Government Shutdown could be a Good Thing

The Nightly News report on Sunday talked about the possible "government shutdown" that could happen tonight at midnight, if congress can't decide how to spend money. I wondered, what does that mean?

According to a couple of websites...
66 questions and answers about the government shutdown

10 ways a government shutdown would affect your daily life
...there are several things that would happen and affect Americans somewhere between an inconvenience and a life crisis. Inconveniences would include - some government offices being closed. You wouldn't be able to get certain things or else it would get delayed... your passport, for example. Customer service for government programs would be closed. Crises include not getting paid if you're a federal worker, or having your paycheck delayed... which really, is only an crises for those who live paycheck to paycheck... which more than 60% of Americans do, according to Dave Ramsey. Or, if your business depends on tourism to national parks... because in a government shutdown, the parks would all be closed.

But what is most interesting to me is HOW the news articles and TV clips reported it. They said it was possibly going to happen if republicans and democrats couldn't agree. But when they tried to explain what the hangup was, their wordage seemed to suggest one side was clearly wrong... "House republicans won't pass the bill because they don't want to fund Obamacare (aka The Affordable Care Act) which will continue moving forward anyway, and if the government goes into shutdown, it could cost the American people millions." (not an exact direct quote, fyi.)

But, wouldn't agreeing to fund Obamacare cost the American people several millions or Billions more? 

I think Republican's are right to defund Obamacare. It's unconstitutional and I Don't Want It.

Reasons I don't want it:
1. As a former poor college student, I couldn't afford it. Not even if it was only $10 per month.

2. I believe in the freedom of choice. I want to choose what insurance I'll pay for and if I even want it to begin with.

3. There are speculations and some clear numbers coming out that say the middle class will become part of the poor class if Obamacare (and other things) stick around. I'm unwilling to fund something that will send my family towards the poverty line along with the rest of the middle class! I'd prefer to raise my [future] several children in a place with more than 2 bedrooms, thank you!

4. I intend to save and be wealthy when I'm an old person. If I'm wealthy, I don't need health insurance because I'll Have Money. At that point, I can go to any doctor I want to!

One politician said "This isn't the time to be debating the funding of Obamacare" and I don't know if he's right or wrong, but I do know that there comes times in our nation where the constitution hangs by a thread and the citizens of this nation need to rise up and support the constitution against corrupt congressmen and illegal legislation. I think this might be one of those times.

In my household, if I can't afford it even when all my priorities are straight, then I think congress can't afford it either. Congress, Do Not Fund something the Citizens of This Nation cannot Afford!

A Living Will

Creating a Will has been on my to do list since I started planning for the arrival of my first child (one year ago). Why? Because supposedly that's recommended. But don't I need a lawyer for that? Not necessarily. Apparently you are allowed to type one up at home, sign it and file it away where someone can find it.

I finally did it today, but not because I finally got to it on my to do list.

A few months ago, my mother-in-law passed away prematurely from cancer. In the last couple of weeks, we, children, have learned that dad doesn't want all this stuff in his house, so he's given the job to his children while he's working out of state for a year. So in other words, we're divvying up the estate. His daughter, Melissa, and her family have moved into his house (though not necessarily realizing he was about to assign us the task of cleaning).

I was over there last Saturday while most of the children/family was present, and it was a mix of discussion, choking up, and borderline arguments... as is expected for these kinds of things. I stayed quiet; I'm an in-law. I knew her for only 3 years and I have almost no sentimental value attached to anything in the house. But when one sister-in-law told me if I didn't go ransack the sewing closet it was all going to get thrown away... and hurry down there right now!... I did as urged.

I realized that there are different reasons to claiming an item for inheritance. First, because it's sentimental. It reminds you of them. It could be anything... a christmas ornament, a baby blanket, a photo, or a decorative plate, for example. Then there are things that you want to inherit because that means you don't have to go purchase it in the future - a bicycle, silverware, a bed frame or dresser. And lastly, claiming things of value. These are the items you want simply to sell for it's cash value; or to keep because you know it's Worth Something (you packrats out there).

When I started writing my will today (and by that I mean yesterday, since it's technically past midnight and I haven't fallen asleep), I started writing out my valuable assets and trying to decide who should get them. But after a couple of hours, I was still struggling to figure out who to give it to... and my list started looking like an inventory sheet. So then I focused on a single person to gift something to... and I picked something that wasn't even on the list.

At that moment it hit me... you don't gift people items you think they could use, you gift them the same way you would gift them a very thoughtful Christmas present. Something with meaning; a token of love. That doesn't mean it's not useful... it totally could be. It Could also be Worth Something... but the point is that it is meaningful.

Mom gifted me with her watercolor supplies. Something about us spending an afternoon of me learning to Watercolor from her. I remember that experience as me feeling sheepish about not practicing more and struggling at the basic concepts, despite my having taken a college class. But if she gave me these things as a meaningful thing... what was the meaning of that experience to her?

And I realized she must of felt excited. Connected. She loved to teach and Dave told me that if she had chosen to work a job, it would have been a teacher. But she loved being a Mom and teaching her kids about everything. And I was a new kid added to her family that she could teach skills to. And watercolor wasn't necessarily one she just taught everyone how to do (like canning was - all her kids seemed to know lots about canning). Watercolor was special. Watercolor supplies could remind me of that time when we worked on that together. It was a nice afternoon of few interruptions and a moment we got to spend time together and get to know each other. Those were pretty rare.

Financial Peace University

My husband and I are taking a 9 week class on Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University courses. There are a few things that I've learned from either the classes or as I've started reading through The Total Money Makeover that I want to reference here for a future time.

DVD 2 from class - Teaching children money:

Young Children (age 4-9)

1. Pay them COMMISSIONS, not allowance. This chore pays X amount each time it's done. 

2. Commission earned is paid weekly or regularly... like payday at work!

3. Have assigned chores just because they are part of this family and live in this house. (aka Kitchen chores. Then trash, bathroom, clean closets, etc are commission. )

4. Allow a child to take his earned money to the store and buy a toy. If they pick something too expensive, allow them to take it to the cash register and realize they can't buy it because they can't afford it. 

5. Letting a child borrow money teaches them to gratify now and get in debt. Do not let them carry a negative balance. 

Stage 2 (age 10-15)

6. Create 3 envelopes - Saving, Spending, and Giving

Teenager (age 16-18)

7. Open a checking account under their name - the money that would be spent on them - clothing, etc, they are now responsible. They are also accountable for bounced checks. Go to bank and have child apologize to bank manager for "lying" about having money which lead to the bounced check. 

Money Makeover Book - ch 2 or 3

Rent to Own and leasing (a car) is a bad idea because you spend much more on renting it (washer/dryer) than if you just saved up that money for 6 weeks while using a (laundromat). 

Millionaires buy newer used cars - cars loose most of their value in the first two years - $100 a week. Never lease a car. It's the worst deal. You pay the difference of the quick depreciation.

It buy a nice car - the first car driven should be a total piece of junk-ish. Save money as if you were paying a car payment then buy a nice car for less. 

If you pay cash - always ask and/or get it at a discount. If they won't, go to their competitors. If you pay cash, you should always receive a deal. 

You don't need a credit card for anything. A debit card used as 'credit' will have all the same protection on it. You also don't need a credit (FICO) score. If you pay in cash, you won't need a credit check. For a house, find a mortgage company that will look deeper than just a FICO score. Millionaires don't have a credit score. 

FICO score is not how well you deal with money, it's how much you love debt! Why? The Fico score is 

##% how much debt

##% length of time with debt

##% types of debt

##% something 

##% something

(It's in his book; i'm not going to look it up and finish this. You can go read the book.)

I think that's it for now!