vivid said:

tinaz said:

So is the food completely amazing you guys??

The mafia will have me for this but... it is lovely - but it's all the bloody same. I love Italian food but I can't eat anything every day (except peanut butter - and no, not with 'jelly').

I lived right down in the south (Lecce) and it was stunning - the people were wonderful and it really was an almost total joy.

I went to Firenze/Florence last year and had a wonderful time, but after a week I was crying out for some different food again.

Oh, and most of the gay men were married.

I was told that no one in the UK liked peanut butter.

LIARS!

I love the stuff.

uPtoWnNY said:

JustErin said:

Sure, I give a fuck about money. I'm not depressed that I am not loaded or anything but I definitely want more.

Exactly. Who the hell wants to struggle to pay bills? There's no such thing as having too much money, but that's just me.

I agree. The more you have the more you can afford to share...that's a good thing. How can that be bad?

JustErin said:

uPtoWnNY said:

Exactly. Who the hell wants to struggle to pay bills? There's no such thing as having too much money, but that's just me.

I agree. The more you have the more you can afford to share...that's a good thing. How can that be bad?

Ive seen this happen to many times... When someone comes into money they become all kinds of greedy!! Usually people dont start sharing the wealth until they have millions...

tinaz said:

JustErin said:

I agree. The more you have the more you can afford to share...that's a good thing. How can that be bad?

Ive seen this happen to many times... When someone comes into money they become all kinds of greedy!! Usually people dont start sharing the wealth until they have millions...

I feel like I’ve seen studies that show the more one has the less they give. Those that earn less give a higher percentage of their income to charity.

I’ll have to look for that study…

JustErin said:

uPtoWnNY said:

Exactly. Who the hell wants to struggle to pay bills? There's no such thing as having too much money, but that's just me.

I agree. The more you have the more you can afford to share...that's a good thing. How can that be bad?

Thank you. The whole point is to build enough wealth so you be secure in your later years and pass some down to your kids to make their lives easier. Hopefully they'll be smart enough to do the same. We live in a capitalist society, so folks better give a fuck about money. Old and broke is not fun.

"It's not the love of money that's the root of all evil, but the LACK of money!"(Rev. Ike)

BklynBabe said:

paintedlady, you rock! I know there will be many bountiful blessings for you ahead!!

I feel blessed in abundance already. Step by step... I am working on my plans. Funny how things work out.

Yesterday I picked my mother up for lunch and a drive around our city. As in many cities, within a couple of miles or blocks you can drive through neighborhoods with homes costing millions to working poor neghborhoods. As we rode through one of the poorer sections, we noticed the decaying/deterationg sidewalks and streets. My mother said, "How is it within several city blocks you find some neighborhoods with paved smooth streets, recently installed gutters, sidewalks, and another neighborhood in utter decay? It's because they're economically poor, they are considered less so they recieve less." Seeing that my parents and I are 2nd and 3rd generation respectively removed from slavery/pseudo-slavery/ jim crow we both can relate and understand that dynamic.

I said all that to make this point.... money is damn important, it's a means to an end.

Money can give you the a means to have options . . . to circumvent obstacles It determines whether supporting/surrounding infrastructure such roads, schools, hospitals, parks, are state of the art verses crumbling. We have children in Chicago attending public schools built in the 1800's and the resources and the curriculum to match. Money makes a difference in where you live in is relatively safe, clean, or if the police patrol and come in 15 seconds instead of 15 mintues. In the U.S. it cost to live in such places as I'm sure it does around the world. So, more than ever ( for complex reasons) those economically deprived areas are pretty tough to pull yourself up and out of.

As Tony mentioned nothings for free . I'll add, "God Bless the Child That Has It's Own" .

Harlepolis said:

paintedlady said:

When I was 19, I was pregnant and working in a nursing home. I was fortunate enough to meet real wise women who lived long and prosperous lives.

Many of these older women were worldly, well traveled, and would share their fabulous memories with me, yet they ended up being very lonely facing their last years.

They told me they all wished they had more time.... with their loved ones.

In the end, their money didn't grant them happiness, so I took their advice.

So I use money as a vehicle, to help me to spend more time with my children.

I am broke and I left school, (I was working on my degree and I have 2 young children, now 9 and 7). I couldn't afford school, AND the expenses of raising 3 children alone with no support from family to watch them while I went to school at night.

So I took my lemons and made lemonaid, so to speak.

I gave up pursuing my dreams temporarily in order to spend my days raising my kids. I recieve heavy criticism over my choices everyday from my unsupportive family.

I refuse to have latch key kids, no one is there for them but me. So I work seasonally doing what I love, designing gardens. I make very little money from that, but my expenses are very low. I gave up many things and now live a very simple life with my 3 kids.

I have all the time with my children I want. I work when I want. I love the work I do. I love working in my community and I volunteer my time and talents in my neighborhood. I laugh and play with my children daily. I spend my days frolicking on the beach and the parks with them. Soon, my kids will be old enough to be left alone, so I can join the rat race again, back to the grind and competition. I have no regrets, zero stress and life is wonderful.

[Edited 6/2/10 20:20pm]

Beautiful post!

I wish I share the same sentiments as you though(no regrets and zero stress ) but make no mistake, I'll reach that destination, god willing.

I was a teen mom as well and that was the biggest ass kick that helped me leave the projects and eventually, out of the country.

I have so MANY plans and aspirations which are the reasons why I'm not stress free, still in college(graduation will be in 2012) and I've been saving quite a sum of money for the past couple of years to buy this piece of property in Arizona where I'm planning to live and start my business in the near future.

In the meantime, I've been biting finger, closing my eyes and running like hell to accomplish that.

Badass! You remind me of my sister..

See, that grind is what I'll be doing in a few years. Its awesome that you are doing the damn thing now. See, happiness is what it is, and even with all that you do you still are able to be happy while doing it all. That is what is important.

Arizona!

Hawaii is where I want to end up buying property. To me its a botanist's dream. I'll learn to love Spam. One son is in college on scholarship for marine biology, two more to go!

uPtoWnNY said:

JustErin said:

Sure, I give a fuck about money. I'm not depressed that I am not loaded or anything but I definitely want more.

Exactly. Who the hell wants to struggle to pay bills? There's no such thing as having too much money, but that's just me.

Did you read the OP?

TD3 said:

Yesterday I picked my mother up for lunch and a drive around our city. As in many cities, within a couple of miles or blocks you can drive through neighborhoods with homes costing millions to working poor neghborhoods. As we rode through one of the poorer sections, we noticed the decaying/deterationg sidewalks and streets. My mother said, "How is it within several city blocks you find some neighborhoods with paved smooth streets, recently installed gutters, sidewalks, and another neighborhood in utter decay? It's because they're economically poor, they are considered less so they recieve less." Seeing that my parents and I are 2nd and 3rd generation respectively removed from slavery/pseudo-slavery/ jim crow we both can relate and understand that dynamic.

I said all that to make this point.... money is damn important, it's a means to an end.

Money can give you the a means to have options . . . to circumvent obstacles It determines whether supporting/surrounding infrastructure such roads, schools, hospitals, parks, are state of the art verses crumbling. We have children in Chicago attending public schools built in the 1800's and the resources and the curriculum to match. Money makes a difference in where you live in is relatively safe, clean, or if the police patrol and come in 15 seconds instead of 15 mintues. In the U.S. it cost to live in such places as I'm sure it does around the world. So, more than ever ( for complex reasons) those economically deprived areas are pretty tough to pull yourself up and out of.

As Tony mentioned nothings for free . I'll add, "God Bless the Child That Has It's Own" .

PREACH!!!!

CarrieMpls said:

tinaz said:

Ive seen this happen to many times... When someone comes into money they become all kinds of greedy!! Usually people dont start sharing the wealth until they have millions...

I feel like I’ve seen studies that show the more one has the less they give. Those that earn less give a higher percentage of their income to charity.

I’ll have to look for that study…

You are Absolutely Right. The poor, middle class in proportion to what they earn do give more of their income to charity. The Chicago Tribune use to print (some foundation or other) that study ever year... for whatever reason they stopped. That study use to break down who gave in what based on geographical region and race.

tinaz said:

We should all live in an Org hippie commune... Grow our own food, make crafts to sell at flea markets and festivals, explore the wilderness, and in the evening we could all sit around a campfire singing prince songs...

But seriously, I have always said I just want to have enough money to pay our bills and build a savings acct, and some left over to spend however we want... We have VERY little debt which makes up proud...We have no credit card debt, we are making 1 car loan payment (hubby has a company car for the 2nd car) I live in a fabulous apartment because I refuse to own another home in this shitty market, So we have achieved our goals!

So yes, money is very important, especially when we have small children, but we all have to learn how to live without "keeping up with the Jones's" I think thats where alot of people get in trouble....

Some of the people here ARE the Jone's and CAN live a more luxurious lifestyle, but the other folks (like me) working hard to obtain things they can't afford on credit should really slow down. It is better to work on long term goals and live leaner.

uPtoWnNY said:

TD3 said:

Yesterday I picked my mother up for lunch and a drive around our city. As in many cities, within a couple of miles or blocks you can drive through neighborhoods with homes costing millions to working poor neghborhoods. As we rode through one of the poorer sections, we noticed the decaying/deterationg sidewalks and streets. My mother said, "How is it within several city blocks you find some neighborhoods with paved smooth streets, recently installed gutters, sidewalks, and another neighborhood in utter decay? It's because they're economically poor, they are considered less so they recieve less." Seeing that my parents and I are 2nd and 3rd generation respectively removed from slavery/pseudo-slavery/ jim crow we both can relate and understand that dynamic.

I said all that to make this point.... money is damn important, it's a means to an end.

Money can give you the a means to have options . . . to circumvent obstacles It determines whether supporting/surrounding infrastructure such roads, schools, hospitals, parks, are state of the art verses crumbling. We have children in Chicago attending public schools built in the 1800's and the resources and the curriculum to match. Money makes a difference in where you live in is relatively safe, clean, or if the police patrol and come in 15 seconds instead of 15 mintues. In the U.S. it cost to live in such places as I'm sure it does around the world. So, more than ever ( for complex reasons) those economically deprived areas are pretty tough to pull yourself up and out of.

As Tony mentioned nothings for free . I'll add, "God Bless the Child That Has It's Own" .

PREACH!!!!

Again - no one is claiming that living in poverty is like christmas come early. The OP was asking a different question

vivid said:

uPtoWnNY said:

PREACH!!!!

Again - no one is claiming that living in poverty is like christmas come early. The OP was asking a different question

Agreed, I think everyone on here works to earn enough to pay their bills and live comfortably.

"comfort" I think is all about perspective though, some folks think a small cozy home is great, others prefer a mansion of a lofty home in NYC. Success is different to everyone.

vivid said:

uPtoWnNY said:

Exactly. Who the hell wants to struggle to pay bills? There's no such thing as having too much money, but that's just me.

Did you read the OP?

"And I'm not talking about the money needed in order to buy a car, a house, to feed your kids, to get a proper education or similar situations. I'm talking about the greed, the "I want a bigger house, a more powerful car, more expensive suits, be able to go to more expensive clubs,etc." attitude."

That's what I was responding to.

paintedlady said:

It is better to work on long term goals and live leaner.

True

CarrieMpls said:

tinaz said:

Ive seen this happen to many times... When someone comes into money they become all kinds of greedy!! Usually people dont start sharing the wealth until they have millions...

I feel like I’ve seen studies that show the more one has the less they give. Those that earn less give a higher percentage of their income to charity.

I’ll have to look for that study…

I have read that too.

I always said that I would never win the lottery so I do not bother playing except on rare occasions. If I won, I would give most of it away.

vivid said:

uPtoWnNY said:

PREACH!!!!

Again - no one is claiming that living in poverty is like christmas come early. The OP was asking a different question

Where did I say povery was like Christmas? Where? Don't put words in my mouth.

The question was ask, Do You Give a Fuck about Money" ? My reply was, yes. I gave you my explanation / observation / opinion why it's important me. Whether you or others think my reasons are political, I could give a flyin' fuck. You don't agree, fine. Money in itself is political whether it's public and/or private. I haven't taken issue with anyones beliefs or how you've chosen to live your lives nor what you've based your beliefs on. Why would I? If my opinion wasn't banal or generic for you, that's your problem.

[Edited 6/3/10 8:51am]

TD3 said:

vivid said:

Again - no one is claiming that living in poverty is like christmas come early. The OP was asking a different question

Where did I say povery was like Christmas? Where? Don't put words in my mouth.

The question was ask, Do You Give a Fuck about Money" ? My reply was, yes. I gave you my explanation / observation / opinion why it's important me. Whether you or others think my reasons are political, I could give a flyin' fuck. You don't agree, fine. Money in itself is political whether it's public and/or private. I haven't taken issue with anyones beliefs or how you've chosen to live your lives nor what you've based your beliefs on. Why would I? If my opinion wasn't banal or generic for you, that's your problem.

[Edited 6/3/10 8:51am]

Now come on - you're clearly a very literate and articulate humanoid. The OP's question was just a teensy weensy bit longer than that, wasn't it?

(Oh, and it was me who said that 'poverty isn't like christmas come early' - good line, I thought)

(but I didnt' say anything about politics)

[Edited 6/3/10 9:17am]

vivid said:

It's not a black and white issue for me. Like other people here, I've chosen to work in a field that doesn't pay well but is one in which I enjoy going to work most days, I work with similar minded people and it is realtively low stress.

I think I can also say that, considering my species, I am not very materialistic - I possess very little, still live in rented accommodation and, apart from music, only shop on a needs basis.

I have also had periods where I didn't work at all, and had just enough money to surivive - and I can say in all honesty that they were some of the most peaceful and productive times of my life.

On the other hand, I would love not to work at all. There are many other things I would rather be doing - I would love to spend a year or more in the wilderness just observing wildlife - I would love to volunteer on various projects and there are som many things I would dearly love to study.

If I had more money, I would be able to do more of these things possibly - so if this is one of those secret millionaire things - yes, thank you.

Otherwise, money doesn't have a large part to play in my decision-making process.

I am with you on most things you say. I used to live like that and I hope I can find a way to do that now that my circumstances in life have completely changed .

paintedlady said:

When I was 19, I was pregnant and working in a nursing home. I was fortunate enough to meet real wise women who lived long and prosperous lives.

Many of these older women were worldly, well traveled, and would share their fabulous memories with me, yet they ended up being very lonely facing their last years.

They told me they all wished they had more time.... with their loved ones.

In the end, their money didn't grant them happiness, so I took their advice.

So I use money as a vehicle, to help me to spend more time with my children.

I am broke and I left school, (I was working on my degree and I have 2 young children, now 9 and 7). I couldn't afford school, AND the expenses of raising 3 children alone with no support from family to watch them while I went to school at night.

So I took my lemons and made lemonaid, so to speak.

I gave up pursuing my dreams temporarily in order to spend my days raising my kids. I recieve heavy criticism over my choices everyday from my unsupportive family.

I refuse to have latch key kids, no one is there for them but me. So I work seasonally doing what I love, designing gardens. I make very little money from that, but my expenses are very low. I gave up many things and now live a very simple life with my 3 kids.

I have all the time with my children I want. I work when I want. I love the work I do. I love working in my community and I volunteer my time and talents in my neighborhood. I laugh and play with my children daily. I spend my days frolicking on the beach and the parks with them. Soon, my kids will be old enough to be left alone, so I can join the rat race again, back to the grind and competition. I have no regrets, zero stress and life is wonderful.

[Edited 6/2/10 20:20pm]

CarrieMpls said:

tinaz said:

But isnt canada FREEZING in the winter... Girls, we arent gonna have electricity or heaters!! Just fireplaces!

No electricity?

Alright, I'm out. I'm not that much of a hippy.

It'ds not as hard as it sounds. I have lived without electricity for 5 months recently.

Serious said:

CarrieMpls said:

No electricity?

Alright, I'm out. I'm not that much of a hippy.

It'ds not as hard as it sounds. I have lived without electricity for 5 months recently.

Carrie is not a fun of the wind-up woman pleasurer, clearly.

vivid said:

Serious said:

It'ds not as hard as it sounds. I have lived without electricity for 5 months recently.

Carrie is not a fun of the wind-up woman pleasurer, clearly.

That's something I sure did not need in those 5 months .

PunkMistress said:

vivid said:

Did you read the OP?

"And I'm not talking about the money needed in order to buy a car, a house, to feed your kids, to get a proper education or similar situations. I'm talking about the greed, the "I want a bigger house, a more powerful car, more expensive suits, be able to go to more expensive clubs,etc." attitude."

That's what I was responding to.

yup

tinaz said:

JustErin said:

I don't think most non-american orgers would be willing to move to the US.

..... Id go for anywhere in the caribbean then!!

As long as the commune is in California and I'm the only male allowed, count me in; otherwise, count me out.

Serious said:

CarrieMpls said:

No electricity?

Alright, I'm out. I'm not that much of a hippy.

It'ds not as hard as it sounds. I have lived without electricity for 5 months recently.

HOW? I can't even imagine my life without electricity at all, I just can't, I admire your patience.

Vivid's post is really lovely.

tinaz said:

JustErin said:

I don't think most non-american orgers would be willing to move to the US.

..... Id go for anywhere in the caribbean then!!

Trinidad

seeingvoices12 said:

Serious said:

It'ds not as hard as it sounds. I have lived without electricity for 5 months recently.

HOW? I can't even imagine my life without electricity at all, I just can't, I admire your patience.

Vivid's post is really lovely.

Well there is no electricity in the middle of the tropical rain forest, so there was nothing I could do about it. There are candles and you can boil water . And we sometimes used a car battery .

Serious said:

seeingvoices12 said:

HOW? I can't even imagine my life without electricity at all, I just can't, I admire your patience.

Vivid's post is really lovely.

Well there is no electricity in the middle of the tropical rain forest, so there was nothing I could do about it. There are candles and you can boil water . And we sometimes used a car battery .

Again, I admire your patience Its lovely , candles I would love to try that for a week or less but 5 months, I think I will die If I was forced to do that.