economicmultipliers_69
Economic Multipliers (69)
Do you know what these are?
They help CREATE wealth in systems.
‘I don’t ever want to have to fix myself’ is an economic multiplier for any young person.
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It’s a good thing that I bite my nails (not really).
It’s also a good thing that I grew up overweight (not really).
The only good thing about those two things is that I do not believe I can ‘cure’ anyone else’s ‘addictions.'
If you ever do become ‘addicted’ to anything, at some point in your life, you may think you need to ‘fix’ yourself.
Since I don’t want young people to ever have to ‘fix’ anything, know that many addictions ‘start’ when young people are dealing with the emotional ups and downs that go along with just being young (and middle-aged and older … every age has its own specific joys and challenges).
If you ever think you might substitute an ‘addiction’ for just a really ‘good life,’ check out the ‘young person’s section’ in your local library: I ran across a book in ours (initially selected because I noticed a quote by Einstein) that’s very good: ‘I Don’t Know What I Want: But I Want to Be Happy’ by Kimberly Kirberger (see P.S.).
No magic … just a lot of good thoughts … and the shelf was filled with many ‘similar’ books.
If you don’t have a ‘book budget,’ library or a good interlibrary loan system but can find three or four older couples who’ve grown old together happily (it doesn’t have to be in your own family but count your blessings if it is) and can find three or four other people of any age who enjoy their lives and their work (regardless of income and whether it’s in an area that would interest you), you’ll learn the same things that you’d learn from a book like this.
Look around you: Who do you want to look and be like?
One of the greatest things about being young (or any age for that matter) is you’re still choosing the ‘habits’ that can help you for a lifetime. If you have really good friends, they’ll help you develop ‘habits’ that will help you create economic multipliers for both you and themselves (because they have you as a friend) throughout your life.
I’ve never met anyone who wants to ‘fix’ something when they get older.
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Things you can get addicted to:
Food (too much, too little, the wrong kinds, bad eating habits)
Exercise (too little and even too much)
Media (computers, TV, telephones and even books, newspapers and magazines)
Disasters and messes (in that you seek them out or develop a desire to create them)
Thrill seeking
Sports (watching and/or doing)
Depression (depression can be a natural phenomenon (get help) but it can also be caused by just choosing not to accomplish anything … a negative feedback loop)
Work (too much and too little)
Destructive people and destructive thoughts
Alcohol (too much, in the wrong places, with keys in your hand)
Drugs (even ones that are supposed to contribute to your health and well-being, if you’re not careful)
Tobacco / cigarettes
Bad personal habits
War/conflict (people and nations sometimes ‘forget’ what it takes to ‘build’ coherent societies and get ‘addicted’ to finding reasons to ‘fight’)
Tattoos and body piercings (which most consider art when in moderation) and self-mutilation (which is NOT art)
Sex
Pornography and ‘skanky’ photos
Collecting things
Rummaging
Excessive neatness (and the opposite)
An abnormal interest in other people’s lives
Gambling
Religion and/or politics (in that the behavior becomes cult-like or gang-like)
Theft
Shopping
Gossip
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I may have missed some and it’s really unfair that this list is so long because when you aren’t surrounded by lots of people who live balanced lives, it’s not as easy to ‘find your way.'
Many ‘addictions’ are simply a ‘lack of balance.’ Others, like my nail biting habit, are bad personal habits that are hard to break.
Even at my age, I’ve still got things that I’m trying to ‘fix’ and keep mended (like my weight): I never want other people to have to ‘fix’ anything.
Life offers up more than enough challenges without any ‘extras.'
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P.S. I almost didn’t select Kirberger’s enjoyable quick-to-read book because it contained a piece on buying ‘technology’ and budgeting (which didn’t seem like a ‘budget’ to me): ‘Poor’ people don’t normally eat at restaurants unless they have family restaurants and are using the businesses to help their families build their bases of wealth: They consider themselves ‘lucky’ when they can afford groceries.
Because Americans sometimes have a ‘distorted’ perspective on money, know that this is mine … If anyone ever tells you that money doesn’t matter, ask them these things:
Did you ever lack a reliable supply of water or electricity? … VERY few Americans who are younger than 55 years old could say yes to this.
Did you grow up in a house that was paid for? … That’s the beginning of a family building a strong base of wealth. Lack of a house payment (or rent) is the ‘breathing space’ that allows people to much more easily save for retirement or other things. People don’t necessarily get rid of their mortgages if financial incentives like tax breaks are available but if they have the ‘capacity’ to get rid of their mortgage, they live in a different world.
Did your parents (or extended family) pay for any of your education? If not, do you have a lot of student loans? … One kid might work in a job that pays $20 per hour over the summer while another gets paid minimum wage. Both might be pursuing the same degree at the same institution and the reason the one kid can earn $20 per hour is because one of their parents taught them a specific skill when they were young. The other child may have grown up with parents who lacked skills OR who lacked the capacity to teach their children their skills.
Did your parents ever buy you a bike or car or pay for registration, insurance, maintenance and/or gas … or similarly, are friends and family able to fix your car or anything else for you? … Applied skills that you don’t have to pay for can be worth hundreds and even thousands of dollars.
What kinds of things do your parents (and extended family) give you for special occasions? … One parent might buy their child who is studying to be a mechanic a $2000 set of professional grade tools while another feels lucky that they can get their child who is also studying to be a mechanic (and taking out loans to do so) a pair of shoes. One child might start college not just with a computer but with all the ‘professional grade’ software required to legitimately run an online business: Another child’s parents might not even think that there is a huge difference in computer hardware for different types of applications.
When you file your taxes, are you or will you in the future be able to declare any ‘unearned’ income? … ‘Unearned’ is an unusual term because many people do and/or did a LOT of work to be able to declare ‘unearned’ income but the bottom line is this: If you get or will get income (annuities, pensions, rents, government payments, dividends, interest, royalties, gifts, stipends, etc.) that does not require you to run a business, punch a clock or work in some capacity, you live in a different world than anyone who is trying to get themselves grounded enough financially that they know for sure that they are building a base of wealth.
Likewise, if anyone ever wants YOU to take out a loan for anything (including education) or commit to long-term payments for anything (phone/media services, furniture, transportation, etc.), ask how much debt they personally have carried in that area in the past, how much debt they are carrying right now and how they have and are paying it back. Any person who wants you to take on any financial commitment should have a very clear idea as to how you can pay the money back and their clear idea should also be clear to you: Anything they say is an investment (including education) should be supportable with numbers … unless they personally want to cosign for any loans/payments and assume responsibility if something goes wrong.