Comparing Loan Offers

Like many people, with rates at or below 5%, I am evaluating refinancing my mortgage right now. When doing so it can sometimes be bewildering how the different offers compare to one another:

1. Interest rates differ

2. Points differ (prepaid interest)

3. Origination fees differ

4. Other fees differ

5. Monthly payments differ

I am sure there are many other similar tools available, but the comparison tool that I have been using extensively this week can be found here.

(1) Enter the two competing offers, (2) use the APR not the stated interest rate, (3) ignore the “Loan Adjustments” fields unless you are getting an ARM, (4) press “Calculate”.

I am sure there are more elegant ways to do it, but the tool also allows you to do scenario analysis by playing with adjusting the points and origination fees.

As far as generating competing offers to evaluate, I’ve been using the link on Yahoo Finance here (it uses BankRate.com data). Sort on the “APR” column not the “Rate” column.

If you want to throw yourself into some serious mortgage/refinance research, the Mortgage Professor appears to offer information skewed in the consumer’s rather than lender’s direction. (Warning: His website looks like it was designed in 1996, but the info is good and regularly updated.)

2008 Readings

I set a crazy goal to read 100 books in 2008. This really was crazy for me since not very many years ago I set a goal to read 10 books…and I think I came up short that year.

So, how’d I do? Although I didn’t reach the century mark, I absolutely crushed any prior year in my life: I read over 70 books in 2008.

So, what’s that catch? There are a few caveats:

1. I probably was only looking at ink on paper for a few of these books. Translation: I am a HUGE audio book fan.
   
2. I listen to audio books at between 1.5 and 2.0 times normal speed. Yes, I speed read audio books. Here is my prior post on how I do it.
   
3. Some of these “books” are very, very short. Several of the ones on Project Management were in the 90 minute range.
   
4. Some of what I am counting as “books” aren’t books. Example: The Constitution of the United States. Regardless, I’m glad I read it.
   
5. Some of these are re-reads of prior year favorites.
6. As you can see, the vast majority of these are non-fiction.
   
7. I did not include any of the countless times I have read “Good Night Moon”, “The Runaway Bunny”, “Chickachickaboomboom”, “Where the Wild Things Are”, or “When Sophie Gets Angry”. P.S. Don’t tell Sophie that I frequently turn more than one page at a time.
   

With those caveats, below are most (I may be missing one or two) of the “books” I “read” during 2008 with brief comments for most (several aren't even worth commenting about):

1. Joseph Smith & His Relationship with God. Enjoyed it
   
2. The 8^th Habit. I’m a big Covey fan, but this seemed contrived. Stick with 7.
   
3. Made to Stick. Very good. Should be required reading for anyone in the business world.
   
4. Great Speeches of the 20^th Century. Educational
   
5. The Tipping Point. I LOVE all of Gladwell’s stuff. Third time reading this.
   
6. Principle Centered Leadership. Very good
   
7. Hebraisms in the Book of Mormon. Very interesting
   
8. The Wisdom of Crowds. One of my favorite books in recent years. This was my third or fourth time reading it.
   
9. Blink. Very good. Third time reading this.
   
10. Words that Work. You may disagree with the man behind this book, but his content is good
    
11. 25 Things to Say to the Interviewer. Lame
    
12. Analyzing Financial Statements. A snoozer
    
13. Freakonomics. Interesting. I disagree with some of his findings. Second or third time reading it. Check out his research on infant car seats on TED.
    
14. Rich Dad’s Guide to Becoming Rich. Simple, powerful concepts that 99% of the people don’t heed
    
15. How to Make People Like you in 90 Seconds. Lame
    
16. Super Crunchers. A contender for my favorite book of the year. I’ll definitely re-read this one.
    
17. The Birth of Plenty. Similar tone as Collapse. I enjoyed it. The author is not LDS, but he identifies 1820 as the pivot point in western prosperity. Coincidence??? I’ll re-read this one.
    
18. The Woman in White. Fiction Alert! Becky read this in her book club, so I was curious.
    
19. The Blue Ocean Strategy. Started, expired before I could finish. I plan to finish in ‘09.
    
20. The Declaration of Independence. Words to live by
    
21. The Constitution of the United States of America. Read it
    
22. The Bill of Rights. Now I know
    
23. The No Ass Hole Rule. Summary: don’t be a jerk and avoid them at work
    
24. A Perfect Mess. A few valid points. It received so much buzz from messy people looking for validation.
    
25. Crashes, Booms, & Panics. Timely read
    
26. 22 Immutable Laws of Branding. Educational. Second or Third time on this one.
    
27. Living the 7 Habits. Great. At least my third time through this one.
    
28. Getting to Yes. Good
    
29. Stumbling Upon Happiness. Interesting. I will probably re-read.
    
30. The Happiness Hypothesis. Started, expired before I could finish. Will finish in ’09.
    
31. The Automatic Millionaire Homeowner. Skip it
    
32. Wikinomics. Very good. Way too long. Find an abridged version. Their point was very convincingly made long before the book ended.
    
33. The Long Tail. A must read.
    
34. The Mormon Way of Doing Business. Good
    
35. Crucial Conversations. Decent. As I am writing this I can’t remember anything about this book.
    
36. Crucial Confrontations. Same as above. I can’t remember anything about it.
    
37. You: The Owner’s Manual. Very good. Read it.
    
38. Optimal Thinking. Stupid. I stopped after a couple of chapters.
    
39. Personal Efficiency Program. Good stuff
    
40. Freedomnomics. Some professor’s response to Freakonomics. It expired before I could finish it. I will probably not finish.
    
41. Men Are From Mars Women are From Venus. Summary: Men, the challenges you have with your wife are not unique to your wife; you would have similar challenges with any woman. So, love the one you’ve got. There’s probably some advice in there for woman as well.
    
42. Mars & Venus in the Bedroom. Read it
    
43. Blown to Bits. Good
    
44. 101 Best Answers to Interview Questions. Unless, of course, you are in a behavioral interview…
    
45. 250 Job Interview Questions. May help to get you thinking
    
46. Total Workday Control. Still working on this one…not available in audio format!
    
47. Gold, Hard Money, & Financial Gurus
    
48. Innovative Strategies in Risk Management
    
49. Project Management: So you think you are done?
    
50. Project Management: Taming wicked projects
    
51. Project Management: Ten questions your sponsor should ask
    
52. Predictably Irrational. A contender for my favorite book of the year
    
53. 50 Killer Ideas for Delivering Successful Projects
    
54. In Defense of Food. I highly recommend
    
55. Talking Your Way to the Top. Summary: Chances to speak (in meetings, giving presentations) are your best chance to shine at work
    
56. Work Less, Make More. Forgettable
    
57. The Articulate Executive. Sadly for the authors, I don’t remember anything about this book
    
58. Twilight. Fiction Alert! Stephenie is my friend.
    
59. The World is Curved. Absurdly timely. The guy knows what he is talking about.
    
60. New Moon. Fiction Alert!
    
61. Eclipse. Fiction Alert!
    
62. The Host. Fiction Alert!
    
63. Discover Your Inner Economist. Good
    
64. The On-Time, On-Target Manager. Weak
    
65. The Secret. Forgettable: whatever the Secret is, I can’t remember it
    
66. How to Talk to Anyone. Why do I keep selecting books like this? Had one piece of advice I remember: Never give empty “Thank Yous”. Make it clear why you are thanking someone.
    
67. Monsters of Templeton. Fiction Alert! A very enjoyable read. Warning: Contains about 10 F-bombs and acknowledges the existence of sex.
    
68. Living Well in a Down Economy. Clearly a rush-to-publish job with innovative gems like “bring a lunch from home”
    
69. Buyology. Quite interesting. Anyone in Marketing should read.
    
70. Why We Buy. If you interact with the retail world in any way, you will enjoy reading this book. I liked it better than Buyology.
    
71. Breaking Dawn. Fiction! I was hoping for a little more action in climactic final “battle”
    
72. Midnight Sun. Fiction! I’m about halfway through actually reading this (eyes on the page…or computer screen in this case)
    

Here are my favorite new reads for '08 (I'm excluding some of the great books, like Blink, on the above list that were re-reads for me):

• Made to Stick
• Super Crunchers
• The Birth of Plenty
• Words that Work
• Wikinomics
• The Long Tail
• You: An Owner's Manual
• Predictabley Irrational
• Why We Buy
  

Help Us Name Our Baby

Our sixth child is officially due on January 29th. However, based on Sophie and Sam, we think January 19th is probably more realistic.

Please help us select his name. Here are our top choices for first and middle names:

1. Charles Call (Charlie)
2. Maxwell Call (Max)
3. Luke Hardison
   
4. William Murphy
5. Hardison Redd

Leave us a comment on which one(s) you like.

Becky...first impressions

I found my old journal the other day. It covers – with very embarrassing handwriting and ridiculous attempts at spelling – the very tail end of my senior year of high school and my first semester of college. I re-read it looking for my first mention of Becky. It is classic! Check it out…

12/13/1992

“Jeff & I have become good friends with Karen Eagleston and Becky Craig (plus Maggie Woods & Heidi Christensen). Jeff likes Heidi now. Becky is one of the coolest girls ever! Becky is smart, good looking, righteous, and totally HAPPY! She is always happy. We have a lot in common. Maybe I’ll fall in love with her when I get home from my mission.”

I entered the MTC exactly one month after that entry was made. It was only after I left her daily presence that I realized how much I missed her. Unbeknownst to her, for the next two years I proceeded to tell people all over Japan that she was my girlfriend.

My prediction of falling in love with her came true…

(This photo was taken within days of the journal entry. We went with a group of friends to see the Christmas lights at Temple Square.)

Geriatric Muscle Man

At my peak, I've never been as ripped as this 70 year old man!

The End of An Era

After more than 35 years with the same phone number, my parents just canceled their landline and went all cellular.

Croutons

I view common, hard-as-stone croutons as an annoyance in my salad.

I don't want anything in my salad that shatters when poked with a fork.

Homemade croutons...now that is an entirely different story.

Twilight Premiere

About 3 weeks ago, I got a fairly standard piece of regular old fashion snail mail. When I opened it I quickly saw that it contained two tickets to an event -- and I instantly assumed that it was one of those lame Donald Trump real estate seminar invitations where they tell you the tickets are worth $150 a piece but really they just try to sell you crap when you go. I almost chucked the whole thing in the trash.

Luckily, I took a closer look.

To my surprise it contained two numbered tickets with Becky and my name on the back for the Arizona premiere of Twilight. We were told to keep the event confidential until after it had occurred...and that formal attire was recommended.

So, tonight Becky and I got all gussied up and went out for a delightful evening (see Becky's review here). We ran into a bunch of our old Glendale friends from back in the day when Stephenie and Poncho were both our friends and neighbors (same Ward. I served in the YM with Poncho).

It was really fun to see a couple hundred people in the theater all decked out in their finery. They even had a red carpet leading into the theater. At the door they gave us a bunch of gift cards to redeem at the concession stand (p.s., I learned that it is pretty easy to blow $30 bucks at a concession stand). Once inside, Stephanie was there to greet everyone and take pictures. She immediately ran up and gave Becky a really big hug as soon as she saw her.

As far as I know we were among the earliest audiences in the world to see this show (the Hollywood premiere and press screening, before us). It was only Pancho's second time, after the Hollywood premiere. It was their son Gabe's first time.

My review: I can't possible review this film objectively. I suppose my super abbreviated review is that it was better than I expected it would be AND that it was more faithful to the book than I thought it would be. But this is where it is hard to be objective: because it was pretty faithful to the book, I know that I was mentally filling in any blanks that the film mayhave left out. For example, when the waitress is serving Bella and Edward in the restaurant, I'm mentally filling in the dialogue that is going on in her head that Edward is hearing...but the film never shows this or tell us that it is happening. I just know it from the book.

So, if you liked the book, I think you will like the film. If you haven't read the book, I don't know how you will like it...that is the part I can't be objective about. I can't un-know what I know about the story.

We talked to Stephenie and Poncho after the showing, congratulated them and thanked them again for the invite. I also told Stephenie that whatever hand she had in the soundtrack, that I liked it a lot.

Look for Stephenie's brief cameo in one of the diner scenes. She's sitting a her laptop writing and orders a veggie burger. Our audience got a big kick out of that scene.

All in all, a very fun evening.

To any of our other current of future famous friends...please invite us to your premieres as well!


P.S. Last week I think we broke some kind of Stephenie Meyer reading record in my household. I was reading "The Host", Becky was reading "Breaking Dawn", Madison re-read "Twilight" and then read "Midnight Sun", and Savanna re-read "New Moon" and "Eclipse" and "Midnight Sun". Crazy!

Pharaoh's Dream

SEVEN years ago (soon after the 9-11 attacks, and the same day that the U.S. started the war in Afghanistan) President Hinckley gave a talk entitled, “The Times in Which We Live” in which he referenced Pharaoh’s Dream. You remember, Donny Osmond sang about it…the one that talks about SEVEN years of plenty followed by SEVEN years of famine.

I noticed that Elder Packer also referenced Pharaoh’s Dream in the Arizona state-wide stake conferences a couple of weeks ago.

Scary.

The Mormon Work Ethic...UT...AZ is too hot...can't move

Read it.

Maybe I need to move. It is too hot here. Broke the freakin’ “hottest ever” record yesterday and today!

Of course, that would require me to sell my house in the worst sellers market…ever.

Stupid packaging...

Although I'm glad to have found candelabra style CFL bulbs at Costco, the half-empty "Earth Friendly" box is ridiculous.

More Awesomer

Jason's latest hilarity can be found here.

Truth

“All religions, arts and sciences are branches of the same tree...”

Albert Einstein

“All truth can be circumscribed into one great whole”

Joseph Smith

Thou craven milk-livered foot-licker!

Next time you’re feeling mad at someone, but can’t think of anything sufficiently bad to call them, turn to the Shakespearean Insult Generator for help.

...attained to the Age of thirty-five Years

Article II of the U.S. Constitution states:

No person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty-five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.

So, I guess that means the balls in my court now.

Credit goes to Emily for reminding me of this forgotten bit of civics…if only I had remembered earlier! Perhaps I could have been the one announcing who my new White House chief of staff would be this week!

Buy Low. Sell High.

I was feeling pretty smug on Tuesday, since I had thrown a fairly substantial pile of coinage into the market on Monday.

Wednesday and Thursday haven’t been as much fun.

My last foray into non-401k investing – March 2000, 100% internet stocks – was a complete disaster (the portfolio lost over 90% of its value). So, if I offer you any investing advice, like this, you can simply respond, “Thanks, but no thanks”.

2008 Election

It was a very tough decision this year. Becky and I spent about 3 hours filling out our ballots.

I want you all to know that I made the right decision.

Desert Grande Duathlon / Triathlon

As you can see, I have a lot of electronics on me when I run: a heart rate monitor on my left wrist & chest, stop watch on my right wrist, Body Bugg on my left arm, trusty pedometer on my waist, iPod on my waist (yes, I listen to podcasts rather than music while I run/race). I wish I had a pacing GPS watch!

One year ago, this same race marked my return to the sport. I improved my prior time by 18 minutes...but, truth be told, that has more to do with the fact that last year I took a wrong turn on the bike and rode 50% further than planned.

I have only done a few races in the past year (Desert Grande twice, Mesa Turkey Trot 10k, & Payson Sprint Triathlon), but this is the first one where I haven't felt like I was going to die before I made it to the finish line. The 2008 Turkey Trot is in a few weeks and then Ragnar in February.

I just wish I could go faster...

Sophie turns 2

We moved into our house on Halloween day 2004. Two years later, on the same day, Sophie joined us.

I love this little girl.

Mindy Gledhill Concert

Lil' sis Ashley joined us for the concert.

Mindy did a fantastic job! If you aren't familiar with her music, check it out. Feather in the Wind is a great song. Becky and I had the pleasure of hosting Mindy and her husband Ryan while they were in town. Great people. We had a really good time getting to know them better.

Claire & Jane were the highlight.

Fear this

Yes, that is my one year old daughter petting a live, uncaged, unleashed alligator*.

And that is Jacob petting an 18 foot long python. The owner said they're deadly to humans at 9 feet and beyond. This thing was ridiculously large!


* Amazing that an otherwise deadly animal can be rendered harmless with $0.25 worth of black electrical tape.

11 years old

4 lbs 11 onces at birth. 11 fun-filled years later...

It's a busy street

Thank you Mindy & Ryan! We love the sign.

Caught in the act...

Sophie...breakfast...caught red handed

Do Not Underestimate the Power of the Dark Side!