On Wednesday, April 17, a fire broke out at the West Fertilizer Company in West, Texas, a community of 2,849 about 70 miles south of Dallas. 10 volunteer firemen and two people who joined them responded to the calls that began being fielded by the 911 call center at 7:33. As first responders, they began to assess the massive fire and plan how to begin putting out the blaze. They were killed moments later from the explosion that occurred at 7:51 pm.
What was the first word that popped into your mind when you read the title? Safe, slow, controlled? Or was it aggressive, fast, exciting? I don’t ask this question anymore because most people described how they drive. They weren’t thinking in terms of a type or class of driver. Needless to say, some of the answers I received were both humorous and telling.
Last week, I introduced Ben and Amy (not their real names) who are first time home buyers in the McKinney / Allen area of north Texas. Because they are buying their first home, this also means they are first time buyers of home insurance, something Ben admitted to me, he knows nothing about.
One of my clients in the Frisco / McKinney area emailed me last week. Beth (not her real name) asked me if I write credit life policies because she was looking into it. I replied to her email letting her know I don’t sell credit life and then asked her what she was trying to accomplish. Beth is a single mom with three kids and her goal is to pay off her home and leave it to her children in the event of her death.
I love the State Fair of Texas. There’s nothing like walking through the stock pavilion, watching the sheep dogs work the sheep, and the pig races. I enjoy wandering around the new car pavilion as I think about what I’d pick for a new vehicle. Then there are the rides and the cry of barkers tempting people to try their hand at some game to win the giant stuffed animal or some other prize. There’s plenty of food to savor as well; funnel cake, Fletcher’s corny dogs and some new fried delectable. And then there’s the icon of the fair, Big Tex.
I’ve been talking with a young couple this week. We’ll call them Ben and Amy (not their real names). They were referred to me by two of their friends. Ben and Amy are buying their first home in the McKinney / Allen area of Texas and they are excited and a little nervous with all the things that have to be done in order to close. Not only are they first time home buyers, but they are also first time buyers of home insurance.
I was talking with Jason Hull a couple of weeks ago after the April meeting of the D/FW FinCon Chapter. Our local band of merry bloggers, which is led by Philip Taylor (www.ptmoney.com), and founder of FinCon, meets once a month to discuss blogging issues related to personal finance. Jason’s a friend and fee only financial planner in Crowley, Texas (www.hullfinancialplanning.com/) and we were discussing blogging topics. He suggested a topic to me that was framed in a question, “Can you get a legitimate on-line life insurance quote?” He was smiling and even I knew that meant he was asking me a question he already had the answer to.
I love spring in Texas. It’s a great time of year for a dog to ride around in the car. There’s nothing like having the windows down, sniffing all the different scents, looking at everything and the ears flapping in the wind. Dog bliss! But is this the safest way for your pet to travel?
I got a text message from a client and friend of mine, John Brooks. John’s a realtor with Keller Williams in Dallas (www.johnbrookstherealtor.com) and he and his wife, Aggie, live in a loft style apartment near downtown. The text message was a picture of their dog watching a fan blow air across the floor that let me know they’d experienced a water leak. I called John while m y wife, Sheri, and I were heading to meet some friends for dinner, so I could get the full scoop.
I got a call a few weeks ago from one of my clients in the Dallas area. I wrote the home insurance for he and his wife’s home two years ago and they wanted me to quote their car insurance too. To help me quote their insurance, his wife sent me a copy of a letter they received from their loan company. The letter simply stated that they needed to provide proof of current insurance or they would provide it for them at the price quoted in the letter. Sounds nice doesn’t it?! The truth is, the “help” they were offering had several “gotchas” in it and it was far from a fair price for the help they were providing.
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