No More Secrets

In law, thoughts are not punishable -- actions are. Tom Cruise's movie, "A Minority Report," depicted a futuristic society where people could be jailed for thinking of committing a crime. This report by 60 Minutes shows that that future may not be far off. Technology has advanced so that computers can read simple thoughts by charting our brain pattern. I wonder about a world when we have truly no privacy -- but then again, I am sure we can also create technology to block mind reading as well.

because there was a beginning

before the beginning
the anticipation percolating to being the first
foreshadows the inevitable.

after the beginning
the inspired reach stretching to the next
masked the inevitable.

but because there was a beginning
veritable and sure
must close with an end.

and because there is an end
connected to the beginning with unique nexts
a singular beauty lies encased

Solutions Not Just Protests

California is in major budget crisis. Everyday, the news covers services that are proposed to be cut by the governor. People that are affected don't want those cuts. There are petitions to stop state park closures and protests to stop cuts to state home-care program.

Unfortunately, California is in a major budget crisis. By July 2009, without a budget that balances revenue to expenditure, California government will have to issue IOU's according to many news source (and this is one of them). It's tough to be the program that is on the chopping block. But perhaps petitions and protests are not the answer to financial problem. Instead, it would be more productive if people who are affected reviewed the actual budget and pointed out what else could be done so that affected programs can be saved. Is there belt tightening that could be done elsewhere? Is there a way to generate more revenue?

And going through line by line and then pointing out what could be done instead, would actually give constructive solution. Think that can't be done? The proposed budget and past finances is actually on this website. My understanding is, any government agency (federal, state, county, etc.), actually has to disclose all of this information publicly. (I could be wrong). It's just that no one actually bothers to review it and get back to the people that make decisions.

So, instead of petitions and protests, I say take apart the budget and propose a better solution.

Positive (Optimistic) Words Do More Harm Than No Words

So apparently now there's a study that debunks the power of positive thinking. This Economist article talks about how most people tend to accept ideas that they already hold. People's tendency is to resist when they are told something that they don't view the same way. So, for folks with low self-esteem, telling themselves that they are loveable actually produced a lot more negative reaction than not telling themselves anything. Science changes everyday (including periodic tables... with man-made elements!! but that is a whole new post onto itself) so who knows how long this theory will last. What made me laugh out loud was the comment by diamonddriller on June 14, 2009 at 19:34. THAT was classic.

Saving More Than Money .. By Being Lazy

So besides saving money these days, in California, we have to save water. California has been in drought for years now, and we do not have enough water for the amount that Californians have been consuming. San Diego is under mandatory water restriction, and we are supposed to consume 20% less water (I suspect we should actually consume much much less...).

For the most part, if you own a home, that means making sure you don't water your garden as much, don't wash your car, etc. But if you live in a multiplex building (condo or apartment), what can we do?

For starters, I started turning off water whenever it's just running if I'm not actually using the water for the task at hand. That means, when I brush my teeth, the water will be turned off while I'm brushing but I will turn it on when I need the water. Or in the shower, I turn off the water when I'm soaping.

I have also heard that one uses less water if you use the dishwasher when it's full instead of doing dishes by hand. Check this blog post about this. So, I started to use my dishwasher more. In order to make sure you use less water, though, you need to fill up the dishwasher. For someone who doesn't have a large family or mouths to feed, that means waiting maybe a day or two before washing dishes so that the dishwasher can be full. That's kind of a hassle (yes, I realize the irony) but I decided if it's good for the environment, I can learn to be lazy. ;)

Savings Caveat

So if my previous post didn't indicate, I like to save (i.e. I'm parsimonious... look it up if you don't know what that means ;). But I like to remind myself for what purpose I'm saving. Yes, there's the retirement thing. Financial independence thing. But it's also so that I can spend the money in ways that I enjoy the most. And I remind myself that I should spend to help others or to treat others... because I do enjoy bringing joy to others. While I stick to saving, I also remind myself that generosity shouldn't go out the window simply for the sake of sticking to my saving goal.

I have a friend who is financially responsible. She is frugal and doesn't spend excessively. However, this same person also paid for her roommate's rent while her roommate/friend was unemployed. I forget a lot of things in life (my brain apparently takes too much abuse from information overload) but that is something I never forgot. Saving doesn't trump generosity... if our family or friend is in need. Or if the occasion calls for it.

Personal Finance Mumbo Jumbo

So I am slightly bemused by all the attention given by the media to personal finance/savings sites and tips. There are some free sites that are apparently available like mint.com where you can keep track of your expenses. I like to read about savings tips... but basically, old fashioned common sense seems to work for me. And while cynics wonder if American saving behavior will disappear once economy looks rosier, from my personal experience, I have kept all my habits I picked up just prior to and during the layoff I experienced during the dot com bust of 2001. Along the way, I tweaked my habits and added here and there. So what did I do in 2001 that became ingrained to my daily habits?

1) I started tracking every expense.... so I could be certain that I did not spend over the severance amount I received. You heard that many times. I started by writing down on blank paper -- one sheet for each month. And then a few years later, I realized the virtue of excel spreadsheet. I did not wait until the end of the month but literally, when I came home, I would note everything I spent (every tea, coffee, parking meter, etc.) before I forgot. It was scary in the beginning (the first month or two), but as I started tracking I realized the concrete numbers gave me more comfort than some ambiguous notion of what I had and was spending. It gave me the freedom to know when to stop eating out or to take the liberty to eat out with a friend.

2) Once I found a job a year or so later, then I started tracking my version of cash flow... just noting cash coming in and cash going out. If I moved money between savings account to checking, that was not noted. Basically, money going out translated to anything coming out of my checking to pay bills or cash withdrawals. Money coming in was salary, or other miscellaneous items (refund). Then each month, I would total up cash that came in and subtract cash that flowed out. That would be my "savings" for the month.

3) After a few years of just tracking that, I realized I should set a goal for saving instead of blindly saving. Otherwise, my instinct was to not spend anything other than the bare necessity but having a goal helped me to actually spend some money for leisure (concert, books, etc.). I took my gross income and calculated 30% of my gross. That became my goal for total savings for the year (I heard Oprah was told to save 30% before she became mega-rich so I figured that's a good goal to live by).

Then I set a budget to figure out what my goal "expense" should be per month. I did that by taking my net income from paycheck and figure out my net income for the year. Then I took that number and subtracted my total goal (30% of gross income) and divided by 12 to get my goal "expense" per month.

4) I used to use Yodlee to get the snapshot of my investments. Then I thought what if someone hacked in and could access all my account? I got paranoid. So then I started another excel spreadsheet to keep track on weekly basis. Is it a pain to update manually on a weekly basis? Yup. But I broke it down to categories I like to keep track.

So basically, my habits grew out from one simple advice -- keep track of expense. All else sort of grew out of that once that became second nature. I also think that once you get in the habit of thinking about savings, you seek ways to keep track of what you need to keep track. So the basic point? You don't necessarily need all the softwares and websites to help you ... you can start with a piece of paper and pencil. But taking the concrete step every day really goes a long way. Mine has... for 8 years and counting.

Labor Economics

Immigration trends are reversing in developed countries according to this WSJ article. Drop in immigration indicates sign of times -- recession that means less opportunities in the developed countries. Migration pattern follows labor economics -- labor goes where there are opportunities.

Sunset from Costa Rica

 

A set of sunset pictures from Costa Rica is my favorite. The picture was actually taken when I was at a restaurant called El Avion at Manuel Antonio. The sun was actually setting in the opposite direction but the light was bouncing off of the clouds, with some gorgeous effects.

Persevering... to Cut Off Cable Service

Apparently it takes a lot to discontinue service. Recently, I switched from Cox Cable to ATT. I have issues with both services, but for now, I am going with the cheaper alternative (i.e. cheaper of the two evils?). Plus, ATT is giving me a free DVR service to boot so I can record the French Open.

So today, after verifying with ATT that my telephone number has transferred to ATT, I called up Cox to cancel my service. As customary these days, I went through some sort of automated dialogue. After determining that I wanted to cancel, the computer put me on hold. I promptly put the hold on speaker phone and got my dinner ready. Then I watched the World News on ABC. And then I started watching a re-run of Two and a Half Man. It took nearly 45 minutes before a live representative got on the phone so I can cancel Cox Cable.

I was tempted at times to just hang up and call early tomorrow morning. But I was determined. At some point after 10-15 minutes, I decided -- I must persevere. I will not let Cox win its battle and get more money from me by psyching me out to get me to hang up by putting me on a long hold. And lo and behold ... I won! It is I that is triumphant! My determination not to give up... not to cut off that really really annoying music by hanging up... to suffer through 45 minutes of muffled music that distracted from concentrated TV watching experience...ahhhh. It felt good to know that the representative had to get to me. The representative tried to tell me I was a fool for switching. But I didn't care. After THAT long of a hold? Why would I want to change my mind to go back to Cox? Do you hear that Cox? I WON the battle of perseverance! =P