End Of Day 1

Thus ends the first day of my Nutrisystem diet. It was a challenge at certain times during the day. My mind and body SCREAMED for me to return to my old, bad habits, but I stood firm. I held on to my resolve about as tightly as I do to a dollar, and anyone who knows me knows I can stretch a dollar till George screams for mercy.

I'm not cheap though. I am frugal, and frugality is a most misunderstood virtue. A cheap person will buy the cheapest item and then buy it again and again when it breaks or wears out. My mother was cheap (may she rest in peace). She would think she was getting a deal spending $1,000 for a used car, then spend a small fortune every month fixing one thing or another that would break on the car to the point that if she took the money she spent in one year on the down payment, she could have bought a brand new car and had affordable payments. She was all about instant gratification though (and passed that trait onto my sister).

My biggest influence was my grandparents (may they rest in peace) and my great-grandmother (may she rest in peace). They all lived through the depression and understood if you spent $10 on something that would last a year or $1 on something that would last a month which the better deal was. I try to live by their lesson. It's not always easy, and I slip up from time to time, but I always try, and that is the important part.

Speaking of money, my investments have done very well the last few days. My biggest 4 biggest positions are currently Bristol Meyers (BMY), Pepsico (PEP), AT&T (T), and Unilever (UN). They all pay very good dividends and all provide goods and services people will need regardless of the economy. Now, I'm researching the possibility of building a position in Wells Fargo (WFC). It's dividend is currently at 6% but I don't know if I'm comfortable just now investing in a financial stock. I'll waite and see how things go, and continue to do my research into WFC. If/when it becomes a good investment, I'll keep you informed. In the meantime, what I don't have in my "Foreman's Fantastic Four" and my California municipal bond mutual fund I'm dividing half into a money market and half into short term (one month) T-bills. I chose the shortest term available so the money wouldn't be held up for to long if a movement occurs that I want to buy into (like another good IPO).

I need to go now, but I'll talk to you all later, and tomorrow morning (before breakfast) I plan on posting my starting weight for "Day 2". I wonder if I will have lost much by then.