Today is National Hairball Awareness Day....

I have worked for Synergy Home Care for two days this past week.
For a couple that is delightful. I wondered after the first day, 'what am
I to learn from such a short experience'. (I put in my resignation after
two days so I could start working for Discover)
So on day two with Mr. & Mrs. Guy,
I tried to be very in tune with what I was to learn.
I cleaned, and then Mrs. Guy went to lunch with her friends. Mr Guy and
I cleaned out closets and moved patio furniture ( we also chased a
rabbit out of the yard...fun stuff) They Guy's are wonderful.
But all the cleaning and packing was now done, they were ready to
take their trip back east to their summer home.
So I asked Mr. Guy what I should do now.
He made me a fried egg sandwich. And as we eat lunch,
he taught me about finance.
(I have since writen down what he told me and I went to the library,
I am reading 'Women & Money" by Suze Orman.)
I will admit that I have known nothing about finances.
I go from month to month doing the doggy paddle in the sea of debt crap.
I can say I am no closer to financial success now than I was 20 years ago.
Then came Mr. Guy (he is in his mid 70's).
He just started talking to me, I didn't ask for the lesson,
he didn't know I live in a cloud of financial polution.
He taught me about the stock market ( not alot, just enough to
get me started). He told me the most inportant part is to
pay my self first. To me this has never made sence. How do
you pay yourself first when you know there would not be
enough $$$ even before that. But he spelled it out.
You put $25.00, $50.00, what ever, in your savings acount every
month or every paycheck. If you work for a company that you
can buy stock through, have them take out the $ for one share
of stock from each paycheck each time you get paid.
The trick is you can not touch this $.
When you have it saved up, to lets say $1000.00.
Get an investment broker who you can trust ( Edward Jones ect)
Mr Guy gave me his stock choices. (He took out the news paper and
circled the ones he invests in, then he showed me on the financial
channel what other opions are)
( I feel like this page of the news paper he gave me is priceless).
He has been investing with them for years and
he says with a smile, "they make me money".
He has more invested than the three he gave me. But those are
the ones he said are his basics.
I asked him lots of questions, like "How do you live, month to month"
He said he worked for the same company for 32 years. He had a good
retirement program. He also has a great insurance plan. ( his wife has
alot of physical problems) They don't have to worry about money,
I saw that they have PLENTY. They have a great life.
They are in controle of their money.
And although I feel as though Carl and I have lost twenty years of
controle. I think, and Mr Guy agrees, that we still can do what it
takes to have a future.
Both my wonderful sister in law Wendi, and Suze Orman say we
need to start by writing down what we want, what our pasions are,
what our dreams are. We need to set goals. I think I am ready to start!