Art of Paying Bills

What they don't teach in school is the art of paying bills.  It's an integral part of our lives, truly no one can escape it unless they live in a forest in the mountains.   The ease of paying a bill lies in the amount of money you have at your disposal.   I know that's really kind of a given, but it must be said because the art is when you don't have enough to pay each and every bill you have each month.  Even wealthy people have this dilemma, because most live to within their means or beyond, not matter their tax bracket. 

The most basic needs must be met first, rent or mortgage whether you agree or not, without a roof over your head, the other bills really can become moot.  This is usually a cost for the bulk of your income, if your lucky maybe 1/4  but usually for the middle income bracket, it's about a 1/3.  When it's 1/2 it becomes a dangerous area of survival, especially for families.

Next is utilities, such as electric, heat & water.  While you can fudge on paying this bill but probably only during the summers in the north, it's considered a basic requirement.   We all like to see in the dark, keep our food cold in the fridge and maybe take a bath or wash our clothes.   The juggling becomes interesting when this item is split into it's components; electric, gas/oil, water.  We will usually pick the one we need the most, electric & water. 

Another basic need that must be met and has the greatest flexibility is food.  Buying for one or two is a whole lot different than buying for a family.  A family's requirements are more stringent in what is required to insure a healthy child/children.  Thus, this cost is a big chunk out of a budget, sometimes as much as the utility, if not more.   Planning and execution can assist with keeping the cost down, but the economy can make this a difficult task. 

So if you have achieved paying your month outgoing cost to this point and you still have money left, congratulations.  Now the fun begins.  What do you pay next?  This is where you now enter the luxury portion of your life.  A car usually tops the list, because without a mode of travel, most cannot get to their job, so a car payment and the very least, gas, must be included. 

Next comes comforts, those can be different as the person buying them.  TV, phones, clothes, sports, coffee, lunch and/or dinner out, movies, books, etc.   These are where budget get cut.  Ever feel like you are the government?  This would be art and science department for schools, the "extras". 

Now if you still have funds available after your necessities and luxury, savings & investments are always a great bet.  This is where you can build of the little bit of extra you have right now, so in the future you can fall back into a feather bed instead of the hard concrete of life.   This is probably the most elusive to do when meeting basic needs is a challenge. 

One item that I guess baffles me because I am not a church-going person is the money that is given to a church.  I don't pretend to understand it, but I see where this is important to a lot of people.  A portion is given to the church, to each person or family it's different, but no matter how much is made, those that are loyal to their church will donate.  Even cutting into their basic need requirement costs.

Lastly, is taxes.  We can't escape them, although a few have tried.  This a major cut to our actual income and usually an expense we never really "see" because they like to scoop out of our ice cream bucket before we get it home from the store.  If we are lucky, we get a refund every year, but no where near what we paid into the "system". 

So each month is a balancing act to make sure the basic needs are met and still luxuries are available so life is more bearable.  Now to pass on that wisdom to the kids, when did they stop doing that in schools?  Now that's a life skill worth having.





 

Notes

Note:

: a brief comment or explanation: a printed comment or reference set apart from the text: a piece of paper money: a short informal letter: a formal diplomatic communication

I love notes.  A short little written passage that people never correct or change but allow to spill from their brain or heart.  This little touch of personal communication is an art that we truly do not appreciate.  So start writing.

Are you there?

I am old enough to remember what it was like to make plans with someone ahead of time and expect them to show up.  To remember that we had to look for a phone booth if you needed to make a call while you were out.  But I am still young enough to enjoy the technology of gizmos and gadgets that keep us connected. 

However, some days I just don't want to be found.   There are days where I don't want someone calling me on my cell, my house line, skyping me or calling on each of my familys' cell phones.  Or even texting me, emailing me, or faxing me.  There is a deliciously scary feeling to be "out of touch".  The silence and tranquility of knowing you are independent of that tether.  The knowing you are free from demands, expectations or requests, even for a short period of time.

The flip side is that it is scary, this we never conceived when were younger.  What if we need help?  What if there is an emergency?  That is a part of the layer of connectiveness we live with by being plugged in.  Always certain that we will have a connection if we need help or assistance or even access to answering a simple question that we just thought about.

But are we more connected?  Or is it an illusion?

Silent

Silent.

That is what I am when I feel like you are not listening.

Silent.

That is what I am when I want to know what people are not saying.

Silent.

That is the safe place in my head where I can not be hurt.

Silent.

That is what I am.

Window into their world

It seems I have developed a proclivity for looking into people's lives and there are number of different ways I do this.  First, I enjoying reading Facebook statuses, especially when they give out a bit of information about what is going on in their lives.  Just enough, like an amuse-bouche at dinner.  It wets my appetite for information and really doesn't require a huge conversation to get it.  It makes me feel like I have an idea what is going on in a person's life and that I haven't lost touch with them. 

Second, I love following blogs of friends and then of some of people I don't even know.  It is like I've had a conversation with them, but at my leisure.  I can re-read and pursue through at my own speed.  This also gives me a view of them, a piece of what they have put out to the world, a glimpse into their minds.  I only wish I knew more people who blogged, it is fun tasting the flavor of someone else's writing.

Third, photos.  These are the most fun because you have captured a person or group in a moment.  But this is not the part that I like best, it is the background.  This is where I like to look.  It is a scavenger hunt into a person's life, and I especially hope for photos that are taken in people's homes.  I look at what they have laying around in their pictures.  What pictures are on the wall or what is in that cupboard left hanging open.  Most people don't "think" about their backdrops before snapping candid photos, so that is why I like them.  They are innocent and fresh from deceit about what they have in their lives.

To me, it's fun collecting tid-bits of information about people, not for nefarious purposes, but to flavor how I see them, rounding out their personalities to me.  People leave bread crumbs of information about themselves, the fun part is collecting them to make a loaf.