November 14, 2017 • Page 2 shop online at www.missourivalleyshopper.com Dave Says Married or Single, Budgeting is the Key Dear Dave, Do you have any tips for how single people can stay on track with their finances? Deb Dear Deb, The first thing I’d suggest is the same advice I give to married couples, and that is to spend less than you make, and live on a written, monthly budget. Sit down at the end of each month and write down — on paper — all your expenses and income for the upcoming month. Give every dollar a Dave job, then spend everything on paper before the month begins. When you think about it, budgeting isn’t that difficult. All it takes is a little time and a few basic math skills. Some expenses, like your mortgage payment or rent, will be the same. If you have a car payment, it should remain constant, as well. Things like utilities and groceries may fluctuate a little based on the time of year, but you can formulate pretty accurate estimates by looking at past months. Another thing I would recommend is finding a mature, trustworthy friend or family member to act as an accountability partner. This person should also be good with money, and your relationship should be strong enough that they’re not afraid to call you out if you start behaving irresponsibly with your cash. Sit down, just the two of you, once a month and talk about your finances. You can even go over your income and budget line by line if it helps. The point in this scenario is to get support from someone who cares about you, and is willing to be there – and help hold you accountable – for the financial decisions you’re making. Ramsey — Dave Used Car Warranties? Dear Dave, What is your opinion of used car warranties? Anonymous Dear Anonymous, I’m not a fan of extended warranties in general, and I especially dislike used car warranties. In my mind, they’re bad because they’re expensive and — on average — of little benefit to the buyer. Did you know, in many cases, only about 12 percent of what you pay for used car warranties goes to cover the cost of repairs? That means around 88 percent goes toward profit, overhead, and commissions. In fact, some used car dealers make more money from the sale of extended warranties than they do on the sale of actual cars. The best way to cover yourself is to buy smart and self-insure. Save up an emergency fund of three to six months of expenses, and stay away from stuff like used car warranties! — Dave * Dave Ramsey is America’s trusted voice on money and business, and CEO of Ramsey Solutions. He has authored seven bestselling books, including The Total Money Makeover. The Dave Ramsey Show is heard by more than 12 million listeners each week on 575 radio stations and multiple digital platforms. Follow Dave on Twitter at @DaveRamsey and on the web at daveramsey.com. Connecting South Dakota’s Veterans To Arts Opportunities By South Dakota Lt. Governor Matt Michels South Dakota has always stepped forward in defense of our nation, with a high percentage of our population volunteering for all branches of military service. As a result, our state has a wealth of veterans, proud representatives of each generation that has served. Those honorable veterans have stories to tell—and South Dakota has a rich and vibrant creative sector to help them share their knowledge, their experience and their patriotism. I have been honored this year by being selected as chair of the National Lieutenant Governors Association during the organization’s annual meeting in Nashville, TN. As chair, I am privileged to determine the group’s initiative for the coming year. I believe the time is right to focus on connecting veterans with opportunities in the arts—and South Dakota can lead the way with an innovative program already in the planning stages. In partnership with the Michael J. Fitzmaurice State Veterans Home, the South Dakota Arts Council and Arts South Dakota, the Lieutenant Governor’s Office is working to design comprehensive arts residency programming for the State Veterans Home and community of Hot Springs. We will also be working with Americans for the Arts, a national arts advocacy organization, and planning exciting new ways to engage South Dakota artists, students and other communities in connecting veterans to creative expressions of their service. We’ve already developed a concept for the program, and partnership meetings and conversations are underway to develop and implement specific projects centered on the State Veterans Home in Hot Springs. You’ll be hearing much more about this initiative in coming months, and all the partners are excited about making this wonderful investment to help our state’s veterans share and celebrate their stories. The arts are an essential element in the daily lives of our state’s citizens. Involving our creative community in honoring and remembering South Dakota’s veterans brings us all closer together and spotlights these remarkable men and women. Annual Gayville Legion PITCH PARTY HIGH - LOW- JACK and GAME Mon., Nov. 20 • Tues., Nov. 21 • Wed., Nov. 22 6:00 p.m. until ?? Bingo – 7pm to 10pm My daughter, Heather came out of her room all blearyeyed one morning. “What happened to you?” I asked. “My touch lamp is broken,” she said. “At least, I hope that’s all it is.” “How would that make you so tired?” “It freaked me out all night,” she replied. “It would turn on by itself. I would reach over and turn it off, and then a while later it would turn on again. I finally decided I didn’t care, so I just left it on, but then it would turn itself off. I tried to ignore it, but the turning on and off about every half hour or so was kind of spooky.” “I’m surprised it has gone bad so fast,” I said. “It’s practically new.” She shrugged, half asleep. “Whatever. All I know is it kept me awake most of the night. And if it’s not the lamp’s fault, I’m not sure I want to know what it is.” I consider myself a fairly decent electrician, so I took the lamp apart to look at it. I couldn’t find any short or anything that seemed wrong. I took it down and set it in the living room by my chair. Anytime I was near it; I would touch it. If it was on it turned off, and if it was off, it turned on. It never seemed to do anything on its own. I figured it was just a fluke. We put the lamp back in Heather’s room, but the next morning she complained about the same thing happening. She said either it was moved out or she did. I decided to try it in my room. I turned it off for the night, and never once did it turn on by itself. We tried it in her room again, but the next morning she was sleeping on the couch and complained about the same thing happening. I read everything I could find about touch lamps and could find nothing that indicated the kind of problem we were having. I hated to get rid of it since it was so new, but I didn’t know what else to do. Then one night Heather was going to be late getting home from a school activity, so I had her set up her room just like she would for bed. While she was gone, I watched her room. I made sure the light was off, and when I came back later, it was on. I shut it off, and when I came back later, it was on. I left it on and came back later, and it was off. It was spooky. I decided I was going to get to the bottom of it, so I went in and sat on her bed. As I sat there, I heard the familiar buzzing sound that is so annoying when a person is trying to sleep. It was the sound of a fly. It sounded like a really big one. I considered getting up and getting a fly swatter when I thought of something else. I realized it was attracted to the night light by Heather’s bed. That night light was right next to her lamp. I wondered if the answer could be what I was thinking. I waited, and momentarily the light turned on. I looked at the lamp, and the fly was sitting on it. I continued to watch the fly. Eventually, it flew away. I could hear it buzzing around. It landed somewhere. I continued to listen, and it started buzzing again. Eventually, I could see it coming back, and it landed on the lamp. The lamp instantly shut off. I got up off of the bed and turned on the main light. I chased the fly from the room with a fly swatter and moved the night light over by the desk, so if there were ever a fly again, it would be attracted in that direction. That night, when Heather came home, I told her I had found her ghost. When I told her what it was, she looked at me suspiciously. 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