Kathleen Parker a columnist with the Washington Post wrote an interesting colum concerning the plight of Federal workers during the Government shutdown. I offer discourse.
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Ms. Parker, you used your column to attack others in which you disagree. With your “let them eat cake moment” you fail to realize just how important border security really is and of course, the Democrats are just as guilty of politics.
During the Great Depression (1929-1939), the families who grew up during this time learned a few things most people ignore today. I learned from my family; I learned from being poor and on my own at an early age with little to no education. I learned to live, only the necessities. Today, I am wealthy, and for me, I am generationally more successful than my father.
1. Use credit cautiously.
2. Nurture positive relationships with family and friends. Yes, that means your spouse as well.
3. Enjoy simple pleasures.
4. Do it yourself.
5. See frugality as a virtue.
6. Treat food with respect.
7. Don’t treat our soil like dirt.
8. Reuse, reuse, reuse.
9. Practice good domestic skills.
10. Be thankful.
11. It is not what you make; it is what you spend.
12. Save, save, save. We hear the best financial advisers tell us every day. Save at least 6-months of expenditures for rough times.
13. Delayed gratifications.
14. Go to Church and belong to something greater than yourself.
Federal employees make on the average 120k a year. My wife and I combined make 130k a year. We have a savings account, we save more than 10%, and it matters not your income, you can live by these simple rules. Some in today's generation have not learned from their grandparents. We pay off our credit cards every month. Twenty – eight years have passed since I married my wife. Marriage is crucial if you are going to have children and be able to afford them. I think the left has taught women they can go it alone, they don’t need a man. That is the worst lie, a most horrible untruth you, feminist and the elites have taught. We enjoy the simple pleasures of walking hand in hand with our dog and talking. We do almost everything ourselves. I fix the cars, change the oil, mow the grass, home renovations and can fix just about anything. My wife cleans the home, no maid in our house. It is a wonderful relationship, I take care of the outside, and my wife takes care of the inside. These are but a few ways to save. We are frugal when we shop, coupons always, never pay full price for anything. We shop in thrift stores. My wife still drives a 2006 Toyota forerunner with 130k miles. This truck is in such good shape she can drive it another 100k mile easy. We throw nothing away from the dinner table. We cook at home and spend little time in restaurants. When we do cook, we prepare meats for three meals. We do eat the leftovers, and we throw nothing away. We have a garden. We work in our garden every summer. Freezing vegetables, canning, make pickles, etc. We thoroughly clean the home, change AC filters, clean refrigerator coils, etc. It truly is not what you make it is what you spend. We have a budget we stick to our budget. We save everything. Plastic cups, plastic containers, aluminum cans are money, cardboard boxes, shipping wrap. I save every screw or nail I find. I pick up every penny I see on the parking lot asphalt and add to the jar. I reload ammo, and I don’t buy new. We delay expenditures until the money is saved to purchase. We save for Christmas. We save for a vacation; we save for emergencies. We mend our clothing with our sewing skills and darn our socks. Today, young people, are a throwaway generation and spending more money.
Honestly, I have little respect and sympathy for those who have gone without a paycheck for 3-4 weeks and no savings. My wife and I today have put two kids, almost through college and paid for it up till now. Abby has one more year; Jake has two more years. It cost 56k a year, but we were able to do this because we are married, in a committed relationship, we saved in 429’s since they were three years of age. We saved our money; we built emergency funds, we did without and saved for the future. (“We sacrificed”) My wife and I could go a year without work if needed today. We have saved in our IRA’s, and our 401k is maxed out plus some. “We lived below our means” We will retire very nicely on little pay in the next ten years or so. Our financial adviser says we have more wealth than 75% of today’s American population. We don’t live that way though; you would not know it to meet us. I think that this is the key, a path most 40-year olds and younger, have no clue is available to walk down.
This essay has been brought to you by a poor man who made it. If I can make it anyone can.
Reed Johnson
www.discourseweekly.com
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