Mornings

Slowly, is how I begin the day and after feeding the cats, it is time for coffee and a minute or two
of reflection as I swallow the hot liquid down into my body...

Gradually, my body responds and my eyes begin to absorb the light, reflecting all the colors of the day that form my environment... 

It is a time of careful awakening, realizing there is another world outside the dreams and fantasies of the night and the sleep that is sometimes, so hard to acquire...

Today is never another day like yesterday or tomorrow but always today, providing me with new opportunities, new chances, affording me new beginnings to take this day and make the most of it while it lasts and while I am mentally capable enough to embrace it...

FINANCIAL PLANNING Part III

In Financial Planning Part II, I talked about 401K's and the money that they could provide for you in retirement and while they are not the best source a savings, they are a source of savings and if your employers offers you one and is matching then put into 401K as much money as you need to in order to receive your employer's maximum match.






This post is about DEBT.

Debt will SUCK the life out of all families and their future, not to mention monies needed for a retirement that you are probably not even thinking about.



You must eliminate your debt!

Right now you are probably thinking how in the hell am I going to do that?

You can start by:

1. quit buying cigarettes if you still smoke
2. stop drinking alcohol everyday - maybe only on the weekends
3. stop going out to lunch at work
4. stop buying stuff you don't really need
5. be frugal in your purchases

These 5 items will get you started but what do you do with the money that you are saving?

You pay off your debt?

Let's suppose that you have the following debt?

• mortgage @ $1,000/month
• car loan @ $400/month
• school loans @ $300/month
• credit card @ $200/month

Recommended Approach:

1. Pay off credit card debt first with money you have scrounged up
2. Use money you have scrounged up with credit card debt money to pay off school loans
3. Use scrounged up, credit card, & school loan monies to pay off car loan
4. Use all those monies to pay off mortgage
5. Save all debt reducing monies to save for RETIREMENT

Not possible you claim...

Bullshit...  I say...  and, I know it can be done because I have done it...

I found ways to save money first.

Then I worked a second job.

After debt was paid off, I did two things:

     First - I renovated house for retirement with half the money

     Second - I saved the other half of the money

They're a Nuisance

Outcast

as the lone rebel of the family

I have lived my life inside

caves of indiscriminate darkness

seeking neither enlightenment

nor ignorance, serving the

mistress of meaningless Haiku

and the loneliness of love.


April 20, 2020




Read more of my poems at REFLECTIONS:  WHITE SCORPION

PASSWORDS

In addition to these 4 blogs that I maintain, I have a LinkedIn account as well as a Facebook account.  My Facebook account was hacked and the last time I logged out after posting something, my account belonged to someone else.  I started a new Facebook account under a FAKE NAME and created a password that was composed of letters and numbers, capitals and lower case, as well as special symbols...   and I just not use one of each but several of each making it even more difficult for someone to hack.

Today, I got an email about my LinkedIn account asking for a password reset and the message said that if this is not you, then you should change your password immediately.  The message indicated that the request came from Santa Monica, CA and since I live in TN, I knew right away that I had not make the request...  so I changed my password.

One of the reasons I suppose that someone wants my LinkedIn account is that I have over 17,000 people in my network and it is easier to steal an account rather than build up an account like I had done...  either way it is still a chicken shit move to make.

My point here is this:

• think about using a fake name on your account
• think about creating a complicated password

A complicated password might consist of the following:  !#Fu#!1719$soL$Qq#!

Home Sweet Home

Staying-at-home has been a problem for most Americans who relish the idea of FREEDOM more than they relish the idea of their own/others health.  While I am a HUGE proponent of FREEDOM, I am not yet willing to RISK my own HEALTH in order to receive the FREEDOM that most of us took for granted before it was taken away.


I am reminded of Janis Joplin and the song Me and Bobby McGee

Lyrics

Busted flat in Baton Rouge, waitin' for a train
And I's feelin' near as faded as my jeans
Bobby thumbed a diesel down, just before it rained
It rode us all the way to New Orleans

I pulled my harpoon out of my dirty red bandanna
I was playin' soft while Bobby sang the blues, yeah
Windshield wipers slappin' time, I was holdin' Bobby's hand in mine
We sang every song that driver knew

Freedom's just another word for nothin' left to lose
Nothin', don't mean nothin' hon' if it ain't free, no no
And, feelin' good was easy, Lord, when he sang the blues
You know, feelin' good was good enough for me

Good enough for me and my Bobby McGee
From the Kentucky coal mine to the California sun
There Bobby shared the secrets of my soul
Through all kinds of weather, through everything we done

Yeah, Bobby baby kept me from the cold
One day up near Salinas, Lord, I let him slip away
He's lookin' for that home, and I hope he finds it
But, I'd trade all of my tomorrows, for a single yesterday

To be holdin' Bobby's body next to mine6
Freedom's just another word for nothin' left to lose
Nothin', that's all that Bobby left me, yeah
But, feelin' good was easy, Lord, when he sang the blues

Hey, feelin' good was good enough for me, mm-hmm
Good enough for me and my Bobby McGee
La da da
La da da da

Is COVID-19 causing us to lose our common sense because we cannot bear to lose the freedom of not being able to go where we want to when we want to, putting our own health and the health of others at risk in the process.  For some of us, COVID-19 could end of lives if we don't stay at home and for others, not staying at home could cause future quarantines and future loss of employment because we did not exercise common sense...

Personally, I am not willing to take that RISK and am perfectly willing to stay at home as long as it takes to guarantee my life.  It is simply not worth the RISK.

New Norms After Pandemic Imagined

How is life in America going to be different after the COVID-19 Pandemic is over?

How is life in Tennessee going to be different after the COVID-19 Pandemic is over?

How is life in East TN going to be different after the COVID-19 Pandemic is over?

What an interesting set of questions and while all three seem a tad redundant, all three are different and relatively mutually exclusive.  Mutually exclusive is a statistical term describing two or more events that cannot coincide. It is commonly used to describe a situation where the occurrence of one outcome supersedes the other  In this case, we have the US versus States versus Regions/Cities and while the US supersedes all other laws, each of these will undoubtedly be a little different from each other.

Think of it this way:  GRANDPARENTS     Parents      children

ᐳWhat will be:

• wearing face masks
• keeping our distances inside
• waiting rooms
• lobbies
• bars/nightclubs
• malls
• restaurants
• movie theaters
• taking our temperatures everywhere
• video meetings with physicians more often
• cleaning everything after use
• middle seats in airplanes removed
• limited seating in restaurants
• possible end of student classrooms
• more and more online shopping

TAKING RISKS

They say that life is not fully experienced 

unless one is willing to take RISKS...

L  I  B...  my first comment is:  Who is hell is 'THEY'?

Risk is the possibility of something bad happening. Risk involves uncertainty about the effects/implications of an activity with respect to something that humans value, often focusing on negative, undesirable consequences. Different practice areas of risk management have used many different definitions. Wikipedia...  so sayeth the online gods...

ANY RISK TAKERS OUT THERE?

Taking RISKS is like standing up for that in which you believe often referred to as INTEGRITY which more often than not will get you FIRED from your place of employment...   that is to say...  UNLESS you are an ass-kisser or kissing-the-ass of someone who is high up in the food chain.

Throughout my entire 45 year career, I have heard other retirees make the claim:  "If only I had taken more risks."  Or, "I wish I had taken more risks during my career (lifetime)."

Well, let me tell you this...  BELIEVE ME (but don't trust me), I have taken those risks that those other retirees had wished they had taken and the results were these:  risks benefited me just as often as they hurt me...

It is similar to POKER...  more often than not, people playing POKER or GAMBLING typically break-even (over a lifetime) winning as often as they lose.  In fact, according to mathematically probability (normally referred to as the Bell Shaped curve), every time one WINS one must also LOSE.

Hard to believe but it is true...  and, somewhat filled with irony in that what we might have learned in high school math could actually be of some use to us later in life.

If 2019 taught us anything, it was that it’s just a matter of time before hackers find our personal information online.

After a string of major hacks affecting millions of internet users, there are few people left online who haven’t been affected. With 100 million Capital One COF, +6.72% customers having their sensitive data exposed on top of last year’s Equifax breach EFX, +0.07% exposing the data of 148 million customers, Marriott MAR, -0.48% exposing 500 million users’ information, and Exactis exposing the data of more than 340 million people, your information is at a higher risk than ever.


Here are five easy steps you can take to make yourself — and your finances — less hackable.

To Find Out About The Five Easy Steps...

Sixties Music

Music of the Sixties underscored my days in college, influencing my actions, my words, and the way that I dressed to go to class.  At my small school in NC, "Joe College" was the dress of the day and carrying one's books up in one's armpit was the style.  So, my jeans and T-shirt approach with a jacket was not that acceptable if I wanted to go out with "nice girls".  What I later found out was that "nice girls" were no different than "bad girls" other than they way they dressed.  As a result of this boycott, me and my boys would go to an "all girls" school 20 miles down the road to play at night...  by the SOUNDS OF THE MUSIC which was always in our minds, hearts, and souls.

It was not just that SIXTIES MUSIC inspired us, but its lyrics were POETIC unlike the lyrics of the 50's...   AND, never again has music had these all encompassing lyrics in just about every single musical group, duet, or individual.

Animal Abuse

The shocking number of animal cruelty cases reported every day is just the tip of the iceberg—most cases are never reported. Unlike violent crimes against people, cases of animal abuse are not compiled by state or federal agencies, making it difficult to calculate just how common they are. 

However, we can use the information that is available to try to understand and prevent cases of abuse.

Who abuses animals?
▶️Cruelty and neglect cross all social and economic boundaries and media reports suggest that animal abuse is common in both rural and urban areas.

▶️Intentional cruelty to animals is strongly correlated with other crimes, including violence against people.

▶️Hoarding behavior often victimizes animals. Sufferers of a hoarding disorder may impose severe neglect on animals by housing far more than they are able to adequately take care of. Serious animal neglect (such as hoarding) is often an indicator of people in need of social or mental health services.
Surveys suggest that those who intentionally abuse animals are predominantly men under 30, while those involved in animal hoarding are more likely to be women over 60.

To Read Full Article

I'll be right there...

Yesterday... Today... Tomorrow...

7:30 am Friday to 7:30 Saturday was Yesterday                 24 hours

7:30 am Saturday to 7:30 am Sunday is Today                   24 hours

7:30 am Sunday to 7:30 am Monday will be Tomorrow      24 hours
                                                                                              72 hours

It is within these 72 hours that we consistently live our lives, reflecting, remembering, living, and planning and while many of us live on shorter time frames, this time frame has typically been the norm for Americans.

Yes, it is true that we schedule appointments with Doctors, Dentists, Optomologists, Hair Stylists and plan out birthdays, vacations, Christmas, Thanksgiving, and other holidays in advance of just looking at tomorrow, but other than those exceptions, Americans live in 72 hour or less blocks of time.

For businesses and industries, we look at rolling quarters, that is to day what did we do last quarter (yesterday), what will we do this quarter (today) and what are we planning for next quarter (tomorrow).

Some corporations might look out into the future for 18-24 months but those situations are RARE...

WHY?

• Uncertainty of the future
• Risks associated with doing something based upon that uncertainty
• Doing something means committing resources
• Resources mean:  money, materials, labor, time

Additionally...

1. What many Americans do not know or have associated with this issue is the fact that the STOCK MARKET pays dividends every 90 days.
2. Bonuses are predicated upon stock prices
3. Actions are then predicated upon potential bonuses

In PSYCHOLOGY, this is called CLASSICAL CONDITIONING which means:  reinforce the desired behaviors...

Leaders of Industries are MANIPULATED by Boards of Directors just like children are manipulated by their parents...

I find this amusingly interesting.

T G I F

THANK
GOD
IT'S
FRIDAY...

When I was working this 4 letters meant a lot but now that I am retired, every day is every other day and each day is part of an on-going weekend and every weekend is part of one long vacation. 

• I sleep as long as I want to
  
• I eat whenever I want to
• I exercise at different times
• I do chores when I feel like it
• I write whatever comes into my mind
• I wear whatever I desire
• I take a nap if I have a mind to

You must have noticed that there are a lot of "I's" in that bulleted list...  and if you believe that this is what I really do then you are dumber than I look...  anyone who has half a mind has got to realize that retired life don't mean shit, if you are still married.

So, let's get this straight...  My Wife Calls All The Shots...   and, since kissing her ass for the rest of my life...

she will no doubt live longer than me then I will be
I get to do whatever when and if my wife says I can do whatever...  We have been together for 27 years and even though I retired 5 years ago, I only realized what I just wrote 3 years ago when she retired...

And if you don't stop laughing, Ima gonna slap you stupid...

Question for you...

ARE YOU A BOILING FROG?

FINANCIAL PLANNING... Part II

In Part I (although, it was not labeled Part 1), I ended with 401K that many employees have set up with their employers, some of which match substantially and some of which match minimally.  Here's the information on your 401Ks...

Average 401(k) balance: $11,800. 

Median 401(k) balance: $4,300

SOURCE: NerdWallet Feb 7, 2020

If this is YOU, and YOU are 35 years old, YOUR average balance or Median balance could double or triple by the time you actually retire at age 70 which is doubling your current age...  this means that the average balance in YOUR 401K could increase to $23,600 (doubles once) or even $47,200 (doubles twice)...

NOW, let's round off the doubling twice amount and YOU are left with about $50,000.

NOW, let's suppose YOUR employer's contribution increases YOUR 401K to $100,000.

HOW LONG will YOUR  $100,000 last?

The CURRENT AVERAGE Social Security payout in 2020 is $1,800/month.

By the time YOU reach retirement age, it is estimated that you will only receive 80% of what is being received today, which means you will receive only $1,440/month.

Let's suppose that you are married, now that Social Security allowance for YOU and YOUR SPOUSE is $2,880 or rounded off is $3,000/month.

CURRENTLY, the average cost of living across the USA is $5,000/month.  So, you will need another $2,000/month or $24,000 each year and $240,000 over a decade...

But, 

YOUR 401K is only $100,000 and therefore will only last YOU and YOUR SPOUSE less than 5 years, assuming your money earns no INTEREST...  if we add INTEREST then YOUR money will probably last you 5 years...

DOES THAT SOUND LIKE A 

GOOD PLAN TO YOU???