We've been going through some challenging times here this year, and some days it takes more effort than others to focus on being thankful.
The reality is though, that as logistically tough as things are right now, we still have accomplished 80 percent of what we set out to do just a few short years ago, and still are able to live outside the traditional "work every day" economy. I try to remember that when I'm feeling overwhelmed by the remaining 20 percent, because they happen to be particularly large project goals.
@Devo - amen! Thanks for making me remember that while I might have to take a bath in a bucket for a few more months until things thaw, some people have to walk all day just to bring home one bucket full to do everything their household needs to do with that water. At least my kitchen plumbing is still functional. And my water is healthy. I remember those struggling river dwelling folks in Cambodia . . .
And Julie - cool lead picture! Taken from your neck of the woods?
The Bay Area is screwy, I think, even compared to other relatively high-cost areas (maybe Manhattan is the other exception) in terms of the rent-to-own ratio. (It's also screwy in that, popular perception to the contrary, housing prices are NOT dropping in the country as a wholeWhere I live now (DC suburbs), if you're making the calculation based on a new mortgage are are able to fully take advantage of the mortgage interest deductions, then the rent vs. own calculation is about break-even if you look at the short-term horizon. (e.g., a mortgage on a 500K house is about $3500 incl. tax/ins., but if it's a new mortgage your tax savings knock that down to about 2700, which is in the same ballpark as a similar single-family rental house).
It's a mistake not to look at the long-term horizon, though. Even if it is "advantage rental" if you compare current rents to current mortgage costs, you have to remember that rents usually go up every year. In fact, in a market where housing prices have spiraled out of control and rents have not kept pace (often due to certain types of rent control), when housing prices level or drop, rents will continue to ease upward as fast as the market or regulatory mechanisms will allow until they *are* on par with purchasing costs.
If you are swayed by the maintenance issue or simply don't need a lot of space, you should compare your rental costs with the cost of owning an equivalent condo, not a 4-br, 2.5 ba single-family home.
Sounds like an interesting book that I will try to read. No matter how low you get, there is something to be thankful for. The key is to focus on the positive (by no means should we ignore the negative) and help others in any way we can. Thanks for a thorough review of what appears to be an interesting read.
@Xin Lu - I liked this definition also, as it broadened who could be wealthy. Very often, it seems that only those with millions could be considered wealthy but I like to include those who have regular jobs but time to enjoy their lives, families, friends etc. as Kate mentioned in her recent post.
@Minimum Wage - I am not saying you should naturally feel grateful but that practicing gratitude for whatever you have can change your outlook. And yes, Robert wrote real estate books -- that is not my area of expertise or interest; his latest book mentions real estate but that will not be the emphasis of my upcoming post.
I had my first computer in 1995. At the time I was not interested in computers at all but I realized of the potential of computers for art and music from some friends of mine who were using a Mac. It seemed the best option for these kind of works.
I always believed the Mac computers were far ahead of PCs, I gave it for granted because I never used a PC myself. Through the years I have had two Mac laptops and four computers, in including a G4 and a Mac-Mini. That makes 6 Mac computers. Out of them 5 of them broke and went to the trash with no solution. Also a Mac monitor. They all broke out of the blue, motherboard gone, no solution, no explanation in Apple's official technical services. They always blamed on electrical problems at home, but I've been living in three different houses including 2 different countries!
Last year my last computer broke again and I needed a quick solution to keep working and I decided to get a laptop. The prices of Mac laptops are too expensive for my pocket, I don't even consider taking a business risk like that for such amount of money. My wife works by my side and she works with PC, thats how I figured out she never had any technical problems and with Mac I had all the time. So I got a Sony Vaio. I have it for 6 months now and I haven't got a single problem. With Mac I used to have problems all of the time. There's nothing so exciting really about Mac Os operative system when you need the computer to work and it's making it painful. I don't miss my Mac at all.
Mac computers are supposed to be cool, really nice design, beautiful operative system, that's OK. But they are too expensive just for that and I think that is not enough to make it worthwhile if you use your computer 18 hours a day.
It looks to me like it's becoming an expensive caprice to be part of Mac's club. And I agree with this article, Apple is punishing loyal users like me until they move to PC for a better life.
I had my first computer in 1995. At the time I was not interested in computers at all but I realized of the potential of computers for art and music from some friends of mine who were using a Mac. It seemed the best option for these kind of works.
I always believed the Mac computers were far ahead of PCs, I gave it for granted because I never used a PC myself. Through the years I have had two Mac laptops and four computers, in including a G4 and a Mac-Mini. That makes 6 Mac computers. Out of them 5 of them broke and went to the trash with no solution. Also a Mac monitor. They all broke out of the blue, motherboard gone, no solution, no explanation in Apple's official technical services. They always blamed on electrical problems at home, but I've been living in three different houses including 2 different countries!
Last year my last computer broke again and I needed a quick solution to keep working and I decided to get a laptop. The prices of Mac laptops are too expensive for my pocket, I don't even consider taking a business risk like that for such amount of money. My wife works by my side and she works with PC, thats how I figured out she never had any technical problems and with Mac I had all the time. So I got a Sony Vaio. I have it for 6 months now and I haven't got a single problem. With Mac I used to have problems all of the time. There's nothing so exciting really about Mac Os operative system when you need the computer to work and it's making it painful. I don't miss my Mac at all.
Mac computers are supposed to be cool, really nice design, beautiful operative system, that's OK. But they are too expensive just for that and I think that is not enough to make it worthwhile if you use your computer 18 hours a day.
It looks to me like it's becoming an expensive caprice to be part of Mac's club. And I agree with this article, Apple is punishing loyal users like me until they move to PC for a better life.
@MinimumWage - Absolutely buddy, you better be grateful. 4 years ago, I had $2.18 in the bank, no change, AND $250,000 (Thats a quarter of a million dollars) in debt to the tax man. Be grateful that THEY are not on your back.
I am not here to fight a 'holier than thou' war with anyone here, but I think you need some perspective.
Talking of war, a few years ago my uncle walked across mountains and jungle for 200km with his 3 young children in tow, with absolutely no money, in order to flee a civil war that was tearing his country apart.
Be grateful that you can wake up in your comfy bed everyday, and not have to look out the windows for approaching tanks or gunships!
I'm actually surprised Sony won this one. I guess the Playstation trumped the Xbox. I figured the stupid name would disqualify it - I have a hard time uttering the phrase, "Hey, pick me up a Blu-Ray of Atonement while you're out!"
Didn't this guy write some real estate books? I vaguely remember having read one of his books some years ago (when I was inhaling real estate books) and having a negative reaction to it.
Not only do you provide an excellent example of financial awareness, but you also offer the unique perspective of someone living in the ridiculously expensive San Francisco Bay Area. Thank you!
I'm also interested in what other readers think of this post, since it seems most of them live outside the Bay Area. The cost difference in owning vs. renting here is much greater than in, say, Illinois or Iowa.
So I should be grateful that I have $3.87 in the bank and about $2 in nickels and pennies (I previously raided the change jar of the dimes and quarters), and that I am living on pasta, potatoes, and rice? I suppose a crack baby should be grateful too?
You will love that book! I thought it was excellent up until the very end... you'll know what I mean. You can read through it fairly quickly. For me and probably for you I think it will awaken ideas that you already had within.
Don't feel bad - I'm sure most of us look back and wish we had learned some money lessons sooner - I know I did!
And you're right, jmacdaddio - a job is something you do so that someday you don't have to. We tend to get caught up in "making the big bucks" but then we don't plan for the days when those big bucks aren't rolling in anymore.
I haven't read Your Money or Your Life but I'll definitely add it to my list!
I liked this article. "Time to do what you want to do with no money worries" is what I am working towards. I think that is priceless because it is freedom.
This post echoed one of the first parts of Your Money or Your Life. We tend to define "enough" as "more than I have now". I thought I would achieve financial goals when I got a great job somewhere, but I realized that my path to financial freedom lies through steady savings and living below my means. It will take several years if not a decade, and it largely lies in prioritizing what is important to spend money on and what is not. A job is something you do so that someday you don't have to go to one rather than the be-all and end-all of existence. A lot of people fall into the trap of establishing their lifestyle then figuring out a way to pay for it later. Personally, I have been doing fine but I could have done a lot better if I had remembered better savings strategies.
How right you are, Gladys...thanks for the catch... I guess my fingers just got ahead me and obviously my spell-check thought I knew what I was doing :)
I'm sure the article had great points to make, but I couldn't get past the giant spelling mistake in the headline and sprinkled throughout the text. I kept looking for tenants or rental agreements throughout your article.
Hint
tenet: a principle, belief, or doctrine generally held to be true
tenent: misspelling of tenet or tenant
I agree, Catherine... I make less now as a freelancer than I did when I was climbing the corporate ladder, but I'm working from home and writing for a living, which has always been my passion so how can I complain about that?!
As long as we're living comfortably - meaning we can pay our bills, enjoy a few perks now and then and handle those emergencies that come our way, I'm pretty content.
I think that's really what most people are looking for. Its not the money - its what we think the money can do for us.
It really points up that financial goals are not just numbers. Any number is a moving target, and the cost of living you might pay for that high salary can be surprising. Along with savings and investing goals, we need ideas for what we want out of life. I wasn't lying when I said my lifestyle is not lavish, even though the income is rather large. But I am very happy with what I have, six-year-old computer and all. I'm getting paid to do the only thing I've ever really done well, I have a wonderful family, and occasionally some new toys or neat experiences to build memories. It doesn't get better than that.
The connection for me is that the misery of poverty isn't really about the number on your bank statement. It's the anxiety of not knowing if you have enough to get through the week, or getting a lot of calls from bill collectors, or the catastrophe of a major health problem with no health insurance, or just plain unfair things happening to you because you don't have any money or any credit.
One of the most practical things you can do now is get yourself out of debt. When the switch occurs, and it will (think Patriot Act with all the camera's everywhere that no one wants) the people who won't be able to walk away from their debts are the debt heavy middle class. Just like student loans, the government will make sure that you pay. It won't go away. So when the dollar is further devalued and they decide like someone said earlier and offer 3 Amero's for one dollar, those in debt won't see the light of day, because I'm sure their debt will be reflected in Amero's at that point -- just another way of keeping you in bondage. No one thought we'd be comfortable with paying $3 for gas, but that day is here. Wages are not rising. Most Americans are insulating themselves with debt as opposed to buying their way out of the system. The government, better yet the Republican Party, really doesn't want to do a thing to help Americans out. Their thinking is that American's were stupid for indulging in the first place, as if the baiting never took place.
Companies are definitely going to go for the Amero. Most American technology companies (the richest companies in the nation now) are already using low wage foreign workers. What they can't automate, they are going to look to pay the lowest price possible. That means Americans can hang it up when they open borders to the North and South. The camera's are already in place to "catch" crime, so you can forget about anarchy occurring.
People need to wake up and smell the coffee. American politicians have taken up the "Snoop Dogg" way of thinking -- "We don't love these ho's". If you don't know who the "ho" is, chances are the Vaseline has left you immune to the pain.
One of the most practical things you can do now is get yourself out of debt. When the switch occurs, and it will (think Patriot Act with all the camera's everywhere that no one wants) the people who won't be able to walk away from their debts are the debt heavy middle class. Just like student loans, the government will make sure that you pay. It won't go away. So when the dollar is further devalued and they decide like someone said earlier and offer 3 Amero's for one dollar, those in debt won't see the light of day, because I'm sure their debt will be reflected in Amero's at that point -- just another way of keeping you in bondage. No one thought we'd be comfortable with paying $3 for gas, but that day is here. Wages are not rising. Most Americans are insulating themselves with debt as opposed to buying their way out of the system. The government, better yet the Republican Party, really doesn't want to do a thing to help Americans out. Their thinking is that American's were stupid for indulging in the first place, as if the baiting never took place.
Companies are definitely going to go for the Amero. Most American technology companies (the richest companies in the nation now) are already using low wage foreign workers. What they can't automate, they are going to look to pay the lowest price possible. That means Americans can hang it up when they open borders to the North and South. The camera's are already in place to "catch" crime, so you can forget about anarchy occurring.
People need to wake up and smell the coffee. American politicians have taken up the "Snoop Dogg" way of thinking -- "We don't love these ho's". If you don't know who the "ho" is, chances are the Vaseline has left you immune to the pain.
Good one, Julie.
We've been going through some challenging times here this year, and some days it takes more effort than others to focus on being thankful.
The reality is though, that as logistically tough as things are right now, we still have accomplished 80 percent of what we set out to do just a few short years ago, and still are able to live outside the traditional "work every day" economy. I try to remember that when I'm feeling overwhelmed by the remaining 20 percent, because they happen to be particularly large project goals.
@Devo - amen! Thanks for making me remember that while I might have to take a bath in a bucket for a few more months until things thaw, some people have to walk all day just to bring home one bucket full to do everything their household needs to do with that water. At least my kitchen plumbing is still functional. And my water is healthy. I remember those struggling river dwelling folks in Cambodia . . .
And Julie - cool lead picture! Taken from your neck of the woods?
The Bay Area is screwy, I think, even compared to other relatively high-cost areas (maybe Manhattan is the other exception) in terms of the rent-to-own ratio. (It's also screwy in that, popular perception to the contrary, housing prices are NOT dropping in the country as a wholeWhere I live now (DC suburbs), if you're making the calculation based on a new mortgage are are able to fully take advantage of the mortgage interest deductions, then the rent vs. own calculation is about break-even if you look at the short-term horizon. (e.g., a mortgage on a 500K house is about $3500 incl. tax/ins., but if it's a new mortgage your tax savings knock that down to about 2700, which is in the same ballpark as a similar single-family rental house).
It's a mistake not to look at the long-term horizon, though. Even if it is "advantage rental" if you compare current rents to current mortgage costs, you have to remember that rents usually go up every year. In fact, in a market where housing prices have spiraled out of control and rents have not kept pace (often due to certain types of rent control), when housing prices level or drop, rents will continue to ease upward as fast as the market or regulatory mechanisms will allow until they *are* on par with purchasing costs.
If you are swayed by the maintenance issue or simply don't need a lot of space, you should compare your rental costs with the cost of owning an equivalent condo, not a 4-br, 2.5 ba single-family home.
Sounds like an interesting book that I will try to read. No matter how low you get, there is something to be thankful for. The key is to focus on the positive (by no means should we ignore the negative) and help others in any way we can. Thanks for a thorough review of what appears to be an interesting read.
@Xin Lu - I liked this definition also, as it broadened who could be wealthy. Very often, it seems that only those with millions could be considered wealthy but I like to include those who have regular jobs but time to enjoy their lives, families, friends etc. as Kate mentioned in her recent post.
@Minimum Wage - I am not saying you should naturally feel grateful but that practicing gratitude for whatever you have can change your outlook. And yes, Robert wrote real estate books -- that is not my area of expertise or interest; his latest book mentions real estate but that will not be the emphasis of my upcoming post.
@Devo - thanks for your perspective.
I had my first computer in 1995. At the time I was not interested in computers at all but I realized of the potential of computers for art and music from some friends of mine who were using a Mac. It seemed the best option for these kind of works.
I always believed the Mac computers were far ahead of PCs, I gave it for granted because I never used a PC myself. Through the years I have had two Mac laptops and four computers, in including a G4 and a Mac-Mini. That makes 6 Mac computers. Out of them 5 of them broke and went to the trash with no solution. Also a Mac monitor. They all broke out of the blue, motherboard gone, no solution, no explanation in Apple's official technical services. They always blamed on electrical problems at home, but I've been living in three different houses including 2 different countries!
Last year my last computer broke again and I needed a quick solution to keep working and I decided to get a laptop. The prices of Mac laptops are too expensive for my pocket, I don't even consider taking a business risk like that for such amount of money. My wife works by my side and she works with PC, thats how I figured out she never had any technical problems and with Mac I had all the time. So I got a Sony Vaio. I have it for 6 months now and I haven't got a single problem. With Mac I used to have problems all of the time. There's nothing so exciting really about Mac Os operative system when you need the computer to work and it's making it painful. I don't miss my Mac at all.
Mac computers are supposed to be cool, really nice design, beautiful operative system, that's OK. But they are too expensive just for that and I think that is not enough to make it worthwhile if you use your computer 18 hours a day.
It looks to me like it's becoming an expensive caprice to be part of Mac's club. And I agree with this article, Apple is punishing loyal users like me until they move to PC for a better life.
I had my first computer in 1995. At the time I was not interested in computers at all but I realized of the potential of computers for art and music from some friends of mine who were using a Mac. It seemed the best option for these kind of works.
I always believed the Mac computers were far ahead of PCs, I gave it for granted because I never used a PC myself. Through the years I have had two Mac laptops and four computers, in including a G4 and a Mac-Mini. That makes 6 Mac computers. Out of them 5 of them broke and went to the trash with no solution. Also a Mac monitor. They all broke out of the blue, motherboard gone, no solution, no explanation in Apple's official technical services. They always blamed on electrical problems at home, but I've been living in three different houses including 2 different countries!
Last year my last computer broke again and I needed a quick solution to keep working and I decided to get a laptop. The prices of Mac laptops are too expensive for my pocket, I don't even consider taking a business risk like that for such amount of money. My wife works by my side and she works with PC, thats how I figured out she never had any technical problems and with Mac I had all the time. So I got a Sony Vaio. I have it for 6 months now and I haven't got a single problem. With Mac I used to have problems all of the time. There's nothing so exciting really about Mac Os operative system when you need the computer to work and it's making it painful. I don't miss my Mac at all.
Mac computers are supposed to be cool, really nice design, beautiful operative system, that's OK. But they are too expensive just for that and I think that is not enough to make it worthwhile if you use your computer 18 hours a day.
It looks to me like it's becoming an expensive caprice to be part of Mac's club. And I agree with this article, Apple is punishing loyal users like me until they move to PC for a better life.
@MinimumWage - Absolutely buddy, you better be grateful. 4 years ago, I had $2.18 in the bank, no change, AND $250,000 (Thats a quarter of a million dollars) in debt to the tax man. Be grateful that THEY are not on your back.
I am not here to fight a 'holier than thou' war with anyone here, but I think you need some perspective.
Talking of war, a few years ago my uncle walked across mountains and jungle for 200km with his 3 young children in tow, with absolutely no money, in order to flee a civil war that was tearing his country apart.
Be grateful that you can wake up in your comfy bed everyday, and not have to look out the windows for approaching tanks or gunships!
I'm actually surprised Sony won this one. I guess the Playstation trumped the Xbox. I figured the stupid name would disqualify it - I have a hard time uttering the phrase, "Hey, pick me up a Blu-Ray of Atonement while you're out!"
Didn't this guy write some real estate books? I vaguely remember having read one of his books some years ago (when I was inhaling real estate books) and having a negative reaction to it.
Not only do you provide an excellent example of financial awareness, but you also offer the unique perspective of someone living in the ridiculously expensive San Francisco Bay Area. Thank you!
I'm also interested in what other readers think of this post, since it seems most of them live outside the Bay Area. The cost difference in owning vs. renting here is much greater than in, say, Illinois or Iowa.
It has been my experience over the years that people will always want you to do what they have done, except not quite as well.
I scoff at all of you because I live on minimum wage with student loan debt and high medical expenses.
So I should be grateful that I have $3.87 in the bank and about $2 in nickels and pennies (I previously raided the change jar of the dimes and quarters), and that I am living on pasta, potatoes, and rice? I suppose a crack baby should be grateful too?
A good thing about having a name that sucks is that no one will want to steal your identity.
Kate,
You will love that book! I thought it was excellent up until the very end... you'll know what I mean. You can read through it fairly quickly. For me and probably for you I think it will awaken ideas that you already had within.
Don't feel bad - I'm sure most of us look back and wish we had learned some money lessons sooner - I know I did!
And you're right, jmacdaddio - a job is something you do so that someday you don't have to. We tend to get caught up in "making the big bucks" but then we don't plan for the days when those big bucks aren't rolling in anymore.
I haven't read Your Money or Your Life but I'll definitely add it to my list!
I liked this article. "Time to do what you want to do with no money worries" is what I am working towards. I think that is priceless because it is freedom.
This post echoed one of the first parts of Your Money or Your Life. We tend to define "enough" as "more than I have now". I thought I would achieve financial goals when I got a great job somewhere, but I realized that my path to financial freedom lies through steady savings and living below my means. It will take several years if not a decade, and it largely lies in prioritizing what is important to spend money on and what is not. A job is something you do so that someday you don't have to go to one rather than the be-all and end-all of existence. A lot of people fall into the trap of establishing their lifestyle then figuring out a way to pay for it later. Personally, I have been doing fine but I could have done a lot better if I had remembered better savings strategies.
How right you are, Gladys...thanks for the catch... I guess my fingers just got ahead me and obviously my spell-check thought I knew what I was doing :)
I'm sure the article had great points to make, but I couldn't get past the giant spelling mistake in the headline and sprinkled throughout the text. I kept looking for tenants or rental agreements throughout your article.
Hint
tenet: a principle, belief, or doctrine generally held to be true
tenent: misspelling of tenet or tenant
I agree, Catherine... I make less now as a freelancer than I did when I was climbing the corporate ladder, but I'm working from home and writing for a living, which has always been my passion so how can I complain about that?!
As long as we're living comfortably - meaning we can pay our bills, enjoy a few perks now and then and handle those emergencies that come our way, I'm pretty content.
I think that's really what most people are looking for. Its not the money - its what we think the money can do for us.
Kate
is there a temperature you should cook at to keep methanol out?
There's an interesting theme developing here. I immediately think of Nora's article on vision boards: http://www.wisebread.com/vision-boards-dream-big-play-with-pictures-and-...
It really points up that financial goals are not just numbers. Any number is a moving target, and the cost of living you might pay for that high salary can be surprising. Along with savings and investing goals, we need ideas for what we want out of life. I wasn't lying when I said my lifestyle is not lavish, even though the income is rather large. But I am very happy with what I have, six-year-old computer and all. I'm getting paid to do the only thing I've ever really done well, I have a wonderful family, and occasionally some new toys or neat experiences to build memories. It doesn't get better than that.
Then there's Phillip's post: http://www.wisebread.com/you-can-be-as-happy-as-a-dane
The connection for me is that the misery of poverty isn't really about the number on your bank statement. It's the anxiety of not knowing if you have enough to get through the week, or getting a lot of calls from bill collectors, or the catastrophe of a major health problem with no health insurance, or just plain unfair things happening to you because you don't have any money or any credit.
Catherine Shaffer
Wise Bread Contributor
One of the most practical things you can do now is get yourself out of debt. When the switch occurs, and it will (think Patriot Act with all the camera's everywhere that no one wants) the people who won't be able to walk away from their debts are the debt heavy middle class. Just like student loans, the government will make sure that you pay. It won't go away. So when the dollar is further devalued and they decide like someone said earlier and offer 3 Amero's for one dollar, those in debt won't see the light of day, because I'm sure their debt will be reflected in Amero's at that point -- just another way of keeping you in bondage. No one thought we'd be comfortable with paying $3 for gas, but that day is here. Wages are not rising. Most Americans are insulating themselves with debt as opposed to buying their way out of the system. The government, better yet the Republican Party, really doesn't want to do a thing to help Americans out. Their thinking is that American's were stupid for indulging in the first place, as if the baiting never took place.
Companies are definitely going to go for the Amero. Most American technology companies (the richest companies in the nation now) are already using low wage foreign workers. What they can't automate, they are going to look to pay the lowest price possible. That means Americans can hang it up when they open borders to the North and South. The camera's are already in place to "catch" crime, so you can forget about anarchy occurring.
People need to wake up and smell the coffee. American politicians have taken up the "Snoop Dogg" way of thinking -- "We don't love these ho's". If you don't know who the "ho" is, chances are the Vaseline has left you immune to the pain.
One of the most practical things you can do now is get yourself out of debt. When the switch occurs, and it will (think Patriot Act with all the camera's everywhere that no one wants) the people who won't be able to walk away from their debts are the debt heavy middle class. Just like student loans, the government will make sure that you pay. It won't go away. So when the dollar is further devalued and they decide like someone said earlier and offer 3 Amero's for one dollar, those in debt won't see the light of day, because I'm sure their debt will be reflected in Amero's at that point -- just another way of keeping you in bondage. No one thought we'd be comfortable with paying $3 for gas, but that day is here. Wages are not rising. Most Americans are insulating themselves with debt as opposed to buying their way out of the system. The government, better yet the Republican Party, really doesn't want to do a thing to help Americans out. Their thinking is that American's were stupid for indulging in the first place, as if the baiting never took place.
Companies are definitely going to go for the Amero. Most American technology companies (the richest companies in the nation now) are already using low wage foreign workers. What they can't automate, they are going to look to pay the lowest price possible. That means Americans can hang it up when they open borders to the North and South. The camera's are already in place to "catch" crime, so you can forget about anarchy occurring.
People need to wake up and smell the coffee. American politicians have taken up the "Snoop Dogg" way of thinking -- "We don't love these ho's". If you don't know who the "ho" is, chances are the Vaseline has left you immune to the pain.