High Cost of Living? Whaddya Talkin' About? It's Just Priorities.
93.
These days, it seems everybody's talkin about 'the high cost of living'. Feelin sorry for each other. As if there's nothin we can do about it. No way we can save money.
Fact is, there's plenty we can do to cut the cost of living, if we just start thinkin more clearly. And livin our lives smarter, not just doin the same things other people think are important.
It's priorities, is what it is. Your own priorities.
I think about this a lot. But I got the idea to write about it from a couple articles I just read. One was about 'MacGyver Tricks for Everyday Living'. Remember MacGyver? Used to make stuff outta whatever was lyin around, get outta all kindsa trouble just on a hairclip and a rubber band.
My kinda hero.
The other one was recipes about 'Mixing Chocolate and Savoury' to get groovy new flavours you never thought of.
The first one made me go, Yeah!
The second one made me go, WTF?
TBH, I’m lyin, I only read the headline of the second one. Some things I don’t need to know.
But anyway, who gives a shit about that, I’m wastin your time here already, and I wanna get through to you, so back to the point.
Between the two of them they got me thinkin is all, about how, instead of just makin do with what we got like MacGyver, we complicate the crap outta stuff, fret about not bein able to afford the ‘necessities of life in the 21st century’, and ‘the high cost of living’.
But we still waste money on things we ’want’ - instead of just buyin what we need.
That's gotta be your top priority. Figure out the difference between 'want' and 'need'. In your life, your circumstances.
Don't buy stuff just because everyone else is.
The High Cost of Living’s not a new invention.
“The basic principle is to keep putting prices up, so that you have to earn more money, to end up paying higher taxes from working harder, in order to buy things you can’t afford, with money you haven’t got”. Al Read, 1962
Example. What’s with this ‘must have’ attitude to every new invention that comes along? Lemme tell you, folks, necessity ain’t necessarily always the mother of invention. A lotta shit only gets ‘invented’ so fat cat corporations can keep makin a mozza outta the huge margin between what they pay dumb third-worlders to make the stuff, and charge us dumb first-worlders to ‘be the first to own it’. WTF? (I ask myself that a lot).
Don’t your regular Walmart / Kmart / Discount Mart sneakers keep your feet off the ground just as good as the latest Adidas or Nike ‘WhateverTFs’? Don’t you sometimes wonder what life would be like if you still had the free use of both hands? Didn’t have to lug round some Apple ‘i-whatever’, everywhere you go, just because the heirs to the Steve Jobs Fruit Empire tell you to?
Me, ‘i-just don’t give a shit’.
And, BTW, with what I don’t waste on shit I don’t need like that, I don't need to save money on toilet paper. I can live it up with better quality. Which I do like.
It’s priorities, is what it is.
Here’s a wake-up call for you. Don’t buy what you don’t need. Don't spend what you haven't got. Don’t get sold shit just because you figure your kids’ll grow up damaged if you don’t go broke keepin up with the Joneses. WhoTF are the Joneses to judge you anyway? Matter of fact, whereTF are the Joneses? Do you even know anybody called Jones?
Cashflow, Leakage, and why they matter.
Leakage? I hear you sayin, WTF? But stay with me, OK?
First off, cashflow.That's easy. Don't buy anythin you don't have money on hand, or comin in to cover. Money in, money out. The right amounts, at the right time. That's cashflow. Get it wrong, and you lose early-payment discounts, or you're up for late payment penalties, dishonour fees and such. That's just money down the drain.
Now leakage, sounds similar, but isn't. One of the dumbest way to waste dough on stuff you don't need is to not notice when you're spendin it. Say you got your wallet just cashed up for your 'carryin money' for the week. By the end of the week it's gone, but you got nothin to show for it. Buyin lunch instead of makin it (or in my case, havin the old lady make it..), grabbin a soda when a glass of tap water would do the job, maybe droppin a few bucks on a 'lucky' (yeah, right) lottery ticket, grabbin a few of those 'last-chance' edibles they have by the till at the gas station (if you can't resist, you're the idiot customer they put that crap there for), stuff like that eats up cash faster than you can say, whereTF did that twenty bucks go?
That's leakage. And, BTW, leakin just twenty bucks a week outta your wallet, adds up to a grand by the end of a year. Might as well just go to the toilet and flush the cash down. Same result, just cuttin out the middle man.
Here's a flash for you. What if you put twenty bucks a week into a piggy bank on the top shelf of your closet instead? Comes Christmas, give the old lady a thousand bucks you didn't notice yourself not spendin, to cover extra meat for the barbecue (priorities remember), extra expenses, gifts, maybe treat the family to somethin nice for the Christmas table. Don't need to be takin photos of it, just eat and enjoy. (Photos? WTF? I hear you ask. Keep readin, comes up in a little while. More shit you don't need to be wastin money on).
BTW, financial planners and smart money people call that stuff personal budgeting, or family budgeting. I call it common sense. We all got plenty of that. Just be sure and use it.
Anyway WGAS, like I been sayin, it's priorities, is what it is.
We all only need certain things to live.
WGAS (who gives a shit) whether they got expensive brand names on em?
Wanna drink of water? Turn on a tap. Ever notice that Evian spelt backwards says naive? Hold a bottle in front of the mirror if you don’t believe me. And check out Dopey who paid three bucks fifty for it while you’re there.
Food, now food’s pretty important. But it’s important to eat the right stuff. Is ‘chocolate mixed with savoury’ the right stuff? Not where I come from.
My motto? It’s all about the meat.
OK, I know where your mind's gone, and you’re right. Sex is important too, but that’s not what we’re talkin about here. Not the right place. Not the right time. (Come to think of it, that’s what my old lady always says on the subject). Anyway, concentrate, please, I’m tryin to give you good advice here. How to get by on FA (you can work that one out yourself) and still have an OK life.
Back to food. Eatin’s really just about stayin alive. I get home from work, my old lady’s tired, I fire up the barbecue. Which, where I come from, BTW, is an appliance, or a way to cook (meat), not a freakin event. Did you ever get invited to “Come on over to my place tonight, we’re havin a stove”? WTF?
Anyway, WGAS, I’m firin up the barbecue, cold Bud in hand, the kids come out with a slab of somethin red and bloody that used to be breathin, and we’re good to go. I like to say, “Got Meat? Got Heat? Let’s Eat!” No freakin chocolate meltin on my grill.
But, BTW, with the money we save not buyin expensive gourmet cuts we don’t need, we can have chocolate for dessert two, maybe three times a week. Chocolate ice-cream, if we wanna really live it up. (I can hear those ‘must-try-this-recipe’ foodies sayin, "WTF? Ice-cream? Has he never heard of chocolate souffle?").
Know what? WGAS.
Course, the old lady insists the kids eat their veggies, y'know, potatoes and beans and cabbage and salad and stuff. Not like it’s hard (‘foodie’ alert) to prepare. They got all that shit in the supermarket, pre-made salad even comes in sealed meal-size bags. Lotsa varieties, cheap as chips. Pair of scissors and a bowl, throw in a couple tomatoes, maybe some cheese (regular block cheese you just cut into cubes, who needs those fancy soundin ones you gotta pay way more for at the deli counter?). Squirt of olive oil from the bulk jar you don't pay much more for than those dinky little bottles, and lasts five times longer. Job done. Salt and pepper to taste on the table. My old lady can knock one of those up in between bringin me cold Buds while I'm barbecuin the meat somewhere between well-done and carcinogenic.
Yet, people spend hours cuttin up all kindsa exotic (expensive) stuff, an mixin 'dressings' to make their own salads. Then they sit around the table lookin at it, and smellin it, and talkin about ‘how well the flavours combine’. WTF? Way I grew up, if you didn’t grab your share of whatever was on the table PDQ, you didn’t eat. Once your mouth was full, you couldn’t talk anyway. Less you wanted a clip round the ear from the old man. "Sit up. Shut up. Eat up." House rules at our place.
Anyway, WGAS. But, while I’m at it, ever been somewhere where the hostess gets her old man to take a picture of the table with all the food on it? I was at a place once, the woman said she ‘so loved’ all the food everybody’d brought, the way it all ‘harmonised’, she wanted a video of the spread (I’m not makin this shit up), to keep as ‘an homage’ to them all. WTF? Seriously, whoTF pronounces homage, ‘omarjh’ anyway? And a video? Honey, the food ain't dancin! I was thinkin, next thing she'll be tellin it to say ‘cheese’. And wonderin, if she did, what word would the cheese say?
BTW, that reminds me, if you got the smarts to shop where shit don't cost more just on account of the 'decor', own it, don't do dumb things tryin to disguise it. Just the other day, my old lady told me she was talkin to some other mother at the mall, noticed somethin nice she was wearin, asked her where she got it. This woman says (I ain't makin this up, swear to God), 'tarjhay'. WTF? Homage is 'omarjh', Target is 'tarjhay'? Gimme a break here.
WGAS what the smart money’s sayin?
Whoever said, "money talks" musta been SUI (speakin under the influence). Here’s a reality check for you. Go into a bank vault late at night, you won't find dollar bills sittin around discussin the state of the economy.
Money's not smart. Not dumb either. Money just ‘is’. Or ‘isn’t’. Whether your ‘available funds’ (more financial mumbo jumbo) are on the ‘is’ or the ‘isn’t’ side of the ledger has a lot to do with how smart you need to be in spendin it. Or, more to the point, not spendin it. (Like I said upfront, don't spend what you haven't got). But it’s you that needs to be smart, the money just goes where it’s told.
Way things are headed, more and more people are likely to be lookin at payin less for a lotta things they used to be OK about gettin gouged on just for the famous name. I saw on TV, a guy sayin, that’s “the emerging trend for the smart money”. (Somebody give this guy the news: The dumb money's been onto that for years already.)
Anyway, like I keep sayin, WGAS.
Back to food. Food is fairly freakin fundamental. We all gotta eat. You just gotta think of the cycle of life: You don’t eat, you don’t fart. You don’t fart, you don’t shit. You don’t shit, you die. Too easy.
Now, what else? Other prorities you need to call.
Oh yeah, transportation, now that’s a biggie in the ‘need certain things’ stakes. But I ask you, do you really have to have a huge freakin SUV that blocks out the sun, sucks up your share and mine every time you hit the gas station, and scares the crap outta kids and animals and anything else she can't see every time your old lady tries to park the mother? Can’t you remember where you went last time, or read a map(!), instead of drivin along behind your security-blacked windows with one eye on the SatNav and the other one watchin your thumbs textin somethin you don’t need to say to someone who doesn’t need to read it, instead of watchin the freakin road!?
Don’t get me wrong. I know you gotta have a vehicle. Can’t go far on foot. My old lady’s always at me to walk, buy a bike. WTF? Exercise like that helped you live longer, the postman would be immortal. Anyway, WGAS, I get by just fine in my ‘99 pick-up. Auto-trans. No air-con. One hand on the wheel, one arm on the windowsill. Black shades on my face, not the freakin windows. Too cool. No SatNav. Only got to go to and from the plant. Kids go to school by bus, me and the old lady can both fit in the truck cab if we wanna go out at night, take in a movie.
But, BTW, with the money I save on not payin to run an SUV that only makes the Joneses feel like they’re livin in the right neighbourhood, I got a big-screen plasma TV – jeez, I’d never suggest you could get by without one of those, FFS (betcha know that one already) – so we don’t waste money on movies anymore either. Old lady gets to see all kindsa re-runs and 'cultural' crap on cable. When I’m not watchin sports.
Priorities, is what it is.
Anyway, WGAS, better wind it up, I know time's short if you're one of those busy, busy, people spendin every spare moment bustin your ass day and night tryin to make some extra dough to buy all that 'must have' stuff supposed to give you a better life. But I got a question for you.
What are the chances you’d already be havin a better life, right now, if you just made the best of what you got, stopped wantin new stuff just because it’s there, and only bought what you really need?
Priorities, people, that's what it is.
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Update: Australian Report proves I'm not makin this shit up!
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A new Australian press report headed, We cry poor but still spend, says, "At a time when Australians are crying poor and expressing outrage at the cost of living, the latest AMP income and wealth report says Aussies are better off now than ever. The report, Prices These Days - The Cost of Living in Australia, reveals incomes have outpaced the cost of living by about 20 per cent since 1984". An AMP spokesman said , "It's not basic needs eating larger chunks out of our budgets, but rather the desire to 'keep up with the Joneses'. If people want to reduce debt, save and create wealth for the future, they need to reassess their spending."
Prorities, people, like I've been sayin!
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©Copyright writeronline. All rights reserved.
This'll make you feel good about bein happy with what you got.
John Conlee's "Domestic Life" reached Number 4 on the Billboard Country chart in 1987. The same things still apply today. (Not to mention, it's a great song to take us out..)
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WOL, Loved it, loved it, loved it! Shared this bad boy with my so called 'friends' on Facebook, not that they'll GAS. Voted up n what not.
WOL, first I'm crushed to learn I'm not you only HubGirl, guess a HubGuy goes on the list of things I didn't really need after all! If it weren't for all the Wtf's here, I'd let my 12 years old who wants to "be seen" at the neighborhood Starbucks with his I-pad in his new Abercrombie jacket. Meanwhile his mom's trying to eke out one more day of her pantyhose by patching the run with clear nail polish, go figure. Hope lots more people get to read before it gets taken down, excellent rant, WOL!
A 'funny' from the HP master of funny. Know what? That was my priority..
On the other hand, if it hadn't ranked with you, I woulda just had to say WGAS.
Hi Jools, thanks for loving it! And for sharing it. So rewarding to write something and have someone GAS.
DIY, DIY, don't leave me! I always wanna be your HubGuy; just I figured we could 'see other people', you know, like sophisticated onliners do? If you were to go I wouldn't be able to say WGAS. Because I-doGAS.
Know what you mean about your 12yr old. My *8* year old granddaugher won an i-Pad. I think it's become grafted to her hand...
Do you really think this will get taken down? When AR gets *awarded* for his shit? WTF?
Well, I figure since we didn't make it on the list of the top 100 hubbers of 2011, we must not be worthy, so maybe it could fall under the radar. I'll keep my fingers crossed!
And just so you know, you'll always be my HubGuy, because I also GAS. :)
Well I don't know whether to be flattered or pissed at you wol, as the hub arena as a whole has me raging at the moment, so to each their own. I get what the idea is for your "rant" as it is a true and valid point of view for sure.
What is WGAS? Sorry, can't think of what it means.
You carry the courage to write what ales you I give you that, though if I did this I fear my banned account almost immediately. Would that bother me, at this very moment not one fucking bit. Censorship, one giving opinion yet can't handle another's, the ass rubbing to get a good repertoire, all of it just blows me away. I liked the idea of freedom of speech, the animosity of "ghost writing" yet I still see the later humming here.
I would hope this could sustain value of a sense of humor to not be flagged though we shall see...
Again I am not sure how to perceive my name here, so enlighten me a bit...
LOL!
You know....I've no idea where you are, but I had to explain what was going on to someone the other day so that they'd understand.
In places like Australia and some others, I'm sure "Barbecue" is what they call the out door grill thing, regardless of whether it's gas burning, wood burning, or what.
In the Southern US - a grill is just a grill, and the one's that you do out doors are always called grills, but "Barbecue" is either a style of food, or the sauce!
Someone please end my misery if I'm ever caught buying water in a bottle.
Well....wait a moment, I've been to Mexico and made that very famous mistake....so there's exceptions to that.
Voted up too. I have to do that more often. Costs nothing and makes me feel better.
Speaking of priorities - neighbor here said she could not buy Girl Scout cookies be/c she is too broke these days. A call to her house later, and her daughter answered the phone and said, "Mommy isn't here, she's at the salon getting a facial." America, the land where broke people get salon facials.
I totally agree. With my financial difficulties, I have to prioritize. Entertainment is fun, but not necessary, for example. I can live without television. I cannot live without food. And though I would love to have variety in my food and eat my favourite foods, all that is necessary is that I eat to survive. I may *want* to eat restaurant food. I *need* any food in general. It is not required that I enjoy the taste.
We are not worthy. Hold that thought, DIY. If you keep your expectations low, you can avoid a lot of disappointment in life.
BTW, I never expected to be in the Top 100, but I'd have put money on you being there.
jenubouka, jen, my online friend!! How could I have upset you so? Only by mistake. If you have to choose, please be flattered. That was my intent.
As to your other points about HP double standards, and the sense of 'not being in the club', I agree with you, and could go on and on. (Have in fact, often..)
But you know what I've decided about all that, jen?
WGAS.
(No need to look that up in your Funk&Wagnall, just check a couple paras below the pic of the Charmin up above)
Keep smilin, jen, what else you gonna do?
Wesman, hi, love to see those LOLs. Thanks for the heads-up about 'barbecue'. I put an extra couple of words in to straighten that out. Water in a bottle's probably OK if you think the tap stuff might be er, 'unfiltered'.
Grace, hi, thanks for the up. I like your reasoning too.
Girl Scout Cookies plays Salon facial? Priorities, Grace. You got yours. Your neighbour's got hers..:)
heheheh
In Mexico, there is something (I'm just going to guess here that you're not living in the USA) that we call Montezuma's revenge.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traveler's_diarrhea
Oops! The Wiki title gave it away!
Well, suffice it to say that a lot of Mexican Americans just don't get that when they travel to Mexico and drink the water.....but plain old "white boy" here, WHEW!
I spent an evening either ON the toilet, or speaking into the toilet....for getting relaxed and forgetting the time honoured last thing someone will say to someone heading off to Mexico...."don't drink the water!"
I'm not sure whether filtering it will help or not. I think it's bugs in the water that you are either used to, or not....but what do I know? I only know that I wished I'd not forgot!
FBR; "I can live without television"
WTF?
What are ya? Some kinda masochist? Whatcha gonna look at while you're eatin your can of beans? Your freakin cat?
:)
PS: "It is not required that I enjoy the taste".
Read jenubouka's hubs on how to turn cheap cuts into tender tasty delights. Give Amy a reason to live at least..
PPS: Didja notice I linked your 'designer fashion's a rip off' hub? Same deal as this little rant of mine.
Hey Wesman, thanks for that!
I was in LA many years ago on business and on the final day the guy I had been working with took me for breakfast before running me to LAX. Went to his favourite Mexican(!), where dumbass me chose, even tho he warned me (!!) the house specialty, a dish called Montezuma's Revenge(!!!).
I didn't even make it to the plane before Montezuma wanted out. Looking back, I should've realised "Running to LAX" sounded somehow portentous.
Don't ask about the plane ride, 14hrs to New Zealand..
LOL.
Up, Awesome, Useful, Interesting, Funny.
And Goodnight, from me.
Thanks A+A! Gotta love those double A ratings.
"And it's goodnight from him"..Always loved those Two Ronnies dudes. See em still on cable, y'know, 3am, when there's no sport on.
WOl - thanks for the link. I did indeed notice. As for entertainment, I spent the night watching To Have and Have not and then Ocean's Eleven on PBS. :) I think I could live without TV easily if it were not for Turner classic movies and PBS. Those channels I love and do need. But other channels have things like The Jersy Shore on. That is indeed a waste of money. I do not call that entertainment. On now at 12am on PBS? Victor Borge. I love him.
I find myself not bothering about any fancy cooking when I am by myself. I like Mom to come over for meals on a regular basis so that I feel like making a complex meal.
I'm talking about the Frank Sinatra version of O.E, by the way, not the George Clooney film
Hi FBR, it never crossed my mind that you'd be talking about anything other than the original OE.:)
Victor Borge was a genius. He did a monologue once called 'Inflationary Language' (dunno if you know it?). I remember a few lines where a guy had just been spurned by his lover, so decided to run away and, "join the Air Fives"...then, "When he was one and-a-halfway through the door he turned and said 'If I cannot have you, I shall never marry. I will remain double'."
Jersy Shore? They oughta lock those idjits up,or at least segregate them.
Oh yes, I saw him live in Vancouver at the Orpheum Theatre with my family and that sketch was his encore. Classic.
Loved this rant, WOL ... I do get steamed up myself about the insane priorities some people have.
Some women feed their growing kids takeaway pizza or go down the chip 'oil (dialect: chip hole = fish and chip shop - UK takeaway eatery) every night just so's they can have their hair bleached twice a week, a new tattoo or have their nails cut off square and painted with little Union Jacks or hearts etc. at the Nail Bar!
FFS - WTF are Nail Bars???!!! Where the hell did they come from? The sooner the financial recession reduces the high street to rubble the better if it gets rid of the towering vanity of these soap watching morons. Ahem, sorry ... you got me going there.
Hi WOL.
Okay I chose flattery, and thanks for the mention of the cheat meats...
I am a foodie/chef and don't be messin with my chocolate and meat :) I am as cheap as they come, I can live off 20 bucks a week and eat like a queen, I just know how to work simple ingredients. Maybe that is the difference of knowing or wanting to cook simply yet flavorful. If I want a tortilla, I make it for less that .05 cents, but it is what I like, what I love to do.
You are as always the hit of the party with your courageous topics and bar none attitude.
Your loyal friend, MS. Macgyver.
Saw a framed photo on a coworker's desk once. It was titled "An Essay on Why I Work." Short and to the point, it read, "I like food."
Why does it take us so bloody long to learn this lesson?
Well, done. I even GAS enough to vote it up, funny, and awesome.
Hi Angie, glad you loved this. I loved 'the Chip 'oil'. Learn something new every day. Doesn't mean I understand it though, eg all that other shit you describe. I say WTF so often, my wife has taken to holding me by the shoulders and saying, "Leave it. WGAS?"
Hi Jen, welcome back, I'm sure glad you came, I was worried there for a while.
The things you say, from the cheat meats to the cheap tortillas, is really the point of this. Most of us can't afford all the things we want. So 'you got to choose'. But you also 'got to lift your game'. There'll be people living near you feeding their kids absolute crap from take-outs and fast food chains; and paying more for it, than if they took the time to compare the cost of real food, and turned on their stove from time to time.. not being 'foodies' just GivingAS.
"Hit of the party"? Thanks for the compliment, Ms McG.
Hi Mo, love that 'essay'. Also gotta love you givinAS enough to gimme a UFA.
ONYA. (That's not an anagram...)
Hanging my head in shame, I admit that after four hours of pondering, I've still not figured out what ONYA means.
(It's been a long morning of walking the dog umpteen million times in the rain.)
Sorry to put you through that, Mo!
Like I said, it's not an anagram though.
Down here downunder, everything that can be, is expressed in shortform.
Thus, the expression "Good on you", (which is used in various situations, not always in a literal sense, but synonymous with 'well done' or as an enthusiastic adjunct to 'thankyou, if someone's gone above and beyond), becomes 'Onya!'
In its full form it's more often used in a pejorative sense, say if you meet some wanker intent on impressing you with his views, after a while you say "Yeah, good on ya." (US equivalent: 'Like I could GAS').
Did that help, Mo?
Lots. :) I'll admit to wondering if the abbreviation meant that there was some sort of "adult" theme to the extended version...hehe
I can't wait to someday visit down there downunder. It's on my list.
Well, you won't need to bring any big words..:)
Good thing, because the only one I know is "enormous."
:)
Very appropriate. It's big big big place. Even Queensland, the state where I live, is genuinely 'bigger than Texas'.
TBH, Mo, when you think about it, no, really think about it, there are virtually no situations in life, regarding *size*, where 'enormous' or 'awesome' can't cover it. Just bring those two, you'll be fine.
That's a handy piece of information to have, lemme tell ya! :) Awesome is the best, I'd think, since it can cover size AND quality.
Voted up. Wholeheartedly agree. Why is it the Joneses that we try to model after instead of writeronlines?
CHA-CHING! My sentiments exactly!
WGAS about WGAS. Ha! This is really funny! :) I like your style, too. I'm typing on my refurbished laptop and just received a text on my dumbphone and enjoying some raw, non-cut-up carrot. Humph to the hype. I think name brand keep-up-with-the-joneses damages people and the planet, too. :D
I have to say... TP is definately a priority. But when it comes down to it... I actually prefer the cheap and not the name brand. Even when I by name brand I go back to the cheap. Then again... I got kids who will use a whole roll in one sitting... so why waste the money. As for bottled water... I drink it... but I bought the bottle and I fill it with tap. Unless of course I am on the road. Then, if I am really thirst, I might have to buy a knockoff of tap water, but I try to bring it along instead. Sometimes, it is just an excuse to stop.
Love your WGAS attitude. Totally funny!
Hiya Millionaire Tips, thanks for the vote. Question about the Joneses? WhoTF knows?
Love ya DIY, my HP Cha-Ching Cheerleader!
Dear writeronline:
I came by to read the Part ... I forgot which part of the story - forgive me for my depression hit me so hard I do not see the light...
anyway, I got sidetracked with the title - I wanted to do something on the Frugality since I can afford NADA - nothing
my fault - my f-g creativity, sorry,
I admired your artistic way with WTF and WGAS... really
Frankly, I do give a lot... I wish I had money to spend on anything. I got signed up on some network marketing and i am trying to pump myself up on it (maybe before quitting)...
I think there are two sides to your story - it is written masterfully
and
the subject matter is wonderful - we do not need a lot of things...
I was playing though with my old 2003 year camera and because the new programs allow you to do collages, movies, set music...
you know me - my creative tendencies - it is hard to separate myself from (tear away from) that activity and bring back to our sinful earth where i have to remind myself - get back to bloody work
I do not make a living yet.
Sorry, my comment sucks - but at least I was able to read - versus staring , oh, not even staring, I don't have the energy to check my e-mail.
Do I need all messages that arrive?
WG....
hi cclitgirl, gotta admit, I tripped over that handle couple times. Dunno why I wanna pronounce the first 'c' soft, next one hard. Try it. 'C'what I mean? Still, you gotta have an edge doncha? Tell ya what, that'd certainly make you popular places I hang out..
No, seriously, I'm glad you like my style. For reasons we don't need to go into again, I'm kinda taken with yours too. :P
barbergirl28, hi, maybe bein too literal here, but does your handle make you a 28yr old hairdresser-trained Mom, who cuts her own kids hair? Cause that's what I'm talkin about. WhyTF pay someone megabucks to 'style' your kids hair when you can get one of those DIY comb/clipper things off late night TV, cut it yourself, save shitloads?
Glad you're OK with cheap TP. Good to know. Not sure I'm with you on the water / excuse to stop thing. Is that like an excuse to stop and refill the bottle, or like a need to stop and offload what you just filled up on..?
Anyway,WGAS, huh?
Kallini, hi, from where you are at present, reading this is hardly going to make you feel better. Thanks for making the effort.
The shit you're wading through is, as you know, very familiar to me, and all I can offer is my understanding of that, and my thoughts.
As to...
"Do I need all messages that arrive?
WG...."
....you're halfway there already with your own answer. Focus on coming back up out of the dark. The sun is waiting, kallini.
For the rest, WGAS.
Be well.
Thank you, writeronline -
I think we need to go back to basics, especially at times
when we can not handle any extras or can only handle what we can.
The life we (we?) create or is created for us - is more often than not artificial.
We do not have time for what is the most important, but we have time to work for ...
Everyone sets his/her own priorities.
Cheers,
writeronline...it took me about 5 minutes to respond to what you said because I peed my pants and fell out the chair. I can barely type because I'm laughing so damned hard. You've brought tears to my eyes, damn!
Sorry about your "trip" - wasn't thinking about that at all. I was using my initials, CC, then "lit" short for literature and "girl" because I couldn't think of anything else. It was only after I created my username that I gasped and thought, well, WGAS.
OMG...I'm still laughing. Seriously.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHAHAH...hold on...hold on...HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA
"..wasn't thinking about that at all.."
Sure, 'c clit girl', we believe you. Shit, the lengths some people will go to stand out in a crowd.
Seriously tho, you gotta laugh. Most of my life has been (still is) about kicking one pile of crap after another outta the way. But we all only got roughly the same amount of time allotted, I figure life's too short *not* to laugh.
WO, have I mentioned lately how much I love you? I think the same thing every time I see cclitgirl. I'm so glad I'm not alone.
Aw, Motown. I tell ya, I'm still laughing. Thanks, for you, too. I keep feeding this HubPages addiction. Wow!
Hi Mo, if cclitgirl's true to label, not much risk of her being alone for long either. Not where I drink, anyway..
Onya!
Sheesh, HP, what's become of me?!? I used to be such a good girl! What kind of riff-raff do you people let in here?
what you dont have know, you dont need it.
I'm one of those people who likes cheap, toilet paper, too, and single sheet, not double. Lasts a lot longer cause you can fit more sheets on the roll; you don't need a lot of TP to get the job done. Plus, that "soft soft" stuff easily disintegrates, and who wants to be picking itty-bitty pieces of TP out of their AC (TMI? :-)).
This recession has definitely forced me to change my priorities about what I need and what I don't. And I'm amazed at how much I can do without. And I've stopped watching commercial tv and radio because those commercials just about drove me crazy.
Sorry it took so long for me to get to this, WO. I almost let it slipped pass me until I saw a comment in my feed about someone laughing their AO, so I knew I had to read it.
WO, writing-style Renaissance man! Rated up and across.
rasta1, there's truth in that, man.
Hi PW281, glad you could make it. Food's nearly all gone. I tried to get the lightness into the headline; certainly once you read, most people seem to get into the groove. (Speaking of which, AC??) Geez, Patrice..:)
Re, "you don't need a lot of TP to get the job done", just don't be tryin to recycle it, that's all I'm sayin. Then of course, you got your whole philosophical question about scrunchin v foldin.. No doubt about it, TP's a broad subject. Still, once you're on the throne, you're in the right place for contemplatin, huh?
On the other hand, ('slip of the pun'?) WGAS, really.
PS; Love that "WO, writing-style Renaissance man". Dunnno what it means, but I like it.
This was funny and so true. I'm glad it turned up on my live feed or I would have missed it all together. Up and sharing
mljdgulley354, hi, thanks for readin;, and rating; and sharing! Can't ask for any more. I'm glad you found it funny. No question it's true, but hey, not like it's rocket science is it? People go on about 'frugal living', and how hard it is to get by. But so many don't do the one simple thing - prioritise. WTF?
It amazes me how people don't understand when your income is depleted you need to make a choice of what you really need. Priortizing is the best way to learn to live frugally. There are too many people that don't know how to do that. A great part of my stories are about living frugally and responsibly for the very reason a lot of people today have never had to go without or respect what they have.
Well, since a Renaissance man is someone with a wide range of skills, talents, and interests, a "writing-style RM" is someone with a broad range of writing styles. At least that's what I was tryin' to say.
"a lot of people today have never had to go without or respect what they have"
Too true, mljdgulley354. There are hard lessons to learn for many. But also many commmonsense ways to help ease the pain..speaking from experience, just like you..
Hi again PW281, thanks for explainin that to me. Makes me feel real good. I been called lotsa things in my life, but a "writing style Renaissance man' has never been one of them..till now!
My handle is actually from when I was 28 years old... hence the 28... I am now older so the 28 is irrelevant. I went to school... I barbered and yes I can give all my family and friends professional type haircuts... that being - they look much better than someone who doesn't have training.. but WGAS right! LOL
hey barbergirl, thanks for explainin that. As kids, my old man used to cut our hair, (same deal as eatin at the table, he had a sayin, "Sit Up. Shut up. Sweep up.")
Only thing, he used an upside down bowl, so we all had the same 'style'. Lucky, all the other kids fathers did the same thing, so ya didn't get too many WTF's at school...well, only by the kids who had a relative like you.
Priorities are definitely important, WOL. I think I've got most of mine in the right order. I realize it's probably a lot easier doing without many things other people routinely buy when you're (1) elderly, (2) no longer married, (3) retired, (4) still have full closets,(5)almost never eat out and (6) stay home most of the time. Oh, yes...let me add one more: (7) avoid, as much as possible, buying anything imported from China. That last one means I often do without things I might buy just so I don't add to China's GNP.
Good quality toilet paper is high on my priority list, too, though I still cringe every time I see its price. However, since I may never have to buy any more clothing in this lifetime (well...maybe more tee shirts and underwear, IF I can find some not made in China), don't have cable TV and only the cheapest AARP-discounted cell phone plan, I can probably buy the good tp without guilt.
Speaking of no cable (and that may rile you), I spent 22 years of my career working for one of the largest telecommunications companies in the world (which then screwed me out of half of my pension when I retired...but that's another story).
While I was their employee, I got everything they sold on cable TV absolutely free, including all the premium channels, also digital phone service for half price and lots of other pricey perks.
Once I retired, I began catching up on my reading instead of watching TV. I even gave away all but one of my TV sets. There's no way I'd pay the prices currently charged for cable TV (and I know their prices will go up in the spring of every year with the same excuse, er, reason: higher programming fees). I still buy their digital phone service because, even at the regular price, it's cheaper than the alternatives, also their broadband Internet connection, but cable TV? No way!
I spend less than $9 per month for streaming Netflix to watch the British mystery/thriller/police procedural series (from the BBC) I enjoy, using a Roku for which I paid a one-time fee of $89. If I want to start on Season One of a series and watch one show after another (no, not all on the same day, but sometimes two or three)until I reach the finale of Season Whatever, I can do it on my own schedule. Since I hadn't watched American TV in a while, I even discovered a couple of really good series that were new to me (several seasons' worth), and have been enjoying them, too. I can choose to watch movies if I prefer or pick something off hulu.com (the FREE version) instead of Netflix.
When you cook at home instead of eating out in restaurants, you can save a boatload of money. Now that I'm not spending 60 hours a week working for a company that was planning to screw me out of half my pension, I'm not too tired to cook meals from scratch. Or eat a piece of fruit if I'm not hungry enough to heat up the stove. Priorities.
Sorry I got on my soapbox and turned this comment into a long rant, but you know me--I am opinionated. Besides, you're the one who wound me up....
Did I say it's a great hub? Voted UP, USEFUL, FUNNY and INTERESTING.
JAYE
Jaye, hi, nice to have your thoughts on this. As you/we get older, it becomes an increasing challenge to balance rising costs against a static or diminishing income, but like you, I can live with the adjustments (so far...). As you say, once you reach that retired status, much of what was essential kinda becomes less important anyway. Keep on being OK with what you've got, Jaye, it's a healthy attitude. And thanks again for commenting.
Sage advice delivered with humor and wit. Voted up across the board. I really enjoyed this.
Long before the current economical tough times I reached the conclusions stated in this hub and have tried to live by them.
HBN, hi, thanks for the compliment. And the ratings! I'm glad you enjoyed it. I'm sure a lot of us, er older, (would you prefer 'boomer'..?)folks have figured this all out. But I'm genuinely amazed at some of the dumbness posing as disadvantage we see all around us. As someone smarter than me once said, "ain't like it's rocket science."
You mean: Making stuff from *sigh* 'scratch'? Like grow food and stuff? You mean the food in the grocery store didn't arrive via 'food fairies' magically? LOL Great hub, great advice. Now to follow the advice.........well.
WOL ~ Nice suggestions. I see by your blue photo, you conked out all blue in front of your computer. Take a nap. Blessings, Debby
Hi Bobbi, thanks for dropping by, and commenting. My favourite is going thru the checkout and the girl (or guy..) holds up a lettuce, or a cabbage or broccoli or whatever and says "What kind of vegetable is this?"
Hi Debby, thanks for your good wishes.. ridiculously, that pic is true to form. I tend to live at my computer, and get up to eat or sleep. Equally ridiculously, (as my wife often observes)I do it in a misguided attempt to make a few bucks. WTF?
Hey just stopped by to see the revised version, still good, still scratch my head...I am a chef so we must entice the consumer to come on in and give my chocolate sauce with savory influence a go, but I loved it all the same! What ya workin' on next? How HOTD is a fixed POS, that broke my will to write? Sorry my personal rant.
Just a thought:
I am trying to wean myself from writing, as it is clearly "a want" and "not a need", and unless I quit my misguided attempts to make a few bucks writing, I won't be able to make a few bucks doing something else, maybe in an equally misguided, misleading and overall derailing attempts.
I have managed to reach the state of not being able to read or write, still needing writing and then there came some boost from somewhere least expected - "a praise from a new reader".
It always brings up the thought
"If I am so clever, why am I so poor?"
and I guess it comes back to the confusion of thoughts, sorry, wants and needs.
Confusion, con-fusion has clear culinary connotations...
con - with
sin - without (Spanish)
So, with - con - fusing those things - there must come something NEW. Really...
Derailing is one of those new culinary/literary delights of the New Age that come to mind.
Derailing can be a direction, a curve, a trend.
What am I talking about?
Confusion.
Just a thought.
Have some chocolate delight.
I prefer decadent chocolate.
I know, how very derailing of me.
kallini, please don't ever wean yourself from writing. From where I sit, it's not a want, it's a need in you that denial would subsume, but never kill.
As to ""If I am so clever, why am I so poor?", backatcha. With bells on.
jenubouka, of course there's a place for chocolate and savory. Just not sure it's my place..lol:)
Glad you approve of the revised version, thanks for saying so.
Re "How HOTD is a fixed POS, that broke my will to write?" I think it actually has. I haven't had any good ideas for a while, and those I do have, are best expressed in words. Not via photos, polls, and peripherally pretty pictorial adornments. As someone who still believes in the written word's ability to paint pictures powerful enough to not need visual aids, I look at what HP says makes for a quality hub today, confirmed by too many of the recent HOTD selections (imo)and ask myself, WTF?
Sadly, (I hope to get over it) my immediate next question is, 'if those are the new rules of engagement on what I naively think of as a Site for Writers, whyTF bother?
Thank you, writeronline.
I just caught a glimpse of your comment as I was leaving... I wanted to finish "a project", realized that I could not, not today, so no point sitting in front of a typing device wasting time...
Maybe those emotions
"I don't want to DANCE anymore!!!",
"I should stop writing!"
are really part of the package for everyone - the more emotional a person is, the higher and lower the waves reach.
You are right, I cannot imagine myself not writing.
I thought ("as of today") - I should be perfectly comfortable writing for myself. Even if nobody reads it.
EVER. The rest will take care of itself.
The essence always remains. The rest, the transient part... will go, disappear, dissolve into the fog of unnecessary...
And the bliss was interrupted by an unwanted phone call. "Go away to the unnecessary, you are not at all welcome..., I am not ready for yet another boring conversation". [I am talking to the devices now. Derailing again]
I shall start a quest of finding a place where I belong. That was one of my last thoughts. Because "this" (refers to my life in general) is no longer acceptable.
I am a writer.
I make a conscious decision to acknowledge the fact thanks to you and my other HubPages friends. But you played the leading role because you are a writer and it means a lot to me.
Thank you.
WO, not to sound like some crazy lady, but should you ever give up writing, I'll hunt you down downunder and throttle you! You and Mark are often my inspiration to stay around and keep up this craziness! Screw the HOTD. We don't write for the masses, we write for each other. That's what I say.
We'll see, MO. As you know, my 'one year on HP' anniversary comes up any day now. I'm planning to mark the occasion with a Hub that reflects all I've learned (and tried to un-learn) about article writing over that time. Natch, it will be short, simple, feature a potentially lucrative and of course evergreen topic. And be littered with all those visual accoutrements HP tells us we're screwed without.
Kind of a paean to 'Google, God of the Internet and all its Domains'. (Nothing else has worked, might as well grovel..).
Would I lie to you MO?
I can't imagine that you'd lie to me and expect to get away with it! ;)
F**cking A, wol,
I threw my hands up when it occurred to me the other week, I saw one that got it and felt that mine was better.....Hey I think it is good to think well of one's own writing, yet the rejection pains me not only here, but elsewhere.
Then I remind myself of writers as your self and become empowered again, inspired, and press forward. I keep thinking someday, some one, or ones will gather to collect on my theories and see the light. Perhaps I should get out more, or perhaps I need to write even more.
"Perhaps I should get out more"... makes me think of what I'm always sayin to the old lady and the kids when we sit down to eat somethin I've knocked up on the barbecue. "Why would we wanna go out when we can have restaurant-quailty food like this at home?"
See what I'm sayin here, JB? You got your sweet and savory, your meat of a thousand cuts, and fondue anytime you like, at your place.
Stay home, keep writin, that's my tip.
Will do WOL, will do. Working in the restaurant bizz, dining out is a hazardous venture. I know exactly how long, how to prepare, and when they don't follow through I am enraged and end up making a scene, "you expect me to pay for this?" So I hunker down in my little meaningless world, with my one knife, simple BBQ, and one sauce pan, and cook, and then try to write.
Really good ideas to cut your expenses. You don't have to buy things which you don't need and which you forget about after one day. It makes no sense.
Thanks for your comment, bigzorro. So much of what people spend their money on is pure indulgence, both big ticket items and small. As you say, makes no sense at all.
Hey Writeronline - hilarious! I've been saying shit like that forever! No one listens to me:). I am disgusted by the fact that most families are in credit card debt of around 11,000.00! I'm thinking at what point do theynstop buying stuff they don't need....if it has to go on a credit card ya can't afford that! Omg! I have a business I run out of an office in the house - people will ask "why don't you have an office in the business district?". Ummmm let me count the reasons why...overhead!! I don't need a fancy office to prove anything...I only need a fax and computer! Lol
I was really entertained...I am always annoyed about people spending so much and then crying later. D-U-M! Dumb! Lol
Hiya RealHousewife, thanks for reading, and commenting. Now I know what the 'real' stands for1 :) If more people spent time keeping it real, instead of money keeping up appearances, there'd be a lot less financially-stressed households. As you say, an office in the business district? WhyTF? For a home-based enterprise, that's exactly the kind of ego-driven waste that adds nothing to the business except cost. You got your priorities straight,RH, that's obvious.
Mark Ewbie Level 7 Commenter 4 months ago
Funny and at the same time powerfully moving. I nearly GOMA (got off my ass) and voted it up. Priorities, most definitely. You hit my main priority. Funny. Nice one WO.