Disposable Income

We live in a disposable world in which stuff is designed to be thrown away after being used or used up. So we have disposable red cups, party hats, lighters, packaging, workers, and income.

Hold on. Throw away income? Who has enough of the stuff to do that?

Disposable income is basically seen as money remaining in your hot little hands after paying taxes and bills for necessities. It is "play money" in the game of buying things you like, or are nice to have, or establish your social standing, but strictly speaking that you do not need.

Although this 'extra' money could be saved, most people choose not to save seeing it as boring and staid. It is more thrilling to play the game as a shopper than as a saver. Until you go bankrupt, and then it's game over.

Savings help protect us from unexpected changes in life, and we knew that some of those would be coming. When Linda and I were playing at full time jobs we bought more stuff than we do today, but we never saw our money as disposable.

First of all, we worked harder for that money than just passing Go and collecting $200 dollars. Second, we saw the potential in trading buying stuff for savings and increased freedom. After meeting our monthly obligations we banked the rest of our income. Not everyone does this, finding the lure of spending too great. And I admit, it can be tempting.

Spending money is very easy to do while saving it requires some delay of gratification. While a country like Switzerland has a forecasted savings rate (as a percentage of disposable income) of around 14%, New Zealand's rate is only 0.1%, and Denmark's comes in at negative 0.7.

You don't have any disposable income if you
spend more than you make.

We resisted the urge to throw money away on frivolous pleasures by keeping our long range goal in mind.

Our plan was to live a simple life while working so we could save and eventually have a simple life that did not involve working (in a salaried capacity). Over the years we enjoyed tweaking our budget to maximize savings. We wanted to start our unfettered simple life as soon as possible.

We threw our money into our account, paid off all debt, and after about 20 years we had reached a point where we were able to break free from the work/spend cycle. Controlling our desires and delaying gratification allowed us to create the life we wanted to live.

Today we rarely buy anything beyond necessities, but we are enjoying life like never before. We feel like we are ensconced in a lush, protective oasis of simplicity surrounded by a desert of debt and flagrant spending.

If you actually have disposable income, the best thing to do with it is throw it at yourself and your dreams, not things and experiences that only provide momentary pleasure.

Love Your Mothers

Love your birth mother...

...and your Earth Mother.

Do something nice for your moms today, and every day.

Christmas Is A Mandarin Orange

The winter holiday season is full of memories for me, but not because of presents. I actually can't remember any Christmas presents I have ever received. This isn't because of my two concussions either. In hindsight, presents just did not amount to much compared to everything else the season involved.

The anticipation of Mandarin oranges, for example. Now that you can get them year round the easy to peel orange has lost some of its specialness, but I still only buy them in December.

When the cold, short days of winter descend upon the land, the smell of peeling a Mandarin orange wakes me up like a citrus smelling salt. And like the smelling salt, the Mandarin orange can arouse consciousness. And this time of year we could all use a bit of consciousness arousal.

Although I do not remember the actual presents, I keenly remember the anticipation of presents. Presents are at their best arranged haphazardly under a heavily tinselated tree, and admired at night with lights a-glow. Magic!

The neatly wrapped boxes allow the mind to wander and imagine what wonderful things they might contain. Delay of gratification is hard, but can be delicious if nurtured properly. Indeed, it is the best part of presents.

Once the glittery gift wrap comes off, though, gratification proves to be wispy and dissipates quickly. Then it's back to the mixed nuts, and playing with empty gift boxes.

And eating Mandarin oranges.