Are you working to make your resolutions stick? Make them part of your life.

Check out Dean Hunt’s post for help:
http://deanhunt.com/how-to-finally-make-your-new-years-resolution-stick/

Keeping Resolutions,
Sam Carrara

SC Marketing Education

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]]> http://www.samcarrara.com/marketing/check-this-out-make-your-resolutions-stick/feed/ 1 http://www.samcarrara.com/marketing/we-were-dumb-with-our-money-after-college/ http://www.samcarrara.com/marketing/we-were-dumb-with-our-money-after-college/#comments Sun, 06 Jan 2008 19:01:29 +0000 Sam http://www.samcarrara.com/marketing/we-were-dumb-with-our-money-after-college/ Does the title of this post seem odd to you? I’m actually admitting that I make mistakes… but did I learn from them? Yes I have blemishes and I hope from my mistakes, you will learn.

Let me paint a picture of how this all happened. Both Melissa (my wife) and I graduated college and become officers in the U.S. Army. Starting out as Second Lieutenants wasn’t alot of money (it is now), but we had little bills and a steady income. About 18 to 24 months later we both became First Lieutenants with some nice pay jumps. Sounds good so far right?

Well we loved going out to eat, didn’t save a penny and then decided to buy a house. Not too bad, I’ll give you more details:

1. Going Out To Eat
We love food and going out to eat was easier than making it at home. No cleanup, no cooking and then enjoy the rest of the evening. We spent so much on our credit cards just for this it was amazing. If your credit card does the end of the year rollup by category on what you spent, get it. I don’t remember the dollar figure, but it was large. BUT, we could afford it. Yet it affected #2 below…

I’m not saying going out to eat is bad, we still do it, just not as much. (Sometimes I need to remember this lesson myself.) We just have to remember moderation. Sometimes the spaghetti at home is just as good or better than having it out and less expensive. One thing my mother has taught me is to make more than you need for the meal. You can use the leftovers as lunch for the next day instead of going out to eat.

2. Saving Money
At the time the military didn’t have 401k type accounts that encouraged savings. It is not the military’s fault, we were adults (by age, not by maturity). So we maybe had a few dollars in a plain jane savings account for emergencies, but little else. If you think about the compound interest on just a few dollars for later home purchases or retirement. But you say to yourself those are so far away, they come before you know it.

Start now with 1-2% savings per month into your companies 401k type account. Many companies have a matching policy that contributes more money to encourage savings. Other good accounts to contribute to are ROTH IRAs and educational savings accounts for your present or future kids. Don’t go overboard and save all your paycheck to leave nothing for today. Also don’t forget to save. Again the word is moderation. The savings could be used for a house like #3 below…

3. Buy a House
Most duty assignments we expected to stay at from three to five years. Our first year we rented an apartment (this was after four months of career specific training). So we are about one and a half to two years into our first assignment and we decided to buy a house. We had no money to buy a house… But we could do that by getting a VA backed loan (no down payment and no private mortgage insurance-PMI). Good and bad! Higher monthly payment because of no down payment and less invested.

Well we stayed in the house for about two years, probably overpaid a little bit when we bought it. When we sold the house we had to contribute about $3,000 – $5,000 just to close the deal. (Some of my figures and months are a little fuzzy.) It was just the two of us and two cats. We didn’t need the house, we wanted the house! We could have easier stayed in the apartment and saved or more wisely used that money. If you only plan to stay in the house less than three years (maybe even five years), don’t buy. Also be smart about your needs, don’t feel you have to have the appearance of success. What’s the word… Moderation!

I plan on passing on more financial tips, drop a comment if there is a specific area you would like covered.

Was I Dumb, I Hope I Learned,
Sam Carrara

SC Marketing Education

Upgrade your grill- Grill to the Max at:GrillAce.com

Copyright by Sam Carrara’s Marketing Education

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]]> http://www.samcarrara.com/marketing/we-were-dumb-with-our-money-after-college/feed/ 1 http://www.samcarrara.com/marketing/new-years-trial-exercise-more-part-2/ http://www.samcarrara.com/marketing/new-years-trial-exercise-more-part-2/#comments Sat, 05 Jan 2008 20:16:28 +0000 Sam http://www.samcarrara.com/marketing/new-years-trial-exercise-more-part-2/ If you missed the previous about starting exercise you can see it at: New Years Trial- Exercise More or Move More

Our steps to success so far are:
1. Plan & Commit to Your Plan
2. Start Small

I talked about increasing the amount of steps you do on a daily basis, if you haven’t done that yet start now. To help grab a cheap step counter at Amazon (presently $2.75).


Step Three- Lunch Walk
Grab your comfortable sneakers and spend 15 to 20 minutes during lunch walking around. Not only is it good exercise, it can also:

• Clear your mind from the mornings work.
• Give an opportunity to enjoy your surroundings (after being cooped up in an office for how many years).
• Allow time to talk with a friend outside of the office (invite them to come and walk).

Try doing this 2-3 times a week for 2-3 weeks. Then up the time to 25 to 30 minutes. Keep it up, it’s good for you. If you feel that you get bored, take along an MP3 player, CD or other music player. For a cheaper alternative to the Ipod, I got my wife a SanDisk Sansa (presently $44.95 at Amazon). Surprisingly the 2 GB version was less expensive than the 1 GB model. She loves that it can hold MP3s and also listen to FM stations (good for gym tv watching).


Work on Steps 1 to 3 and soon I’ll give you the next step.

Step To It,
Sam Carrara

SC Marketing Education

Upgrade your grill- Grill to the Max at:GrillAce.com

Copyright by Sam Carrara’s Marketing Education

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]]> http://www.samcarrara.com/marketing/new-years-trial-exercise-more-part-2/feed/ 1 http://www.samcarrara.com/marketing/new-years-trial-exercise-more-or-move-more/ http://www.samcarrara.com/marketing/new-years-trial-exercise-more-or-move-more/#comments Wed, 02 Jan 2008 04:11:30 +0000 Sam http://www.samcarrara.com/marketing/new-years-trial-exercise-more-or-move-more/ Ok here it is first new suggestion of the year from me…

One of the top New Years resolutions people have is to loose weight, and they hope to do this by using two methods, and sometimes in conjunction:

1. Eat differently
2. Exercise

Another post I’ll talk about eating differently, for this one I’ll discuss exercise.

Warning: If you plan to go for 2-3 hours to the gym right away with little to no previous exercising, then STOP NOW! If you don’t gradually work up to 30 to 60 minutes of exercise then you will win a Expenses paid trip to the Lazy Boy recliner in your living room.



Step One- Plan & Commit to Your Plan

Using the steps below start an exercise plan gradually to avoid injury and to not “Fall off the Wagon.” I would at times decide to do a 5K race and not start training until two weeks before the race. I did OK at the race, but I managed to hurt myslef in the process and could have done better. Write down the plan, post it on your refrigerator, in your car and by your computer at work to remind yourself of your plan. Now Commit to the Plan!, be positive and know that you can do this.

Step Two- Start Small

Lets start simple to avoid injury and show that simple changes can really do alot. Drive to work or to the shopping mall and intentionally try to get a spot far from the door to the building. (This is opposed to waiting five minutes for the closest spot.) This extra little walk is a start. Next if where you work is below five stories (not the total height, just the floor you work on), take the stairs instead of the elevator to get up to your office. If you have to go down for lunch, to get something from your car or any other reason, take the stairs down.

Next is the importance of drinking water. The proper amount of water will keep you healthy and when you urinate it should be clear not yellow. This will cause you to get up more often to get water and go to the bathroom (more steps). Don’t forget to check your office mailbox for any mail. The more steps the better and its Simple.

One of my next posts will cover the other steps to Exercise Success. Stay Tuned

Get Fit Slowly,

Sam Carrara

SC Marketing Education

Upgrade your grill- Grill to the Max at:GrillAce.com

Copyright by Sam Carrara’s Marketing Education

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]]> http://www.samcarrara.com/marketing/new-years-trial-exercise-more-or-move-more/feed/ 1 http://www.samcarrara.com/marketing/new-years-trial-start-early-on-resolutions/ http://www.samcarrara.com/marketing/new-years-trial-start-early-on-resolutions/#comments Sat, 29 Dec 2007 20:01:17 +0000 Sam http://www.samcarrara.com/marketing/new-years-trial-start-early-on-resolutions/ Greetings one and all,

Have you started on your New Years resolutions for 2008 yet? Here’s a short list to get started:

1. Eat more or less Ice Cream
2. Watch more or less Television
3. Love your family more
4. Make more money
5. What else…..

Tell me what you plan by leaving a comment. For more ideas try:

http://www.suburbanoblivion.com/2007/12/29/obligatory-resolutions-post/

Get ready for the New Year,

Sam Carrara

p.s. Watch my posts as I plan to be more regular in posting with some juicy tidbits to help you out.

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