ANGELRUBY's Blog

I have been doing a BIG MISTAKE. I did not think about how others would feel about my answer when I was asked how my financial situation was doing. I told them I feel I am wealthy. They assumed I was an eccentric and a miser, salting away my money instead of spending it.

My definition of wealthy is LIVING WITHIN MY MEANS AND BEING OPTIMISTIC THAT THE RIGHT AND PERFECT AMOUNT OF MONEY WILL ALWAYS BE MINE. And the willing to work for it. I feel I am wealthy since I can pay my bills, nothing due on credit cards. I do not waste money, and if I want/desire something, it makes it more special by saving up for the item.

The man who was the catalyst for this blog complained to me about his lack of money and wanted to borrow some from me. I do not have extra money to give away. If I lend money, I treat it as given and I am not disappointed if I don't get it back. But, if my money has been already promised to the electric, gas, etc. companies, it is no longer mine to give away.

I suggested that he works a second job. He said that he already works 28 hrs per week and must rest and must golf for a day. Also needs to have a new car each year. (What would be neighbors think if he has a car for 2 years.) Gee, I wonder why he has financial problems. New clothes each year are also important to him.

Have I gone without? Oh yes, but I have found that those things are not really important I usually do not get. The money for the important somehow always comes to me.

I feel I am wealthy for I respect my money. I focus on what is important for me to have. Save a bit for a fun item but right now I have everything I want. So, my focus now is saving for house repairs.

Instead of throwing out something that breaks and buying new, I first try to fix it myself. The web is fantastic, so much information that I am so grateful for. You cannot believe how much money I have saved doing this. I feel that if a repairman can come in to fix it, so can I. We both were born with brains, imagination, and the desire to fix it. Why not at least try ? Why not just being grateful for what you already have?

Yes, I am wealthy!  I will also remember to define wealthy to anyone who asks me about my financial situation in the future.

When reporting the rise in costs of groceries, the report would separate the chemically grown and the organically grown foods. I have noticed a remarkable increase in the organic sections in my stores. That could be hurting the other companies.

Also, it is logical to me that if you are overweight, obese, that it takes a lot of food to create that condition. I do not know anyone in my life right now that is not trying to be careful what they buy and eat. Those of us that are doing that are looking healthier and, of course, slimmer.
That also means that we are not buying so much food.

I have also noticed more people in the grocery stores buying with a shopping list. By not doing impulse shopping, there will not be as much waste, throwing out foods gone bad. That also saves us money. Not good for the manufacturers though.

Rising food costs could also be incentive to those who are not following the trend I see.

Oh Boy! I just realized that I have forgotten to give thanks before eating. Good thing to begin with breakfast this morning. Giving thanks also to the reporters and investigators who work to report to us companies that may be cutting corners and their product could not be healthy and safe for us.

A very wealthy friend of mine said he donates a lot of money to different causes AND DOES NOT CLAIM THAT MONEY ON HIS INCOME TAX to get that money back.

I smile when I see commercials where businesses say they are wonderful and donate to various causes.  Do they rise the costs to us of their goods to do so?  And do they also claim this money on their taxes to get it back?

I would rather pay less for goods and keep doing my own donating.

Last spring, my friends and I were discussing various products.  We all agreed that Airborne worked better than prescribed antibiotics.  When we felt "something" coming on we took it. With a full blown cold, it did make you feel more comfortable and probably shorten the life of the cold/flu.  We also do not expect anything to work perfectly all the time.

I am sure doctors and drug companies would not be happy with this product.  It is not a cure all but we are happy with it.

I am not sure but the eye of the rat looked to be blind with cataracts.  Is there more health problems with them?  Is that why they are out of dark corners and visible to us?

What a delightful movie!  It was interesting that there was not a rush to the door at the end of the movie.  I did have an appointment to make and was the first to get up.  After I got up, others also did.  A man commented to me "party pooper".

I heard a daughter telling her elderly mom that the movie was fantastic.  I felt compassion for the mom.  I invited her to see the movie with me.  She was so excited.  No one asks her to go to the movies with them.

Interesting, it happened again, no one got up as soon as the movie ended. 

This will be a new habit in my life - to take a lonely person to the movies if there is a good one showing. I am sure this woman's eyes are not that great and the large screen is so much better than the TV screen.

I needed to get rid of stuff.  I take care of what I have and I just could not throw out good clothing and other things.  I brought them to my local church.  I could not resist buying a pair of LL Bean slacks that still had the tags on it - for .50. 

Once in a while I stop in and check out the goods.  I also noticed that the other people shopping in there are financially well off.  I asked the lady in the shop if I was right with my observation.  She said I was correct and that is why these people have money.

Last year I was at a shopping center.  A woman came out of a brand new Mercedes.  I like nice clothes but it is not a priority in my life.  I just loved the boots she was wearing and asked her where she bought them - yep, at a thrift shop.  She was so delighted with her "find".  She paid 10.00 for a 200.00 pair of boots.  No wonder she could afford the car.

I take my garbage to a recycling center.  The cost/month for the garbage is 1.35 average. Gas not important for I am traveling past the center on my way to another place.  Garbage pickup would cost me 30,00/mo.

I look at everything I use, even changed paper towels to a washable cloth, to see where I can save.  And that means less garbage going into a landfill and a waste of money for me.

Doing my housecleaning and pickups during commercials is a plus - out of sight, out of mind .. Commercials are meant to entice you to buy even if you don't need it.

Watch out for the pennies, the dollars watch out for themselves.

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Are we being forced to learn to respect and give value to our jobs and our money? That is not a bad thing.

Not running the roads means that you may find that being home is nice. Why have a home if you don't enjoy being in it? Instead of speeding, taking a few minutes off he time playing games on the computer to leave for work or the trip a little earlier and enjoying the trip.

I was happy to hear on Fox this morning that less people are using their credit cards which means less impulse buying something that looked fantastic to have today but just sits in a closet being a dust collector. A big bonus is no stress trying to figure out how to pay the bill.

I tried to fix my cooking stove. Had to buy a new one. Interviewed friends to find what bells and whistles now on the ranges they actually use. The only extra I have is the clock/timer. I turn on the stove, cook, and turn it off. Why pay for useless extras?

A too big house or car doesn't make sense to me. Well, if external validation is important to you to say "see what I have" - go for it and pay the price for your ego. I love being in a luxurious home of people who easily can afford it, I guess I am also happy I don't have to pay the bills for it.

Not that hard to turn off lights when you are not in the room. Not hard to turn down the heat when you are not there.

The good out of the poor quality of goods coming from Asia is that the door opened for us to look at ALL the ingredients of the foods we eat no matter where they are made and the quality of the other goods we buy.

Interesting is that when our money is affected we become more interested in who we elect to political offices. That is also good.

I don't think that anyone will get younger when as the years go on. We are becoming aware of saving or making financial plans when we are old. That is also good.

Best of all, we are learning to be responsible, learning how what we do today will affect us tomorrow.

Is it my imagination but when the price of the barrels of oil rise, we immediately see the cost increase to us but when the price of the barrels go down, it takes a long, long, long, long time for us to see the change for our oil and gas?

I bet that all the Fox morning people are not around their mates and family long enough each day to have altercations.  But rather, happy with the time they do have when both are awake.  Is it true that absence makes the heart grow fonder.

I worked with a fantastic man but was also happy he was not around all the time.   I laughed when his wife said that they lived in 2 different homes. Spoke to each other every day, and were in the same house 2 days a week.  It was a very long marriage.  They just could stand each other 7 days a week but were in love with each other. A solution that worked.

My neighbor's husband worked 6.5 days a week, for 25 years.  When he retired, they both agreed after 3 weeks, he should find work outside the home.  She even suggested that they take the money they saved and build a business. Both loved each other and both loved to be apart.

It seems to me that more people right now n are thinking about dissolving their long marriages. And others who divorced wishing that they didn't.  Interesting summer.

I did come up with a solution for one couple.  Get married in their church, a spiritual bond, but not get a legal license.

What value does the legal bond have anyway except for financial gain if you divorce?   You would need to have your own medical insurance. What are the other reasons to have a marital bond issued by the government?

Just something to think about if you are upset with the words from someone else. Did you not only hear them right but also know the way they are looking at what you are talking about. Did you make yourself clear when YOU were talking to them.

I remember Mom asking Pop, "While you are out, please buy a large hook and eye for me." She was making a pair of slacks for me. Mom assumed that Pop knew what she was working on. Pop brought home a large hook and eye but for a door. Mom sure was not happy with him. (Personally, I think Pop did that on purpose so that she would not send him to the store for those types of things.)

There was a time when a couple of people were upset with me.  Imagine if you came to my home, heard me say Hello, Come in, you entered my home to find me "hiding" and didn't come out to speak with you.  Finally, one person told me about this.  I WAS NOT HOME, it was Bill, the cockatoo, talking in my voice. 
 
I wonder how many arguments and hurt feelings between people could be avoided if they don't assume but ask the other person to explain more fully what they mean. How many conversations are repeated to another person but the meaning in changed either by accident or on purpose. The he said, she said stuff.

Think about what your answer would be if I asked you, How do you stop a dog from smelling?

You may say to give it a bath, put the dog outside, bring it to the dog groomer, pour perfume on it.

Or, completely different - put tape on the dog's nose.

When I took a long trip 2 weeks ago, I had problems with my tires. The web is so wonderful. A little bit of time and I found possible answers. There was a place around here that had "too good" prices for tires. And, when it seems too good to be true, it usually isn't.

Consumer - be wary. Nothing like doing research to save money and you.  Check these out for future reference.




http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?tec
hid=11

http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=4826897

I really don't mind that they charge more when people use their credit cards. The amount that people owe the credit card companies does concern me. Mine is paid off each month. I just liked the convenience of the card. And if I have an emergency.   Now I carry cash. I watch out for the pennies, the dollars watch out for themselves.

I have no idea if debit cards are treated the same as credit cards. They should be the same as cash since the money is coming out of your bank account and not being charged to another company.

Anyone have any ideas on this?

I just found out that my local hospital no longer accepts Blue Cross - Horizon insurance.

To top that, a nurse told me that she has insurance from the hospital she works in but emergency room visits IN THAT HOSPITAL are not covered by her insurance and she is not covered at all if she goes to another hospital.

I would say that everyone should call their local hospital and find out what is covered by their insurance. Prepare for the worse and expect the best.

I have no problem with my HMO insurance. Nothing is really covered by it. No surprises. Well, I was supposed to have dental insurance. Went to the dentist and the insurance co said they sent me a notice that I was no longer covered - Surprise! I never got that notice.

Oh, another friend had an eye exam and bought glasses which most was covered 2 years ago. Her husband just did the same and they found that the Verilux lenses now are not covered. I could not understand why the frames also were not covered. They did not expect a bill of $474.00 just for the glasses. The examination was covered. SURPRISE!

Also she found out that when the insurance company only pays for exams every 2 years. Her husband had a serious problem with his eyes within that time frame and the entire expense was out of pocket for them.

Now, for those who have Medicare, I pray that Fox News will do a segment on this. Who knows what is really covered for the elderly and those living on fixed incomes.

My friend figured out what she pays for insurance and what they have paid, to find that the premiums are so expensive. If she put that money in an interest bearing account, she would have been ahead of the game. Plus, if she did have an emergency, she would have unknowingly gone to the local hospital ER in which her insurance would not cover.

I pray that all of you have more information on insurance. This is quite scary.

Wait a minute! Who gave the hospitals the right now to accept or deny your insurance companies in the first place?   If you show up with the forms from your company, how can they deny you?   I would think they would have a better chance to get money if they submit the bills to your insurance company.

I love the pictures of NYC lit up at night.  It looks so peaceful and beautiful. BUT ..... why are all those lights on all night when we are having heat waves?  Even in the boroughs?  I would rather see the public with electricity rather than businesses that are empty.

The only thing I can think of is that the electric company makes big bucks from these businesses and if they shut them down, the other consumers would pay more for their electricity.