Who's Rich?

I just read this blog post...

http://finance.yahoo.com/career-work/article/110876/why-the-rich-dont-feel-rich

And the original blog post here...

http://delong.typepad.com/sdj/2010/09/todd-henderson-we-are-the-super-rich.html

I believe in living below my means. Sometimes, that means I go withtout. Without gas for the car, without new clothes, without "elective" medications, and so on. Perhaps I make the choices I make because I want a roof over my head. Perhaps it's becuase I have a strong desire to never work more than 30 hours a week outside the home. Whatever it is, those are my choices.

Yes, I do make the choice to not work full time. I have way too many irons in the fire to work full time outside. I have my websites, my SEO business, and some other "projects" that are promising to make a tidy sum. So, I need the time more than the money.

As long as the basic bills and the car is paid for, I'm OK. I may have to put off some work on the car until it's urgent, but that's again my choice. I also choose to hire a lawn service.

I love mowing the lawn, don't get me wrong... But it puts me flat on my back for 2-3 days afterwards. I lose all strength in my legs and my back aches too much for comfort. So, I made the decision to hire it out every 2 weeks. I would do it more often if I could. Besides, I get a full-service package this way. When I need rototilling done, I know who to call.

But this post is about being rich. Define rich... Just for yourself, define it. Does it mean money in the bank? Property? Friends? Health? Stuff? To me it's a mix of all of them. More friends and health than stuff, money or property. I used to think that money and property and stuff were what life is all about. But I've lost everything I've owned 5 times now. I lost it in a fire, when I lost my home and storage locker due to financial difficulties, when I moved to Tennessee. And, let's not forget the 2 times we lost everything when I was a kid.

So "stuff is just stuff." I learned that the important things are photographs, correspondence and cards from family and friends, and important documents that are a pain to replace, like your passport and social security card. In my case, I also have family tree and geneological documents that I would loathe to lose. I keep these things above flood stage, near the roof in my office. They are accessible, but safe. And if something happened, I would know exactly where to start grabbing and tossing out the window!

Rich - memories of friends and family. Close ties with special people all over the world. That is what I call my "rich life." I don't have a lot of cash, or property. I probably have way too much stuff, but that's because I'm a clutter junky. I'm learning to tame and reduce it. At least my floor is mostly clear - except for the cat toys and shoes everywhere...

I have enough food so that I won't starve in the next 30 days. My utilites are paid (mostly on time, too!). I have a home of my own - mine and the bank's. I have a brain, and I'm fairly healthy. (I've been doing "body work" with a masseuse, and my health feels much stronger as a result.)

So, am I rich? NO! I would love a car that didn't have a ton of work to be done on it. Maybe one that was less than 5 years old, instead of 12 years old. And I want to be fully out of debt.

That's RICH! To have no payments to creditors...

Wow! I had that for all of one week, once. I look forward to it again. That's why I drive a 12-year old car.

So, that's my definition of rich. I hope you will think of your own definition. Write it down someplace. Refer to it often. Daily, if you can... And be grateful for the stuff you already have.

We live in one of the richest (if not the richest) countries in the world. We have a life style that is among the most favored. Yeah, we like to bitch and complain about "how bad we have it" but we really don't have it that bad. Think about that for a while...

Finishing that pizza slice???

New SEO tools...

I was introduced to a whole new set of SEO tools last night! WOW!!! I'm gonna have a lot of fun with those.

Knoxville Entrepreneurial Women is da bomb! Thanks, Rachel!!!

I didn't have sound when I first watched this. It's really cool and makes a lot of sense. Enjoy!!!

Yikes!! More Job Searches...

It turns out that 20 hours a week doesn't cut it for the various levels of support I'm receiving. I need at least 30 hours a week with benefits. So, I have to keep looking. Even though the position I'm working is likely to move toward full-time, I can't really live on $180/wk. So, add that to the mix.

It turns out that the alarm I've been hearing in the wall since I moved into the house may actually be in the attic. My roommate is also hearing it, and there is a bathroom between our bedrooms. If so, that means that the watch or clock or whatever will be a lot easier to find and remove!!! YEA!!!!!

My sleep is so messed up at this point, that removing that alarm will only be a beginning to getting a full night's sleep. But by removing it, I should get back to normal in a month or so. I'm so exhausted at this point, I can barely function.

Dream I had...

Do you remember "The Thunderbirds" cartoon series? I'm not talking about the animated series, but the one made with marionettes... My dream had some of the same props... Mainly the air-ship. A square-backed thing that had foldable wings and could take off and land vertically in small areas.

My cat Beasley was also in it. It leaked over into the previous dream, helping a group find a "spiritually marked" set of triplets - two boys and a girl.

I didn't fly the craft, and there was some dysfunction (when is there not?) in the people I was helping and the pilot's attitude. I don't remember who the pilot was - I never saw his face, just had the impression of one. The pilot was involved in this quest, and was somehow acquainted with the group of leaders who were questing. He was disturbed by it, and not disinterested, but it somehow bothered him. We weren't going to get the children, just identifying them. He got upset that it took me so long to extricate myself from the group we were helping.

There was some broken china - like it had been dropped. The boxes were on the outside of the craft, and when it was fired up, they fell and broke some of the pieces. The breakage was unintentional, but caused by the pilot not thinking when he started the craft. He took off without me, vertically and loudly, then came back for me.

That, in turn, upset Beasley, and he didn't want to go aboard the craft to leave. I have to say, I even asked myself if I wanted to go aboard, and why the pilot was so upset... I turned to call Beasley. He came partway, then I had to run him down to grab him. He didn't run very fast or far, just enough to let me know he didn't want to get on the craft.

It's not like the next destination was life-or-death, but we were running late...

I wonder what this says about my psyche... I have issues with time, of course, and I wonder why I get upset sometimes. I listen to my cats about others, because they are good judges of character. And what about my identification of the triplets?

Oh well, I'm awake now. Still have sleep in my eyes. but I'm awake. I don't generally report my dreams. I have some whoppers! Maybe I should start posting them?