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Showing posts with label money. Show all posts

Friday, December 27, 2013

Putting the X in Christmas?

I watched Miracle on 34th Street this past Christmas (the original 1947 version, not the 90's crack-pot story). It's a quirky movie that winds up with Kris Kringle getting put on trial for insanity because he truly believes himself to be Santa. However, there are a lot of other messages buried within this black-and-white gem.

For starters, after Kris gets hired by Macy's to be their in-store Santa, he starts to refer customers to other stores when there is a better deal elsewhere. At first, the idea nearly gets him fired, but when Mr. Macy is flooded by calls and letters from customers thanking him for the new "marketing stunt," Kris' unconventional idea is made store policy, and customers flow in by the droves.

There are a few excellent quotes from the movie that I'd like to point out:
"Yeah, there's a lot of bad 'isms' floatin' around this world, but one of the worst is commercialism. Make a buck, make a buck. Even in Brooklyn it's the same - don't care what Christmas stands for, just make a buck, make a buck." - Alfred, Macy janitor
"You see, Mrs. Walker, this is quite an opportunity for me. For the past 50 years or so I've been getting more and more worried about Christmas. Seems we're all so busy trying to beat the other fellow in making things go faster and look shinier and cost less that Christmas and I are sort of getting lost in the shuffle." - Kris Kringle
I hope those who might be reading this kept these thoughts close to heart this past Christmas season. All too often, we forget what the holidays are all about (religious beliefs aside). Sure, there's nothing wrong with gift-giving and splurging here and there, but as I watch Black Friday become Black Week and people murdering others over game systems, I wonder if we remember that there's no X in Christmas. After all, as Ebeneezer Scrooge said of his first employer, Mr. Fezziwig:
"The happiness he gives, is quite as great as if it cost a fortune."
From a guy who spent Christmas Eve sleeping in his car and woke up with a smile on his face, I hope you had a Merry Christmas and that you GAVE a Merry Christmas to all whom you know and love.
12:50 PM Posted by Unknown 0
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Tuesday, June 18, 2013

I Don't Care Too Much For Money...

I have a coworker who has noticed that I'm extremely frugal (though I can't say I'm always quiet about the fact that I don't like to spend money on frivolous things). Recently, she noticed that I generally eat a lot of PB&J for lunch, and she started becoming inquisitive. Now, more and more, she asks me how long I plan to live off of PB&J just so I can pay down my debt and save money. I'm actually starting to get a little worried that she's catching on to my living situation because she's been asking more and more questions about where I live and telling me that I can only realistically scrimp so much. While that has me a little worried and I need to start being more careful about keeping my tracks covered, it made me stop to think for a minute, and I believe I need to clarify something.

To some people, it may seem like I'm doing this whole "experiment" because I'm cheap or it's all about money to me. After all, one of my goals is to pay down my debt as fast as I can, save money, and hopefully open my own business some day so I won't have to live the corporate 45-hour "life" (if it can be called that). Am I just greedy? Am I selfish? If it's not all about money, then why am I doing it?

For me, this is really quite simple. As I mentioned in my very first post, we're in a society that has become so desensitized to the idea of debt that the very fabric of governments worldwide is coming unraveled. When my sister told me how excited she was to be a homeowner after closing on her house a few months ago, I reminded her that she wasn't a homeowner: she is a mortgage owner. (Alright, alright - it was rather insensitive to point out, but it was a little dose of reality). Truth be told, my parents have never truly been homeowners. They have always been in debt, and while they have handled it better than many others, it has controlled what they can and cannot do. I only have one life to live, and if I want to make a Steve Jobbs-styled "dent in the universe" and really make a difference, I can't have the shackles of debt robbing me of opportunities to do something that will better this world before I leave it.

So, in all honesty, it's not about money for me. Rather, it's about having opportunities available to make a difference that I otherwise wouldn't have. I don't want to be controlled by money, be it to little or too much. I want to be able to dream big and have my dreams become a reality.

I want to leave you with two videos. The first is one of my favorite John Wayne movies, and it's a family tradition of sorts to watch it every St. Patty's Day. John Wayne plays Sean Thornton, an Irishman who grew up in America from an early age but decides to return home to the Emerald Isle. After buying the home he remembers from early childhood, he marries Mary Kate Danaher (Maureen O'Hara - who else?) However, he's not used to the old Irish custom of a dowry, and when Mary Kate's brother refuses to provide the inheritance, money soon becomes the wedge that drives Sean and Mary Kate to have more than the usual fiery Irish marriage. This is the pivotal clip of the film, and it has one of my favorite lines:


The second has gone a little viral on the internet, and it's reflected a bit in the title of this post - it's a good watch:
4:55 PM Posted by Unknown 0
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