My girlfriend and I moved into our new place in March of this year and we decided to try and give up cable, as you suggested. Well, I actually enjoy it. I’ve been more productive and I tend to read much more material then I normally would. However, I must admit, my girlfriend is not a fan of this decision. I guess she just likes to hear background noise when she types away on the computer. Although she does say it’s multitasking…whatever!

Perhaps for some that’s a value exchange they’re willing to make, but if you’re looking for career success, tattoos – especially ones visible outside of clothing – aren’t worth it.

I thought though that the comment about tattoos and piercings was thoughtless. I don’t think it’s at all true that people who do those things don’t care about themselves – and to put tattoos on the same level as body odor is just demeaning.

It’s true that in certain circles a tattoo will have some negative connotations along with it, but That’s not a stereotype that deserves to be enforced.

The only reason why anyone is in the financial position they are in, is because of the way that they are thinking.

Yes people are born to different circumstances. Some to poor people, some to rich people. Whatever.

The truth of the matter is that the rich understand something that the poor do not. If a poor person starts applying some of the principles that a rich person has, i guarantee you that he will start to accumulate his wealth.

Wealth isn’t about luck. Its about mindset. I think that its good to accept this and be accountable for where you are in life. To stop blaming other people and circumstance and realize that you have the power to determine your future.

Young Investor

http://www.investmentrealty.blogspot.com

Outlook – “When the tax rebates come out and people use it to pay off their credit card debts instead of putting it back into the economy like the politicans want, you’ll understand.”

The middle class will do this – the poor will buy xboxes and big-screen tv’s. The only “system” that holds any American back is the system of thought in their heads.

We need to re-read our Declaration of Independence.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

No one should be obligated to pull the poor up by their boot-straps. They either do it themselves or stay poor. We are not communists – we reap what we sow.

BS about supposed “barriers” to escaping poverty is degrading to those millions of people who do escape it – generally through hard work and hard decisions.

My mom and all of her nine (yes, nine) brothers and sisters were illegal immigrants to the United States. They all came here for better lives. They all grew up in poverty. They all had the same gene pool and social conditions growing up.

My mom gets singled out as the “rich” one because she has worked full-time plus for her entire life and is about to own her home and retire with a nice nest egg. My aunts and uncles? Not so much.

What was the difference? Here’s one: I have 35 first cousins! My mom had only myself and my older brother. That’s 9 sibs and 35 kids; so, almost 4 kids per sib which is about right (plus or minus one here and there). My brother is the first member of our family with a college degree. I am the first member of our family in the military. We both own homes (I have two). My cousins: they all have better cell phones than I do (I have a $40 pre-paid, which I learned from my brother that they all laugh at); they all have nicer cars (my brother buys used; I’m still driving my brand new 99 Ford Escort); they all have nicer clothes (I have some clothes that are a decade old); they all have the newest, coolest gadgets and gizmos (I have an iPod shuffle that I won). This is not to say that I’m cheap and never buy anything new. I just happen to make things last and never feel the need to buy things for social status. I love walking in to Best Buy and I have the means to buy most of what I want; but, I think long term, not short term gratification and how “cool” I’ll look.

My mom’s little segment of our family is looked upon with disdain as if we’ve done something wrong by trying to be successful. They all started at the same spot and my mom worked hard to better life for me and my brother. Yet we are the exception and not the the rule, and that’s what society as a whole is lead to believe. I don’t believe that I am smarter or more talented. I believe that I apply common sense, hard work, and personal accountability in my life.

This is about choice. All of you who disagree make me sick. You may have personal accountability for yourself, but you are okay with people who do not. I say: “SCREW THEM.” Where is my compassion? I have none for those who can that will not. I work too hard to have compassion for able-bodied, able-minded, lazy pieces of crap. My compassion is reserved for those who can’t and children. When America stops coddling the “I won’ts”, then we’ll turn things around.

Yes, there are exceptions. But do you expect Trent to make a laundry list of who should not be included when he makes a post. “The exceptions to this post/statement are anyone who has a severe illness or athlete’s foot, is living in a third world country, is black, white, or any color in between, is female, male, or any gender in between, is old, young, or middle-aged, is stupid, allergic to potatos (but not French fries), does not know that coffee served to you might be hot (really hot), is or has suffered from depression, has had your pants lost by the dry cleaner, has been pulled over for no reason (has happened to me more than once), grew up in the projects, has tasteful tattoos, didn’t know that cigarette smoking is bad for your health, are missing any teeth, believe a six pack a day is normal, have more than 2.2 children, or any other person/class/group not already specifically mentioned above that may or may not (depending on the weather or how much money you currently possess) be offended. I was only talking to those who have perfect lives.” (Trent, I think you should really use this disclaimer. Royalty?)

Political correctness is stupid. Having to qualify every word, statement, or post is stupid.

Take what you want from Trent’s posts. I, personally, come here daily because of his average guy, positive message. If you want to mince words and clash about society on a personal finance blog, maybe it’s time you move on to a political blog. But I have first hand knowledge of hard work building a better life (my mom) and lack of drive and self pity not amounting to anything (her siblings).

I love America. If you live in the US, do something with yourself or don’t. That’s your choice. I don’t care. What I care about is my family and I would work 20 hours a day at three minimum wage jobs to provide for them if necessary. I don’t care that the rich are getting richer. Actually, I do because I plan on joining them. Do I believe that I am the exception? Absolutely not. This is America. Get off your ass and stop complaining and do something. 12 years in the military and over two years separated from my wife and children. Why? So that they never need. I don’t want or expect anything from anyone. Stop expecting that anyone but you take care of you and yours.

P.S. I apologize to the non-US readers. This is directed at the whiny Americans who are using their opportunity from the Land of Opportunity to complain about the lack of opportunity.

I would have assumed the same thing, but a close friend works at Walmart, and last Saturday she said they had a huge amount of flat screen TVs sold. She and others helped the customers with hauling these monsters out to their vehicles. The customers said that they were buying them on credit and would pay for them with their rebates! My friend heard one couple arguing over how big a TV set they could buy because they were not sure if they got 300 or 600 per kid, they had 4 kids with them.

I’ll bet this is happening all over the country. Pretty sad isn’t it.

And that, Trent, is the crux of the issue. It doesn’t matter whether one grows up poor or not. Having “two wonderful parents” (not necessarily married to each other, as long as they are involved in your life) is critical. We learn by example. Your preachy tone fails to acknowledge the many, many people out there who grew up with no father and a mother who snorted the rent money up her nose. There are children who have never seen anyone actually work for a living. Hard work is an easy concept for you and me. It is more difficult to grasp for people who have never seen it demonstrated.

great ideas, though
just the wrong audience

I personally believe that there ARE systemic pressures that keep the poor poor. Stories of people who have defied the odds and risen to the middle class or beyond are the exception rather than the rule. However, these success stories are well publicized: they both keep the poor working hard (in the hopes of realizing the elusive American Dream) and illict self-righteousness responses from the upper classes (”See? These people could escape poverty if they weren’t so lazy”, etc.)

P.S. For an interesting take on this topic (albeit from an early 20th century perspective), you might like to check out The Jungle by Upton Sinclair.

“While some of these families are mired in poverty, many (the exact proportion is unclear) are headed by retirees and those temporarily between jobs, and thus their low income total doesn’t accurately reflect their long-term financial status.”

In other words, by classifying people as “rich” or “poor” based on earned income, people who have retired from high-paying jobs (but have zero earned income right now) are going to count as “poor.” Of course people like that are going to have a high standard of living, and of course they are going to spend more than they earn. That tells us absolutely nothing about the standard of living and spending habits of people who really are poor.

How so? It is true that some people have it harder. It doesn’t say that you shouldn’t improve your life and you should cry about your position and give up. Not at all. Of course you should work hard to better your life.

But if you are successful, please acknowledge that if someone is less successful, it may not be because they didn’t work as hard as you. (it also MAY be)

And Fuji’s article is ridiculous: DVD players might be cheaper because of economy of scale and the fact that they are made in different labor economy, but fuel, health-care, housing, and education costs are making most people much poorer. The middle-class virtues are less and less worth it.

One way blaming other people might help is to produce radical political change, because with the current concentration of wealth you have to blame ‘the man’ because you can certainly never become him.

Credit cards.
When the tax rebates come out and people use it to pay off their credit card debts instead of putting it back into the economy like the politicans want, you’ll understand.