Mr and Mrs K's New Journey to a Debt Free Life.

cazmanian_minx

I'll probably stick with my current one as my everyday pen, but I'd like the option of a change of colour occasionally I prefer blue ink for personal stuff and black for business, I'm currently compromising with blue-black which I've never liked! Maybe I should just say stuff it and do everything in purple

'Near' is a relative term up here, we're actually 25 miles away from Thurso in the next county - we live in on a small croft on the north coast, overlooking the sea and if the weather's good, then there's no place more beautiful in the UK (I may be slightly biased...). However, when it's the middle of December, there's only six and a half hours between sunrise and sunset, it's hailing, the wind is gusting to over 100mph and I still have to get down the hill to sort the horses - I miss cities!

7roland8

AlexLK wrote: »

Try telling my parents that :rotfl:, if I had a pound for each time one of them has mentioned the amount of money they wasted on my schooling I'd be a very rich man. ............ I am an awful disappointment. Now, they see their grandson as somewhat a second chance.

If my sons ever felt like that then it would have been ME that was a disappointment as a parent!
Just because they think that Alex don't buy into it - you are a good father - just think of all the men who want nothing to do with their children.

AlexLK

cazmanian_minx wrote: »

I'll probably stick with my current one as my everyday pen, but I'd like the option of a change of colour occasionally I prefer blue ink for personal stuff and black for business, I'm currently compromising with blue-black which I've never liked! Maybe I should just say stuff it and do everything in purple

'Near' is a relative term up here, we're actually 25 miles away from Thurso in the next county - we live in on a small croft on the north coast, overlooking the sea and if the weather's good, then there's no place more beautiful in the UK (I may be slightly biased...). However, when it's the middle of December, there's only six and a half hours between sunrise and sunset, it's hailing, the wind is gusting to over 100mph and I still have to get down the hill to sort the horses - I miss cities!

That's one of the reasons I have a collection.

You may be biased but that is not to say there isn't some truth in your words. Mrs. K. would say otherwise as she would hate to be further away from "civilisation" than we currently are. Mind, it would stop her spending ... :rotfl:

7roland8 wrote: »

If my sons ever felt like that then it would have been ME that was a disappointment as a parent!
Just because they think that Alex don't buy into it - you are a good father - just think of all the men who want nothing to do with their children.

Thank you, Roland. I would like to think I do as well as I can.

On another note thank you for your website advice, it is slowly coming together.

AlexLK

Monday 14th April, 2014.

Dear Diary,

There are often times that I think I must be the only one to question how the "civilised" world works and how money seems to be used as a global method to control vast amounts of people in one way or another. The ethical implications of this utterly magnificent method of control used to represent worth is very clear to see. I also wonder how it came to be that certain skills are "worth" more than others and whether or not things would be very different if a different set of skills were the ones worth the most; who would be in power and how would a life under the control of that given set of people be different?

I was and still am to a certain extent, taken in by the intoxicating power of money and by those notions of not wanting to disappoint, of wanting to be a part of "the pack", you know the ones keeping just that little one step ahead of the Jones'. Yet, now that has begun to sadden me, as I shouldn't feel the need to keep up with anybody. What is "keeping up" anyhow? Perhaps, it's getting further and deeper into debt to keep an illusion of grandeur or maybe it's a fear of being seen by others as "poor". All I do know is I need to stop falling into this trap of "worth" equaling self worth if I am ever to stay debt free.

Summary:
-£8.00 Groceries.

Yours Faithfully,
Alex.

maman

That's quite profound and egalitarian thinking Alex. On a similar tack, I fail to understand how it's considered fair for some people to be paid far more money than they could ever need while others aren't considered worth a living wage. Why is it that profits are jealously guarded and bonuses continue to be paid,in the current climate, while the wages of those at the bottom are frozen? I think we should move to something like the John Lewis model where the Chief Executive's pay is capped at IIRC 75 times that of the lowest paid worker and when the company does well everyone has the same percentage 'bonus' payout. Just imagine how happy the cleaners in an investment bank would be if they got an annual bonus equivalent to their salary!


I think it was Orwell who said 'All pigs is equal, but some pigs are more equal that others!'

cazmanian_minx

AlexLK wrote: »

Monday 14th April, 2014.
I was and still am to a certain extent, taken in by the intoxicating power of money and by those notions of not wanting to disappoint, of wanting to be a part of "the pack", you know the ones keeping just that little one step ahead of the Jones'.

You're already at least one step, if not more, ahead of this Jones

AlexLK

My thinking comes from being seen as "useless" yet, apparently, "intelligent" (clearly not intelligent enough :rotfl:). The older I get the more I think life can be dreadfully unfair. In reality, I am not badly off though it often seems I am the "poor" one amongst my peer group.

Next week I return to the music project (different year group) and I'm not sure if I can do it after last time: the kids put so much effort in, there was little trouble and yet the parents didn't seem particularly appreciative. Some of them really wanted the opportunity to carry on progressing and were denied it (mainly because of cost), this may sound like I'm whining again but I cannot help but wonder what the point of this was in the first place.

7roland8

The point Alex - is that you can be inspiring these young people - you are giving them a glimpse of something different. Don't do it for the appreciation form parents that will maybe never come - do it for the love of music and the good feeling of passing something on in the universe.

AlexLK

Roland: I don't do it for appreciation from the parents. However, I find it very sad that there seems no provision for the ones that want to carry on but cannot afford (or parents do not want to prioritise their money towards) private lessons. Perhaps doing the right thing would be to offer (more of) my time for free but by the same token I have other paying pupils and that would not seem "fair" on them either. Besides that would mean I was out of pocket as I'd have to drive to the school (28 miles each way) and my son would have to go to nursery for another day, OK that's my selfish reasons.

littlegreenparrot

Have you discussed it with anyone at the school? Is there other music provision available in the area, if not at that particular school?

It's difficult without knowing the context, but if it was a pilot project you were involved with they may have been holding off to see how much genuine interest there was. I know the peripatetic instrument teachers that I had have been cut, but there may be provision at other schools that can be linked into.
Could you offer group sessions to reduce the cost per learner?

I think it would be well worth having a chat with whoever manages the project, just to explain that there were a few very interested students, and see if there are any further avenues to explore. There are sometimes less obvious solutions to a problem