After spending days trying to take out my frustration on the political process, I thought about it and realized what was happening to me. As a citizen, I have a right to question some of the tactics these people I did or did not put in office are doing.
I also realized that there are simple things I can do that may make a difference in what is bound to come regardless of who we put in office. I feel we have become an uncaring nation and it shows.
Government has become so big that we feel powerless to do anything about government waste. We expect others to do the things that could give us a turn around. Regardless of who gets in office to run this country, it is bound to get worse before it gets better.
It is time to do our part to do what we can to make things better.
We seem to be more interested in who wins an athletic event, sing-a-along, or has murdered someone than worrying about what is going on with our government. We criticize but seem to do nothing, thinking it will just go away. It won't.
There are simple things that we can do. Maybe we need to be more frugal in the way we live. We need to start questioning if a purchase is necessary. We need to ask ourselves, “Do I really need it, or can I make something else do? Do I contribute to accelerated health problems by things that I do to my health, such as overeating, lack of exercise and the way I care of my own health? Have I let convenience of processed food stop me from making my own, which would be cheaper and better for me?
We all have a surplus of clothes because we have bought things that aren't necessary. Many items, still sporting the price tags and unused, show up at rummage sales as well as at the Salvation Army and thrift stores. At least passing them on to others makes sense.
One of the biggest jolts to the pocket change is the drink industry. The money spent on sweet drinks, if added up, would astonish you.
Put the money you didn't spend in a jar and invest it. You might be surprised how the money will accumulate that can be invested or used for better purposes.
They suggest that five cans of 75-cent pop per week could pay out $10,192 in 30 years. How many people pay and/or drink twice that amount of pop?
Modern Maturity magazine recently told us how we have been spending $250,000 on buying $20 pizzas weekly. That pizza "dough" (excuse the pun) invested in a mutual fund with a 9% annual return would be worth a quarter of a million dollars in 30 years, where as a senior citizen could use it to pay for necessities instead of relying on a "free for being old" expenditure.
One-dollar lottery tickets five times a week would amount to over $13,000. Nobody says you have to give up all things that might pleasure you at the time, but it does make you realize that saving that money would go a long way to pay for necessities.
Are they poor or lazy? Money not spent today could provide the money needed in the future.
I have no problem with government aid — food shelves, energy and tax rebates for the needy. I do have a problem if these same people expect to have others pick up the tab.
They could afford them by foregoing tobacco, drinks, tattoos and other needless items. Consider the government giveaway of free cell phones and 250 minutes of free calling for the poor and elderly to help them accommodate the possible need for emergency aid, or so that they can be reachable if the unemployment office calls.
At a recent cell phone giveaway, it was surprising how many people spent their time waiting on their cell phone to get a free cell phone. So who pays for the free phones? The answer — we all do; look at the taxes on your next phone bill.
Cell phones have very good uses and security purposes, but they also seem to be an expensive misused toy to a lot of people. The misuse of free does nothing for our economy; in fact, it is bad for our economy.
Every time government spends money, it takes money out of the economy. Every time government borrows money, it takes money out of the money supply.
Every time government prints money, it makes your money worth less; stop to think about it.
People learn little if all they think of is, "What can I get for free because someone else is paying the tab?”
Too many of our elected officials or even common folks, when put in charge of money that isn't theirs, will use it without thought in regards to whether it is really necessary. The citizens seem to know where government is wasting money better than the legislators.
Every person you know can give an example of government waste, yet our elected officials can't seem to find any programs that ought to be cancelled. That's the basis of our problem?
There is a limit. It doesn't have to make you a cheapskate.
In a recent AARP article, someone made reference to how her 90-year-old mother-in-law lived on $19,000 a year for the past three years in California. How did she do it?
She said it was little things. She used one napkin for all three meals, folding it and saving it throughout the day. I also know of those who went back to cloth napkins, feeling it was cheaper in the long run.
She reused gift bags. I recall when we use to open gifts carefully and would save the wrapping paper and use it over again and even used comic pages from the newspaper in a creative way to save.
It was useful, thrifty, and saved on the amount of garbage thrown away. There are those who use coupons faithfully. I never could figure out how they could manage to buy the amount they say they do, but of course there are savings if they are clipped and used for the things you buy.
This 90-year-old lady never had a credit card. My grandmother or mother never did either, nor do I. One trick for reducing expenditures is to pay with cash.
It is a lot harder to part with real cash than to use a credit card or check. Grandma always said if she didn't have the money for something, she didn't need it.
Most often gifts were money for the recipient to use as they desired or saved. I remember my mother saving pocket change and finding some creative way of giving the same amount to each child as birthday or holidays came due.
A bag, a jar, or a box can all become piggy banks. At first, we kids weren't sure we liked that idea, but it wasn't long until we looked forward to it because we often had something in mind we wanted.
This California lady wasn't a cheapskate, but frugal to the point of living a full and fruitful life. She maintained, "It is not how much we have but how well we live that brings happiness."
I guess that is a good thought to leave you with to think about. The candidate that promises me less government spending, not more programs, is the person that will get my vote.
Some of our Star Eagle readers have commented they like to read about events such as family and school reunions, birthdays and anniversaries, and birth and wedding announcements.
In order to read about these important things, we need our faithful readers to pass along the information to us. If you have news, please contact me via e-mail, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; by postal mail, P. O. Box 192, Geneva, MN 56035 or telephone, 507-256-4405.
Birthdays and Anniversaries:
• Thursday, November 8th: Sydney Larson, Andrew Jensen, Brian Hughes, Burton Nelson.
• Friday, November 9th: Phyllis Hagen, Tami Lund Wacek, Scott Coxworth, Jon Aronson, Kent Kruckenburg, Cindy Gould, Tim Westrum, Christopher Jepson.
• Saturday, November 10th: Keith McDonald, Eric Anderson, Russell Reistad, Tomm Richards, Jennifer Zimprich, Jessica Kasper, Andrew Olson, Jessica (Johnson) & Dan Rebelein, Stan & Liz Reichl, Everett & Diane Jensen.
• Sunday, November 11th: Jason Tracy, Kate Laudon, Agnes Christensen, Ione Hagen, Dale Hunt, Paula Swearingen, Jennifer Jacobs, Dawn Diemer, Rachel Gould, Dave & Linda Brandt, Amanda Schimdt, Tory Lee Christensen.
• Monday, November 12th: Trinity Tracy Vulcan, Tatum Charlotte Vulcan, Samuel Henry Kaplan, Lois Johnson Aitchison, Jill Jensen, Holly Thompson, Craig Clausen, Helen Kellem, Scott & Jan Sorenson, Jill & Shannon Jensen.
• Tuesday, November 13th: Geoffrey Nelson. Abbey Louise Titus, Bill Johnson, Jeffrey Nelson, Diane Brighton, Earl & Janis Klinger, Steve & Pennie Ladlie.
• Wednesday, November 14th: Cassandra Hill, Dakota Tracy, Kaye Larson Allen, Jill Ottesen Kehne, Kim Anderson, Gloria Tufte Keehn, Dawn Farr, Brandon Grunwald.
Wherever this year takes you, may you feel happiness along the way!
