Learn to control money but do not allow it to control you

Firewalker

Tonight I am in the mood to be slightly provocative – now this is out of character. I’ll start by telling you a little story.

One day not so long ago, after a long working day I popped in to see one of the people at work I am quite close to – we have mutual respect and I like her company. I also value her opinion on many matters where I feel my strength limited. Anyway we got talking – she knows about the negative wealth. I have not made much secret of it – I belong to the camp believing that if you hide critical events in your life you are entirely without support when the sh*t really hits the fan.

So we are talking, and joking and eventually we get to the fact that I look rather disheveled – I might wear mainly black (and occasionally white) but I am usually well dressed. So I mention the bathrooms and the work going on…next thing I know I am proudly telling this person, who is very financially savvy, that we have the money to do this work, it is not being done on credit.

‘Oh, so you have paid your…, then?’ – she said.
‘No’ – I replied – ‘but we are paying and this is going well.’
‘It is OK spending someone else’s money, isn’t it?’

Now this got me thinking. Are we spending someone else’s money? Well, no actually – we are spending our money; we earned it, on top of our regular income, we were careful and the main thing: we took a decision that this will be spend on the house rather than go towards the debt. How about the debt?

What is debt for us is the banks’ core business – there is only one reason to pay back loans faster and that is us and our financial future. In fact, banks loose when people pay faster than the loan was set to last. People of the MSE website, you do realise that collectively we keep quite a few financial establishments in business. Why are people trying to make us feel bad about this then?

I say: ‘Debtors of the world unite! Pay your debts off as fast you can and never pay interest to the banks and credit card companies again. You owe it to yourselves, you owe it to you children and you owe it to humanity.’

And now instead of a thought for today, I would like to share a Satchmo song I remembered today. It goes:

‘I have the world on a string
Sitting on a rainbow
Got the string around my finger
What a, what a, what a world!’

Firewalker

savingwannabe

Well done Firewalker, agree with you 100% and we are all behind you every step of the way. When people doubt me i play this Louis is right and so you are you. Louis Armstrong, What a Wonderful World http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xotoDy5806Y

Firewalker

Good morning Savingwannabe, I love the song - in fact I often find myself humming it while cycling or even writing. Satchmo is the greatest though...

Have a very, very good day and stay cool.

Firewalker

hypno06

I still have the book - I have been so lazy that I haven't yet read it - so pm me your addy and I will read it this week and glady pass it on!

macgirl

Sounds like you don't need to read it Hypno! :rotfl:

Firewalker

Only one sentence for tonight (just been out entertaining my colleagues from overseas and feeling tired and had a bit of wine):

"Your true wealth is what is left after all your money is gone." - someone said.

What do you reckon?

Firewalker

savingwannabe

It's all about perception isn't it? I prefer this view.

Firewalker

What a week! And it is still only half way. In fact I have been so busy that it is not only that I have not had time – or for that matter mental space – to write but I haven’t seen Little Boy since Monday morning. I have been living, eating and breathing work. Which probably is as well given the state of our house.

Yes, the saga is continuing. Finally we have a working shower – although the bathroom is not entirely finished; I mean there are still things to install, there are leaks here and there, it will have to be decorate and the floor put in. This doesn’t mean that I have been able to have a shower though – now the boiler has decided to play up. So OH and I have to perform a very interesting ritual involving running from tab to tab and putting them on and off, trying to start the hot water running. Tomorrow this will be sorted out.

But also tomorrow, the kitchen ceiling will be taken down – which means that later tonight we will have to take everything out. And I still have a piece of writing to finish – to be delivered no later than Friday afternoon.

I am seriously considering leaving home and moving into a hotel. What have I learned?
Avoid major work in your house at all cost – if you do any make sure that you don’t do everything at the same time. In retrospect, doing two bathrooms at the same time was not a very good idea.

And I’ll leave you with the following:

“Don't try to be brave when it is enough to be intelligent” – Paolo Coelho

I am taking this personally.

Firewalker

macgirl

Urgh, kitchen and bathroom renovations are the worst. I remember washing up in the bath when our kitchen was ripped out. And I was 8 month's pregnant at the time - it wasn't exactly fun!

Boilers always have that handy knack of playing up just as Winter is about here. Chin up though, 2 new bathrooms will be worth the wait

savingwannabe

I can relate to all of the building adventures too. Focus on the future. I am. I love the quotation! After a long day you made me smile.