May 7, 2019 • Page 2 shop online at www.missourivalleyshopper.com Dave Says When To Start The Process? Dear Dave, My husband and I are debt-free, and we have an emergency fund of six months of expenses saved. We’d like to buy a home in the $250,000 to $275,000 price range in the near future, and we plan on saving $60,000 for a down payment. It should take a little less than two years to save that much money. When should we begin the search for a good real estate agent and start the underwriting process? Sarah Dave Dear Sarah, I’m really proud of you two. You’re being very intentional and goal-oriented about getting control of your finances and the home buying process. I’d advise starting a conversation with a quality mortgage company when you’re about five or six months away from your savings goal date. There’s “pre-approval,” but there’s also something called “certified.” That’s a step beyond pre-approved, and it basically puts you in a position to make an offer when you’re ready for the purchase. So, getting certified as a buyer is very helpful. After that, sit down and talk with a few agents. Interview them, and decide on someone you like and trust. Find an experienced agent you’re comfortable with to guide you through the real estate world, and then start outlining your search and buying strategy. What I would not do is jump from agent to agent. There’s a tremendous benefit in finding someone you trust and feel good about. I’m talking about a buyer’s agent who’s going to fight for you. This means someone who will show you several different properties, keep your wants and needs foremost in their mind, and help you get the best possible buy on your new home! —Dave RAMSEY “WHEN I WAS LOOKING FOR A JOB, I PUT THE CLASSIFIEDS TO WORK!” Our Help Wanted Listings Have Hundreds Of Opportunities For You... • Full-Time • Part-Time • Permanent • Temporary 319 Walnut • Yankton, SD 605.665.5884 Ron’sBroadway, Yankton Auto Glass 1915 Glass Repair & Replacement Home • Auto • Business 605.665.9841 Meeting for the Yankton Fire Protection District Thursday, May 16, 2019 7:00 pm at the Fire Station 201 W. 23rd Street Yankton, SD A Home Shouldn’t Leave You House Poor Dear Dave, My husband and I were listening to your radio show the other day. In it, you were speaking to a lady about buying a home. When you talk about mortgage payments being 25 percent or less of your take-home pay, does this figure include taxes and insurance or just principal and interest? Ann Dear Ann, That figure includes taxes and insurance, too. The whole idea is to make sure your house payment is manageable. You don’t want to have so much money going toward your mortgage every month, what I call being “house poor,” that you can’t take care of your other financial responsibilities or enjoy life. It’s simple. You have more money when you don’t have debt. If you want to build wealth, you have to get out of the payment business. When one-third to one-half of everything you bring home is going to creditors, you have less money for other stuff—other important stuff. Trust me, I get it. A home is a huge expense that very few people, especially those just starting out, can afford to pay for in cash. That’s why I don’t beat people up for getting a 15-year, fixed-rate mortgage. But that’s the only kind of mortgage I recommend. And yes, make sure the monthly payments are just 25 percent, or less, of your take-home pay! —Dave * Dave Ramsey is America’s trusted voice on money and business, and CEO of Ramsey Solutions. He has authored seven best-selling 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. Dud was down at The Lunker Hole on Lewis Creek before it even turned yellow in the east. He had some thinking to do, and, as everyone knows, there’s no better way to think than fly fishing. Just about the time Dud could make out The Lunker’s rock at the head of the hole, he had gotten a tiny midge tied on some leader and sent it on its way to the general vicinity of the rock. It floated slowly downstream without being bothered by piscatorial pirates, and when the line told him he’d reached as far downstream as he could on this cast, he picked it up, waved it dry and cast back up at the rock. Okay, now is a decent thinking time, so it was well to get started. It’s the book, of course. Why do I do it? He asked himself. It doesn’t make any sense. If I spent that time washing dishes down at the Mule Barn truck stop, I’d make more money. And the title? I like Murder in the Soggy Bottoms, but my friends keep calling it The Duchess and the Truck Driver. Maybe I should change it? Okay, pick up the fly and send it back up to that rock again. And the love stuff … the truck driver and the duchess are nuts about each other and have a kid in common from when he was in Europe on special assignment the last time. And the language problem. The duchess speaks a couple of European languages and the truck driver is from the South. But if they are so different, how did they have a kid together? Cast upstream again. Wait. False cast until the fly is dry then … yeah, like that. You know, it doesn’t make any sense, but some people actually write more than one book! They have to be cheating somehow… they’ve GOT to be cheating… Interested in this spot? Call 665-5884 to place your ad here. Interested in this spot? Call 665-5884 to place your ad here. Interested in this spot? MATT MOODY ALAN KEMP HOLT ROBINETTE Finance Manager Moody Motor Co., Niobrara, Nebraska Business?Phone?402-857-3711?•?1-800-745-5650 Call 665-5884 to place your ad here. www.missourivalleyshopper.com PIERRE, S.D. – The South Dakota Advisory Council on Aging (ACA) will hold a meeting in Pierre on Thursday, May 9. The meeting will be held at the Hillsview Plaza www.moodymotor.com 1-800-745-5650 located at 3800 E. Hwy. 34 from 1-4p.m. CDT. For more information on the meeting, please visit https:// boardsandcommissions. sd.gov/ or contact Beth www.missourivalleyshopper.com www.missourivalleyshopper.com 19th Annual BRANDON, SD ITYW DE CVisit ourIWeb site at www.missourivalleyshopper.com SALES Thursday, May 9th Friday, PROBLEM!th IT TODAY? NO May 10 Saturday, May 11th 605-665-5882 Missouri Valley Shopper Have you ever had reason to wonder how useful you are? Recently, one of my daughters came home, saw me, and asked if I had suddenly gotten gray. I had to admit it was because I hadn’t used Grecian in a while. With that grayness, some people think I can’t do anything, and I feel old and useless. A case in point occurred Monday. My daughter, Elliana, plays the harp. She’s only sixteen but is very professional. She has played for weddings, Christmas gatherings, and even been the lead act for well-known musicians. Recently, a famous musician’s staff posted that he was looking for some harpists to play in a music video. Donna, my wife, thought this would be a great opportunity for Elliana. Elliana loves the musician’s music, so she was excited. The video shoot was less than a week away, so Donna quickly applied. Three days later, Elliana was accepted, and early on Monday morning we headed to Utah. We got there early in the afternoon, and there was a lot to be done before the videotaping at three o’clock. The girls had to get on makeup, have their hair braided, and make sure all of their clothing was just right. For most of it, I was the only dad there, and I felt useless. I asked if there was anything I could do, and the answer was pretty much for me to just stay out of the road. The makeup took about two hours. Finally, it was time to move the harps into position. That was when we learned something interesting. The video shoot was to be in a dry water fountain, and the harps were to be lined up around the inside of the fountain. This posed a problem since the wall was about eighteen inches tall. At the thought of their harps being picked up a couple of feet and lifted over the wall into the fountain, looks of horror showed on the faces of the harpists and their mothers. Also, the film crew knew next to nothing about moving harps. One girl had a small harp, and I asked the mother if she wanted me to lift it over the wall. She knew that there are certain ways to lift a harp because there are parts that should not be stressed. “Have you ever lifted a harp before?” she asked. “I carried my daughter’s full-size concert harp everywhere for years,” I said. She reluctantly agreed. I told two of the men from the film crew to get inside the fountain. I picked up the harp, keeping it upright, and handed it across the wall to them. They carefully set it down. “That’s fine with a small harp,” one mother said. “But what about a full-size concert harp?” She was not about to let me demonstrate with hers, so I got our own. Because of the brand it was, it was probably the heaviest model there. I had the men get into position, and I carefully lifted the harp up and over the wall to them. I was grateful I had been doing muscle building exercises in an attempt to lose weight, because lifting that harp took all the strength I had. The mother then turned to me and said, “You can lift mine, too.” I lifted her harp over, and the two men set it down. “How many harps are there?” the film crew director asked. “Around twenty-four,” someone replied. Having lifted the two big ones over, I gained the trust of the other mothers and started lifting each harp over to two of the film crew. There were twenty-six harps, and I was exhausted after that workout. The film crew tested their big, heavy cameras, putting them on a cart to roll around as they filmed. But the round brick pavers caused the cameras to jiggle. They tried wagons and other carts with the same result. Finally, they just had to carry the cameras. But the film crew tired fast and could only work for about thirty seconds before playing tag and passing their camera to another crewman. We watched as they shot take after take until I could see their arms shaking from exhaustion. Finally, it was all done. I figured after my first workout lifting harps, I would just do my own. It was all I could do to get a couple of film crew guys to take it on the outside of the fountain. I then realized all the mothers were waiting for me to lift theirs, too. I lifted every one over, and the tired film crew traded off lifting them down. When I finished the last one, my arms were shaking from exhaustion. I felt good when the film crew leader, only half joking talking about me, said to his crew, “I ought to fire half of you and hire him. He lifted every harp by himself.” That made me feel good until he said, “And wow, he’s old!” INTERESTED IN THIS SPOT? Advisory Council On Aging Meeting Meets May 9 www.missourivalleyshopper.com Call 665-5884 to place your ad here. HOURS Monday thru Friday 8:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. Saturday: YOU NEED 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m Sunday: Noon - 4:00 p.m. FAX IT Feeling Useful By Daris Howard Largest City Wide in South Dakota! 216 W. 4th St. • YANKTON,SD 605-665-5884 A list of addresses & items available online Monday, May 6th Interested in this spot? www.BrandonRummages.com Call 665-5884 to place your ad here. Dokken at 605-773-3656. The ACA ensures Visit our Web regarding representation site at administrative and social www.missourivalleyshopper.com concerns which would improve the status of older South Dakotans. Visit our Web site at Looking www.missourivalleyshopper.com for the best deal in town? Check Visit our Web sitethe at www.missourivalleyshopper.com CLASSIFIEDS! MV Shopper 319 Walnut St. Yankton, SD 57078 MV Shopper M I S S O U R I VA L L E Y M I S S O U R I VA L L E Y 605-665-5884