Act 143

Go Downtown

Petula Clark was onto something. Things will be great when you’re downtown. My take? There’s a couple reasons for this.

1) Local merchants who live where you live
2) Community events organized for fun not for profit
3) Being outside rather than being in an artificially controlled climate

Tonight we participated in a community bike ride. Free, fun and a great sense of community, not to mention a bit of needed exercise.

So maybe I’ll see you there. Forget all your troubles (including your debt) and go downtown.

Act 142

Make a campfire.

Reconnect to nature. Make a campfire from nothing. Yesterday’s newspaper, a few twigs, a few leaves, a few branches. Next thing you know, it’s happened. A warm fire and whispy flames to enjoy.

Debt defying is like a campfire. You start small. Don’t try and start to big, you’ll only extinguish your efforts. And like a campfire, your debt needs your constant attention or your efforts will be for nothing.

So I won’t delay – other than to say this – as I have some flames to attend to.

PS – if you’re feeling particularly stressed, try this trick too – write your worries on a piece of paper and feed them to the fire – they too will burn away and tomorrow you will feel better.

Act 141

If Team Debt has no captain, how can we beat this all star line up?

I read the remarks made by Superintendent Julie Dickson of the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions Canada (OSFI) to the 2013 Bloomberg Canada Economic Summit on May 21. True enough, it doesn’t say much for my social life, but nevertheless, it made for an interesting read.

Interesting because I searched a few words to get the gist of her comments. Not surprisingly, the winner was – you guessed it – bank (33), followed by interest (15), financial (14), rates (13), market (10), mortgage (8), risk and real estate (4) with insurance (2) and profit (1) rounding out my random count.

What dismayed me was that other than the word household (2), which I guess is what us ordinary people are called in those circles, there was zero (0) mention of the words family or families, Canadians, people, home or even money – never mind health or well-being of any of the above.

Maybe we need a Superintendent of Working Canadian Families, someone to present our case and our cause at summits to business leaders in the financial sector who rely on our debt to earn their living. Just maybe.

Canada has a well-funded Bank of Canada, a well-funded Canadian Bankers Association, a well-funded Canadian Real Estate Association, a well-funded well, you get the idea… Macleans reports  the top 10 lobby groups on Parliament Hill here. You won’t find the words ordinary, working or family in that list either.

Towards the end of Ms. Dickson’s remarks, she states: “Low growth affects employment rates and the standard of living. The crisis demonstrated the importance of the safety and soundness of banks…”

I might argue that those sentences should be revised to read instead, “the importance of the safety and soundness of banks is of greater concern than the employment rates and standard of living among ordinary Canadians – hence, there is no growth – and that is the crisis.”

It’s all in how you say a thing it seems, and nobody’s saying anything on our behalf, at least not officially anyway.

If anyone out there is brave enough to make the speech, I’ll help to write it because we’ve got alot of make-up games on the schedule ahead.

Play ball!

Act 140

The word mortgage is made up of two latin words – Mort – which means death and gage which means pledge – a mortgage is a death pledge. Yikes.

So get this – here’s a quote from a study about the JAK Bank in Sweden which does not charge compound interest and yes, still makes money. Believe it. And start asking why we aren’t asking more about the perils of compound interest on our economic and social well being.

Compound interest rates have a huge impact on our lives, socially, economically,and environmentally.Yet this issue is seldom discussed let alone analyzed.The sheer mathematical facts reveal what the compounding of interest over short intervals does to governments,small businesses,and households for the benefit ofglobal banks.In ordinary circumstances,a debt at 3% compound interest will double in 24 years;at 6% will double in 12 years;and at 12% will double in 6 years.Thus with a variable rate interest on a 25-year mortgage, homeowners frequently pay three to four times the sum they borrowed in the first place.Ifpayments are missed,penalty charges, default fees, and interest charged on interest can escalate costs higher still. 

The Latin origin ofthe word“mortgage”–“grip of death”– spells out the dangers that the debt treadmill involves.The more people owe creditors,the more they have to work to pay it off. Forty years ago,mortgages were mainly paid by one wage-earner.Now it takes two earners to keep pace with thetreadmill.

I don’t know, I think I’m ready to move to Sweden or advocate for a bank or credit union that will also liberate me, my neighbours, my friends, my family and my community by moving to fee based and interest free lending. You with me?

Need more? Read on here.

Act 139

The most important jobs are never done.

Parenting for one. Volunteering, saving, improving, caring and helping make that list for me too.

I find, and this is more philosophical that practical, that if I accept the idea of continuous improvement and get less caught up with the idea of completion, things go better and more gets done but most importantly, I see more opportunity and I feel more motivated.

Which is good, because debt can crush you financially and emotionally too. And I’m winning. At least I am today and tomorrow I get a brand new chance.

Act 138

Be as perennial as the grass

I think a garden is an act of poetry. And I know, from my limited gardening experience that perennials, while they cost more, never let me down. I can always count on boxwood, lavender and anything from the bulb family to share their poetry with me.

Invest in perennials rather than annuals. Annuals might be bright and flowery for a short time – but they fade and the money seems wasted. This is the first year i’ve been able to resist the lure of the gardening store to buy annuals in bloom. I’ll continue to resist and consider a purchase later in the season of a perennial.

And speaking of poetry, just the word perennial reminded me of Max Ehrmann’s Desiderata – a beautiful and time test poem which I’ll share here (thanks wikipedia).

Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time. Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals; and everywhere life is full of heroism. Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass. Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul. With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

Act 137

Holiday at home.

May 24 is here. Summer has begun. We’d normally get out of town for a long weekend but instead we started a tradition of camping at home. We invite friends, fire up the bbq, have a campfire, even tented in the backyard one time (but sure gets cold at night). We take out the lantern and play cards past dark. Just like camping. Only cheaper and much closer to a warm bed.

Instead of spending money on fuel and campsite fees, we invested in a few things for the yard. If you’re going to spend the money, best spend it on things you can enjoy year round – like our new picnic table or the time invested in some yard improvement.

Time and money well spent and just as much fun.

Happy May Long!

Act 136

Find a second life for your single sock.

I live in a house with boys – a result of which is finding single socks in most every corner of every room – for some reason.

Anyway, I keep a stash of single socks in my laundry room and when I’m quite convinced they are destined to be single forever, I repurpose them as household rags (way better quality than a J-cloth for example) or fabric softener sheets (just a few drops of liquid fabric softener and a sock will replace expensive dryer sheets).

It’s not a big thing – but little things matter and every bit counts. That’s the whole point behind defying your debt.

Act 135

Buy the same dollar amount of gas on a weekly basis

With the May long weekend begins the summer season. If you live in a community on the Trans Canada Highway, perhaps you too are accustomed to the 10 to 12 cent increase in fuel/litre preceding a few well deserved days off.

To protect your budget against the swing in fuel prices, consider filling up at the same time every week for the same dollar amount. You can’t control the price of gas, you can control how much driving you do.

I started doing this to help manage my cash flow and kept doing it because it’s decreased my overall fuel expense and it makes me more mindful of how much driving I do.

And now, with my handy dandy office bike (see Act 131), I’ll  run errands in a fuel free way during office hours which will undoubtedly further my cause and up my intake of exercise to boot.

Act 134

Go home for lunch.

I know it’s a crazy notion in our whacked out world of living far from work so we can afford to live, but hey, if you can, give it try.

I did this today because I forgot my phone charger – and rather than buy a new one – I just drove home to get it. I had a quick lunch and a much better afternoon than usual. Makes for a nice break in the day and it saved me a bit of coin on the way.

When I was little, I would come home from school over lunch – and I remembered that today. In fact, in Quebec, they still bus some kids home for lunch. My cousins’ kids eat their lunch at their kitchen table. It’s a respected tradition, one I think we’ve lost in our rush towards convenience and practicality.