Comments on: A late night rant on financial courage, the Big Scary Abyss of Doom, and spur-of-the-moment root canals. http://worldmegan.net/2009/03/a-late-night-rant-on-financial-courage-the-big-scary-abyss-of-doom-and-spur-of-the-moment-root-canals/ (worldmegan) Wed, 17 Mar 2010 06:08:16 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Megan M. http://worldmegan.net/2009/03/a-late-night-rant-on-financial-courage-the-big-scary-abyss-of-doom-and-spur-of-the-moment-root-canals/comment-page-1/#comment-2405 Megan M. Thu, 26 Mar 2009 01:26:15 +0000 http://worldmegan.net/?p=2446#comment-2405 GAH! Sorry about the root canal, man. The worst part for me, when that happened a few years ago, was that <i>I couldn't plan to make more money while I was on painkillers.</i> I was so wacked out that I had to wait until the whole thing was over before running damage control. Unnerving! Thankfully I managed to convince the dentist's office in question to let me pay them in monthly installments, because they wouldn't start without cash and I didn't have insurance (or credit) to cover it.<br><br>I think you have enough people wishing you good fortune and fame already that it shouldn't be hard to come by. Voom! ;} GAH! Sorry about the root canal, man. The worst part for me, when that happened a few years ago, was that I couldn't plan to make more money while I was on painkillers. I was so wacked out that I had to wait until the whole thing was over before running damage control. Unnerving! Thankfully I managed to convince the dentist's office in question to let me pay them in monthly installments, because they wouldn't start without cash and I didn't have insurance (or credit) to cover it.

I think you have enough people wishing you good fortune and fame already that it shouldn't be hard to come by. Voom! ;}

]]> By: Megan M. http://worldmegan.net/2009/03/a-late-night-rant-on-financial-courage-the-big-scary-abyss-of-doom-and-spur-of-the-moment-root-canals/comment-page-1/#comment-2407 Megan M. Thu, 26 Mar 2009 01:17:15 +0000 http://worldmegan.net/?p=2446#comment-2407 I have often speculated as to whether, like my abandonment of wheat and sugar, I might create a discomfort for myself with three week margins. It (mostly) worked when it comes to my eating habits (certainly I'm very pleased with how far I've come because of it) so I don't think it's crazy to consider that it might work for my financial habits too. A bigger question, maybe, is do I really want to continue to enact personal change based on creating negative associations?<br><br>I'm honestly not sure how bad it is, if the change is good. Life long question? I have often speculated as to whether, like my abandonment of wheat and sugar, I might create a discomfort for myself with three week margins. It (mostly) worked when it comes to my eating habits (certainly I'm very pleased with how far I've come because of it) so I don't think it's crazy to consider that it might work for my financial habits too. A bigger question, maybe, is do I really want to continue to enact personal change based on creating negative associations?

I'm honestly not sure how bad it is, if the change is good. Life long question?

]]> By: Tom Bentley http://worldmegan.net/2009/03/a-late-night-rant-on-financial-courage-the-big-scary-abyss-of-doom-and-spur-of-the-moment-root-canals/comment-page-1/#comment-2404 Tom Bentley Thu, 26 Mar 2009 01:01:31 +0000 http://worldmegan.net/?p=2446#comment-2404 MEM, couples that are alliterative are WAY ahead of the curve. Every time. <br><br>I share that sense of wonder, perplexity, chagrin in knowing that I too manage to make square corners the round they need to be when necessity strikes (and wonder why I can't seem to do it at every day's dawn).<br><br>By the way, I DID have one of those root canals lately—̵even worse, it FAILED! Now I have to get it pulled. And the insurance said for months, even though I was covered, that I wasn't. Bastards. Eleventy-billion is about right. But now the pulled tooth will become my lucky tooth, and good fortune and fame are soon to follow... MEM, couples that are alliterative are WAY ahead of the curve. Every time.

I share that sense of wonder, perplexity, chagrin in knowing that I too manage to make square corners the round they need to be when necessity strikes (and wonder why I can't seem to do it at every day's dawn).

By the way, I DID have one of those root canals lately—̵even worse, it FAILED! Now I have to get it pulled. And the insurance said for months, even though I was covered, that I wasn't. Bastards. Eleventy-billion is about right. But now the pulled tooth will become my lucky tooth, and good fortune and fame are soon to follow…

]]> By: Nick http://worldmegan.net/2009/03/a-late-night-rant-on-financial-courage-the-big-scary-abyss-of-doom-and-spur-of-the-moment-root-canals/comment-page-1/#comment-2406 Nick Thu, 26 Mar 2009 00:55:20 +0000 http://worldmegan.net/?p=2446#comment-2406 yey charts!<br><br>Yah that may actually be it. We may have drawn the line at different spots about how much money is 'needed' in a rainy day fun. These days I feel very uneasy if I don't have a few months. Ideally I'm working towards 6ish months these days. That is plenty of money to handle most disasters that come at me. I'm also very fortunate to be at a point in my life where i can bank away a lot of money. I'm grateful. It won't be long before I leave that comfort. yey charts!

Yah that may actually be it. We may have drawn the line at different spots about how much money is 'needed' in a rainy day fun. These days I feel very uneasy if I don't have a few months. Ideally I'm working towards 6ish months these days. That is plenty of money to handle most disasters that come at me. I'm also very fortunate to be at a point in my life where i can bank away a lot of money. I'm grateful. It won't be long before I leave that comfort.

]]> By: Megan M. http://worldmegan.net/2009/03/a-late-night-rant-on-financial-courage-the-big-scary-abyss-of-doom-and-spur-of-the-moment-root-canals/comment-page-1/#comment-1218 Megan M. Wed, 25 Mar 2009 20:26:15 +0000 http://worldmegan.net/?p=2446#comment-1218 GAH! Sorry about the root canal, man. The worst part for me, when that happened a few years ago, was that <i>I couldn't plan to make more money while I was on painkillers.</i> I was so wacked out that I had to wait until the whole thing was over before running damage control. Unnerving! Thankfully I managed to convince the dentist's office in question to let me pay them in monthly installments, because they wouldn't start without cash and I didn't have insurance (or credit) to cover it.<br><br>I think you have enough people wishing you good fortune and fame already that it shouldn't be hard to come by. Voom! ;} GAH! Sorry about the root canal, man. The worst part for me, when that happened a few years ago, was that I couldn't plan to make more money while I was on painkillers. I was so wacked out that I had to wait until the whole thing was over before running damage control. Unnerving! Thankfully I managed to convince the dentist's office in question to let me pay them in monthly installments, because they wouldn't start without cash and I didn't have insurance (or credit) to cover it.

I think you have enough people wishing you good fortune and fame already that it shouldn't be hard to come by. Voom! ;}

]]> By: Megan M. http://worldmegan.net/2009/03/a-late-night-rant-on-financial-courage-the-big-scary-abyss-of-doom-and-spur-of-the-moment-root-canals/comment-page-1/#comment-1217 Megan M. Wed, 25 Mar 2009 20:17:15 +0000 http://worldmegan.net/?p=2446#comment-1217 I have often speculated as to whether, like my abandonment of wheat and sugar, I might create a discomfort for myself with three week margins. It (mostly) worked when it comes to my eating habits (certainly I'm very pleased with how far I've come because of it) so I don't think it's crazy to consider that it might work for my financial habits too. A bigger question, maybe, is do I really want to continue to enact personal change based on creating negative associations?<br><br>I'm honestly not sure how bad it is, if the change is good. Life long question? I have often speculated as to whether, like my abandonment of wheat and sugar, I might create a discomfort for myself with three week margins. It (mostly) worked when it comes to my eating habits (certainly I'm very pleased with how far I've come because of it) so I don't think it's crazy to consider that it might work for my financial habits too. A bigger question, maybe, is do I really want to continue to enact personal change based on creating negative associations?

I'm honestly not sure how bad it is, if the change is good. Life long question?

]]> By: Tom Bentley http://worldmegan.net/2009/03/a-late-night-rant-on-financial-courage-the-big-scary-abyss-of-doom-and-spur-of-the-moment-root-canals/comment-page-1/#comment-1215 Tom Bentley Wed, 25 Mar 2009 20:01:31 +0000 http://worldmegan.net/?p=2446#comment-1215 MEM, couples that are alliterative are WAY ahead of the curve. Every time. <br><br>I share that sense of wonder, perplexity, chagrin in knowing that I too manage to make square corners the round they need to be when necessity strikes (and wonder why I can't seem to do it at every day's dawn).<br><br>By the way, I DID have one of those root canals lately—̵even worse, it FAILED! Now I have to get it pulled. And the insurance said for months, even though I was covered, that I wasn't. Bastards. Eleventy-billion is about right. But now the pulled tooth will become my lucky tooth, and good fortune and fame are soon to follow... MEM, couples that are alliterative are WAY ahead of the curve. Every time.

I share that sense of wonder, perplexity, chagrin in knowing that I too manage to make square corners the round they need to be when necessity strikes (and wonder why I can't seem to do it at every day's dawn).

By the way, I DID have one of those root canals lately—̵even worse, it FAILED! Now I have to get it pulled. And the insurance said for months, even though I was covered, that I wasn't. Bastards. Eleventy-billion is about right. But now the pulled tooth will become my lucky tooth, and good fortune and fame are soon to follow…

]]> By: Nick http://worldmegan.net/2009/03/a-late-night-rant-on-financial-courage-the-big-scary-abyss-of-doom-and-spur-of-the-moment-root-canals/comment-page-1/#comment-1214 Nick Wed, 25 Mar 2009 19:55:20 +0000 http://worldmegan.net/?p=2446#comment-1214 yey charts!<br><br>Yah that may actually be it. We may have drawn the line at different spots about how much money is 'needed' in a rainy day fun. These days I feel very uneasy if I don't have a few months. Ideally I'm working towards 6ish months these days. That is plenty of money to handle most disasters that come at me. I'm also very fortunate to be at a point in my life where i can bank away a lot of money. I'm grateful. It won't be long before I leave that comfort. yey charts!

Yah that may actually be it. We may have drawn the line at different spots about how much money is 'needed' in a rainy day fun. These days I feel very uneasy if I don't have a few months. Ideally I'm working towards 6ish months these days. That is plenty of money to handle most disasters that come at me. I'm also very fortunate to be at a point in my life where i can bank away a lot of money. I'm grateful. It won't be long before I leave that comfort.

]]> By: Megan M. http://worldmegan.net/2009/03/a-late-night-rant-on-financial-courage-the-big-scary-abyss-of-doom-and-spur-of-the-moment-root-canals/comment-page-1/#comment-1211 Megan M. Wed, 25 Mar 2009 15:17:01 +0000 http://worldmegan.net/?p=2446#comment-1211 This may actually be another post / conversation, but I think it's interesting -- I don't think this is even so much about what we have been taught to spend money on so much as it is about our mindset. I've spent most of my money-making life livin' on the edge just like this, but my spending schedule looks like yours -- no vacations, almost no eating out, generally cheap entertainment, shared living space, and until now, cheap cars. The only difference (and only for the last few years) is that I've decided to buy high quality food, but even that has come to mean very little, because the CSA makes up most of our food budget and compared to prepared or packaged foods, it's pretty inexpensive. In fact, I'd say the biggest factor for me is that most of the money I make goes right back into my business(es), being that my work is so much my life. If you take those things into consideration, it's not that my finances are so very different (pure speculation) but that my <i>mindset</i> is: Three week set point versus several month set point, maybe. Theoretically, it should be ridiculously easy for me to change the situation by tweaking the mindset (well, that's been a bit difficult) or the circumstances of the mindset (much easier).<br><br>So it's wacky and interesting how similar we actually are in these respects. What do you think of all that? We should compare / contrast and make a chart. (I apparently have a thing about charts.) ^_^ This may actually be another post / conversation, but I think it's interesting—I don't think this is even so much about what we have been taught to spend money on so much as it is about our mindset. I've spent most of my money-making life livin' on the edge just like this, but my spending schedule looks like yours—no vacations, almost no eating out, generally cheap entertainment, shared living space, and until now, cheap cars. The only difference (and only for the last few years) is that I've decided to buy high quality food, but even that has come to mean very little, because the CSA makes up most of our food budget and compared to prepared or packaged foods, it's pretty inexpensive. In fact, I'd say the biggest factor for me is that most of the money I make goes right back into my business(es), being that my work is so much my life. If you take those things into consideration, it's not that my finances are so very different (pure speculation) but that my mindset is: Three week set point versus several month set point, maybe. Theoretically, it should be ridiculously easy for me to change the situation by tweaking the mindset (well, that's been a bit difficult) or the circumstances of the mindset (much easier).

So it's wacky and interesting how similar we actually are in these respects. What do you think of all that? We should compare / contrast and make a chart. (I apparently have a thing about charts.) _

]]> By: Nick http://worldmegan.net/2009/03/a-late-night-rant-on-financial-courage-the-big-scary-abyss-of-doom-and-spur-of-the-moment-root-canals/comment-page-1/#comment-1210 Nick Wed, 25 Mar 2009 14:50:00 +0000 http://worldmegan.net/?p=2446#comment-1210 I'm actually a little perplexed by some people's financial situation. I'll grant that I could have been lucky most of my life. Still, I suspect that most of the time it is a choice that people are making between different priorities in their life. <br><br>For most of my adult life I have had enough money in my bank account for a couple of months of living. I do not come from a rich family and nor have I always had a high paying job. Outside of college expenditures(thankfully i got various types of financial support for that) I worked for my money and was very conscious of how it was spent. The biggest thing I notice about how I spend money is that I made huge trade-offs with regards to my lifestyle. Here are things I did(or didn't do):<br>-Buy cheap food (there is a health trade off here)<br>-Rarely went out to eat (most a social trade off here, sometimes just pure convenience)<br>-Small amount of vacation or cheap vacations (I'm not sure if I got less r&r, but I do have less fantastic tales about other places)<br>-Spent large amounts of time with cheap entertainment such as tv, movies, and video games. (I actually largely regret this choice because I didn't explore as many hobbies... still, there are plenty of cheap hobbies. plus the library has free books)<br>-Shared apartment place (Less privacy, having to deal with other people)<br>-Cheap car<br><br>And I'm sure there is actually more. Perhaps the key in all of this to pay attention about those things we feel we need in life. Most people have actually converted their wants to needs. We don't need a lot. And if we are creative we can actually get many of our wants cheaply.<br><br>I'll take one step back from saying all of this. I could have had some luck with my financial situation and it also very possible that the sacrifices i made to maintain my finances were not actually worth it. I'm actually a little perplexed by some people's financial situation. I'll grant that I could have been lucky most of my life. Still, I suspect that most of the time it is a choice that people are making between different priorities in their life.

For most of my adult life I have had enough money in my bank account for a couple of months of living. I do not come from a rich family and nor have I always had a high paying job. Outside of college expenditures(thankfully i got various types of financial support for that) I worked for my money and was very conscious of how it was spent. The biggest thing I notice about how I spend money is that I made huge trade-offs with regards to my lifestyle. Here are things I did(or didn't do):
Buy cheap food (there is a health trade off here)
Rarely went out to eat (most a social trade off here, sometimes just pure convenience)
Small amount of vacation or cheap vacations (I'm not sure if I got less r&r, but I do have less fantastic tales about other places)
Spent large amounts of time with cheap entertainment such as tv, movies, and video games. (I actually largely regret this choice because I didn't explore as many hobbies… still, there are plenty of cheap hobbies. plus the library has free books)
Shared apartment place (Less privacy, having to deal with other people)
Cheap car

And I'm sure there is actually more. Perhaps the key in all of this to pay attention about those things we feel we need in life. Most people have actually converted their wants to needs. We don't need a lot. And if we are creative we can actually get many of our wants cheaply.

I'll take one step back from saying all of this. I could have had some luck with my financial situation and it also very possible that the sacrifices i made to maintain my finances were not actually worth it.

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