Out of the Mouths of Babes

One of the many times that I was evacuated from the path of a potentially deadly hurricane with my three very large teenage sons and two cats, the only hotel that accepted pets was an expensive luxury resort. When we arrived, we were surrounded by luxury cars and limos. The perplexed valet could not figure out how to work the (broken) power locks on my vintage SUV. I proceeded to crawl into the back seat to unlock the doors. Not at all drawing room style. My SUV is 13 years old and boasts nearly  300,000 on the  odometer. What parent of three boys in her right mind would want a nice car? I make an effort to live below my means which includes avoiding car payments and debt of all kind in favor of saving for investments and emergencies.
After we were happily settled in our room, one of the boys commented on the poor valet who tried to do his job with dignity although our car would have made the Beverly Hillbillies proud.

My son then sagely summed up the situation and stated, "The reason we have the money to stay in this hotel without going into debt is BECAUSE we have an old car." Touché.

Step Away From the Credit Card

As the aptly named "Black Friday" approaches, normally sane and courteous people are preparing to morph into ravenous, ruthless spenders. I know there are millions of books about financial security and wealth building but it sort of all boils down to this:  Stop spending.
Are Americans the only people who actually pay for storage units and buy books telling them how to organize all of the junk they never use? Instead of trying to store all of that stuff, wouldn't it be easier not to buy it in the first place? After books on clutter prevention have topped bestsellers' lists, people are still dedicating a whole day to buying stuff which eventually ends up in the landfill.
Debt puts us in bondage but saving can buy freedom. Einstein said,  "Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world.  He who understands it, earns it....he who doesn't, pays it."

Happy With Less

There was a time when most people cared very much about what the general public thought of them.  People felt the need to have large, expensive, and therefor, impressive houses and cars. What I really love about our current culture is that it is considered cool to have less. Instead of being viewed as inferior, a person who chooses a smaller house or decides to keep his old car, is now considered environmentally responsible.  A financially modest lifestyle is now something to proudly embrace instead of reluctantly tolerate.
Who wants to be owned by her house or be responsible for loading up the landfills?  As my Aunt says, "Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without."