text:
Why Do You Want to Be Rich?
Published on - May 31st, 2009 (Modified on - September 21st, 2009) (by J.D. Roth)
I'm not the only one who has been thinking about the relationship between money and meaning lately. This is a guest post from CJ at WiseMoneyMatters.com, who is trying to live a rich life even as he works to pay down debt.
I love this quote from Dr. Edwin Louis Cole because it gives me a heart check. It helps me understand my motives for doing what I'm doing.
You see, my goals are to become completely debt-free. I'm getting closer and closer to that goal. Within the last few months, I downsized my house, doubled my income, and was able to pay off all of my debts except for the mortgage. So now all I have left is about $100,000 to pay off before I am completely debt-free.
In order to get to those goals, I'm working extra hard. I work a job that has a great schedule: ten hours a day, four days a week. While that's nice, it's 45 minutes away, so I get very little time with my wife those four days.
Then I use my three-day weekends to work on side jobs. I'm a D.J. and videographer for weddings. I also work on my blog, WiseMoneyMatters.com. I do everything possible to earn extra money to help pay down debt.
And, of course, I try to be as frugal as possible. My wife and I are on a strict budget. We each get $100 per month for play money (this includes new clothes, eating out, coffee, etc). Groceries are limited to $200 per month. Everything else goes towards bills or savings.
Be careful what you wish for
I'm on the right track toward getting out of debt and becoming rich. I'm doing all of the right things. But why? Why do I want to be debt-free? Why do I want lots of money? I know intellectually that money doesn't always bring happiness, yet we all strive for more of it, and sometimes at the expense of our own families.
I know too many guys who have built very successful businesses and made large amounts of money and had their family fall apart. I used to be envious of them and what they had. Now I just feel sorry for them.
They wanted riches so bad that it consumed them. They have nice houses and brand-new cars, yet are completely alone. Many celebrities find themselves in similar circumstances.
I hear stories all of the time on personal finance blogs and podcasts about how the drive to get out of debt causes significant conflicts in the home. One spouse goes crazy frugal while the other is a spendthrift. Money-related issues are the leading cause of divorce these days.
What's the point?
Let's say I accomplish my goal of becoming completely debt-free. What then? What will I do with all of that extra money? I'll probably save for retirement. That's the next logical step, right? But it all just seems so superficial.
I'm spending my whole life working my butt off so I can be lazy the last 10-20 years of my life. Something about that just doesn't sit right with me.
I want for there to be more purpose in life than just a selfish dream of ultimate laziness. I want to make a difference in this world. I want my life to be meaningful.
My purpose
My wife and I decided to give our money away. If we've been blessed this much, I feel it's important to bless others.
We have set aside 20% of our income just for giving to charity. My wife takes girls from our church youth group out to lunch. She just talks with them and helps them through those tough situations that come up for teenagers. We sponsor a girl in India via Compassion International. We give to Teen Challenge to help teenaged boys with drug addictions. We donate both our time and money because time is as valuable (or more so!) as money. I tutor some of the boys in math every Friday. And, finally, we give to our church and to our community.
We also set aside $100 per month for date nights as my family is of utmost importance to me. We take out my wife's 11-year-old brother every week. He comes from a broken home where his mother is addicted to drugs and brings new boyfriends home all the time. He needs a little stability.
I can tell you that I find so much more satisfaction seeing people's lives changed than I do watching my mortgage go down another $1,000. I find I am much wealthier than I can imagine, even if I might not be considered "rich".
Now don't get me wrong: We are still saving and planning to pay off our mortgage early. Those things are very important to us. But without a purpose, they don't really matter.
Don't let the prospects of tomorrow come at the expense of today.
What's your purpose?
So I challenge you: What's your purpose?
If all of your dreams come true and you pay off debt and make millions of dollars, what's the point? Is it to satisfy your selfish desires? Or are you going to make a difference? Are you going to pursue those riches at the expense of your family? Or will you set boundaries in order to spend time with the kids, and to take your wife on dates?
Why do you want to be rich?
CJ's article reminds me of another guest post from last December, in which Jeremy M. asked, "What's your why?"
This article is about Giving, Relationships
My goal is not to be rich, but to lived a well-proportioned life. I do not want debt because I prefer to be the master of my own finances. I want to have enough to have a car, house, go on some trips to Europe, retire when I am young and then do some philanthropic work. My plan is to die not with a lot of money, but with many spiritual riches that will never die. I want to give a rich legacy of dependability, helping others and minimal aesthetic living to my children. I only want to be rich in the sense that I have little debt and have enough to share with others. This end of life has much more to offer than just working and gathering earthly riches. It's about helping my fellow brothers and sisters, to help spread God's word and do what is expected of me in this life. I know that me striving to get more money will bring me none of these things. Instead, being a good steward will.
I don't believe there is a 'purpose'. We live, we die, some stuff happens inbetween, and there's no heaven or hell. I don't want kids, and I don't have the ego to want to be 'remembered' or 'make a difference'. So for me, it's selfish reasons. I intend to be debt-free by the age of 40 (mortgage included) and have enough invested to be able to do whatever I want. Whatever's left when I die will go to charity.
Russ, there is a purpose and something beyond. I just can't imagine how depressing it must be to believe otherwise.
This is exactly what many of us need to hear. I spent the first 6 years of my marriage mindlessly achieving goals in pursuit of happiness. But there was less and less happiness involved as time went on. The goals weren't enough. Without a deeper meaning, there would always be something else around the bend, some other measure of dissatisfaction. This kind of thinking can lead you into the dark alleys of life and suck the joy right out of living.
Accomplishing things is not the path to happiness, at least not in and of itself. Goals are important, but it's much more vital to bring purpose and meaning to everything you do. Then, even if you never achieve your goals, you will have had an incredible journey anyway.
We are now on the journey of bringing purpose into our lives, in every moment possible. It's a learning process, I'll admit, but already my life has a deeper level of happiness to it I have never experienced before.
Same, as the poster above. My goal is not to be rich, but to lead as FREE and BALANCED life, which for me includes being not only debt-free but secure in our financial life.
Being rich is the same thing as not owing money to other people. A man who owns a home is already rich because he can live rent free for the rest of his life. If he has a kid then that's a whole different story.
You are richer than most in that you value your family and community. If everyone did this I feel we would all be a wealthier nation, world.
In the fifties before credit cards people lived closer to their income levels.
No matter the economic level problems will always arise, people will cope, but if they focus on smiling their stress level would drop as they cope with the changes.
When was the last time you saw someone hold hands with their sweetheart?
So smile at someone today, enjoy a good joke, sing along with a song, hug you spouse and children, listen to the birds sing with taking a walk, surprise your neighbors by waling hand in hand. Not one of the activities above cost a dime but they make you wealthier.
This is an interesting perspective to me. I got caught on one line, about working hard now so we can be lazy for 20 years after we retire. I look at it a different way: I'm working hard and saving for retirement now so that when I can't work anymore, I won't die if I come down with pneumonia. I don't look at it as wanting to be rich rich rich because money will solve all of my problems. But there are some specific financial problems that money CAN solve, and those happen to be some things that I'm particularly afraid of. So that's why we save at my house!
This post was particularly inspiring. Thank you.
I want to be rich so that I don't have to "worry" about money and invest my time elsewhere like educating people in rural India.I have been blessed to come this far to this country and get a good education,I beleive I should give back to the community.
Like others I don't ever want to worry about money. If I need something – food, shelter, clothing, etc – I want to be able to purchase it without it impacting my life financially. The problem is knowing how "rich" you need to be. If I knew how long I was going to live and what type of care I might need at the end of my life my problem would be solved, but no one knows that.
But as I've progressed in my goals (no debt but a mortgage, increased emergency fund, increased retirement and other savings) I can honestly say I'm happier. It isn't the money, it's the security that money brings.
11Commenting on what retired said above "In the fifties before credit cards people lived closer to their income levels."
I read somewhere that the reason for this is TV. In the 50s and earlier people lived in neighborhoods with people of like means and compared themselves and their possessions to what their neighbors (of like means) had. Their evening activities were usually walking, visiting with neighbors or visiting on the front porch. All of these tended to make you "compare" yourself to your neighbors.
But when TV came along we started to compare ourselves to Ricky & Lucy or Mary Tyler Moore or the kids on Friends. Now can you honestly imagine Monica, Rachel, and Phoebe affording that apartment in Manhattan with the jobs they had? So we had unrealistic expectations of what our socioeconomic class provided due to television.
It is also interesting to note that this is when larceny numbers began to increase as well and some have contributed this directly to what I discussed above. We want those unrealistic expectations and the only way it seems to get them is to steal.
I don't want to be rich. What's the point of amassing tremendous wealth?
Instead, I want to be intentional. It is important to me that the resources I have are used in a way consistent with my life and my family's philosophy. We put our money where our mouth is, which stands in the way of being rich.
My wife, with a chemical engineering degree, now is home and homeschools our children. We'd have lots more money if she worked, but our values don't equate to her working. We downsized to one car – a 1980 Mercedes 240D – because we want to encourage ourselves to use public transporation and to bike. We grow food in our greenhouse & community garden, which is more expensive (when you factor time) than just buying it from the fruit stand.
So no, I don't want to be rich. I want to live congruent to my philosophy in a balance with everything else.
I was daydreaming about this recently, actually: having enough income and time to give to causes that are important to me. Right now we're living paycheck-to-paycheck, we're both in school, and what little time we have left we want to spend together, because, like this poster, our marriage is the most important thing we have going on. It troubles me that I can't respond to the appeals from my favorite causes for money or time, but I look forward to the day we can do that. I think that the ability to share what we have is true wealth.
…what's the point? Is it to satisfy your selfish desires? Or are you going to make a difference?
That line strikes a sour note for me — it seems a little self-righteous. I'm not aiming to make millions of dollars, but if I was, what would be the harm in satisfying myself? (Take it as given my selfish desires would not include, say, hurting other people or wearing lots of jewels and furs so I could be snooty to everyone, or whatever.)
My goals in attaining wealth, such as it shall be, are pretty simple: stability and, as a previous poster notes, not dying of pneumonia in my broke old age. (Not dying is pretty self-serving.) Among them, though, is the idea that I want to have enough cash to buy a convertible sports car when I'm a cranky old lady. I want to finish my bachelor's degree (and boy, if you don't think that I'll need to be wealthy to make that happen, you haven't looked at tuition and books lately). Beyond that, I don't really care; if I can keep my cats in kibble, and myself in Internet access, I'll be doing fine. And as it is, I've set aside a percentage of my income that I increase annually that is for charity. But I don't really care for the implication that a goal like my sports-car-as-an-old-lady goal is less worthy than what I should be doing, and so I should stop it, because self-service is wrong. Maybe I'm not the target audience for that remonstration, as I haven't got a wife to ditch or kids to ignore, but it seems to me that the presumption that someone in search of money is probably doing it for the wrong reasons is, well, kind of snooty in itself.
I was actually never driven by accumulating wealth and have therefore lived my life up until now somewhat financially irresponsibly. I used to equate working for wealth as materialistic and competitive.
For the past year and half I've worked hard to bring down my debt and live within my means – primarily because as I'm getting older and now engaged to be married I have longer term goals that as important to me. I've gained an understanding that to have financial security can enable you to live out your values rather than have your values dictated by money.
Just this weekend I've had a lesson that has only increased my need to increase my personal wealth. My grandfather, who lives overseas, is on his deathbed. And I am not able to attend his funeral because I don't have the money to buy a last minute plane ticket (~$1800). The fact that my debt is very directly getting in the way of me being with my family to celebrate my grandfather's life and honor his death has provided me with an increased focus. I want wealth so that I can deal with emergencies without it causing too much financial difficulty.
"I'm spending my whole life working my butt off so I can be lazy the last 10-20 years of my life. Something about that just doesn't sit right with me."
How about this, then…
I am spending my whole life working my butt off so I can be *free to do with my time what I wish* for the last 10-20 years of my life.
The point being that if you do not have to work, simply to eat, then you can work at whatever you wish (eg. charity, volunteering, or being lazy). When you lifestyle no longer demands you work (either because you live cheaply or have lots of money) then you are finally free to spend every moment the way that you like.
Thus, the point of working hard is to free yourself from the slavery of the necessity of a job and enter into the freedom of working (all the time) for those things about which you are passionate.
I want to be a healthy, wealthy woman. I define wealthy as many of your readers do: enough to live a comfortable life without worrying whether I'll be able to get new shoes, replace the water heater, pay the gas bill, or fix the car. I have a job I love that rewards me with personal and professional satisfaction. I have time for the important things: gardening, reading, volunteering, and having thoughtful conversations with friends. It took time and effort to arrive at this point in my life. I count it time well spent.
An excellent message… I'm still a student right now (in India), and have a long long way to before I'm done with my education and set on a defined career path. So I guess my reasons for wanting to be wealthy would be to afford the best education, to be able to invest in a good home in the near future, and all the other 'stuff' that I guess any young person would aspire for. But I totally can relate to your views as well… I have always maintained that my Ultimate Goal in life is to build shelters (or at least ONE shelter!) for needy women and their children, and provide them the assistance to support themselves… I'm confident this will come to fruition, and that does make any wealth that I may accumulate in this lifetime a channel for God's work in this world. Ultimately, I would like that the opportunities and resources I was blessed with be used to help not only me, but as many others as possible.
A lot of this came off as self-righteous twaddle. I see the ego-driven line "making a difference" as one of those "selfish desires". Even though I have a good career where I do "make a difference", I want to be financially secure so I can so I'm not sponging off society or well-meaning relatives (no kids, by choice) someday. But I like living well here and now because I don't know how long I'll be here. I'm fortunate that I can lead a life I want while paying off my debt and amassing savings AND giving some of my time and money away – that's riches to me.
This is an excellent article. It is reminding us to have a purpose for our financial goals: hopefully giving back in ways that are meaningful to us while still providing adequately for our families and also making sure there is money for fun. Life needs balance in all aspects, and I think this piece is a great reminder that having loads of money in the bank (etc.) doesn't yield a rich life when that cash flow comes at the risk of things that may truly make you happy (family and philanthropy).
I want money for me so I can open myself and my home for people I know who need a hand. I've been doing this for years and it's alot more satisfying than giving $$ to a charity or church. Like the writer said, take someone out to lunch…or give someone a place to stay, or help someone navigate some of life's more complicated landscapes. It's easier to do that when you have money and don't have to worry about paying the electric bill. I like being someone other people know they can turn to.
This is my favorite post of yours yet.
I don't want to be rich, but I do want to be debt-free. My husband and I desire to be open and available to do whatever God calls us to without having the burden of debt to consider. We want to be able to give freely of our time and resources.
I like the idea of the above mentioned charity (Compassion International), but I was wondering if anyone here has heard of a similar charity organization that isn't religion-based (Christian or otherwise). Possibly children.org … they used to be a Christian Ministry, but perhaps not anymore?
Thank you,
It's interesting that you view living life on your own terms in the way you *would* live as "purposeful", yet simultaneously view living life on your own terms in a way you would *not* live as "selfish."
I'd say a pretty good "purpose" for you to strive for would be to learn not to look down on others for living their own lives.
It sounds like people are very lucky to have you in their life and you and your wife are acting as excellent role models.
I'm surprised that some people are miffed and think this post is self-righteous. It sounds like you have seen people cause damage to others and are intentionally doing what you can to help. Yay for that.
My goal is to spend the remainder of my life doing meaningful work. I don't think that anyone can count on that on that in Corporate America. You need financial freedom to pull it off.
Excellent post! I agree, it is so important to keep in mind what we all are working so hard for.
For myself, being financially secure has primarily been a goal because of it allows security, for me and more importantly, for my children.
If you grow up poor, it is hard to forget what it's like to not be able to buy the basic things you need. Just try going 20 yrs without dental care, for example. I don't want my kids' lives to be limited in that way. And personally, I don't want to go there again myself, either.
I think the author kind of contradicted himself. He stated that he's working "extra hard" to get rid of debt by working a 10 hr a day job (with a 45 min commute) and then spending his 3 day weekend doing side jobs. Then he goes on to talk about the importance of spending time with family instead of chasing money. Well, honestly I don't see how he has extra time to spend with his wife when he's working that much.
"I'm spending my whole life working my butt off so I can be lazy the last 10-20 years of my life."
Yes. Years that you may or may not get. Like my friend Jenny, who died in a car wreck at 47 this month. Or the younger people who develop cancer and die before they even see 40. Nobody knows how much time they'll get. A better objective would be to plan AS IF you'll get those extra years, but live as if you might not. Balance.
I want to be wealthy but I don't care about riches (material stuff) or displays of wealth. I simply want to be debt-free all of my life, but still have enough money to do the things I want to do, and live the life I want to live. If that includes buying a few things, it's a bonus.
Firstly, my hat goes off to you for getting yourself in a situation where you are able to offer both time and money to good causes, whilst paying off your mortgage early. I believe giving to good causes is something we should all strive to.
So what is my purpose to want to be debt free? Well for me it is about gaining the financial stability which has been lacking for years. But also to get rid of that sickening feeling of dread when it comes to being in debt and realising that unless I work hard and live frugally now that situation will never be sorted.
After I achieve that it will be about living a full life while being in control of my finances, rather them controlling me. Hopefully this will also afford me the opportunity to give to the community which at the moment I am unable to do.
This post is a great reminder for me. Although I'm drowning in debt, attempting to build my own small business, I had temporarily forgotten to practice what I preach. This post prompted me to make 25.00 loan through Kiva … because so many others DO have it worse. The best part about doing this is, if the loan does manage to get repaid, I can just send it on to another deserving person. A hand up is always better than a hand out. http://www.kiva.org/ Just in case there are others of you who feel the same way.
My dream is to accumulate enough so
1) I've a peace of mind that if I wake up next morning and something unexpected happens, I am psychologically ready to handle the situation
2) I've saved enough to invest/increase/multiply my assets by putting some extra money, experimentally, into money machines
3) I don't know when I may do so, but I have a strong desire to somehow financially support a hardworking student in need
4) I may taste how it feels like to be rich
Hi Dan – not sure where you live but there's a children's organization in Canada called "Plan" that isn't religiously affiliated.
Great post. I would like to add, that I believe that money is just an idea. It takes on whatever form you wish it to be.
I guess we look at it from the other direction. If you work hard at something that changes the world, getting rich is just one of the ways that the world lets you know you've done something right. As for working hard to enjoy the last 20 years, when you get to those last 20 years, it will probably seem like a pretty good idea! In the meantime finding a job you love and where you can really make a difference will make the work easy.
AS far as I see it, there is always going to be someone materially richer than me. So, while I enjoy the process of accumalating wealth, my husband and I contribute greatly to our church, and other nonprofits as we see fit. We also have 2 daughters that I would like to see through college, and make sure that they are not too far in debt. To me, that's wealthy. We'll be done with our mortgage by the time we are 50, so that will (hopefully) leave us time to volunteer, travel, and do what we would really like to do, when we want to do it. If that means going to the 3rd world, then we'll do that. If that means volunteering locally, then we'll do that. Without some level of wealth saved from years of frugality (we certainly don't come from money!)it would be virtually impossible to have that kind of freedom.
I have to take issue with a couple things here.
And, of course, I try to be as frugal as possible. My wife and I are on a strict budget. We each get $100 per month for play money (this includes new clothes, eating out, coffee, etc). Groceries are limited to $200 per month. Everything else goes towards bills or savings.
Play money? Why are you playing with money when you are in debt? Your point is: saving money needs to have a purpose. The decision to spend or save is whether you want gratification now or later. HOWEVER, when you are in debt, it is not the same question. When you're in debt, the question is whether you want less gratification now (by spending), or more gratification later (by paying off high-interest debt).
To be fair, you said you only have a mortgage left. But I assume you are trying to put forth a point for debt in general. If you have 20% interest rate on credit card, then spending $100 on eating out means you will LOSE $11.12 worth of spending power in 1 year. Put another way, you are paying $111.12 for $100 worth of restaurant food. If that $100 of food is worth $111.12 to you, then rock on; if it's not, you should be delaying gratification and paying down the debt instead.
I know too many guys who have built very successful businesses and made large amounts of money and had their family fall apart. I used to be envious of them and what they had. Now I just feel sorry for them.
They wanted riches so bad that it consumed them. They have nice houses and brand-new cars, yet are completely alone.
Well, if you watch the news lately or read the popular blogs, you'll see plenty of discussion about how CEOs are overpaid and don't really do that much work. So which is it? The reality is that most CEOs do alienate their families, like you say. But while you're feeling sorry for them, your life is much better because of them. Without CEOs there are no jobs, and without CEOs there is little innovation.
But more to your point, you believe family time is worth more than the extra money. That's great and you should pursue your life based on that valuation. But why would you assume that everyone should have that same valuation? Why do you think that what makes you happy is what should make everyone happy? Our economy would never work if everyone valued everything the same. You shouldn't be feeling sorry for people who have different values than you.
What's the point?
Let's say I accomplish my goal of becoming completely debt-free. What then? What will I do with all of that extra money?
All that extra money? You're not getting any more money. You're just finally living within your means.
I'll probably save for retirement. That's the next logical step, right? But it all just seems so superficial.
I'm spending my whole life working my butt off so I can be lazy the last 10-20 years of my life. Something about that just doesn't sit right with me.
I want for there to be more purpose in life than just a selfish dream of ultimate laziness.
Saving for retirement has nothing to do with being lazy. It has to do with being personally responsible and saving money for a time when you cannot physically work hard enough to earn more money than it costs you to live. People with your attitude (what's the point in saving for retirement?) are why we end up needing social safety nets and why I have to work twice as hard to save for my retirement as well as yours.
It's not selfish to save for retirement; it's responsible. It's selfish NOT to save for retirement.
My wife and I decided to give our money away. If we've been blessed this much, I feel it's important to bless others.
We have set aside 20% of our income just for giving to charity.
You're in debt! You aren't giving your money away; you are giving other people's money away.
What you are doing is trading money for satisfaction. It doesn't matter whether you are buying ice cream or donating to charities. You are spending money to get personal satisfaction. To suggest that giving money away while you are in debt is irresponsible. Again, to be fair, you said you just have a mortgage left, but it sounds like you are suggesting a general debt management plan, in which case this is not a responsible method.
Freedom is my purpose. There are some days I don't feel like working. I've been in positions where someone I've worked with said or did something that angered me, and I had to bridle my tongue.
If you've ever been in a position where your livelihood depends on tap dancing for someone you can't stand, you know why financial independence is important. Even if you love your current employer/customers now, that could change. Your boss could quit. You could get laid off. A customer could take their business elsewhere. Who knows? I want my investments to provide for me.
Additionally, I want to be wealthy enough to provide a separate living quarters for my mother on property I acquire in the future. I want to be able to send my currently nonexistent children to the college of their choosing. I want to help them purchase their first home. I want to see a need and fill it. I want to travel the world, eat at nice restaurants, attend sporting events, live shows, etc.
Even if you just want to sit on your bum all day, money gives you the freedom to do just that. Money is like a gun. It's better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it.
How do you possibly spend only $100 per person per month for groceries?
@39 (Jacqueline) It is very possible to spend $200 per month on groceries for two people. I know because we are a family of four (two adults, a 5-yr-old and 3-yr-old) and we spend $280 per month. I coupon a little, but I mainly plan our meals and buy frugally. I do not buy much processed food at all, avoid hydrogenated oil and high fructose corn syrup almost 100% of the time, eat mostly whole grains, fresh or frozen produce, and some meat almost every night of the week. It's a juggling act sometimes, but it is entirely possible.
My goal of having $3-5 million in the bank by age 40-45 is so that I can WORK purely for the love of working, and not having to worried about finances and doing something wrong at work.
When I went to get my MBA part time at Berkeley, I LOVED school b/c grades didn't matter. I was schooling purely for the sake of learning.
It's the same thing for me going to a luxury car dealership. I enjoy looking, touching, sitting in, and occassionally test driving, but not buying even though I could pay up the 100K cash for a car, and still be fine.
What annoys me is when people have to TELL OTHER PEOPLE they are giving to charity etc. Give to charity silently, and for charities' sake, not for your own.
Wealth is an individual concept. To each person wealth will mean something different. Yes money will make you more comfortable, and is excellent security. But if you end up alone are you truly wealthy?
Yes save your money live frugally but do not neglect your relationships, your health, or your peace of mind.
Charity begins in your heart, giving what you can whether it is money or labor is up to you. Sometimes charity is just the kindness of smiling at others when you have nothing else to give.
My husband has been ill for the last 6 years. The greatest gift anyone can give me is a smile. That small act of charity helps me to get through another day.
As to where you should give you time or money it is up to you. I never give to a phone solicitation. I check to see how much of my donation is being given to over head. I worked hard for what I give I want it to more. Usually a church has a lower overhead.
When we had our garden I would donate all my extra produce to the local soup kitchen.
Do I want acknowledgement for my charity work. No! It is personal to me.
Being rich to me is all about not having work to survive. You are free to throw yourself at your passions if money is not an issue. Some people are content with a life of working every day until they are old and feeble. I'm not one of them. From the day I started having to work for a living I realized that it was not something I wanted to spend my entire life doing.
I like this post. I want to have enough funds so I can stop working and devote most of my time to celiac education. Why do I mention this? It's not to get personal recogniton as others have mentioned. It's because 97% of the 3 million people who have celiac remain undiagnosed. I mention it any time I can to spread awareness. (If anyone has any unresolved health issues on anyone in their family with celiac or related conditions, they should read more on celiac.)
The reality is that so many people retire and then feel unfulfilled and "lazy" as the author mentioned. Clearly many people do have set plans, but this is a thought-provoking post for sure.
Because working for other people sucks, that's why.
I'm surprised that no one mentioned anything about trying to get custody of the brother. If you want to change someone's future, change your family's. I'm not talking about weekly dinner. I'm talking about raising someone else's child. That is a purely selfless act. It shouldn't be that hard if the mother is an addict. I guess that's what stuck out to me the most.
48There was an incredible comic about two years ago: Berke Breathed's 'Opus', where the punchline is that purposes are not found, they're created – as he holds an umbrella over a sleeping child to keep her dry.
The image was a bit exaggerated, but I love the idea. We keep looking for a purpose to life, but how often do we create one?
Bill Gates has: leveling the playing field for children worldwide.
The Dalai Lama has: compassion.
And I find I'm at my best when helping people too. So I'd love to be financially free, so I could spend more of my time helping whoever I wanted, wherever and whenever I wanted.
Great post! People get mixed up– wealth may be money, but many times it can be the free time to enjoy that money . . .
You have to enjoy life folks! I'm going to pay the house off later this year and the wife and I are going to celebrate by flying first class to China. We are in our early 40′s and have never paid a penny in credit card interest. (We're DINKs BTW…Double Income No Kids.) We really enjoy traveling and you can't put a dollar value on life experiences.
This post was intersting to me because I was wondering what to do with the extra money. I'll kick some more into the retirement fund, but I'm not going to obsess over it. Like someone posted above…you never know how much time you're left with.
To quote from Breaker Morant…"Live every day as if it were going to be your last, for one day you are sure to be right."


text:
Craving fluffy hot cakes made from scratch, perfectly poached farm-fresh eggs, crispy bacon or potato pancakes made by hand? Good Morning Combos are here!
Cinnamon Swirl French Toast Special
Three slices of French toast made with Pittsburgh's own Jenny Lee® Cinnamon Swirl or Cinnamon Raisin bread. Two farm-fresh eggs, bacon or sausage.
Country Fried Steak & Eggs
Now tastier than ever. Golden fried and smothered in rich sausage gravy. Served with two farm fresh eggs, toast and taters.
Eggs Benedict
Two farm-fresh eggs, perfectly poached and perched on a toasty English muffin. Topped with grilled ham and Hollandaise sauce. Served with your choice of potato.
Homemade Potato Pancake Special
Two golden brown potato pancakes, made from scratch with our own recipe. Heaven with a side of applesauce. Plus two farm fresh eggs, toast, and your choice of bacon, ham or sausage links.
Kings Country Breakfast
Three buttermilk hot cakes, made from scratch. Two farm-fresh eggs and a side of bacon, sausage or ham. Plus toast and your choice of potato.
Poached Eggs 'n' Hash
Made to order with two farm fresh eggs straight from Hillendale Farms. Poached to perfection and served with corned beef hash, toast and your choice of potato.
Southern Style Breakfast
Two farm-fresh eggs, any way you like 'em. Plus crispy bacon or sausage links. A fresh-baked biscuit covered in sausage gravy will have y'all comin' back for more.
Wake Up Special
Two yummy hot cakes made from scratch with local buttermilk from Marburger Dairy. Two fresh eggs from Hillendale Farms and two bacon strips, sausage or ham. Plus toast and your choice of potato.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
In September 1969 at the Frankfurt International Motor Show (IAA), Mercedes displayed a futuristic study that was used to test Wankel engines, diesel engines, and turbochargers. There were only three versions built, with the third one C111-III being unveiled in 1977. It used a straight-5 turbo-Diesel engine that developed a total of 230 HP. The C111 hit 200 mph (322 km/h) at Nardò in 1978.
Do we need to continue or is the information we have provided sufficient enough to understood that this is a very rare car and some people will do anything to have it? If it is then we must move on to the crazy news we must reveal. A C111-III prototype being transported from the company's headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany, to its museum in Brooklands, England, was reportedly the target of a robbery attempt when criminals tried to hijack the truck in which it was contained. As if the near-stolen experience wasn't enough, the vehicle suffered some damage to its front fender and gullwing doors.
This shows the idiocy involved in thievery. Where exactly did these thieves think they were going to go with such a rare car as the C111? Did they think no one would notice? Maybe that the robbery wouldn't be splattered across all automotive outlets? Stay in school, guys. Stay in school.


text:
My friend tweeted this:
and it's strange to think that this show ended 9 years ago. Yes, it's been almost a decade since Friends went off the air.
For reference, Ben Geller turns 18 this May.
Frank Jr. Jr., Leslie, and Chandler Buffay turned 14 this past October.
Erica and Jack Bing turn 9 this May.
And I'm curled up in a corner, crying over how much time has passed.
To quote Joey "We're all getting so old."
(Source: samanthascarter)
"This is something real. Something that you should give to a real girlfriend."
"I know." (2x11)
"Feels great actually. Like everything is finally real."
"It is real." (2x21)
"This is real. You really love me." (5x12)
(Source: zoewashburne)
Neal & Peter touching (part 1)
(Source: grahamchilton)
I lost him.
TOP DAIR MOMENTS (voted by the Dair Fandom)
»»» #15 (1)- 4x17 "Empire Of The Son" (1.7 %)[x]
B: Lily turning herself in is already on Gossip Girl. Looks like my fake post on big news turns out to be prophetic. This is gonna hit the Upper East Side like a hurricane.
D: Serena, Eric, Lily, they're gonna need us now more than ever.
B: And not "us." Dan and Blair. Individual entities. Two proper nouns separated by a conjunction.
D: Or a comma, if mentioned in a list.
B: Which is rare. Since we have nothing in common and are in fact, opposites.
D: The kind of opposites who do not attract.
B: Most definitely not.
D: No.
B: The world just wasn't ready for a Humphrey-Waldorf friendship. It's been nice not being friends with you.
D: Let's not do it again some time.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
(Source: onepointwentyone)
The "Family Von Trapp" then and 45 years later
(Source: allaboutjulie)
(Source: cavortings)


text:
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
How I Love Thee, Brownie, Let Me Count the Ways...
About a week ago, Derrick wanted something sweet, but I had nothing for him. No ice cream. No fresh cherries. No dried apricots. Nothing. Instead I offered up some fresh brownies and he jumped at the opportunity to have something baked all to his own. He always feels neglected when I bake for other people, so I try to make something special for him every once in a while. What can I say? I am a sucker for that man.
I used my Martha Stewart Baking book again. It did not dissappoint. These puppies were good. Real good. Take them to work so I don't eat them all good. I had to keep them in the house though because they were all for Derrick. Darn it. Made with bittersweet chocolate and loads of eggs, they were moist, dense and topped with that cracked crust we all love. Derrick asked me to make them again, but next time with milk chocolate. I don't know if it's safe to have a whole pan of those in the house again, but I will make them because I love him.
These brownies are perfect for ice cream sundaes, making chocolate covered brownie bites for parties, or when you want a chocolate fix quick. They would also be great to swirl with a cream cheese mixture for marbled brownies. A great recipe to hold on to for quick yummy brownies.
If you would like to try the recipe, click here: Martha Stewart Fudgy Chocolate Brownies
9 comments:
- Prudy said...
Brownies are my favorite sweet around the house. Lucky man- lucky you.
- August 14, 2008 at 6:26 AM
- Grace said...
dense, rich, and picture-perfect are what i'd call these brownies. very nicely done. :)
- August 14, 2008 at 11:13 AM
- Sophie said...
Wow! These look super moist in the center! I actually really like the fact that they're made with a not too sweet chocolate. I like the richness of dark chocolate :)! I bet these went fast, I know my hubby would've certainly gobbled them up. These are his favorite dessert :).
- August 14, 2008 at 3:53 PM
- How To Eat A Cupcake said...
Okay... brownies are EVERYWHERE in food blog land right now... I think it's some sort of sign...
:D *drool*
- August 14, 2008 at 4:30 PM
- A. Lee said...
yummm...makes me want a brownie!!
I miss you...I called you on your BD...hope you got the message. I called you 5 times...you were unreachable! :)
btw...just updated my blog, hopefully I can keep it going now...
Love you!
- August 15, 2008 at 10:13 AM
- Mara said...
ha ha i wanted brownies so badly last week, instead i made healthy muffins! i have been eating WAY too many sweets. those look AMAZING, lucky D.
- August 18, 2008 at 11:38 AM
- the southern hostess said...
You can't beat a brownie! They are my go-to when I'm craving a sweet.
- August 18, 2008 at 7:49 PM
- Janna said...
Prudy- I am lucky! He is a good hubby! He deserved those brownies!
Grace-Thanks, Grace!
Sophie-I'm with you on the not too sweet chocolate. :) The darker the better.
HTEAC-I think so too! I think you should make some brownie cupcakes. :)
Allison- I miss you too and I called you back and you were unreachable! Whaaa! I read your blog! I want to see pictures of your townhouse!
Mara- I have been eating healthier. Partly becuase I am addicted to Greek salad right now. I can't get enough of cucumbers for some reason. :)
Southern Hostess-So good, especially with ice cream on top.
- August 21, 2008 at 12:37 PM
- Mrs.Mom said...
YOU HAVE SOME REALLY YUMMY-GREAT IDEAS!!! My daughter is turning one in about 2 weeks, this blog has been a blessing! Thank you for sharing
- June 15, 2009 at 9:05 AM


text:
Soybeans: Rhizoctonia Damping-Off (Rhizoctonia solani)
Pub 812: Field Crop Protection Guide > Pub 812: Soybeans > Rhizoctonia Damping-Off
Field Crop Protection Guide 2011-2012, Order 2011-2012 publication
Table of Contents
Integrated Pest Management Options
Seed Treatment
This disease can occur on all soil types and environmental conditions. Disease losses are greatest when a dry spring is followed by wet conditions. Few management options exist since no resistant or tolerant varieties are available. Seed treatment and crop rotation with corn and small grains can help minimize the disease.
Related links...
For more information:
Toll Free: 1-877-424-1300
E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com


text:
Carolina Borrajo
Ann Drower
Kevin Haigen
Leslie Hughes
Gigi Hyatt
Janusz Mazon
Anna Poilkarpova
Christian Schön
Stacey Denham (Guest)
Viktoria Zaripova (Guest)
Janusz Mazon
Nicola Bronisch
Helga Gustafsson (Guest)
Mark Hahnemann (Guest)
Victor Hughes (Guest)
Yevgen Bosyy
Narmin Elyasova
Mark Harjes
Anastasia Kozub
Richard Markon
Iryna Menshykova
Adam Szvoren
Irina Tchaikova
Bernd Dietz
Magdalena Blaszke
Anouma Boutsarath
Yasemin Cakmak
Songül Demir-Piccione
Lynne Fingerhuth
Isolde Jung
Ines Kossmer
Brajan Michalski
Gigi Hyatt is German American. She received her training in her hometown Berlin with Tatiana Gsovsky and continued it from 1974 in Munich with Constanze Vernon at the Heinz-Bosl-Stiftung. In 1982, Gigi Hyatt joined the Hamburg Ballet – John Neumeier. Already in the first season she was promoted to semi-soloist. In the second season, she became soloist and in 1986 principal dancer. In 1997, she ended her career on stage and moved to the US. Here, she became ballet mistress at The Georgia Ballet and School (Marietta, Georgia USA), where she was Artistic Director since 2004. Since 2013, Gigi Hyatt is back in Hamburg and from the season 2013/14 takes over as Pedagogical Principal and Deputy Director of The School of the Hamburg Ballet.
Irina Jacobson was educated in Leningrad by Agrippina Vaganova and afterwards danced at the Kirov Ballet. After her marriage with the soviet choreographer Leonid Jacobson (1904-1975), she worked as his assistant until he died and then joined the Bolschoi Ballet as a ballet mistress. In 1982 she emigrated to America and worked as a in great demand ballet and trainings mistress et al. in San Francisco, at the Royal Ballet in London, at the Dutch National Ballet, at the Bavarian States Ballet and at the Hamburg Ballet, where she is a pedagogical advisor since 1985 and coaches the Company as a guest ballet mistress.
Kevin Haigen trained at the School of American Ballet and the American Ballet Theater School. He danced with the American Ballet Theatre, before joining the Hamburg Ballet in 1976, being promoted to Principal dancer in 1977. He also worked with Nederlands Dans Theater, les Ballets de Monte-Carlo (as dancer, Ballet Master and Choreographer), English National Ballet, and finally Béjart Ballet Lausanne (1988-1991). Kevin Haigen returned to the Hamburg Ballet in 1991 as Ballet Master for the company and teacher for the Ballet School. In 2006 he was promoted to Principal Ballet Master. Kevin Haigen is frequently invited as guest teacher.
Donya Feuer made a documentary about him: The Work of Utopia.
Carolina Borrajo was born Zaragoza, Spain. She was educated at the Marìa de Ávila Ballet School in her native town and at The School of The Hamburg Ballet. After her first Engagement at the Ballet classico de Zaragoza, she became a Soloist at Opera of Bonn, at the Hessian States Theater Wiesbaden and at the Ballet of Luzern. She received her Diploma as a children's dance teacher and stage dance teacher at the States University of performing arts in Mannheim. In August 2008 she has taken up a position on the teaching faculty of The School of the Hamburg Ballet.
Ann Drower, born in Wimbledon/Great Britain and educated at Royal Ballet School in London, was a dancer in many German Cities (et al. as a Soloist in Kiel and Hanover). From 1976 until 1982 she danced at the ensemble of The Hamburg Ballet. Since then she is in charge of the preschool classes. As a ballet mistress she is responsible for the rehearsals of every part in a performance of the Hamburg Ballet, which is danced by the ballet students.
Leslie Hughes was born in Atlanta USA. She studied ballet in her home town until she was offered a scholarship to continue her training at the American Ballet Center in New York, where she then went on to the School of American Ballet Theater Patricia Wilde and Leslie Hughes was offered her first contract with The Hamburg Ballet where she advanced to half-soloist dancing many solo roles. She then proceeded to dance in the Grand Theater Tour, the Atlanta Ballet and the Ballett des Stadttheaters Bern. In 2002 Leslie received a certificate for teaching the Vaganova method from the Hungarian Dance Academy. She moved on to teach at the École de Danse de Gèneve and was ballet mistress at the ballettmainz. She also taught at the Konservatorium in Wien from 2005 to 2013. This season Leslie Hughes has joined the teaching faculty of the School of the Hamburg Ballet.
Janusz Mazon was born in Bytom, Poland and trained for nine years at the ballet school. He was offered a contract with the ballet company of the Warsaw State Opera where he danced for five years before joining The Hamburg Ballet in 1985. Janusz Mazon advanced to first soloist and danced many of the leading roles in the repertoire of THE HAMBURG BALLET as well as creating new roles in John Neumeier's ballets. In 1997 he moved to the USA where he graduated with a degree as Doctor of Chiropractic in 2002. While maintaining his work in his chiropractic office, he also taught ballet classes for The Georgia Ballet School and Company. Janusz Mazon has returned to Hamburg where he has taken up a position on the teaching faculty of The School of the Hamburg Ballet.
Anna Polikarpova was born in Tomsk, Russia and studied at the Vaganova Academy in St. Petersburg. In 1988 she joined the Kirov Ballet and became a soloist in 1989. In 1992 she joined the HAMBURG BALLET as a soloist and was promoted to principal in 1994. John Neumeier created nummerous roles and soli for her including Penelope in "Odyssee", Ophelia in "Hamlet", Romola Nijinsky in "Nijinsky" and Irina Nikolajewna Arkadina in "The Seagull". She also danced a wide-ranging repertory. Since the 2014/15 season she teaches classical dance at the School of the Hamburg Ballet.
Christian Schön is from Hamburg and successfully completed the Ballet School of the Hamburg BALLET. As a dancer he was part of the Dortmund Ballet, the Ballet of the Opera in Bonn and the Ballet Theater Hagen. After his education as a ballet teacher in Toronto at the Canada's National Ballet School, he worked in Maastricht/Netherlands. Since 2003 he teaches the boys of the middle class and the theater class, as well as Pas de deux.
Stacey Denham was born in New York. She danced et al. at the Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre Repertory Company, the Clive Thompson Dance Company, at Judith Jamison, at the Washington D.C. City Ballet Company and at the Theatre of the West. As a long time guest teacher she teaches the theatre classes in modern dance after Horton-Technique.
Viktoria Zaripova was born in Russia and trained as a ballet dancer at the State Ballet Academy in Perm according to the Vaganova method. She was engaged as a soloist and continued her training as a ballet teacher at the Cultural Institute, before continuing her solo career in St. Petersburg at the Maly Opera and Ballet Theatre. In the early 1990s she moved to Hamburg, where she has since worked as a teacher in numerous institutes, specializing in classical ballet, repertoire, character dance and choreography. Since August 2013 she has been teaching character dance as a guest teacher at the School of the Hamburg Ballet.
Indrani Delmaine was born in London, England where she completed her training as a ballet dancer and teacher. She then attended the John-Cranko-Ballett Akademie in Stuttgart before being offered her first contract by John Neumeier in 1977 for The Hamburg Ballet. She later danced for three years with The Stuttgart Ballet before returning to Hamburg in 1982. Indrani Delmaine worked as a teacher of ballet and on dance projects with the Hamburg Youth Orchestra, "Focus on Youth", TuSch Hamburg and workshops at the Leuphana University. Indrani Delmaine returned in 2013 as the Managing Co-ordinator of The School of the Hamburg Ballet.


text: Strict Standards: Redefining already defined constructor for class XML_Parser in /home/sites/www.americanpoems.com/web/store/aom/includes/os.php on line 1188 Strict Standards: Declaration of XML_Parser::raiseError() should be compatible with PEAR::raiseError($message = NULL, $code = NULL, $mode = NULL, $options = NULL, $userinfo = NULL, $error_class = NULL, $skipmsg = false) in /home/sites/www.americanpoems.com/web/store/aom/includes/os.php on line 1604 Strict Standards: Declaration of XML_Unserializer::startHandler() should be compatible with XML_Parser::startHandler($xp, $elem, &$attribs) in /home/sites/www.americanpoems.com/web/store/aom/includes/os.php on line 3503 Strict Standards: Declaration of Cache_Lite_File::get() should be compatible with Cache_Lite::get($id, $group = 'default', $doNotTestCacheValidity = false) in /home/sites/www.americanpoems.com/web/store/aom/includes/cache.php on line 1020 American Poems: Home & Garden: LEGO Ninjago Zane DX 2171 Home Apparel Appliances Books DVD Electronics Home & Garden Kindle eBooks Magazines Music Outdoor Living Software Tools & Hardware PC & Video Games Search All Products Apparel Appliances Arts & Crafts Automotive Baby Beauty Books Computers DVD Electronics Gourmet Food Grocery Health Home & Garden Industrial & Science Jewelry Kindle eBooks Kitchen Magazines Miscellaneous Mobile Apps MP3 Downloads Music Musical Instruments Office Products Outdoor Living Pet Supplies Photo & Camera Shoes Software Sporting Goods Tools & Hardware Toys VHS Video On Demand PC & Video Games Watches Wireless Wireless Accessories Advanced Search Sitemap View Cart Checkout Location: Home » Home & Garden » LEGO Ninjago Zane DX 2171 LEGO Ninjago Zane DX 2171 enlarge Other Views: Brand:LEGO Category:Toy List Price: $12.99 Buy New: $6.00 as of 9/20/2014 14:05 EDT details You Save: $6.99 (54%) In Stock New (30) from $6.00 Seller:SpaZzin Products Sales Rank:7,924 Age:6 - 14 years Autographed:No Memorabilia:No Shipping Weight (lbs):0.2 Dimensions (in):1 x 7 x 9 Legal Disclaimer:chocking hazard; recommended for ages 6+ Release Date:January 1, 2011 MPN:2171 Model:4654819 UPC:673419144728 EAN:0673419168557 ASIN:B004478G9W Availability:Usually ships in 1-2 business days Features: Includes Zane minifigure wearing a dragon suit 1 golden dragon spinner Shurikens of Ice, long spear and sword weapons included Also includes character card, 4 battle cards and LEGO bricks 22 elements Similar Items: LEGO Ninjago Cole DX 2170 LEGO Ninjago Spinjitzu Starter Set 2257 Lord Garmadon LEGO Kruncha Neat-Oh! LEGO Ninjago Neat-Oh! Battle Arena (Green) Editorial Reviews: SynopsisLEGO Ninjago Zane DX Become a Spinjitzu master and ride the ice dragon with LEGO Ninjago Zane DX. The set includes a golden dragon spinner and a mini figure of Zane dressed in a dragon suit. Assemble the spinner, set it in motion and get ready to master the game. Ninjago Zane has 4 battle cards and a character card. The player who draws the battle card will need to battle opponents with cool Ninjago weaponry. Why You'll Love It: Provides hours of cognitive and creative fun play. Age: 6 to 14 years Features Comes with a mini figure of Zane Easy-to-assemble spinner Rebuilds into a pick-up truck Recommended Ages:6 – 14 CERTAIN CONTENT THAT APPEARS ON THIS SITE COMES FROM AMAZON SERVICES LLC. THIS CONTENT IS PROVIDED 'AS IS' AND IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE OR REMOVAL AT ANY TIME. Brought to you by American Poems Categories •Apparel •Appliances •Arts & Crafts •Automotive •Baby •Beauty •Books •Computers •DVD •Electronics •Gourmet Food •Grocery •Health •Home & Garden •Industrial & Science •Jewelry •Kindle eBooks •Kitchen •Magazines •Miscellaneous •Mobile Apps •MP3 Downloads •Music •Musical Instruments •Office Products •Outdoor Living •Pet Supplies •Photo & Camera •Shoes •Software •Sporting Goods •Tools & Hardware •Toys •VHS •Video On Demand •PC & Video Games •Watches •Wireless •Wireless Accessories Related Categories •Building Sets Building Toys Categories Toys & Games