Quotations Weblog

This article starts with some boring talk about the penny, but ends with some good advice on keeping fiscally fit.

• Happy News – Watercooler stories – by Justin Bachman with Associated Press

The good advice is from Peter C. Wallace, author of the book, “Life 101: Real World Skills for Graduating College Seniors.” Although it’s meant for young adults, this advice is good for everyone.

• Borrow wisely: Credit cards and loans mean that you pay even more for whatever you financed. If you can pay cash, all the better.

• Rest and prepare: Work is demanding, so make sure you prepare well and get your rest. If you want to make a lot of money, you have to take care of yourself.

• Be unsure: Choose a profession that you truly enjoy. There is nothing worse than wasting your life away in a job that you hate.

• Embrace budgets: If you can avoid any debt or expenses, do so. Don’t buy a car if you can get to work using public transportation or car pools. Part of being wealthy is saving what you earn.

When we don’t have money, it’s all we think about. Make sure you take care of your financial matters as well as your physical and emotional ones and you will sleep better at night.

For more quotations on Money:

• Money Quotes – The Quotations Page

I have found this quotation to be profoundly true. I cannot buy a toothbrush without being bombarded by a plethora of choices. It used to be firm, medium or soft. Now, I have so many choices in just the toothbrush aisle that I am paralyzed by it.

How do we do it? How do we move beyond the paralysis and make a decision, whether it’s about our lives or what we are going to put in our mouths every morning?

When we played pinochle, my grandpa used to say, “Make a decision. Even if it’s wrong.” He was talking about cards, but I really feel that philosophy is the way to live life. I can get paralyzed by the choices that are out there, but if I make a snap decision it usually works out for me.

When it’s something like a toothbrush, there is no big risk, but when it’s something like a career choice, I have lived my life that way as well. Sure, I wasted time trying to find the career that was best for me, but I learned so much in the meantime. If I had stayed in college until I KNEW what I wanted to do for a living, I might still be there instead of here in a career that I love with a bag full of experience from my attempts at other careers.

There is something to be said for our abilities as humans to make decisions, even if they’re wrong.

Since Bono was named one of Time Magazine’s People of the Year, I have been listening for good quotations from him. He has just lauched a project called, Product RED.

• U2.com | Hearts and Minds – Seeing RED

It is a line products that will benefit various health initiatives in Africa:

A portion of profits from the sale of RED products will support the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tubercolosis and Malaria, particularly programmes in Africa with a focus on women and children.

You can have a RED card with American Express, buy RED clothes at the Gap, buy RED sunglasses from Armani or RED hightops from Converse and the profits will help those in need in Africa. Bono has been raising money for Africa for years and now he is providing another way to support the growth on that continent.

Some people say that we are not supposed to work on Sundays because it is a day of worship. They believe it’s “God’s Day”. I don’t believe that.

Don’t get me wrong. I think people should take one day a week off from work, whether it’s Sunday, Saturday or some other day in the week. We all need one day where there is no work. That includes home work, house work, errands and chores. We all need one day a week where nothing is expected of us. We need one day a week where we can do whatever we want.

I have found that since I set aside one day a week where I don’t need to write, exercise or do housework, I am much more productive. I take the time to go to the mountains for a hike or go to the river valley for a bike ride. I use that time to color in coloring books or draw pictures or paint with acrylics. I use that time to sleep. Sometimes I spend more time in bed than I do out of it. If that’s what I need that week, that’s what I do.

Try this practice and you will find your week runs much more smoothly. Here are some hints to help you succeed:

• If you are religious and your Sunday (or Saturday) is filled with church duties, you still need to set aside a day where you have no responsibilities except with yourself.

• Tell your family that you are taking one day just for yourself. You can invite them along on your activities if you wish or take them alone if you need the privacy. You be the judge.

• Planning – Make sure you do the laundry and house cleaning on the evenings during the week so that you can have one day on the weekend that it just for you.

• Guard that time like you would with an appointment with a doctor whose schedule is full months in advance. Don’t let anyone invade your day with yourself with chores. People will test your devotion to yourself. Pass the test by keeping your time to yourself sacred.

Giving yourself one day a week just for you is the one of the best things you can do for yourself. You will be far more productive during the week after you have been able to dedicate time for you.

Ever since we have moved to a smaller home, I have been happier. This has made me think that the voluntary simplicity ideal has some validity to it. I have found a weblog that brings some of those ideas alive from the About.com network.

• Frugal Living

It’s more about living cheaply than voluntary simplicity, but there is some overlap in the ideas. I’ve enjoyed reading this weblog over the last few weeks. Give it a try and see if you are entertained by its quirky ideas.