Dr. Phil McGraw once said, "You can't solve a money problem by throwing money at it." We've all heard stories about how lottery winners lose everything they won, sometimes even ending up worse off than when they started. In terms of the Law of Attraction, it is viewed as having been able to attract the money, but having too many limiting beliefs that need to be cleared to keep it. The principle doesn't refer only to money, but health, relationships, all of the aspects of your life.
I believe it, but you can't prove it by me. Some things in life I can keep very well, others not so much. What I can say is, by adopting this way of living, things aren't so personal. The bad things don't hurt as much. I think of us all as blank slates, like department store mannequins. Everything else is just the remnants of our choices while visiting this planet for this excellent vacation we call our lives. It's like a tour guide told me, many many years ago on a bus trip in Ireland. He found me drifting to sleep and reminded me of all the beautiful scenery outside my window. When I smiled and said the current scenery wasn't all that different from my own in Northern California, he smiled and said, "Well, it's your holiday, spend it how you want to." It was one of the first moments in my life where I was presented the notion of having choices, but not judged by which one I made.
I hope you are enjoying your life's vacation immensely. If you aren't, consider the words of Led Zeppelin in Stairway to Heaven, "There's always time to change the road you're on."
Now let's talk about money. Or more specifically, life insurance.
I've been watching a lot of home shows lately. During one where a couple paid money to have their home remodeled, the wife complained about cracked clay pipes which had to be replaced. Before that they had had to pay for asbestos in the homes floors to be remediated. Basically she said, "Again we have to pay for something we can't see?"
We pay for insurance to protect ourselves and our loved ones from things that may happen that we can't see or foresee. People don't like to pay for things they can't see, so we live in a world where we have laws forcing us to pay for many of the things which might impact other people.
I heard a joke once, I can't remember whose it was, so I can't credit the comedian. The gist was that suicide is illegal. "In less enlightened times, they would hang you for it."
If we have a mortgage on our house, we have to have house insurance to protect the lender. If we drive a car, we have to have insurance to protect the other people in an accident and, once again, potentially the lender. We don't have any laws forcing us to protect ourselves. Well, potentially except Obamacare, but that is a subject for another day. Today we are talking life insurance, not healthcare.
Although in a sensible world, that's what life insurance would be, wouldn't it? Insurance to protect your life. Instead, life insurance protects others in case you are unexpectedly removed from the equation. Life insurance protectors your survivors. In some cases it simply removes the burden of them having to put the funds together with which to bury or cremate you. In others it may provide a nest egg for family who depended on your income. Does that mean you should have life insurance? It depends on your own moral compass. In theory, if you have people who depend on you and your income, you should have at least some sort of nest egg, savings or life insurance that will make the transitionary time easier. If it is simply to cover your cremation or burial and they will inherit enough savings from you to do that, they'll be able to access that money faster than the insurance money anyway.
I've always felt a bit bewildered by advertisements on television which try to shame people into buying life insurance for their babies. No insurance could possibly protect you from such a loss. It could cover the costs of the funeral, of course, and young couples who have just had babies might not have the savings to cover them otherwise. Keeping in mind a 529 (or college savings plan) or a life insurance policy would both cost some sort of monthly fee, I think the former might be the more optimistic, "Law of Attraction" positive plan. In either case, I would make sure I could use the 529 for funeral expenses AND the life insurance for education. The financial vehicle which could do both would be where I placed the money I have earmarked for my child's future. At the same time, beware any insurance that claims to be good for retirement. 401k's and IRA's are usually better vehicles for that. I suppose it is prudent for me to mention in case you might be as naive about the matter as I was. Funeral costs can be somewhere around $10,000 today. Even cremation, which once seemed to be only hundreds of dollars, has begun to touch the thousand dollar mark. At some point in your life, someone will die and you will be faced with the details and the expenses.
Have you ever considered what the insurance company does with your money? Whatever monies aren't needed for day to day expenses or reserves for paying benefits, are invested. The government monitors insurance companies investments to make sure their investments are low risk and they will be able to pay their claims. Because they invest in low risk items like government bonds, insurance companies do not have years where they lose money on their investments. Insurers also have portfolios that allow for quick liquidation of investments to pay claims.
In a perfect world, we would take our own money, invest it and have money for anything we needed from the costs of dying to the costs of living. In our world, it is estimated as many as 80% of life insurance polices are allowed to lapse before a payout is due. People buy more coverage than they can afford. Life circumstances change. An elderly person's life insurance can lapse, be discontinued and they can find themselves no longer eligible for the terms the dead policy had. One thing to keep in mind, if you are in danger of letting your life insurance lapse, consider selling it on the secondary market. In other words, there are companies who will buy your insurance policy for more than what a cash surrender of the policy would give you. Particularly in the case of caring for an elderly parent, I have read where selling a policy on the secondary market has given caregiving children funds to help pay hospital expenses. One important thing to consider and research before taking any action: a policy sold on the secondary market will still be counted as open insurance held in that person's name. That could impact the possibilities of purchasing any additional insurance. If you are looking to invest some of your money, "Life Settlements," (aka that secondary market) might be a good place to try. The minimum investment is generally $20,000 and you can apparently choose which policies you want to purchase based on payout and time frame. At first it seems a very gruesome way to make money, but keeping in mind the benefits the seller may have needed might convince you it was actually one of the kindest investments you could make.
Showing posts with label 99%er. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 99%er. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 22, 2014
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
My Intentions
It is well known that Americans don't have enough savings, particularly for retirement. They also carry a lot of debt. It is so well known, I don't need to bother looking up any statistics to prove it to you. It is common knowledge.
My intent is to help the 99% repair their relationship with money and turn their lives around. It is a daunting task that has three elements I fear I may not be able to overcome.
The first, why listen to me? I graduated from UC Davis with a BA in English, back when a BA seemed to mean enough every educated person didn't feel compelled to continue on for an MA or PhD. My dream was to be a writer and I have spent decades working in retail and playing at writing and photography. At the same time, valuing my free time and freedom itself, I have worked part time, three half days a week, for nearly two decades. Although my income lands me solidly among the 99%, the rest of my statistics are a little different. I don't carry debt. I have accumulated savings, including retirement savings. I have paid off my mortgage and own my house free and clear.
At least all of that was true when I began this project. Since then, I have been trying to sell my deceased parents home. Between paying to have a bridge repaired and having dumpsters delivered in order to ready the property for sale, my savings have been whittled down significantly. Even as it undermines my own confidence that I can do what I already did and teach others to do the same, it also underscores the necessity.
Money is a tool. That's all it is. Money is a tool by which you can buy education, comfort, and freedom. They say money can't buy happiness, but it can buy things which will bring a smile to a loved one's face. It can buy experiences a person will remember for the rest of his life. Money is nothing but a tool, but it isn't one like a hammer or a saw. It is more like putty or sand. You can find yourself running out and wishing you had more.
Second, a huge percentage of my financial strategy involves the Law of Attraction. Every time I open my mouth and try to explain its principles to somebody, I see that look on her face. The one that suggests I just told her that fairies are real and I was haunted last night by a banshee.
There was a joke on Saturday Night Live years ago about learning to be an art critic. After learning the fundamentals and beginning to critique a gallery's art, the student turned on patrons around her and criticized their outfits, their postures, their smiles. Looking for the negative and pointing it out comes as naturally to humans as breathing. When we've actually been given permission and free reign to do so? We become relentless bullies, nearly unstoppable.
The Law of Attraction is the belief that "like attracts like." We create our world with our thoughts.
I once read about a social experiment. A researcher gathered a group of people together and had them look at two straight lines drawn on a chalkboard. The two lines were exactly the same length, but the researcher had placed one individual in the crowd who claimed one of the lines were longer. It turns out, I can give you advice and tell you what you should do and you probably won't follow it, but one person placed in a crowd, confidently repeating a lie, can cause you to agree with him and doubt your own eyesight.
Every day we are surrounded with a negative onslaught of news supporting the notion of a world of scarcity. If abundance is mentioned, it is still framed as there being enough for everyone's needs, but not their greed. Many of us buy things we don't really want or need, frantically stuffing ourselves to feel happy, while feeling judged for our attempts.
I ask you, who hasn't purchased some stupid, silly item, perhaps for as little as ten dollars, that seemed so great at the time, but we are later ashamed to admit?
How can I ever convince drowning victims, under water for the second time, flailing about with no idea who will save them, that they can save themselves simply by changing their thoughts?
At this point in my life, it feels like I have been every type of emotionally damaged and unhappy there is to be. I can remember the days when my mouth would involuntarily scowl if I so much as saw a poster proclaiming "Love is a warm puppy." It's as if negativity isn't happy just existing. It has to roll around in the muck continually reaffirming its ugly existence.
"Ugh! This smells really bad. Here smell it."
"Ugh! That really stinks."
I have been dedicated to changing the way I think for decades. It still took me years to realize that love? It IS a warm puppy. Sort of. Or at least the sustained joyful warm feelings about life and its wonderful possibilities that you might feel when enjoying the company of a baby of almost any species.
Third, we are all unreliable narrators. In writing, an unreliable narrator is someone who tells a story, but who has a warped view and perception of everything. We each have our personal story and we tend to believe the details we tell ourselves. Yet we experience our lives through the distorted window of only seeing through our own point of view.
Think about that room with the chalkboard and two lines. Even though they end up united in an answer as to the length of the lines, if you ask them about the experience afterwards, they will all have a different story to tell. Some will have a simple recitation of facts. Others will have anecdotal details which may not appear to be connected to the event, or at least not to anyone other than the person whose viewpoint felt they were important. Unless the researchers are included, probably not one story will include the information one person was asked to lie.
At the same time, we continually second guess ourselves. We say we want to lose weight and doubt we have the will power. We ask the universe for some money. Buy a lottery ticket and say "I knew that was a waste of money" as we throw our losing ticket into the trash.
I recently had a bad break up. I loved that man so much. My heart felt as if it had shattered into a million pieces knowing it had ended. I cried and cried and cried. One day, posting happy little kittens to cheer myself up on Facebook, I noticed how many friends I had who were talking and interacting with me. My heart flooded with love and appreciation. It was then that I realized how close I had come to seeing only what I had lost when all I had to do was turn my head and see all of the good things and people who are still right here with me.
Really that is everything I am trying to get you to do. I am trying to get you to stop focusing on your losses and failures and to look and really see life's wonders. I want you to appreciate all of your good fortune and know it didn't happen by accident. You're not an ungrateful sinner who deserves only God's tolerance and indulgence. You aren't a bad boy who is too lazy or lacks willpower. Each and every one of us is no less a miracle than a blade of grass growing despite humans blocking its path with asphalt. Each and every one of us is as important and essential as every atom that makes up a molecule.
C'mon. (Metaphorically) take my hand and we can do this thing. Just do one thing for me first.
Turn your head.
My intent is to help the 99% repair their relationship with money and turn their lives around. It is a daunting task that has three elements I fear I may not be able to overcome.
The first, why listen to me? I graduated from UC Davis with a BA in English, back when a BA seemed to mean enough every educated person didn't feel compelled to continue on for an MA or PhD. My dream was to be a writer and I have spent decades working in retail and playing at writing and photography. At the same time, valuing my free time and freedom itself, I have worked part time, three half days a week, for nearly two decades. Although my income lands me solidly among the 99%, the rest of my statistics are a little different. I don't carry debt. I have accumulated savings, including retirement savings. I have paid off my mortgage and own my house free and clear.
At least all of that was true when I began this project. Since then, I have been trying to sell my deceased parents home. Between paying to have a bridge repaired and having dumpsters delivered in order to ready the property for sale, my savings have been whittled down significantly. Even as it undermines my own confidence that I can do what I already did and teach others to do the same, it also underscores the necessity.
Money is a tool. That's all it is. Money is a tool by which you can buy education, comfort, and freedom. They say money can't buy happiness, but it can buy things which will bring a smile to a loved one's face. It can buy experiences a person will remember for the rest of his life. Money is nothing but a tool, but it isn't one like a hammer or a saw. It is more like putty or sand. You can find yourself running out and wishing you had more.
Second, a huge percentage of my financial strategy involves the Law of Attraction. Every time I open my mouth and try to explain its principles to somebody, I see that look on her face. The one that suggests I just told her that fairies are real and I was haunted last night by a banshee.
There was a joke on Saturday Night Live years ago about learning to be an art critic. After learning the fundamentals and beginning to critique a gallery's art, the student turned on patrons around her and criticized their outfits, their postures, their smiles. Looking for the negative and pointing it out comes as naturally to humans as breathing. When we've actually been given permission and free reign to do so? We become relentless bullies, nearly unstoppable.
The Law of Attraction is the belief that "like attracts like." We create our world with our thoughts.
I once read about a social experiment. A researcher gathered a group of people together and had them look at two straight lines drawn on a chalkboard. The two lines were exactly the same length, but the researcher had placed one individual in the crowd who claimed one of the lines were longer. It turns out, I can give you advice and tell you what you should do and you probably won't follow it, but one person placed in a crowd, confidently repeating a lie, can cause you to agree with him and doubt your own eyesight.
Every day we are surrounded with a negative onslaught of news supporting the notion of a world of scarcity. If abundance is mentioned, it is still framed as there being enough for everyone's needs, but not their greed. Many of us buy things we don't really want or need, frantically stuffing ourselves to feel happy, while feeling judged for our attempts.
I ask you, who hasn't purchased some stupid, silly item, perhaps for as little as ten dollars, that seemed so great at the time, but we are later ashamed to admit?
How can I ever convince drowning victims, under water for the second time, flailing about with no idea who will save them, that they can save themselves simply by changing their thoughts?
At this point in my life, it feels like I have been every type of emotionally damaged and unhappy there is to be. I can remember the days when my mouth would involuntarily scowl if I so much as saw a poster proclaiming "Love is a warm puppy." It's as if negativity isn't happy just existing. It has to roll around in the muck continually reaffirming its ugly existence.
"Ugh! This smells really bad. Here smell it."
"Ugh! That really stinks."
I have been dedicated to changing the way I think for decades. It still took me years to realize that love? It IS a warm puppy. Sort of. Or at least the sustained joyful warm feelings about life and its wonderful possibilities that you might feel when enjoying the company of a baby of almost any species.
Third, we are all unreliable narrators. In writing, an unreliable narrator is someone who tells a story, but who has a warped view and perception of everything. We each have our personal story and we tend to believe the details we tell ourselves. Yet we experience our lives through the distorted window of only seeing through our own point of view.
Think about that room with the chalkboard and two lines. Even though they end up united in an answer as to the length of the lines, if you ask them about the experience afterwards, they will all have a different story to tell. Some will have a simple recitation of facts. Others will have anecdotal details which may not appear to be connected to the event, or at least not to anyone other than the person whose viewpoint felt they were important. Unless the researchers are included, probably not one story will include the information one person was asked to lie.
At the same time, we continually second guess ourselves. We say we want to lose weight and doubt we have the will power. We ask the universe for some money. Buy a lottery ticket and say "I knew that was a waste of money" as we throw our losing ticket into the trash.
I recently had a bad break up. I loved that man so much. My heart felt as if it had shattered into a million pieces knowing it had ended. I cried and cried and cried. One day, posting happy little kittens to cheer myself up on Facebook, I noticed how many friends I had who were talking and interacting with me. My heart flooded with love and appreciation. It was then that I realized how close I had come to seeing only what I had lost when all I had to do was turn my head and see all of the good things and people who are still right here with me.
Really that is everything I am trying to get you to do. I am trying to get you to stop focusing on your losses and failures and to look and really see life's wonders. I want you to appreciate all of your good fortune and know it didn't happen by accident. You're not an ungrateful sinner who deserves only God's tolerance and indulgence. You aren't a bad boy who is too lazy or lacks willpower. Each and every one of us is no less a miracle than a blade of grass growing despite humans blocking its path with asphalt. Each and every one of us is as important and essential as every atom that makes up a molecule.
C'mon. (Metaphorically) take my hand and we can do this thing. Just do one thing for me first.
Turn your head.
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