I missed my weekly Thursday blog post but I wanted to share with you an example of how I am taking some of my own advice and hopefully encourage you to do the same. This afternoon I was able to save quite a bit of money on groceries, and I wanted to share with you not only how I did it, but also show you how easy it was. At the end of March we went to our local Lowes hardware store and bought a mid sized chest freezer for a little under $300.00. Thats a lot of money on a tight budget, but we have already recouped almost half of that cost with BOGO (Buy-One-Get-One-Free) deals.
This afternoon my wife spent about five minutes online looking at the Harris-Teeter weekly ads and gave me a list of things that we use that were on sale. She checks the Harris-Teeter, Lowe's Foods, Food Lion, and Bi-Lo online ads each week to see what deals they offer that we use. Keep in mind a great deal on something that you don't use is not such a good deal after all. If you save the weekly coupons in the newspaper and a few from the daily junk mail, you can save quite a lot of money in addition to the BOGO deals. Most of the things we buy that are on sale are the staple items that we would buy at full cost anyway. Many times we can get higher quality name brand items such as cereal and lunch box stuffers with BOGO deals at half the cost of the store brands. The same goes for a lot of items that we buy using coupons.
Today for example, the grocery list that my wife gave me totaled $122.44 and I spent $67.19 saving $55.25. The way I look at it is that I just saved one sixth of the total cost of our new freezer. Since I have had at least three other BOGO trips since March, we have saved about half of the cost of the freezer. She gave me another list for tomorrow afternoon for Bi-Lo. Just with the BOGO items we will get $72.00 worth of food for $36.00 and that does not include using any coupons that she is still looking through. As far as I'm concerned $91.25 of free food in one week is not a bad return for investing only ten minutes of her time. If you are keeping tally, that's saving one third the cost of the freezer in only one week.
Now keep in mind its not all about just saving money. Remember my catch phrase about building happier, more secure, and more self sufficient lives for our families? Often times when we prepare for even minor emergences we are actually prepared for larger emergences. My wife is going to have surgery sometime in the next month or so. We bought the freezer to save money but we are going to reap larger benefits in the near future by having that larger frozen storage capacity that we did not have with our refrigerator freezer. We are planning to prepare several meals and casseroles in advance and freeze them. Some of our friends and family are planning to bring us some meals during my wife's recovery period. If several people bring food at one time we can freeze some of it and have no waste.
If you guys are using some of my ideas and techniques to build happier, more secure, and more self sufficient lives for your families let me know and don't forget to share those successes with others. By sharing our successes we all grow stronger. You can email me at larrygriffin@carolina.rr.com or drop in for a visit on Facebook. I am always happy to share ideas with others and hopefully answer some of your questions.
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Two more High Yield Low Risk Investments - Part Two
We all work hard for the money we earn. Most people understand that due to inflation (or more accurately the devaluation of the dollar) we can not just stuff our savings in the mattress and expect to see it grow. In fact for the last few years we have seen three to four percent inflation which means that for every dollar we earn, we can buy three to four percent less than we could the year before. In order to either keep up with inflation or hopefully see our savings grow we turn to investment vehicles. There are several traditional investments available from your bank or stock broker. Most traditional investments earn between 3 – 15% during good years. Lately with our economy where it is, we are seeing 0.5 – 2% growth from traditional investments. Remember that the old adage still applies, “The higher the yield the higher the risk”.
I mentioned two other non-traditional investment ideas in my last blog post and this time I would like to show you two others that can yield fairly high returns with very little risk. Other than paying off your debt which yields the highest return for your investment dollars, the second highest yielding investment that I have found anywhere will probably surprise you as well unless you have been reading my blog for a while. It is one that most people would never consider to be an investment because it is so easily overlooked. How many traditional investments do you know of that will give you an 18% return on your money, and even if they don’t they are guaranteed to give you back 100% of your initial investment? Not many, I believe. There is one non-traditional investment that does provide that security, here it is: Food. Everyone is complaining about high food prices, but were you aware that food prices rose 18% from 2008 to 2009? I have mentioned that storing extra food today will provide your family the ability to eat if you have some sort of local emergency. I usually think of it as food insurance. It also makes a lot of economic sense to store some canned goods and long term store-able items such as rice, beans, and pasta. There are a lot of other food available in your local supermarket that store well. Don't forget to use your coupons and try for those buy-one-get-one-free items to save money. There you have it, you can have your investments and eat them too.
The other non-tradition investment vehicle that is becoming more mainstream lately is investing in Precious Metals. I have mentioned in previous blog posts about how precious metals hold their value. An ounce of silver purchased just two years ago would have cost you $5.00 and today that same ounce is selling for a little over $18.00. There are a few tin foil hat wearing folks on the Internet that claim that the days are numbered for our current fiat based money system, and we should all go out and convert all of our savings to gold. Again there is probably some truth in their ramblings but when you take just about anything to the extreme you tend to lose. I personally think that the proper level of investing in precious metals lies in the range of 5% to 15% of your total investment portfolio. This is where you must use your own common sense and invest at a level that you feel comfortable. You might limit yourself to just 1% or you might feel comfortable at 20% or higher. While there are several methods of purchasing precious metals via COMEX and ETF vehicles, I tend to stay away from them at this time. When it comes to precious metals I think there are some good investment opportunities in the paper investments through brokers, but again the higher the return the higher the risk. For now there is an old rule that I follow because I think is very wise, “If you can't touch it, you don't own it”. Physical gold and physical silver are tangible assets. If the stock market crashes or the brokerage firm that holds your gold/silver goes bankrupt your metal investments can vanish overnight. One other nice feature of investing in physical precious metals is you can start with very small amounts of money. Purchase just one, one ounce silver round at your local coin dealer and you are in the market. If any of you are interested in purchasing silver or gold I have a couple of suggestions that I will share with you via email if you ask.
Your feedback is important to me. Let me know what you think of my blog. You can email me at larrygriffin@carolina.rr.com or drop in for a visit on Facebook. I am always happy to share ideas with others and hopefully answer some of your questions. By working together we can build happier, more secure, and more self sufficient lives for our families.
I mentioned two other non-traditional investment ideas in my last blog post and this time I would like to show you two others that can yield fairly high returns with very little risk. Other than paying off your debt which yields the highest return for your investment dollars, the second highest yielding investment that I have found anywhere will probably surprise you as well unless you have been reading my blog for a while. It is one that most people would never consider to be an investment because it is so easily overlooked. How many traditional investments do you know of that will give you an 18% return on your money, and even if they don’t they are guaranteed to give you back 100% of your initial investment? Not many, I believe. There is one non-traditional investment that does provide that security, here it is: Food. Everyone is complaining about high food prices, but were you aware that food prices rose 18% from 2008 to 2009? I have mentioned that storing extra food today will provide your family the ability to eat if you have some sort of local emergency. I usually think of it as food insurance. It also makes a lot of economic sense to store some canned goods and long term store-able items such as rice, beans, and pasta. There are a lot of other food available in your local supermarket that store well. Don't forget to use your coupons and try for those buy-one-get-one-free items to save money. There you have it, you can have your investments and eat them too.
The other non-tradition investment vehicle that is becoming more mainstream lately is investing in Precious Metals. I have mentioned in previous blog posts about how precious metals hold their value. An ounce of silver purchased just two years ago would have cost you $5.00 and today that same ounce is selling for a little over $18.00. There are a few tin foil hat wearing folks on the Internet that claim that the days are numbered for our current fiat based money system, and we should all go out and convert all of our savings to gold. Again there is probably some truth in their ramblings but when you take just about anything to the extreme you tend to lose. I personally think that the proper level of investing in precious metals lies in the range of 5% to 15% of your total investment portfolio. This is where you must use your own common sense and invest at a level that you feel comfortable. You might limit yourself to just 1% or you might feel comfortable at 20% or higher. While there are several methods of purchasing precious metals via COMEX and ETF vehicles, I tend to stay away from them at this time. When it comes to precious metals I think there are some good investment opportunities in the paper investments through brokers, but again the higher the return the higher the risk. For now there is an old rule that I follow because I think is very wise, “If you can't touch it, you don't own it”. Physical gold and physical silver are tangible assets. If the stock market crashes or the brokerage firm that holds your gold/silver goes bankrupt your metal investments can vanish overnight. One other nice feature of investing in physical precious metals is you can start with very small amounts of money. Purchase just one, one ounce silver round at your local coin dealer and you are in the market. If any of you are interested in purchasing silver or gold I have a couple of suggestions that I will share with you via email if you ask.
Your feedback is important to me. Let me know what you think of my blog. You can email me at larrygriffin@carolina.rr.com or drop in for a visit on Facebook. I am always happy to share ideas with others and hopefully answer some of your questions. By working together we can build happier, more secure, and more self sufficient lives for our families.
Friday, June 4, 2010
Four non-traditional financial investments - Part One
Another day, another dollar, makes you wonder where your money went. You can scream, you can holler, it really doesn't matter because it all gets spent. (Jack Spirko - TheSurvivalPodcast.com)
While I don’t even pretend to be a financial adviser, I do but a lot of weight behind the old saying of; "Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket". I know that everyone looks at investments differently, but I would like to share some not-so-common financial philosophies with you. I believe that it is important to understand that the information given to you by a financial adviser is just simply that. It is just information and advice. You do not have to follow everything your financial adviser tells you to do. You need to make sure you are comfortable placing YOUR money in a place that makes YOU feel comfortable. It is also important to remember that most financial advisers are getting paid to sell a product. Most advisers only make a profit when you buy their investment products, and it is not in their best interest to advise you to diversify your investments outside the portfolios that they offer to sell you.
I feel that it is important that we diversify our investments. Most of the advice I have been given follows along the lines of putting all of my savings into stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. I'm just not comfortable with that advise any more. Even after the wake up call we all had when the stock market crashed and about a third of my retirement money fell to the ground like the ashes of a cheap cigar, I still believe that there is a place in most folk’s portfolios for those traditional investments. After all, the money that flows through the stock market is the fuel that keeps the engine of our capitalist economy moving forward. The ability to sell stock is what keeps entrepreneurs and inventors of new technology in business to make our lives better and our country stronger.
I have found that there are four separate non-traditional financial tools that are important to me. The first is Cash. It is important to have some cash on hand for small immediate purchases so that I am not tempted to use a credit card for little things. Those little things can add up quick even if you are trying to pay attention. It is also important to have an emergency fund such as a savings account where you can readily get to the money to cover other minor emergencies. Several advisers have recommended a $1000 emergency fund as that amount can cover most of the problems we encounter.
The second financial tool is the highest yielding financial investment that I have seen anywhere. It is one that almost no investment counselor will share with you and it is simply: Get out of Debt. The best way to think about debt is to consider it the same way you look at cancer. In reality it is financial cancer. For every dollar you put on your credit card you will wind up paying the Credit Card Company $1.25 after you add in fees and interest charges. If you just pay the minimum amount due each month on even a relatively small balance it could take up to 36 years to pay off some cards. You wind up paying more in interest to the Credit Card Company than you initially put on the card. The money that you are paying as interest is money that you cannot use for things that you want or need. Interest money given to a Credit Card Company is gone forever and can not be used for increasing your personal wealth.
In my next post I will share with you two more non-traditional investment tools. One of them gained 18% last year with a 100% guarantee on the initial investment. The other has gained 200% over the past four years.
Your feedback is important to me. Let me know what you think of my blog. You can email me at larrygriffin@carolina.rr.com or drop in for a visit on Facebook. I am always happy to share ideas with others and hopefully answer some of your questions. By working together we can build happier, more secure, and more self sufficient lives for our families.
While I don’t even pretend to be a financial adviser, I do but a lot of weight behind the old saying of; "Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket". I know that everyone looks at investments differently, but I would like to share some not-so-common financial philosophies with you. I believe that it is important to understand that the information given to you by a financial adviser is just simply that. It is just information and advice. You do not have to follow everything your financial adviser tells you to do. You need to make sure you are comfortable placing YOUR money in a place that makes YOU feel comfortable. It is also important to remember that most financial advisers are getting paid to sell a product. Most advisers only make a profit when you buy their investment products, and it is not in their best interest to advise you to diversify your investments outside the portfolios that they offer to sell you.
I feel that it is important that we diversify our investments. Most of the advice I have been given follows along the lines of putting all of my savings into stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. I'm just not comfortable with that advise any more. Even after the wake up call we all had when the stock market crashed and about a third of my retirement money fell to the ground like the ashes of a cheap cigar, I still believe that there is a place in most folk’s portfolios for those traditional investments. After all, the money that flows through the stock market is the fuel that keeps the engine of our capitalist economy moving forward. The ability to sell stock is what keeps entrepreneurs and inventors of new technology in business to make our lives better and our country stronger.
I have found that there are four separate non-traditional financial tools that are important to me. The first is Cash. It is important to have some cash on hand for small immediate purchases so that I am not tempted to use a credit card for little things. Those little things can add up quick even if you are trying to pay attention. It is also important to have an emergency fund such as a savings account where you can readily get to the money to cover other minor emergencies. Several advisers have recommended a $1000 emergency fund as that amount can cover most of the problems we encounter.
The second financial tool is the highest yielding financial investment that I have seen anywhere. It is one that almost no investment counselor will share with you and it is simply: Get out of Debt. The best way to think about debt is to consider it the same way you look at cancer. In reality it is financial cancer. For every dollar you put on your credit card you will wind up paying the Credit Card Company $1.25 after you add in fees and interest charges. If you just pay the minimum amount due each month on even a relatively small balance it could take up to 36 years to pay off some cards. You wind up paying more in interest to the Credit Card Company than you initially put on the card. The money that you are paying as interest is money that you cannot use for things that you want or need. Interest money given to a Credit Card Company is gone forever and can not be used for increasing your personal wealth.
In my next post I will share with you two more non-traditional investment tools. One of them gained 18% last year with a 100% guarantee on the initial investment. The other has gained 200% over the past four years.
Your feedback is important to me. Let me know what you think of my blog. You can email me at larrygriffin@carolina.rr.com or drop in for a visit on Facebook. I am always happy to share ideas with others and hopefully answer some of your questions. By working together we can build happier, more secure, and more self sufficient lives for our families.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
The Successful Snowball at the top of a Debt Hill
About three years ago we had a new upstart radio station come into town that was only on the air for about a year and a half. The afternoon show time slot was filled by the Dave Ramsey show. When I first heard Dave talk about getting out of debt by paying off all of my bills, I could have just about laughed in his face. That is easy to say for someone that makes a lot more money than me or has a lot fewer bills. I don't know about you, but I always seem to have more bills than money at the end of each month. After spending several afternoon commuting hours listening to Dave and reading his book, I realized that he had some ideas that I could really use to improve my financial situation and my life in general. On the other hand, Dave is adamant about some things that I don't agree with. I guess that falls into the category of "What works for me, may not work for you".
After listening to Dave for a while, I realized that financial independence is not so much about how much money you make, but more importantly what you do with your earnings. Dave Ramsey does have a good plan that is based on sound concepts. I feel that some of his steps are too large for a lot of people to handle, so I have refined some his steps down into more manageable steps that are more comfortable for me. Dave created what he calls the Debt Snowball. This Snowball combines the concepts of Kaisen and PDCA models (see my previous posts). You start with a plan and take baby steps to create larger and larger successes toward the twin goals of eliminating personal debt and creating financial wealth.
The first step in Dave's Snowball plan is to create an Emergency Fund of $1000. One thousand dollars can cover many of life's little emergencies without having to use a Credit Card which would only create more debt. That is sound advice, but to me a thousand dollars is a lot of money to scrounge up. Let's go back to Kaisen for a moment. How about we start with a goal of having $100 cash in our wallet. Saving five, ten, or twenty dollars a week for a few weeks will get us there. If we set our goal of $1000 dollars we might get discouraged before we gain any real traction. Having $100 in our wallet is a micro-success that is achievable for most of us. Along the way why don't we also have the goal of paying with cash for some of our smaller purchases, instead of reaching for that debt creating Credit Card? Spending cash from our wallet makes us think twice if a purchase is really something we need or something we have been buying out of habit. After all, to reach our goal of $100 or to maintain that $100 we have to be careful with our money. Just paying attention to what we spend instead of mindlessly swiping a plastic card can make a huge difference in staying within our budget. Getting by with a little less now will mean that we can have a lot later.
Once we have $100 in cash in our wallet, we can look at how we were able to save that up (Plan, Do, Check, Analyze) and use those successes to lead us towards our next goal of building up a $250 Emergency Fund, then a $500 Emergency Fund, then…I just handed you a Snowball, now run with it.
There is a better way to manage your money and get out of debt. You don't have to be just another face in the crowd. You don't have to live the way the Credit Card companies, the Government, or someone else wants you to live. You just have to decide to take back control and take that first step towards personal and financial freedom. So take those first steps with me. I'll share what has been working for me while you find out what works for you. By working together we can build happier, more secure, and more self sufficient lives for our families.
Your feedback is important to me. Let me know what you think of my blog. You can email me at larrygriffin@carolina.rr.com or drop in for a visit on Facebook. I am always happy to share ideas with others and hopefully answer some of your questions.
After listening to Dave for a while, I realized that financial independence is not so much about how much money you make, but more importantly what you do with your earnings. Dave Ramsey does have a good plan that is based on sound concepts. I feel that some of his steps are too large for a lot of people to handle, so I have refined some his steps down into more manageable steps that are more comfortable for me. Dave created what he calls the Debt Snowball. This Snowball combines the concepts of Kaisen and PDCA models (see my previous posts). You start with a plan and take baby steps to create larger and larger successes toward the twin goals of eliminating personal debt and creating financial wealth.
The first step in Dave's Snowball plan is to create an Emergency Fund of $1000. One thousand dollars can cover many of life's little emergencies without having to use a Credit Card which would only create more debt. That is sound advice, but to me a thousand dollars is a lot of money to scrounge up. Let's go back to Kaisen for a moment. How about we start with a goal of having $100 cash in our wallet. Saving five, ten, or twenty dollars a week for a few weeks will get us there. If we set our goal of $1000 dollars we might get discouraged before we gain any real traction. Having $100 in our wallet is a micro-success that is achievable for most of us. Along the way why don't we also have the goal of paying with cash for some of our smaller purchases, instead of reaching for that debt creating Credit Card? Spending cash from our wallet makes us think twice if a purchase is really something we need or something we have been buying out of habit. After all, to reach our goal of $100 or to maintain that $100 we have to be careful with our money. Just paying attention to what we spend instead of mindlessly swiping a plastic card can make a huge difference in staying within our budget. Getting by with a little less now will mean that we can have a lot later.
Once we have $100 in cash in our wallet, we can look at how we were able to save that up (Plan, Do, Check, Analyze) and use those successes to lead us towards our next goal of building up a $250 Emergency Fund, then a $500 Emergency Fund, then…I just handed you a Snowball, now run with it.
There is a better way to manage your money and get out of debt. You don't have to be just another face in the crowd. You don't have to live the way the Credit Card companies, the Government, or someone else wants you to live. You just have to decide to take back control and take that first step towards personal and financial freedom. So take those first steps with me. I'll share what has been working for me while you find out what works for you. By working together we can build happier, more secure, and more self sufficient lives for our families.
Your feedback is important to me. Let me know what you think of my blog. You can email me at larrygriffin@carolina.rr.com or drop in for a visit on Facebook. I am always happy to share ideas with others and hopefully answer some of your questions.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
The Shewhart Cycle -- A roadmap for success that we create for ourselves.
It is often said that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. True, but what good would a thousand steps do us if we have no idea of where we are going? I would like to introduce you to another concept that will help you greatly as you strive for financial independence and as you attempt to prepare yourselves for whatever the future holds. The Shewhart Cycle. This concept will work for anything that you are working on such as a budget, business planning, or even some of the ideas that I have given to you lately such as food storage. The Shewhart cycle goes by many names. The PDCA model (Plan, Do, Check, Analyze), the SARA model (Scanning, Analysis, Response, Assessment), are all similar models for the same basic concept. It consists of four basic steps in a closed loop that builds upon itself.
Step 1 -- PLAN: Focus on the results that you would like to achieve. Define your objectives and determine what processes you will need to deliver the results you are seeking. By focusing on the expected outcome you are also relying on completeness and accuracy of the steps that you decide to take to become a part of the improvement process. For our stated goal of creating a happier, more secure, more self sufficient life we need a plan to guide us. For our financial goal of eliminating debt and building wealth we need a plan or in this case a Budget. For creating an insurance plan so that our family can eat during a short term emergency we need to determine what foods we eat and which of those foods store well.
Step 2 -- DO: Put your plan into action. Start out with the concept of Kaizen (see my last post) and take a few cautious steps. Try sticking to your new budget. Store away a couple of extra meals in your pantry. Start putting some extra cash into your Emergency Fund (We will talk about this later). Buy an ounce or two of silver or a tenth of an ounce of gold. Start a small garden or plant a couple of containers on your back deck.
Step 3 -- CHECK: Are you able to stick with your budget? You stored some food. Have you used any of it? (Remember – Store what you eat, eat what you store). Did you have to dip into your Emergency Fund instead of using a Credit Card to get through a minor financial emergency? How does owning something of real value and real wealth (silver/gold) make you feel? How well is your garden (or container plants) growing? Every step that you take to prepare for the future should make your life better today. Where did your steps take you?
Step 4 -- ANALYZE: Analyze your results and determine what you did right and keep doing it. Look at your successes to see if you can find better or more efficient ways to reach your goals. Determine what went wrong and why it did not work. Determine where to apply changes that will include improvements. If you met one or more of your goals, create new ones or adjust your goals to a higher level. Look at where this process took you and go back to Step 1 and refine your plan.
I have a co-worker that enjoys panning for gold as a hobby. He takes a shovel full of dirt from a stream and swirls it around in a pan with some water to wash away the silt. It takes a while to work that shovel full of dirt down to a few particles of gold. Life is like that. We are given a shovel full of life at birth. That shovel full of life contains a lot of dirt and silt, but it also contains nuggets of happiness and success. It is up to us to invest the time and effort to work it out. If we don't, we just end up with a shovel full of plain old dirt.
Your feedback is important to me. Let me know what you think of my blog. You can email me at larrygriffin@carolina.rr.com or drop in for a visit on Facebook. I am always happy to share ideas with others and hopefully answer some of your questions. By working together we can build happier, more secure, and more self sufficient lives for our families.
Step 1 -- PLAN: Focus on the results that you would like to achieve. Define your objectives and determine what processes you will need to deliver the results you are seeking. By focusing on the expected outcome you are also relying on completeness and accuracy of the steps that you decide to take to become a part of the improvement process. For our stated goal of creating a happier, more secure, more self sufficient life we need a plan to guide us. For our financial goal of eliminating debt and building wealth we need a plan or in this case a Budget. For creating an insurance plan so that our family can eat during a short term emergency we need to determine what foods we eat and which of those foods store well.
Step 2 -- DO: Put your plan into action. Start out with the concept of Kaizen (see my last post) and take a few cautious steps. Try sticking to your new budget. Store away a couple of extra meals in your pantry. Start putting some extra cash into your Emergency Fund (We will talk about this later). Buy an ounce or two of silver or a tenth of an ounce of gold. Start a small garden or plant a couple of containers on your back deck.
Step 3 -- CHECK: Are you able to stick with your budget? You stored some food. Have you used any of it? (Remember – Store what you eat, eat what you store). Did you have to dip into your Emergency Fund instead of using a Credit Card to get through a minor financial emergency? How does owning something of real value and real wealth (silver/gold) make you feel? How well is your garden (or container plants) growing? Every step that you take to prepare for the future should make your life better today. Where did your steps take you?
Step 4 -- ANALYZE: Analyze your results and determine what you did right and keep doing it. Look at your successes to see if you can find better or more efficient ways to reach your goals. Determine what went wrong and why it did not work. Determine where to apply changes that will include improvements. If you met one or more of your goals, create new ones or adjust your goals to a higher level. Look at where this process took you and go back to Step 1 and refine your plan.
I have a co-worker that enjoys panning for gold as a hobby. He takes a shovel full of dirt from a stream and swirls it around in a pan with some water to wash away the silt. It takes a while to work that shovel full of dirt down to a few particles of gold. Life is like that. We are given a shovel full of life at birth. That shovel full of life contains a lot of dirt and silt, but it also contains nuggets of happiness and success. It is up to us to invest the time and effort to work it out. If we don't, we just end up with a shovel full of plain old dirt.
Your feedback is important to me. Let me know what you think of my blog. You can email me at larrygriffin@carolina.rr.com or drop in for a visit on Facebook. I am always happy to share ideas with others and hopefully answer some of your questions. By working together we can build happier, more secure, and more self sufficient lives for our families.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Kaizen -- Our first building block for success.
I try to learn something new every day. During my daily adventures I often find new things that are important to me even when I am trying to find something else. Several years ago I was involved in a project with the University of North Carolina called the LEAD1 project. Leadership Effectiveness And Development, Class Number 1. About thirty supervisors from all over Mecklenburg County got together once a month for a good portion of a year to discuss leadership and supervisory skills and techniques. While a lot of those ideas presented were useful to me as a supervisor, none were more important than the Japanese concept of Kaizen which was presented on the last day that we met. That concept was so simple and yet so profound that it has stuck with me and has been the foundation of many projects in my professional and personal life.
Kaizen -- Small improvements, micro-successes, a continual search for ways to be better than we are and to make our work processes better than they are.
While such a simple statement, the concept of Kaizen has made tremendous profits for many small startup companies such as Toyota and Honda. You have heard of those, haven't you? Kaizen is one of the secrets behind the success of Japan moving from a feudal warlord system into the industrial giant it is today.
Most of you have probably seen the wrist bands and bumper stickers with W.W.J.D? Let me start another one, W. W. G. D? What Would Grandpa Do? I can walk into a hardware store today with $100 and walk out with and handful of tools and supplies. The sad reality is that my Grandpa could have walked into the same hardware store and bought those same tools and supplies for just four dollars. What happened? What went wrong? More importantly, what can we do to fix it? Yes, WE! Don't look to our government to fix this mess. They may have created this financial mess, but WE allowed them the free reins to do it. It is the responsibility of each and every one of US to fix it. We need a starting point and a plan. The starting point is here. Right here, right now. I am encouraging everyone I know to take back control of their lives and their destiny. Make positive changes in your life to make your life happier. Make positive changes in your life that will make you more successful. Make positive changes in your life that will make your family more self sufficient and less reliant flimsy government promises.
In my next post I want to put into place the next building block of financial and personal independence. We need a plan to guide us towards success. Planning is the first step, that first small improvement, the production of that first micro-success, as we begin our continual search for ways to be better than we are and to make the processes of our reach for success better than they are. Kaizen.
Your feedback is important to me. Let me know what you think of my blog. You can email me at larrygriffin@carolina.rr.com or drop in for a visit on Facebook. I am always happy to share ideas with others and hopefully answer some of your questions. By working together we can build happier, more secure, and more self sufficient lives for our families.
Kaizen -- Small improvements, micro-successes, a continual search for ways to be better than we are and to make our work processes better than they are.
While such a simple statement, the concept of Kaizen has made tremendous profits for many small startup companies such as Toyota and Honda. You have heard of those, haven't you? Kaizen is one of the secrets behind the success of Japan moving from a feudal warlord system into the industrial giant it is today.
Most of you have probably seen the wrist bands and bumper stickers with W.W.J.D? Let me start another one, W. W. G. D? What Would Grandpa Do? I can walk into a hardware store today with $100 and walk out with and handful of tools and supplies. The sad reality is that my Grandpa could have walked into the same hardware store and bought those same tools and supplies for just four dollars. What happened? What went wrong? More importantly, what can we do to fix it? Yes, WE! Don't look to our government to fix this mess. They may have created this financial mess, but WE allowed them the free reins to do it. It is the responsibility of each and every one of US to fix it. We need a starting point and a plan. The starting point is here. Right here, right now. I am encouraging everyone I know to take back control of their lives and their destiny. Make positive changes in your life to make your life happier. Make positive changes in your life that will make you more successful. Make positive changes in your life that will make your family more self sufficient and less reliant flimsy government promises.
In my next post I want to put into place the next building block of financial and personal independence. We need a plan to guide us towards success. Planning is the first step, that first small improvement, the production of that first micro-success, as we begin our continual search for ways to be better than we are and to make the processes of our reach for success better than they are. Kaizen.
Your feedback is important to me. Let me know what you think of my blog. You can email me at larrygriffin@carolina.rr.com or drop in for a visit on Facebook. I am always happy to share ideas with others and hopefully answer some of your questions. By working together we can build happier, more secure, and more self sufficient lives for our families.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Taking your first steps toward financial independence.
I have talked with several investment advisers for the past three or so years. Most of them have given me the same advice that I got when I started working twenty six years ago. A couple of them have a different view on the economy and investments in general. I like to get as much information as possible on any subject that affects me and my family especially as I begin to look towards retirement. I think that most of them are giving advice to the best of their ability, but also within the constraints of making a living out of it. I’m not knocking the advice that they have given me but I now believe that they only provide partial advice at best. Over the next few blog posts I want to share some of the unusual and diverse investment strategies that I have discovered over that past three years. A couple of these investments have consistently yielded between twelve and eighteen per cent growth for me, even during the downfall of the stock market. I wish I had known twenty years ago about some of the techniques that I have learned about over the past three years.
I want to share with you some of the resources that are working for me and thousands of other informed folks. These techniques are not get-rich-quick schemes, and they do not work magically overnight, but they do work. For a lot of you who are students, or even those that have been working for a while and are struggling financially, I have some information that I will share with you in my next few blogs that will get you started towards financial independence. I know that there are a lot of advertisements out there for companies that purport to help you get out of debt, but really just want to rip you off further. I'm not going to be selling you anything and I'll even do my best to steer you away from those get-rich-quick multi-level-marketing (MLM) schemes that usually crash after you invest a lot of your hard earned money into someone else's bank account.
I will begin this series with one of the highest yielding financial investment that I have seen anywhere that almost no investment counselor will share with you. Get out of Debt. The best way to look at debt is to think of it as financial and emotional cancer. One of the most common causes of marital problems is dealing with overwhelming bills. Most investment counselors try to get you to focus on how much you can earn when you buy their products. But look at this from another point of view. Which would you rather do? Invest $1000 in stocks that MIGHT earn you 4% interest, or pay off a credit card with a $1000 balance that you are PAYING 24% interest on. Remember that for most investments the higher the yield, the higher the risk. There is ZERO risk in paying off debt. The best investment is one that will leave you with the most money in YOUR wallet, not the credit card company's wallets. The less interest you pay now, the more money you will have to spend later.
Next week I am going to share with you a couple of tools to help you eliminate debt that I have been using over the past couple of years. You don't have to buy anything or sell anything to make them work. No gimmicks, just proven strategies and techniques that I have personally tested and have proven to work for me. As a matter of fact, you will probably think "That’s so simple, why didn't I think of that?".
Your feedback is important to me. Let me know what you think of my blog. You can email me at larrygriffin@carolina.rr.com or drop in for a visit on Facebook. I am always happy to share ideas with others and hopefully answer some of your questions. By working together we can build happier, more secure, and more self sufficient lives for our families.
Friday, May 7, 2010
May Challenge – Kick Murphy out.
A lot of folks are living on tighter budgets these days. I have written a couple of times about putting away a little extra food in case times get a little tougher or if you encounter an unexpected bill that has to be paid and might cut into your normal monthly budget. You know how it is with Murphy’s Law, if things can go wrong they will. I don’t know about you, but when Murphy comes to visit, I like to get rid of him as quickly as possible. Most folks visit their local grocery store about once a week to stock up on their weekly groceries. Some live close enough that they go several times a week just to keep everything as fresh as possible. I have a real simple challenge for all of you for the month of May. Every week during May I would like for you purchase just a little extra food, enough for each member of your family to eat three meals for one day. Still not sure what to store? Here is a list of a few items that store well and my family will eat:
Breakfast: Box of just add water pancake mix and a Bottle of pancake syrup
Lunch: A couple of cans of tuna or chicken, a Jar of relish, a Jar of Mayonnaise or Miracle Whip, and a Box of crackers
Supper: Jar of Spaghetti sauce and a Box of Spaghetti or Macaroni
Remember, what works for me may not work for you. Look at my list and if you see something you don’t like, just substitute your favorite items. That is half of the "Store what you eat and Eat what you store" philosophy. If sometime in the next week or so you have a cookout and reach in the fridge to get a jar of relish or Mayo and find that there is only a spoonful left in the jar, just smile to yourself and remember that storing food does have it’s benefits when you grab your stored jar out of the pantry. If a few friends drop by at supper time and you only fixed enough or your family, how about stretching supper out with a quick Macaroni salad. A couple of cups of cooked Macaroni with a can of chicken, a little Mayonnaise, and a diced bell pepper could make what you had already planned for supper stretch twice as far. Not all of life’s emergencies are real disasters. By being ready for some of the small ones, you are also prepared for some of the larger ones. Don’t forget to add the items you took from storage to your grocery list and buy two the next time you are at the store. (Go back and re-read my copy canning post).
Start with small baby steps. Just a little extra each week. Now at the end of May you should have four or five days worth of food stored up. If you happen to have used any of the items you stored, and you use the copy canning technique of replacing each of your stored items with two others, you will probably have a full week’s supply of food storage saved up without spending a lot of extra money at any one time. Doesn’t the idea of providing a week’s extra security for your family sound easy and make you feel better?
Your feedback is important to me. Let me know what you think of my blog. You can email me at larrygriffin@carolina.rr.com or drop in for a visit on Facebook. I am always happy to share your ideas with others and hopefully answer some of your questions. By working together we can build happier, more secure, and more self sufficient lives for our families.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Shadow Catcher
For those fans that voted in my poll "What is a Shadow Catcher?", about half of you got it right! That's right, a Shadow Catcher is a sundial. I have enjoyed tinkering with the design and the math behind the design of of sundials for a couple of years. There are many types of vertical, and horizontal sundials. Some are based on tilted disks, flat plates, bowls, and some that use multiple complicated parts. While they are all fun to work with and many of them are interesting to figure out, the traditional horizontal plate with a gnomon (the vertical pointer) is the easiest to read and understand. I have enjoyed making prototypes of many styles of universal and ring dials, but my favorite one so far is the large sundial that I built in my back yard. It is always accurate. If the sun is shining is tells the exact local time. If it is cloudy and there is no shadow, it is still accurate, it is nap time. If it is dark outside then it is night time. That's good enough for me. Thanks for voting.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Ubuntu – Humanity towards others
First of all let me thank you for spending your valuable time reading my random musings about things going on the in world that interest me. You guys have left some really nice comments on your thoughts about my views on some of the issues going on around us. This has prompted me to let you know more about the reasons why I started this blog. One of the most important lessons I have learned in life is to never stop learning. Many of my new ideas, concepts, perspectives, and thoughts often come from combinations of old ones that others have shared with me. I have learned than when issues arise at home or at work there are often several perspectives of looking at the situation. I have often said to family members, co-workers, and employees that have approached me with a complaint about something that someone else has either done or neglected to do, “There is more than one side to every coin”. For instance take just about any hot button political topic you hear about today and listen to what both political parties have to say. After listening to both sides of the issue you will probably realize that while they are talking about two different sides of the “coin”, they are really talking about the same “coin”.
Ubuntu is an age-old African term for humaneness - for caring, sharing and being in harmony with all of creation. As an ideal, it promotes co-operation between individuals, cultures and nations. In the past year several subjects have caught my attention: Our national economy, the importance of eliminating personal debt, having a good supply of stored food, and using alternative energy sources are just a few on my list. When I take a look at some of the problems in the word today I also feel a need to start looking towards finding some solutions and even alternatives to these problems. I know that I don’t have all of the answers to these problems, but I know that a lot of other people do have some of the pieces of this puzzle that can help with finding the answers. When I am able to put some of these puzzle pieces together I feel better about my own place in the world and I feel a deep need to share what I have learned with others. When I stumble onto something that helps me lead a more productive or more secure life I want to share that something with others. Knowledge is power, but how much power does my knowledge really give me if I don’t use it or share it with others so that we can all live better lives.
Value-for-value. The concept of trading something you have that has value, for something else that has value is a very simple concept that is very old. With that in mind you might ask why I would spend my time (something that I value) and give it to you in the form a free blog (getting nothing in return). You see that the equation really is in balance when you look at the big picture. The time that others have taken to share their wisdom with me can only be repaid when I combine their wisdom with my own thoughts and then share that combined wisdom with others. In keeping this value for value equation in balance, when I give you something of value by sharing ideas with you that can, and will, help you lead a more secure and self sufficient life, I expect you to give me value in return by using these ideas and sharing them with others to build a better community for all of us. You see, I can sum this entire post up in a single word, and keep the value-for-value equation in balance; Ubuntu.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Copy canning
In past posts I have written about storing food. The wisdom of storing a little extra food in your pantry and having a couple of months of living expenses in your savings account really makes sense in today’s economy. When you ask most people why they work the most common answer given is that they work to keep a roof over their family’s head and food on the table. In today’s economy with the national average of ten percent unemployment, what would you do if you lost your job next week? A lot of families live pay check to pay check. There are a few government programs out there to assist you if you lose your job and there are a few local food pantries like the one we have at our church to support the local community. The reality of cutbacks and layoffs becomes larger every day, but just think of the security you could provide for your family if you had three to six months worth of food storage available in your own pantry, and enough cash saved up to keep your house for a few extra months until you find work. That would certainly blunt the harsh psychological impact of losing your income knowing that you can still provide for your family. Even if your job is secure, having food stored and cash available can help you weather some of life's other emergencies such as getting snowed in for a few days, having to replace a tire or water pump on your car without using a credit card, or even something as simple as feeding a few extra unexpected guests without having to run to the store.
A couple of questions keep coming up about food storage. What foods should I store? And, With today’s food prices how can I afford to store a month’s, six month’s, or even a year’s worth of food. The answers are a lot easier to find than you might realize. I too wondered about the cost of storing a couple of month's worth of food supplies and it took a while to understand some of the basics. After working at this for a while, and making a few mistakes, I learned some techniques that I would like to share with others.
What to store and how to afford it. If you had a lot of cash burning a hole in your wallet and you wanted to store a years supply of food that doesn’t taste very good and has a shelf life of only a year, you might go out and by a pallet of military surplus MRE’s (Meals Ready to Eat). A lot of people have done that, and a lot of people have thrown away a lot of food because of this “Panic Mode” style of storing food. The best advice that I have been given is the old adage of “Store what you eat, and Eat what you store”. I could give you a list of what I have stored, or you could go on the internet and find someone else’s list, but you would probably find that what works for me (or what you find on the internet) will not work for you. There are various methods of determining what you eat regularly which will help you understand what you will need to purchase for storage. One method is to keep a diary of the meals that you prepare at home and stock up on the non-perishable items on your list. This works if you keep up with the location of the list and you keep up with the documentation of the items you eat. I know that when I started storing food I bought a lot of canned goods that we haven’t eaten yet. So I kept looking for new methods and I kept learning.
Store what you will eat, and not spend very much right now. The best method for storing food that I have found lately is called “Copy Canning”. I found this method from reading an article by Karen Hood. This method is just one step beyond the grocery list that you probably already use. The idea is simple. When you use something from your pantry, say a can of beans, you add beans to your grocery list to replace the can you just removed from your pantry. When you go to the grocery store you need to buy TWO cans of beans instead of ONE. The next time you use a can of beans you repeat the process until you have accumulated the number of cans that you feel meets your total storage needs. This works for most any non-perishable storage item that you normally store in your pantry. This method sets up an automatic rotational system that spreads out the useful life of your stored goods longer than if you just go out and buy several cases of food at one time. It also spreads the cost of stored food over a longer period of time so you don’t break the bank when you start storing food. It can also eliminate the temptation to put a lot of food on your credit card instead of just adding to your normally budgeted grocery money. You do have a budget don’t you? You know what I say, one thing leads to another. It looks like I found another week’s blog topic right there.
If you combine this copy canning idea with my last weeks topic of using coupons and finding BOGO (Buy One; Get One Free) deals you might find that you can double your food storage without spending twice the money. Don't forget about storing food for your four legged family members as well.
A couple of questions keep coming up about food storage. What foods should I store? And, With today’s food prices how can I afford to store a month’s, six month’s, or even a year’s worth of food. The answers are a lot easier to find than you might realize. I too wondered about the cost of storing a couple of month's worth of food supplies and it took a while to understand some of the basics. After working at this for a while, and making a few mistakes, I learned some techniques that I would like to share with others.
What to store and how to afford it. If you had a lot of cash burning a hole in your wallet and you wanted to store a years supply of food that doesn’t taste very good and has a shelf life of only a year, you might go out and by a pallet of military surplus MRE’s (Meals Ready to Eat). A lot of people have done that, and a lot of people have thrown away a lot of food because of this “Panic Mode” style of storing food. The best advice that I have been given is the old adage of “Store what you eat, and Eat what you store”. I could give you a list of what I have stored, or you could go on the internet and find someone else’s list, but you would probably find that what works for me (or what you find on the internet) will not work for you. There are various methods of determining what you eat regularly which will help you understand what you will need to purchase for storage. One method is to keep a diary of the meals that you prepare at home and stock up on the non-perishable items on your list. This works if you keep up with the location of the list and you keep up with the documentation of the items you eat. I know that when I started storing food I bought a lot of canned goods that we haven’t eaten yet. So I kept looking for new methods and I kept learning.
Store what you will eat, and not spend very much right now. The best method for storing food that I have found lately is called “Copy Canning”. I found this method from reading an article by Karen Hood. This method is just one step beyond the grocery list that you probably already use. The idea is simple. When you use something from your pantry, say a can of beans, you add beans to your grocery list to replace the can you just removed from your pantry. When you go to the grocery store you need to buy TWO cans of beans instead of ONE. The next time you use a can of beans you repeat the process until you have accumulated the number of cans that you feel meets your total storage needs. This works for most any non-perishable storage item that you normally store in your pantry. This method sets up an automatic rotational system that spreads out the useful life of your stored goods longer than if you just go out and buy several cases of food at one time. It also spreads the cost of stored food over a longer period of time so you don’t break the bank when you start storing food. It can also eliminate the temptation to put a lot of food on your credit card instead of just adding to your normally budgeted grocery money. You do have a budget don’t you? You know what I say, one thing leads to another. It looks like I found another week’s blog topic right there.
If you combine this copy canning idea with my last weeks topic of using coupons and finding BOGO (Buy One; Get One Free) deals you might find that you can double your food storage without spending twice the money. Don't forget about storing food for your four legged family members as well.
Friday, April 16, 2010
Throwing Cash in the Trash?
How many commercials have you seen in the past couple of weeks that claim to save you money. “The More You Spend – The More You Save!” I find the idea of saving money by spending money is absolutely absurd. You might spend less money than you otherwise would if you buy something you were going to buy anyway, if you find it on sale. There is just no way in this world you are going to save money when you buy something, even if it is on sale, if you were not going to buy it anyway. The reality is that the more money you spend the less money you have to save.
If I told you that you were literally throwing money away nearly every day you would probably not agree with me, but you really are. Most people think of money as cash, U.S. Dollars, greenbacks, etc., and coins as change. I found another source of money just as real and just as valuable as the U.S. Dollar that many folks just throw away. You see, the U.S. Treasury Department is not the only game in town when it comes to printing money. Let me explain.
My wife really grabbed my attention a couple of weeks ago. I had been reading some of the tin-foil hat folk's ideas of what our currency should be if/when the U.S. economy completely goes under. I'm not so sure that it will go under and if it does it may be many years from now. There are a lot of ideas out there now for alternative currency in the future. Some of these ideas are ridiculous and some make some sense. I really like the barter system of trading value for value, and I like the American Open Currency Standard system of using solid copper and silver coins as barter currency. While reading more on those ideas, my wife threw me a curve ball. She ran into someone at the grocery store that had a thick binder full of coupons. The lady purchased about $200 dollars worth of groceries for about $10 and a hand full of coupons. After talking with the lady about her system my wife was so impressed that she took a few minutes over the next few days and collected a few coupons for things that we always use and needed. She was able to cut our grocery bill in half by spending just a few minutes a week going through the coupons that we get every day in the mail and in the weekend paper. That combined with paying attention to some of the buy one, get one free, sale items and we really took a chunk out of our grocery bill. We have even run into a few buy two, get three free, sale items that we normally pay full price for.
Those coupons are printed by manufacturers and stores every day just like the U.S. government prints dollars, and the coupons spend just as good as U.S. dollars do. While I just can not agree with the spend more – save more crowd, I can really get on board the spend less – get more train. I also have trouble swallowing some of the far fetched alternative currency ideas out there on the internet, but I have enjoyed spending the alternative currency we get in the mail box every day.
Don't forget to vote in my "What is a Shadow Catcher?" poll.
If I told you that you were literally throwing money away nearly every day you would probably not agree with me, but you really are. Most people think of money as cash, U.S. Dollars, greenbacks, etc., and coins as change. I found another source of money just as real and just as valuable as the U.S. Dollar that many folks just throw away. You see, the U.S. Treasury Department is not the only game in town when it comes to printing money. Let me explain.
My wife really grabbed my attention a couple of weeks ago. I had been reading some of the tin-foil hat folk's ideas of what our currency should be if/when the U.S. economy completely goes under. I'm not so sure that it will go under and if it does it may be many years from now. There are a lot of ideas out there now for alternative currency in the future. Some of these ideas are ridiculous and some make some sense. I really like the barter system of trading value for value, and I like the American Open Currency Standard system of using solid copper and silver coins as barter currency. While reading more on those ideas, my wife threw me a curve ball. She ran into someone at the grocery store that had a thick binder full of coupons. The lady purchased about $200 dollars worth of groceries for about $10 and a hand full of coupons. After talking with the lady about her system my wife was so impressed that she took a few minutes over the next few days and collected a few coupons for things that we always use and needed. She was able to cut our grocery bill in half by spending just a few minutes a week going through the coupons that we get every day in the mail and in the weekend paper. That combined with paying attention to some of the buy one, get one free, sale items and we really took a chunk out of our grocery bill. We have even run into a few buy two, get three free, sale items that we normally pay full price for.
Those coupons are printed by manufacturers and stores every day just like the U.S. government prints dollars, and the coupons spend just as good as U.S. dollars do. While I just can not agree with the spend more – save more crowd, I can really get on board the spend less – get more train. I also have trouble swallowing some of the far fetched alternative currency ideas out there on the internet, but I have enjoyed spending the alternative currency we get in the mail box every day.
Don't forget to vote in my "What is a Shadow Catcher?" poll.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
The Value of the U.S. Dollar vs. Precious Metals.
Several months ago I started investing in Silver bullion as an addition to my investment portfolio. The idea of investing in precious metals is not new as metals have been used for thousands of years as a form of currency. Investing in silver can be kind of fun as there are numerous ways to buy silver. Most countries mint silver coins that are absolutely beautiful as they are stamped/minted with extremely intricate artwork quality designs. Bullion rounds and bars from private mints can be found that are equally detailed. In fact a lot of people refer to these bullion medallions as "Art Rounds" due to their quality. The most popular way of investing in Silver now is basically paper stock trades.
Since silver was taken out of U.S. coins after 1964, and Richard Nixon abandoned the Gold Standard in 1971 which had backed the U.S. money supply, the U.S. dollar became what is known as Fiat Currency. Like I said before, often one thing leads to another. I had not heard the term Fiat Currency before, so I looked it up on my favorite information web site, Google. I was shocked to find out that our current U.S. monetary system is really just a fancy version of Monopoly money. After a little bit of web surfing I learned that since the Federal Reserve System was put into place in 1913 the value of our U.S. dollar has been continually shrinking. Most of the time this shrinking is referred to as inflation. What is really going on is the purchasing power or value of our dollars is just evaporating. Prior to 1913 the U.S. dollar would purchase whatever the value of 0.77344 troy ounces of silver would trade for. Today's (2010) U.S. dollar will only purchase about 4 cents of what that 1913 dollar would trade for. Having started in investing in something solid has made me feel better about my family's future and my ability to provide for them.
There are charts all over the web showing the current value of silver, gold, platinum, and palladium. The charts bounce all over the place on any given day. There are charts that show how the value of precious metals has changed over the last day, 30 days, year, and even multiple years. I began to get nervous about my silver investments after seeing these rapid market changes. This led me to wondering about why the value of precious metals changed so often and so drastically. After a little pondering on this matter a light bulb suddenly came on over my head as I had a sudden understanding of the ups and downs of the precious metals markets. THE VALUE OF THESE METALS WAS NOT CHANGING AT ALL! What these charts are really saying is that the value (purchasing power) of the dollar is what is changing constantly, not the value of the metals.
What led me to this conclusion was so simple and obvious that it is easily overlooked if one is not paying attention. I went down to my local coin shop to purchase a few 90% Silver pre-1965 coins. When I asked the price of Quarters, I was a little dismayed at first as $3.15 seemed like a lot to pay for a non-numismatic quality "Junk Change" Quarter.
Back when I was a kid and there was real Silver in our money, a U.S. Quarter would by a loaf of bread. While no one would sell a loaf of bread to you today for a Quarter, they would probably sell you a loaf of bread for about $3.15. That is when it hit me. The value of the silver in the pre-1965 quarter did not change at all. The silver in that pre-1965 quarter that purchased a loaf of bread in 1960 would buy a loaf of bread today. The value of the U.S. Dollar is what has been changing, not the value of precious metals.
Since silver was taken out of U.S. coins after 1964, and Richard Nixon abandoned the Gold Standard in 1971 which had backed the U.S. money supply, the U.S. dollar became what is known as Fiat Currency. Like I said before, often one thing leads to another. I had not heard the term Fiat Currency before, so I looked it up on my favorite information web site, Google. I was shocked to find out that our current U.S. monetary system is really just a fancy version of Monopoly money. After a little bit of web surfing I learned that since the Federal Reserve System was put into place in 1913 the value of our U.S. dollar has been continually shrinking. Most of the time this shrinking is referred to as inflation. What is really going on is the purchasing power or value of our dollars is just evaporating. Prior to 1913 the U.S. dollar would purchase whatever the value of 0.77344 troy ounces of silver would trade for. Today's (2010) U.S. dollar will only purchase about 4 cents of what that 1913 dollar would trade for. Having started in investing in something solid has made me feel better about my family's future and my ability to provide for them.
There are charts all over the web showing the current value of silver, gold, platinum, and palladium. The charts bounce all over the place on any given day. There are charts that show how the value of precious metals has changed over the last day, 30 days, year, and even multiple years. I began to get nervous about my silver investments after seeing these rapid market changes. This led me to wondering about why the value of precious metals changed so often and so drastically. After a little pondering on this matter a light bulb suddenly came on over my head as I had a sudden understanding of the ups and downs of the precious metals markets. THE VALUE OF THESE METALS WAS NOT CHANGING AT ALL! What these charts are really saying is that the value (purchasing power) of the dollar is what is changing constantly, not the value of the metals.
What led me to this conclusion was so simple and obvious that it is easily overlooked if one is not paying attention. I went down to my local coin shop to purchase a few 90% Silver pre-1965 coins. When I asked the price of Quarters, I was a little dismayed at first as $3.15 seemed like a lot to pay for a non-numismatic quality "Junk Change" Quarter.
Back when I was a kid and there was real Silver in our money, a U.S. Quarter would by a loaf of bread. While no one would sell a loaf of bread to you today for a Quarter, they would probably sell you a loaf of bread for about $3.15. That is when it hit me. The value of the silver in the pre-1965 quarter did not change at all. The silver in that pre-1965 quarter that purchased a loaf of bread in 1960 would buy a loaf of bread today. The value of the U.S. Dollar is what has been changing, not the value of precious metals.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Cogito Ergo Sum Formica
My parents have always had a garden. My mom cans and freezes a lot of food that they grow. As a kid I had often wondered why we spent so much time putting all of those vegetables away for the winter. My parents grew up during the depression era and know firsthand what it means to do without. I never thought much about this until just a few months ago. In watching the economy race towards the sewer, and having experienced a few days of not being able to get fuel, I started seeing the wisdom of keeping my gas tanks full and the wisdom of having a little bit extra in the pantry.
When you ask most people about they think about when they hear the word “survivalist”, they think about guys that dress up in camouflage clothing and go out and buy a bunch of guns, ammo, and pallets of survival foods that they will either never eat, or find that the food does not taste good (if they ever get around to eating it before it goes bad). There is nothing wrong with doing that if you are into that sort of thing, but it is just not for me. I have started thinking of myself more along the lines of being a “Prepper”. Preppers are families that just store more of what they would normally use anyway, but have enough to last for at least a few weeks if some local emergency hits their area. Emergencies do not have to be of the “End of the World as We Know It” scenarios that some people go nuts over. It could be just a couple of days without power, a snow storm that keeps you at home for a few days, or even a short term trucker's strike that keeps food away from the grocery stores for a week or so. In most cases if you are prepared for a short term small emergency, you are pretty much prepared for most larger, longer term emergencies as they all have many things in common.
Some time around 600 BC Aesop penned several fables that still hold just as much wisdom today as they did over 2600 year ago. I think of this one as a children's story written many years ago for adults of today:
The Ant and the Grasshopper
Once there lived an ant and a grasshopper in a grassy meadow.
All day long the ant would work hard, collecting grains of wheat from the farmer's field far away. She would hurry to the field every morning, as soon as it was light enough to see by, and toil back with a heavy grain of wheat balanced on her head. She would put the grain of wheat carefully away in her pantry, and then hurry back to the field for another one. All day long she would work, without stop or rest, scurrying back and forth from the field, collecting the grains of wheat and storing them carefully in her pantry.
The grasshopper would look at her and laugh. 'Why do you work so hard, dear ant?' he would say. 'Come, rest awhile, listen to my song. Summer is here, the days are long and bright. Why waste the sunshine in labor and toil?'
The ant would ignore him, and head bent, would just hurry to the field a little faster. This would make the grasshopper laugh even louder. 'What a silly little ant you are!' he would call after her. 'Come, come and dance with me! Forget about work! Enjoy the summer! Live a little!' And the grasshopper would hop away across the meadow, singing and dancing merrily.
Summer faded into autumn, and autumn turned into winter. The sun was hardly seen, and the days were short and gray, the nights long and dark. It became freezing cold, and snow began to fall.
The grasshopper didn't feel like singing any more. He was cold and hungry. He had nowhere to shelter from the snow, and nothing to eat. The meadow and the farmer's field were covered in snow, and there was no food to be had. 'Oh what shall I do? Where shall I go?' wailed the grasshopper. Just before starving to death he staggered to the ants' hill and saw that the ants had plenty to eat stored away.
Then the Grasshopper knew: It is best to prepare now for the days of necessity that might come in the future.
I'm starting to put a few extra supplies away for a rainy day, but I'm also thinking carefully about what I store away. I'm trying to "Store what I eat, and eat what I store", so that nothing will go to waste. I'm also trying to urge others to do the same so that they will also have enough to get by on if they happen to encounter one of life's little emergencies.
Cogito Ergo Sum Formica – I think therefore I am an ant.
When you ask most people about they think about when they hear the word “survivalist”, they think about guys that dress up in camouflage clothing and go out and buy a bunch of guns, ammo, and pallets of survival foods that they will either never eat, or find that the food does not taste good (if they ever get around to eating it before it goes bad). There is nothing wrong with doing that if you are into that sort of thing, but it is just not for me. I have started thinking of myself more along the lines of being a “Prepper”. Preppers are families that just store more of what they would normally use anyway, but have enough to last for at least a few weeks if some local emergency hits their area. Emergencies do not have to be of the “End of the World as We Know It” scenarios that some people go nuts over. It could be just a couple of days without power, a snow storm that keeps you at home for a few days, or even a short term trucker's strike that keeps food away from the grocery stores for a week or so. In most cases if you are prepared for a short term small emergency, you are pretty much prepared for most larger, longer term emergencies as they all have many things in common.
Some time around 600 BC Aesop penned several fables that still hold just as much wisdom today as they did over 2600 year ago. I think of this one as a children's story written many years ago for adults of today:
The Ant and the Grasshopper
Once there lived an ant and a grasshopper in a grassy meadow.
All day long the ant would work hard, collecting grains of wheat from the farmer's field far away. She would hurry to the field every morning, as soon as it was light enough to see by, and toil back with a heavy grain of wheat balanced on her head. She would put the grain of wheat carefully away in her pantry, and then hurry back to the field for another one. All day long she would work, without stop or rest, scurrying back and forth from the field, collecting the grains of wheat and storing them carefully in her pantry.
The grasshopper would look at her and laugh. 'Why do you work so hard, dear ant?' he would say. 'Come, rest awhile, listen to my song. Summer is here, the days are long and bright. Why waste the sunshine in labor and toil?'
The ant would ignore him, and head bent, would just hurry to the field a little faster. This would make the grasshopper laugh even louder. 'What a silly little ant you are!' he would call after her. 'Come, come and dance with me! Forget about work! Enjoy the summer! Live a little!' And the grasshopper would hop away across the meadow, singing and dancing merrily.
Summer faded into autumn, and autumn turned into winter. The sun was hardly seen, and the days were short and gray, the nights long and dark. It became freezing cold, and snow began to fall.
The grasshopper didn't feel like singing any more. He was cold and hungry. He had nowhere to shelter from the snow, and nothing to eat. The meadow and the farmer's field were covered in snow, and there was no food to be had. 'Oh what shall I do? Where shall I go?' wailed the grasshopper. Just before starving to death he staggered to the ants' hill and saw that the ants had plenty to eat stored away.
Then the Grasshopper knew: It is best to prepare now for the days of necessity that might come in the future.
I'm starting to put a few extra supplies away for a rainy day, but I'm also thinking carefully about what I store away. I'm trying to "Store what I eat, and eat what I store", so that nothing will go to waste. I'm also trying to urge others to do the same so that they will also have enough to get by on if they happen to encounter one of life's little emergencies.
Cogito Ergo Sum Formica – I think therefore I am an ant.
Monday, March 29, 2010
More things found while looking for something else.
Here is another one of those things that I found while looking for something else. After building and using a Solar Hotdog Cooker for a couple of years, I became interested in furthering my knowledge on solar cooking. I found a lot of web sites with a ton of great information. Some solar cooker designs are fairly simple and some are quite complex. While surfing the net I also found a YouTube video with some guy using a Sun Oven cooker in his back yard to cook a favorite handed down family recipe. Here is the thing that I found while looking for something else. After watching the video I clicked on the link he had in the comments and found out that this guy was Jack Spirko and he had a podcast, TheSurvivalPodcast.com. I had only listened to a couple of podcasts in the past and was not a huge fan of podcast media but I clicked on it anyway to see what else Jack had to offer on solar energy. As it turns out Jack Spirko is the voice behind the international Modern Survival movement. Something that I had not heard of before. No, this is not a bunch of guys dressing up in camo and playing out in the woods, but more correctly termed Modern Family Preparedness. I like Jack’s term for why he spends so much effort in helping others help themselves, "Helping you live the life you want, if times get tough, or even if they don't".
Some of the things that Jack Spirko had to say about being prepared started to really hit home with me after having experienced a terrible gasoline shortage in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg area and surrounding counties not too long ago. It is somewhat shocking to see how delicate the balance of our supply system is and how we are so dependent on available fuel. If the fuel is not available to the local gas stations we can’t get back and forth to work. If the supply trucks for the grocery stores can’t get fuel, they can’t deliver food to those stores, which means for most people we are going to get very hungry in a couple of days. I am planning to take at least some of Jack’s advice to get my family a little bit more prepared to handle at least some of the minor bumps in the road of life. Some of Jack’s suggestions would make almost unnoticeable changes in our lifestyle and most will cost very little over and above what we already spend from week to week. From what I can tell, Jack’s advice will help us lead a better and more secure life if times get tough, or even if they don’t. Thanks Jack.
Now you see what I mean when I say, “One thing leads to another”.
What is a Shadow Catcher? I'll let the cat out of the bag on May 1st 2010. In the mean time don't forget to vote in my poll on "What is a Shadow Catcher?".
Some of the things that Jack Spirko had to say about being prepared started to really hit home with me after having experienced a terrible gasoline shortage in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg area and surrounding counties not too long ago. It is somewhat shocking to see how delicate the balance of our supply system is and how we are so dependent on available fuel. If the fuel is not available to the local gas stations we can’t get back and forth to work. If the supply trucks for the grocery stores can’t get fuel, they can’t deliver food to those stores, which means for most people we are going to get very hungry in a couple of days. I am planning to take at least some of Jack’s advice to get my family a little bit more prepared to handle at least some of the minor bumps in the road of life. Some of Jack’s suggestions would make almost unnoticeable changes in our lifestyle and most will cost very little over and above what we already spend from week to week. From what I can tell, Jack’s advice will help us lead a better and more secure life if times get tough, or even if they don’t. Thanks Jack.
Now you see what I mean when I say, “One thing leads to another”.
What is a Shadow Catcher? I'll let the cat out of the bag on May 1st 2010. In the mean time don't forget to vote in my poll on "What is a Shadow Catcher?".
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Buddy's Corollary - Do it Yourself
I was working on my wife's car the other day. I was just changing the oil and oil filter, as I had already replaced the rear brakes a few weeks ago. I tend to save a lot of money by doing my own maintenance on our vehicles. How many times have you heard the phrase, "If you want something done right, Do it yourself"? Often times the school of hard knocks is the best teacher. I prefer to learn from other peoples mistakes when I can as that is usually the less expensive option and is often less painful. I have always changed the oil in all of the vehicles that I have owned. I have heard many horror stories of people going to an oil change shop and driving out without oil in the engine, or missing the oil filter or drain plug. My dad lost an engine that way about ten years ago when the kid at the oil change shop filled his engine with gritty oil from the bottom of a nearly empty oil drum. That was quite painful to him as he tends to drive a car till the wheels fall off. I usually drive a car for at least nine years before changing it out. A couple of years ago my Economics Professor was discussing economics on the level of things that we had versus the things we wanted to have. Professor Pickens asked the class, "How many of you are driving your dream car today?" I was the only one that raised a hand. My daily driven 2000 Jeep Wrangler is ten years old now and I don't have any plans for changing it out. Still driving it, and still loving it.
A good friend of mine, Buddy Harrington has an addition to that old saying of "If you want something done right, do it yourself". I have often referred to this as Buddy's Corollary. Sometimes common sense wisdom is subtle and you might just miss it if you don't stop and listen carefully from time to time. Buddy has many years of experience in working on cars, trucks, and tractors. He ran his own business for many years repairing broken and worn out heavy construction equipment such as road graders and bulldozers. He knows as well as anyone that anything mechanical will eventually either wear out or break. When you learn to fix things yourself you have the confidence that the job was done right the first time. After all, who has the time to fix it again?
Anyway, here is Buddy's Corollary: "When you want something done right, do it yourself. -- And when it breaks you will know how to fix it." Simple wisdom, but oh how right he is.
What is a Shadow Catcher? I'll let the cat out of the bag on May 1st 2010. In the mean time don't forget to vote in my poll on "What is a Shadow Catcher?".
A good friend of mine, Buddy Harrington has an addition to that old saying of "If you want something done right, do it yourself". I have often referred to this as Buddy's Corollary. Sometimes common sense wisdom is subtle and you might just miss it if you don't stop and listen carefully from time to time. Buddy has many years of experience in working on cars, trucks, and tractors. He ran his own business for many years repairing broken and worn out heavy construction equipment such as road graders and bulldozers. He knows as well as anyone that anything mechanical will eventually either wear out or break. When you learn to fix things yourself you have the confidence that the job was done right the first time. After all, who has the time to fix it again?
Anyway, here is Buddy's Corollary: "When you want something done right, do it yourself. -- And when it breaks you will know how to fix it." Simple wisdom, but oh how right he is.
What is a Shadow Catcher? I'll let the cat out of the bag on May 1st 2010. In the mean time don't forget to vote in my poll on "What is a Shadow Catcher?".
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Alternative Energy
The scientist/experimenter inside me is always looking at new technology, especially technology that involves alternative energy sources. I’ve never considered myself a tree hugger, but I (like everyone else) love clean air and water. After several years of looking at real-time data and looking back at historical records, I really believe that man-made global warming is a political fabrication. I believe that changes on the Sun’s surface and Earth’s volcanic activity spewing tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere have a greater effect on global temperatures than all of the SUVs put together. None-the-less I am a huge fan of Alternative Energy for replacing at least a portion of the fossil fuels that I use every day to reduce pollution and to reduce costs of energy. For many years I have been a fan of the back to the basics approach of Mother Earth News and an avid reader of Home Power Magazine. Some of the more practical and immediately available alternative energy technologies include solar, wind, biodiesel, and geothermal energy.
A couple of years ago I helped my oldest daughter with a 5th grade science project. What better way to pass on my love for science and alternative energy than to create a solar powered project. After looking around I found some ideas for a relatively easy to make Solar Hotdog Cooker. In making the cooker we used a variety of learning tools to complete the project including math which we used to plot out a parabolic curve to create the reflector that would suit our needs. We still have the cooker. It still works just fine and has never used any additional energy beyond what was needed to make the components and what we used to assemble it five years ago. Besides all that, I think that our Solar Hotdog Cooker makes some of the best tasting hotdogs and bratwursts that I have ever tasted.
I think that one of the most fun ways of using alternative energy is using wind power to push a boat. One of the most memorable and relaxing trips I have taken with my wife was a day cruise around Lake Norman on an old sailboat. There is something magical about hearing the wake sizzling behind a boat with no other noise around except for the creaks and splashing noises the boat makes while cutting across the water. I was content watching the world glide by while my wife dangled her toes in the water. One of the best tales I have heard about sailing involves a power boater yelling at a sailboat as he thundered past, “Get out of the way slow poke, it will take you all day to get where I am going! The screaming engines on the power boat drowned out the sailor’s response of, “I’m already where I want to be.” Well that brings up another topic, but I will leave building and sailing wooden boats for another post.
What is a Shadow Catcher? I'll let the cat out of the bag on May 1st 2010. In the mean time don't forget to take my poll on "What is a Shadow Catcher?".
A couple of years ago I helped my oldest daughter with a 5th grade science project. What better way to pass on my love for science and alternative energy than to create a solar powered project. After looking around I found some ideas for a relatively easy to make Solar Hotdog Cooker. In making the cooker we used a variety of learning tools to complete the project including math which we used to plot out a parabolic curve to create the reflector that would suit our needs. We still have the cooker. It still works just fine and has never used any additional energy beyond what was needed to make the components and what we used to assemble it five years ago. Besides all that, I think that our Solar Hotdog Cooker makes some of the best tasting hotdogs and bratwursts that I have ever tasted.
I think that one of the most fun ways of using alternative energy is using wind power to push a boat. One of the most memorable and relaxing trips I have taken with my wife was a day cruise around Lake Norman on an old sailboat. There is something magical about hearing the wake sizzling behind a boat with no other noise around except for the creaks and splashing noises the boat makes while cutting across the water. I was content watching the world glide by while my wife dangled her toes in the water. One of the best tales I have heard about sailing involves a power boater yelling at a sailboat as he thundered past, “Get out of the way slow poke, it will take you all day to get where I am going! The screaming engines on the power boat drowned out the sailor’s response of, “I’m already where I want to be.” Well that brings up another topic, but I will leave building and sailing wooden boats for another post.
What is a Shadow Catcher? I'll let the cat out of the bag on May 1st 2010. In the mean time don't forget to take my poll on "What is a Shadow Catcher?".
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Who am I? - Part 3 - Do what you love.
My dad was born in Monroe in 1927. He started working for the Charlotte Police Department as a records clerk in 1945. When he turned 21 he became a police officer. He worked there throughout his 43 year career and retired in 1987 a Sergeant. After finishing his 43 year career and retiring he worked with the MCSO for another 12 years in recruiting new reserve deputies. Then he went to the Anson Co. Sheriff's Office to assist them with recruiting new deputies. They say police work gets in your blood. It definitely got into his. I guess I got that bug from him.
Set goals and do what you love. Makes sense to me.
I grew up around police and the police department but never really thought about getting into police work. Some time around 8th grade I developed a love for science. The other kids around me wanted to grow up to be Firemen or Policemen. I wanted to be a Doctor, a Scientist, maybe even a Marine Biologist. After graduating from East Mecklenburg High School in 1980, I went on to get an Associate in Arts Degree at Central Piedmont Community College and later an Associate in General Education also at CPCC. I spent a couple of semesters at UNCC studying Math, Computer Science, and Accounting. After completing an Internship with what was then the Mecklenburg County Police Department, I joined them in Jan 1984. After a couple of years of chasing speeders and fighting drunks, I found that this was not for me. I left the Mecklenburg Co Police to join the Charlotte Police as a Crime Scene Search Investigator in Oct 1986.
CSS Investigator / Forensic Scientist. There is that Scientist word again. Now I was in my element. Do what you love.
I became a Supervisor in CSS in 1989. The rest of the county police followed me a couple of years later when the two separate police agencies combined to become the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department in 1993. There you have it – Life is a adventure, Set goals for yourself, and do what you love.
What is a Shadow Catcher? I'll let the cat out of the bag on May 1st 2010. In the mean time don't forget to take my poll on "What is a Shadow Catcher?".
Set goals and do what you love. Makes sense to me.
I grew up around police and the police department but never really thought about getting into police work. Some time around 8th grade I developed a love for science. The other kids around me wanted to grow up to be Firemen or Policemen. I wanted to be a Doctor, a Scientist, maybe even a Marine Biologist. After graduating from East Mecklenburg High School in 1980, I went on to get an Associate in Arts Degree at Central Piedmont Community College and later an Associate in General Education also at CPCC. I spent a couple of semesters at UNCC studying Math, Computer Science, and Accounting. After completing an Internship with what was then the Mecklenburg County Police Department, I joined them in Jan 1984. After a couple of years of chasing speeders and fighting drunks, I found that this was not for me. I left the Mecklenburg Co Police to join the Charlotte Police as a Crime Scene Search Investigator in Oct 1986.
CSS Investigator / Forensic Scientist. There is that Scientist word again. Now I was in my element. Do what you love.
I became a Supervisor in CSS in 1989. The rest of the county police followed me a couple of years later when the two separate police agencies combined to become the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department in 1993. There you have it – Life is a adventure, Set goals for yourself, and do what you love.
What is a Shadow Catcher? I'll let the cat out of the bag on May 1st 2010. In the mean time don't forget to take my poll on "What is a Shadow Catcher?".
Who am I? - Part 2 - Stitches and Life Goals
Let's take another look at my list with this in mind and see what that list means. Hi, my name is Larry Griffin, pretty good so far, not much I can change about that. Lets see, I'm not just 48 years old, I am a traveler exploring the universe walking through life on an adventure that has taken me around the sun 48 times. A couple of short years ago I saw my 44th trip around the sun coming to an end, but I was not ready to stop just yet. I started looking forward to continuing my adventure and beginning my 45th trip around the sun. I have heard many times that to be successful in life you need to set goals. I had just started this 45th trip around the sun with a goal in mind to go back to college and finish my degree. Just after I completed my 47th trip around the sun, I completed my goal with a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice at Pfeiffer University.
I was born at a very early age here in Charlotte at Charlotte Memorial Hospital. Most of you are probably not old enough to remember that name. Charlotte Memorial was just a single hospital that became CMC or Carolina's Medical Center about 20 years ago and since then they have become one of the largest heath care providers in this region. If some of you are working towards a business degree you might want to look at the CMC business model to see how they became so successful in only 20 years.
What is a Shadow Catcher? I'll let the cat out of the bag on May 1st 2010. In the mean time don't forget to take my poll on "What is a Shadow Catcher?".
I was born at a very early age here in Charlotte at Charlotte Memorial Hospital. Most of you are probably not old enough to remember that name. Charlotte Memorial was just a single hospital that became CMC or Carolina's Medical Center about 20 years ago and since then they have become one of the largest heath care providers in this region. If some of you are working towards a business degree you might want to look at the CMC business model to see how they became so successful in only 20 years.
What is a Shadow Catcher? I'll let the cat out of the bag on May 1st 2010. In the mean time don't forget to take my poll on "What is a Shadow Catcher?".
Who am I? - Part 1
Hi my name is Larry Griffin. I am a 48 years old native Charlottean. I have been working for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department for the past 26 years mostly as a Crime Scene Search Investigations Supervisor. I have a wife and two daughters, 11 and 15 years old.
Whenever you start talking about yourself, you can either go on forever or get stuck after a few short sentences. As I started writing this to tell you who I am, I got stuck. Let's see. If I add in my education and type real slow I might stretch this out for at least two or three more sentences. As I sat there and looked at this short list about me I noticed some things about it. I noticed that for a very short list it would be painfully boring for you to sit there and read a laundry list of things about me. I noticed that all of the sentences start with "I", just like my teachers always taught me to avoid. Then I noticed something else about this list. STITCHES. Yes, stitches... the needle and thread kind of stitches.. A list about me is not just a list. A list about me is also a row of stitches in the fabric of my life that forms me. These stitches and the fabric of my life makes me...ME! A list of things about me makes me who I am.
What is a Shadow Catcher? I'll let the cat out of the bag on May 1st 2010. In the mean time don't forget to take my poll on "What is a Shadow Catcher?".
Whenever you start talking about yourself, you can either go on forever or get stuck after a few short sentences. As I started writing this to tell you who I am, I got stuck. Let's see. If I add in my education and type real slow I might stretch this out for at least two or three more sentences. As I sat there and looked at this short list about me I noticed some things about it. I noticed that for a very short list it would be painfully boring for you to sit there and read a laundry list of things about me. I noticed that all of the sentences start with "I", just like my teachers always taught me to avoid. Then I noticed something else about this list. STITCHES. Yes, stitches... the needle and thread kind of stitches.. A list about me is not just a list. A list about me is also a row of stitches in the fabric of my life that forms me. These stitches and the fabric of my life makes me...ME! A list of things about me makes me who I am.
What is a Shadow Catcher? I'll let the cat out of the bag on May 1st 2010. In the mean time don't forget to take my poll on "What is a Shadow Catcher?".
Things that I have found, while looking for something else.
I have a bunch of fun things mentally filed away under the category of "Things that I have found, while looking for something else". I seem have a wide range of interests that often fall into that category and one of my other favorite personal categories of "Well, one thing let to another, and then…". Anyway, I thought that others might enjoy some of the things that I find interesting so I decided to share them in this blog.
What is a Shadow Catcher? I'll let the cat out of the bag on May 1st 2010. In the mean time don't forget to take my poll on "What is a Shadow Catcher?".
What is a Shadow Catcher? I'll let the cat out of the bag on May 1st 2010. In the mean time don't forget to take my poll on "What is a Shadow Catcher?".
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