Sunday, March 4, 2007
Friday, March 2, 2007
Perspective
Although it is more than 1,000 light years away, Antares is the 15th brightest star in the sky.
Here's why:
Here's why:
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Words that Really Should Exist from A to Z
Abracadabbler: an amateur magician.
Badaptation: a bad movie version of a good book.
Carbage: the trash found in your automobile.
Dadicated: being the best father you can be.
Ecrastinate: checking your e-mail just one more time.
Faddict: someone who has to try every new trend that comes along.
Gabberflasted: the state of being speechless due to someone else talking too much.
Hackchoo: when you sneeze and cough at the same time.
Iceburg: an uppity, snobbish neighborhood.
Jobsolete: a position within a company that no longer exists.
Knewlyweds: second marriage for both.
Lamplify: turning on (or up) the lights within a room.
Mandals: sandals for men.
Nagivator: someone who constantly assists with driving directions in an overly critical manner.
Obliment: an obligatory compliment.
Pestariffic: adjective describing a particularly pesty person.
Qcumbersome: a salad that contains too many cucumbers.
Ramdumbtious: a rowdy, energetic person who's not too bright.
Sanktuary: a graveyard for ships.
Testimoney: fees paid to expert witnesses.
Unbrella: an umbrella that the wind has turned inside-out.
Vehiculized: you own a vehicle.
Wackajacky: very messed up.
Xerocks: two identical pieces of stone.
Yawnese: the language of someone trying to speak while yawning.
Zingle: a single person with a lot of pep in his or her step.
Badaptation: a bad movie version of a good book.
Carbage: the trash found in your automobile.
Dadicated: being the best father you can be.
Ecrastinate: checking your e-mail just one more time.
Faddict: someone who has to try every new trend that comes along.
Gabberflasted: the state of being speechless due to someone else talking too much.
Hackchoo: when you sneeze and cough at the same time.
Iceburg: an uppity, snobbish neighborhood.
Jobsolete: a position within a company that no longer exists.
Knewlyweds: second marriage for both.
Lamplify: turning on (or up) the lights within a room.
Mandals: sandals for men.
Nagivator: someone who constantly assists with driving directions in an overly critical manner.
Obliment: an obligatory compliment.
Pestariffic: adjective describing a particularly pesty person.
Qcumbersome: a salad that contains too many cucumbers.
Ramdumbtious: a rowdy, energetic person who's not too bright.
Sanktuary: a graveyard for ships.
Testimoney: fees paid to expert witnesses.
Unbrella: an umbrella that the wind has turned inside-out.
Vehiculized: you own a vehicle.
Wackajacky: very messed up.
Xerocks: two identical pieces of stone.
Yawnese: the language of someone trying to speak while yawning.
Zingle: a single person with a lot of pep in his or her step.
You're not a kid anymore when ...
- The only reason you're awake at 4 a.m. is indigestion.
- You are proud of your lawnmower.
- 8 a.m. is your idea of "sleeping in."
- People call you at 8 p.m. and ask: "Did I wake you?"
- Your high school diploma is the color of buttermilk.
- Nobody ever tells you to slow down.
- You've seen Halley's Comet ... twice.
- * You have a party and the neighbors don't even realize it.
Back to the Basics: Simple Ways to Improve Your Finances
Steve Scalici, CFP(r)
This month I want to start you off with a riddle. Here are the facts:
1. You have two coins that total $.30.
2. One of the coins is not a nickel.
Here is the question: How do you make $.30 with two coins if one of them is not a nickel? (Answer at end of the article).
Sometimes we miss the obvious. We get so consumed by everything around us we forget the basics. I am always fooled by riddles. And, when I hear the answer to the riddle, I usually say something like “duh.” I can’t believe the answer was so simple. Sometimes I get caught up thinking things have to be difficult when in fact they rarely are. A lot of us can feel that way about our finances. Sometimes I share a concept with someone and they looked at me as if to say “that’s it?” “That’s all you’ve got, Mr. CFP?” Sometimes it is. Sometimes, there are some obvious things that people miss when trying to figure out their finances. Sometimes I feel like the things I tell people are so simple they won’t believe me. The older I get, the more I realize that most things are really simple.
As you start 2007, I want to encourage you to think about trying to do two simple things to help improve your finances. I don’t want you to make a resolution to do it because we know that no one keeps their resolutions.
1. Spend less than you make.
Proverbs 21:20 (NIV) - In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil,
but a foolish man devours all he has.
This sounds easy, but less than 10% of the population actually does it. The average family in America now spends 106% of its income1. How does that happen you might ask? It’s simple: easy credit. Easy credit has made it so that we can buy what we want, when we want it. We don’t have to develop the discipline of saving because we can simply charge it.
If you spend less than you make, you will never struggle with money. There will always be something left over.
You may have heard this before: Give 10%, save 10%, and live on the rest. This is a great principle to live by. Now, how do you live on 80% of what you earn when the average (read: normal) family spends 106%? The answer is quite simple: don’t be normal. If normal causes you become financially strapped, stop being normal. Normal is being in debt. You want to be abnormal. As a kid, I was told I was abnormal. I always thought that was a derogatory comment. Now I’m flattered by it.
“Normal” is trying to impress others with your stuff. It doesn’t work. Chris Andrews of BYI has been credited with saying: "We buy things we don't need with money we don't have in order to impress people we don't really care about." How true is that? This just in: The Jones’ don’t care about you. They don’t even know who you are. Stop trying to impress them.
2. Save early and save often
My seventh grade computer teacher used to say this all the time and now I find myself saying it quite often. This basic principle of computers can help ensure you don’t lose your work. When applied to finances, it can help you become financially free.
Proverbs 6:6 – 8 (NIV) says: “Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest.
Albert Einstein said: “Compound interest is the most powerful force on the earth.” That’s a pretty strong statement from someone who understood power. It was his E=MC2 formula that led to the creation of the atom bomb. Here’s a sample of the power of compound interest:
At age 20, John begins to save $2,000 per year and he does this for a period of ten years at which time he stops. He leaves his investment alone and allows it grow at a hypothetical return of 10%. When he is age 65 that account would be worth almost $900,000! His $20,000 investment grew 45-fold.
Fred decides that he’s having too much fun right now and decides to put off investing. He waits until he is 30. But, he figures, he’ll do one better than John and he will invest $2,000 per year until he is 65 for a total investment of $70,000. Now, it stands to reason that Fred would have much more money than John because he is going to invest a great deal more. But, not so fast. Fred ends up with a measly $550,000. As a matter of fact, Fred would have to invest over $3,300 per year at 10% for the 30 year period to catch up with John. That’s a total investment of almost $100,000.
Note: this is a mathematical illustration and is not based on any investment portfolio. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results.
Time is your greatest advocate when it comes to saving money. It allows the compounding effect to pay off for you.
These are just two of the basic principles we should all understand. If you master these you will be well on your way to financial freedom.
Riddle answer: You have a quarter and a nickel. The quarter is one of the coins that is not a nickel.
1 Source – www.cnnfn.com. December 14, 2003. “Has your debt taken over your life?”
Steve Scalici is the Vice President of Treasure Coast Financial, a financial planning firm in Stuart, FL. He is co-host of God's Money which can be heard weekdays at www.oneplace.com. He can also be reached at his website www.tcfin.com.
Help make English our official language
American Family Association
A common language, not “diversity,” makes our country stronger
Recently, the mayor of Nashville vetoed a bill that would have made English the city’s official language. He called the measure “unconstitutional, unnecessary, and mean-spirited.” U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid even called a bill to make English our official language “racist.”
A Zogby poll last year showed that 84% say English should be the official language of government operations. The poll also showed that 77% of Hispanics support English as our official language.
It is time for liberal members of Congress to quit playing politics with the future of all children --U.S. and Immigrant--and follow the lead of 28 states which have made English their official language. Failure for Congress to act will establish a major obstacle for immigrant children as they try to move up in our society.
Without a common language, citizens cannot communicate with each other. Any child growing up in America without knowing English is at a distinct disadvantage. At a time when our society is becoming more fragmented, we need an official, common language. Diverse cultures, different backgrounds and varied traditions enrich our culture. But for the nation to thrive, we must have a common language.
As Ed Feulner points out, “instead of having one official language, in practice we have dozens.” Click here to read Mr. Feulner’s article.
Take Action Send an email urging members of Congress to make English the official language.
Please forward this to friends and family asking them to help.
A common language, not “diversity,” makes our country stronger
Recently, the mayor of Nashville vetoed a bill that would have made English the city’s official language. He called the measure “unconstitutional, unnecessary, and mean-spirited.” U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid even called a bill to make English our official language “racist.”
A Zogby poll last year showed that 84% say English should be the official language of government operations. The poll also showed that 77% of Hispanics support English as our official language.
It is time for liberal members of Congress to quit playing politics with the future of all children --U.S. and Immigrant--and follow the lead of 28 states which have made English their official language. Failure for Congress to act will establish a major obstacle for immigrant children as they try to move up in our society.
Without a common language, citizens cannot communicate with each other. Any child growing up in America without knowing English is at a distinct disadvantage. At a time when our society is becoming more fragmented, we need an official, common language. Diverse cultures, different backgrounds and varied traditions enrich our culture. But for the nation to thrive, we must have a common language.
As Ed Feulner points out, “instead of having one official language, in practice we have dozens.” Click here to read Mr. Feulner’s article.
Take Action Send an email urging members of Congress to make English the official language.
Please forward this to friends and family asking them to help.
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Bob Woodruff -- The Miraculous Recovery
On Jan. 29, 2006, Bob Woodruff was nearly killed by a roadside bomb north of Baghdad. Woodruff, an ABC anchor, and cameraman Doug Vogt were with the U.S. 4th Infantry Division. They were travelling in an armored vehicle. Woodruff and Vogt were standing with their heads above a hatch when the bomb exploded.
Although both wore body armor and helmets, they sustained considerable injuries. After surgery at a U.S. military hospital in Iraq, Vogt recovered. Woodruff, however, was kept in a medically induced coma. ABC News has posted a slide show depicting Woodruff’s recovery. It’s amazing.
Boarding for MSY
From Joe Bouza
Recently on a flight getting ready to depart for New Orleans:
"I've been transferred to New Orleans , there's crazy people there. They've got lots of shootings, gangs, race riots, drugs, poor public schools, and the highest crime rate."
Jack replied, "I've lived in New Orleans all my life. It's not as bad as the media says. Find a nice home, go to work, mind your own business, enroll your kids in a nice private school. It's as safe a place as anywhere in the world."
The guy relaxed and stopped shaking and said, "Oh, thank you. I've been worried to death. But if you live there and say it's OK, I'll take your word for it. What do you do for a living?"
"Me?" said Jack. "I'm a tail gunner on a Budweiser truck."
Recently on a flight getting ready to depart for New Orleans:
"I've been transferred to New Orleans , there's crazy people there. They've got lots of shootings, gangs, race riots, drugs, poor public schools, and the highest crime rate."
Jack replied, "I've lived in New Orleans all my life. It's not as bad as the media says. Find a nice home, go to work, mind your own business, enroll your kids in a nice private school. It's as safe a place as anywhere in the world."
The guy relaxed and stopped shaking and said, "Oh, thank you. I've been worried to death. But if you live there and say it's OK, I'll take your word for it. What do you do for a living?"
"Me?" said Jack. "I'm a tail gunner on a Budweiser truck."
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Friday, February 23, 2007
Radical FAA Funding Scheme
AOPA members are incensed about the Bush administration's attempt to radically alter the FAA funding scheme.
In an open letter to members, AOPA President Phil Boyer this week talked about the administration's plan to "coddle the airlines and kill general aviation with a 70-cents-a-gallon avgas tax, user fees for flying into Class B airspace, and new or increased fees for other FAA 'services.'"
One member, echoing the feelings of some others, wrote: "I'm going to sell my airplane now, Phil, and give up flying because I won't be able to afford it anymore."
While encouraging members not to despair because the winnable fight has just begun, Boyer unveiled AOPA's strategic battle plan. It calls for bringing pressure to bear on certain members of Congress at specific times. In the coming months, members will be called to help, but in a highly targeted fashion. And when the final bills are up for vote by the entire Congress, AOPA will issue a national call to action.
For those who want to write their representatives now, AOPA is providing detailed information on what to say and how to send it. With Congress in recess this week, Boyer also urged members to talk to congressional representatives while they are back at home meeting with constituents.
In an open letter to members, AOPA President Phil Boyer this week talked about the administration's plan to "coddle the airlines and kill general aviation with a 70-cents-a-gallon avgas tax, user fees for flying into Class B airspace, and new or increased fees for other FAA 'services.'"
One member, echoing the feelings of some others, wrote: "I'm going to sell my airplane now, Phil, and give up flying because I won't be able to afford it anymore."
While encouraging members not to despair because the winnable fight has just begun, Boyer unveiled AOPA's strategic battle plan. It calls for bringing pressure to bear on certain members of Congress at specific times. In the coming months, members will be called to help, but in a highly targeted fashion. And when the final bills are up for vote by the entire Congress, AOPA will issue a national call to action.
For those who want to write their representatives now, AOPA is providing detailed information on what to say and how to send it. With Congress in recess this week, Boyer also urged members to talk to congressional representatives while they are back at home meeting with constituents.
1907: Theodore Roosevelt's ideas on Immigrants and being an AMERICAN
"In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person's becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American...There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag... We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language... and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people."
-- Theodore Roosevelt 1907
-- Theodore Roosevelt 1907
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Wedding anniversary
Bob was in trouble. He forgot his wedding anniversary. His wife was really upset. She told him "Tomorrow morning, I expect to find a gift in the driveway that goes from 0 to 200 in 6 seconds, and, IT BETTER BE THERE."
The next morning Bob got up early and left for work. When his wife woke up, she looked out the window and, sure enough, there was a small box gift-wrapped in the middle of the driveway. Confused, the wife put on her robe and ran out to the driveway, brought the box back in the house.
She opened it and found a brand new bathroom scale.
Funeral services for Bob have been scheduled for Friday.
The next morning Bob got up early and left for work. When his wife woke up, she looked out the window and, sure enough, there was a small box gift-wrapped in the middle of the driveway. Confused, the wife put on her robe and ran out to the driveway, brought the box back in the house.
She opened it and found a brand new bathroom scale.
Funeral services for Bob have been scheduled for Friday.
Strategic Stewardship: Bargains by the Month
Mary Hunt
Okay, I’ll say a word and you respond with the first thing that pops into your head:
Me: January
You: White Sales!
Excellent response — the very one I was hoping for to set the tone for this article. There was a time that our grandmothers patched the sheets while waiting for the the January White Sales.
But times have changed. It is increasingly a buyer’s market thanks to the advent of online shopping and so many retailers vying for our dollars.
Learning to "shop smart" is a great way to reduce debt and become a better steward. And in recent years some of the best sales often take place immediately before the related holiday or season.
Here’s a month-by-month guide for the best times to purchase all sorts of consumer goods:
January
Besides everything Christmas, this is the time to stock up on calendars, planners and date books while they’re available and at rock bottom prices. TVs are priced lowest during the two weeks prior to the Super Bowl.
Look for bargain prices on workout gear and fitness equipment to appeal to your New Year’s resolutions.
January is still a great time to land excellent deals on high-thread-count sheets as well as other "white sale" items like towels and blankets.
February
President’s Day is the cue for furniture retailers to offer blow-out bargains, especially on upholstered furniture. Watch for jewelry sales in honor of Valentine’s Day, and don’t be afraid to negotiate even the sale price on jewelry.
March
Even though it still feels like winter, home improvement centers haul out air conditioners in March and put them on sale. Other bargains: Winter sporting equipment and, oddly, frozen foods. March is National Frozen Food month so plan to fill your freezer with great bargains from Birdseye and Pictsweet for starters.
April
Home improvement items like flooring, house paint and gardening supplies are good buys now in anticipation of spring home-cleanup projects. And eggs—both chocolate and fowl. Think: Easter.
May
Mattresses and box springs are highly promoted from late May to early fall. This is when retailers gain significant support from the mattress manufacturers in the form of advertising and special offers. Memorial Day weekend is the traditional signal for big-ticket items like major appliances to go on sale.
June
If you’re not too picky, this is a great month to buy a wedding dress. What hasn’t sold gets highly discounted in anticipation of a new season of bridal wear. Home tools and hardware, dairy foods (yep, it’s National Dairy Month) and menswear are the hot items for June.
July
Electronics, including air conditioners (what’s left by this time in the season) and ceiling fans; craft supplies, summer clothes, shoes, swim wear and barbecues are offered at bargain prices this month.
August
Outdoor furniture, now marked down, is taking its last breath as the season winds down. Fresh produce is cheap this month as are school supplies and pre-season fall fashions. And white sale items are now offered routinely in August. My grandmother would be happy.
September
Golf clubs are a bargain this month along with canned goods (retailers want you to stock up for the long winter ahead), scooters, bikes and ... houses. Home sellers who were unsuccessful in selling during the summer are anxious to move before Christmas. They are more likely this month to listen to your ridiculously low offer.
October
This is the big candy month of the year. Stock up for all your holidays. And it may be a good time to buy a new car—if you must. In October salespeople are getting nervous about meeting or beating year-end quotas.
November
Turkeys are priced dirt cheap from now through Christmas. So are cranberries. Stock the freezer because a turkey that remains frozen is good for at least a year. And while you’re at it stock up on baking supplies at rock bottom prices. Blankets, comforters and winter wear will also be deeply discounted to boost retailers’ holiday cash-flow.
December
It used to be you had to wait until after Christmas for the sales. But in today’s market, everything you can imagine from toys to computers, shoes to perfume, crystal to party foods, cell phones and baby furniture are on sale in hopes of boosting holiday retail sales.
_____________________________________________
Except in the case of a dire emergency — I can’t actually think of one right now, perhaps you can — there is no reason to pay retail. But that assumes you have the financial maturity to delay gratification and wait until you find that item for less. And it is in that period of waiting that something may happen to help you save even more.
You may change your mind and decide you don’t need it after all. Or more likely, you’ll forget that you "needed" it in the first place.
And if you don’t, you’ll know you exercised great financial wisdom in making yourself wait until you found the best price and the most value.
"Debt-Proof Living" was founded in 1992 by Mary Hunt. What began as a newsletter to encourage and empower people to break free from the bondage of consumer debt has grown into a huge community of ordinary people who have achieved remarkable success in their quest to effectively manage their money and stay out of debt. Today, "Debt-Proof Living" is read by close to 100,000 cheapskates.
Okay, I’ll say a word and you respond with the first thing that pops into your head:
Me: January
You: White Sales!
Excellent response — the very one I was hoping for to set the tone for this article. There was a time that our grandmothers patched the sheets while waiting for the the January White Sales.
But times have changed. It is increasingly a buyer’s market thanks to the advent of online shopping and so many retailers vying for our dollars.
Learning to "shop smart" is a great way to reduce debt and become a better steward. And in recent years some of the best sales often take place immediately before the related holiday or season.
Here’s a month-by-month guide for the best times to purchase all sorts of consumer goods:
January
Besides everything Christmas, this is the time to stock up on calendars, planners and date books while they’re available and at rock bottom prices. TVs are priced lowest during the two weeks prior to the Super Bowl.
Look for bargain prices on workout gear and fitness equipment to appeal to your New Year’s resolutions.
January is still a great time to land excellent deals on high-thread-count sheets as well as other "white sale" items like towels and blankets.
February
President’s Day is the cue for furniture retailers to offer blow-out bargains, especially on upholstered furniture. Watch for jewelry sales in honor of Valentine’s Day, and don’t be afraid to negotiate even the sale price on jewelry.
March
Even though it still feels like winter, home improvement centers haul out air conditioners in March and put them on sale. Other bargains: Winter sporting equipment and, oddly, frozen foods. March is National Frozen Food month so plan to fill your freezer with great bargains from Birdseye and Pictsweet for starters.
April
Home improvement items like flooring, house paint and gardening supplies are good buys now in anticipation of spring home-cleanup projects. And eggs—both chocolate and fowl. Think: Easter.
May
Mattresses and box springs are highly promoted from late May to early fall. This is when retailers gain significant support from the mattress manufacturers in the form of advertising and special offers. Memorial Day weekend is the traditional signal for big-ticket items like major appliances to go on sale.
June
If you’re not too picky, this is a great month to buy a wedding dress. What hasn’t sold gets highly discounted in anticipation of a new season of bridal wear. Home tools and hardware, dairy foods (yep, it’s National Dairy Month) and menswear are the hot items for June.
July
Electronics, including air conditioners (what’s left by this time in the season) and ceiling fans; craft supplies, summer clothes, shoes, swim wear and barbecues are offered at bargain prices this month.
August
Outdoor furniture, now marked down, is taking its last breath as the season winds down. Fresh produce is cheap this month as are school supplies and pre-season fall fashions. And white sale items are now offered routinely in August. My grandmother would be happy.
September
Golf clubs are a bargain this month along with canned goods (retailers want you to stock up for the long winter ahead), scooters, bikes and ... houses. Home sellers who were unsuccessful in selling during the summer are anxious to move before Christmas. They are more likely this month to listen to your ridiculously low offer.
October
This is the big candy month of the year. Stock up for all your holidays. And it may be a good time to buy a new car—if you must. In October salespeople are getting nervous about meeting or beating year-end quotas.
November
Turkeys are priced dirt cheap from now through Christmas. So are cranberries. Stock the freezer because a turkey that remains frozen is good for at least a year. And while you’re at it stock up on baking supplies at rock bottom prices. Blankets, comforters and winter wear will also be deeply discounted to boost retailers’ holiday cash-flow.
December
It used to be you had to wait until after Christmas for the sales. But in today’s market, everything you can imagine from toys to computers, shoes to perfume, crystal to party foods, cell phones and baby furniture are on sale in hopes of boosting holiday retail sales.
_____________________________________________
Except in the case of a dire emergency — I can’t actually think of one right now, perhaps you can — there is no reason to pay retail. But that assumes you have the financial maturity to delay gratification and wait until you find that item for less. And it is in that period of waiting that something may happen to help you save even more.
You may change your mind and decide you don’t need it after all. Or more likely, you’ll forget that you "needed" it in the first place.
And if you don’t, you’ll know you exercised great financial wisdom in making yourself wait until you found the best price and the most value.
"Debt-Proof Living" was founded in 1992 by Mary Hunt. What began as a newsletter to encourage and empower people to break free from the bondage of consumer debt has grown into a huge community of ordinary people who have achieved remarkable success in their quest to effectively manage their money and stay out of debt. Today, "Debt-Proof Living" is read by close to 100,000 cheapskates.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Clogged arteries, anyone?
Diet recommendation by Joe Bouza
Chicken Fried Bacon is the newest fad in fatty foods, courtesy of Frank Sodolak at Sodolak's Original Country Inn in Snook, TX.
Texas Country Reporter Bob Phillips stops by for a taste.
Chicken Fried Bacon is the newest fad in fatty foods, courtesy of Frank Sodolak at Sodolak's Original Country Inn in Snook, TX.
Texas Country Reporter Bob Phillips stops by for a taste.
The 12 steps to cure e-mail addiction
The 12 steps to cure e-mail addiction - CNN.com: "Alcoholics have one, and so do drug abusers. Now people addicted to e-mail also have a 12-step program designed to tackle their obsession."
Find Value in Your Financial Mistakes
Mary Hunt
Have you made any mistakes lately? Want to talk about it? Most people don't. Can't say that I blame them.
It's embarrassing.
When the mistake is a real boner, well that's something you hope to never think about again. And that's a mistake.
Take that fire in my kitchen. It all boiled down to a small mistake-an error in judgment. Setting a skillet of oil over a hot burner then heading for the garage for just a moment to tell your husband that lunch will be ready in five minutes only to be distracted by the arrival of your son and getting caught up in a funny story, well, that's a mistake.
It's not like I intentionally attempted to burn the house down. But had I not learned that it doesn't work to leave hot oil to take care of itself, it is likely I would have tried it again.
Mistakes are useful because they teach us what doesn't work.
While we're on this subject of things that do not work, let us also review the definition of insanity: Doing the same thing over and over expecting different results.
I've accumulated my list of mistakes over many years. It's like a trophy now-a specific compilation of things that I have proven that simply do not work.
Take a peek:
It doesn't work to be in a supermarket without a plan.
Walking into the grocery store without a plan-for me that means a specific list, coupons and cash-is a terrible mistake. I know me. Without my "crutches" I am a $200 mistake just waiting to happen. And if I'm hungry? Make that $300.
It doesn't work to buy extended warranties on appliances.
Statistically, if an appliance is going to fail it will do so in the first 90 days (the product comes with a warranty to cover this time frame) or after five years (extended warranties aren't that extended). For the record a laptop computer is an exception to this mistake. Laptops fail routinely, trust me.
It doesn't work to lease a car.
And it really doesn't work to roll the shortfall and extra charges at the end of the lease into another lease. To repeat this mistake over and again for no less than 22 years straight is to come dangerously close to insanity.
It doesn't work to buy a 7,000- gallon blow-up swimming pool.
Actually I didn't even know such a thing existed so I can't even say it was something we needed. Standing there in the middle of the Home Show I managed to pull off the impulse purchase of the century (thankfully, it was in the last century). That was a mistake that just kept on giving lessons to be learned until the day several years later we begged Goodwill to just take it away. Please.
Here's the larger lesson I learned from that detour into stupidity:
A true need is never realized while standing in the aisle at Costco, Bloomingdales, Any Home Show, Wal-Mart, Nordstrom or fill in the blank.
If you need something you know you need it before you walk into the store. It is not a discovery you make after you arrive.
It doesn't work to carry more than $100 cash.
Carrying a single $100 bill is a great deterrent for overspending. You don't feel broke, but it's a bill you hate to break. It is also the tipping point. More than $100 is dangerous. For me it creates a feeling of excess that burns a hole in my wallet. It disappears.
It doesn't work to live on credit.
When it comes to mistakes, depending on credit to bridge the gap between what you earn and what you spend is a big one. Debt is a terrible liar, insisting that while you don't have the money today, you'll have it next month. Or the next. Debt keeps you stuck in the past, always stealing from the future.
Debt is reversible, thankfully-provided you don't do it over and over expecting that eventually, somehow you will get different results.
That would be insane.
"The Cheapskate Monthly" was founded in 1992 by Mary Hunt. What began as a newsletter to encourage and empower people to break free from the bondage of consumer debt has grown into a huge community of ordinary people who have achieved remarkable success in their quest to effectively manage their money and stay out of debt. Today, "The Cheapskate Monthly" is read by close to 100,000 Cheapskates. Click here to subscribe.
Have you made any mistakes lately? Want to talk about it? Most people don't. Can't say that I blame them.
It's embarrassing.
When the mistake is a real boner, well that's something you hope to never think about again. And that's a mistake.
Take that fire in my kitchen. It all boiled down to a small mistake-an error in judgment. Setting a skillet of oil over a hot burner then heading for the garage for just a moment to tell your husband that lunch will be ready in five minutes only to be distracted by the arrival of your son and getting caught up in a funny story, well, that's a mistake.
It's not like I intentionally attempted to burn the house down. But had I not learned that it doesn't work to leave hot oil to take care of itself, it is likely I would have tried it again.
Mistakes are useful because they teach us what doesn't work.
While we're on this subject of things that do not work, let us also review the definition of insanity: Doing the same thing over and over expecting different results.
I've accumulated my list of mistakes over many years. It's like a trophy now-a specific compilation of things that I have proven that simply do not work.
Take a peek:
It doesn't work to be in a supermarket without a plan.
Walking into the grocery store without a plan-for me that means a specific list, coupons and cash-is a terrible mistake. I know me. Without my "crutches" I am a $200 mistake just waiting to happen. And if I'm hungry? Make that $300.
It doesn't work to buy extended warranties on appliances.
Statistically, if an appliance is going to fail it will do so in the first 90 days (the product comes with a warranty to cover this time frame) or after five years (extended warranties aren't that extended). For the record a laptop computer is an exception to this mistake. Laptops fail routinely, trust me.
It doesn't work to lease a car.
And it really doesn't work to roll the shortfall and extra charges at the end of the lease into another lease. To repeat this mistake over and again for no less than 22 years straight is to come dangerously close to insanity.
It doesn't work to buy a 7,000- gallon blow-up swimming pool.
Actually I didn't even know such a thing existed so I can't even say it was something we needed. Standing there in the middle of the Home Show I managed to pull off the impulse purchase of the century (thankfully, it was in the last century). That was a mistake that just kept on giving lessons to be learned until the day several years later we begged Goodwill to just take it away. Please.
Here's the larger lesson I learned from that detour into stupidity:
A true need is never realized while standing in the aisle at Costco, Bloomingdales, Any Home Show, Wal-Mart, Nordstrom or fill in the blank.
If you need something you know you need it before you walk into the store. It is not a discovery you make after you arrive.
It doesn't work to carry more than $100 cash.
Carrying a single $100 bill is a great deterrent for overspending. You don't feel broke, but it's a bill you hate to break. It is also the tipping point. More than $100 is dangerous. For me it creates a feeling of excess that burns a hole in my wallet. It disappears.
It doesn't work to live on credit.
When it comes to mistakes, depending on credit to bridge the gap between what you earn and what you spend is a big one. Debt is a terrible liar, insisting that while you don't have the money today, you'll have it next month. Or the next. Debt keeps you stuck in the past, always stealing from the future.
Debt is reversible, thankfully-provided you don't do it over and over expecting that eventually, somehow you will get different results.
That would be insane.
"The Cheapskate Monthly" was founded in 1992 by Mary Hunt. What began as a newsletter to encourage and empower people to break free from the bondage of consumer debt has grown into a huge community of ordinary people who have achieved remarkable success in their quest to effectively manage their money and stay out of debt. Today, "The Cheapskate Monthly" is read by close to 100,000 Cheapskates. Click here to subscribe.
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