Irony of Ironies

Recently, I chanced upon these writings on the back of a public toilet door:-

"These are the things I hate:

1. Vandalism

2. List

3. Irony "

Life is full of ironies. Overheard, or rather over-read on the internet, someone just said, or rather was quoted in writing for having said that he (okay, it's a male) would kill to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

Here are some food for thoughts along this drift ...

Isn't it ironic that half the world is starving; while the other half is trying to lose weight?

Where is the butter in peanut butter?

What about the pine tree and where is the apple connection to a pineapple?

Time flies, but can butter really fly?

There is bee hoon (rice vermicelli) in mee siam (Asian dish), but where's the mee (noodle)?  

Of course, you won't find ham in a hamburger. But, neither would you find hand in a Handburger (cos' it's made by hands)!

Second Place Winners

Being second place doesn't make you a loser as some people may wanna make you think that way.

Here are just some encouragement for second place winners to chin up and keep going:-

"The early bird catches the worm but the second mouse gets the cheese." -- Stephen Wright

"My advice would be to follow your dream. Most of my life, I was in second place before I came in first place. I hope that inspired people to never give up." -- Jackie Evancho

"I put my career in second place throughout both my marriages and it suffered. I don't regret it. You make choices. If you want a good marriage, you must pay attention to that. If you want to be independent, go ahead. You can't have it all." -- Lauren Bacall

"I started singing about three years ago, I entered a local singing competition called Stratford Idol. The other people in the competition had been taking singing lessons and had vocal coaches. I wasn't taking it too seriously at the time, I would just sing around the house. I was only 12 and I got second place." -- Justin Bieber

How To Have More Money (Part 5)

At this juncture, I think it would be useful to recapitulate what been covered thus far in this series on How To Have More Money. In summary, the first four strategies are:

1. To Spend Less Than What You Earn.

2. To Pay Yourself From Your Income.

3. To Defer Gratification of Your Cravings.

4. To Lead an Affordable Lifestyle and Do Not Over-pay What You Can Afford.

By observing strategies 1, 3 and 4 you will be in a strong position to keep paying yourself from the monies that you have earned. Or, you could make strategy 2 so compelling and urgent that you force yourself to change your spending habits, defer your urge for instant gratification and adjust your lifestyle or taste.

Thus, moving forward, if you are able to exercise financial discipline month after month and pay yourself $250 per month, you will be on target to save a $3,000 per annum and then some, after factoring-in interest thereof. 

Start even with a little if you cannot pay yourself much. If you can pay yourself the little that you have now, you can be sure that you would have developed the habit to pay yourself proportionately more with the much that is to come. 

Conversely, if you can't start paying yourself with the little and develop this discipline, I have my doubts that you would be able to pay yourself when you have the more. Do not despise the days of small beginnings; start paying yourself now.

The next strategy on how to have more money would be: To Time Your Purchase With Sales Promotion.

It is no microchip technology (time to ditch 'rocket science') to figure out that buying what you need and want during a sales promotion at discounts of 10% or more would put a smile on your face and lend credence to the paradox of buy-and-save. 

However, please, please do not go overboard and get lured to buy things in excess of what you need and want. Okay, okay, you could buy more of the things you would need on a recurring basis (e.g., toiletries and household essentials), but do not be tempted to buy more of your wants (e.g., a new pair of shoes or apparels when the existing ones will do) just because of the sales.

As before, the other strategies on How To Have More Money would still need to be observed. Incidentally, please be prepared for the crowd and the accompanying discomfort, including long queues at the check-out counters, which are quintessential of any sales promotion worthy of its buck-saving invitation.

Notes:

* Money is not the root of all evil. It is the love of money which is the root of all evil.

* Money is great servant but a terrible master.

* You can give without loving, but you can't love without giving.

* "Don’t wear yourself out trying to get rich; restrain yourself! Riches disappear in the blink of an eye; wealth sprouts wings and flies off into the wild blue yonder." (Proverbs 23:4-5; MSG)

How To Have More Money (Part 4)

When a person first enters the job market he suddenly finds himself empowered by having earned income and may become lavish to spend his money frivolously. 

By and large, your schooling and college education would not have prepared you on how to handle money or teach you the value of money for that matter.

On the other hand, a hard-nosed housewife without any college education would, inter alia, buy only what she can afford and find out where to buy stuffs at the lowest possible price.

In general, the price of certain things may be constant. For example, the newspaper that you buy would costs the same regardless of whether you buy it from the newsstand in the neighbourhood, 7-Eleven or an upscale resort.

However, that can of chilled coke may be sold at quite a price differential depending on whether you bought it at a supermarket, cafe, 7-Eleven or a holiday resort. You could then buy your coke from the supermarket and avoid paying a higher price for an identical can of coke, whenever possible.

The price of a meal may also vary from, say $5 to $10, $15, $20 and beyond. If money is not an issue, then you could splurge on a meal every day, thrice a day. So, if your average costs of a meal is $10, then 3 meals a day over 30 days would work out to a tidy sum of $900.

If the supply of money is an issue, then it would be necessary to lower the costs of your meals by making adjustments to your eating habits. No need to skip that breakfast. If you eat out for all 3 meals at an average costs of $5, it would translate into a more affordable $450 per month than before.

Likewise, the shoe, shirt and so forth that you want to buy may have pretty wide-ranging prices depending on where you buy it from even when there is no sales promotion. Be like that housewife and learn to live within your means and do not over-pay for your stuffs. 

Thus, one way by which you can have more money is: To lead an affordable lifestyle and do not over-pay what you can afford.

Notes:

* Money is not the root of all evil. It is the love of money which is the root of all evil.

* Money is great servant but a terrible master.

* You can give without loving, but you can't love without giving.

* "Don’t wear yourself out trying to get rich; restrain yourself! Riches disappear in the blink of an eye; wealth sprouts wings and flies off into the wild blue yonder." (Proverbs 23:4-5; MSG)

Taking Flight with Aero Model Planes

Today I thought of watching flights of aero model planes. Thankfully, with YouTube one doesn't have to go to some faraway fields to catch hold of them.

The following clip shows a masterful pilot executing some acrobatic maneuver and some dance-like moves. Awesome.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DpkuyoZmJk

In the following clip you can relax and view some amphibian planes leisurely taking-off and landing in a lake. Pretty cool and laid-back fun, if you ask me. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4H5yLQXAO4s&list=PLpsbJEXJof1zDMZBOd7IUmvGoxbd-fAHz

And, I think this Gigantic Radio controlled A-380 turbine Model Jet will expand your mind on what is possible:-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Rt9zX1rZFU