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Indian summer

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Everything posted by Indian summer

  1. I don't actually think Mergath's example was realistic at all, either, I was just responding to an example where a person did have $18000 a year to invest. Have you actually followed the entire thread? I wasn't suggesting this was in any way realistic.
  2. Right now, the system is as it is and isn't likely to change, so teaching people how to play the game is precisely what I prescribe. When I consider the numbers within my own extended family of people who have gone from poverty to wealth tells me you don't have to accept your place. If that we the case, I would expect 1 or 2 of us would have succeeded instead of the scores that have. And none of us had handouts from family to get started. Remember, there are people who really don't want to improve their lot. There are people who are very content to live very simply. We don't all have to move up a great deal and be 'at the top'. The middle is fine for most of us. Since we started our business a decade ago, not one of our competitors has gone out of business, I doubt any of them even lost much if any business because of us because of how our regions population has expanded there really is enough business to go around.
  3. No, I'm not, but thank you for your kind words. I wish I could tell you all about my amazing siblings, nieces, nephews, uncles, cousins... There are some amazingly inspiring stories there. I see inspiration all around me - tons of examples of rags to, well, middle class, at least. I am the least among my family as far as accomplishments. That's why I tell my little story, because believing in upward mobility despite the crappy statistics is 90% of the battle. The stats may be accurate, but you can have an attitude that will increase your chances of being on the right side of them. We need to surround ourselves with the good stories or we will never believe its possible.
  4. I took that number from the example in Mergath's post - I agree it's not even close to realistic for most people, especially those working for minimum wage.
  5. To what end? I think you answered this with the next sentence - his comfortable middle class life. Does your dad have minor children he should be responsible for, but isn't? If yes, then shame on him. If no, then I don't see a problem with his choosing to spend or save his money however he sees fit - it is his. Are you implying he should be held responsible for his grandchildren? He didn't choose to have grandchildren, why should he be responsible for them? Sometimes it's better for parents to let their adult children fend for themselves so as not to set up an inappropriate, codependent habit.
  6. Okay, here's what I don't get. I read the ingredient list and there is, say, no wheat based ingredient - then below the ingredient list it says "may contain wheat". I understand cross contamination in factories that make multiple products, in this case, they should say "may have come in contact with wheat" not "may contain wheat". To me those are two different things. How may it contain wheat if wheat isn't a listed ingredient!?
  7. Nope, that's not what I'm suggesting at all. I'm suggesting they diversify their investments in the tried and true. I don't think investing $18,000 annually is a small amount, certainly it's big enough to diversify a lot - again, here's another place where they'll have to invest some effort in educating themselves to make the wisest choices.
  8. That's true, statistically, most don't. My point is that those who sincerely want to can usually find a way and that dh and I are living proof, among so many others. I know lots of people that are content with extremely simple lives and don't feel the need to rise any higher from a financial standpoint. If they're happy with their lives, as many are, then I'm sincerley glad for their contentedness. It's the ones who complain about their lot and never do anything about it that drive me crazy.
  9. If they really are doing everything right,as you say, I doubt they'll lose everything, with a few very unfortunate exceptions. First off, setting up your business as a limited liability, should prevent one from losing everything, even if the business fails. Many businesses fail because of poor planning, poor management and failure to seek wise counsel. I knew one business owner who has lost more businesses than I can count because he never really understood some very basic ideas, like buy low and sell high or location, location, location. I kid you not, this man would buy high and be forced to liquidate when no one would pay his crazy prices, over and over again. Sigh. Look, I'm not saying there's absolutely no risk, but there are ways to cut that risk so you are far less likely to end up on the losing end of the statistics. This involves education and it doesn't have to be of the formal variety. I took a small business course in night school put on by a successful local business owner for around $200 and some more similar classes, for free, put on by the unemployment office. And I'm not denying that the cycle of poverty is challenging to break, but if dh and I can do it with learning disabilities, little formal education and throw in a devastating chronic illness to boot, then listening to people make excuses for why they can't improve their situation is difficult to swallow. Humans have the ability to learn. If you want to accomplish something but don't know how, learn.
  10. Not true. If they make themselves financially literate they would invest that $18 000 annually and make a ton of interest. They should have way more than $900, 000. And even if they didn't, what's wrong with $900, 000? That's an awesome amount!
  11. I agree with you that a lot of wealthy people begin with such advantages that they keep that wealth. However, I have to disagree with your last sentence. My dh and I both grew up with poverty and parents that made poor financial choices with the little they had. Dh dropped out of high school, eventually got a GED and went off to trade school. I graduated from ps and dropped out after one year of college. Dh and I both read books about personal finances and set a course and followed it. We started a small business with loans we could secure because of having good credit (we had no capital to speak of) and paid those loans off within one year. Within another year, we were living comfortably UMC. But before that, we lived within our means from his job in retail /trade and mine waiting tables. It can most certainly be done, even though our parents gave us bad financial advice(we didn't take it) and couldn't put us through college or help us start a business. This isn't an isolated case. Most of our siblings are also now living UMC and many of the kids I grew up with who were raised in poverty are at least middle class, if not better.
  12. I think wealthy people often get wealthy or stay that way by making wise financial decisions, which might include buying used items. And some poorer people get that way, or stay that way by making unwise financial decisions like over paying for items. so which came first, are they wealthy (or not) because they make wise decisions consistently (or not). Then there's the matter of discipline. Now, I'm not saying that all wealthy people are more disciplined than all poorer people, but I think it's a factor some of the time. People who can delay gratification until they find the item at a fair price may end up saving a lot more than an impulse shopper. I wonder how many people are poor because of an inability to deny themselves their whims? I have seen poorer people make very unwise financial decisions sometimes out of ignorance and sometimes just because they have fewer options to begin with. It's ironic that wealthy people tend to pay less interest than the poor, because they are less of a risk and sometimes (I've seen this) just knew the banking system better. A wealthy person may never have to pay interest in their lives, but many poorer people can only have what they want by making payments and paying interest that gives the wealthy a huge advantage toward building their wealth. I think a lot of people have no idea just how much interest they pay out in their lives and accept it as a fact of life, when it isn't always and that alone can make a huge difference between becoming poor or rich.
  13. Private entrance, private elevators, private floor, private restaurants, personal wait staff. It all adds up.
  14. My kids complaining that everyone else's houses look way better than ours. "when you're grown up, kids, you can spend thousands to outdo your neighbours Christmas displays if you like."
  15. We've had seatbelt laws in effect for nearly thirty years here and police do frequent checks for seat belts among other things (handheld phone use, vehicle registration etc.) especially around holidays. There is still a small demographic that don't follow the rules, but societal pressure is strong and I think it's a shrinking demographic. When I hear about accidental deaths where the occupant wasn't belted in, it's usually young people though, in their risk taking years, and mostly male. *sigh*
  16. I find eating lots of fat in a low carb setting, with protein makes me not want sweets anymore and I've always had an out of control sweet tooth. I weaned myself off of sugar using a combination of stevia and coconut sugar. Eventually, I became uncomfortable with stevia but now I don't even want the coconut sugar anymore. I followed THM (whole foods version). This is the only thing that's worked after years of trying to get off sugar.
  17. Dh was singing Bridge to Nowhere the other day. I had to point out there is no Suzy in the song. .??? "Suzy, you're on a bridge to nowhere and you're gettin' there fast..." um no.
  18. Wii is a gateway drug. If you must, stick with computer games and only if and when your child begs.
  19. Interesting idea. I don't think I need to do it because I get "the look" almost daily because of a misunderstood medical condition and I've lived in a community as a minority and I've been a visual minority while traveling. I get it. I wonder if I did do it though, if my neighbour, who wears one daily would be offended thinking I was making fun of her. She would wonder seeing me come and go with one and then without. We've never spoken (she seems busy as a uni prof. and keep to herself-ish) so it's not like I'd have the chance to explain.
  20. When dd8 was between 2-5 she couldn't get enough of her doctor kit. Does your dd have a working stethoscope? That was an upgrade I got for dd that she loved. And I agree with the bandaids, little kids can never get enough of these for their dolls and stuffies. How about a doll house?
  21. I'm in the mood to watch a Christmas movie tonight on Netflix. Would love recommendations. Thanks
  22. I wonder if it will get better as the children age? Some people are more stressed by little kid stuff, especially if they don't have a good gauge on what's normal for little ones. I hope that's the case here. I went through times when it was easier to parent when dh was not with us, but it's improved a lot as the kids have grown (ours are between 8-13 now, btw) (((hugs)))
  23. Cold Mountain The entire Anne of Green Gables collection Pride and Prejudice (all versions) North and South Cranford Return to Cranford (love Gaskell) The Bridget Jones movies Sense and Sensibility You've Got Mail Harry Potter (3,6,7&8)
  24. I read the intro and ch 1. As I'm reading, I'm thinking of each of my kids and how I've observed them develop their executive functioning skills over the years, as though switches keep getting turned on. It's funny that the things that aggravate me, they eventually outgrow, but at the same time it hasn't been linear. My youngest has developed skills that one of my older kids still hasn't. It will be interesting to get onto the next chapter and see where each of the kids fits into developmentally. And it will be interesting to learn where I can help the progress along and where I can't.
  25. I called the ortho office first, no emerg # given there. Called our regular dentist, got emerg number, called that. Waiting for a call back. May try to cut the band, but it's a molar, so it may not be coloured. Yes, this is a baby tooth, not a permanent one. Thankfully she gets a new wire this week so it will be checked one way or another soon enough. Thanks all for the responses! :)
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