Mary Christmas. Carol Holiday. Christy Noel. They ain't misspellings, and they ain't holiday songs. They're names, jack. Names of dames who are part of the same family in Georgia. This joe marries that jill, and before you know it, Christmas is in December, July, February and every other month of the year.

They say they don't mind ... it's a conversation piece. That's the kind of good cheer you want at this time of year, baby. If this group can take a little heckling over their names and still come out smiling, then you can, too. This holiday, whatever goes down, be up. Keep the pep in your step and smile. The best part? You don't need to create a budget to do it. Listen to The Dave Ramsey Show to learn about that. Have yourself a happy set of holidays, baby. Keep safe.

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There's beating a dead horse, and there's digging it up out of the dirt for another go. I'm sure you read my Donald Trump-Rosie O'Donnell blog yesterday talking about The Donald and The Rosie trading barbs. Well, Trump decided to take it to the next level. He called a morning show in L.A. to say that RO'D is attracted to Tara Conner, and that O'Donnell is a bully, and that Rosie is a loser, and about a million other things.

It's Christmas, so if you have a quip with somebody, let it be for a while. Spread some cheer instead, bub. Plenty of joes and jills are down on their luck this holiday season, so find some creative uses for your dough. I'm not just talking about how you need to give money away, like they talk about on The Dave Ramsey Show. Buy something off an Angel Tree or buy some grub for a homeless shelter. Find some extra cash so you can bless the world, baby. Spread the wealth and make people smile. It's the stuff that dreams are made of.

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Nothing beats snow during Christmas, baby ... except if the snow is beating you. This Colorado blizzard has put thousands of ordinary joes and jills on ice, and by the looks of it, they'll stay that way for a while. Lots of people in the Centennial State are only gonna be home for Christmas in their dreams. It's an emergency ... and you know what the best thing is to have for an emergency? That's right ... an emergency fund.

What happens if all that snow causes a leak in the roof of your house? It'd be good to have some extra cash lying around to fix it. What if Mother Nature or Lady Luck decides to send a big storm your way, or a car wreck, or some big-time illness? If you're out of debt, like they talk about all the time on The Dave Ramsey Show, then you can save money and be ready for when life hits. Like them apples, jack?

Ever have one of those guilty pleasures, like watching a cheesy B-horror flick late at night or stopping off to get an ice-cream sundae when you're not really hungry? I'm having one of those right now, jack. Seems Donald Trump and Rosie O'Donnell are trading shots like two heavyweights over this whole Miss USA Tara Connor underage drinking deal. Here's the Rosie O'Donnell view ... Trump doesn't need to talk about being moral when he's gone through two divorces and countless dames. Trump says all is forgiven, and that Rosie's a failure. I tell you this, my friends ... neither has a trump card here, and this whole thing ain't a bed of roses.

Some joes and jills look at this as legit entertainment. These two yahoos can blow all the smoke they want. For my money, nothing beats real entertainment, like The Dave Ramsey Show. That's where you learn about how to budget money. That's where you find out about life and money, not bickering and bad haircuts. Check it out, baby.

Time's coming up to decide who is heading to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. It's a big-time deal, baby, but you gotta be careful about the joe who punches his ticket. Heavy hitter Pete Rose thinks Mark McGuire is a good pick, and I want to agree. Rose still has hopes of getting in, and I want to disagree. But before you go putting on a baseball hall of fame cap and heading to Cooperstown, let's remember some facts, jack

McGuire? I've got my doubts. He's a class act, but this whole juicing issue just doesn't fly with me. But for my money, Rose should wither away. He can play, but there's this little betting matter that should deep-six his Hall of Fame chances, as far as I'm concerned.

You shouldn't bet money, baby. And you sure-as-betty better not spend it on some illegal hooch, like steroids. You should save money, like you hear all the time on The Dave Ramsey Show. Any joe or jill who thinks they don't need to pay off debt needs a good pop upside the head ... I hear baseball bats work just fine.

Debit where debit is due, bub. Any other joe would say credit where credit is due, but honey, we don't do credit around here. Either way you slice it, it's time for yours truly to take cred ... DEBIT ... as the Time Magazine Person of the Year. Why me? You got me. I'm all about humility, but I'm walking by the newsstand one day and I see that beautiful cover. PERSON OF THE YEAR ... YOU! So the way I figure, if they serve you the cake, have a slice.

It's the screwiest thing, see? I figured, if anyone was gonna be named, it would be Dave Ramsey. He's always telling joes and jills to get out of debt. He's always telling people about how important it is to create a budget. Someone calls his radio show for advice, and he spits it out right there, on the spot. He helps out. Good stuff, baby.

But in the meantime, thanks for the honor. You like me ... you really like me.

Cheaters never win, winners never cheat ... you've heard the routine before. But have you heard the one about the Indian runner who failed his/her gender test and lost his/her 2006 Asian Games medal? It happened. Runner took a test, the judges found out that there was a little too much Bobby in that Betty, and asked that the piece of silver around his/her neck be returned ... no refund or exchange.

Just goes to show, jack ... never impersonate a member of the opposite sex when running a race in a large, formally organized track and field event. You know something that's even more stupid? Not learning how to budget money so you can get out of debt. The sooner you learn to keep your dough with you, the sooner you can start to pay off credit card debt and invest smart. Listen to The Dave Ramsey Show to learn more. It's good advice for all joes and jills ... and all those in between.

Here's some new research for you. As a kid's IQ gets higher, his or her taste for a good steak gets lower. At least that's the word from the boys across the pond.

That's right, ladies and germs. British researchers say that a kid with a high IQ tends to become a vegetarian as he or she get older. Not only do they dig a good vegetarian meal, they eat healthier, live healthier and get less of the bad stuff in life, like cholesterol and obesity. Just goes to show that your momma knew what she was talking about when she said to finish your veggies at the dinner table, see?

Speaking of lots of green mixed with a little smarts, did you know saving extra cash and getting out of debt is the brainy thing to do? By green, I mean money, baby. You don't need a high IQ to be good with the dough. You just need common sense; like living on less than you make. Where do you learn how to handle the moolah? Where else ... from The Dave Ramsey Show.

Ever get so mad when your football team is losing that you want to throw the remote, or a dish, or a Chevy at the screen? Picture that, but without the anger. That's what's happening with the new Nintendo Wii and their controls. You work the controllers not with your thumbs, but swinging them like a light saber or a tennis racket. Well, the racket these things are causing (lots of broken furniture, since they keep slipping off the wrists) means the Nintendo Wii console game boys are replacing 3.2 million wrist straps, jack.

Just goes to show ... you can have piles of dough, a national name and a rep for quality merchandise. But you can still have wrong ideas. No one is bullet-proof, baby. You may pay off debt; you may know how to budget money ... but as long as you're sucking wind, you'll mess up sometimes. Get up and get over it. Heard that one on The Dave Ramsey Show. Do you dig?

Bad things happen in life, baby. Stuff that comes straight out of left field and drops you like a left hook from Joe Louis. So when life hits, hit back ... harder. Let's look at the latest Sara Evans news. Her hub does some bad stuff and basically tears the family apart, see? Myself, I'd like to get him in a back alley for five minutes. But what's the country-singing dame doing? Going on with Sara Evans, dancing star. She's joining the tour for Dancing with the Stars; getting back on the horse and back in the game.

It ain't easy. It sure ain't pretty. But life happens to all of us joes and jills, jack. So what happens when you have that job loss, car wreck, illness or death in the family? You deal with it and go on. For the minor stuff, have an emergency fund. For the major stuff, have nerves of steel. You hear about this on The Dave Ramsey Show all the time. Learn how to get out of debt; that'll take a lot of stress off the family. For the rest ... suck it up and move out.

Want some information on dolphins? Don't let 'em eat plastic, jack. Sounds like something screwy, I know. But that's what happened to two dolphins at some aquarium in China. Dolphins got sick, see? The trainers couldn't operate, so what do they do? They called in the tallest man in the world, who reached down the throats of the dolphins and pulled out the plastic with his bare hands. Take notice, ladies and germs; that'll be the only time in my life that I say that it was good to pull out the plastic.

Everyone has something to give, jack. Could be a big-time idea for the company or a friendly pat on the back for a companion. It could be a helping hand or a helping 41.7 inch arm. Point is ... never, never, NEVER think that you don't have something to give. If you pay off debt and work to earn some extra cash, then you have extra dough to give away. And if you ain't got that, give of your time. And if you ain't got time, then make time so you can listen to The Dave Ramsey Show, where you can learn how to make a few extra bucks.

Every joe and jill in this crazy world wants to leave their mark. Something that people will talk about 20, 30 or 50 years down the line. It happened with Lamar Hunt, owner of the Kansas City Chiefs and the bub who coined the phrase "Super Bowl". That's the NFL Super Bowl, for any of you who don't know the most popular game on Earth from a hole in the ground. He checked out yesterday at age 74.

It's only a two-word phrase, but people around the world know it like the back of their hand, baby. Hunt overcame tons of adversity to leave his mark, so don't be afraid to leave yours. Be someone that the world wants to have around. It's Christmas, so volunteer somewhere. Learn how to make a budget so you have some extra cash to help out someone who needs it. Turn your ears on to The Dave Ramsey Show and learn all about how to handle the dough. Simple, simon.

I know, I know ... the whole Brad Pitt Angelina Jolie thing is all the rage these days, it seems. You can't walk anywhere without seeing the Couple of the Century splashed across the front page. But that's just the problem, jack. Too many times, joes and jills across the country pay more attention to who's dating who than they do their checkbooks or if they invest wisely. Bad plan, stan.

So before you go reading the latest Angelina Jolie news, here's a free lesson in life. If you spend so much time worrying about lifestyles of the rich and shameless, and don't take care of your own affairs, your dough is gonna get away from you. You need to make sure that you save money. If you want to retire rich, you need to go for 15 percent of your income in mutual funds.

Just remember, baby; a year from now, Brangelina will be upstaged by some other gossip. It won't matter, but your cash flow will. Make a monthly budget and be on top of it, like it says on The Dave Ramsey Show every day. Like them apples, jack?

You want consistency, winning and a killer approach shot, all in one? You got it, jack. Take a look at Tiger Woods golf. I ain't talkin' about the PlayStation 3 version, baby ... I'm talking about the real deal. This tiger has been working his tail off for decades. Day in, day out; seems like he takes a lunch break every six months or so.

So what does he have to show for it? His eighth PGA Player of the Year award, 9.9 million in cold, hard cash earnings this year alone, and the fact that he's pretty much turned PGA Tour Golf on its ear.

It's the same way with the dough. If you keep working hard to save the extra cash, take the time to invest smart and do it over time with consistency, you'll be on a one-way trip to Moneytown, baby. Need more info? Check out The Dave Ramsey Show.

I love hearing about it when old folks hang in there. Let's check out exhibit A, jack. The world's oldest person, Elizabeth Bolden, passed on yesterday at the tender age of 116. I know radio stations that don't go that high. This dame lived a full life. Get this ... counting from her grandkids to her great-great-great-great grandkids, she had 560 of them. Wild stuff.

The only thing that makes no sense about living to a ripe old age is not preparing for it. You don't know how long you're gonna be in this crazy world, but I'll tell you one thing ... if you don't invest money, and invest enough of it, you'll outlive your cash and end up as broke as an Enron bigwig after a bad night at the craps tables. You gotta invest smart; 15 percent of your income. Do that, and create a budget to live off of the dough, and your golden years will be just that, baby. Learned that one from The Dave Ramsey Show.

The best part of having dough? Giving it away ... been saying that since day one, bub. If you don't believe me, look at Jada Pinkett. This Hollywood dame is doing all right for herself and decided to make a charitable donation of 1 million smackers to her old high school's art program. Brings a smile to your face and a tear to your eye, don't it?

Me, I had to learn that saving extra cash so you can give it away is one of the best things to do with the dough. But you can't have any extra moolah until you get out of debt. Quit sending money to the banks and credit card companies so you can start investing it and helping out other people. Dave Ramsey talks about this all the time on his radio show. Word to the wise, jack ... turn it on.

Here's ugly for you. Augusto Pinochet kicked the oxygen habit this weekend at age 91. So where's the ugly, you say? Check out how the country of Chile reacted. Some people broke out the bubbly and danced in the streets. Some were angry that he didn't get his just desserts after brutalizing the country in the 70s and 80s. Either way, the point is this: you don't want to be like Pinochet and have people acting like they just won the Super Bowl when they hear that you've bought the farm.

Be on the up-and-up and do good stuff in this crazy world. Help people out when they need it. Right now, you may only be able to help out by volunteering or something, see? But once you've deep-sixed your debt, you got a great way to help ... with cash.

So how do you get the green? Simple, simon. Create a budget and change your family tree. Pay off debt so you have some extra cash to give away. So when your number is up, people won't be dancing in the streets. The Dave Ramsey Show would say the same thing, baby.

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Momentum. Ain't a thing like it in the world, bub. When you get things going your way, look out. Need proof? Then here's the pudding. LaDanian Tomlinson, running back for the San Diego Chargers football team, scored three touchdowns yesterday to take over the all-time top spot for touchdowns in a season. He worked hard, got some scores under his belt ... next thing you know, he's mowing down the competition.

The same thing happens with just about everything else in life. Could be your job, family ... and don't forget about saving money. When you go about creating a budget and start telling your dough where to go, things start happening. You find extra cash. A debt gets paid off sooner than you planned. You get momentum on your side, and you go nuts with deep-sixing your debt and connecting with your cash. Make it happen, jack. For more info, listen to The Dave Ramsey Show.

I don't get into science as much as the next guy, but this one caught my eye, bub. You know what they say about how the best defense is a good offense? Not when it comes to biological weapons. You think I'm kidding? Researchers at the U.S. Naval Lab in Washington say llama antibodies can play a key role in keeping us safe if there's a biological weapon attack.

Sounds like something out of one of those corny '50s sci-fi flicks, right? Oh well ... something that doesn't sound corny or crazy is having extra cash when an emergency hits. So how do you do it? By learning how to make a budget, just like Dave Ramsey says. When you know where your dough is going, you're more likely to keep some around when Murphy comes knocking at your door. Don't be unprepared. The sooner you start getting ready, the sooner you'll be ready, freddy.

I love it when the simple things can make the most sense in this crazy world, baby. Take a look at this silly string lady. This is the real deal ... some dame in Jersey decided to do something for the soldiers overseas, so she's collecting cans of silly string to send to them. Turns out, the strings, which cost about a dollar a can, can reveal trip wires to bombs without setting them off. I tell you one thing ... who knew you could save a life by spending a buck?

Saving bucks. Now that's a great idea. And simple, too. You just get out of debt by creating a budget, just like you hear on The Dave Ramsey Show. Once you get your dough under control, you start saving extra cash. Before you know it, you got your life back, jack. Stop working for the man and start working for yourself.

Time for a history lesson, bub ... because today IS history. Today is the last day that Pearl Harbor survivors will gather in Hawaii, marking the 65th anniversary of what sent us into WWII. They're getting up there in years, so they've decided that it's time to say that last goodbye. I tell you what ... when you talk about guts, you talk about these guys. When you see a vet, thank him or her. They present a great example of taking care of people, jack. Heroes.

Most of us won't be getting shot at in our lives, but that doesn't mean you can't be a hero. When you find a way to help someone out, it's hero time, bud. One of the best ways to help out is to get out of debt. Why, you ask? Well, answer time ... learning how to manage your dough means you have more to give away. Start listening to The Dave Ramsey Show so you can learn how to save money.

So who's your pick? Troy Smith from Ohio State, the Fighting Irish's Brady Quinn, or Arkansas speedster Darren McFadden? These three joes are heading to New York to find out who wins college football's Heisman Trophy. It's the top prize in the NCAA, baby. Smith is the odds-on favorite, but being a favorite doesn't mean you got it made in the shade, babe.

If it's a given that the favorite is going to win, then why do we line up and play the game? Because anyone can win. You do it the fastest, the hardest and the longest, and you come out a winner. The same is true when you're talking about the dough, jack ... about having extra cash. Every day on The Dave Ramsey Show, Dave talks about what it takes to win. It takes making a personal budget, being smart with money and saving. Do it and win.

Anyone who knows me knows I'm all about the classics. And they don't come more classic than the Audrey Hepburn picture "Breakfast at Tiffany's". Pretty sweet, then, when the black dress she wore in the movie was sold at a charity auction in London yesterday for 807,000 bucks. That'll buy a lot of breakfasts, baby. The money is going to a charity that helps India's poor. Good stuff.

Giving is the best part about having extra cash. Some people think they can't give because they can only afford $5 here or $10 there. Here's the word, bird: You don't need to spend a CEO salary to give to charity. Every little bit helps. Any dough you can give to a good cause is dough that they didn't have before.

If you get on board with Dave Ramsey and The Total Money Makeover (and you should), you'll deep-six your debt, see? Then, when you're completely out of debt, you can give out the cash like there's no tomorrow. It's the giving season anyway, so start the process of being able to give ... start giving your debt the ax, jack.

It's one thing to love your job; it's another to be a workaholic, bub. Lots of people today are putting in 70- and 80-hour workweeks to get ahead. If you love your job, that's one thing. Do what you love. But don't spend so much time at the office that you forget your family. And certainly don't spend time at work so you can afford your car payment or so you can live in a mansion and be house poor.

Have a job? That's good. Job has you? Not good. When you're a workaholic, it's bad. It ain't the stuff that dreams are made of. Make sure to have balance in your life, baby. Have a social life and make sure you get some personal time here and there. It wouldn't kill you to take a vacation now and then, either.

If you're working big-time hours because you can't afford your lifestyle, the best (and only) thing to do is get out of debt. You hear about this stuff on The Dave Ramsey Show all the time. Put it to practice.

It ain't the lottery, but it seems like it, bub. Mary J. Blige won big at the Billboard Music Awards last night, to the tune of nine awards. She made it look easy, but do you think it was? Not a chance ... winning music awards is never easy. When it comes to stuff like this, people see the glory and not the story. They don't see the crazy work schedule, life on the road or the tired Mary J. after a long day. You want results, you gotta put in the work.

Saving money is the same way. Building wealth ain't about getting a huge mortgage when you're fresh out of college, or driving a flashy set of wheels, or spending the summer months in Aruba. Someone who drives an older car, lives debt-free, saves extra cash and clips coupons isn't living the big-time life; they're just saving big-time dough. Dave Ramsey talks about this stuff all the time ... catch him on the radio, baby.

Here's the word from the boys in Washington: the Medicare people are saying their new Medicare drug benefit plan is a success. Nice, if you can get it. Problem is, most of us won't. I don't know about you, but when I get old and gray, I don't want to rely on MC, I want to rely on DT. That's why I took the steps to invest money.

Close your eyes and think about it, baby. You invest $500 a month for the next 30 years, you'll end up with almost 750,000 bucks. That'll generate about 80 grand a year. Can you buy your own medicine for that? Bet your bottom dollar on it, baby. Then you won't have to rely on a government program or anyone else to get your pills for you.

If you want to retire with dignity, take the steps to do it. Doesn't matter if you make $25,000 a year or 250K; if you live on less than you make and create a personal budget so you can save money, you'll win with the dough. Heard that before? Yeah, you have ... on The Dave Ramsey Show. Tune in to Dave.

Beginning to look a lot like Christmas, jack. Which means plenty of trees, lights, cold temperatures and presents. The bad news? Lots of credit cards jumping around out there. Joes and jills everywhere are choosing plastic over paper when they go Christmas shopping. Let me clue everybody in; that ain't the way to go. The only thing credit card spending does is make you dread starting off the next year, when you get the bill in January.

I started saving up the cash for the holidays back in the summer. Saved a little bit at a time for a long time. By the time cold weather hits, the dough is burning a hole in my pocket. It's the coolest thing to save the extra cash, pay for something and be done with it. So how do you do that? Simple, simon ... make a personal budget, save a little at a time, and you're in. Dave Ramsey gives tips like this all the time, and he's on the money.

Every now and again, a story makes you do an ear-to-ear smile. Today, that one is this one. Seems that volunteering in the U.S. of A. is at its highest rate in 30 years. A big part of those numbers is because more teens are pitching in nowadays. Sure, you got kids who spend 10 hours a day on their PlayStations or goofing off; but any time a record number of joes and jills are giving, it's big-time news, baby.

Volunteering is another way to give. Dave Ramsey talks all the time on his top-notch radio show about how you should give money to help out people who are down on their luck. If you don't have the dough, then do these two things. First, learn how to budget money so you can pay off debt and save some cash so you can spread the wealth. Second, give of your time; everyone has some of that. Make it happen.

Anything worth a lot is worth waiting for. Take a look at this Eva Longoria-Tony Parker deal. They've been seeing each other for a couple of years, he pops the question ... they'll be riding off into the sunset soon. They took the time and got to know each other and, bada-bing bada-boom, happy ending. Let's just hope the union lasts longer than a 60-watt bulb, baby.

That doesn't mean that you stand around waiting for the fairy godmother to FedEx your dream to you in a box. It means working hard at whatever you do to get where you want. If it's about having extra cash, then it means to get on a plan to get out of debt. Stick with it, through thick and thin, until you get what you're after.

Money ain't as good as love, but financial peace is worth the wait. It takes dedication, hard work and sticking to your plan to save money, jack ... but once you get to the top of the hill and you've deep-sixed your debt, the ride down is as happy as a kid in a candy store. Just ask Dave Ramsey.

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Sad day when the people in charge get busted for political corruption, jack. But this
yahoo takes the cake, the icing and the milk. Seems the ex-mayor of some town in Virginia tried to buy votes for an upcoming election ... by using beer, cigarettes and pork rinds to bribe the voters. Not exactly the government corruption that most joes and jills think about when the subject comes up, but it's close.

This guy's rap sheet is longer than a rainy Monday at a job you hate. He's got 243 felonies, including stealing election records, voting ballots, violating voting procedures and hindering the rights of voters ... and that's the short list. Smooth move, slick.

Up and up ... that's the way to do it. Keep your nose clean, live honest and save money, and the only thing that's gonna bite you in the backside is your dog when he wants to play. Sound like good advice? Listen to The Dave Ramsey Show; there's tons of it there, baby.

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