I think Valentine's Day has taken hold because it falls in the time of year when we all need a little more Venus/Aphrodite in our lives. Beauty and lust, transformation and beguilement. Winter has made realists of us all, in black and white. Flowers, sweets, champagne, the color red. But you're right--we don't need Hallmark to honor these, and mediocre chocolate in a heart-shaped box is still mediocre chocolate. Maybe we can find more original and satisfying ways to make things "juicy" again.
thanks for putting this up! i loved this post and the character of julius on the show, i think the best clip is when he yells at chris for leaving his alarm clock plugged in and wasting electricity overnight, hahaha...reminds me of my mom, but i'm glad that thinking this way was passed down to me...i don't call it being cheap, but making the best of what you have...or maybe i'm just rationalizing my cheapness, lol.
Almost all of my $100k comes from affiliate sales. One merchant made me about $30k last year, then the rest trickle down from there. Adsense only accounted for about $6k for the year.
Diversification by time has worked well for me - I have a travel site that has a lot of traffic from April-September, then a few gift sites that get a lot of play around the holiday season. It isn't like I can truly take time off, but it does mean that my lowest month last year was about $5k, and I had 4 months of $11k-$12k. So I've got that going for me. :)
If people are into this sort of thing, I'd be more than happy to help out with advice or whatever.
"Use it up, wear it out, make it do, do without" was a widely used slogan in the environmentally based frugal living movement of the 1960s-70s. It has a nice swing to it, and I suspect that saying "make it do," rather than just "make do" was more for the sake of rhythm than anything else.
Some actual research might be required to home in on the origin. Probably it was before World War II. Maybe Depression, maybe Colonial.
I hate the paper waste that goes along with cards, so I've "sent" ecards this year. They're free and I've managed to find some without horribly tacky graphics.
Sometimes, the little things include those expenses necessary to have the job to get that income, such as transportation, clothing required by the particular job culture, child care, and equipment. They can be very hard to reduce or eliminate, without needing to find a different job. There are lots of articles out there about if you could afford to shift from a two-income family to a one-income family, and the ones I have read ask you to consider those job-directed expenses too.
It's also hard to dismiss the cost of things. I won't forget my aunt telling me about her sister-in-law stocking up on bread, it was down to $2 a loaf - and this was fifteen years ago. Plain old white bread; when you have to ship it to Northern Ontario the cost goes way up. A 2L bottle of Coke was $5.
It is all relative, and there are so many perspectives to consider... but it's probably fair to say that $100,000 in one place with one situation isn't the same as $100,000 in another place and situation. The 'ideal amount' - who knows how much that really is? :)
FYI It should be noted that to do the PEace Corp you have to be in excellent health. I had expressed interest a while back and a friend who participated let me know of their restrictions. She told me of PC not taking someone who had peanut allergies. I'm a cancer survivor and need to take meds everyday, so I would imagine I fall into this category. I haven't actually investigated myself, but, just be aware.
I'd like to hear more stories about not buying stuff. Here are some alternatives I can think of:
* Repair what you have instead of buying another one. I've done this with clothes, appliances, and of course cars. Sometimes the repair doesn't have to be pretty, like it's okay to fix my laundry hamper with duct tape since it's usually in a closet anyway. Sometimes even paying a lot for a repair is worth it when it's hard to find a good replacement. Moorea just wrote about repairing shoes.
* Find some other way to achieve the same goal. The main time I do this is when I have some craving and want to go out to eat. I can often take care of a cheeseburger craving with a grilled-cheese sandwich or a cookie craving with a bowl of oatmeal, for example. If you're sad, you could go shopping or you could blast your favorite music and sing along. You can warm up by turning on the heater and standing in front of the vent, or you can put on a hat or make a cup of tea or use a hot water bottle. You can get together with friends at a restaurant or bar, or you can throw a board games party. I've used a coffee table as a bench, a stereo cabinet as a dresser, and of course the ever-popular (non-wheeled) chair as a step-stool. Sometimes, as with buying the best, the right tool for the right job makes a big difference. But sometimes it doesn't.
* Find some other goal you like better. I decided to quit earning degrees (unless someone was going to pay me) and just learn whatever I felt like learning. I've heard of people switching from more expensive hobbies to less expensive ones that they find just as fun.
* Put off buying stuff for a while. Many people do this right before a paycheck when they run out of money or when they get laid off. I tend to put off buying new shoes until long after others are disgusted with how worn out my shoes are, just because I don't like shoe shopping. If you replace things less often, you end up paying less over your lifespan than you would otherwise. And you may think of a better substitute during that period.
* Just doing without. A lot of times if you try doing without something you find it's not as bad as you thought. A friend tried riding a bus to work while his car was in the shop--now he always rides the bus to work, gets in some good thinking, and doesn't pay for parking. I was in the habit of not wearing make-up after working at summer camp one year, and I still got treated just fine, so I quit forever (except for dressing up).
I believe if you make the effort to do small, thoughtful things for each other on a regular basis, not only will you save money, but you'll be much happier in your relationship.
I think Valentine's Day is an awful holiday... you mentioned that it may be making men lazy, but I think it could also abet women not making an effort to notice all the other times their sweetie does wonderful things for them. Note to us all: don't put all your emotional eggs on one day's basket!
Spedie, I am glad your life is so perfectly predictable, and you are absolutely right about saving up for those "unexpected" expenses. The thing is, you have to get a little bit ahead in order to start doing that. If you are still paying off last month's unexpected expense, and this month your water heater explodes, you are going to have trouble squirreling that money away for future expenses. What you can do with your money today is a reflection of where you've been, and that includes past mistakes, bad luck, and simply where you started out in life, etc.
Also, there is such a thing as a tax surprise. You should have seen the look on our very experienced accountant's face as he broke the news. He had never seen anything like it and he ran the numbers over and over hoping he could get something different for us. The tax code is complex and sometimes it throws you for a loop.
I looked into pet insurance, and I found when I read the fine print that they all have limits not only on the maximum payout, but on the payout per "incident" and also on payouts for individual illnesses. Pet insurance would have covered about $200 of that $4000. Not worth it. Not to mention that our dog was already too old to qualify when it started to become available.
I've had great success with Cafe Press. My income from Cafe Press pays for more than a few bills. I noticed that you have a basic shop set up. One thing I would do is spring for the premium shop. It allows you to do a lot more and offer a lot more products.
One thing that has helped me with Cafe Press is to diversify there as well. I have threeshops with different niches.
I love to do without; I almost make it a game to see just how much I can do without that others are certain they need. The challenge for me is trying to get my kids to understand. They think I'm a scrooge or tightwad and find no joy in it.
I think that a lot of this argument revolves around who's defining "the American Dream". If you set someone else define it for you, you're most likely doomed to be unhappy with your financial situation.
For some people, "the American Dream" means being out of debt so that they can start accumulating wealth. For other people, "the American Dream" means having a happy home and a big family that works and struggles together. For other people, "the American Dream" means traveling all over the world. For other people, "the American Dream" means going out and seeing how many people they can help that day. For some people, "the American Dream" means having enough money saved away that they will never be a burden to their children. For other people, "the American Dream" means learning everything they can. For some people, "the American Dream" means hiking every day of the year.
My point is that "the American Dream" should be _your_ dream, not what anyone else -- particularly a marketer -- thinks your dream should be. My wife often talks about a class that she took in college where the professor made the point that the purpose of advertising is to make you dissatisfied with your life. Think about what you spend your money on. Does it leave you content? It should -- and more stuff often doesn't mean more content.
"The American Dream:" I'm living mine; how about you?
I'm making my family's favorite dinner: pot roast, garlic mashed potatoes, artichokes and a molten chocolate dessert. My husband and I will be too full for any friskiness, and he will snore all night from overeating. I will end up on the couch with the cat. But still, I wouldn't trade it for anything. Happy Valentine's Day!
I am glad some people are doing so well on less money than we. I don't understand all the vitriol and judgemental attitudes though. For one thing, we're not complaining. We're saying "I'm finally upper middleclass and all I got was this T-shirt".
Yes, what you do with your money really is about choices:
I frequently choose to pay more for local and organic food, I could shave my budget some, but it's a choice.
I also choose to live where I work. I used to commute and it chewed up far too much time and expense. I can even bike in favorable weather.
As for "unexpected" things, yes we have had lead time and been able to save for many of them. However, doing simple maintenance on a roof that uncovers decades old structual damage is "unexpected". I already know that the rest of my house roof has 4-5 more years, that I can save for.
Having your city decide to transfer sidewalk maintenance to homeowners and immediately assess your neighborhood is not completely predictable though.
Life is a learning process, you don't know until you know. First time through self-employment taxes can be a bit of a surprise.
For the record we are doing well, we do not live beyond our means despite complaints about expenses, and I would hardly categorize ours as a consumerist lifestyle.
I am enjoying the different perspectives from the posters. The regional perspectives, plus the urban/rural/small-city differences are especially interesting.
This is one that needs to be added to the idiom dictionaries... I can't even find it on the linguistics sites, but I'm sure there's documentation out there somewhere. I've always understood it as "making [some other solution] do [the job of the ideal solution]." Online I can find the Cambridge Int'l Dic'y for "make do and mend" ( http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/make+do+and+mend ). Also some attestation for the noun: http://www.answers.com/topic/make-do . I wonder if any of the idioms and proverbs related to "living large on a small budget" have a cool history? That might be a fun post for someone.
Yep, I was poor and didn't know that until I was about 45 or more. I was looking at pictures of my family when we were all young kids living at home with Mom and Dad. It hit me like a ton of bricks. I WAS BORN POOR!
The other day I was filling out an online survey and saw all the breakpoints for income. I clicked the $100,000 catagory which was an honest response. I remember thinking I know what it feels like to live at all of those other income levels and the only real difference today is the size of our home and the fact that we have a swimming pool in the back yard. Even at that, we purchased this house for a song and got it roughly 1/2 price. It isn't even a fixer upper or anything. It isn't a mansion, but it is 4000 square feet. Did we need the house? Not especially but we sure do enjoy it. It is our home, our summer home, our vacation home, our getaway home all rolled into one. More than that, it is an investment and we expect to double our money or more when we sell it with only a few enhancements and modifications.
I still bargain shop, clip coupons, eat leftovers, do my own ironing, do a variety of things online to earn a buck. I am a stay at home wife and haven't worked a traditional job in about 6 years.
We live in the mid-south. We have one in college and 2 more will follow in the next 2 years. We drive a new 07 Tahoe and have 2 other cars in the driveway -- a 1994 and a 1999. The 94 will be given away soon to someone who needs a car to get to work and back - a step up for them if you know what I mean. One child will be getting married this year and weddings are not cheap no matter how much you do to control it.
In my life everything has gone up in price. The more you make the more you need to spend. I remember gasoline being about 50 cents a gallon. I remember sugar being as cheap as salt. Bread was once about 30 cents a loaf. So my point is that if wages had gone up as fast as goods, services, etc we'd all have tons more cash lying around. Taxes have gone up etc, etc.
I don't think most would consider me poor at this stage in my life. We own 2 homes (rent one out). We have autos, insurance on everything, great health care etc. Could I live without it? Oh you bet I could and fully expect that within 10 years we'll have to sell our homes and downsize to be able to care for ourselves in our rocking chair years. BUT, I live as if I were poor when it comes to being thrifty, managing the budget etc. We went without a job for either of us for around a year and didn't lose a thing because we had a plan in place to sustain us.
I asked myself this morning if $100k was poor when I read this. The answer is no for me but I can clearly see how it could be. Thanks for the conversation. I am off to make my lunch from leftovers and open a few blinds to allow the sun to heat my home rather than turning up the heat. I'll be preparing a nice Valentine's Day dinner rather than going out. Tonight I will be cutting my husband's hair (I have for 12 years). We don't take for granted that which is supplied to us. Nothing is forever.
This made me remember a conversation with my father when I must have been around 5. I came away from it thinking he bought and sold "chairs" of companies and that there was a big warehouse somewhere full of chairs all piled up to the ceiling. And when you bought a "chair" they would put your name on it, like a park bench.
It wasn't until a few years later I realized he'd been talking about "shares."
Now I wonder if "chairs" aren't a better investment.
We do an evening dinner of waffles or pancakes as a quick fix for the unexpected guest. A batch of scrambled eggs and some coffee and toast...it is so easy and cheap.
I premix my dry ingredients so that they are ready to go for these unexpected times. The kids love it and what adult doesn't love a good breakfast for dinner once in awhile?
Here it is, middle of February, in Anchorage, AK. I've ridden my bicycle to work for (5 miles round trip) for six weeks this winter in temperatures ranging from +35F to - 10F. I've found that winter riding is about your state of mind rather than actual environmental conditions. With the right gear, the temperature is not a problem; your body takes care of heating itself! For those out there who are hesitant, go try it! Honestly, the biggest obstacle for me is simply motivation to adjust my schedule for the extra time. Go for it!
K, I see your point. For me, thinking about how companies raise money made me realize that being compliant with SEC regulations doesn't necessarily mean a company is a good investment. I believe in investing but feel reasonably more skeptical of just any ole publicly held company.
I should mention that banks or private lenders can structure loans in a way that matches a business's cash flow (seasonal fluctuations in earnings, temporary slowdowns, etc.) but loans still need to be paid back or a company gives up assets, declares bankruptcy, etc.
I recently joined the ranks of the unemployed (my last day is the 27th of this month) and one thing I'm not looking forward to is working from home all the time. While I'll try to mitigate this by going to the library, volunteering, etc. I think that is always one of the biggest challenges with self-employment.
I do like being able to tell people I get 52 weeks of vacation. :)
This could be one of my favorite posts. Ever. Now I have no excuse not to open a cafe press shop, start the blog I have been thinking about for the past year or just open up additional streams of income. If only about.com needed a guide to procrastinating... After reading many personal finance blogs I can say you have almost everything I am interested in right here at wisebread (and well written too)! Go Kate go!
@CHB: Yep. My whole family visited Gettysburg in the summer of 2004 and we bicycled around the civil war battlefields. (It's a very bicycleable place--you get a much better sense of the scale of the battles on a bicycle than you do driving a car.) That cannon was over near the peace light memorial.
I think Valentine's Day has taken hold because it falls in the time of year when we all need a little more Venus/Aphrodite in our lives. Beauty and lust, transformation and beguilement. Winter has made realists of us all, in black and white. Flowers, sweets, champagne, the color red. But you're right--we don't need Hallmark to honor these, and mediocre chocolate in a heart-shaped box is still mediocre chocolate. Maybe we can find more original and satisfying ways to make things "juicy" again.
thanks for putting this up! i loved this post and the character of julius on the show, i think the best clip is when he yells at chris for leaving his alarm clock plugged in and wasting electricity overnight, hahaha...reminds me of my mom, but i'm glad that thinking this way was passed down to me...i don't call it being cheap, but making the best of what you have...or maybe i'm just rationalizing my cheapness, lol.
Almost all of my $100k comes from affiliate sales. One merchant made me about $30k last year, then the rest trickle down from there. Adsense only accounted for about $6k for the year.
Diversification by time has worked well for me - I have a travel site that has a lot of traffic from April-September, then a few gift sites that get a lot of play around the holiday season. It isn't like I can truly take time off, but it does mean that my lowest month last year was about $5k, and I had 4 months of $11k-$12k. So I've got that going for me. :)
If people are into this sort of thing, I'd be more than happy to help out with advice or whatever.
"Use it up, wear it out, make it do, do without" was a widely used slogan in the environmentally based frugal living movement of the 1960s-70s. It has a nice swing to it, and I suspect that saying "make it do," rather than just "make do" was more for the sake of rhythm than anything else.
Some actual research might be required to home in on the origin. Probably it was before World War II. Maybe Depression, maybe Colonial.
I hate the paper waste that goes along with cards, so I've "sent" ecards this year. They're free and I've managed to find some without horribly tacky graphics.
hipstercards.com
http://www.cardcow.com/
http://ecard.digiart.ee
Sometimes, the little things include those expenses necessary to have the job to get that income, such as transportation, clothing required by the particular job culture, child care, and equipment. They can be very hard to reduce or eliminate, without needing to find a different job. There are lots of articles out there about if you could afford to shift from a two-income family to a one-income family, and the ones I have read ask you to consider those job-directed expenses too.
It's also hard to dismiss the cost of things. I won't forget my aunt telling me about her sister-in-law stocking up on bread, it was down to $2 a loaf - and this was fifteen years ago. Plain old white bread; when you have to ship it to Northern Ontario the cost goes way up. A 2L bottle of Coke was $5.
It is all relative, and there are so many perspectives to consider... but it's probably fair to say that $100,000 in one place with one situation isn't the same as $100,000 in another place and situation. The 'ideal amount' - who knows how much that really is? :)
FYI It should be noted that to do the PEace Corp you have to be in excellent health. I had expressed interest a while back and a friend who participated let me know of their restrictions. She told me of PC not taking someone who had peanut allergies. I'm a cancer survivor and need to take meds everyday, so I would imagine I fall into this category. I haven't actually investigated myself, but, just be aware.
I'd like to hear more stories about not buying stuff. Here are some alternatives I can think of:
* Repair what you have instead of buying another one. I've done this with clothes, appliances, and of course cars. Sometimes the repair doesn't have to be pretty, like it's okay to fix my laundry hamper with duct tape since it's usually in a closet anyway. Sometimes even paying a lot for a repair is worth it when it's hard to find a good replacement. Moorea just wrote about repairing shoes.
* Find some other way to achieve the same goal. The main time I do this is when I have some craving and want to go out to eat. I can often take care of a cheeseburger craving with a grilled-cheese sandwich or a cookie craving with a bowl of oatmeal, for example. If you're sad, you could go shopping or you could blast your favorite music and sing along. You can warm up by turning on the heater and standing in front of the vent, or you can put on a hat or make a cup of tea or use a hot water bottle. You can get together with friends at a restaurant or bar, or you can throw a board games party. I've used a coffee table as a bench, a stereo cabinet as a dresser, and of course the ever-popular (non-wheeled) chair as a step-stool. Sometimes, as with buying the best, the right tool for the right job makes a big difference. But sometimes it doesn't.
* Find some other goal you like better. I decided to quit earning degrees (unless someone was going to pay me) and just learn whatever I felt like learning. I've heard of people switching from more expensive hobbies to less expensive ones that they find just as fun.
* Put off buying stuff for a while. Many people do this right before a paycheck when they run out of money or when they get laid off. I tend to put off buying new shoes until long after others are disgusted with how worn out my shoes are, just because I don't like shoe shopping. If you replace things less often, you end up paying less over your lifespan than you would otherwise. And you may think of a better substitute during that period.
* Just doing without. A lot of times if you try doing without something you find it's not as bad as you thought. A friend tried riding a bus to work while his car was in the shop--now he always rides the bus to work, gets in some good thinking, and doesn't pay for parking. I was in the habit of not wearing make-up after working at summer camp one year, and I still got treated just fine, so I quit forever (except for dressing up).
Any other stories on doing without?
I think I will give it a try. Thanks for the suggestion.
I believe if you make the effort to do small, thoughtful things for each other on a regular basis, not only will you save money, but you'll be much happier in your relationship.
I think Valentine's Day is an awful holiday... you mentioned that it may be making men lazy, but I think it could also abet women not making an effort to notice all the other times their sweetie does wonderful things for them. Note to us all: don't put all your emotional eggs on one day's basket!
(btw, I'm female)
Spedie, I am glad your life is so perfectly predictable, and you are absolutely right about saving up for those "unexpected" expenses. The thing is, you have to get a little bit ahead in order to start doing that. If you are still paying off last month's unexpected expense, and this month your water heater explodes, you are going to have trouble squirreling that money away for future expenses. What you can do with your money today is a reflection of where you've been, and that includes past mistakes, bad luck, and simply where you started out in life, etc.
Also, there is such a thing as a tax surprise. You should have seen the look on our very experienced accountant's face as he broke the news. He had never seen anything like it and he ran the numbers over and over hoping he could get something different for us. The tax code is complex and sometimes it throws you for a loop.
I looked into pet insurance, and I found when I read the fine print that they all have limits not only on the maximum payout, but on the payout per "incident" and also on payouts for individual illnesses. Pet insurance would have covered about $200 of that $4000. Not worth it. Not to mention that our dog was already too old to qualify when it started to become available.
Catherine Shaffer
Wise Bread Contributor
Kate,
I've had great success with Cafe Press. My income from Cafe Press pays for more than a few bills. I noticed that you have a basic shop set up. One thing I would do is spring for the premium shop. It allows you to do a lot more and offer a lot more products.
One thing that has helped me with Cafe Press is to diversify there as well. I have three shops with different niches.
I love to do without; I almost make it a game to see just how much I can do without that others are certain they need. The challenge for me is trying to get my kids to understand. They think I'm a scrooge or tightwad and find no joy in it.
I think that a lot of this argument revolves around who's defining "the American Dream". If you set someone else define it for you, you're most likely doomed to be unhappy with your financial situation.
For some people, "the American Dream" means being out of debt so that they can start accumulating wealth. For other people, "the American Dream" means having a happy home and a big family that works and struggles together. For other people, "the American Dream" means traveling all over the world. For other people, "the American Dream" means going out and seeing how many people they can help that day. For some people, "the American Dream" means having enough money saved away that they will never be a burden to their children. For other people, "the American Dream" means learning everything they can. For some people, "the American Dream" means hiking every day of the year.
My point is that "the American Dream" should be _your_ dream, not what anyone else -- particularly a marketer -- thinks your dream should be. My wife often talks about a class that she took in college where the professor made the point that the purpose of advertising is to make you dissatisfied with your life. Think about what you spend your money on. Does it leave you content? It should -- and more stuff often doesn't mean more content.
"The American Dream:" I'm living mine; how about you?
I'm making my family's favorite dinner: pot roast, garlic mashed potatoes, artichokes and a molten chocolate dessert. My husband and I will be too full for any friskiness, and he will snore all night from overeating. I will end up on the couch with the cat. But still, I wouldn't trade it for anything. Happy Valentine's Day!
I am glad some people are doing so well on less money than we. I don't understand all the vitriol and judgemental attitudes though. For one thing, we're not complaining. We're saying "I'm finally upper middleclass and all I got was this T-shirt".
Yes, what you do with your money really is about choices:
I frequently choose to pay more for local and organic food, I could shave my budget some, but it's a choice.
I also choose to live where I work. I used to commute and it chewed up far too much time and expense. I can even bike in favorable weather.
As for "unexpected" things, yes we have had lead time and been able to save for many of them. However, doing simple maintenance on a roof that uncovers decades old structual damage is "unexpected". I already know that the rest of my house roof has 4-5 more years, that I can save for.
Having your city decide to transfer sidewalk maintenance to homeowners and immediately assess your neighborhood is not completely predictable though.
Life is a learning process, you don't know until you know. First time through self-employment taxes can be a bit of a surprise.
For the record we are doing well, we do not live beyond our means despite complaints about expenses, and I would hardly categorize ours as a consumerist lifestyle.
I am enjoying the different perspectives from the posters. The regional perspectives, plus the urban/rural/small-city differences are especially interesting.
This is one that needs to be added to the idiom dictionaries... I can't even find it on the linguistics sites, but I'm sure there's documentation out there somewhere. I've always understood it as "making [some other solution] do [the job of the ideal solution]." Online I can find the Cambridge Int'l Dic'y for "make do and mend" ( http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/make+do+and+mend ). Also some attestation for the noun: http://www.answers.com/topic/make-do . I wonder if any of the idioms and proverbs related to "living large on a small budget" have a cool history? That might be a fun post for someone.
Philip, thoughtful article as usual. Thanks!
Yep, I was poor and didn't know that until I was about 45 or more. I was looking at pictures of my family when we were all young kids living at home with Mom and Dad. It hit me like a ton of bricks. I WAS BORN POOR!
The other day I was filling out an online survey and saw all the breakpoints for income. I clicked the $100,000 catagory which was an honest response. I remember thinking I know what it feels like to live at all of those other income levels and the only real difference today is the size of our home and the fact that we have a swimming pool in the back yard. Even at that, we purchased this house for a song and got it roughly 1/2 price. It isn't even a fixer upper or anything. It isn't a mansion, but it is 4000 square feet. Did we need the house? Not especially but we sure do enjoy it. It is our home, our summer home, our vacation home, our getaway home all rolled into one. More than that, it is an investment and we expect to double our money or more when we sell it with only a few enhancements and modifications.
I still bargain shop, clip coupons, eat leftovers, do my own ironing, do a variety of things online to earn a buck. I am a stay at home wife and haven't worked a traditional job in about 6 years.
We live in the mid-south. We have one in college and 2 more will follow in the next 2 years. We drive a new 07 Tahoe and have 2 other cars in the driveway -- a 1994 and a 1999. The 94 will be given away soon to someone who needs a car to get to work and back - a step up for them if you know what I mean. One child will be getting married this year and weddings are not cheap no matter how much you do to control it.
In my life everything has gone up in price. The more you make the more you need to spend. I remember gasoline being about 50 cents a gallon. I remember sugar being as cheap as salt. Bread was once about 30 cents a loaf. So my point is that if wages had gone up as fast as goods, services, etc we'd all have tons more cash lying around. Taxes have gone up etc, etc.
I don't think most would consider me poor at this stage in my life. We own 2 homes (rent one out). We have autos, insurance on everything, great health care etc. Could I live without it? Oh you bet I could and fully expect that within 10 years we'll have to sell our homes and downsize to be able to care for ourselves in our rocking chair years. BUT, I live as if I were poor when it comes to being thrifty, managing the budget etc. We went without a job for either of us for around a year and didn't lose a thing because we had a plan in place to sustain us.
I asked myself this morning if $100k was poor when I read this. The answer is no for me but I can clearly see how it could be. Thanks for the conversation. I am off to make my lunch from leftovers and open a few blinds to allow the sun to heat my home rather than turning up the heat. I'll be preparing a nice Valentine's Day dinner rather than going out. Tonight I will be cutting my husband's hair (I have for 12 years). We don't take for granted that which is supplied to us. Nothing is forever.
This made me remember a conversation with my father when I must have been around 5. I came away from it thinking he bought and sold "chairs" of companies and that there was a big warehouse somewhere full of chairs all piled up to the ceiling. And when you bought a "chair" they would put your name on it, like a park bench.
It wasn't until a few years later I realized he'd been talking about "shares."
Now I wonder if "chairs" aren't a better investment.
We do an evening dinner of waffles or pancakes as a quick fix for the unexpected guest. A batch of scrambled eggs and some coffee and toast...it is so easy and cheap.
I premix my dry ingredients so that they are ready to go for these unexpected times. The kids love it and what adult doesn't love a good breakfast for dinner once in awhile?
Great post!
Here it is, middle of February, in Anchorage, AK. I've ridden my bicycle to work for (5 miles round trip) for six weeks this winter in temperatures ranging from +35F to - 10F. I've found that winter riding is about your state of mind rather than actual environmental conditions. With the right gear, the temperature is not a problem; your body takes care of heating itself! For those out there who are hesitant, go try it! Honestly, the biggest obstacle for me is simply motivation to adjust my schedule for the extra time. Go for it!
K, I see your point. For me, thinking about how companies raise money made me realize that being compliant with SEC regulations doesn't necessarily mean a company is a good investment. I believe in investing but feel reasonably more skeptical of just any ole publicly held company.
I should mention that banks or private lenders can structure loans in a way that matches a business's cash flow (seasonal fluctuations in earnings, temporary slowdowns, etc.) but loans still need to be paid back or a company gives up assets, declares bankruptcy, etc.
I recently joined the ranks of the unemployed (my last day is the 27th of this month) and one thing I'm not looking forward to is working from home all the time. While I'll try to mitigate this by going to the library, volunteering, etc. I think that is always one of the biggest challenges with self-employment.
I do like being able to tell people I get 52 weeks of vacation. :)
This could be one of my favorite posts. Ever. Now I have no excuse not to open a cafe press shop, start the blog I have been thinking about for the past year or just open up additional streams of income. If only about.com needed a guide to procrastinating... After reading many personal finance blogs I can say you have almost everything I am interested in right here at wisebread (and well written too)! Go Kate go!
@CHB: Yep. My whole family visited Gettysburg in the summer of 2004 and we bicycled around the civil war battlefields. (It's a very bicycleable place--you get a much better sense of the scale of the battles on a bicycle than you do driving a car.) That cannon was over near the peace light memorial.