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Sunday, November 2, 2014

Put Each Dollar To Its Best Use

All of us get only so much time on this planet which is unknown.  We also get only a limited amount of dollars to work with in our lifetime.  Some get more than others, but it's never unlimited for anyone.  The question is what do we do with the resources that come our way?  It's not an easy question to answer.  There are a million different things you could spend your money on.  Spending money is easy.  Getting it in the first place is not.  It's hard to lose weight, and it's hard to build wealth.  Society totally works against the wealth builder.  This world wants you to spend and go into debt.  Success is in another direction though which is building capital.  I think the whole goal of personal finance is getting to the point where paid work is optional and no longer needed for survival.  This is extremely difficult to achieve especially with companies and the government doing less and less for the average citizen.  These leaves each one of us more on our own to figure things out.  We are not taught about personal finance in school which is a shame.  If there's one subject that should be taught it's how to handle money efficiently.  So we're left to fend for ourselves in this dog eat dog world.  I can tell you that it is possible to accumulate capital even on the poverty end of income levels because I have successfully done it.  I'm of the opinion of not squandering money.  It really is a precious resource that can earn more money.  Remember that every expenditure of money does matter.  We all have to pay living expenses and survive, and those are non-negotiable.  But if and when we can build a surplus of money from our income we absolutely have to do something smart with it.  It's for our own individual good.  Where I live there are payday lenders and title loan companies everywhere.  It makes me mad really to think about what these businesses do to make money.  The prey on the weak and vulnerable with what amounts to loan sharking.  And they are absolutely thriving.  This is not a good reflection of a healthy citizenry.  It's better not to owe anyone and have investments throwing off cash to pay your bills.  So yes as I observe it the whole system is against each and every one of us.  That's no excuse though.  It's time to take control and think of each dollar as something finite and valuable.  We all have to spend money so put each dollar to its best function.  Don't squander your seeds.  They just might give you fruit to live on someday.  

Saturday, July 12, 2014

Electricity is a best buy

Shelling out money to pay bills is no fun.  One bill where I feel like I get a lot of value for the dollar is electricity.  If you stop to think about how much you're able to do with electricity it is amazing.  Compare paying your car insurance bill to paying your electric bill, and I think you'll agree you get much more from electricity for possibly less money.  Lets talk about 3 ways that electricity helps you to live a better life:  cooking, refrigeration, and air conditioning.

Eating is something we absolutely have to do.  Sometimes I really don't like that my body gets hungry every couple hours, but it's non-negotiable.  Using a microwave, toaster oven, regular oven, or stove top gives you so many options on how to heat up your meal.  I pretty much have a bagel or muffin every morning warmed up in the toaster oven.  No electricity no bagel.  I could eat it cold, but it wouldn't be as good.  I don't use the regular oven that much.  Now the stove top is a different story.  I'm often cooking something in a pot or pan.  I also use the microwave several times a day.  I'm glad I have electrical current to prepare my food.  Oh and making coffee requires power too.

Refrigeration is very cheap for what you get.  To keep your food cold and frozen is very important.  Butter, eggs, milk, meat, and ice are just a few things that need cold temperatures to stay in their ideal state.  What if you didn't have a refrigerator?  Life would be a lot different wouldn't it?  Think of all the things you couldn't eat.  So to keep that big box cold it really doesn't require much money on an annual basis.  It's more than worth it.  I've heard of some people not having a refrigerator to save money.  Dumb.  Not worth it.  I just bought a bag of ice yesterday, and I had to get that thing home quickly.  Once it was in the freezer it was safe though.

Air conditioning makes life so much more enjoyable in the summer.  Where I live it gets into the 100's which is miserable.  I have two window ac units that I run all the time.  I keep them on the energy saver setting which causes them to turn off when the desired temperature is reached.  I have heard of some electric bills getting into the hundreds of dollars because of ac and heat.  That's definitely a lot of money.  The space where I live however is small which means there's less space to cool.  At one time I didn't run my ac to save money.  I've since changed my mind and have concluded it's worth the money to stay comfortable.         

Compared to most of the bills you pay I bet you'll agree that electricity is one of the best deals.  Don't feel bad when your electric bill comes due.  Look at your payment as a way for the electric company to keep its very expensive operation going.  If you had to produce all your electricity yourself it would be a very costly proposition.  Be thankful for electricity because it truly is cool.  

Friday, March 21, 2014

Money dominates our lives

Like it or not money controls our lives.  There are very few things you can do without it.  I wish the world wasn't this way.  Since the planet we're born on runs on money it's good to respect it as it comes into our hands.  It is possible to be job-free if you get your expenses low enough and find a source of income other than a job to cover them.  It's all about freedom and choices really.  Society teaches us to get a job working for someone else then spend all or more than we make to keep us working.  I think having a purpose or work is good.  All of us have talents and gifts the world can use.  The problem is most of us are forced into something we don't like and aren't good at because we need money.  How do we escape this pressing need for money?  Watching every dollar as we spend it is a good foundation.  When we realize that money is limited and hard to come by it will give us a respect for it we might not have had before.  I really don't like that we need money for everything.  I wish we could just get our needs met effortlessly.  The plan for freedom is to keep expenses low, avoid debt, and build a source of non-employment income.  I find joy and a challenge in not needing much money to survive.  Having a big income can make life too easy I think.  It has the potential to detach us from the suffering of those in poverty.  When we live close to the bottom we're more in touch with the majority of human beings on this planet.  I have no desire to live lavishly even if I was rich.  The thing about keeping expenses low is you then have less of a need for money which makes life less stressful.  We are taught to apply for jobs and be employees, but jobs are hard to come by these days.  It is a very discouraging process to apply for jobs.  That's why I think creating less of a need for money also creates less of a need for a job.  Money represents our effort and time on this earth.  The conclusion I draw from our economic system is to have low overhead and pursue something that gets us excited to do it.  The world would be a better place if people were more educated on how money works however I think the most important thing is discipline.  Without discipline all the knowledge in the world won't help.