Responsibility for one’s own actions

I once watched a very interesting program in regards to debt. It was a show based on how to get out of debt. The show found people in debt and provided them with a financial adviser who gave them a plan on how to get out of the situation that they were in. The show centered around three big points; how these people got into debt, what kind of lives they are living to continue their debt problem, and how they are doing nothing about it. Out of the two cases that I watched there was a re-occurring theme. The people in debt felt that they deserved a much better life style than they could actually afford. In one situation it was a female who had graduated university with a student debt of forty thousand dollars. She was able to find a job right out of school which paid fifty thousand dollars a year. With her new found job she decided that she must move out, because her style was slightly cramped living with her parents. This is how her cycle started. Then, for her new job she needed a new wardrobe which added another thousand dollars to the debt. Then she needed to furnish her apartment, the first and last month rent, security deposit and other miscellaneous fees all added another ten thousand dollars to her debt. At the point of the show she had been working for three years and getting nowhere fast. She was always stressed out, and at her ropes end. When the financial adviser came on the scene she started asking questions about her credit cards and any other debts that may exist. There was another couple thousand on credit cards that this girl owed. So, the financial adviser sat down with her and explained to her that if she ever wants to get out of debt that is currently eating her alive she needs to make some changes right away. Some of the things she listed were: not going out as much, not eating out at all, not buying new clothes or shoes for at least a year and possibly moving back home. To most of these suggestions the girl agreed. Then there was another little part where the financial adviser said that she should find a second job to relieve some stress from her and for her to be able to have some kind of spending money. Needless to say the girl did not agree to that. With the plan that the financial adviser made, it would take the girl three years to pay off her credit cards, and her student loans. This would be a hard three years with no savings account and no luxuries, everything going towards paying down the debt. I would love to see if she was able to accomplish that and to see what she is doing now.
Most of the advice given by the financial adviser was good sound practical advice that I agreed with and so did her client. Yet, it seems like if this was so practical and the girl could really understand it and see it, why was she not doing it earlier?
Are some of us like that girl? We know what we should be doing, and what would make financial sense but we are so stuck in our routines and in our own worlds that we do not do it. Are we all running the risk of being so in debt as this girl was just because we are in a routine? Does tightening your belt have a much different meaning now then it did years ago? Do people in general not know how to ‘tighten belts’?
It seems that we live in a very interesting era. We live in a time unlike any other before. Everyday people live as king’s used to live back 3-4 hundred years ago. We live not only to survive but also to derive pleasure. People don’t just want to work to survive; they want to like their work. People want different things out of their lives and therefore choose work that compliments that lifestyle. People have more clothing than they can wear in a month, more shoes than they can wear in a week. In the olden days only the kings and queens were allotted such luxuries. Yet, in our society it is no longer a luxury it is now a necessity.
Is it that we no longer discern what a luxury is and what a necessity is? Or is it that it varies from person to person and there is no more a general definition of those words.

Snow and Jackets

I don't understand why people wear jackets and then not zip them up?
Why bother even wearing a jacket if you are going to keep it open? Honestly what is the point? Just go out without a coat on, that is exactly what you are doing by not zipping it up in the first place.
Then again the people who are not wearing your jackets...where is it that you think you live? This is not exactly FLORIDA!
Ah well, as long as everyone is happy.

Happy December everyone :-)

Truth

For all of those idiots in the world that think that Jews would be allowed to live in peace without the country of Israel please go ahead and read this article. I am always baffled by the amount of stupidity, and stupid trust that people have around the world. Can we the Jews not learn from our own history? Is it sacrilegious to realize that the minute we get a little to comfortable somewhere, something is just bound to happen? Well here is a little evidence, but have no fear more proof is coming.

Without Israel, Jews will not exist, even in America where everything ‘seems’ to be just peachy!

Update: July 1:50pm

G-d Bless America the Great!
http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/07/31/shenadoah.beating/index.html

Ironic that the American Press tries to push all of this news under the rug, and yet worries so much about how JUNIOR SENATOR OBAMA's trip to the middle east is going. Ironic.

Gasoline

Industry insider.

You do not need to be an industry insider to realize that gas prices are increasing and will not let up. The price of regular unleaded gasoline will get to $7, that is a fact, no use denying it. Americans in General (not the one person that you know that lives in a hut in Arkansas and eats only from their garden) in general, Americans live large, big cars, big houses, big meal portions. Everyone knows that the way the economy is going it is a great time to work hard, save, and downsize. Yet, what if the first two components are realistic but the third is not. There seems to be a trend going around of people with great intentions giving the worst possible advice! If you drive a van and you have three children, two in car seats, if someone recommends you get a Toyota prius that is a hybrid tell them where to go and explain to them in detail on how to get there. YES, America has to start downsizing. Yes, America has to start making changes; NO America does not have to get stupid! Obviously we live in a country where people are used to working and living in two separate areas. I would recommend for someone to find a job closer to home, commute by train, bus, bike. That would be a good recommendation, again if at all feasible. I would tell people to stop buying out the junk food isle at the grocery store and concentrate on making themselves and their families healthier by eating fruits and vegetables and not sweets, and greasy food. Again, it does not cost cheaper to eat healthier, but it will save you money in the long run, via staying healthier longer, and not spending extra money on extras like Oreo’s. I would say if there is any other mode of transportation to and from errands, work or fun that could be used, explore those methods. CARPOOL. Be neighborly if you are going to the grocery store and you live close to people, go together. These are just some Ideas of how not to rack up $70 gas bills.
As for people and their terrific advice of sell your van, buy a little car. To them I say “mind your business, and downsize your expenses the way you see fit, because I’ll downsize mine the way I see fit”.
THE PRICE OF GASOLINE WILL NOT DECREASE. The price of gasoline will only increase. The price of everything else will be directly affected and all goods and services will increase in price. There is no use in crying about it, or kvetching about it. Suck it up and start changing your life. Every other nation in the world has been paying high gas prices for years. America too will make it when prices will equal of those in Europe.