Hector's World: Adventures and Mayhem at Mountain View Poultry (or Sequel to The Evolution of Atlas

[speckledhen]

Your older girls are gorgeous still, look like they will be around for a good while.

Pay your bills first, live within your means and don't expect others to take care of you, that's how we live. I loan no one nothing. I grew up when you worked for what you earned, and there was shame in asking for help.

Now, people expect you to give them things. They take no pride in their work. Even when they seem to work hard, they don't subscribe to what we do-work smarter, not harder. It is so logical that they completely miss it. If you spend all you have, you don't have any extra. So, you have to figure out ways to not spend all you have so you can keep some in your pocket. Maybe that's too logical.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

We live in a "I want it now" world. No one knows how to save up or wait for stuff. I remember when if you didn't have money you didn't buy stuff, that was before credit cards were the norm.

 

[speckledhen]

We live in a "I want it now" world. No one knows how to save up or wait for stuff. I remember when if you didn't have money you didn't buy stuff, that was before credit cards were the norm.

I have great credit. But, I use it wisely. And because my score is so high, I qualify to have a card that gives me cash back on every purchase. So, right now, I have about $100 cash back in my reserve account to use. I pay the balance off every month, but it is like having something more on sale than it already is, to get that extra 1.5% back. We'll never charge up to my limit on that one card, the only card we have now (used to have three in another life), which has, I think, almost $12K limit, but it's there if it's needed. It's a tool, nothing more.

Others use their credit cards for stuff they really should only pay cash for, like televisions or shoes, and make payments on it, so whatever sale price they paid is jacked up by the interest on the card. It's a trap, wanting "stuff". We have curbed our "wants". That's what it takes, to not want everything most other people have, the latest this or that. And they may look like they are living the high life, but they are probably maxed out on their credit cards and buried in debt. Their wealth is an illusion and these mismanaging folks are copying them, envying them. You can't have it all, not unless you are a millionaire. It's just the way it is. As we get older, we usually see that we don't need that stuff nor do we want the clutter. That is, we do if we grow up.

 

[kitkat5505]

We use our credit card the same way. We have a few regular bills paid with it just to earn the cash back and it gets paid off right away. We have a hard "no" on co-signing anything with anyone. With how terrible they all are with money that's not something we're risking our money and good credit on. If they don't qualify by income or credit score to get something then they shouldn't until they can. When we needed a new vehicle a few years ago to fit our growing family we bought used in cash. We want to remodel our kitchen and have been saving up to pay that all in cash too. We avoid loans and debt as much as possible.

 

[1muttsfan]

I do use credit cards frequently. But, they are both paid off in full every single month

 

[speckledhen]

We use our credit card the same way. We have a few regular bills paid with it just to earn the cash back and it gets paid off right away. We have a hard "no" on co-signing anything with anyone. With how terrible they all are with money that's not something we're risking our money and good credit on. If they don't qualify by income or credit score to get something then they shouldn't until they can. When we needed a new vehicle a few years ago to fit our growing family we bought used in cash. We want to remodel our kitchen and have been saving up to pay that all in cash too. We avoid loans and debt as much as possible.

I do use credit cards frequently. But, they are both paid off in full every single month

There was a time when we were young that, if we didn't borrow money, we didn't have anything. Our military pay was less than $400/month. But, we paid every penny off and got out of debt. And with each house sale, we were in a better position than before because we paid all loans and credit card balances off with the proceeds. Some folks would have bought "stuff" and ignored their bills. Now, we live on an Air Force pension and SS only. And I think 40 chickens +/- and one cat equal the dogs we had in monthly cost, actually cost more when you factor in the shavings for that big barn and all the pens. We never smoked and don't drink (we do keep wine for flavoring food and a good homemade cough medicine) so no money spent on those things. We grow food and can it. If we were stuck at home for six months, we'd eat. We don't go out to eat at expensive restaurants (we think expensive is over $25 for a meal for both of us, but usually, if we do anything at all, it's grab a $2.00 spicy chicken sandwich at Checkers, which is same as Rally's/White Castle, on the way home from somewhere) We actually cook.

People frankly just don't want to give up anything, but they want money in their pockets. You can't have it both ways if you have limited income. You can't go out to eat three times a week. You can't pay $150/mo for cable television, which usually consists of 75% channels you don't even watch anyway. You can't go to music concerts every week. You just can't.

One thing that really frosts my onions is when people who lost big in the housing bubble burst of 2008 just walked away from all their debts and let it lay for years. Obviously, the housing thing was not their fault, but we rode it out and they could have, too. After a few years, their credit scores were right back up, even though they reneged on thousands of dollars in debt, score is almost as high as mine is, and we never missed a single payment of anything, ever. That just doesn't seem fair, but it's the way the system works.

AND, to get this back to Hector, here is his entire tail, LOL.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Did you find it in one clump? I have accidentally removed a roosters whole tail by grabbing it when catch them, but I haven't seen a whole tail come out at once during a molt. He must be getting busy at it.

That housing bubble annoyed the heck out of me too. Getting rewarded for buying above your means. I find it funny how everyone can afford a big tv no matter their income these days.

 

[speckledhen]

Did you find it in one clump? I have accidentally removed a roosters whole tail by grabbing it when catch them, but I haven't seen a whole tail come out at once during a molt. He must be getting busy at it.

That housing bubble annoyed the heck out of me too. Getting rewarded for buying above your means. I find it funny how everyone can afford a big tv no matter their income these days.

No, I just found them one or two at a time in his pen and put them together.

Even some folks who bought within their means let their homes go at the wrong time rather than keep paying the payments and riding out the storm. It was like the stock market, sort of. You don't "sell low". But, lots of people also lost their jobs at the time and were over a barrel. So, some are to blame for their mess and some were just victims of the economy. But, we bought low in 2002, it went way up until 2008 and values plummeted. We just stuck it out. I mean, it is our home and we felt values would go back up eventually. Now, they have recovered nicely, but I hear another bubble is about to burst.

 

[1muttsfan]

The chickens may cost you more, but they also give something back - tasty eggs . And much pleasure, for you and for us too.

 

[speckledhen]

The chickens may cost you more, but they also give something back - tasty eggs . And much pleasure, for you and for us too.

And super fertilizer, too! Dogs are great, but chickens are da bomb!