Great post, Linsey. Health care is something that is on everyone's mind, or lack thereof. Nice of Walgreens to address this, and of you to let us know.
What a great way to make some extra cash, promote literacy, and maybe even meet like-minded people who share your interest in books. Not to mention a nice way to spend a day. Thanks for the tips.
You state many obvious points, as well as ones we don't give enough thought to. Very thorough and informative, not to mention thought provoking, as we're seeing firsthand. Thanks for the advice.
Not all wealthy people are crooks. Instead of "Some of the tactics of the wealthy are unsavory", it should say "The tactics of some of the wealthy are unsavory".
Also, some 'advantages' are simply natural consequences of having more. I am recently laid off, but thanks to my good financial habits while working, I can take my time to look for a job I will enjoy, and not have to accept whatever available just to make ends meet. So yeah, I am "in a much better position to wait for a good deal."
Kelja - do you know math? Phil is correct about sharing the wealth. Paying as little as possible for labor is what every business does -- they hire from the labor market, at the lowest price possible. That is equivalent to "share as little as possible."
Businesses always have some people who are paid well -- those who contribute to the productive assets of the company, and after them, those who contribute to the income. Then there are those who are paid poorly. That's generally those who perform services or routine maintenance for the above. Those paid worst are those who do maintenance on depreciating assets, like buildings.
>>>I have to second Kelja. Idiot middle managers and spoiled 20-somethings think that hoarding profits makes you rich.<<<
Hoarding is different than keeping them to yourself. You can keep profits to yourself and reinvest them in "stuff" that will make you more profits--all the time sharing as little as possible with your workers and society (the tax man).
For example, southern plantation owners became rich by exploiting slave labor and keeping the profits from their "workers"? When a company moves a plant to an underdeveloped country where labor is a fraction of what it is here, don't they get richer by sharing less of the profits with labor? Your view of how to succeed in business is naive. The only time you reward employees is when you have no other choice--when they are uniquely trained and educated for a particular job, for example. Even then, a business will look to change that situation because labor is the first cost they seek to reduce.
>>>J. Paul Getty once pointed out that you could divide all the wealth up and distribute in equal portions to everybody. In one week's time, the same people as before would be the wealthy ones.<<<
And we should believe this why? Because it was Getty who said it? You realize he could have easily proved his hypothesis had he cared to, but I don't think he believed it any more than he believed in Santa Claus. The uniquely American idea that rich people are all geniuses who contribute mightily to our society is what has us now giving hundreds of billions to the same people who ruined our economy, in order that they might now fix it. "If anyone knows how, it's the geniuses who ruined it," the thinking goes.
The fact is, rich people are a cross-segment of the general population. They hold no special powers--other than their money, which brings them influence and worldly power. They are not any smarter than anybody else (see Madoff investors) and once the money gets into the 3rd generation, they are usually considerably dumber and less motivated than the average citizen.
I really liked this article.. I agree that there are lot of ways in which one can get rich and frugality is the most imprtant of it. Working for oneself, paying yourself first are some of other ways . But most importantly spending less than what you earn alongwith living below ones means are the virtues of rich as is very nicely elaborated in The millionaire next door book.
I have to second Kelja. Idiot middle managers and spoiled 20-somethings think that hoarding profits makes you rich.
The rich business owners would tell you that rewarding the hard workers with bonuses and raises is the best way to get rich and grow your business. The richest would also mention getting rid of negative-nancy's, lazy kids who try to get by doing as little as possible and the bad-mood-mongers helps tenfold.
I encourage everyone with something to offer to start a business, but keep in mind that your staff *are* your business. They are the only way you'll succeed.
I have ALWAYS paid on time and Always more than minimum, as I was trying to get balances down. What happens, even though I was at 50% and ALWAYS paid on time, my remaining line was taken away and now they are increasing my interest rate. If I opt out, my account is closed and even though I have been diligent, my credit scores are DAMAGED, due to the banks changes and not mine. So at this point I have a I don't give a damn attitude. Why even bother??? Why not just declare a BK? I'll guarantee that your scores will improve faster.
I didn't do as well using Amazon.com. I guess I just didn't have the right books or even enough books to make a profit. Half.com worked much better for me. The fees are a lot less and I sold more books.
I did learn a few things from the article and will use them to boost my sales in the future. Thanks for such a good article.
Oh, Philip ... the rich do unsavory things? Let's not discriminate - the poor do many unsavory things.
You say, "One key tactic is to share as little as possible of the profits of the enterprise."
Perhaps you've never been in business for yourself, so I will chalk this comment up to ignorance. The quickest way to wealth is to help others become more successful and to reach their potential. Certainly there are businesses that don't share the wealth, but the successful businesses do reward producers extremely well. It makes sense.
There are many in this country today that are screaming for the heads of the rich. Parallels the thinking of the French Revolution.
J. Paul Getty once pointed out that you could divide all the wealth up and distribute in equal portions to everybody. In one week's time, the same people as before would be the wealthy ones.
I grew up in a fairly affluent area. People who really had money, multiple homes, annual trips to Europe and country club memberships don't throw money around on bling type consumer items. Most live fairly understated lives, they might have expensive items but they are not the in your face look i'm rich items.
That is how they stay rich, not wasting huge sums of money on every tacky overpriced item that comes along.
I would rather live in an apartment or tiny house in an affluent area than a larger home in a not so great area. You get better services, better (and cheaper) shopping, and lots of things that are basically free. Schools are better, parks are better, those communities usually have more community amenities all basically for free. Your insurance will be quite a bit cheaper too. We moved from an urban lower income zip code to one that was mostly higher end homes and our insurance rates dropped about 30% over night.
My wife and I have done all these things. We work for ourselves, we save, we have zero debt (including owning our home free and clear), and we invest rather than consume (for example, we drive an almost 20 year old-car and pocket/invest the savings).
And yet, with what I've learned over the last 10 years I can safely predict that we will retire poor...or even destitute. Such is the extent of the stacking of the deck by the super-rich during the last 3 decades. I have come to understand that unless you have the ability to generate large amounts of income, moderate wealth is not safe with such greedy psychopaths controlling the society. In effect, you must be able to join their group or suffer the consequences.
So, the friends that I used to look down on. The ones that lived for today. The ones that took money out of their 401K to buy a boat or a shiny new car. The ones that owe money on the house and to the CC. I am starting to wonder if they had the right idea all along. I don't know if they did, but I would certainly not advise anyone in my position to count on anything. Not as long as the Joseph Cassanos run the world and I see no reason to believe they will not.
I found your article very interesting as it confirms largely what we've been experiencing. We are a french family with 3 kids of 15,14,14. My wife and I used to work in France with good wages although not six figures in US$. We decided to leave for an extended trip around the world, selling the house, the cars, the.... everything!
We left in November 2005 and have found so far that we travel with much less than our monthly spending in France.
Of course we usually do not pay for a house and rarely go to campsites but our kids attend a corresponding school and plan to go to university in France afterwards. We have a full coverage for health problems (although not for a pet we do not have).
America for us is not a very expensive country. Europe and New Zealand are the most expensive on our trip. Food is cheap in the US, gazoline too. Clothes are all made in China and are also reasonably cheap.
I think we find america cheap because we do not have the room to store what we buy. We cannot afford, volumewise and weightwise, any 'toy' like quads or guns or boats or whatever.
When we need it we rent it. We spend altogether 4200US$ per month. This includes everything from shipping the car from one continent to another to fuel, maintenance costs, school, food, lodging when necessary, museums, fairs, movies, books, airplane tickets, everything.
This means that a six figure income is not a lot when you live in a certain surrounding and can be a lot when you live in another without really feeling the difference in quality of life.
Only the very very very rich avoid the fact that the middle class is growing in numbers. Our society demands that low wages are not so low now as they were 30 years ago. This is good but not enough yet. Your wages pay hours of work in the US, in China, elsewhere. The low paid workers are still underpaid but better paid than they were. The very very very rich do not feel the difference and perhaps do not really have such a difference because they got richer than in the past. But the middle class certainly feels it bad.
You are right what was the relative standard of living with a six figure income is now secured only for a seven figure income and barely.
Still do we have to regret it. Certainly not. We just have to find a way to make the best out of any figure we have, like you try to do I'am sure.
Thank you for writing about your situation and trying to make us realize how things have changed. This helps getting a larger picture than the one the society wants to show us. It always helps even if it hurts some people's feeling.
What's that line about lies, damn lies and stastics? A study can be skewed to fit a preconceived notion. In this case what's the cause and what's the effect? Maybe the benefits have been extended because people are out of work longer, not the other way around.
I've sold books on both Amazon and half.com, and still sell them (not as a business) on half.com because Half is more liberal in its payments to sellers. Also, because they charge a bit less for shipping, it's wise to check possible purchases on both sites to save money.
You can no longer drop anything under one pound into a local mailbox. The limit is now 13 ounces.
Best sellers are a good buy if you can buy them cheap, and if they are still on the best seller list. Once a book has lost its popularity, forget it. Be aware that many hardcover books lose their value as soon as the paperback edition is published.
I've always had most success with books that are out of print, particularly if they are academically oriented and published by respected university presses.
In theory, yes, one can turn over books for profit using the methods you describe, and yes, proper storage and adequate space is a key component.
In practice, one needs to take into account the costs of shipping, the materials used in shipping, and the means of getting it to your shipper [USPS, UPS, FedEx, etc.] - those costs can eat into one's profits.
If one is not an able-bodied person, moving books around & packaging them for shipping can be daunting. Trust me, I have the backaches to prove it!
It does sound like a good idea on a small enough scale that a college student can pay down some expenses, as you did. On a larger scale, it is something to look into before one leaps.
I let a trolley roll away once due to two little children being cranky and was devestated at watching this happen. I left my details with the car owner and the whole thing is covered under your home and contents insurance via the personal liability insurance...which I did not know until my car insurance company told me. What a relief for me and the poor man's car door.
Now I have a dent in my car door and no details of who did it!
It doesnt matter if you dont know the Chinese culture. The Chinese are very open minded and prefer to learn about yours rather then share theirs with you.
The Dental and Hospitals are massivly cheaper then Australia, the US and the UK.
The people are much nicer kess hypocritical.
Your money streches much further.
The chicks are much thinner and prettier and its like 30 to 1.
The laws are alot less stricter.
Anyone can be bought at a price including jobs, cops, health inspectors, building inspectors and goverment officials.
If your willing to go the extra mile you can make a small fortune by doing a fake marriage, which you will be compensated hansomely.
The food is massivly different and great and cheap.
If your sick of white people go to the remote places and you will be longing to see one after a month, and he will think your crazy after you bable on for an hour with him about nothing. because your just happy to speak fluent english with someone.
If you dont speak the language forget southern china, go to northern China, you wont last five minutes. YOu couldnt even catch a bus a taxi or train, order food or ask where the toilet is. Everything in southern China is written in Chinese and almost no body speaks english. I have been there many many times and luckily I have the language but to start with I didnt and I was like a baby, taking its first breath and I didnt know how and no one was there to teach me.
Beware of getting ripped of especially in southern China, remember there is such a thing as white mans tax. If Its a pair of shoes at 100 RMB you know a local would probably pay 10RMB and do not drink the water from the tap in south China or u wil be in hospital no less then a week :) only drink hot boiled water.
Great post, Linsey. Health care is something that is on everyone's mind, or lack thereof. Nice of Walgreens to address this, and of you to let us know.
What a great way to make some extra cash, promote literacy, and maybe even meet like-minded people who share your interest in books. Not to mention a nice way to spend a day. Thanks for the tips.
You state many obvious points, as well as ones we don't give enough thought to. Very thorough and informative, not to mention thought provoking, as we're seeing firsthand. Thanks for the advice.
Great work, Linsey. You are on fire, I'm in awe of you. Thanks for the good advice, not to mention the words of optimism during these difficult times.
Not all wealthy people are crooks. Instead of "Some of the tactics of the wealthy are unsavory", it should say "The tactics of some of the wealthy are unsavory".
Also, some 'advantages' are simply natural consequences of having more. I am recently laid off, but thanks to my good financial habits while working, I can take my time to look for a job I will enjoy, and not have to accept whatever available just to make ends meet. So yeah, I am "in a much better position to wait for a good deal."
Kelja - do you know math? Phil is correct about sharing the wealth. Paying as little as possible for labor is what every business does -- they hire from the labor market, at the lowest price possible. That is equivalent to "share as little as possible."
Businesses always have some people who are paid well -- those who contribute to the productive assets of the company, and after them, those who contribute to the income. Then there are those who are paid poorly. That's generally those who perform services or routine maintenance for the above. Those paid worst are those who do maintenance on depreciating assets, like buildings.
>>>I have to second Kelja. Idiot middle managers and spoiled 20-somethings think that hoarding profits makes you rich.<<<
Hoarding is different than keeping them to yourself. You can keep profits to yourself and reinvest them in "stuff" that will make you more profits--all the time sharing as little as possible with your workers and society (the tax man).
For example, southern plantation owners became rich by exploiting slave labor and keeping the profits from their "workers"? When a company moves a plant to an underdeveloped country where labor is a fraction of what it is here, don't they get richer by sharing less of the profits with labor? Your view of how to succeed in business is naive. The only time you reward employees is when you have no other choice--when they are uniquely trained and educated for a particular job, for example. Even then, a business will look to change that situation because labor is the first cost they seek to reduce.
>>>J. Paul Getty once pointed out that you could divide all the wealth up and distribute in equal portions to everybody. In one week's time, the same people as before would be the wealthy ones.<<<
And we should believe this why? Because it was Getty who said it? You realize he could have easily proved his hypothesis had he cared to, but I don't think he believed it any more than he believed in Santa Claus. The uniquely American idea that rich people are all geniuses who contribute mightily to our society is what has us now giving hundreds of billions to the same people who ruined our economy, in order that they might now fix it. "If anyone knows how, it's the geniuses who ruined it," the thinking goes.
The fact is, rich people are a cross-segment of the general population. They hold no special powers--other than their money, which brings them influence and worldly power. They are not any smarter than anybody else (see Madoff investors) and once the money gets into the 3rd generation, they are usually considerably dumber and less motivated than the average citizen.
I really liked this article.. I agree that there are lot of ways in which one can get rich and frugality is the most imprtant of it. Working for oneself, paying yourself first are some of other ways . But most importantly spending less than what you earn alongwith living below ones means are the virtues of rich as is very nicely elaborated in The millionaire next door book.
I have to second Kelja. Idiot middle managers and spoiled 20-somethings think that hoarding profits makes you rich.
The rich business owners would tell you that rewarding the hard workers with bonuses and raises is the best way to get rich and grow your business. The richest would also mention getting rid of negative-nancy's, lazy kids who try to get by doing as little as possible and the bad-mood-mongers helps tenfold.
I encourage everyone with something to offer to start a business, but keep in mind that your staff *are* your business. They are the only way you'll succeed.
Walgreens is a very friendly store for the frugal among us. It is even possible to shop there for free. http://www.ehow.com/how_4900719_shop-walgreens.html.
I have ALWAYS paid on time and Always more than minimum, as I was trying to get balances down. What happens, even though I was at 50% and ALWAYS paid on time, my remaining line was taken away and now they are increasing my interest rate. If I opt out, my account is closed and even though I have been diligent, my credit scores are DAMAGED, due to the banks changes and not mine. So at this point I have a I don't give a damn attitude. Why even bother??? Why not just declare a BK? I'll guarantee that your scores will improve faster.
I didn't do as well using Amazon.com. I guess I just didn't have the right books or even enough books to make a profit. Half.com worked much better for me. The fees are a lot less and I sold more books.
I did learn a few things from the article and will use them to boost my sales in the future. Thanks for such a good article.
Oh, Philip ... the rich do unsavory things? Let's not discriminate - the poor do many unsavory things.
You say, "One key tactic is to share as little as possible of the profits of the enterprise."
Perhaps you've never been in business for yourself, so I will chalk this comment up to ignorance. The quickest way to wealth is to help others become more successful and to reach their potential. Certainly there are businesses that don't share the wealth, but the successful businesses do reward producers extremely well. It makes sense.
There are many in this country today that are screaming for the heads of the rich. Parallels the thinking of the French Revolution.
J. Paul Getty once pointed out that you could divide all the wealth up and distribute in equal portions to everybody. In one week's time, the same people as before would be the wealthy ones.
Human nature isn't about to change any time soon.
Comment #2 hit the nail on the head. Comment #1 needs a beer.
I grew up in a fairly affluent area. People who really had money, multiple homes, annual trips to Europe and country club memberships don't throw money around on bling type consumer items. Most live fairly understated lives, they might have expensive items but they are not the in your face look i'm rich items.
That is how they stay rich, not wasting huge sums of money on every tacky overpriced item that comes along.
I would rather live in an apartment or tiny house in an affluent area than a larger home in a not so great area. You get better services, better (and cheaper) shopping, and lots of things that are basically free. Schools are better, parks are better, those communities usually have more community amenities all basically for free. Your insurance will be quite a bit cheaper too. We moved from an urban lower income zip code to one that was mostly higher end homes and our insurance rates dropped about 30% over night.
My wife and I have done all these things. We work for ourselves, we save, we have zero debt (including owning our home free and clear), and we invest rather than consume (for example, we drive an almost 20 year old-car and pocket/invest the savings).
And yet, with what I've learned over the last 10 years I can safely predict that we will retire poor...or even destitute. Such is the extent of the stacking of the deck by the super-rich during the last 3 decades. I have come to understand that unless you have the ability to generate large amounts of income, moderate wealth is not safe with such greedy psychopaths controlling the society. In effect, you must be able to join their group or suffer the consequences.
So, the friends that I used to look down on. The ones that lived for today. The ones that took money out of their 401K to buy a boat or a shiny new car. The ones that owe money on the house and to the CC. I am starting to wonder if they had the right idea all along. I don't know if they did, but I would certainly not advise anyone in my position to count on anything. Not as long as the Joseph Cassanos run the world and I see no reason to believe they will not.
Hi
I found your article very interesting as it confirms largely what we've been experiencing. We are a french family with 3 kids of 15,14,14. My wife and I used to work in France with good wages although not six figures in US$. We decided to leave for an extended trip around the world, selling the house, the cars, the.... everything!
We left in November 2005 and have found so far that we travel with much less than our monthly spending in France.
Of course we usually do not pay for a house and rarely go to campsites but our kids attend a corresponding school and plan to go to university in France afterwards. We have a full coverage for health problems (although not for a pet we do not have).
America for us is not a very expensive country. Europe and New Zealand are the most expensive on our trip. Food is cheap in the US, gazoline too. Clothes are all made in China and are also reasonably cheap.
I think we find america cheap because we do not have the room to store what we buy. We cannot afford, volumewise and weightwise, any 'toy' like quads or guns or boats or whatever.
When we need it we rent it. We spend altogether 4200US$ per month. This includes everything from shipping the car from one continent to another to fuel, maintenance costs, school, food, lodging when necessary, museums, fairs, movies, books, airplane tickets, everything.
This means that a six figure income is not a lot when you live in a certain surrounding and can be a lot when you live in another without really feeling the difference in quality of life.
Only the very very very rich avoid the fact that the middle class is growing in numbers. Our society demands that low wages are not so low now as they were 30 years ago. This is good but not enough yet. Your wages pay hours of work in the US, in China, elsewhere. The low paid workers are still underpaid but better paid than they were. The very very very rich do not feel the difference and perhaps do not really have such a difference because they got richer than in the past. But the middle class certainly feels it bad.
You are right what was the relative standard of living with a six figure income is now secured only for a seven figure income and barely.
Still do we have to regret it. Certainly not. We just have to find a way to make the best out of any figure we have, like you try to do I'am sure.
Thank you for writing about your situation and trying to make us realize how things have changed. This helps getting a larger picture than the one the society wants to show us. It always helps even if it hurts some people's feeling.
JL
What's that line about lies, damn lies and stastics? A study can be skewed to fit a preconceived notion. In this case what's the cause and what's the effect? Maybe the benefits have been extended because people are out of work longer, not the other way around.
I've sold books on both Amazon and half.com, and still sell them (not as a business) on half.com because Half is more liberal in its payments to sellers. Also, because they charge a bit less for shipping, it's wise to check possible purchases on both sites to save money.
You can no longer drop anything under one pound into a local mailbox. The limit is now 13 ounces.
Best sellers are a good buy if you can buy them cheap, and if they are still on the best seller list. Once a book has lost its popularity, forget it. Be aware that many hardcover books lose their value as soon as the paperback edition is published.
I've always had most success with books that are out of print, particularly if they are academically oriented and published by respected university presses.
In theory, yes, one can turn over books for profit using the methods you describe, and yes, proper storage and adequate space is a key component.
In practice, one needs to take into account the costs of shipping, the materials used in shipping, and the means of getting it to your shipper [USPS, UPS, FedEx, etc.] - those costs can eat into one's profits.
If one is not an able-bodied person, moving books around & packaging them for shipping can be daunting. Trust me, I have the backaches to prove it!
It does sound like a good idea on a small enough scale that a college student can pay down some expenses, as you did. On a larger scale, it is something to look into before one leaps.
I let a trolley roll away once due to two little children being cranky and was devestated at watching this happen. I left my details with the car owner and the whole thing is covered under your home and contents insurance via the personal liability insurance...which I did not know until my car insurance company told me. What a relief for me and the poor man's car door.
Now I have a dent in my car door and no details of who did it!
Amy chose India because she didnt want to wait... to have a better life. Avoiding wait times is a major reason why many people choose medical tourism.
Do you know TradeMax? a tax software designed for active investors or traders to manage their trade data maximize their
gain/loss strategy, prepare their Schedule D. More detailed by google NoloSoft TradeMax.
May be you can have a try.
Hope can help you.
It doesnt matter if you dont know the Chinese culture. The Chinese are very open minded and prefer to learn about yours rather then share theirs with you.
The Dental and Hospitals are massivly cheaper then Australia, the US and the UK.
The people are much nicer kess hypocritical.
Your money streches much further.
The chicks are much thinner and prettier and its like 30 to 1.
The laws are alot less stricter.
Anyone can be bought at a price including jobs, cops, health inspectors, building inspectors and goverment officials.
If your willing to go the extra mile you can make a small fortune by doing a fake marriage, which you will be compensated hansomely.
The food is massivly different and great and cheap.
If your sick of white people go to the remote places and you will be longing to see one after a month, and he will think your crazy after you bable on for an hour with him about nothing. because your just happy to speak fluent english with someone.
If you dont speak the language forget southern china, go to northern China, you wont last five minutes. YOu couldnt even catch a bus a taxi or train, order food or ask where the toilet is. Everything in southern China is written in Chinese and almost no body speaks english. I have been there many many times and luckily I have the language but to start with I didnt and I was like a baby, taking its first breath and I didnt know how and no one was there to teach me.
Beware of getting ripped of especially in southern China, remember there is such a thing as white mans tax. If Its a pair of shoes at 100 RMB you know a local would probably pay 10RMB and do not drink the water from the tap in south China or u wil be in hospital no less then a week :) only drink hot boiled water.
You would be surprised how much money the Chinese are willing to pay for a fake marriage. :)