Posted: March 28th, 2011 | Author: Joe | Filed under: Debt, Economy | Tags: Debt, Economy, Housing, Lifestyle | No Comments »
Pop quiz: What’s more important, your home or your family?
I’m not going to pretend that this is one of those trick questions designed to make you consider your priorities in life and there’s no right or wrong answer.
There is definitely a right and wrong answer here.
Check out this AP article about a Nevada family’s everyday struggles amplified by Poor Choices.
The AP tries to make the case that Tera Berbank and John Clark are in the dire financial straights they’re in because the state of Nevada is nearing an economic depression , but that’s only half of the story.
The economic state of Nevada makes the couple’s situation harder, but it is only part of the problem. The rest of their problem is poor priorities and bad choices.
Priorities
For Burbank, surviving means ensuring her children’s success and protecting the one place they could ever call home.
“It’s our everything,” said Burbank, 34, of the family dwelling. “They can take the car and we will eat cat or dog food. Come what may I’ll keep that house.”
There’s a case of priorities that are way out of line. If you’re OK with your kids eating cat food just so you can keep your house, you need to seriously re-evaluate your situation.
She may think she’s “ensuring her children’s success” but her children’s performance in school tells a different story:
The oldest daughter, 14-year-old Brooke, earned D’s and F’s at school. Amalea’s guidance counselor asked about problems at home.
It looks like their current path isn’t working. In the article, she talks about the impact of the family financial situation on her marriage, and it isn’t pretty. She wonders how long it will be before they get a divorce.
Bad choices
Her poor choices started when she was young – she dropped out of school at 14. Fast forward to 2009, and she and her now husband were married and bought a new home. The home they bought wasn’t ridiculously expensive. It was about 2x their combined annual income, which is well within the usually recommended norm. It obviously turned out to be a bad time to buy, and especially in Nevada. But what made this even more risky was the fact that both she and her husband worked in construction.
I don’t mean to come down too hard on her because she made some bad choice early in life, Everybody makes mistakes. But when I read stories like this I always put myself in that position. I ask, “What would I do if I woke up one day in this life?”
In short, what I’d do in this situation is everything I could to ensure the survival of my family – as a family.
I’d say “to hell with the house”, find out where there were jobs and what kind of jobs they were – and move there. I wouldn’t care if it was in another state. I wouldn’t care if I had to lose everything and start over – as long as my family was together and I was doing what I could to provide for them. But that’s just me.
Instead, Tera Berbank seems focused on doing everything she can to hold onto her house, which she will likely lose along with her family.
If this is truly representative of America today, then we are in dire straights indeed.
Let this be a wake up call.
Let this be a reminder that an education is as important as location when it comes to finding and keeping a job.
Let this be the motivation we need to put a financial plan in place.
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Posted: May 27th, 2008 | Author: Joe | Filed under: Saving, Tips | Tags: Cheap, entertainment, Hobbies, How To, Lifestyle, Saving Money | 35 Comments »
There was a time when my wife and I would go out to the movies every weekend to catch the latest “must see” release from Hollywood. That’s about the same time I would buy the latest upgrade for my PC to run the latest game that was fetching rave reviews. Yes, I’m a former Unreal and Quake addict.
But the times, as the saying goes, have changed.
Flash forward 8 years and I’m writing this on my old gaming PC, circa 1999. The last movie my wife and I saw in a theater was The Return of the King in 2003.
Why the lifestyle change? We now have two small children that take up most of our time (and money). Don’t get me wrong, we wouldn’t have it any other way, but scaling back to live on a single income has meant making tough decisions about what is important enough to spend our limited financial resources on. Hence, the foregone computer upgrade, and lack of an entertainment budget.
That doesn’t mean we don’t have fun. It just means we’ve had to find inexpensive hobbies to amuse us in what we jokingly call our spare time. Here are some of the ways we entertain ourselves on the cheap:
1. Playing Music.
This can be costly if you are buying an instrument, but teaching yourself to play is relatively cheap. Also, the various equipment and maintenance (reeds, strings, picks, piano tuning, etc..) are re-occurring expenses, but relatively infrequent. Upright pianos can often be found for free (“if only someone will take it away!”), and other instruments can be found likewise through want ads or freecycle .
Even if you don’t go the hand me down route, many new instruments can be purchased for a one time cost of a couple hundred dollars. My wife bought me an acoustic guitar somewhere in the $400-600 range for my birthday a few years back, and I’ve only ever spent money on new strings every couple of months or so. Any serious guitarist will tell you that this is not often enough, but hey- it’s only a hobby. This type of hobby is not to be ignored especially if you have children. Children love music, even if you’re not a trained musician. Trust me, I know. I have been playing guitar for 6 years now and I’m no Eric Clapton but my kids love it. Most of the time. 
Great, cheap guitars for beginners can be found for under $200.
2. Writing.
You’ll be amazed at what you can learn about yourself through regular writing, whether it is in a journal or a blog. Plus, there’s no better escape from the drudgery of life. If you really like to write and find that you’re not half bad it, you can even make a few extra dollars doing it. Check out content development sites like AssociatedContent and HubPages or start your own blog.
3. Reading.
Reading is the single best way to increase your knowledge, or escape from the dull realities of your everyday life. The best part is – it’s absolutely free through your public library. With the Internet and inter-library exchanges, you can find most any book at your local library. You’re already paying for it with your tax dollars, so why not use it?
4. Knitting and Crocheting.
My wife loves to knit. It’s pretty rare in our generation, but it is a soothing hobby for her and she’s even made some hats, scarves, and the obligatory sweater for the kids. Having a relaxing hobby to unwind after a day of chaos AND making your own clothes for mere pennies – that’s a good thing in my book.
5. Astronomy.
OK,I know what you’re thinking: “Astronomy is a cheap hobby? No way!” The problem here is that any hobby can get expensive if you get carried away, it’s just that getting carried away with astronomy entails dropping a couple grand on delicate equipment like telescopes and lens. But it doesn’t have to be that way. You can get quite a bit out of a pair of binoculars (much less expensive than a telescope), and a star map.
6. Photography.
Photography was once a keen interest of mine, but after I left college I dropped it like a bad habit. The problem was that I no longer had access to a photo lab and I was horrible at remembering to get my film developed. Plus the cost of film and the development of that film was not exactly cheap. But digital cameras have changed that. You can get a decent digital camera for less than $200 and if you get really good at photography, development is dirt cheap now as well.
7. Walking, Hiking and Running.
These are excellent hobbies because they’re cheap AND healthy, and who doesn’t like that? It’ll only set you back the cost of a good pair of shoes and maybe some appropriate clothing.
8. Painting and Drawing.
Paints and paper are relatively inexpensive, and you may have a budding Rembrandt or Picasso inside you. Hey, you never know!
9. Meditation and Yoga.
Two more healthful hobbies that cost little to nothing. You may want to sign up for some classes to get a proper introduction to the techniques, but there are also many how to books for the DIY enthusiasts. I bought a couple such books back when I was still in high school. The techniques I learned from them have helped me get through some pretty tough times over the years. I’ve haven’t practiced either for quite a while, but writing this post makes me want to get back into the habit again. What can I say, after having two small children I long for the peacefulness these hobbies can bring.
10. Baking and Cooking.
If you love to cook, or bake, then this is a win-win hobby! You get the pleasure of making your own meals and desserts, while saving money on groceries. And again, this one can be loads of fun with young children involved.
If you have an inexpensive hobby that’s not on the list, please leave a comment – I’m always on the lookout for something new!
Photos:
Camera and Books © Zsuzsanna Kilián
Yarn © Ben Earwicker
Guitar © Ana Paola Oliveira Loeblein
Yoga © My Yoga Online
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