The other day, my wife and I and our two kids were out on the town, taking care of a few errands. When you live as remotely as we do, there is no trip to town that is less than two hours round trip, so errands always include a meal.
We decided to stop in at a Japanese restaurant that we have enjoyed in the past and sat down to a very nice meal. My wife ordered hand rolls, but I got to eat the spicy salmon one because it was a bit too spicy for her. I ordered a sashimi bowl which consisted of at least eight different types of seafood, all raw with the exception of the cephalopod and the shrimp, sliced into very generous pieces and laid on top of a bed of rice. Our daughter had food of her own, but we shared our food with her and our son.
At the end of our meal, my wife headed up to the register to settle our bill. When she got to the cashier, the lady apologized and said that we shouldn't have even gotten a bill. A man sitting behind us had enjoyed watching our family so much that he decided to pay for our food without letting us know. My wife headed over to thank him (I didn't yet know of the situation, as I was wrangling children), and barely got a first name out of him because he really didn't want it to be a big deal. After leaving a generous tip and walking outside, we decided that we wanted to pass on the generosity, so I went back in and asked the cashier to let me pay for another table's meal. The whole situation sounded exactly like something that ItStartsWith.Us would encourage.
At this point we left, but were so amazed by the kindness and generosity of that man that we intend to follow his example when we are able in the future. I'm sure there is no way for us to check, but I hope that the couple was informed of the story behind their bill being paid and that they continued to pass along the good deed.
Showing posts with label money. Show all posts
Showing posts with label money. Show all posts
12 May 2010
02 July 2009
I'm a whore
OK, so it's been a good six months since I've touched this blog and I'm sure that nobody has read it, nor that anybody will read it, but I have signed up for AdSense. This will (I hope) have three consequences:
1. That I will post more frequently in order to bolster reading.
2. That I will be able to monitor site traffic, such as it is.
3. Oh, man, money.
1. That I will post more frequently in order to bolster reading.
2. That I will be able to monitor site traffic, such as it is.
3. Oh, man, money.
16 November 2008
Building the deficit
President-elect Barack Obama just announced that he, acting upon the advice of economists from both sides of the aisle, will be spending more money than budgeted for as much as two years in order to keep us out of a depression. This brings to mind government salaries.
I don't know about the readership of this little journal (in fact, I don't know if there is a readership of this little journal), but I know that its author would love to make federal pay. The members of the President's Cabinet all will make nearly $200,000 a year for as long as they serve. The President himself will make $400,000. Many other officials in the various branches will top $100,000. To be fair, many of these people are taking significant pay cuts from their private sector jobs, but that leads to my thought: their savings are safe. In the case of our President-elect and our Vice President-elect, they will have their room, board, transportation, utilities, and even entertainment paid for as perks of the job.
It would merely be a symbolic gesture, but what a gesture it would be if all members of the Obama administration voluntarily donated part or all of their federal salaries to the rescue efforts going on. For a President elected because he was truly of the people, it would be a great symbol of how he was still connected to the people and not above their suffering. It wouldn't change the fact that Obama, like many of his advisers, is worth over $1 million. It wouldn't change the fact that none of them will need to worry about foreclosure or bankruptcy in the near future. It wouldn't even make a discernible dent in the amount of money that will be poured into this deficit spending.
As I said, though, it sure would be one hell of a gesture.
I don't know about the readership of this little journal (in fact, I don't know if there is a readership of this little journal), but I know that its author would love to make federal pay. The members of the President's Cabinet all will make nearly $200,000 a year for as long as they serve. The President himself will make $400,000. Many other officials in the various branches will top $100,000. To be fair, many of these people are taking significant pay cuts from their private sector jobs, but that leads to my thought: their savings are safe. In the case of our President-elect and our Vice President-elect, they will have their room, board, transportation, utilities, and even entertainment paid for as perks of the job.
It would merely be a symbolic gesture, but what a gesture it would be if all members of the Obama administration voluntarily donated part or all of their federal salaries to the rescue efforts going on. For a President elected because he was truly of the people, it would be a great symbol of how he was still connected to the people and not above their suffering. It wouldn't change the fact that Obama, like many of his advisers, is worth over $1 million. It wouldn't change the fact that none of them will need to worry about foreclosure or bankruptcy in the near future. It wouldn't even make a discernible dent in the amount of money that will be poured into this deficit spending.
As I said, though, it sure would be one hell of a gesture.
02 November 2008
First!
Here is the thought that gave birth to this journal*:
I wish that I made enough money for Barack Obama to want to raise my taxes.
I've been teaching long enough to have substantial debt. I know that there are many, many people with more debt than I have, but I really have no desire to think about their debilitating finances when I have my own with which to grapple. I graduated from college owing a couple dozen millibucks to Nelnet, picked up a car that costs me $454 a month, then got married. Then had a child.
We have subsequently run up enough credit debt that we have virtually no credit left, even though we are working as hard as we can to pay it all down. Having both of us in school again really isn't helping with the finances, even though it means that my student loans go on hold for another two years. Here's the big problem, though. I make $30,000 a year**. Sure, I don't need to pay for room and board because of the nice deal where I work, but I make $30,000 a year. This is before tax, to support a family of three with a car payment and credit cards.
I'd like to break down where that $30,000 goes. If I actually were to receive every cent of it, I'd get $1153.85 every two weeks, adding up to $2307.70 each month. After taxes and Social Security and whatever else, though, I actually bring home $996.93 every two weeks, $1993.86 each month, and $25,920.18 in a year. Once our car payment, insurance, and Netflix are gone, we have about $1325 left for our other monthly bills. Meeting minimum payments on our phones and credit cards reduces our monthly income to about $900. Driving is not something that we view as a luxury any more, nor do we go out to eat much, but the child needs diapers, the animals need food, the cat needs litter, and we do need to keep a certain amount of milk and cereal in the house. With the cost of gas as it is, this brings us into the range of $750 a month for anything extra that our family wishes to do. This would include investing in our future, investing in our child's future, fixing the car, buying unexpected necessities or extra treats, and maintaining basic courtesies like sending gifts to people. If we were capable of being truly disciplined and actually setting aside half of that $750, we would be able to save $4500 a year.
We aren't able to save that kind of money, though, because we have family obligations that keep us driving a few hundred miles a month or flying 4000 miles a year. We do indulge in extras (eating at IHOPplebee's instead of McDonald's) and we do even get the oil changed in the car occasionally. We are putting money into the bairn's account, but we keep losing money in our own because of overdraft fees (here's an area for federal oversight: why should someone with a $5 balance be charged $105 for purchasing three items that all cost less than $10?). When everything is taken into account, I think it's pretty remarkable that we are managing to do as well as we are on $25,920.18 (tip of the hat to the wife/financial wizard)! If we had ten times that amount pre-tax, I think we could stand to eat 5% more in payments to the federal government.
Hell, if we had ten times that amount pre-tax, I might eventually be able to retire.
*Call it what you will, but I still don't like "blog".
**My wife makes a small stipend as well, but spends her time being a full-time student and a full-time mother. Any income that she could bring in by working more hours would be more than offset by the money put out for child care expenses and, to be honest, neither of us is willing to turn our child over to someone else for rearing. We shouldn't need to be.
I wish that I made enough money for Barack Obama to want to raise my taxes.
I've been teaching long enough to have substantial debt. I know that there are many, many people with more debt than I have, but I really have no desire to think about their debilitating finances when I have my own with which to grapple. I graduated from college owing a couple dozen millibucks to Nelnet, picked up a car that costs me $454 a month, then got married. Then had a child.
We have subsequently run up enough credit debt that we have virtually no credit left, even though we are working as hard as we can to pay it all down. Having both of us in school again really isn't helping with the finances, even though it means that my student loans go on hold for another two years. Here's the big problem, though. I make $30,000 a year**. Sure, I don't need to pay for room and board because of the nice deal where I work, but I make $30,000 a year. This is before tax, to support a family of three with a car payment and credit cards.
I'd like to break down where that $30,000 goes. If I actually were to receive every cent of it, I'd get $1153.85 every two weeks, adding up to $2307.70 each month. After taxes and Social Security and whatever else, though, I actually bring home $996.93 every two weeks, $1993.86 each month, and $25,920.18 in a year. Once our car payment, insurance, and Netflix are gone, we have about $1325 left for our other monthly bills. Meeting minimum payments on our phones and credit cards reduces our monthly income to about $900. Driving is not something that we view as a luxury any more, nor do we go out to eat much, but the child needs diapers, the animals need food, the cat needs litter, and we do need to keep a certain amount of milk and cereal in the house. With the cost of gas as it is, this brings us into the range of $750 a month for anything extra that our family wishes to do. This would include investing in our future, investing in our child's future, fixing the car, buying unexpected necessities or extra treats, and maintaining basic courtesies like sending gifts to people. If we were capable of being truly disciplined and actually setting aside half of that $750, we would be able to save $4500 a year.
We aren't able to save that kind of money, though, because we have family obligations that keep us driving a few hundred miles a month or flying 4000 miles a year. We do indulge in extras (eating at IHOPplebee's instead of McDonald's) and we do even get the oil changed in the car occasionally. We are putting money into the bairn's account, but we keep losing money in our own because of overdraft fees (here's an area for federal oversight: why should someone with a $5 balance be charged $105 for purchasing three items that all cost less than $10?). When everything is taken into account, I think it's pretty remarkable that we are managing to do as well as we are on $25,920.18 (tip of the hat to the wife/financial wizard)! If we had ten times that amount pre-tax, I think we could stand to eat 5% more in payments to the federal government.
Hell, if we had ten times that amount pre-tax, I might eventually be able to retire.
*Call it what you will, but I still don't like "blog".
**My wife makes a small stipend as well, but spends her time being a full-time student and a full-time mother. Any income that she could bring in by working more hours would be more than offset by the money put out for child care expenses and, to be honest, neither of us is willing to turn our child over to someone else for rearing. We shouldn't need to be.
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