Now, how to keep him from spamming me…

Too many other things going on, like preparing for Spring from a Winter that never arrived, entertaining Colin and Robin, visiting the zoo and aquarium and wolfing down some corned beef and cabbage, celebrating Shelby’s b-day, enjoying Oscar and freaking out over his seizure (he’s fine!), watching the economy tank further and then start a bit of a rebound, enjoying a new china cabinet courtesy Craigslist, preparing for a business trip to Orlando and watching Lisa get excited because she’s going to come along and hang out at the resort with me, and planning for Alaska in September. I’m sure I’ve missed a thing or two.

It was also our first year filing taxes as a married couple… and I love you Lisa more today than I did yesterday. You worry too much baby! All is well.

A simple rule dictates my buying: Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful. And most certainly, fear is now widespread, gripping even seasoned investors. To be sure, investors are right to be wary of highly leveraged entities or businesses in weak competitive positions. But fears regarding the long-term prosperity of the nation’s many sound companies make no sense. These businesses will indeed suffer earnings hiccups, as they always have. But most major companies will be setting new profit records 5, 10 and 20 years from now.

So follow the Oracle of Omaha’s lead, and keep investing, especially now. Lisa and I haven’t slowed down, we are taking advantage of this unique situation as much as we possibly can.

Rather than worry ourselves to death about things we cannot control, we’re looking at all this turmoil as a giant opportunity. Sure, we’re doing our part to save money where we can by clipping coupons, riding the bus, and avoiding using credit cards (unless paid off immediately); but we are also maxing out 401(k) savings — what better time to buy low! — and maintaining a modest emergency fund, and taking advantage of low interest rates. The markets will not always be so bearish, and stocks over the long run are the best bet for maximizing one’s retirement. Things will get better, they always do — but it’s likely to be a bumpy ride for a while at least. Hang in there, and take advantage of the current market chaos.

Edited 09/22/2008 to add: Okay, so maybe the sky IS falling a bit, now that this whole mess is being unwound and estimates are north of $30 trillion had the Fed not stepped in when they did. It is all quite scary stuff. But, hold fast! Things will get better, maybe starting 2010. Lots of bargains out there, take advantage…

By the time we left for our wedding, I had dropped about 29 pounds in the previous five months, courtesy of the physics diet – less calories in, more calories out – so damn simple. Lisa didn’t need to lose anything, but did maintain her weight to stay in the size 2 dress we bought in December. We were both quite happy with the results all around.

Fast forward about two months since we left for the Bahamas, and I’ve given back about 7 pounds. Lisa, just a few, maybe. That’s actually not bad considering how bad we’ve eaten (steaks, beer, Golden Pride, etc.) and how lazy we’ve been. Even Junior is getting his gut back.

So, it’s back to our diets. My motivation is simply that I don’t want to be a fat tub of goo again. Plus, I’d like to live for a long time, get lower insurance premiums, and just feel good. Dieting is actually a no brainer. Get a lot of exercise while at the same time quit eating crap. No pills, juices, books, or surgery is required. Only motivation and will-power.

Eating right is also a hell of a lot cheaper, which contributes to the budget diet we’ve also been on for a while. We have been getting rid of old books through Amazon, selling tons of stuff via Craigslist, riding the bus, clipping piles of coupons, and using the library, just to name a few.

I haven’t sat down to calculate our savings yet, but I do know that riding the bus alone saves us over $200 per month in fuel, parking, insurance, and wear-and-tear. Plus, we regularly get 30-50% savings at the grocery store using coupons. Nice!

Now that’s relaxing.

I like the look of that.

It’s open enrollment time at PNM this week, and with all the changes taking place next year, I have some work to do in deciding how to set up my benefits. The contrast between PNM and APS (Lisa’s employer) are astonishing, it’ll be a big source of savings for us in 2008. But that’s another post.

Try screaming sometime. It may save you thousands.

P.S. Added links to Our Wedding Site and the Kitchen Remodel.