Coping with peoples scorn

charlies-aunt

Everyone has to decide whats best for them and we only come this way once so its up to each individual to do what ever they feel is right ...makes me think of my dear old dad - he used to say "Money is made round to go round....but its also made flat to stack!"

maryb

“I would rather have my people laugh at my economies than weep for my extravagance” King Oscar of Sweden sometime in the 18th century (I think)


I substitute 'my children' for my people and, yes, they do laugh at me but I don't care and one day they will say 'OMG I've turned into my mother!!!'.

Some years ago someone at work who disliked me was kindly reported to me as having said I was a loser because I wasn't on the fast track to superstardom as (she thought) she was. I laughed - I've been happily married for 22 years, I have two beautiful daughters who are as good and sweet-natured as they are beautiful and clever and, touch wood, none of us has any health problems. Our mortgage is paid off and we have enough put aside to live (modestly) comfortably in retirement, which for me came early. That's my definition of success.

I remember the terrifying times when there were redundancies (I've lived through several recessions) when we would have gone under if we had lost our jobs and being free from that is worth more to me than any material thing could ever be. What amazes me is how quickly we were able to go from being wieghed down with a big mortgage and an overdraft to clearing it once we put our minds to getting out from under that load. Give me liberty or give me debt

OK I wouldn't win any awards for style. Now that my middle age has spread a bit I find I go shopping and end up buying something for one of the girls because it always looks good on them. But I can scrub up well enough when I have to/want to.

And we drive a car that would certainly have qualified for the scrappage scheme -12 years old. However it is a very good marque and still looks really good and it's paid for. We will need to replace it when it becomes unreliable but we actually like it better than the newer models.

I like to think of it as being a bit like the French - it's actually stylish to get the best quality you can for the best price and make it last

chaoshappy

my theory....i always ask myself, are these people who i would go to if i wanted advice on something?....if you wouldn't ask their opinion, ignore it when they choose to give it!!

The_Thrilla

maryb wrote: »

I like to think of it as being a bit like the French - it's actually stylish to get the best quality you can for the best price and make it last

Funnily enough, last week, I found an article on the French in the supplement for a July 1935 edition of the Los Angeles Times. Here is a quote from it:

France is a nation of small investors. Even those who earn almost nothing save a little. Every peasant's cottage has a few gold pieces hidden under the hearthstone. Every dowry box boasts a few government bonds.

Cheques are practically unknown in France where people prefer the feeling of actual money. By petty and pitiful economics which even the poorest American does not dream of, by rigid self-scarifice, the French add centime to centime and franc to franc to insure the future of the family.


A manufacturer of American electric refrigerators opened a fine display room on the Champs Elysee when I was in Paris three years ago, [1932] and several months later he closed its doors. "I could sell more refrigerators in a town of 5,000 people in America than in a city of 5 million Frenchmen," he told me. "Even the wealthy were shocked by such extravagance, while the middle-class Parisian went on hanging his lettuce in a wire cage outside his kitchen window, as his ancestors always had done."

Of course, things in France have changed a little since then. (I am told that last week France was within 5 minutes of going under financially owing to the Greek debt crisis.) But I have read some of the old thrift books - e.g. Benjamin Franklin and Samuel Smiles - and it is amazing how far we have drifted from the straight and narrow.

Nancy888

My mum and dad called round yesterday (an unexpected occurance) and I was in ASDA (where else??!!). DS1 rang me to tell me they were on their way - I was nowhere near done so plodded on and finished the shopping.

When I got home I jokingly said I'd been waylaid by looking through the Whoopsies...my dad was dumbstruck as he didn't know what I was talking about...mum explained and dad's face was then one of abject horror...'You don't feed out of date things to my grandsons, do you? was his comment...:eek:

Therefore, its obviously OK for me to have it but not his precious grandsons.

I pointed out that mum bought Whoopsies and nearly caused WW3 :rotfl:

ceridwen

The_Thrilla wrote: »

Funnily enough, last week, I found an article on the French in the supplement for a July 1935 edition of the Los Angeles Times. Here is a quote from it:

France is a nation of small investors. Even those who earn almost nothing save a little. Every peasant's cottage has a few gold pieces hidden under the hearthstone. Every dowry box boasts a few government bonds.

Cheques are practically unknown in France where people prefer the feeling of actual money. By petty and pitiful economics which even the poorest American does not dream of, by rigid self-scarifice, the French add centime to centime and franc to franc to insure the future of the family.


A manufacturer of American electric refrigerators opened a fine display room on the Champs Elysee when I was in Paris three years ago, [1932] and several months later he closed its doors. "I could sell more refrigerators in a town of 5,000 people in America than in a city of 5 million Frenchmen," he told me. "Even the wealthy were shocked by such extravagance, while the middle-class Parisian went on hanging his lettuce in a wire cage outside his kitchen window, as his ancestors always had done."

Of course, things in France have changed a little since then. (I am told that last week France was within 5 minutes of going under financially owing to the Greek debt crisis.) But I have read some of the old thrift books - e.g. Benjamin Franklin and Samuel Smiles - and it is amazing how far we have drifted from the straight and narrow.

Then - in that case - the French attitude in that respect has a lot to commend it:T

I wasn't aware of anything along the lines of the French being "within 5 minutes of going under" due to somebody else (ie the Greeks) and feel sorry for them if that was the case (bad enough to "go under" because of your own misdoings - but to go under because of somebody else:eek::mad:). Have you got any info. links on that please?

Now - what was that book "Small is beautiful" - which I read MANY MANY years ago and thoroughly agreed with as I recall? (thinking to self "The whole E.U. idea is steadily coming to seem more and more ludicrous at best and disastrous at worst" - and I was a fan of the idea in the first place.......).

EDIT: Just googled "Small is beautiful" and "wikipedia" and thought "I've not changed my mind then about this in over 30 years" when I read the wikipedia article about this book....but I have DEFINITELY changed my mind about the (dubious) merits of the E.U.

The_Thrilla

ceridwen wrote: »

I wasn't aware of anything along the lines of the French being "within 5 minutes of going under" due to somebody else (ie the Greeks) and feel sorry for them if that was the case (bad enough to "go under" because of your own misdoings - but to go under because of somebody else:eek::mad:). Have you got any info. links on that please?

Yes, I have:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7YKFgARq2Y

This guy is a German economist. He knows what he is talking about. I did know that a French bank called BNP Paribas is owed a lot of money by Greece. The Societe Generale, likewise, is vulnerable. And it's not over yet...

katholicos

charlies-aunt wrote: »

...makes me think of my dear old dad - he used to say "Money is made round to go round....but its also made flat to stack!"

That is classic! What an insightful man!

maryb

I knew France was in deep for Greek loans and there have been reports in the papers about Sarkozy banging the table to insist that Germany signed up to the rescue or threatening to leave the euro.

There was also a rumour last week that Germany was going to leave the euro and revert to the mark. It went viral within a day - so much so that the Financial Times devoted a paragraph to debunking it. I thought it was interesting that so many people were prepared to pay enough attention to spread the rumour, shows that they were thinking it's not impossible

Doesn't seem to be doing anything for the £:Euro exchange rate though because the £ is going down in tandem. I think when we go to France at half term we will be limiting our intake of French cuisine and doing a lot more self catering because the tourist rate seems to be close to parity from what I can see. But I do like sitting in cafes and watching the French being French - and that's relatively cheap if you nurse a coffee

ceridwen

maryb wrote: »

I knew France was in deep for Greek loans and there have been reports in the papers about Sarkozy banging the table to insist that Germany signed up to the rescue or threatening to leave the euro.

There was also a rumour last week that Germany was going to leave the euro and revert to the mark. It went viral within a day - so much so that the Financial Times devoted a paragraph to debunking it. I thought it was interesting that so many people were prepared to pay enough attention to spread the rumour, shows that they were thinking it's not impossible

Doesn't seem to be doing anything for the £:Euro exchange rate though because the £ is going down in tandem. I think when we go to France at half term we will be limiting our intake of French cuisine and doing a lot more self catering because the tourist rate seems to be close to parity from what I can see. But I do like sitting in cafes and watching the French being French - and that's relatively cheap if you nurse a coffee

I gather there were rumours as well of the Greeks going back to the drachma.

Errrmm...I'm no financial "sophisticate" - but I DO wonder whether it would be desirable/possible for the European countries to "junk the euro" and just go back to their own original currencies?

I say this as someone who originally thought "Good idea to have a common currency" - but, as things stand, the good seems to get dragged down by the bad and I simply don't believe in that. It's just not fair for a country (like Germany for instance) that manages their finances well as far as I can see to get dragged down by one that does quite the reverse (like Greece). Why on earth should the capable suffer because of the incapable (or unwilling)?