One of the most (methinks, opinion only) underrated yet heavily enjoyable Guy Ritchie films is Snatch, with Brad Pitt as the one-hit wonder and Jason Statham as an actual actor. The big baddie in the movie is this gangster that discusses pig farms as optimal for disposal of … organic problems. Nicely put, like the …
Fear Not the Future (Well, Maybe a Little)
One of the biggest impediments to getting out of debt is the opinions/judgments/attitudes of others … “How did this happen?” … “Why so much?” … “Where did all that money go?” … “Could never happen to [insert name of wise & learned person who lives free of any & all mistakes]” … So whether one …
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Law #20 – Freebird, or Both Sides of the Middle
Only 25 upon ascension to the English throne in 1558, Queen Elizabeth I was awash with the attentions of men. The king of Spain, the Earl of Sussex, the king of Sweden, the Earl of Leicester, the whole of Parliament, most of Europe’s ruling elite … all were consumed with the notion of whom she …
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No, Actually. Just Don’t
Well, lookee here. Turns out – prolly don’t need to spend that on that ‘cuz that is mostly unnecessary. Huh. What was that perfect gem of GOD advice? Don’t spend. On p.314 (no pi for you – heh) Mr. Edelman explains that virtually all expenses are optional. Huh. Well, lookee there. $100 lawn service? Optional. …
The Joneses is Too Broke, Too
One reason debt plays such a huge role in consumerist society is comparison … the thief of joy. Newer car, bigger house, pricier clothes … when in reality, none but the wealthiest 10-percent of households can really afford to live. Enter: credit(debt) cards, personal loans, and bankruptcies on 7-year cycle. Rinse, repeat. In life pre-theKid, …
Law #19 – Know You Not Who I Am!?!?
In the beginning of the book Crazy Rich Asians, there is a scene where the hotel front desk clerk hilariously assumes that, based on their appearance, the guests seeking shelter are not worthy of the establishment. Shortly thereafter, the guests purchase the entire hotel, and the clerk is out of a job. In the quest …
“Unexpected” = Question of Timing
Told theKid about an epoch ago that everything / absolutely everything / manmade will eventually fail, so wiser to avoid placing one’s faith in/on material things. Like all wisdom, got from GOD … {Matthew 6:19} Modern life encourages (requires?) consumers to consume the consumption of which that does not last … cars, refrigerators, hot water …
Debt is in the Cards
So kinda right, just going about it all wrong. Sounds/seems familiar. Funnily enough, Mr. Edelman suggests (strongly) that the solution to getting out of debt is … more debt. HA! Love being right. Still hurts, tho’. So the suggestion is to get one more credit(debt) card and place all expenses to it, pay it off …
Purposefully Purposed
The tedious of tedium, but doing the right thing is seldom as enjoyable as doing the wrong, neé debt life. After a month of spending track, the illustrious Mr. Edelman suggests converting those dollar amounts to percentages to determine the percentage of total spending occurred in each category (i.e., each column’s dollar total divided by …
There Can Be Only Five
Been a bit of a while. Time to circle back … The wise Mr. Edelman enumerates several categories of expenses to track spending (spending PLAN, remember? … spending PLAN …) [see p.303] Just a few examples. Notably absent, however, are housing costs. And while upon first glance may seem helpful but gets a bit down …