By: Kenneth E. Boone, Sr.
Celia and I don't live in the most affluent part of town, but it's still a very nice area. What I find interesting is the number of Teslas I see driving around in my neighborhood and around town. How can so many people afford a car that can cost up to $100k when the economy is supposed to suck? I'm Ken Boone. Welcome to my Podcast, “MUCH MORE TO SAY” Greetings, my friends. I hope you had an amazing Thanksgiving Day with family and friends. And I pray that you survived Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday without overspending or getting trampled by the crowds. For the tenth straight year, Celia and I decided to sit out the shopping frenzy. We kept it simple again, only getting gifts for Kenny and our granddaughter, Amina. And since they prefer Amazon gift cards, shopping for them is a mouse click away. Today happens to be “Giving Tuesday”, with the airwaves full of requests from dozens of worthy causes. I was going to make a donation to the Warming Station sponsored by my Kenny in Atlanta, but he told me that he had all the necessary funding in place. That's okay, I'll find something else to donate to. I started this episode by observing the number of Teslas and other high-priced cars on the roads of Huntersville. And while I'm being nosy, I'm also noticing the price of new and existing homes in my town. In fact, just over ten years ago, the development next to mine was advertising new homes from the just north of $300,000. Today, the sign reads that homes are “priced to sell” at over $900,000, with families lined up to tour the model homes. The point I'm trying to make is that while people are complaining about how bad the economy is, high-priced items are still flying off the shelves. I usually don't complain about what I don't have, but I can't help feeling a little envious toward those who can afford those toys. You don't have to have a degree in accounting or economics to have a practical knowledge of business cycles or economic upturns and downturns. That's because we feel them in our daily lives. Simply put, what goes up, must come down. While I am not poor, I'm also not as liquid as I'd like to be. It would be easy to point directly to a past domestic relationship as the root of my current financial woes, but that wouldn't be entirely true. All I had to do was just say no. Nearly two years ago, I recorded and published an episode that I titled “Doing Frugal Well”, where I shared with you my financial ups and downs. I also talked about some of the issues couples face if can't handle the inevitable money woes. To paraphrase that great American songwriter, Billy Joel, couples tend to fight when money gets tight. I've experienced that more than a few times. I'm grateful that obsessing over money isn't something I no longer have to deal with. Not since meeting Celia. I found that being happy in my life and marriage has allowed me to feel abundant in lean times. We're experienced enough to know that those lean times are often temporary. This year I played it safe by only leaving the house to go to the grocery store. I didn't bite on all the ads for Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday. But I'm not totally in the clear. You see, for me, December is annual checkup/follow-up month. I've been getting urgent emails, texts, and voicemails reminding me that I need to schedule various tests and appointments to check the status of my different diagnoses. Each message has a certain air of urgency attached, like it's a matter of life and death. Unlike in the world of commerce, they don't tell you how much their services cost. They just pop you in the examination room, chat for about fifteen minutes, refill your prescriptions, and send you down the hall for more blood work. That gets kind of old after a while. While I never downplay the importance of these doctors and the great work they do, I can't keep letting them freak me out. I did after my heart-related episode, when my first primary care provider kept sending for almost weekly testing. And the tests weren't for my heart, which is why I sought medical care in the first place. It wasn't until I ran up a bill in the thousands just for bloodwork, that I put a stop to all of the nonsense and changed providers.NOTE: I don't know why it takes very little to set me off when it comes to my past and current health care providers. I know they aren't scamming me, but I resent the fact that, other than my former cardiologist, Dr. V., they have little regard for my fiscal health. But enough of them... for now at least. On the lower right corner of my dry erase board, I wrote a list of items I wanted to purchase last year. I also filled my Amazon Shopping Cart with over $5,000 in musical gear and home décor merchandise. I didn't include big ticket things like cars or larger homes because even dreaming about those things was impractical. But wishing for $5,000 worth of musical gear and home décor doesn't exactly say I'm practicing fiscal prudency either. Greek philosopher Epictetus said, “wealth consists not in having great possessions but in having few wants”. Call me a tight wad, but I grew up a “have not”. And the few times I was a “have”, I was encouraged not to share, but to give it away. When I displayed that behavior in public, the message received was “help yourself”. After a lot of painful trial and error, I learned how to exercise proper restraint. In other words, I kept my “wanter” in check. A lot of people in my life have had a hard time keeping their wanters in check. And unfortunately for some of them, the consequences were disastrous. Growing up, I had a best friend. He was a good guy, but to tell you the truth, he was a pretty unremarkable individual. What we bonded over was both of us feeling we were on the outside looking in. Although he was blessed with an amazing photographic memory, he was a below-average student. That's because when it came to testing, he would freeze up and forget everything he'd learned in class. He was destined for failure except for one little thing. He had a father with plenty of money who was always ready to bail him out of any financial mess he got himself into. And he made some huge mistakes. Flush with cash, there wasn't a house, vintage car, vacation, courtside tickets, or investment scheme he could resist buying. And when he failed, which was more often than not, I was there to emotionally pick up the pieces. Then his father would swoop in with a check to make everything right again. Unfortunately, my friendship with him ended when I was called on bail him out financially in a real estate situation. I knew I wasn't able to help because of the domestic turmoil in my life, but I tried anyway. And failed miserably. We haven't spoken in over 25 years. I don't know if he's still alive and haven't tried to find out, even with the advent of Facebook. But if he is, it is my hope that he's gotten better at making and managing his assets. That's because his father was still alive, he would be well over 100-years-old and probably not in a position to bail him out anymore. I don't hold a resentment toward him, but I'm not happy with how the friendship ended. If we had just parted ways after high school, and before life got in the way, we could have been left with fond memories. But I have no regrets. Parting Shots I'll admit that I'm not perfect and have had my share of financial missteps and will probably make several more before I pass over. And because I'm now considered a senior citizen, I'm a prime target of countless sales pitches, both from legitimate sources and scammers. So, I have to watch my back, now more than ever. As I said in my introduction, Celia and I don't live in the most affluent part of town, but it's still a very nice area. We have great neighbors, and it seems that even my Homeowners' Association has been a joy to deal with. I just found out that the price of new Teslas has come down considerably. And because Mr. Musk is such a controversial figure, a lot of people are selling cars, creating a sellers' market for used vehicles of the electric sort. I've seen used Model 3s advertised for around $25,000. Call me a tight wad, but that's still too rich for my blood. And with the price of houses in my area almost tripling in the past decade, I am sitting on quite a bit of equity. I would make a handsome profit if I decided to sell. However, I wouldn't be able to afford to buy another home in Huntersville. So, I guess I'll be stuck here in paradise for a little while longer, still pinching pennies. Today's Quote “If you buy things you do not need, soon you will have to sell things you need.” Warren Buffett – American Investment Icon
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About the HostKenneth E. Boone, Sr. is a writer, podcaster, music lover, sports enthusiast, and retired accountant. Archives
May 2024
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