It has been a very long time since I posted. And so much has transpired. We took R to college, FDA fun at work, remembering 9/11, starting Financial Peace University with my wife, and many cards handed out via my roadside ministry. I was hoping to blog about many of these and had the beginning of posts started in my head, but life continued on and my want to post those important events prevented any additional posts which further damned things up because other cool posts started in my head. Soon enough, I was behind on my behind on my behind — kinda like debt on debt on debt, the way our country runs.
Well enough of that. I will see if I go back and blog about those important events. But in the meantime, I will just start chipping away at life and blog posts as they come at me now.
Yesterday, after my Men’s Accountability gathering, I swung by Costco before I met my wife and D for his 10:30a soccer game at church. I had a strict list of 8 or 9 things — all of which had coupons. I started in the vitamin aisle and said hi to the Costco lady stocking the shelves. It was early in the morning right when they opened and there weren’t many people in the store yet. She replied with a hi and how are you. I responded with a “better than I deserve”. He reply was “Oh, a Dave Ramsey fan”.
As a side note, my wife and I started the 13 week Financial Peace University class created by Dave Ramsey. I have also been podcasting his radio shows during my commute to and from work. One of his sayings when people ask how he is doing is “Better than I deserve”. I like it, agree with it, and have duplicated it for my use.
So back in the aisle of Costco, I formally met Sami. She and I shook hands and proceeded to have the coolest 8 minute conversation about faith, struggles, Dave Ramsey and moving from California. She said she had her emergency fund (step 1 and step 3) and was working on the other steps but her emergency fund had been depleted (which is exactly what it is for. I asked her if it was anything I could pray for. The big one was surgery for her husband Dave. He had appendicitis and when he was in the hospital, a spot was found on his kidney. Additionally, there was another issue with their house circuit panel that could have caused a fire which was a priority to repair. All of these items drained their emergency fund…..which again, is exactly why you need one.
I also found out that Sami and Dave go to a local church I like. This church, Fern Creek Christian Church, has some very good radio spots and I enjoy hearing them on WJIE. We had some good conversation about faith, prayer and God’s will right there in the Costco vitamin aisle. I was surprised at how quickly two believers in Christ could converse and connect.
We switched to the financial benefits of Costco pricing and their bulk deals. Sami said “if you can stay on this side of the store (meaning the food side) and stick to a list you can save money”. I thought her local was interesting because my wife and I have cursed Costco because of some of the other purchases we have made there. They might be good deals, but they are usually of things that we don’t need — electronics, holiday decorations, household knick knacks, etc. I agreed with her advice and made mention of Kentucky in pre-Costco days (2006 when the store opened). I made mention that we enjoyed Costco in California and she asked where we lived. She said they were from San Diego and had moved to Kentucky to open the store. They wanted to get out of California and moved because of the price of living in Kentucky. When they had the opportunity with the Louisville Costco store opening, they jumped at it and haven’t looked back. They really enjoy it hear and their older college kids have also followed them.
Soon enough I realized I had monopolized her paid work time and wanted her to resume what she was doing before I got there. I said goodbye and thanked her for the conversation. I then dutifully proceeded to get each of the items on my list combined with a coupon like the good guy shopper I am and checked out.
Please keep Sami and Dave in your prayers for healing and strength.
…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net
