DISQUS

You could not be more correct, Steve, about the value of writing. I'm a teacher, and yesterday the mother of a very smart young girl came to have a conference. Her daughter does well in math, she scores at the highest level on both ability and achievement tests, but she doesn't write at all well. Her mother asked me what to do. What programs, what books, what lessons would help her daughter write? My only answer was....she needs to write. Write in a journal, write letters, get a pen pal, write a play for her neighborhood playmates, write a story about her summer adventures, keep a diary. The only way to learn to write is to write--continually, daily, exhaustively. I write long emails morning and evening to my aged mother (and, believe it or not, she writes back!), I write a page a day in my journal/diary, I keep up a fairly voluminous correspondence with distant friends. I don't do this for any particular reason, but if I ever stopped, I don't think I would ever start again, so yes, write, write, write. Make yourself do it, and before you know it, you will feel incomplete if you don't do it!

I'm sorry, but I have to take strong issue with this. My husband and I have had credit cards for over 30 years, and we have NEVER carried a balance. We were "charter" Discover card members and have gotten cash back on that for many, many years. We got a VISA card when we didn't even know what VISA cards were, but we figured out very quickly how to "float" payments to our advantage, while fully paying off our balance every month. My Marriott Visa gives me points toward hotel stays. We fully fund our retirement, we have much more than adequate savings, a substantial portfolio of stocks (well, we did before last year!!!!), we have pensions, we own two homes, etc. etc. And no, we have never--NEVER-- carried a balance, NEVER. And we don't overspend. We are parsimonious people. Just because it's an all-you-can-eat buffet doesn't mean you have to gorge yourself. Just because buying power is available, it doesn't mean you have to spend. This is what is wrong with America. YOU are responsible for what you do. The world has always been full of temptation, but it's up to YOU to resist temptation. Sorry, your "pimping" accusation is groundless. BripBlap is stating the facts: If you have self-control, you can make a little money with credit cards--not lots, but a little. Why not? Have some discipline! What you do is up to you and not to anybody else on earth. Stop blaming other people! And by the way, I'm 60 years old, and I've been resisting the temptation to spend all my life. Now I'm reaping the benefits--and with credit cards!

I don't exactly enjoy reading reviews instead of your excellent writing, but on the other hand, we've been thinking of buying a new printer and we, too, desperately want a scanner that doesn't take forever. My husband is trying to scan many years' worth of documents, and your assertion that the scanner works so well on this machine makes me think that maybe we'll take the leap and buy one. I can spend hours and hours researching, and still can't make up my mind, so this review helps. Thanks! As for future reviews, maybe one a month, but no more than that I would think. It was a good review, and was actually helpful, but post one of your excellent blog entries tomorrow, please!

I think I disagree that people have a "wealth gene" or not, and that having that "gene" correlates, either positively or negatively, with intelligence. Perhaps it is the case that intelligent people, who can imagine various outcomes, know that choices must be made in life, that those choices have ramifications, and that choosing usefulness, meaning, love and/or stability often trumps choosing money. There are certainly smart people who have pursued wealth, but I think most intelligent people pursue a life that enables them to pursue their intellectual curiosities and strengths. Sometimes that results in wealth, but probably not all that often. A professor, for instance, can spend his life studying medieval English literature. Such a lifestyle doesn't result in wealth, but it results in a life with a rich interior life. A teacher may have a desire to share her love of a foreign language with high school students. She may not make lots of money, but she has satisfaction and stability. Their worries about the future are not necessarily naive because they know that they may face financial stress, but they do not feel, even if they lose their jobs, that the time they spent in those jobs was in vain. I think, when we get to the end of our life, that we need to be able to look back and say that we did something useful, worthwhile, helpful. If you are pursuing that course throughout life, it helps you stop worrying about the future, don't you think?

Curmudgeon: I had to chuckle when I read your comment. My grandfather (born in 1890, so he's been gone a long time) used to get so aggravated with people when they wouldn't make a decision. "Do something, even if it's wrong, just DO something!" How many times did I hear him say that! Will Rogers also had the same kind of advice: "Even if you are on the right track, you will get run over if you just sit there." It's hard advice to take for a dithery soul such as I, but I try to keep moving toward some goal--even if it's wrong!

I hardly ever look at the particulars of a bill. My husband does, but I almost never do. I would have paid the bill as presented, never known that I wasn't charged, and gone on my merry way. So I would have done the same as Steve, but perhaps unconsciously, unknowingly. I consider myself to be an ethical person, sometimes to a fault, but I wouldn't have mentioned this even if I had noticed it. Conversely, if I had been overcharged a small amount, I probably wouldn't have mentioned it either. My time and patience are worth more than a couple of dollars.

George : Having read Steve's blog almost from the beginning, I think I can say with some degree of certainty that he (a) knows Russian history (b) isn't defending communism or any of its methods (c) is a capitalist (although not a right-wing total free market kind of capitalist) and (d) was making a very particular statement about one experience, not a general statement about millions of experiences.
More to the point, from my perspective, I think it's true that even when things are going badly for people, they will cling to the familiar, regret the loss of the familiar, and fear a different life, no matter how much better it may be. Lord Byron, in his poem, "The Prisoner of Chillon," perhaps said it best:
My very chains and I grew friends,
So much a long communion tends
To make us what we are:-even I
Regain'd my freedom with a sigh.

My father quoted this to me frequently until he died. He was the kind of guy who left home early, saw many horrible things as a young man during the Depression and for six years as an infantryman from 1939 to 1945. Some of the horrible things were epic (a concentration camp) and some were petty (seeing a friend brutally beaten just so someone could get that guy's last few dollars). Human beings, either alone or en masse, can be wonderful, or they can be unspeakably cruel. And that's all Steve was saying, that one family at one point in time, didn't have it all that bad, at least compared to those around them. That's all he said. Really, Steve's one of the good guys!

What, no solstice bonfire??? We were lucky enough to be at our "country home" (i.e. the house we can't sell in a small town in another state) on December 21 and greatly enjoyed being able to have our fire to welcome the winter. Guess you can't do that in your urban area though; still, it's a fine holiday, too! As you say, any excuse to party is a good enough excuse for me. Enjoy it all!

You are definitely correct about paying down your mortgage. Obviously we all need cash to guard against the exigencies you named, but if you are looking for a way to get a return on your money, paying off your mortgage (or other debt), at least guarantees a positive return. But what a world! Who would ever have thought it would come to this?

I understand your problems with Detroit, but I really wonder if, in the long run, it's best to let two of the big three auto companies fail. (Ford, presumably, thinks it has enough resources to weather the storm.) There are an awful lot of subsidiary industries and, if all those fail, it will be quite catastrophic. I'm not saying you are wrong, but I don't think it's all that black and white. Oh, and by the way, congratulations on the MSN mention!

There are several fascinating books by a guy named Richard Florida about the new/future creative class, and about how certain cities seem to be welcoming and attracting this new creative class. This sounds like what you are getting at.

Congratulations, Steve! It's sort of weird to congratulate someone on losing a job, but "necessity is the mother of invention," so maybe this necessity will provide the impetus to reinvent yourself and your life! Have at it! (But first enjoy some turkey....)

Good luck with your "Gordian Knot" of a problem. Just the way Alexander the Great solved his problem by slicing the knot and going on to conquer the known world, maybe you will sever the knot of your problems with a bold stroke, and go on to establish you and your family in a new job, a new place, and a new life
And as for the Onion piece, like Writer's Coin, I wouldn't have thought anything could be that awful if I hadn't seen it. Not that I read the Onion that much, but I did occasionally, and now I won't. Whoever let that get into circulation is not a nice person.

Curmudgeon: I live in the D.C. area, and all the news is that new government jobs are on the way. On a different note, my parents both lived through the depression, and they always told me that the people who kept jobs and did well (comparatively speaking) were the public school teachers. So, I'm a public school teacher, and while I'm not rich, I've had good benefits, steady employment with dependable cost of living raises, and a defined benefits retirement promise. I've never worried about money, which leaves me free to worry about lots of other things!!!

I'm a lot older than most of you, and I've always worked for a public entity (a state government as a teacher). I have fabulous health care and pay a minimal amount for it, I have a pension for life to look forward to, and I have paid-for life insurance. Do I make a huge salary? No, but it's not all that bad. More of you should consider public service!

I will echo plonkee's comments. I think you still haven't quite decided what you want to be when you grow up! That's a problem lots of smart people have, so it's not entirely a bad thing. Have you considered teaching (I'm always trying to recruit people to my teaching profession!)? It may not pay a lot, but the schedule is pretty good, the benefits are usually quite good, and there's the hope of a pension in the future, plus you actually feel like you are doing a little good in the world! But whatever you wind up doing, I hope you can enjoy a bit of a vacation during December and have a good holiday season.

It's too bad that Public Radio doesn't make the unedited complete interview available on the website. I bet all of you had many more interesting things to say. But nice job--I enjoyed it!

When you find a person who loves his/her job, it generally is the case that the job doesn't pay all that well. There are a lot of low-paying jobs that are miserable, of course. Conversely, jobs that pay well are often quite awful, though there are certainly high-paying, highly satisfying jobs. But G416 is right in that people are willing to put up with low pay if they feel that a job is satisfying, or provides the possibility of making a real difference. As a teacher, I am often tired beyond words and feel oppressed by rules and administrators, but there have also been peak moments that will be with me forever. There is the ongoing satisfaction of feeling that I am a small but positive force for good. I feel that what I do helps some children, sometimes, in some small way, and that makes the lack of a high salary tolerable. Bubelah described a similar experience that was satisfying, but probably didn't pay incredibly well.

So, to be happy at work, do you have to be willing to tolerate a small salary? Other than entrepreneurs, are there really very many high-salaried professionals? It's quite the conundrum, isn't it?

This whole financial situation really bothers me deeply, not so much for me (I'm too old to worry much about my future!!!), but I'm very worried for my grown children's sake and for my grandchildren's sake. What will their future be here in the U.S. at the rate we are messing up the economy, the environment, and our standing in the world? I really don't know, which for an opinionated person like myself is quite disturbing. Anyway, to support Steve's assertions about overseas investing, but with a caveat, here's an interesting article:
http://money.cnn.com/2008/07/11/magazines/fortu...

This is a wonderful post, Curmudgeon, and I hope it will generate some interesting debate. There are so many points I'd like to address, but in the interest of staying on topic, let me comment on two.

Your implication throughout the post is that, with time and maturity, we refine our approach not only to the more mundane facets of life (how to get a new car because the old one is falling apart) but to the whole of our being (how to be remembered). If, for instance, we have not learned a little patience and self-denial throughout the years, we are more likely to get a loan for the car (Hey, it was a low interest rate!!) rather than we are to start a dedicated savings account with a definite plan to save enough to buy that new car one year from now. Conversely, making that plan and sticking to it engenders even more positive character traits: perseverance, self-discipline, and the ability to delay gratification. As you so aptly point out, the building of character and a prudent financial life are inextricably intertwined.

While I understand your hesitancy to have lists determine your life, I will agree with Steve that, at least for some people, writing down goals is a powerful mental stimulus. Many years ago, while I was in my mid-30s, I faced a large lifestyle decision. I made a chart with the various decisions that needed to be made, the possible options for each decision, and the putative consequences of each course of action. As the decision-making process unfolded, I was able to cross off options that had not been taken, and I refined the future options and consequences. This was an important way for me to keep myself on track and for me to visualize, when I was away from that chart, what I might do (for instance in an interview, I was able to remember that if I accepted a position in a certain place, it would affect my budget in ways associated with a longer commute). That chart was very helpful in that specific situation, but once a course of action was determined, its usefulness ceased. At the same time I made that chart, however, I made another list which I recently found while cleaning out some old files when my husband and I moved. That list was relevant then and relevant today, and it supports your advice to try different personae until we find the one that best expresses our character. That list was "How I Will Make Decisions." In that list, I ranked the criteria, the "filters," which I would use to make every decision. Before I made any decision, I would filter the consequences through those criteria in descending order. Those criteria were already part of my character at that relatively young age, but they weren't deeply enough ingrained apparently to make me confident that I would always remember them in stressful situations, hence the list (which I remember reading every night before I went to sleep during those particularly uncertain months of my life).

So, are lists of goals helpful? Yes, they can be, especially for certain personality types. Should they define your every move? Of course not. But, in my husband's favorite dictum, you need "a goal, a plan, and a timetable," or you often will end up drifting through life. The key, perhaps, is to make the goal something really worth attaining in life and, as a corollary, before you ever make a goal, a plan, and a timetable, know yourself and what matters to you. Know how you will decide what to do, and then the rest is just a matter of working through the details.

My children are now in their late 30s, so I raised my children in that far distant era to which Guiness416 alludes. I think the biggest difference is the expectation these days that parents expect to share parenting and home duties. In MY DAY, fathers left for work and came home from work. Their duty was to make the money and do the manly chores. Mothers took care of the children and the house. Period. Fathers didn't. If a child woke in the night, mother took care of the child. Pediatrician appointments? Mother took the children. Dinners and laundry? I wouldn't have let my husband touch the clothes or into my kitchen!

I truly don't know which is the better model--there's something to be said for both of them--but you have to live in your own time, and these times would look askance at the parenting/marriage styles of the late 60's and early 70's. (But there's something to be said for the efficient division of labor!!)

I'm going to have to agree with several recent comments about the new-age attraction stuff. As Thomas Edison so famously said, "Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration." And while I'm being trite, there's the old saying that "If wishes were horses, then beggars would ride." While there may be a bit of luck involved in success, mostly success means getting a good idea and then working really hard to make it happen. Being grateful for what you have is wonderful and admirable. You should be grateful everyday, but actions are what make consequences. You have to get out there and work. And sometimes, no matter how hard we work, things don't turn out the way we want. That's part of life and, as Edison would have told us, our failures teach us more than our successes.

So, multumesc means "thank you" in Romanian and tuicas is "plum brandy." Thank you, Google! I sense the angst in your writing today (no, angst was yesterday, wasn't it?) and would like to urge you to take a deep breath and look around at what you have. Sure, we'd all like to have that fabulous job that we'd do even if we didn't get paid, and we'd all like to have the time and means to travel. I hope you get it, but not everyone does--not even close to everyone. But from reading your blog, it certainly sounds like you have a lot and, not to sound too Pollyanna-ish, it's good to think about the things you have instead of the things you don't. But I think you know that already.

Thanks for the reminders, BB. People might also remember that lists such as this not only help the environment, but they generally are suggestions which improve your health and/or save you money. As for the light bulb issue, we changed over 100% to CFL bulbs two years ago and have lived to tell about it! Please don't say that you don't like the quality of the light or how long it takes the bulb to illuminate. Do you really think that's more important than the future of the planet for your children and grandchildren???

In a somewhat related vein, my husband and I, who never did anything entrepreneurial or outside the usual 9 to 5, did plan ahead in this respect: he retired from a public sector job (university teaching) with 30 years of service, so he's already getting a nice income stream. At 62, we will both start drawing Social Security. At 60, I will start drawing a retirement income from a public sector job (public school teaching) with 15 years of service. Right now I'm getting ready to start my 4th year on another public sector job in another state and (again, teaching) plan to work a few more years at that (I'm vested after 5 years). I have a 403B, we both have IRAs, and we have regular stock dividends. If I can count correctly (and at the end of a long day in an elementary school, that's not always a sure thing!!!), we will have 9 income streams. I know that working at a lower salary in the public sector isn't that glamorous, but we are looking at a pretty secure retirement. Consider teaching! Do a little good for your corner of the world, and look forward to a defined benefit retirement!