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Archives for November 2014

Debt Is The Illusion Of Success

By Frugaling 17 Comments

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Lamborghini on Rodeo Drive
Lamborghini on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, CA. Photo: John Beagle/Flickr

I’ve never had an empty bank account without some support from others. I’ve never hit zero dollars, and then decided what I need to sell to make ends meet. I’ve never run out of money, and been unable to make a co-pay or buy food. This is a privilege of my social class, but it’s also a consequence of this country’s acceptance of debt.

When I turned 18, I immediately applied for my first credit card. I researched and found the ultimate cash back card for my beginning credit line. At the time, that meant a $50 bonus for opening the account, and a check every time I hit $50 in rewards. The bonuses weren’t much, but they were a taste of the good life.

Even before I was accepted into graduate school, I started spending more. A computer sound system — that was amazing! A beautiful road bike. New smartphones whenever I wanted. Life was good, but it was all an illusion. It was all charged to credit cards, and my poor spending habits only descended as my academic career continued.

Eventually, I needed to take out a balance transfer, and opened a new credit card that allowed me to transfer and put off my debt. When I finally started getting student loans, I needed more to pay off the credit debt. This is the classic “robbing Peter to pay Paul” concept of debt payments. I constantly owed one bank something or another. Frankly, this life was stressful and full of unknowns. I constantly questioned, “Will I have enough to pay off this debt?”

But that was all behind the scenes. On the surface, I was a brimming success. Look at the materialistic items I was able to purchase — the “things” I had amassed! I could scan around my room and provide details about the latest purchase — all without addressing a gaping hole in my story.

Everything was purchased with debt. My things were the banks’ things.

Debt prevents us from seeing how little we actually have. It’s a scary psychological trick that banks prop up for us. Why should anyone be able to spend more than they have? Why must we finance our vehicles, homes, and dreams? If we do not have the actual money, why should we be enabled and empowered to spend?

I’m not sure that, as humans, we’ve evolved rapidly enough to adapt to taking out and handling debt properly. And yet, our system pushes people to adapt or perish in bills and debt collectors. The victims of this systemic problem are blamed and tarnished — left to bankruptcies (unless it’s student loan debt — you must die to rid yourself of that) and court proceedings.

We need to reevaluate both success and reality. In reality, the life I lead is a modest one where I cannot afford that European vacation I desperately want. But my credit card and possible student loan access says otherwise. In reality, I cannot afford to own a nice car I want. But my bank keeps offering me car loans at 2% interest APR.

Where can I find the middle path? Where can I compromise and meet my budgetary reality? The simplest answer I’ve found is realizing that I don’t need much. In fact, most everything I ever purchased served an unnecessary status function in my life. The only way I’ve been able to stay afloat these days is by realizing how little I “need” and how much can be thrown away as “wants” — some of which are extrinsically motivated.

When I want to spend more than I have because I can, I constantly remind myself about the stress and unknown feelings surrounding debt. There was such powerful shame because I couldn’t “control myself.” We need to take responsibility where we can, while also recognizing that we live in a system that ushers out goodies to perpetuate and encourage spending — then blames you for participating. The best we can do is remove the credit card chicanery and unveil the truth: debt is the illusion of success.

Filed Under: Loans, Minimalism Tagged With: Banks, Budget, credit, credit cards, debt, Interest, money, Success

4 Charities For Thanksgiving

By Frugaling 5 Comments

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Thanksgiving Dinner
Thanksgiving dinner. Photo credit: Satya Murthy/Flickr

Thanksgiving is four days away! It’s a time for unusual abundance and tradition, with food nearly spilling off the sides of tables and soon-to-be ballooning stomachs. Yes, we Americans are fantastic at recognizing those we care about on this national holiday.

There’s a special energy around this day, as it tells us to be thankful for what we have and share with others. These are the most humble, honorable thoughts you can have, and they directly affect everyone around us. It’s kindergarten all over again — share your toys and candies. But we needn’t make this a brief aside in our otherwise short and busy lives.

This day can inspire us to act, change, and provide for those who need help most. Last year I wrote about 3 charities you should consider supporting in this day of thanks. I have a brand new list this year!

The following are 4 charities for Thanksgiving that I’ll be donating to:

1. Doctors Without Borders

A couple years ago I watched a brilliant documentary entitled Living in Emergency. This soul-crushing film captured the difficult and dangerous world of war-torn countries. And there are a select few helpers — non-violent humanitarians — that run towards these struggles and help the suffering people of these countries.

Doctors Without Borders has a history of exceptional success and medical advocacy for those most in need — internationally. They are mostly active in African states and failed nations, and I’m happy to be supporting this organization this year.

Donate here: http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/

2. Wounded Warrior Project

I have had the fortunate opportunity to work with a deluge of veterans recently. I’m immensely honored by their service and dedication. There are various organizations and charities that provide support, but none has reached vets quite like the Wounded Warrior Project.

The WWP aims to help vets return to civilian life by approaching solutions that are both education-related and emotionally supportive. This strikes a powerful balance that’s necessary to help vets recover. We owe it to these heroes that served — regardless of the political turmoil that surrounded the decisions to put these men and women in harms way.

Donate here: http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/

3. The Always Remember Never Surrender Endowment

About four to five years ago, I was deeply affected by suicide. A resident of mine in a college residence hall died by suicide, and I have been forever changed by this event.

To honor this man’s life and provide an outlet for suicide prevention, I created the Always Remember Never Surrender Scholarship Endowment. Now, around 4 years into fundraising and giving, the endowment has raised nearly $35,000. Each year, that money goes to undergraduate students looking to reduce stigma, create research, and/or provide services for those suffering from thoughts of suicide.

Donate here: https://advancing.colostate.edu/ARNS

4. Shelter House of Iowa City

This year I’m working in a homeless shelter for my counseling psychology doctoral degree. Before this experience, I thought I understood the “facts” about homelessness. I thought I was understanding and empathetic to the plight of those with less. But being here, seeing their faces, and hearing their stories, I’ve been activated more than ever.

We need to make more of a fuss about how we treat those with the least. We need to stand up for them and support their educations, basic shelter needs, and respect the diversity of mental health functioning within this population. Shelter House provides a wealth of services to the homeless in my community, and I’m happy to be able to donate to help them this year.

Donate here: http://www.shelterhouseiowa.org/want-to-donate/financial-contributions.aspx

Filed Under: Save Money Tagged With: Charity, donate, Giving, Holiday, scholarship, Thanksgiving

One Nation… Poor, Divided, And Unequal

By Frugaling 8 Comments

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Statue of LIberty Inequality
Photo: Statue of Liberty. Credit: Juanedc/Flickr.

We’re in economic trouble. As the deficit wages on and the country continues to spend billions of dollars on wars that make no sense to average citizens, it’s easy to say that we need austerity and tax relief. That’s what this country voted for in the mid-term elections, as a slew of new Republicans were elected to Congress. Unfortunately, that action is shortsighted and relief will not last.

The elected Republicans are responding to a warranted distrust and unease with our current administration, but this new direction could corrupt our chances of lasting economic recovery. It may sound tragic, but we need greater taxation more than ever. In these economically troubled times, we are digging ourselves deeper by talking about cuts to budgets and public programs.

About 30 years ago, President Reagan began a long series of cuts to federal agencies and public funding — ushering in the first era of big time tax cuts for the wealthiest elite. And this trend only continued. The tax breaks hurt the most disenfranchised first. Cuts to funding generally suck necessary funds from education and welfare — programs that keep clothes on children, employees healthy, and roofs over heads. These are all in high demand.

It’s no accident that as cuts to important budgets continued, income and wealth inequality skyrocketed. We now live in a new Gilded Age. The average CEO gets about 204 times the salary of traditional employees. That’s immoral and outrageous. Are they doing 204 times more work? No. Are they doing 204 times more jobs? No. Some people point to the pressures of being a leader — the taxing life that they lead. To those supporters of income inequality for upper management versus average employees, I urge you to develop some empathy for the person that is on food stamps, working full-time, and dealing with children — all on poverty-inducing wages. Isn’t that stressful, too? I think the impoverished person would gladly take on CEO-level stress to pay their bills each month, reliably feed their children, and possibly (holy crap!) take a vacation from time to time.

Walmart is a perfect, nightmarish example, where CEOs and upper management make it big, and their precious employees wear blue uniforms and need food stamps to make ends meet (even when working full-time). It’s then that those outfits look more like prison uniforms.

Even more alarming is the growing wealth inequality. The Economist recently highlighted new research from two of the leading wealth economists. What they found was shocking. There are 16,000 families — 0.01% of the population — that have an average net worth of $371 million each. Staggering hardly describes this level of “average” wealth. The research suggests that this represents 11.2% of total wealth. To be clear, 0.01% of the population has 11.2% of the total wealth! How do we accept this inequality and disparity? How do we accept this assault on true family values? How do we accept this inequality that causes massive funding gaps?

We’ve reached astonishing levels of wealth inequality — approaching records from 1916. This disparate wealth disrupts middle-class opportunities, wealth generation, and social class mobility. All opportunities are stifled for the masses, as a select few profit. Those who’ve suffered most have the least. I cannot help but reflect on our values as a country. Could this corrupt — post-Citizens United world — truly be what our Founding Fathers set out for America?

Today more than ever, we are one nation, poor, divided, and unequal.

Filed Under: Social Justice Tagged With: CEO pay, citizens united, Congress, Democrats, Income Inequality, politics, republicans, Walmart, wealth gap, wealth inequality

Do I Regret Deleting My Facebook?

By Frugaling 19 Comments

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deletefb

I joined Facebook when it was limited to college students. I remember that scary moment when the company allowed others to join (i.e., older adults and high school students). I remember when things you liked could be shared with other friends, and you could see what others were interested in. I remember when status updates were framed in third-person thoughts (“Sam is…”). It was my home away from home, and a bastion for friends and family to connect. And then, one year ago, I deleted it all.

When I joined in 2007, Facebook was a select, elite social network. Everyone I knew wanted an account. Eventually, they all got one. Where once, my friends would’ve texted or emailed to update me, they “Facebooked.” Their messages and updates became broadcasts — written on semi-public “walls.” Others could contribute and participate. Moments were shared — online.

It was a pure experience and I never really noticed advertising. There was an undercurrent of concern about Facebook’s privacy policy and habit of defaulting to public profiles. But I stayed informed and on top of it, always making my profile more private. Facebook was a safe place to share my thoughts and memorable moments.

There was that first party, first relationship, first love, and first adult vacation. All was captured and curated. Others could peruse and get to know me; albeit, in a detached, digital sense. And that feeling grew and grew, as I realized that my ballooning friend network wasn’t about friendship.

In college, I was frequently in the public eye and had built a large professional network. Facebook served as a hub for connecting with those people — a nascent LinkedIn. But I embraced the opportunity to stay in contact with important people. That networking and messaging led me to meet the Governor of Colorado a couple times and enabled me to fundraise thousands of dollars. It was wonderful.

But it was also the home of my first breakup, the next breakup, and then the few after that. Facebook showed my hurt. The site featured a fractured post-breakup silence and photo-less few months. It ebbed and flowed, as did my emotions. Facebook was stirring powerful emotions in me. Oftentimes, these weren’t positive and supportive.

I was surrounded by people I didn’t really recognize, and bombarded with more advertising than ever. Facebook, the personal social network, had become another rehashed home for brooding, breeding, and time-wasting.

Last November, I evaluated whether Facebook was still important. The things I shared were no longer liked by the people I was supposedly closest to, and that hurt. A relationship I was in was about to collapse, and I hardly wanted to share that with this disconnected, jumbled group of “friends.”

Hovering over the delete link, I contemplated life without Facebook. There were photos, videos, and status updates. But more than anything, there were moments I was saying goodbye to — exceptional and horrific.

I clicked delete, and the stream went black. Digitally done, my home away from home was burned. All those years spent networking and adding friends were gone. I felt a pain of uncertainty and unknown. Had I made a mistake?

It’s been about one year since I deleted my Facebook, and I can tell it’s been the best decision I’ve ever made. My communication mediums regressed to text messages, emails, and — gasp! — phone calls. Slowly, friends reached out and mentioned that they noticed I was no longer online. Some kept in touch and others disappeared.

Now, I have time. Instead of incessantly swiping through news feeds and liking incessantly, I read, write, and connect (in-person) more often. I’m more informed about world politics and news. I’m more concerned with helping others and making a difference. I’m not as interested in my next profile picture. I don’t care as much about taking a group photo (for others to see). I’m not as concerned about new clothing and products that’ll make me look affluent and connected.

Embarrassingly, I used to look through my photos, clicking infinitely — circling through them over and over again. Facebook held on to me — aching for me to relive my past and share every moment. There was an emotional high and low to look back on what I’ve done, where I’ve been, and who I was with. But that is largely gone. In its place is a powerful present-focus and interest in what my future holds.

Done with the ads. Done with shared walls. Done with that time-wasting.

One year down, infinite more to go.

Filed Under: Social Justice Tagged With: ads, delete, Facebook, Friends, reflection, story

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