Table of Contents

• COMMITTEE REPORTS
  • MEMBERSHIP REPORT
  • SOCIAL REPORT
  • SPEAKER COORDINATOR REPORT
  • TREASURER REPORT
• LEADS
• NOTABLE MENTIONS
• BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT
• MAIN SPEAKER

Committee Reports

Membership Report
(Click here to go to the Membership page)

Lisa Wolfe again mentioned the person that does flood and fire restoration work.  She wants to make sure there are no conflicts in the group before she talks to him. 

Social Report
(Click here to go to the Social Event page)

Lisa Wolfe will have more information on the spring fling next week.

Speaker Coordinator Report
(Click here to go to the Speaker Schedule)

Main Speaker

• 03/24/06     Phyllis Prater

Treasurer Report

Please get your quarterly dues paid.

Leads Report

46-10, 16-28, 20-37, 37-13, 37-26, 44-53, 18-2, 50-13, 50-23, 15-10, 21-34, 11-10, 22-45, 14-32, 43-22, 43-13, 43-11, 25-26.

This week's leads focus...

• Jim Crosman
• Ralph Cunningham
• Christopher Curran 

Notable Mentions

Carole Weishaar told members to start thinking about summer travel now.  Airfares are going up and flights are filling up already.

We had our first suggestion box suggestion.  The suggestion was to have a suggestion box.  Say that 5 times fast.

Brochures will be available next week.

Roman Okonowski...the new Caped Crusader?  Trivia Question:  Who remembers what his special power is?

The new board is working on incorporating ideas from the last group discussion into our meetings. 

• They would like to have meetings at member locations 4 times a year.  These meetings would be in lieu of the Friday morning meeting at Dobson.  It would be preferable to have the meeting at our usual time but we can be flexible to accommodate the host.
• Denver Johnson was asked to allocate 1 meeting a month to business discussions.  Most topics of which will come from the suggestion box (a.k.a.  the name tag case) assuming members add suggestions.
• We are also going to have more guest speakers.

Business Spotlight 

Jim Bache was today's surprise Business Spotlight.  He just got to talking and before we knew it he had completed a BS session (pardon the pun).  Speaking of BS...We now know how Jim came to graduate with his law degree.  It wasn't a smooth ride given that he was heavy into skiing when he started.  Skiing cost him a descent GPA.  He almost became an accountant.  Long story short, they designed a degree for him that enabled him to still get into law school.

Mike Tanner
Mirabel Service Center, Inc

Well Mike could have gotten up in front of the group to talk about auto collision repair again.  But lucky for us he has other interests that are near and dear to his heart.  He very rarely reads books.  But one did catch his attention.  The Total Money Makeover Book.

If you were to guess whats the largest commodity in dollars sold in the US today, what would it be?  Mike suggests that it is consumer debt.  Why is this?  Because it is sold to us so aggressively, so loudly and so often that we can't imagine living without it.

• We think it acceptable to have a car loan, a mortgage and a student loan.

• Over 3 billion credit card offers were sent to your mailboxes last year!

• We are told using them will create priceless family memories.

• We are told it will pay to use their cards.

• We are told having gold or platinum will improve our image.

• Everywhere in the world we go we can buy anything we want because they are everywhere.

• (Mike's personal favorite) Because you deserve it!

Some scary statistics...

• Most Americans by things they can't afford.

• 70% of all consumers live paycheck to paycheck.

• A typical household has 38,000 in consumer debt (not including a mortgage).

• The average household saved  negative $575.00 in January 2006.

• Annual bankruptcy filings were 1.5 million in 2001.  A new record has been set every year since.

You can learn a lot about society's future by looking at our kids...

• 80% of college seniors have credit card debt before they have a job.

• 19% of filed bankruptcies in 2002 where college students.

• More filed for bankruptcy than graduated.

Mike's mentor was his father.  He often compares his own life to his dad's.  His dad started his own business when he was 35.  Built his first vacation home at 40.  Paid off his home at 45.  Built and owned his first dealership at 53.  Paid off 1st vacation home at 55.  Paid cash for his 2nd vacation home (gave 1st to his kids) at age 65.

Dave Ramsey, author of the above mentioned book, also has a talk show on AM1310 between 1-4pm, 5 days a week.  Mike listens to it while running errands.  What Mike likes about it is that his whole purpose for the show is to get people to live a debt free life.  He made a survey of millionaires and discovered that they where all into real estate and aggressive in the market.  He also studied what made millionaires go bankrupt overnight and what kept others around for 30+ years.  He learned that the ones that kept their money did so because they bought less, saved and paid cash instead of using credit.  They lived within their means.

Mike handed out a sheet listing Ramsey's "Baby Steps". 

• Step 1 - $1000 to start "Emergency Fund"

• Step 2 - Pay off all debt using the "Debt Snowball" (except the house)
  Ramsey suggests lining up all debt small to big.  Make all your minimum payments while attacking the smallest amount first, paying it off and working your way up until they are all paid.

• Step 3 - Finish the Emergency Fund - 3-6 months in savings
  Don't invest this money.  Keep it in a savings account earning 2-4%.

• Step 4 - Maximize Retirement Investing - Invest 15% of household income into Roth IRA's and pre-tax retirement

• Step 5 - College Funding
  For all of your kids

• Step 6 - Pay off home early

• Step 7 - Build Wealth & Give! (Mutual Funds / Real Estate)

Mike brought in a tape so we could listen to segments of the radio show.  To learn more visit http://www.daveramsey.com

It is about changing your legacy.

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