Hey everyone,
I am so sorry for not blogging for a while but our family has been through a lot. We have been saving money and still thinking about the contest and all of you.
A little over a month ago I was having some minor physical problems and went to the doctor to get checked out. He was concerned enough to send me for a Cat scan and bladder scan. They found a cancerous mass on my bladder and scheduled me for surgery the next week. It was hard hearing the "C" word but I put my trust in God.
The next day my wife Glenda had some problems and her doctor sent her to the emergency room. They found a tumor on her pancreas. Talk about a double whammy! We both cried in each others arms for a while but then we prayed together, wiped each others tears and were determined not to let this overtake us.
Ok, how crazy is this. A husband and wife in the hospital together with major problems. Our family and friends were awesome as they rallied around us. They took care of our girls, made us dinners and were there for us 24/7. We left the hospital at the same time in wheelchairs. What a sight!
I had my surgery and everything went well. They scraped and burned the mass off my bladder (It sounds worse than it was). The worst part was how they got to my bladder....and all the guys just let out a GASP! Don't talk to me anymore ladies about having babies. It won't fly anymore with me....lol

Now, here comes the miracles section:
1. My doctor saw me last week and said that the cancer was superficial and not invasive, meaning they got it all and it didn't go into my bladder wall. He also said that it had been inside me for almost 2 years and never went anywhere. The Lord is good!
2. My wife's tumor isn't cancer and they are seeing if it will shrink on it's own. If it doesn't, then they will have to go in to remove it. Please keep her in prayer because she doesn't want (in her words) "a knife being stuck inside her."

Alright, where am I going with all of this...
We still saved money!!!
You will be seeing my updated status today or tomorrow before the contest ends and I will get off of that lousy 1%!

We hope everyone is doing ok and let's all stay in touch! We went on this journey together so let's never forget it or each other.

We love you all! (that includes all of the FNBO Direct employees)

Love,
The Sirianos

Wow...

That's Great, Dave!

Wow!

God is good

Man!

Overcomers

Wow, what a great Super Bowl. I was cheering on the Cardinals but my Dad was born in Pittsburgh and he's a big Steeler fan so it was ok.
I even saved money by going to our church's Super Bowl party. It was $5 for all the pizza you could eat. My wife and girls went to a friend's house who cooked for them.
Cost for Super Bowl: $5
Anyway, we have been saving a lot by not going out to eat and also by carpooling to work 3 or 4 days a week. I drop my wife off at work and then pick her up after work. It's been saving us gas and wear and tear on our better vehicle. It's something we never thought of before but better late than never.
Sirianos out!

Here is a video my girls did on how we're saving money. We really are saving a lot of money by not eating out. It's amazing.

Love it!

Here we go again!

Well, it's been a while since I've posted but I have a lot of things filmed and ready to go. Happy New Year to everyone at FNBO and to the challengers. We had a great Christmas and still managed to save a little money in the process. I know it doesn't show on the site but that's because I've had problems getting into my account (no fault of FNBO) and transferring money from my bank. I hope to get that all cleared up this week. I'm also sending emails out to all of our church soon so watch out all you challengers!
On another note, my wife Glenda and I went out to breakfast this past week at IHOP. Now IHOP is awesome so I'm not bashing them in any way because their hash browns rock but I am going to say how disappointed I am on how much they charge for Orange Juice. For three large OJ's we spent $8.67. I did some checking at our local supermarket and for that price we could have gotten 3 half gallons of OJ. Think about it because we certainly did. Here's what I came up with:
1. Order water.
2. Sneak a half gallon of OJ into IHOP and just ask for a empty glass with ice.
3. Sneak 3 half gallons into IHOP and sell glasses of OJ for $1.50 to the surrounding customers which in turn will make money for this contest.
Tell me what you guys think I should do.....1, 2 or 3. Let me know.
The Sirianos

Hahaha!

City Pronunciation

Oh Dave...

What a week! I was sick for the first time in a long while. In the midst of it all I was Uncle Billy in our play; "It's a Wonderful Life."
Here is one thing I realized...You don't spend too much money when your sick. Tea and soup doesn't cost too much.
Anyway, I just heard from Old Man Higgins and he has a video coming up on how to save money for the holidays. It should be good because that guy is really crazy. Have a great holiday season everyone.
The Sirianos

Sorry you were sick

Hey

This is a video I made especially for Phil and Teresa. Have a wonderful last few months of freedom....LOL

Yes, our church is doing a production of "It's A Wonderful Life" and I am cast as Uncle Billy....The guy who loses $8,000. This is a horrible role for a guy who is trying to save money in this challenge, but it got me thinking. I tried to think back at how much money I have lost or blown over the course of my 43 years. I could have bought my house and added a Rolls Royce to the driveway.
But, no more crying over spilled milk. We are turning over a new leaf and leading the horse to water. WHAT? Just thought I'd throw out a few cliches.
Seriously, this contest has really changed our thinking. Over the last two months we have eaten out a lot less (which was killing us) and we are really thinking about how we spend.
Case in point: Black Friday. Last year we got up at 4am and came back with a bunch of stuff we didn't need. This year we slept in and then watched a few Christmas movies on TV. It sure beat rubbing up against sweaty, out of control shoppers fighting for a plasma TV. Seriously, when people start getting trampled to death for a few sales, we better rethink how we act as human beings.
Now, I'm not blasting Black Friday for everyone but I will pass along some advice someone gave me. If you're looking for something specific that you absolutely need then get up and go. Otherwise, stay home and save your money for after Christmas sales.
Well, time for bed but get ready for a few funny videos this week.
Sirianos Out!

Well, my daughter's Quince has come and gone. It was a great party and she was so beautiful. The food was delicious and we all had a lot of fun dancing.
Now, here is the best part that I want to share with all of you. We paid for the party without taking out a loan or borrowing money. The cost of the party was over $2,000 but I put into practice what I learned from this contest. Here's what we did. For the past two months, we took any extra money we had and put it aside for the party. We didn't put it in the bank or under our mattress. We took it right to the facility where the party was to be held and we paid a little at a time. Out of sight, out of mind! We felt really great on party day because it was paid in full. No loans from my cousin Vinny or IOU's to anyone.
And now for the second best part. My daughter, who raked in a lot of money, is going to put some of that toward our goal. This contest is not only great for my wife and I but it's also having a profound effect on our children. This is something my 5 daughters can take with them into their future marriages. Then they won't have to borrow any money from me!

I also want to say Hi to all the other contestants and let them know that the blogs are awesome. Let's all keep up the great work.
Game on!
The Sirianos

Hey man!

Party

Felicidades!

Quince

Ok, the last couple of weeks have been really busy. We've had two conferences at our church that I work at and we're also getting ready for my daughters party. WHEW!
Ok, Here's something I realized. Being on the go is not such a bad thing because you don't have time to go shopping for stuff you don't need. We didn't spend too much eating out either because my Mom (who just moved near us) made us dinner a few times and we also ate at McDonalds a lot. Now, eating at McDonalds all the time might not be that good for you but right now the Monopoly game is going on and we've won our share of free food plus we're not spending a lot. I WAS "indisposed" for a while today so eventually this smorgasbord will have to stop. (Too much information?....sorry)
Anyway, as my daughter Alyssa said in her video, we are going to step up our saving after the party and the great thing about this contest is....saving is on our minds so we will be ready!
Siriano Out!